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The 6-3 decision included three liberals and three conservatives in the majority. The coalition included Chief Justice John Roberts and Justices Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan, Neil Gorsuch, Amy Coney Barrett and Ketanji Brown Jackson. Justices Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito and Brett Kavanaugh dissented.

The six justices found that the law known as the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, or IEEPA, does not give the president the power to impose tariffs.

Enacted in 1977, IEEPA authorizes the president to "regulate … importation" to deal with "any unusual and extraordinary threat" to national security, foreign policy or the U.S. economy. When he announced hismost sweeping tariffs on nearly every countrylast April, Mr. Trump invoked IEEPA to respond to what he said were "large and persistent" trade deficits. He also relied on the law tohit China, Canada and Mexico with leviesover what the president claimed was their failure to stem the flow of illicit fentanyl and other drugs into the U.S.

No president before Mr. Trump had used IEEPA to impose tariffs, and the law does not use that word or others like it, such as duty, levy or tax.

All six of the justices who were in the majority agreed that IEEPA does not give the president the power to impose levies.

"Our task today is to decide only whether the power to 'regulate … importation,' as granted to the president in IEEPA, embraces the power to impose tariffs," Roberts wrote for the majority. "It does not."

756.07 KBThe Supreme Court's decision in Learning Resources v. TrumpThe Supreme Court struck down President Trump's authority to impose broad tariffs under an emergency powers law.

The court said tariffs are different from the other authorities laid out in IEEPA and, unlike those, they "operate directly on domestic importers to raise revenue for the Treasury." The majority said that under the government's interpretation of the phrase "regulate … importation," the president could impose duties "of unlimited amount and duration, on any product from any country."

"When Congress grants the power to impose tariffs, it does so clearly and with careful constraints," Roberts wrote in a portion of his decision joined by the other five colleagues in the majority. "It did neither here."

While the six justices agreed that the president does not have the authority to impose tariffs under IEEPA, there were notable divisions over their reasoning.

Major questions doctrine

The three conservative justices — Roberts, Gorsuch and Barrett — applied what's known as the major questions doctrine, which says that broad assertions of power claimed by the executive on issues of political or economic significance must be clearly authorized by Congress.

The Supreme Court's conservative wing has relied on that doctrine in past cases testing the legality of major policies from the executive branch, including when itstruck downPresident Joe Biden's student loan forgiveness plan andblocked an eviction moratoriumduring the COVID-19 pandemic.

Only Gorsuch and Barrett joined the section of Roberts' opinion that invoked the major questions doctrine.

The president, Roberts wrote, "must 'point to clear congressional authorization' to justify his extraordinary assertion of power to impose tariffs. He cannot."

Congress would not be expected to "relinquish its tariff power through vague language" or without constraints, the chief justice wrote.

"When Congress has delegated its tariff powers, it has done so in explicit terms, and subject to strict limits," Roberts said.

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He also said that the economic and political consequences of the tariffs implemented under IEEPA are "astonishing."

"The Government points to projections that the tariffs will reduce the national deficit by $4 trillion, and that international agreements reached in reliance on the tariffs could be worth $15 trillion," Roberts wrote. "In the President's view, whether 'we are a rich nation' or a 'poor' one hangs in the balance. These stakes dwarf those of other major questions cases."

Statutory interpretation

On the other side of the majority, the liberal justices — Sotomayor, Kagan and Jackson — agreed that IEEPA doesn't give the president the power to impose tariffs, but reached the conclusion using what Kagan said were the "ordinary tools of statutory interpretation."

"IEEPA gives the President significant authority over transactions involving foreign property, including the importation of goods. But in that generous delegation, one power is conspicuously missing," Kagan wrote in a concurring opinion joined by Sotomayor and Jackson. "Nothing in IEEPA's text, nor anything in its context, enables the President to unilaterally impose tariffs. And needless to say, without statutory authority, the President's tariffs cannot stand."

All six of the justices in the majority agreed that IEEPA is silent on the power to impose tariffs, and no president before Mr. Trump understood the law to authorize duties.

"Each president read the statutes as Congress wrote them, with IEEPA enabling him to regulate imports and Title 19 enabling him — in confined situations — to tax those foreign goods," Kagan wrote, referring to the portion of the U.S. Code that covers customs duties. "None, as far as anyone has suggested, even considered doing otherwise."

The dissenters

The principal dissent came from Kavanaugh, who wrote that the president's authority under IEEPA to "regulate … importation" encompasses tariffs. There is a long tradition of presidents imposing duties as a way of regulating importation and commerce, he said. Thomas and Alito joined his dissent.

"Like quotas and embargoes, tariffs are a traditional and common tool to regulate importation," Kavanaugh said.

He wrote that IEEPA allows the president to impose quotas or embargoes on foreign imports, which he said are more severe tools than tariffs. The law, he said, does not draw distinctions between those actions and instead "empowers the president to regulate imports during national emergencies with the tools presidents have traditionally and commonly used, including quotas, embargoes, and tariffs."

Regarding the major questions doctrine, Kavanaugh said it is satisfied in this case because the "statutory text, history and precedent constitute 'clear congressional authorization' for the president to impose levies under IEEPA." Plus, presidents throughout history have imposed tariffs as a way to "regulate … importation," he continued.

Kavanaugh also argued that the Supreme Court has never applied the major questions doctrine to matters of foreign affairs, including foreign trade.

"In foreign affairs cases, courts read the statute as written and do not employ the major questions doctrine as a thumb on the scale against the president," Kavanaugh said.

He noted, however, that the ruling may not significantly constrain a president's ability to set tariffs moving forward, since there are many other statutes that can be used to justify the tariffs at issue in the case.

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The siblings grew up with their parents among the Cypress trees and grassy horse fields in a rural area outside West Palm Beach. She was in kindergarten when he was born.

Virginiacalled him Skydy Bump, or just Skydy. He was named after their father.

Epstein abuse survivor Danielle Bensky holds up a photo of her younger self during a news conference with lawmakers on the Epstein Files Transparency Act outside the U.S. Capitol on November 18, 2025 in Washington, DC. The House is expected to vote today on the legislation, which instructs the U.S. Department of Justice to release all files related to the late accused sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein.

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Alleged victims of Jeffrey Epstein rally at Capitol Hill to demand release of files

Epstein abuse survivor Danielle Bensky holds up a photo of her younger self during a news conference with lawmakers onthe Epstein Files Transparency Actoutside the U.S. Capitol on November 18, 2025 in Washington, DC.The House is expected to vote today on the legislation, which instructs the U.S. Department of Justice to release all files related to the late accused sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein.

His crib was in her room, and Virginia, who later became a key voice drawing the world's attention to the Jeffrey Epstein sex trafficking allegations, later wrote that "I felt as if he were my baby." When he woke in the night, she comforted him.

They looked out for each other.

When their parents walked around with beer cans in their hands, she carried him.

And when Sky and Virginia were playing in a backyard sandpit one day, her little brother tugged on her T-shirt, pointing toward a snake. She grabbed him and ran to the house.

Her mom said she's saved his life. It was a deadly water moccasin.

Now Sky Roberts is trying his best to stand up for his big sister.Virginia Roberts Giuffre, who later wrote a memoir, said she was trafficked to engage in sex withPrince Andrew, who has since been stripped of that title by the royal family, when she was a teenager. She later became one of the most outspoken people reporting they'd been sexually abused by Epstein and his longtime friend Andrew, the former Duke of York.

More:Jeffrey Epstein victimized 1,000 women and children. His survivors have a message.

A day after Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, as he's now known, was arrested on suspicion of misconduct in public office, the pride Sky Roberts holds for his sister is difficult to hide.

"We're seeing her as a truthteller, and I'm happy the world is seeing that, too," Roberts said Feb. 19 in a CBS interview. "It shows we have more work to do."

In her memoir"Nobody's Girl," Roberts Giuffre describes how she was effectively Epstein's sex slave for two years and how the then-prince raped her when she was 17. The book was published in October 2025, six months after she died by suicide. Mountbatten-Windsor has not been charged with a related sex crime and Epstein died awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges.

But the book also tells the story of a southern Florida childhood – of homemade bike ramps and treehouses, ponds with snapping turtles and a goat named Cordelius, and a love for her little brother who called her "Sissie."

Five years older, she protected him when their parents were fighting, covering his ears, and she shielded him from abuse at the hands of their father.

Sky Roberts later stood by her when she accused Prince Andrew, once second in line to the throne, of abuse. He supported his sister as she told her story over and over, even when people dismissed and disparaged her.

Since her death, he's stood with otherEpstein accusersas they testified before Congress in 2025. Giuffre Roberts became a lightning rod to many people who said they'd been abused or trafficked by Epstein and his associateGhislaine Maxwell.

Andrew, who was stripped of his titles in 2025 and settled a civil suit with Giuffre Roberts in 2022, did not admit to wrongdoing and he hasn't been arrested for sex crimes. The former prince's arrest came after he'd faced intense scrutiny over his friendship with Epstein. Previous reports show Mountbatten-Windsor may haveimproperly shared government documentswith the convicted sex offender.

Taking all this in, Sky Roberts told CBS News,"It shows we have more work to do."

'No one is above the law, not even royalty'

Sky Roberts woke up to a phone call at 3 a.m. on Feb. 19.

His first thought: It's bad news.

"You're always worried when you get a phone call that early in the morning," he told NPR on Feb. 19.

It was Dini von Mueffling, one of his sister's closest friends and her publicist.

Andrew had been arrested.

Sky told his wife, Amanda Roberts, who jumped out of bed.

"It was a huge moment," Amanda Roberts told NPR. "It was a moment of celebratory victory."

By 5 a.m., the couple gave their first TV interview.

Then at breakfast, Roberts broke down.

"I just bawled," he told NPR. "It's very important that we don't forget how hard these survivors and the survivors' sisters have been pushing, that we wouldn't be here today without Virginia."

By 8 a.m., Sky and his wife, and his older brother Danny and Lanette Wilson, released a statement.

"At last. Today, our broken hearts have been lifted at the news that no one is above the law, not even royalty. On behalf of our sister, Virginia Roberts Giuffre, we extend our gratitude to the UK's Thames Valley Police for their investigation and arrest of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor. He was never a prince. For survivors everywhere, Virginia did this for you."

More:Epstein pulled strings, paid tuition across world for kids of powerful

Sky and his wife spent the day sharing their thoughts with reporters from CNN and CBS News, the BBC and NBC. They wore blue and silver butterfly pins, a symbol adopted by Epstein accusers to represent hope, resilience and support for victims.

They recounted how they were roused from bed, how they'd gone through a range of emotions.

"A bit of shock hits you at that moment," Amanda Roberts told CBS News. "We celebrated in that moment, and we were just like awestruck. Usually, we (could) call (Roberts Giuffre) on the phone and jump up and down and just tell her how proud we are of her tenacity and courage."

What's important now, Sky Roberts told NPR, is that people "acknowledge the survivors and what they went through."

Pushing back on abuse

Sky Roberts always knew his big sister looked after him.

She carried him, even as his toddler legs dangled alongside hers.

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By 6, she said,their father began abusing her, coming in during the night to her room. In a statement included in her memoir, he denies the abuse.

"He told me I was his special girl, his favorite, and that this was his way of giving me extra love," she wrote in her memoir.

She pushed back. Her father, she wrote, threatened to take away her horse Alice.

Soon her dad was sending her to his friend's house, where the friend abused her, too, she wrote.

Roberts Giuffre wrote about how her mother seemed jealous of her father's closeness with her. When her parents fought, Roberts Giuffre would huddle with her little brother, covering his ears. She was 11. He was 6.

Her mother sent her to live with an aunt in California and later to a facility for troubled teens. When she returned, she wrote, it wasn't her parents she had missed.

"I think of Skydy, running out the back door, the screen slamming shut as he flung himself into my arms," she wrote of her return home.

Book recalls Epstein's threat to harm her brother

At 16, Roberts Giuffre got a job as a locker room attendant at a nearby resort,Mar-a-Lago,where her father was a maintenance man.

Just before she turned 17, she met Epstein andMaxwell. Maxwell was later sentenced to prison for sex trafficking. Epstein died by suicide in 2019 while awaiting trial on similar allegations.

She didn't tell her family when Epstein began abusing her, she wrote.

She writes in her memoir that the abuse began when she was interviewing for a job as a masseuse: "My body couldn't escape this room, but my mind couldn't bear to stay, so it put me on kind of autopilot: submissive and determined to survive."

The massages led to sex with Epstein and the men he trafficked her to, she wrote.

She thought about trying to leave. That's when Epstein handed her a grainy photograph, she wrote.

"It was unmistakably my little brother. Skydy."

Virginia Giuffre memoir on alleged abuse by Prince Andrew coming months after her death.

"We know where your brother goes to school," Epstein told her. "You must never tell a soul what goes on in this house."

Her brother was 12.

"I had no choice. I believed, but to accept that and make the best of it – for Skydy's sake, if not my own."

'Don't ever walk away with my kids again'

Roberts didn't know the lengths his sister had gone to protect him until they were adults.

He and his then-girlfriend, who would become his wife, lived with Roberts Giuffre and her husband and three young children in 2013 in Florida.

Even then, he called her "Sissie."

Within a year, she and Roberts and her oldest brother, Danny Wilson, their mother's child from a previous relationship, all lived close.

The siblings all had children, three little girls among them. Roberts Giuffre kept her daughter from spending time alone with her father.

She decided she needed to tell her brothers why.

"My brothers didn't know to take those precautions because I'd never told them what Dad had done to me, she wrote.

At first, she wrote, neither brother wanted to believe her.

"By the end of the night, all of us were in tears," she wrote.

Wilson confronted his stepdad.

Then Roberts confronted his father, who had taken his daughter alone to a Tampa Buccaneers game.

"Don't ever walk away with my kids again," he said, according to Roberts Giuffre's memoir. "And you know why, right?" he told his father.

'There's only one of us telling the truth'

Roberts saw how hard his sister pushed, even when no one seemed to believe her.

Roberts Giuffre often said this: "He knows what he did. I know what he did and there's only one of us telling the truth. And I know that's me."

Her brother holds on to that now.

He remembers how she was able to create a beautiful life with three children, even through her struggles.

Now he says we need to move beyond acknowledging survivors.

"We need to see action from our DOJ," he told NPR. "I think what we're asking for is that this administration needs to stop protecting the predators and the pedophiles."

While Roberts prepares to make comments to the media after President Donald Trump's State of the Union address scheduled for Feb. 24, he wants to remind people it's not about politics. He and his wife will attend as guests of Democratic Reps. Jamie Raskin and Suhas Subramanyam, to honor the work Roberts Giuffre did in bringing Epstein's crimes to light.

"This is a human issue. We have to work politics through it because our laws are broken. They are broken for survivors of sexual abuse," Roberts said to CBS. "This generation deserves better."

Laura Trujillo is a national columnist focusing on health and wellness. She is the author of "Stepping Back from the Ledge: A Daughter's Search for Truth and Renewal" and can be reached at ltrujillo@usatoday.com.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:Sky Roberts seeks justice for his sister Virginia Roberts Giuffre

German school kids react to Germany mulling social media ban for minors

STUTTGART, Germany, Feb 21 (Reuters) - Germany's ruling conservatives on Saturday passed a motion to ban social media use for under 14s and introduce more stringent digital verification checks for teenagers, building momentum for such ‌limits in Germany and elsewhere in Europe.

At a party conference in the city of Stuttgart, Chancellor Friedrich Merz's ‌Christian Democratic Union also called for fines for online platforms that failed to enforce such limits, and European Union-wide harmonisation of age standards.

A growing number of ​countries, including Spain, Greece, France and Britain, are looking at similar social media bans or restrictions on accessing platforms like TikTok or Instagram.

It follows the example of Australia, which last year became the first country to force platforms to cut off access for children.

European nations are more broadly ratcheting up pressure on social media companies, risking a backlash from the United States. President Donald Trump has threatened ‌tariffs and sanctions if EU countries impose new ⁠tech taxes or online regulations that hit U.S. firms.

"We call on the federal government to introduce a legal age limit of 14 for the use of social networks and to address the special ⁠need for protection in the digital sphere up to the age of 16," said the motion that passed on Saturday.

Merz's coalition partners the Social Democrats have also backed social media curbs for children. Pressure from both parties in the coalition makes it increasingly likely that the ​federal ​government will push for restrictions.

However, under Germany's federal system, media regulation is ​a state‑level responsibility and states must negotiate with ‌each other to agree consistent nationwide rules.

SCHOOLCHILDREN IN BONN DISCUSS THE BAN

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The ban could affect children like those at the Cardinal Frings Gymnasium in the city of Bonn, several of whom a day earlier were scrolling on their phones in the school grounds.

"I think it's fair, but I think it should be up to the parents to decide whether to forbid it, not the state," said 13-year-old Moritz, who says he only watches YouTube.

"For children under 12 it should be forbidden, but from age 12 onwards ‌I think children can already distinguish between what is fake news and ​what is not."

His classmate Emma, 13, almost exclusively uses Snapchat, but has ​a time limit on her phone.

A ban would be "kind ​of unusual, because you get used to sending your snap in the morning before school, or what ‌my friends do, like just scrolling through Instagram or ​TikTok for a bit," she said.

Ella, ​12, scrolls through social media several times a day.

"So I have TikTok and Instagram myself, but I understand that it's all addictive, and the more you scroll, the more you want to see."

Teacher Till Franke said that for ​many of the children, "it would be a ‌shock at first, because of this daily use of social media".

But eventually, the students would get used to it, ​he said, "because they would find other niches where they could communicate with each other".

(Andreas Rinke, Stephane Nitschke ​and Petra Wischgoll; Writing by Matthias Williams; Editing by Jan Harvey)

"There is communication,"Reid said about Kelce's status. "That's the main thing. I've said this before: As long as there's communication, I'm good. That means people want to move forward. I think that's where Travis is."

While Reid has talked to Kelce about returning for his 14th season, he said he has not talked to Hill about reuniting with the team.

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"I don't even know if Tyreek is healthy right now to do anything,"Reid said."So I'm sure he's working hard on that part of it and trying to get that all straightened out. Listen, we talk about everything. There's nothing happening there, but we know that he's out there and working hard, trying to get himself back to where he can play, period."

Hill last played for the Chiefs in 2021 before being traded to the Miami Dolphins the following season. The 31-year-old wide receiver wasreleased by the Dolphinson Monday after four seasons with the team. Hill is recovering from a dislocated knee and a torn ACL that ended his season in Week 4.

In January,Hill reacted on Twitterafter the Chiefs hired offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy. Hill had career years under Bieniemy, who previously coached in Kansas City. From 2018-21, Hill averaged 85.8 catches per year, with 1,213.5 receiving yards and 10.8 touchdowns.

Reid also told reporters that quarterback Patrick Mahomes is doing a great job in the rehab process. Mahomes is recovering from a season-ending torn ACL and LCL in his left knee that he suffered in Week 15.

The school said it was "a mutual parting of ways." Assistant coach Jon Jordan had been serving as the interim coach.

"Coach Scott's passion for the game of basketball has long been evident in his competitive and direct coaching style. It was this coaching style that guided Air Force Basketball to some of the program's most memorable achievements during his initial tenure at the Air Force Academy," Athletic Director Nathan Pine said.

"This is a different day, and now is the right time for a new voice and a new approach to drive the culture and success of the men's basketball program, aligned with the Air Force Academy's mission of forging leaders of character developed to lead in our Air Force and Space Force." Scott was 97-183 in charge of the Falcons, first leading the team from 2000-04 — a stint that ended with a 22-7 record and a trip to the NCAA Tournament. After spending time at Princeton, his alma mater, and Denver, he returned to Air Force in 2020.

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The Falcons are 47-129 since then, winning just four games last season; they have won three so far this year, losing their last 19 in a row.

"I thank Nate Pine for his leadership. The Air Force Academy gave me my first head coaching opportunity and I am forever grateful," Scott said. "We will always be fans of Air Force Basketball."

Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign uphereandhere(AP News mobile app). AP college basketball:https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-pollandhttps://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball

Whatever the driving force, it's thrusting the usual sideshow of the NFL scouting combine — trade rumors,free-agencybuzz and clandestine general manager meetings — into the middle of the main stage. And with that, the college players who are taking their next big step toward draft positioning have become a subplot.

"It's going to be a wild offseason and it's going to start next week [at the combine]," one prominent NFL agent said this week. "There's so much more than usual with different veteran stuff compared to how guys are going to work out — and we have a good class of guys [in the draft]. All the quarterback things to figure out, some of the [veteran] defensive players — some of the young players that could be traded with the staff changes — there's going to be a lot going on. …

"I see you guys talking about storylines — when was the last time anyone checked in on what's going on with Lamar Jackson [and the Baltimore Ravens]? It's like that situation has gotten lost in all this noise. That's how crazy next week is going to be, though."

In fairness, Jackson's potential extension deadline — spoken into existence by Ravens owner Steve Bisciotti in January — has been a prominent story over the past month. Indeed, it will crank up next week, with the quarterback and franchise having been in a contract talks window for several weeks by the time Ravens new head coach Jesse Minter and general manager Eric DeCosta meet with the media in Indianapolis. It's expected there will be some kind of temperature gauge coming out of the combine, with the front office and ownership wanting to sign an extension with Jackson and lower his $74.5 million salary cap hit in 2026.

Of course, Jackson is only one of multiple pressing maneuvers — or non-maneuvers — heading into the combine that will certainly drain some of the daily news thunder from draft prospects' workouts. Among the prominent:

• Who will be getting the franchise tag applied to them before free agency, with the biggest potential name being Dallas Cowboys wide receiver George Pickens. As it stands, Dallas is expected to tag Pickens prior to the March 3 deadline and then either attempt to retain him or try to engage in a sign-and-trade scenario. With Pickens wanting to get to free agency and a likely $35 million average salary per season, there will likely be sparks in a tag scenario.
  

• Potential veteran trades, including Las Vegas Raiders defensive end Maxx Crosby, Philadelphia Eagles wideout A.J. Brown, Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, Arizona Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray and others. Throw in some young players who might get a call or two just to see if they are available on the trade market, including Buffalo Bills wideout Keon Coleman, Jacksonville Jaguars wideout Brian Thomas Jr., Indianapolis Colts quarterback Anthony Richardson and Minnesota Vikings quarterback J.J. McCarthy.
  

• The future of Aaron Rodgers will be a pressing question for the Pittsburgh Steelers — at least as it pertains to the organization's other options and what kind of timeline there would be for a Rodgers decision. It's possible we exit the combine under the presumption that the Steelers are going to move forward and try to find their future QB, which would shift the Rodgers conversation back to the Vikings, whom he was interested in before landing in Pittsburgh last offseason.
  

• And finally, one very big nugget that has yet to be developed: How much interest there will be in Malik Willis in free agency and what the money could ultimately look like. The ballpark speculation in the agent community is some kind of two-year deal averaging $30 to $35 million a season with $40 to $45 million guaranteed. That would put Willis in position to go back to the table next offseason and negotiate a longer term deal that tacks on to the end of 2027 and extends his guaranteed money out into a three-year window through the 2028 season. There are varying opinions on the numbers and structure, not to mention the potential interest. Willis feels like the first big quarterback domino that has to fall in March to trigger a larger migration. If he were to land in Pittsburgh, that then puts Rodgers — if he still wants to play — onto the market for the Vikings or any other suitors. And once Willis is off the board, the teams that ultimately don't have him as an option will then have to reassess.

There's a sliding scale of a trade likelihood for all these players. Crosby's situation with the Raiders, from what Yahoo Sports has been told by league sources familiar with their talks, is still at a standstill — but also not unrepairable. Part of the Raiders' motivation is to see what Crosby's trade market looks like and also where he is at with the franchise in a new phase of a rebuild. The market will likely be the driving force here. If there is a solid offer of draft picks on the table, a trade seems more likely than not.

The same goes for Brown and the Eagles, although it remains to be seen what general manager Howie Roseman could engineer to fill his No. 1 wide receiver spot if there is ultimately an attractive offer available for Brown. It's highly unlikely the Eagles would move Brown and not have another player in the mix, so the combine's wide receiver workouts and other available players at the position could factor.

The Murray and Tagovailoa process is going to depend on suitors and money. Right now there are zero indications of an appetite to take on either Tagovailoa or Murray's remaining contract in a trade, let alone surrender any meaningful draft assets to make him a starter. That could change if the QB shuffling doesn't break right for some teams and desperation enters the scenario. Lest anyone forget, there was a market (albeit diminishing) for Russell Wilson the past two offseasons. So there can certainly be a market for Tagovailoa or Murray if a situation gets bad enough.

As for the young players, Coleman seems likeliest to be traded, given the comments of Bills owner Terry Pegula that essentially branded him as not being the front office's draft choice. Unfortunately for Buffalo, Coleman's trade value will be nothing more than a late pick at this stage. Even with his youth.

Thomas, Richardson and McCarthy are not expected to be officially on the trade block, but all three could garner some interest and calls. Thomas seems less likely to be dealt with the Jaguars moving Travis Hunter primarily to cornerback. McCarthy won't be dealt unless the Vikings are presented with a quarterback option that effectively renders any chance of him having a future as moot. And Richardson doesn't have much of a market, and will have only one year left on his rookie deal once his fifth-year option is ultimately declined. That doesn't leave much room to develop him for any interested franchise. But again, we don't know how desperate the quarterback field gets.

That's a lot of veteran questions and potential developments that will hang over the primary reason teams are in Indianapolis next week: To begin laying down the foundations of their draft boards for April's selection process in Pittsburgh. While the veteran news and ramp up to free agency will cast a long shadow in Indianapolis, it won't eliminate a litany of prospect-related storylines that will get rolling once workouts begin.

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Here's a look at some of those that will be worthy of watching.

The top of the wide receiver group

While it's not expected to be as top-heavy as the 2024 wide receiver class — which saw seven first-round picks at the position — the wideouts are considered a spot that is going to have depth and offer needy teams quality options potentially into the third round. The general consensus at this point is that four to five receivers could go in the first round. Most of the intrigue will be how the top of the class sorts itself between the trio of Ohio State's Carnell Tate, Arizona State's Jordyn Tyson and USC's Makai Lemon.

"I think you could see some [changes in that trio] between interviews, measurements and whatever work gets done," one NFC talent evaluator said. "The medicals, too — definitely the medical for Tyson. … And it depends how you want to use them in your scheme. Lemon, some teams might not like the size but others might love the versatility and how he catches it. How fast will Tyson run and some of the speed and agility things with Tate will be important. They're all good players, but there's definitely some of the [Travis] Hunter, [Tetairoa] McMillan, [Emeka] Egbuka [conversations from 2025] because they're not all similar players."

As it stands, Tate appears to stand out among talent evaluators as the most "clean" player from the threesome, in terms of the total package of consistency, health, size and production. But there's definitely curiosity about what his pure speed and agility will look like, especially alongside Lemon and Tyson. Some of those questions will be answered — if all three actually do full workouts at the combine, which isn't guaranteed. Beyond that trio, there will definitely be some gravity toward the next tier of WRs in Washington's Denzel Boston, Tennessee's Chris Brazzell II and Notre Dame's Malachi Fields, who all bring prototypical "X" receiver size to the table. The Bills will be an interesting team to watch with that group.

Quarterbacks not named Fernando Mendoza

For only the second time in 13 years, we could end up seeing only one quarterback selected in the first round. With the Las Vegas Raiders expected to take Indiana's Fernando Mendoza with the No. 1 pick, it's also trending toward Mendoza passing on everything at the combine and opening the floor for the rest of the class. That will be a solid opportunity for multiple players, including Alabama's Ty Simpson, Penn State's Drew Allar, Miami's Carson Beck, LSU's Garrett Nussmeier and others.

It's simply not a great class when it comes to star power (that will come in 2027), but there could be a bit of developmental depth with some strong showings.

Even with the thin class, there is still plenty of quarterback need across the league — and that will point plenty of eyes in the direction of Simpson. He was a prospect with some solid draft heat near the midpoint of the college season, but red flags began to get raised as he got knocked around and turned the ball over later in the schedule and then suffered a rib injury that knocked him out of the College Football Playoff. Right now he's likely to land in the late first to mid-second round range, somewhat similar to how teams were looking at Bo Nix in 2024, and Jaxson Dart and Tyler Shough last year. If Simpson can wow teams in interviews and put up a good workout, he can build momentum to move up the board and get a QB-needy team to expend a first-round pick on him. Already, you hear his name connected a lot to the Los Angeles Rams, who have the 13th and 29th overall picks.

As for the rest of the pack, it's unclear what Allar will be able to do at the combine due to an ankle injury that ended his 2025 season. He's the player with the size and easy arm strength, so he'll draw in someone believing they can home his considerable talent into consistent results. Same goes for Beck, who also has size and arm, but also some leadership and love-for-the-game questions that teams want to pick at in interviews. Not to mention some bad turnovers in important spots, going all the way back to his time at Georgia. Then there's Nussmeier, who some evaluators once believed could develop into a first-round pick, maybe even a solidly high one, before injuries derailed much of his 2025 college season. He'll be another player who draws plenty of eyeballs.

Defensive picks almost everywhere

It's a loaded class with edge players, with an onslaught at that position expected to end up packing the first round. While there's still a lot of work ahead, it wouldn't be surprising to see as many as eight edge rushers come off the board in the first 32 picks. A lot of the attention will go to potential top-10 picks in Texas Tech's David Bailey, Ohio State's Arvell Reese and Miami's Rueben Bain Jr. But there will be a battle to figure out the stack after that trio, with players like Auburn's Keldric Faulk, Missouri's Zion Young and Miami's Akheem Mesidor battling it out. Young is a player to keep an eye on. He had a great week of practice at the Senior Bowl and ended up as the game's defensive MVP, giving him a lot of buzz coming into the combine. But top to bottom it's going to be great draft for teams that need edge players and defensive line talent in general.

"It might be one of the deepest [edge] classes ever, especially through the top 50, 60 guys [in the entire draft]," an AFC general manager concluded. "There's all types of skill sets and body types that fit different needs, but the talent in general just very, very good. There's really not a Myles Garrett or Nick Bosa, but there's a half dozen guys who could become just good, core second-contract players for teams."

Beyond the defensive line, there's strength in the class of safeties and cornerbacks as well, with as many as a half dozen or more picks in the secondary likely to land in Round 1. And while safety isn't traditionally a position that sees multiple first-round selections, this will almost certainly be one of those years, with Ohio State's Caleb Downs, Toledo's Emmanuel McNeil-Warren and Oregon's Dillon Thieneman all having the profile to possibly land in the first half of the first round. That just doesn't happen. Downs in particular will be very intriguing. His résumé is the kind that he'd be an easy top-five pick if he played at a more premium defensive position — and there were times that some evaluators believed he could even be worth that kind of juice in this draft. The overall strength of the defensive class at premium positions is likely to push him down the board, but it's certainly not lost on front offices that so many of the NFL's best defenses now feature a dynamic safety like Downs. That could cement Downs higher on teams boards by April.

Alvin Kamara comparison builds for Notre Dame's Jadarian Price

The next running back after Notre Dame's Jeremiyah Love is going to be an interesting development to watch. Overall, the class isn't amazing and it's going to be dinged a bit by the free-agent class being so strong. There's no doubt that some teams want to see what Love's backup for the Fighting Irish, Jadarian Price, does in the workouts. As much as game tape matters, Price could have transferred elsewhere for the 2025 college football season and doubled his touches while positioning himself to challenge Love as this year's top running back. Now he comes into the draft with less wear and tear but also some curiosity about whether he can be a centerpiece starter and also catch the ball consistently out of the backfield. His workouts will matter, especially as it pertains to his receiving ability. If he can showcase that and put up the type of athletic numbers that some think he can, there will likely be more Alvin Kamara comparisons to follow. As of now, I'm not sure how that framing works without the receiving end of his game being more proven.

TE Kenyon Sadiq a talent evaluating mystery

Oregon tight end Kenyon Sadiq is going to be interesting. Some evaluators like him as almost a hybrid running back/wide receiver if he fits into the right scheme. Others see him as a plus-level athlete whose "expected" 6-foot-2, 240-pound size is going to make him a bit of a tweener — and not in a good way — in the NFL. There's curiosity about Sadiq's true height and weight and what his workouts look like. There's little doubt he has mismatch potential and maybe some considerable ceiling with the right coach and scheme, but some evaluators don't see him as the kind of tight end who can fit in a lot of different places and be on the field at the rate of a multitude of TEs from last year's draft. He can't be compared realistically to the bigger bodied guys like Colston Loveland and Tyler Warren. And his overall consistency of college production wasn't in the realm of Brock Bowers going into the 2024 draft. Who is the realistic comparable at the NFL level to Sadiq and what coach can draw that unique talent out of him?

APTOPIX California Avalanche

Rescue crews loaded up a snow vehicle with skis and other supplies and headed toward the area near Castle Peak, northwest of Lake Tahoe, while helicopters circled overhead. Avalanche mitigation work is designed to intentionally release unstable snowpack to reduce the risk when rescue crews go in.

The Nevada County Sheriff's office previously said the mitigation work would include controlled explosions, but later said Friday's efforts only involved using water to break up snow. The work was done in partnership with Pacific Gas & Electric.

Brutal weather and the threat of more avalanches have kept crews from safely recovering the bodies of the eight people killed and another still missing from Tuesday's avalanche, which was roughly the size of a football field.

Authorities are investigating the avalanche, including whether criminal negligence played a role in the tragedy, a sheriff's office leading one of several investigations said Friday.

Why the tour company that organized thebackcountry ski tripdidn't cancel in the face of a powerful storm and what their guides knew as the weather worsened are the questions being considered.

Both the Nevada County Sheriff's office and a state agency that regulates workplace safety have opened investigations. Ashley Quadros, a spokesperson with the sheriff's office, declined on Friday to share more information, saying it is an open investigation.

Six of the people who died were part of a close-knit group of friends who were experienced backcountry skiers and knew how to navigate the alpine wilderness, their families said. The three others who are dead or presumed dead were guides.

"We are devastated beyond words," the families said in a statement released Thursday through a spokesperson. The women were mothers, wives and friends who "connected through the love of the outdoors," they said, and were carrying avalanche safety equipment and prepared for backcountry travel.

Victims were loved by their neighbors

The six were identified as Carrie Atkin, Liz Clabaugh, Danielle Keatley, Kate Morse, Caroline Sekar and Kate Vitt, and they lived in the San Francisco Bay Area, in Idaho and in the Lake Tahoe area. The families asked for privacy while they grieve.

Just north of San Francisco, where Keatley lived with her family in the city of Larkspur, resident Rob Bramble was shocked to learn that the friendly woman he would say hello to in passing was among the victims.

"She was just a great mom. I'd always see her with the kids, picking them up, just seemed like a great mom and a great family," said Bramble, whose daughter babysat for the family a few times.

Keatley and her husband owned a wine business and often shared their namesake wines at community events, Larkspur Mayor Stephanie Andre said.

"She was warm, kind and exuded a special quality that drew people to her," Andre said in a statement.

Morse also lived with her husband and three children north of San Francisco, and worked in the biotech industry, according to her LinkedIn profile. Vitt previously worked at SiriusXM and Pandora, according to her online profile, and lived north of the city with her two sons and husband.

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Atkin was a former corporate executive who lived in Lake Tahoe with her husband and two children, according to her leadership coaching website. She's a talented student who could "run like the wind" and made it to state finals for hurdling two years in a row, recalled Jerome Bearden, her high school hurdling coach. She later had a track and field scholarship to Harvard.

"Everybody liked Carrie," said Bearden, who heard about her death from a former student on Friday. "She was a good person."

Sekar and Clabaugh were sisters, their brother, McAlister Clabaugh, told The New York Times. Sekar was a mother of two who lived in San Francisco.

Liz Clabaugh was a nurse who oversaw a new graduate nursing residency program at St. Luke's Health System in Boise, Idaho. She was also a mom and ran a Facebook page featuring encouragement and advice for new nurses. Photos showed that her family were frequent adventurers outdoors.

Clabaugh also had served as a health volunteer in Zambia with the Peace Corps, according to a Facebook page for Peace Corps alumni.

The names of the other victims have not been released.

The 15 skiers began their three-day trip Sunday, just aswarnings about the stormwere intensifying. By early Tuesday, officials cautioned that avalanches were expected.

Avalanche safety experts say it is not uncommon for backcountry skiers to go out when there is an avalanche watch or even a warning.

Blackbird Mountain Guides, which was leading the expedition, said the guides who were on the trek were trained or certified in backcountry skiing and were instructors with the American Institute for Avalanche Research and Education.

"We don't have all the answers yet, and it may be some time before we do," founder Zeb Blais said in a statement. "In the meantime, please keep those impacted in your hearts."

The slide wasthe deadliest in the U.S. since 1981, when 11 climbers were killed on Mount Rainier in Washington state.

This story has been corrected to show that Friday's avalanche mitigation efforts used water, not controlled explosives as the Nevada County Sheriff's office had previously indicated.

Watson reported from San Diego and Har from Marin County, California. Associated Press writers Olga Rodriguez in San Francisco; John Seewer in Toledo, Ohio; Hallie Golden in Seattle; Jessica Hill in Las Vegas; and Matthew Brown in Billings, Montana, contributed.