EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) — NEW YORK GIANTS (4-13)
The Giants expect to be better after hiring John Harbaugh as coach, a Super Bowl champion tasked with bringing the organization back to prominence. There is almost nowhere to go but up after last season and 38 losses in 51 games going back to 2023. Harbaugh assembled an experienced coaching staff from offensive coordinator Matt Nagy to quarterbacks coach Brian Callahan, and he and general manager Joe Schoen upgraded the roster in free agency and the draft. How much better they'll be hinges largely on QB Jaxson Dart, who is the undisputed starter going into his second NFL season. Adding Tremaine Edmunds and No. 5 pick Arvell Reese at linebacker and with Brian Burns, Abdul Carter and Kayvon Thibodeaux rushing the passer, the defense is being counted on to improve drastically after ranking among the worst in the league. With the over/under on wins set at 7 1/2, contending for a playoff spot would make it a successful season. A lot would have to go right to make that happen, but there is legitimate excitement about the not-too-distant future.
Harbaugh, Nagy, Callahan, Edmunds, Reese, defensive coordinator Dennard Wilson, RB Najee Harris, FB Patrick Ricard, WRs Darnell Mooney and Odell Beckham Jr., WR/PR Braxton Berrios, rookie WR Malachi Fields, TE Isaiah Likely, rookie OL Francis “Sisi” Mauigoa, DTs D.J. Reader, Shelby Harris and CJ Okoye, CB Greg Newsome, rookie CB Colton Hood, S Ar'Darius Washington, S Jason Pinnock, Rookie K Dominic Zvada, P Jordan Stout.
DT Dexter Lawrence, QB Russell Wilson, WR Wan'Dale Robinson, G Greg Van Roten, OL Josh Ezeudu, LBs Bobby Okereke and Darius Muasau, CB Cor’Dale Flott, S Dane Belton, P Jamie Gillan.
Harbaugh wants to be able to run the ball early and often. A backfield that includes Harris, Cam Skattebo and Tyrone Tracy — plus Dart — with Ricard leading the way should be able to accomplish that. Balancing that out offensively is the return of No. 1 WR Malik Nabers from a torn ACL that cut his season short not even midway through his fourth game. Few teams have the personnel to attack off the edge as well as New York with the combination of Burns, Carter and Thibodeaux. Burns is coming off a career-best 16 1/2 sacks that trailed only record-setter Myles Garrett.
Getting to pass rushing situations is a concern, and stopping the run is still a sizable question after allowing 145.3 yards a game on the ground last season. Losing Lawrence after he asked for and was granted a trade, to Cincinnati for the 10th pick, put a huge void in the middle of the defensive front. The secondary plays a role in that, too, and there could be holes for opponents to exploit running and passing against these defensive backs. On offense, Dart is learning a new system and could experience some growing pains along the way. Who he targets beyond leaning on Likely and Nabers remains to be seen, and Dart needs to stay healthy and avoid unnecessary hits.
Calvin Austin was lost for the season with a right knee injury on a noncontact 1-on-1 drill on Aug. 25. Based on practices, the former Steelers receiver looked as if he would have had a significant role on offense.
Likely was Dart's most popular target in camp, and he could be a safety valve when the games begin. Likely is almost a hybrid tight end/receiver who can line up just about anywhere and present a matchup nightmare for defenses.
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New York Giants linebacker Brian Burns walks from the field during a joint NFL football practice with the Miami Dolphins, Thursday, Aug. 20, 2026, in Miami Gardens, Fla. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)
New York Giants quarterback Jaxson Dart (6) warms up on the field before a preseason NFL football game against the Miami Dolphins, Saturday, Aug. 22, 2026, in Miami Gardens, Fla. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)
New York Giants head coach John Harbaugh looks on during the first half of a preseason NFL football game against the Miami Dolphins, Saturday, Aug. 22, 2026, in Miami Gardens, Fla. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)
PLYMOUTH, Mass. (AP) — Jury deliberations resumed for a fifth day Wednesday in the Lindsay Clancy murder trial after the judge questioned jurors one by one following the arrest of a woman accused of filming them as they left the courthouse the previous day.
A former labor and delivery nurse, Clancy doesn’t deny strangling her three young children at the family's Massachusetts home in 2023, but she says postpartum psychosis led to her actions. Prosecutors argue that she knew what she was doing. Clancy, 36, has pleaded not guilty by reason of lack of criminal responsibility.
Clancy’s livestreamed trial has generated intense interest, with reporters and spectators packing the courtroom. The case has also sparked deep public divisions over her culpability and the issues around maternal mental health after childbirth.
The jurors had told Judge William Sullivan on Tuesday that they were unable to reach a unanimous decision, but he instructed them to keep trying — a common instruction in criminal trials when juries say they're having trouble reaching a verdict.
EDITOR’S NOTE: This story includes discussion of suicide. If you or someone you know needs help, the national suicide and crisis lifeline in the U.S. is available by calling or texting 988.
Dawn Light, 56, of Sutton, Massachusetts, was arraigned Wednesday at the same courthouse in Plymouth, south of Boston.
Surrounded by reporters while going to her car, Light was asked why she filmed outside the courthouse Tuesday.
“To see Lindsay. And I did see her. She was getting picked up by the van,” Light said.
Light’s attorney, Jennifer White, called it a “misunderstanding” and said Light, a retired nurse, was only trying to take a photo of Clancy and “not interact with the jurors.”
Light described herself as a “crime junkie” and Clancy supporter, in an interview with Hearst Connecticut Media Group before her arraignment.
She was charged with intimidation of a witness, jurors or person furnishing information in connection with criminal proceedings. A not-guilty plea was entered on her behalf and she was released without having to post bail, but was ordered to stay away from the court, the jurors and any witnesses.
Assistant District Attorney Nicole Piacentini said Light was parked in a restricted area behind the courthouse and is accused of filming the jurors as they left court. Light told state police that she was waiting to film Clancy and denied recording jurors, however, troopers found video of jurors in her phone's deleted-files folder, Piacentini said.
“The sanctity of the judicial system is at risk because of her actions,” Piacentini told a judge during the arraignment.
Sullivan opened Wednesday’s proceedings with a warning to the courtroom about following his orders.
“Everybody should be well aware that the order and that statute is being enforced,” he said.
The order bars people from photographing or filming a jury until the case ends, and prohibits anyone from following, contacting, harassing or tampering with a jury.
Clancy’s lawyer, Kevin Reddington, told The Associated Press that the judge called jurors up one by one to ask them if there was anything they saw that would affect their ability to be impartial. The judge’s questions could not be heard from the gallery and he didn't disclose what he asked.
Jurors have heard testimony from relatives and doctors about how Clancy's mental health declined in the months before the killings and how her treatment included several medications and a short stay in a psychiatric hospital. Medical experts hired by the prosecution and the defense reached sharply different conclusions about her psychiatric state when she killed the children.
If jurors ultimately can’t agree on a verdict, the judge could declare a mistrial. Prosecutors would then have to decide whether to put Clancy on trial again, drop the charges or try to negotiate a plea deal with her lawyer.
After court ended Tuesday, Clancy’s attorney said it was a good sign that the jury kept working.
“The fact that they have not said that they’re done is very, very heartening,” Reddington said. “Obviously, they’re working very hard.”
If the jury decides Clancy was criminally responsible for her actions, it could convict her of either murder or manslaughter. If she is acquitted, a judge could still order her confined to a mental health facility if an evaluation determines that she poses a danger to the public.
Clancy strangled the children with exercise bands in their home's basement, then jumped from a second-floor window. She remains paralyzed from the waist down. Her lawyers say she heard a voice telling her to kill the children so she could end her own life.
The prosecution argues she deliberately sent her then-husband on errands to get him out of the house, and prosecutors have questioned the seriousness of her suicide attempt. Patrick Clancy has said in interviews that he forgives his ex-wife, whom he viewed as ill rather than evil.
This story has been updated to correct that Clancy’s attorney clarified that the judge asked jurors about their impartiality, not the woman’s arrest.
Associated Press writer Dave Collins in Hartford, Connecticut, contributed.
In this photo taken with a smartphone Dawn Light is questioned by reporters as she leaves her arraignment where she was charged with intimidation in connection with the Lindsay Clancy's murder trial in Plymouth, Mass., Wednesday, Sept. 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Leah Willingham)
Dawn Light attends her arraignment on a charge of intimidation in connection with the Lindsay Clancy's murder trial at Plymouth District Court in Plymouth, Mass., Wednesday, Sept. 2, 2026. (Greg Derr/The Patriot Ledger via AP, Pool)
Judge William Sullivan speaks to the press and spectators in the courtroom during Lindsay Clancy's murder trial at Plymouth Superior Court in Plymouth, Mass., Wednesday, Sept. 2, 2026. (Greg Derr/The Patriot Ledger via AP, Pool)
A diet soda sits in Lindsay Clancy's wheelchair as the jury resumes deliberations during her murder trial at Plymouth Superior Court in Plymouth, Mass., Wednesday, Sept. 2, 2026. (Greg Derr/The Patriot Ledger via AP, Pool)
Lindsay Clancy reacts to news that a woman was arrested for recording images of the jury at Plymouth Superior Court in Plymouth, Mass., Wednesday, Sept. 2, 2026. (Greg Derr/The Patriot Ledger via AP, Pool)
Lindsay Clancy looks to her lawyer Kevin Reddington as the jury keeps deliberating at her murder trial at Plymouth Superior Court in Plymouth, Mass., Tuesday, Sept. 1, 2026. (Greg Derr/The Patriot Ledger via AP, Pool)
