Jeremy T. Ringfield's Blog, page 57

Company advised by Trump sons said it hoped to benefit from fed money, then took it back

By BERNARD CONDON

NEW YORK (AP) — A public document filed by a company that just hired President Donald Trump’s two oldest sons as advisers included a sentence early Monday that said it hoped to benefit from grants and other incentives from the federal government, which their father happens to lead.

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But when The Associated Press asked the Trump family business about the apparent conflict of interest, the document was revised and the line taken out.

Eric Trump and Donald Trump Jr. are getting “founder shares” worth millions of dollars in New America Acquisition 1 Corp., a company with no operating business that hopes to fill that hole by purchasing an American company that can play “a meaningful role in revitalizing domestic manufacturing,” according to to the filing. The president has geared his trade policy toward boosting manufacturing in the U.S.

The original version of the securities filing said the target company should be “well positioned” to tap federal or state government incentives. That reference was taken out of the revised version of the filing.

The Trump Organization didn’t reply to a question about whether New America still planned to benefit from government programs or why the line was cut. But the outside law firm Paul Weiss that helped prepare the document sent an email to AP saying it was “mistake” made by “scriveners,” an old term for transcribers of legal papers.

Kathleen Clark, an expert in government ethics, said any excuses are too late because the Trumps had already tipped their hand.

“They just deleted the language. They haven’t committed not to do what they said earlier today they were planning to do,” said the Washington University law professor and Trump critic. “It’s an attempt to exploit public office for private profit.”

President Donald Trump cuts the ribbon, standing between Donald Trump Jr., left, and Eric Trump, during an opening ceremony for the Trump International Golf Links golf course, near Aberdeen, Scotland, Tuesday, July 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

New America is what’s know as a special purpose acquisition company, or SPAC. It’s a publicly traded company that exists solely to use its funds to acquire another company and take the target public.

New America plans to raise money by selling stock on the New York Stock Exchange at $10 a share. That will hand the two Trump sons a total of $5 million in paper wealth on the first day of trading. The company hopes to sell enough shares to raise $300 million, which it then plans to use buying a yet unidentified manufacturer.

A press release issued by New America saying it was focused on “American values and priorities.” It made no mention of the aim to get government incentives.

The filing to New America’s potential new investors to Securities and Exchange Commission was explicit about what it was looking for in target company. It said, among other things, it would that can ride “public policy tailwinds” by benefiting from federal or state “grants, tax credits, government contracts or preferential procurement programs.”

How reliable is the jobs data? Economists and Wall Street still trust it

By CHRISTOPHER RUGABER

WASHINGTON (AP) — The monthly jobs report is already closely-watched on Wall Street and in Washington but has taken on a new importance after President Donald Trump on Friday fired the official who oversees it.

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Trump claimed that June’s employment figures were “RIGGED” to make him and other Republicans “look bad.” Yet he provided no evidence and even the official Trump had appointed in his first term to oversee the report, William Beach, condemned the firing of Erika McEntarfer, the director of the Bureau of Labor Statistics appointed by former President Joe Biden. The firing followed Friday’s jobs report that showed hiring was weak in July and had come to nearly a standstill in May and June, right after Trump rolled out sweeping tariffs.

Economists and Wall Street investors have long considered the job figures reliable, with share prices and bond yields often reacting sharply when they are released. Yet Friday’s revisions were unusually large — the largest, outside of a recession, in five decades. And the surveys used to compile the report are facing challenges from declining response rates, particularly since COVID, as fewer companies complete the surveys.

Nonetheless, that hasn’t led most economists to doubt them.

“The bottom line for me is, I wouldn’t take the low collection rate as any evidence that the numbers are less reliable,” Omair Sharif, founder and chief economist at Inflation Insights, a consulting firm, said.

Many academics, statisticians and economists have warned for some time that declining budgets were straining the government’s ability to gather economic data. There were several government commissions studying ways to improve things like survey response rates, but the Trump administration disbanded them earlier this year.

Heather Boushey, a top economic adviser in the Biden White House, noted that without Trump’s firing of McEntarfer, there would be more focus on last week’s data, which points to a slowing economy.

“We’re having this conversation about made-up issues to distract us from what the data is showing,” Boushey said. “Revisions of this magnitude in a negative direction may indicate bad things to come for the labor market.”

Here are some things to know about the jobs report:

Economists and Wall Street trust the data

Most economists say that the Bureau of Labor Statistics is a nonpolitical agency staffed by people obsessed with getting the numbers right. The only political appointee is the commissioner, who doesn’t see the data until it’s finalized, two days before it is issued to the public.

Erica Groshen, the BLS commissioner from 2013 to 2017, said she suggested different language in the report to “liven it up”, but was shot down. She was told that if asked to describe a cup as half-empty or half-full, BLS says “it is an eight ounce cup with four ounces of liquid.”

The revised jobs data that has attracted Trump’s ire is actually more in line with other figures than before the revision. For example, payroll processor ADP uses data from its millions of clients to calculate its own jobs report, and it showed a sharp hiring slowdown in May and June that is closer to the revised BLS data.

Trump and his White House have a long track record of celebrating the jobs numbers — when they are good.

These are the figures is Trump attacking

Trump has focused on the revisions to the May and June data, which on Friday were revised lower, with job gains in May reduced to 19,000 from 144,000, and for June to just 14,000 from 147,000. Every month’s jobs data is revised in the following two months.

Trump also repeated a largely inaccurate attack from the campaign about an annual revision last August, which reduced total employment in the United States by 818,000, or about 0.5%. The government also revises employment figures every year.

Trump charged the annual revision was released before the 2024 presidential election to “boost” Vice President Kamala Harris’s “chances of Victory,” yet it was two months before the election and widely reported at the time that the revision lowered hiring during the Biden-Harris administration and pointed to a weaker economy.

Here’s why the government revises the data

The monthly revisions occur because many companies that respond to the government’s surveys send their data in late, or correct the figures they’ve already submitted. The proportion of companies sending in their data later has risen in the past decade.

Every year, the BLS does an additional revision based on actual job counts that are derived from state unemployment insurance records. Those figures cover 95% of U.S. businesses and aren’t derived from a survey but are not available in real time.

These are the factors that cause revisions

Figuring out how many new jobs have been added or lost each month is more complicated than it may sound. For example, if one person takes a second job, should you focus on the number of jobs, which has increased, or the number of employed people, which hasn’t? (The government measures both: The unemployment rate is based on how many people either have or don’t have jobs, while the number of jobs added or lost is counted separately).

Each month, the government surveys about 121,000 businesses and government agencies at over 630,000 locations — including multiple locations for the same business — covering about one-third of all workers.

Still, the government also has to make estimates: What if a company goes out of business? It likely won’t fill out any forms showing the jobs lost. And what about new businesses? They can take a while to get on the government’s radar.

The BLS seeks to capture these trends by estimating their impact on employment. Those estimates can be wrong, of course, until they are fixed by the annual revisions.

The revisions are often larger around turning points in the economy. For example, when the economy is growing, there may be more startups than the government expects, so revisions will be higher. If the economy is slowing or slipping into a recession, the revisions may be larger on the downside.

Here’s why the May and June revisions may have been so large

Ernie Tedeschi, an economic adviser to the Biden administration, points to the current dynamics of the labor market: Both hiring and firing have sharply declined, and fewer Americans are quitting their jobs to take other work. As a result, most of the job gains or losses each month are probably occurring at new companies, or those going out of business.

And those are the ones the government uses models to estimate, which can make them more volatile.

Groshen also points out that since the pandemic there has been a surge of new start-up companies, after many Americans lost their jobs or sought more independence. Yet they may not have created as many jobs as startups did pre-COVID, which throws off the government’s models.

Revisions seem to be getting bigger

The revisions to May and June’s job totals, which reduced hiring by a total of 258,000, were the largest — outside recessions — since 1967, according to economists at Goldman Sachs.

Kevin Hassett, Trump’s top economic adviser, went on NBC’s “Meet the Press” on Sunday and said, “What we’ve seen over the last few years is massive revisions to the jobs numbers.”

Hassett blamed a sharp drop in response rates to the government’s surveys during and after the pandemic: “When COVID happened, because response rates went down a lot, then revision rates skyrocketed.”

Yet calculations by Tedeschi show that while revisions spiked after the pandemic, they have since declined and are much smaller than in the 1960s and 1970s.

Other concerns about the government’s data

Many economists and statisticians have sounded the alarm about things like declining response rates for years. A decade ago, about 60% of companies surveyed by BLS responded. Now, only about 40% do.

The decline has been an international phenomenon, particularly since COVID. The United Kingdom has even suspended publication of an official unemployment rate because of falling responses.

And earlier this year the BLS said that it was cutting back on its collection of inflation data because of the Trump administration’s hiring freeze, raising concerns about the robustness of price data just as economists are trying to gauge the impact of tariffs on inflation.

U.S. government statistical agencies have seen an inflation-adjusted 16% drop in funding since 2009, according to a July report from the American Statistical Association.

“We are at an inflection point,” the report said. “To meet current and future challenges requires thoughtful, well-planned investment … In contrast, what we have observed is uncoordinated and unplanned reductions with no visible plan for the future.

Bondi moves forward on Justice Department investigation into origins of Trump-Russia probe

By ERIC TUCKER and ALANNA DURKIN RICHER

WASHINGTON (AP) — Attorney General Pam Bondi has directed that the Justice Department move forward with a probe into the origins of the Trump-Russia investigation following the recent release of documents aimed at undermining the legitimacy of the inquiry that established that Moscow interfered on the Republican’s behalf in the 2016 U.S. presidential election.

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Bondi has directed a prosecutor to present evidence to a grand jury after referrals from the Trump administration’s top intelligence official, a person familiar with the matter said Monday. That person was not authorized to discuss it by name and spoke on condition of anonymity to The Associated Press. Fox News first reported the development.

It was not clear which former officials might be the target of any grand jury activity, where the grand jury that might ultimately hear evidence will be located or which prosecutors — whether career employees or political appointees — might be involved in pursuing the investigation. It was also not clear what precise claims of misconduct Trump administration officials believe could form the basis of criminal charges, which a grand jury would have to sign off on for an indictment to be issued.

The development is likely to heighten concerns that the Justice Department is being used to achieve political ends, given longstanding grievances over the Russia investigation voiced by President Donald Trump, who has called for the jailing of perceived political adversaries. Any criminal investigation would revisit one of the most dissected chapters of modern American political history. It is also surfacing at a time when the Trump administration is being buffeted by criticism over its handling of documents from the Jeffrey Epstein sex trafficking investigation.

The investigation into Russian election interference resulted in the appointment of a special counsel, Robert Mueller, who secured multiple convictions against Trump aides and allies but did not establish proof of a criminal conspiracy between Moscow and the Trump campaign.

The inquiry shadowed much of Trump’s first term and he has long focused his ire on senior officials from the intelligence and law enforcement community, including former FBI Director James Comey, whom he fired in May 2017, and former CIA Director John Brennan. The Justice Department appeared to confirm an investigation into both men in an unusual statement last month but offered no details.

Multiple special counsels, congressional committees and the Justice Department’s own inspector general have studied and documented a multi-pronged effort by Russia to interfere in the 2016 presidential election on Trump’s behalf, including through a hack-and-leak dump of Democratic emails and a covert social media operation aimed at sowing discord and swaying public opinion.

But that conclusion has been aggressively challenged in recent weeks as Trump’s director of national intelligence and other allies have released previously classified records that they hope will cast doubt on the extent of Russian interference and establish an Obama administration effort to falsely link Trump to Russia.

Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard speaks with reporters in the James Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House, Wednesday, July 23, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)

In one batch of documents released last month, Tulsi Gabbard, the director of national intelligence, disclosed emails showing that senior Obama administration officials were aware in 2016 that Russians had not hacked state election systems to manipulate the votes in Trump’s favor. But President Barack Obama’s administration never alleged that votes were tampered with and instead detailed other forms of election interference and foreign influence.

A new outcry surfaced last week when Sen. Chuck Grassley, the Republican chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, released a set of documents that FBI Director Kash Patel claimed on social media proved that the “Clinton campaign plotted to frame President Trump and fabricate the Russia collusion hoax.”

The documents were part of a classified annex of a report issued in 2023 by John Durham, the special counsel who was appointed during the first Trump administration to hunt for any government misconduct during the Russia investigation.

Durham did identify significant flaws in the investigation but uncovered no bombshells to disprove the existence of Russian election interference. His sprawling probe produced three criminal cases; two resulted in acquittals and the third was a guilty plea from a little-known FBI lawyer to a charge of making a false statement.

Republicans seized on a July 27, 2016, email in Durham’s newly declassified annex that purported to say that Hillary Clinton, then the Democratic candidate for president, had approved a plan during the heat of the campaign to link Trump with Russia.

But the purported author of the email, a senior official at a philanthropic organization founded by billionaire investor George Soros, told Durham’s team he had never sent the email and the alleged recipient said she never called receiving it. Durham’s own report took pain to note that investigators had not corroborated the communications as authentic and said the best assessment was that the message was “a composites of several emails” the Russians had obtained from hacking — raising the likelihood of Russian disinformation.

The FBI’s Russia investigation was opened on July 31, 2016, following a tip that a Trump campaign adviser, George Papadopoulos, had told a Russian diplomat that Russia was in possession of dirt on Clinton.

Verlander gets no decision as SF Giants’ Rodríguez blows save to Pirates

PITTSBURGH — Justin Verlander is well past his prime. That is the objective truth of baseball’s oldest active player. But on occasions, such as Monday night at PNC Park as the Giants (56-57) lost to the Pittsburgh Pirates 5-4 in walk-off fashion, he’ll flash glimpses of the pitcher who built a career that will end in Cooperstown.

Verlander found himself in a bind in the fourth. Runners on second and third, Joey Bart at the plate, Giants leading by one run. With the count at 1-2, Verlander fired a 98.3 mph four-seam fastball — his fastest pitch of the year. With the count even, Verlander followed up with a 97.8 mph fastball on the outside corner. Bart didn’t get the bat off his shoulders.

The strikeout was one of four that Verlander totaled on a night where he allowed one run — unearned — over five innings. As well as Verlander pitched, he ended up with yet another no-decision as Randy Rodríguez blew his first save since being elevated to the closer role after Camilo Doval and Tyler Rogers were traded.

“Feeling better and better,” Verlander said. “Tough pill to swallow today, but yeah, we try to take the positives away.”

“That might’ve been his best stuff of the year seeing that we’re in August and he’s throwing 98 miles per hour,” said manager Bob Melvin. “He’s obviously found something mechanically. He’s found his second wind.”

In the midst of this second wind, Verlander positioned himself to earn his second win of the season.

Verlander departed the game with the Giants leading 4-1, those runs deriving from Dominic Smith’s RBI single and Casey Schmitt’s bases-loaded walk in the first, as well as Jung Hoo Lee’s two-run triple in the fifth.

“I think he’s just getting going,” said catcher Patrick Bailey. “It’s impressive. He keeps getting better and better. It’s fun to watch.”

Following Verlander’s departure, San Francisco’s Rogers-less, Doval-less bullpen couldn’t hold the three-run lead.

Jack Suwinski, who entered play hitting .103, cut San Francisco’s lead to 4-3 in the top of the seventh inning with a two-run homer off Carson Seymour. With the Giants’ offense unable to tack on additional runs, Rodríguez had little margin for error in the bottom of the ninth.

Rodríguez began the bottom of the ninth inning by walking Andrew McCutchen, and the Pirates sent in Alexander Canario to pinch-run. After striking out pinch-hitter Bryan Reynolds, Rodriguez plunked Suwinski to give the Pirates runners on first and second with one out.

That set the table for the former Giant Bart, who lined a single over the outstretched glove of shortstop Willy Adames that tied the game at four apiece and advances Suwinski, the winning run, to third. With two on and one out, the Pirates a golden opportunity to win the game. Win the game, they did.

Isiah Kiner-Falefa hit a slow roller to first baseman Rafael Devers, and Suwinski bolted to the plate on contact. Devers fielded the ball and fired a throw home to catcher Patrick Bailey, who quickly applied the tag for the out. Suwinski was called safe, and following a replay review, the call was confirmed.

“Obviously, it’s tough,” Bailey said. “A walk and a hit-by-pitch always hurts here. He’s one of the best in the game. I think he had his stuff, just kind of struggled a little bit.”

Rodríguez’s struggles on Monday night left Verlander with yet another no-decision that was the product of a blown save. While Verlander again ended up winless, the 42-year-old continued proving he can be an effective pitcher more than four decades into his existence.

According to MLB’s Sarah Langs, Verlander’s 98.3 mph four-seam fastball is the second-fastest by a pitcher who’s at 42-years-old during the pitch-tracking era (since 2008), trailing only Fernando Rodney (98.8 mph). Over Verlander’s last three starts, he’s allowed just one earned run over 15 innings (0.60 ERA).

Verlander has been tinkering with his mechanics in recent starts, the most notable change coming during his start against the Philadelphia Phillies. Along with his glove and hand positioning, Verlander has moved closer to the third-base side of the rubber and “tinkered with some timing stuff.”

“I’ve always been a tinkerer,” Verlander said. “I feel like things have started to sync up better for me.”

While the night ended in frustration, Verlander had some fun with his infielders in the top of the fifth when he dove for a weakly-hit grounder from Horwitz. Verlander missed the ball, but the Giants got the out as third baseman Matt Chapman fielded and fired to Devers.

“All those guys come out there and I’m like, ‘Hey, we don’t need to call an ambulance here. I’m okay. I’m allowed to dive. Everything’s okay,’” Verlander said. “Everybody was kind of looking at me wide-eyed. ‘I’m all right. I’m not a little fragile egg. I can move around. I am a fielder, after all.’ I was having a good time with it.”

Barbara Intermill, On Nutrition: Sugar vs. non-sugar sweeteners

Never a dull moment — or lack of confusion — in the nutrition world. Of late, it revolves around our intake of sugar, especially sugars added to our food.

We’re stilll waiting for the newest Dietary Guidelines for Americans, but the current version recommends children younger than 2 not be given any foods or beverages with added sugars. And the rest of us? No more than 10% of our total daily calories. That’s about 50 grams of sugar a day if you check “Added Sugars” on a food label.

If that sounds like a lot, realize that a 12-ounce can of regular soda tips in at 39 grams of added sugar. And the term “added sugars” is a big category, according to the Food and Drug Administration. It includes all kinds of table sugar, honey, agave, molasses, corn syrup and high fructose corn syrup.

No wonder many of us have turned to non-sugar substitutes over the years. In fact, our national intake of sugar has declined steadily over the past 20 years or so. And not surprisingly, our intake of non-sugar sweeteners (NSS) has increased.

Is this good? That’s what I hoped to learn in a recent review of the latest scientific evidence on added sugars and their non-sugar counterparts presented by Allison Sylvetsky, associate professor in the Department of Exercise and Nutrition Science at George Washington University.

According to Sylvetsky, what we know is that we don’t know enough. One of the issues that makes it difficult to assess the health differences between real sugar and non-sugar is the myriad of products out there. Some, like sorbitol, xylitol or mannitol, have calories. Others like aspartame (NutraSweet, Equal) or sucralose (Splenda) are calorie-free. Some, like stevia and monk fruit, are derived from plants. Others are manufactured.

To date, most of the research studies lump all these products together. So not surprising, the results are confusing. For example, there is evidence that choosing a food or beverage sweetenend with a non-sugar substitute in place of one sweetened with sugar helps lower one’s calorie intake. Duh.
Yet there is also evidence that choosing a diet beverage instead of water tends to increase one’s daily intake of calories.

Essentially, states Sylvetsky, there is no good data to know for sure which, if any, non-nutritive sweeteners may or may not be harmful.

So what’s the best course of action for now? Select foods and beverages with minimum amounts of both added sugars and non-sugar substitutes, she suggests.

And remember, says Sylvetsky, “For every action, there is a reaction.” As we have learned in the past with diet recommendations, sometimes substituting one thing for another has unintended consequences.

I look forward to more study on this topic. In the meantime, remember what my grandfather always told me: “Too much of anything is not good for you.”

Barbara Intermill is a registered dietitian nutritionist and syndicated columnist. She is the author of “Quinn-Essential Nutrition: The Uncomplicated Science of Eating.” Email her at barbara@quinnessentialnutrition.com. 

FACT FOCUS: Trump says he’s cut drug prices by up to 1,500%. That’s not possible

By MELISSA GOLDIN

Days after he sent letters instructing top pharmaceutical manufacturers to use a “most favored nation” pricing model for prescription drugs, President Donald Trump told reporters on Sunday that he had cut costs by up to 1,500%.

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But Trump’s grandiose claim is mathematically impossible.

Here’s a closer look at the facts.

TRUMP: “You know, we’ve cut drug prices by 1,200, 1,300, 1,400, 1,500%. I don’t mean 50%, I mean 14 — 1,500%.”

THE FACTS: This is false. Cutting drug prices by more than 100% would theoretically mean that people are being paid to take medications. The Trump administration has taken steps to lower prescription drug prices, but experts say there’s no indication costs have seen such a massive drop.

Geoffrey Joyce, director of health policy at the University of Southern California’s Schaeffer Center, called Trump’s claim “total fiction” made up by the Republican president. He agreed that it would amount to drug companies paying customers, rather than the other way around.

“I find it really difficult to translate those numbers into some actual estimates that patients would see at the pharmacy counter,” said Mariana Socal, an associate professor of health policy and management at Johns Hopkins University who studies the U.S. pharmaceutical market. She added that Trump’s math is “really hard to follow.”

Asked what Trump was using to back up his claim, White House spokesman Kush Desai said: “It’s an objective fact that Americans are paying exponentially more for the same exact drugs as people in other developed countries pay, and it’s an objective fact that no other Administration has done more to rectify this unfair burden for the American people.”

The White House provided a chart of price differentials for drugs in the U.S. and comparable countries, but did not offer any other evidence. On Sunday, Trump also described cuts to drug prices as a future development, not that already happened.

“So we’ll be dropping drug prices,” he said. “It will start over the next two to three months by 1,200, 1,300 and even 1,400%.”

Prices for most prescription drugs — unbranded generics are the exception — are higher in the U.S. than they are in other high-income countries. This is in large part due to the way drug prices are negotiated in the United States.

Trump made his recent appeal in letters to 17 pharmaceutical manufacturers, the White House announced last week. He asked them to reduce costs in the U.S. by matching the lowest prices of prescriptions drugs in other comparably developed countries. Some drugmakers have since indicated that they are open to cutting costs.

This move follows an executive order Trump signed in May setting a 30-day deadline for drugmakers to electively lower prices in the U.S. or face new limits in the future over what the government will pay.

The federal government has the most power to shape the price it pays for drugs covered by Medicare and Medicaid. It’s unclear what — if any — impact the Trump administration’s efforts will have on millions of Americans who have private health insurance.

Socal pointed out that if drug manufacturers had cut costs to the extent Trump claims, they would be shouting it from the rooftops, especially given the heat they’ve taken over the years for their pricing practices.

“My expectation would be that they would make announcements — public announcements — and that those announcements would come way in advance of the actual effective dates when those price cuts would come into effect,” she said.

Joyce agreed that there has been no indication of a substantial cut.

“Not at all, not at all, none whatsoever,” he said. “And let alone 1,500.”

Find AP Fact Checks here: https://apnews.com/APFactCheck.

Cities celebrate National Night Out with law enforcement, first responders

Monterey County cities are hosting free, family-friendly evenings with local law enforcement and public safety agencies as part of National Night Out, a nationwide event founded in 1984 to promote neighborhood safety and community-police relationships. What began with residents turning on porch lights and sitting outside has since grown to include block parties, cookouts and local gatherings in all 50 states.

Usually taking place on the first Tuesday in August each year, or in October for some warmer states, National Night Out is an opportunity for cities and towns to learn more about the first responders in their communities by bringing people together in a safe environment.

Seaside will host their annual event on Tuesday from 4 to 7 p.m. at the Seaside City Hall Lawn, 440 Harcourt Ave. There will be food, family-friendly games, activities, music and demonstrations from the Seaside Police Department – like showing off support dogs.

The Monterey County Sheriff’s Office will host an event at Spreckles Memorial Park on Wednesday from 5 to 8 p.m. along Llano Avenue between 2nd and 3rd streets.

There will be special teams like SWAT, Search and Rescue and Mounted Units for show and tell, in addition to kids’ games, pizza and pie-eating contests.

The city of Salinas will also be hosting a city celebration on Wednesday from 4 to 7:30 p.m. at the Salinas Sports Complex. Public safety officials will bring vehicles and there will be drone demonstrations, bounce houses, musical performances and free tacos from the Food Bank for Monterey County.

SF Giants recall Encarnacion from injured list, option Matos to Sacramento

PITTSBURGH — A week ago, the Giants’ options in right field were Mike Yastrzemski and Luis Matos. Now, they’re Grant McCray and Jerar Encarnacion.

The Giants ended Encarnacion’s rehab assignment on Monday and recalled him from Triple-A Sacramento before their game against the Pirates. In a corresponding move, the team optioned Matos to Sacramento.

Manager Bob Melvin said Encarnacion will see more time in right field than first base with Rafael Devers, Dominic Smith and Wilmer Flores all capable of playing first base. With Encarnacion being a right-handed hitter and McCray being a left-handed hitter, Melvin said matchups will factor into playing time.

When asked if Encarnacion will receive the bulk of time in right field, Melvin said that decision will be “performance-based.”

“(Encarnacion) will, my guess, get a start here depending on how (McCray) plays,” Melvin said. “Obviously, we can use him off the bench. He’s got a lot of at-bats under his belt.”

It has been a whirlwind of a year for Encarnacion up to this point.

Encarnacion was expected to make San Francisco’s Opening Day roster out of spring training after he hit .302 with two home runs and an .856 OPS during Cactus League play. That performance came after Encarnacion exhibited elite power with the Giants last season, hitting five homers over 35 games while posting awe-inspiring exit velocities.

In the final days of camp, Encarnacion fractured his left hand when diving for a ball in the field, sidelining him for several weeks.

The 27-year-old appeared in his first two rehab games with Triple-A Sacramento on May 10 and May 11, only to have his rehab assignment paused due to hand soreness. He resumed his assignment on May 27, playing in just five games before being recalled to San Francisco.

Encarnacion struggled upon rejoining the team, a byproduct of his limited plate appearances with Sacramento. He went 3-for-22 (.136) over eight games before sustaining a left oblique strain in mid-June, forcing him to miss more time.

This time around, the Giants made sure Encarnacion had plenty of at-bats with the River Cats before bringing him back up to the majors. In his last 12 games with Sacramento, Encarnacion hit .295 with two homers, nine RBIs and an .857 OPS.

Encarnacion said his extended time with the River Cats allowed him to rediscover the swing he had during spring training.

“It wasn’t a long time, it wasn’t a short time, it was God’s time,” Encarnacion said. “Everything happens for a reason. First, it was a short (rehab), but then I got an opportunity to go back again to continue working with that goal.”

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Added Melvin: “(His at-bats) were better. You look at his numbers, especially recently, he’s been swinging the bat good. … That’s kind of what we were hoping for when we got him back this time.”

Miller, Roupp to throw live bullpens

Left-hander Erik Miller (left elbow sprain) is scheduled to throw a live bullpen in Arizona on Monday, while right-hander Landen Roupp (right elbow inflammation) is scheduled to throw a live bullpen in Arizona on Tuesday.

Roupp, who has a 3.11 ERA over 20 starts, could maybe rejoin the Giants during their upcoming nine-game homestand, per Melvin. His return would lean towards being later on during the homestand since Roupp will need another outing.

The Giants considered Roupp’s injury to be minor when they placed him on the 15-day injured list on July 25 (retroactive to July 23). With Roupp injured and Hayden Birdsong still in Sacramento, left-hander Carson Whisenhunt and right-hander Kai-Wei Teng are occupying their respective spots in the rotation for now.

Miller, who has a 1.50 ERA over 36 games, was placed on the injured list on July 5 (retroactive to July 3) and said he would prefer two or three rehab outings given how much time he has missed.

Summer is coming to an end as districts welcome back students

Back to school season has officially arrived with many districts welcoming back students this week.

On the Peninsula, Pacific Grove Unified School District will be the first to start the 2025-26 school year on Tuesday. On Wednesday, Monterey Peninsula Unified School District will open its doors for students, followed by Carmel Unified on Thursday. Stevenson School boarding and day students will be back in classrooms for their fall term on Aug. 27.

“I’m so excited to be having our students back,” said Pacific Grove Unified Superintendent Linda Adamson. “…Everyone is so eager and ready to continue building our ‘Culture of We,’ and implementing our three core values of belonging, safety and prosperity. We’re excited about the results that we saw from that last year …  We’re going to do amazing things this coming year, building on what we’ve already done.”

While the idea of the Culture of We remains the same, campuses will look a little different this year for Pacific Grove Unified, as the district’s Board of Education voted not to renew its contract with the Pacific Grove Police Department for a dedicated School Resource Officer during its June 5 meeting.

After a long discussion, the board ultimately decided not to renew the approximately $90,000 contract which previously had one officer traveling between sites. The board voiced concerns over having an armed officer on campuses, lack of data on the effectiveness of a School Resource Officer as well as an overall feeling that the officer’s educational and support duties could be better carried out through a different position.

The resounding belief was that the program should be halted for now, while the district figures out what a replacement program may look like. The money that was used to fund the position will be reinvested into safety measures based on site-level input as well as recommendations from the district’s safety committee, according to Adamson.

Pacific Grove Police Department Chief Casey Day will now serve as the district liaison. Day will participate in regular site visits, school events, staff training, collaboration on traffic safety efforts and district safety planning.

“I think that’s an imperative piece, that we need to be building that trust and collaborating with the police department … getting to know so many of our students and staff and continuing to really have more of a presence within the community, I think that’s how we’re going to build that trust,” said Adamson.

Back to school season will also begin in the Salinas Valley on Tuesday, with the Salinas Union High School District and Alisal Union School District both re-opening their campuses. Salinas City Elementary School District returns on Thursday. The North Monterey County Unified School District will welcome back students on Aug. 13.

Alisal Union’s guiding theme for the school year is “Cultivating Our Future: Rooted in Community, Growing Together.”

“Our district is profoundly ‘Rooted in Community,’” wrote Alisal Union’s new Superintendent, Monica Anzo, in a letter to parents. “This means that the strength of our schools comes directly from the vibrant connections, shared values and unwavering support of families like yours.”

On Monday, Monterey Peninsula Unified hosted its annual Back to School Kick Off with nearly 1,500 teachers and staff members coming together to celebrate the start of the new school year.

“We’re thrilled to welcome students back this Wednesday to begin another incredible year of learning and growth,” said Superintendent PK Diffenbaugh in a prepared statement. “This year’s theme, ‘Honoring the Past. Shaping the Future,’ reminds us of how far we’ve come and the limitless potential ahead. I’m more energized than ever to continue this important work alongside our dedicated staff and amazing students as we pursue our bold vision of becoming one of the finest public school systems in the country.”

The 2025-26 theme will highlight the past decade of transformation within the district while looking ahead to what more can be accomplished.

This summer, many Monterey Peninsula Unified educators have undergone professional development and learning opportunities to help guide their instruction. As Measure I, a $213 million bond approved in 2018, wraps up and Measure A, a $340 million facilities bond approved last year, school facilities improvements have also continued over the summer break. Notably, classroom modernizations and campus-specific facility and athletic improvements have been implemented over the past few months.

Horoscopes Aug. 4, 2025: Barack Obama, start manifesting the life you desire

CELEBRITIES BORN ON THIS DAY: Cole Sprouse, 33; Dylan Sprouse, 33; Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, 44; Barack Obama, 64.

Happy Birthday: Stop dreaming, and start manifesting the life you desire. Take the initiative, learn something new and refine your skills to meet the demands you face in reaching your goal. Participate in groups that help you gain insight and perspective and launch your quest to bring about change that will enhance your life. Explore, discover and put your energy into fine-tuning, reliance and new beginnings. Your numbers are 6, 13, 21, 25, 32, 38, 43.

ARIES (March 21-April 19): Research, organize and plan before initiating change that is likely to encounter resistance. Being resourceful and taking the time to think before you act will make the difference between winning and losing. Discipline, innovative alternatives and an energetic attitude will help you reach your destination unscathed. Discard what you no longer need. 5 stars

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): Play to the audience that loves you. Trying to win over those who are oblivious to what you bring to the table is a waste of time. Let your love, actions and sincerity inspire those who reciprocate, encouraging you to be and do your best. Utilize your skills and time to make an impact. 3 stars

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): A new path will be uplifting and thought-provoking. Change is never easy, but it engages you in situations that can help you navigate to a better place. Let go of any anger, regret or sorrow you carry and replace it with curiosity, new beginnings and fulfillment. Your happiness is your responsibility; take the first step. 3 stars

CANCER (June 21-July 22): Put your best foot forward and focus on what makes you feel good about yourself, your lifestyle and your surroundings. Fixing up your space to encourage you to start new projects or entertain more is in your best interest. Broaden your horizons, and you’ll gain access to personal growth and fulfillment. Romance is favored. 3 stars

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): Take charge, and direct your energy toward something that benefits you and encourages personal or professional growth. Get out, network and offer your skills, knowledge and assistance to those you encounter who have something to offer in return. Be the force that energizes others to follow through. Discipline and a healthy imagination will pay off. 5 stars

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Preparation is everything if you want to avoid criticism and emotional interference. Work quietly by yourself until you are satisfied with the results you see and are ready to promote and present what you’ve accomplished. Physical contact with someone running in the same direction as you will bring you closer together. 2 stars

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): Engage in events that are informative and address your concerns. The input will be valuable, and the contacts you make will lead to the help you require to put a positive spin on your lifestyle moving forward. Stop procrastinating, and put your energy where it counts. Choose discipline and control over excess and indulgence. 4 stars

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): Your best return will come from what you actually do, not what you allude to doing. Pushy or aggressive actions or words will be met with resistance. Focus on positive input and a foolproof plan to help you reach your goal with the least amount of stress and interference. Choose peace over discord. 3 stars

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): Put your money where it counts, and put your effort into making your home, the environment and your relationships better. Call, visit or help someone who requires assistance. Your kind gesture will offer valuable insight into a viable solution that can become a worthwhile venture. Check into the logistics, and embrace new beginnings. 3 stars

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): Rash decisions will leave you in a vulnerable position. Refrain from overreacting or putting yourself in risky situations that could lead to aggressive behavior. Protect your possessions and personal information from scammers. Mixed emotions will lead to doubt regarding someone close to you. Make a point to be direct. 3 stars

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): Invite positive changes into your home. Make adjustments that will help you navigate your schedule better. Discuss the financial or emotional cost of ignoring situations and obstacles that are slowing you down. Efficiency is crucial if success is your goal. Two-way conversations are a must if you want to please everyone, including yourself. 4 stars

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): Make schedule adjustments to ensure you can attend an event that can open doors personally or professionally. Greater involvement in practices that help you organize your life better will encourage you to incorporate a system that offers more control and fewer interruptions. Personal growth, physical improvements and love are favored. 2 stars

Birthday Baby: You are radiant, engaging and diverse. You are feisty and driven.

1 star: Avoid conflicts; work behind the scenes.2 stars: You can accomplish, but don’t rely on others.3 stars: Focus and you’ll reach your goals.4 stars: Aim high; start new projects.5 stars: Nothing can stop you; go for gold.

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