Chargers receiver Ladd McConkey misses practice because of foot injury

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Chargers receiver Ladd McConkey misses practice because of foot injury

2026-10-02 08:01 Last Updated At：08:20

EL SEGUNDO, Calif. (AP) — Los Angeles Chargers wide receiver Ladd McConkey missed practice Thursday because of a foot injury.

McConkey was downgraded after practicing on a limited basis Wednesday, putting his status to play at the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday in doubt.

McConkey leads the Chargers with 12 receptions for 183 yards with one touchdown through three games despite missing time in the season-opening loss to the Arizona Cardinals on Sept. 13 because of a rib injury. He had 82 receptions for 1,149 yards and seven touchdowns as a rookie, and had reasserted himself this season as the top option in the passing game for quarterback Justin Herbert following a drop in production in 2025.

The Chargers are 0-3, having failed to score more than 16 points in any of their first three games.

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Astronauts arrive at International Space Station on the quickest US express flight yet

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — Four astronauts pulled up at the International Space Station on Thursday after launching on an eight-hour express that set a U.S. speed record.

The fresh arrivals include a Canadian whose wife will give birth while he’s away.

SpaceX launched commander Jessica Watkins and her crew for NASA after a three-week delay to fix their Dragon capsule’s leaking fuel system. Thick clouds threatened all morning to halt the countdown but in the end, the skies cleared enough to allow for a safe liftoff.

Although their stay at the International Space Station will last a long six months, the flight there was the quickest yet not only for Elon Musk’s company, but any American entity, including NASA. The space station's convenient location when the astronauts launched enabled the fast transit.

With the late morning liftoff from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Watkins became the first Black woman to lead a crew to orbit. A geologist who worked with NASA’s Mars rover Curiosity a decade ago, Watkins is making her second trip to the space station following a lengthy stay in 2022.

“Thanks for an amazing ride,” Watkins radioed following liftoff.

The others are newcomers to space: NASA’s Luke Delaney, a retired Marine; Canada’s Joshua Kutryk, a colonel in the Royal Canadian Air Force; and Russia’s Sergey Teteryatnikov, a former submariner. They will replace four astronauts who have been living at the orbiting laboratory since February.

This was the 13th crew launched by SpaceX for NASA, not counting 2020's test flight. All four embrace their Crew-13 designation that pays homage in their mission patch to Apollo 13. The harrowing 1970 moonshot ended with the astronauts’ safe return.

References to the number 13 abounded Thursday. Watkins and her crew rode to the launch pad in black Teslas bearing plates that read “Lucky 13.” What's more, they carried up a small crocheted golden dragon named Lucky with a four-leaf clover around its neck.

“We figured it wouldn't hurt to bring a little of our own luck just in case, but clearly we don't need it,” Watkins said from orbit, noting they were “four of the luckiest humans on or off planet Earth.”

Kutryk will become the fourth man to become a father while orbiting Earth. Wife Heather is due to give birth to their third child in late November. The Canadian Space Agency promises plenty of support for the entire family when the big day comes.

“A lot of life-changing things can happen over six months,” NASA manager Dana Weigel said on the eve of liftoff, noting that the space agency will do its best to keep Kutryk looped in to his family.

In 2004, NASA provided a radio link between space station astronaut Mike Fincke and his wife’s delivery room during the birth of their daughter. Five years later, Randy Bresnik, commander of next year’s Artemis III mission, dialed in to his wife’s hospital from orbit.

The happy news traveled more slowly for Austrian astronaut Franz Viehbock. His daughter was born a few hours after he launched to the Soviet Union’s Mir space station in 1991. He was not informed until the next day.

SpaceX, meanwhile, is on a roll. Three hours after Crew-13 blasted off, SpaceX launched a Falcon rocket from California with more than 100 mini satellites. Another Falcon was set to soar late Thursday night from Florida, with a classified satellite for the National Reconnaissance Office. All this comes the same week that the company's massive Starship reached orbit for the first time.

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