Saquon Barkley saw a clip of Barry Sanders on NFL Films when he was a kid that left a lasting impression.
It wasn’t Sanders juking half the defense on one of his dynamic touchdown runs. Instead, the Hall of Fame running back who inspired a generation of running backs with his sensational, elusive, shifty style was walking up and down the sideline handing out refreshments to his teammates.
“They were talking about how great of a player he was but they had a clip of him holding Gatorade cups and he’s walking down,” Barkley said on the AP’s “On Football” podcast. “He is going to his teammates and just the way that he carried himself. So I would say I have to give my flowers to him there.”
Barkley joined Sanders as one of nine players to rush for 2,000 yards in a season in 2024 when he was the AP NFL Offensive Player of the Year and helped the Philadelphia Eagles win the Super Bowl.
Barkley demonstrated he’s a team-first player by sitting out the final regular-season game when he needed 101 yards to break Eric Dickerson’s record. Earlier in the season, he told coach Nick Sirianni to let other backs get some carries after he had already rushed for 176 yards against his former Giants teammates and needed 14 more in the fourth quarter to set a new career-high.
Barkley finished with an NFL-record 2,504 combined rushing yards in the regular season and playoffs.
He credits his parents, Alibay Barkley and Tonya Johnson, for instilling in him an unselfish mindset.
“Just how my parents raised me,” he said. “Everything, who I am a person, it stems from my family, my brothers and sisters, and the coaches that I had growing up. But I don’t think you should get flowers for being a great teammate. I don’t think anything that I’ve done or that I said is rare. At least it shouldn’t be rare. It should be the norm, and it is the norm. I might have just got caught on camera, or I might've had an article written about me, but there’s other stuff that I have done that’s behind the scenes, and I have multiple teammates that have done great things for me, too. And it’s a winning culture. You want to create that culture. If you want to win football games, you want to be competing for championships, that matters. And I bought into that at a very young age and I think that’s what, I guess you could say, separated me.”
Barkley’s first season in Philadelphia after playing his first six with the New York Giants couldn’t have been scripted any better. He followed up his All-Pro campaign with 1,140 yards rushing in 2025 behind a banged-up offensive line.
The Eagles won 11 games, captured their second straight division title but lost a wild-card game to San Francisco. An inconsistent offense cost offensive coordinator Kevin Patullo his job.
Championship parades are the new standard in Philadelphia.
Some athletes don’t want to play in a pressure-packed environment. Barkley loves it.
“I embrace it. I don’t think pressure is a real thing from the outside force,” Barkley said. “You have to hold yourself to a high standard. I know Philly holds us to a higher standard already, but I feel like the way I carry myself and how I train and the standard I hold myself, I fit right into the city and into this fan base. ... You want to win every year. That’s the goal.”
Barkley’s acrobatic backward hurdle over a Jaguars player during the 2024 season ended up being the Madden 2026 cover. It also inspired DIRECTV’s recent campaign featuring Barkley jumping through hoops, flipping over a utility cart and hopping onto a crossbar.
“Watching football shouldn’t feel like jumping through hoops. That’s why I have DIRECTV,” Barkley says in the television commercial.
Of course, he lauded the brand’s team spirit.
“The kind of culture that they have and the day I was able to spend with them, I was knocked away and I’m just thankful for the opportunity,” he said.
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Philadelphia Eagles running back Saquon Barkley (26) runs with the ball during practice at NFL football training camp at the team's training facility in Philadelphia, Tuesday, Aug. 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Chris Szagola)
Philadelphia Eagles running back Saquon Barkley (26) looks on during practice at the team's NFL football training camp in Philadelphia, Thursday, July 30, 2026. (AP Photo/Chris Szagola)
Progressive U.S. Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed has defeated moderate U.S. Rep. Haley Stevens in Michigan's Democratic primary, which became a proxy battle for the party’s direction. Tuesday’s elections also included a Democratic primary victory by Missouri Rep. Wesley Bell in his rematch against Rep. Cori Bush, who was targeted by the American Israel Public Affairs Committee after denouncing Israel’s military action in Gaza.
President Donald Trump swings through Las Vegas on Wednesday for a speech on the economy after his Republican National Committee fundraiser at his Southern California golf course, where authorities arrested a man they said was claiming to be part of the security detail.
The House Ethics Committee has opened an investigation into domestic abuse allegations against Republican Rep. Max Miller as the embattled Ohio congressman faces escalating pressure to resign from his former father-in-law, Ohio Sen. Bernie Moreno, and Trump. Democrats are eyeing the chance to flip Miller’s congressional seat.
Here is the latest:
The vice president was addressing a roundtable focused on combating fraud, and making the point that the work of a task force he’s leading needs congressional approval to prevent its results from evaporating once the Trump administration is over.
“God forbid you’re going to have President El-Sayed in a few years,” Vance said, referencing Abdul El-Sayed, who clinched Michigan’s Democratic Senate primary just moments prior to his remarks.
“We don’t want him to undo all the incredible work that we’ve been doing,” Vance said.
Curtis Hertel, the chair of the Michigan Democratic Party, urged unity within the Democratic party.
“We have got to work together to take this country back,” Hertel said. “I can tell you what we need is a fighter ... Abdul El-Sayed has been a fighter for the people over and over again.”
McMorrow said that “for all of the differences that we may have had in the primary, that those differences pale in comparison to the contrast that we face in November.”
Republicans are counting on rifts inside the Democratic Party, but “this is the start of a celebration of all of us coming together,” McMorrow said.
Before speaking to supporters on Wednesday morning, El-Sayed spoke to state party chair Curtis Hertel Jr.
El-Sayed was flanked by Mallory McMorrow, the state senator who dropped her own primary campaign earlier this year after failing to gain traction. She announced her support for El-Sayed, and Stevens has as well.
Hertel stressed Democratic enthusiasm as the party looks toward November.
“Yesterday was the highest turnout for Democrats in the history of a primary,” Hertel said.
Democratic Sen. Chris Van Hollen of Maryland, who backed Abdul El-Sayed, said in an interview that his victory is a “very significant win” and shows that his politics has gained traction with voters.
“This should be a wake-up call to, you know, the Washington Democratic establishment and the Washington insiders in the pundit class,” he said.
Van Hollen stressed how important winning in the fall is for the party. “We need to win Michigan, he can win Michigan,” the senator said, adding that El-Sayed’s “brand of populism can connect with voters across the political spectrum.”
Haley Stevens said in a statement Wednesday that she is “proud to offer my support” to Abdul El-Sayed, who won Michigan’s Democratic Senate primary.
Stevens said it’s important for Democrats to back him so the party can keep the Senate seat and win the chamber in the midterms.
“Donald Trump and Mike Rogers want us to come out of this primary tired and divided, so their billionaire backers can come in and let multimillionaire Mike Rogers walk away with this Senate seat,” she said.
El-Sayed’s defeat of Rep. Haley Stevens in a massive victory for the party’s progressive wing in a battleground state.
The real test of the progressives’ strength will now come in a November matchup against Republican Mike Rogers, a former congressman who ran unopposed for the GOP nomination. The seat is pivotal to Democrats’ chances of flipping the Senate and El-Sayed must now unite a divided Democratic base after a bruising primary.
The race remained tight throughout Tuesday night, with a winner not declared until early Wednesday. In his final remarks before the race was called, El-Sayed said “tomorrow we begin to mend fences.”
Rep. Haley Stevens called Abdul El-Sayed to concede in the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate in Michigan on Wednesday morning, according to El-Sayed’s campaign.
A representative for Stevens’ campaign did not return a request for comment. The Associated Press has not yet called the race.
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The draft agreed to by Iranian and Omani negotiators awaits final approval from Iran’s supreme leader, two regional officials told The Associated Press on Wednesday.
The officials, who were briefed on the negotiations, portrayed the potential deal as a temporary solution to the U.S.-Iranian dispute over shipping through the waterway. They said it is tied to the agreement reached between the U.S. and Iran in June that aimed to end the fighting and reopen the strait, which ultimately collapsed.
The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the matter, said the potential deal will pave the way for the U.S. and Iran to resume negotiations to reach a final deal on Tehran’s nuclear program.
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By Elena Becatoros, Samy Magdy and Darlene Superville
The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee has expanded its list of targets to 58 House seats it believes are competitive, including districts Trump won easily less than two years ago.
The ambitious list reflects Trump’s diminished standing with the electorate and Democrats’ belief they can capitalize on voters’ frustrations over the economy, the war in Iran and the chaotic nature of Republican control during Trump’s second term.
“MAGA Republicans who historically have considered themselves ‘safe’ have let down the people they were elected to represent, passing disastrous policies that are crushing working families and our communities,” DCCC Chair Suzan DelBene said in a statement.
Democrats need just a handful of seats to erase Republicans’ narrow majority and control the chamber.
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Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche may have cleared committee but the outcome of a full Senate vote on his nomination for the permanent role is an open question. Republicans Bill Cassidy of Louisiana and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska are question marks and Maine’s Susan Collins has said no, citing the politicization of the Justice Department.
The Judiciary Committee moved Trump’s former personal attorney along on a 12-10 party line vote after the DOJ confirmed in writing that it wasn’t moving forward with a $1.8 billion fund to compensate Trump allies who believe they were politically persecuted. That order left in place Blanche’s tax immunity deal worth millions for Trump and his family.
If all Democrats oppose him and Sen. Mitch McConnell isn’t able to vote, Blanche can afford to lose just two Republican supporters.
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Authorities have released more details about the arrest of a man who was allegedly scoping out security details ahead of President Donald Trump’s Republican National Committee fundraiser at Trump's Los Angeles-area golf course.
The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department said 38-year-old Jeanine John Taele was seen taking photos and video and had a 16-round magazine with ammunition in his pocket when he was arrested Sunday. Federal prosecutors say he told federal agents he was employed by the State Department and was there for a security detail. A search of his pickup truck turned up a loaded 9mm pistol, binoculars and a badge that read “security protection agent."
Authorities say a search of his home found a rifle and other firearms, magazines and ammunition, body armor and notebooks with “concerning statements."
Taele was jailed on $250,000 bond after pleading not guilty to felonies including second-degree robbery, receiving a large-capacity magazine and possession of a short-barreled rifle or shotgun. It wasn’t clear if he had a lawyer and family members could not immediately be reached for comment.
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Rep. Haley Stevens, D-Mich., a candidate in the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate in Michigan, speaks during a primary election night event Wednesday, Aug. 5, 2026, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)
Abdul El-Sayed, a progressive candidate in the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate in Michigan, speaks during a primary election night event Wednesday, Aug. 5, 2026, at the Majestic Theatre in Detroit. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
Marine One, with President Donald Trump onboard, lifts off near Trump National Golf Club Los Angeles, Tuesday, Aug. 4, 2026, in Rancho Palos Verdes, Calif. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
President Donald Trump, left, is escorted by Air Force Col. Christopher M. Robinson, commander of the 89th Airlift Wing, right, as he walk from Marine One to Air Force One, at Joint Base Andrews, Md., Tuesday, Aug. 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Luis M. Alvarez)
