LAKE FOREST, Ill. (AP) — Chicago Bears coach Ben Johnson is spending Week 1 in familiar territory.
Johnson leads the Bears into North Carolina for their season opener against the Carolina Panthers on Sunday. The 40-year-old Johnson grew up in Asheville and was a walk-on quarterback at the University of North Carolina, earning degrees in mathematics and computer science.
Of course, the hard-driving Johnson is a little too busy to appreciate the moment. He said the trip probably means more to his wife, Jessica, than it does to him.
“She’s made some comments and you’re like, ‘Girl, you do whatever you want to do. I’m good,’” Johnson said Friday with a chuckle.
“The busiest time of my week is really Saturday and Sunday morning, and so I don’t have a lot of time to think about that. Away trips, I’m kind of meetinged up, you know, from start to the end, which is good. It’s my process of what gets me right for game day, and everyone’s a little bit different.”
Asked about his favorite Panthers growing up, Johnson listed Julius Peppers, Jake Delhomme and Muhsin Muhammad. He also has a connection to Hall of Fame linebacker Luke Kuechly; he was an assistant coach at Boston College during Kuechly's time at the school.
“To see him go to Carolina and have the career that he had and still the impact that he’s making right now, making the Hall of Fame and all that, is pretty cool to watch,” Johnson said. “Yeah, I got a lot of favorites there.”
Johnson took over Chicago in January 2025. The Bears lost his first two games, and then won four in a row on the way to an 11-6 record and the franchise's first NFC North title since 2018. Led by quarterback Caleb Williams, the Bears posted an NFL record seven wins when trailing in the last two minutes of regulation, including a thriller against Green Bay in the wild-card round.
As Johnson pondered the road back to the playoffs and a longer postseason run, he took a closer look at applying the team's success at the end of games to the end of the first half.
“I think the big jump that we would love to make is the end-of-half situations,” he said. “Just finding a way to score some points before halftime and limiting the retaliatory drives that can be a response there. That has been something we have talked about since the springtime and throughout camp. We’ll see if we can bring that to life or not.”
That analysis included Johnson looking at his own decisions in those situations.
“That’s where it starts is you’re second-guessing yourself and whether you made the right calls or not,” he said. “Whether you’re helping guys get open or you’re helping the pass protection or whatever that is, making sure you’re doing your part.”
Johnson is monitoring a couple of injuries going into the opener. Wide receiver Rome Odunze (strained right calf), backup quarterback Tyson Bagent (back) and safety Xavier Woods (groin) were listed as questionable on Friday.
Odunze has been limited in practice all week, but said he is ready to go.
“I doubt I’m questionable,” Odunze said. “I know there’s a way everybody goes about things, but I feel pretty good. I was out there today. I plan on playing.”
See AP’s full NFL coverage here
Chicago Bears head coach Ben Johnson talks to reporters following a preseason NFL football game against the Tennessee Titans, Saturday, Aug. 29, 2026, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/John Amis)
Chicago Bears head coach Ben Johnson talks to reporters following a preseason NFL football game against the Tennessee Titans, Saturday, Aug. 29, 2026, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/John Amis)
Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen seized a key island Friday after capturing a Red Sea port, moves that threatened to further disrupt international shipping in the region. And Saudi Arabia said it shut down a major oil pipeline as a precaution after it came under attack.
Here’s a look at the latest news in the Middle East. Full coverage can be found here.
Yemen ’s Iranian-backed Houthi rebels captured the island of Mayun at the entrance of the Red Sea, a key alternative for shipping Saudi oil and other exports since Iran has been targeting vessels in the Strait of Hormuz.
The island's seizure was confirmed by a senior military official with Yemen’s internationally recognized government and a Houthi official. Both spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to journalists.
About 12% of the world’s goods are typically shipped through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait at the southern end of the Red Sea. It's especially important to Saudi Arabia, a key U.S. ally.
The Houthis' military spokesperson, Yahya Saree, said in a statement Friday that “maritime navigation is safe for all companies except for Saudi vessels.” But markets are nervous, and experts have described the Houthis as highly unpredictable.
A United Nations spokesperson, Farhan Haq, said Houthi rebels in Mokha seized a compound that had housed U.N. staff, who all fled safely before the city's capture. Haq said that “no U.N. personnel remain in Mokha right now.”
By Samy Magdy in Cairo
Saudi Arabia said Friday it had shut down a major, cross-country oil pipeline as a “precautionary measure” following attacks the day before. The Saudi Energy Ministry did not say who carried out the attacks.
The East-West pipeline has been vital to Saudi Arabia continuing oil exports in the months since the Iran war has disrupted shipping in the Strait of Hormuz.
According to the International Energy Agency, Saudi oil exports through the Red Sea port at the pipeline's end have more than doubled since the U.S. and Israel attacked Iran on Feb. 28.
The AI company Anthropic said it blocked users in northern Yemen who were using its AI models to run weapons development programs, some using commercially available smartphones.
Anthropic said its models were being used to pursue sophisticated precision, long-range ballistic and hypersonic missiles. The company said it identified the users during an internal investigation and banned their accounts.
Iran-backed Houthi rebels who control northern Yemen have been smuggling advanced weapons for years despite a blockade and U.N. arms embargo. Iran denies arming the rebels.
Anthropic said the accounts used Claude Code to develop software that “steers and stabilizes a flying vehicle” and were working to develop weapons including a guided rocket that allows mobile phone users to autonomously track targets.
There is no evidence the users in Yemen succeeded in fielding a weapon, the company said.
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei said Friday that a regional meeting is planned between Iran and other Persian Gulf countries, including Oman and Iraq.
Baghaei told reporters the meeting will take place on Monday in Oman and will include discussion on prior talks between Iran and Oman regarding shipping in the Strait of Hormuz. Located on either side of the strait, Iran and Oman have held talks over managing ship traffic through the critical waterway, which has been heavily disrupted by the Iran war.
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said on Friday that his country’s military has completed the destruction of tunnels in the strategic Ali Taher ridge in southern Lebanon, which he said were built by the militant group Hezbollah with Iranian funding.
The ridge has been the site of clashes between Israeli forces and Hezbollah in recent weeks. Nearby residents heard loud explosions and felt the ground shaking Thursday. There was no immediate comment from Hezbollah.
Meanwhile, Israeli forces continued to demolish houses in villages under their control in southern Lebanon.
Residents displaced from the coastal village of Mansouri watched from a distance on Friday as Israeli drones carried boxes of explosives to be dropped on their homes. The Israeli army did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
An Israeli strike on Friday killed a man walking in a street in southern Gaza and wounded several people, including children, according to Nasser Hospital, which received the body and the wounded.
The Israeli military said the strike in Khan Younis had targeted a Hamas member.
Meanwhile, mourners held funeral prayers for two of three men who were killed Thursday in Khan Younis. The Israeli military said one of the men, Mohammad Yazouri, was a Hamas commander.
This image taken from undated video released by the Ansar Allah Media Office, the media arm of Yemen's Houthi rebels, on Wednesday, Sept. 9, 2026, shows a Houthi fighter firing a truck-mounted anti-aircraft gun during what the group said was an attack on Saudi-backed forces in eastern Jawf province, Yemen. (Ansar Allah Media Office via AP)
Palestinian mourners by the body of Muhammad Yazouri, who was killed in an Israeli airstrike Thursday night, during his funeral in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, Friday, Sept.11, 2026. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)
Palestinian women mourn over the body of Muhammad Yazouri, who was killed in an Israeli airstrike Thursday night, ahead of his funeral in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, Friday, Sept.11, 2026. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)
Palestinian mourners carry the body of Muhammad Yazouri, draped in the flag of the Mujahideen Brigades, a Palestinian militant group, with a rifle laid on top, during his funeral after he was killed in an Israeli airstrike the previous night, in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, Friday, Sept. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)
Yemen's Houthi rebels march during a mobilization campaign in Sanaa, Yemen, Thursday, Sept. 10, 2026. (AP Photo)
