SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) — Any questions about the San Francisco 49ers' offensive line after getting overwhelmed in two late-season losses to Seattle last season have been quieted with an impressive start this season.
The Niners once again protected Brock Purdy well on Sunday even against Denver's fierce defensive line, becoming the first team in 21 years to open the season with four straight games without allowing a sack after beating the Broncos 24-14.
“I think everybody in the locker room goes through those times where you’ve got to be a little bit, I guess, for lack of a better word, crazy, in a sense to where you’ve got to believe that you’re the best,” left tackle Trent Williams said. “It’s the belief and the confidence that allows you to play like you can be that. I’ve always thought we had the talent to be one of the best O-lines in the league.”
The 49ers (4-0) are playing like that early this season with returning starters Williams, Jake Brendel, Dominick Puni and Colton McKivitz and newcomer Connor Colby doing their best to keep Purdy clean.
San Francisco is the first team since Indianapolis in 2005 to open the season without allowing a sack in the first four games and just the fifth team to do it since team sacks began being tracked in 1963.
The latest clean sheet came against a Broncos defense that has led the NFL in sacks since the start of the 2024 season.
“That says a lot, especially versus that front," coach Kyle Shanahan said. "They’re a really good pass rush team. Says a lot that we were able to run the ball so much too, so we could stay balanced and not let them be one-dimensional. I thought Brock did a good job avoiding some too. It starts with the O-Line, but collectively it’s been a huge deal and definitely wasn’t expecting to do that all the way up until now.”
Purdy has been under pressure on 35 drop-backs, according to Pro Football Focus, the second fewest for any team so far this season. But he has also done a good job getting rid of the ball quickly, as well as escaping pressure when it comes.
“For me to be able to drop back behind those guys, I’m extremely blessed,” he said. "Obviously it’s a long year. We’ve got a long ways to go as an offense and as a team, but just extremely happy with how they’re playing and what they’re playing for.”
The next test comes Sunday at Seattle against a Seahawks team that sacked Purdy five times and held the 49ers out of the end zone in wins in Week 18 last season to clinch the division and in the divisional round.
Passing to George Kittle. Kittle had four catches for 70 yards and a game-sealing 56-yard touchdown in his fourth game back from major surgery on his Achilles tendon. Kittle looks back in his usual form and currently leads all tight ends with four TD catches and ranks third with 244 yards receiving. Purdy has a 139.6 passer rating in his career when targeting Kittle, the best mark for any QB-pass catcher combination since at least 2000.
Third down defense. The Niners allowed Denver to convert on 8 of 17 third downs and rank fifth worst in the league over the past three weeks by allowing conversions on 48% of third downs.
Siran Neal. A week after a punt hit his leg while he was blocking to lead to a turnover, Neal made the momentum-changing play when he stripped Marvin Mims Jr. on a punt return to set up the Niners' offense with a short field for the go-ahead touchdown.
Secondary receivers. The injuries that have sidelined Ricky Pearsall, De'Zhaun Stribling and Demarcus Robinson have left San Francisco thin at receiver. Brandin Cooks, Jacob Cowing and Jordan Watkins ran 22 combined routes and were targeted just twice with no catches.
FB Kyle Juszczyk will miss a few weeks with a hyperextended knee and bone bruise. ... S Marques Sigle (high ankle sprain) also will miss a few weeks. ... CB Upton Stout (shoulder) is day to day and could play this week. ... DE Nick Bosa (calf) and DT James Thompson (ankle) will remain sidelined this week. ... DE Mykel Williams (knee) will ramp up practice this week and could be activated from the physically unable to perform list.
15. The 49ers have scored 16 touchdowns this season with 15 of them coming from players in their 30s. That is tied with the 2002 Raiders for the most TDs by players 30 or older in the first four games of a season.
The 49ers visit Seattle on Sunday in search of their fifth 5-0 start in the Super Bowl era. San Francisco made the Super Bowl in three of the four previous seasons, including in 2019 and '23 under Shanahan.
See AP’s full NFL coverage here
San Francisco 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey (23) runs next to a block by offensive tackle Trent Williams (71) during the second half of an NFL football game against the Arizona Cardinals in Santa Clara, Calif., Sunday, Sept. 27, 2026. (AP Photo/Kelley L. Cox)
San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy (13) drops back to pass against the Denver Broncos during the first half of an NFL football game in Santa Clara, Calif., Sunday, Oct. 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Kelley L. Cox)
San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy (13) throws a pass during the first half of an NFL football game against the Denver Broncos in Santa Clara, Calif., Sunday, Oct. 4, 2026. (Stephen Lam/San Francisco Chronicle via AP)
President Donald Trump is taking his Republican midterm rescue mission to Nebraska on Monday, campaigning alongside GOP Sen. Pete Ricketts, who is running against an independent candidate backed by national Democrats.
It’s part of what the Republican president says is a 32-day blitz of rallies ahead of Nov. 3 that so far has taken him to ruby-red territory such as Oklahoma and Alabama. His upcoming stop, Grand Island, is located in Nebraska’s solidly conservative south-central region.
Across the country, voters are frustrated with Trump’s handling of the economy, including persistently high costs for fuel and groceries. It’s a major issue for rural voters who have backed the president and his party in recent elections. But so far on the campaign trail, Trump has dismissed those economic concerns.
The administration’s plan to allow more imports of foreign beef has particularly roiled the agriculture-rich state of Nebraska. Trump wants to lower beef prices for consumers, but ranchers have rebelled against the import proposal, arguing it would undercut them.
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In a post on his social media site, Trump defended the ads, which cost close to at least $1.5 million in federal funds, as “positive promotion for our Great U.S.A.”
“This is a rather standard thing to do,” he wrote of the ads being paid for taxpayers.
Trump added that he’d “decided to do the Patriotic Ads, among others, and pay for them myself, and with money I raised for MAGA, Inc.,” which is his political fund.
The White House did not immediately answer a question on whether Trump’s political group might reimburse taxpayers for ads that have already aired, or how the president might prove he’d made good on his promise.
The president was responding to a reporter’s question when he said the most populous county in the presidential battleground state, home to Phoenix, should “be ashamed of themselves.”
“Now they’re saying it was an error,” Trump said. “Maricopa is a very, very dishonest county.”
The exchange referred to a vendor error that came to light over the weekend. The Maricopa County Recorder’s Office said Runbeck Election Services told it that it “mistakenly mailed 3,126 early ballots the previous day,” six days before they were scheduled to be sent to voters.
The ballots were mailed to the correct voters, are still valid and can be completed and returned by those voters, the recorder’s office said in a statement.
Judy Keane, a spokesperson for the office, did not offer a response to the president’s comments and referred to statements issued by her office and Runbeck.
Maricopa County has about 2.5 million registered voters.
The vice president and second lady Usha Vance were traveling to Alaska with their two youngest children, daughter Mirabel and baby Alec, who was born in July.
Vance joked with reporters that the trip would be their first long flight with the baby and he may look haggard upon arrival because of it.
AI experts testified about the dangers of the emerging technology in a lengthy New York City Council hearing, calling Monday for greater oversight as local governments move to respond to mounting concerns that the systems could endanger humanity, despite the Trump administration’s hands-off approach.
Recently departed employees of Anthropic, OpenAI and Google DeepMind described a reckless culture at the firms, saying the biggest tech companies are racing to create technology they do not understand how to control.
“The companies run on a startup mindset: Move fast, break things, fix them later. That works for a photo sharing app. It does not work for building the most powerful technology ever built,” said Jacob Coxon, a former engineer at Anthropic. “On the current path, I think it is more likely than not that humanity loses control to these AIs and it could end in human extinction.”
Trump has dismissed AI fears as a “hoax” and signed a “superintelligence” agreement that largely allows the AI companies to self-police.
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Slightly fewer than half of Democratic voters in the AP-NORC poll say their party is “too moderate,” while a similar share say it is “about right.” That is a sharp contrast with Republican voters, who mostly say their party is “about right.”
Voters such as Meagan Ludwig of Milwaukee illustrate the party discontent that has emerged in Wisconsin and other closely contested states this year. Ludwig voted for democratic socialist Francesca Hong in the Democratic primary for governor in August.
“We need to seize the opportunity to boldly enact policies that will improve the lives of Americans,” said Ludwig, who is married and has an elementary school-age child. “I’m tired of us pursuing incremental change.”
“I don’t know about Maine, I think we’re going to Maine, too,” the president told reporters while leaving the White House to fly to Nebraska. “But I’m going to Michigan in about a week and a half.”
Competitive Senate races in both Michigan and Maine have captured national attention.
Trump also said of the 30-plus trips he’s pledged to visit prior to Election Day on Nov. 3: “We’re sort of scheduled to be someplace almost every night.”
The president said he didn’t want to tempt “the enemy” by having Air Force bombers at base in England, prompting the airplanes to be brought home to the U.S.
The bombers had been used to strike Iran and Trump said, “We had a threat” connected to Iran. The return followed an investigation into a planned terror attack at the RAF Fairford base.
“So we moved them around a little bit, not very far,” Trump said.
“We’re looking at it very strongly. We just heard about it,” Trump told reporters at the White House on Monday when asked about a Siberian plague research institute where authorities say an employee died of pneumonia from an “unknown” case.
“We’ll help,” Trump added. “Anybody that has that kind of a problem, we’re always willing to help.”
Asked if he plans to aid farmers by easing limits on red dye diesel, the president said, “Yeah, I’ll be helping them with diesel.”
Diesel fuel prices have spiked in the aftermath of the Iran war, but dyed diesel fuel is cheaper because it’s exempt from federal and state excise taxes. Temporarily removing the limits would reduce cost pressures on the businesses that rely on diesel.
“We are doing a lot for the farmers,” Trump said. “We’ve given them a lot and we help them a lot. And the farmers are with me all the way.”
The Department of Energy is lending up to $4.2 billion to help modernize nuclear plants in Pennsylvania and Ohio.
The department announced a conditional loan commitment Monday for Vistra’s nuclear fleet to help meet the region’s growing electricity demand.
President Donald Trump set a goal of quadrupling domestic production of nuclear power within 25 years.
Vistra’s planned investments at Beaver Valley Power Station in Pennsylvania and Davis-Besse Nuclear Power Station and Perry Nuclear Power Plant in Ohio will produce more electricity from the nuclear plants and extend the life of the reactors.
Energy Secretary Chris Wright said this is a way to deliver more affordable, reliable, around-the-clock energy.
The vice president was asked about the administration’s plans to use $20 million in taxpayer money to pay for campaign-style television ads that glorify Trump and have drawn bipartisan criticism.
Vance defended the ads and said, “I don’t think there’s anything unusual or unorthodox about it. I’m sure that some people probably don’t like it, but if you look at the message of those advertisements, they’re not partisan.”
He added that, “It’s not like we’re advocating for a particular candidate.”
But the ads are openly extolling the president and one is nearly identical to an ad that his 2024 campaign aired.
There are tentative plans for Trump to travel in the weeks leading up to Election Day to Michigan, North Carolina, Georgia, Ohio, Kansas, Montana, Pennsylvania, Alaska, Nevada, Arizona, and Texas, according to a person familiar with the plans who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly. But the person cautioned that the plans could shift.
After stumping in the critical Senate battleground on Saturday, the president is returning to Ohio next week.
This time, he’ll be in Youngstown, which is in the northeastern part of the state. The rally is scheduled for Monday evening. Trump campaigned in Vandalia, just outside Dayton in southwestern Ohio, over the weekend.
Appointed GOP Sen. Jon Husted is running for election against former Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown in one of the most closely watched Senate races this year.
Democrats say their nominee for governor in Ohio, Dr. Amy Acton, represents the party’s best chance in years to win that office.
To do so, she will have to win over independents, some Republicans upset with the direction of their party and Democrats who have drifted away from the party in recent years.
She is campaigning throughout the state, with a focus on rural areas that have swung heavily Republican since President Donald Trump emerged on the political stage. Focusing on the needs of rural Ohio also is a strategy pursued by Acton’s Republican opponent, Vivek Ramaswamy, a wealthy biotech entrepreneur and 2024 presidential contender.
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Trump last week announced plans for South Korea to invest in the project, but while the president described it as a done deal, South Korean officials said they needed to assess the project’s commercial viability before committing to the investment.
Vance said Monday that “I think it’s something that’s going to happen. Obviously, you still got to work out some of the details” and said that South Korean had “spoken to that.”
“I think we’re going to be able to get it done,” he added.
From the start, he had barely more than 100 days to mount a campaign against New England’s last Republican senator. Jackson is a logger, union activist and former president of the Maine Senate who is trying to flip a seat that’s key to Democrats’ effort to win control of the Senate.
Jackson has deficits in the race in terms of money, recognition around the state and, perhaps most of all, time. Jackson became the party’s nominee in late July after the campaign of Democratic primary winner Graham Platner fell apart.
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A major cryptocurrency spending group is backing 32 House candidates from both parties ahead of the November midterms.
Fairshake will spend $1 million each to support six candidates, including several in competitive races. All 32 backed a major crypto bill that stalled in the Senate this year.
Fairshake is emphasizing its bipartisan approach, but its largest general election investment is nearly $30 million against Democratic Senate candidate Sherrod Brown in Ohio.
The group also spent heavily against Brown in 2024. Fairshake and its affiliates still have about $120 million available, raising questions about where they will spend next.
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Voters give Democrats the advantage when it comes to which party would be better to handle the cost of living, according to a new AP-NORC poll.
The survey finds 38% of registered voters say the Democrats would be better for costs, compared with 27% who pick the Republicans. The issue was about evenly split among U.S. adults in February, with about 3 in 10 saying each party would be better.
Democrats have also gained ground on the economy. About 4 in 10 registered voters say the Democrats are better on this issue, compared with 26% of U.S. adults in February.
These shifts are good news for Democratic candidates who are hammering an increasingly unpopular president — and by extension, his party. But the survey also points to a bigger problem for both parties: Few registered voters think either party is able to solve important problems or help Americans like them.
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The former president plans to appear with Democratic Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed at an Oct. 24 rally.
Other Michigan Democrats on the ballot also will be there, including Jocelyn Benson, the nominee for governor.
Obama is upping involvement in the midterm election. He taped two dozen ads last week for Democratic candidates for governor and Senate that will be released in the coming days and weeks. He’ll also announce additional campaign stops.
The rally for El-Sayed aims to help him shore up support in Detroit, where he was outperformed in the primary by Rep. Haley Stevens.
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A new rule was finalized that requires healthcare providers to disclose more accessible public pricing disclosures.
The rule requires providers to post machine-readable files monthly for each plan or coverage they offer, and mandates that insurers cut out “ghost rates”-- or negotiated rates between insurers and medical providers for services never performed.
The rule builds on standards crafted in 2020, by addressing issues with oversized files and difficult data navigation.
At a press conference, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said the new rule provides a “clear view of what healthcare actually costs.”
FTC Chairman Andrew Ferguson issued a formal warning to major for-profit hospital groups regarding their legal obligation to provide truthful pricing.
Kevin K. Russell made the argument on behalf of the city of Boulder which is asking the Supreme Court to allow it to move forward with a lawsuit against energy companies holding them responsible for the local costs of climate change.
The case involves complex questions about whether the high court can limit certain types of lawsuits from states. Justice Elena Kagan suggested the case is similar to state lawsuits against tobacco companies or opioid manufacturers.
But Chief Justice John Roberts told Russell that, if he won, he could envision numerous cities filing similar lawsuits the next day.
Russell acknowledged “there could be a lot of litigation,” but said “nothing in the constitution” prohibits that.
Nebraska Democrats are planning a protest Monday afternoon ahead of President Donald Trump’s speech at the home of the State Fair in Grand Island.
Trump is visiting the state on the day early voting begins to rally Republican support for incumbent Sen. Pete Ricketts and Gov. Jim Pillen, who are both running for reelection.
“Republicans are in trouble, even in Nebraska,” state Democratic Party Chair Jane Kleeb said. “Nebraskans are angry at the con job, the fake outrage and the broken promises.”
Ricketts and his independent challenger Dan Osborn have flooded the airwaves with ads attacking each other leading up to the election. The Democrats are supporting Osborn’s campaign and won’t have a candidate on the November ballot.
Trump won more than two-thirds of the vote in Hall County in 2024, so many are excited he is coming to Grand Island.
Rocke Jruzenski, who told KETV that he plans to attend the rally, said he is looking forward to the visit.
“I can’t believe the people that have negativity about this. This is one of the most amazing things that will ever happen to Grand Island,” Jruzenski said.
President Donald Trump talks with reporters before boarding Marine One on the South Lawn of the White House, Monday, Oct. 5, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
President Donald Trump walks to board Air Force One, Monday, Oct. 5, 2026, at Joint Base Andrews, Md., escorted by Air Force 89th Air Wing Deputy Commander Melissa Dombrock. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
President Donald Trump talks with reporters before boarding Marine One on the South Lawn of the White House, Monday, Oct. 5, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
FILE - President Donald Trump talks with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth after a roundtable on criminal cartels in the State Dining Room of the White House, Oct. 23, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File)
A replica of President Donald Trump's Oval Office is updated to the current decor by workers at "The People's House: A White House Experience," in Washington, Friday, Oct. 2, 2026. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
FILE - Mary Peltola, a Democrat running for the U.S. Senate seat in Alaska, addresses supporters at an election watch party on Aug. 18, 2026, in Anchorage, Alaska. (AP Photo/Mark Thiessen, File)
Signs for Democratic candidates in the 2026 midterm election are seen outside of a home in Racine, Wis., Tuesday, Sept. 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)
Members of the press watch as Marine One with President Donald Trump aboard lifts off from the South Lawn of the White House, Friday, Oct. 2, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
