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What we know as T.J. Watt holds out for contract: Trade rumors

Pittsburgh Steelers edge rusher T.J. Watt has been the subject of conflicting trade rumors as the offseason wears on.

Watt, 30, is set to enter the final year of the four-year, $112 million contract extension he signed in 2021. In early June, the four-time All-Pro sat out of the Steelers’ mandatory veteran minicamp in an attempt to push his team to the negotiating table.

For now, Watt remains without a contract extension.

So as the Steelers’ offseason strategy progressed with a blockbuster trade on Monday, teams around the league began to wonder if a trade for Watt, their star edge rusher, was possible.

Here’s what we know:

T.J. Watt contract

Length: Four years
Total value: $112 million
Average annual value (AAV): $28 million

Watt signed his most recent contract extension in 2021, and 2025 is the last season of the four-year deal.

The overall value of Watt’s current contract ranks fifth among NFL edge rushers. Nick Bosa, Myles Garrett, Joshua Hines-Allen and Brian Burns are all playing on more lucrative overall deals.

In terms of AAV, Watt is the seventh highest-paid edge rusher per year. All five of the aforementioned edge rushers are above him as well as Texans pass-rusher Danielle Hunter on his one-year, $35.6 million deal and the Raiders’ Maxx Crosby making $35.5 million per year for three years.

Crosby and Garrett signed massive extensions earlier in the offseason. Crosby’s deal reset the edge rusher market first, then Garrett’s extension pushed it even further with its $40 million-per-year average over four years.

T.J. Watt trade rumors

ESPN reported Monday that ‘multiple teams’ have discussed making a move for Watt after the Steelers traded safety Minkah Fitzpatrick and a 2027 fifth-round pick for cornerback Jalen Ramsey and tight end Jonnu Smith.

With Ramsey getting a pay bump in 2025 and Smith getting a one-year extension as part of the trade, other teams wondered if the Steelers might have been gearing up to move their star pass-rusher. As Watt remains without an extension and his holdout continues, trade speculation will likely only continue to grow.

However, ESPN also reported that ‘the Steelers are adamant they want Watt to finish his career in Pittsburgh.’

Will the Steelers trade T.J. Watt?

Both ESPN and NFL Network reported that the Steelers don’t want to trade their four-time All-Pro edge rusher.

ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported that the team is ‘adamant’ to keep Watt in Pittsburgh for the rest of his career. NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero reported that the Steelers ‘have no interest’ in moving on from the seven-time Pro Bowler.

It remains to be seen whether another team can provide an offer the Steelers can’t refuse while also having the capability to give Watt the extension he seeks.

T.J. Watt career earnings

According to Spotrac, Watt has made $110.9 million in his eight-year career so far. With the $21.05 million he’s set to make in 2025, that number will jump to over $131.9 million after this season.

T.J. Watt stats

Watt has played his entire career for the Steelers. Here’s how his stats looked last year as well as his career totals through eight seasons:

2024

Tackles: 61
Tackles for a loss: 19
Sacks: 11.5
Forced fumbles: 6 (led the league)
Passes defensed: 4

Career

Tackles: 462
Tackles for a loss: 126
Sacks: 108
Forced fumbles: 33
Passes defensed: 49
Interceptions: 7

Watt won the Defensive Player of the Year award in 2021. He’s also on an active Pro Bowl streak of seven straight seasons and has earned four All-Pro nods in his eight-year career.

This post appeared first on USA TODAY
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Braves lose key starting pitcher to broken elbow

The Atlanta Braves’ nightmare season has no end in sight, and the latest blow might be too much to overcome.

Spencer Schwellenbach, who grew into an ace role with Atlanta after injuries to Spencer Strider and Chris Sale, will be out until at least September with a fracture in his right elbow.

Schwellenbach, 25, was a good bet to earn inclusion on his first All-Star team after a first half that saw him post a 3.09 ERA in 17 starts and rank third in the National League in WHIP (0.97). But Schwellenbach felt soreness after his most recent start against the Philadelphia Phillies, and imaging revealed a small fracture in his elbow.

The timing is almost too much to be believed: Atlanta’s season went sideways before April when outfielder Jurickson Profar earned an 80-game suspension for a PED violation just days into his three-year, $42 million contract. Profar’s suspension expired this week and he is set to be activated for the July 2 game against the Los Angeles Angels.

Meanwhile, Sale, the defending NL Cy Young Award winner, is out indefinitely with a fractured rib cage suffered two weeks ago. Strider completed a 12-month rehab from Tommy John elbow surgery, made one start and then missed five more weeks with a hamstring injury.

‘Sale went down,’ Schwellenbach told reporters in Atlanta, ‘and as a staff we knew we had to pick things up and now this happens and I feel horrible. I set a goal for myself to throw a bunch of innings and it just sucks.”

Add it up, and the Braves are 38-46 entering play July 2, in fourth place in the NL East and seven games behind first-place Philadelphia.

At stake: Atlanta’s seven-year streak of playoff appearances, which includes six division titles and a 2021 World Series crown. While their deficits aren’t insurmountable, their rotation thins out very quickly after Strider, with Grant Holmes bumped to the No. 2 spot and rookie Didier Fuentes – who has a 10.80 ERA in two starts – suddenly a significant piece of it. Additionally, veteran Bryce Elder is supposed to be depth, but instead has been forced to make 13 starts, posting a 5.82 ERA.

Schwellenbach was a second-round pick in 2021 by Atlanta.

This post appeared first on USA TODAY
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Bush teams up with notorious Trump foes to trash ‘colossal mistake’ shuttering USAID

Former President George W. Bush joined up with former President Barack Obama and U2 singer Bono to comfort United States Agency for International Development employees Monday, while also taking shots at President Donald Trump and his administration for shuttering the agency plagued by accusations of fraud and abuse. 

‘Gutting USAID is a travesty, and it’s a tragedy,’ Obama said in a video that was shown to departing USAID employees Monday, according to the Associated Press. ‘Because it’s some of the most important work happening anywhere in the world.’ 

Obama summed up the decision to shutter the agency as ‘a colossal mistake,’ and added that ‘sooner or later, leaders on both sides of the aisle will realize how much you are needed.’

Bush, Obama and Bono spoke to departing USAID employees Monday in a videoconference as the agency officially was shuttered following the Trump administration’s reporting that it was overrun with alleged corruption and mismanagement. The videoconference did not include members of the media, with the Associated Press reviewing and reporting on clips of the conference later that day.

USAID is an independent U.S. agency that was established under the Kennedy administration to administer economic aid to foreign nations. It was one of the first agencies investigated by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) in early February for alleged mismanagement and government overspending, with DOGE’s then-leader Elon Musk slamming the agency as ‘a viper’s nest of radical-left marxists who hate America.’ 

USAID officially was absorbed by the State Department Tuesday. 

Bush, who overwhelmingly has shied away from publicly criticizing Trump, lamented in his recorded message to the staffers that the end of USAID marks an end to his administration’s work rolling out an AIDS and HIV program that is credited with saving 25 million people nationwide.

‘You’ve showed the great strength of America through your work — and that is your good heart,’’ Bush told USAID staffers, according to the Associated Press. ‘Is it in our national interests that 25 million people who would have died now live? I think it is, and so do you.’ 

Bono of U2 fame recited a poem he wrote reflecting on USAID’s closure and his claims that millions around the world will likely now die, according to the Associated Press. 

‘They called you crooks. When you were the best of us,’ Bono said.

Fox News Digital reached out to Obama’s and Bush’s respective offices Wednesday morning for additional comment, but did not receive responses. 

Other longtime Trump foes, such as former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, thanked foreign service officers for their work before USAID’s closure. 

‘In all my years of service, I found that foreign service officers and development professionals were among the most dedicated public servants I encountered,’ Clinton posted to X Tuesday. ‘Their work saves lives and makes the world safer. Today, and every day, I stand with them.’

Obama and Bush overwhelmingly have remained tight-lipped on their views of Trump under his second administration, with both former presidents attending Trump’s inauguration and not weighing in on the majority of Trump’s policies. Obama has taken issue with Trump’s ‘big, beautiful bill,’ which is clearing its final hurdles to passage and will fund Trump’s agenda on social media, while Bush has consistently shied away from public rebukes of Trump in recent history. 

Bono previously has claimed that cuts to USAID would kill hundreds of thousands of people, and had slammed Trump in 2016 as ‘potentially the worst idea that ever happened to America.’

Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who was serving as acting administrator of USAID, announced the State Department absorbed USAID’s foreign assistance programs Tuesday after decades of failing to ensure the programs it funded actually supported America’s interests. 

‘Beyond creating a globe-spanning NGO industrial complex at taxpayer expense, USAID has little to show since the end of the Cold War,’ Rubio wrote in his announcement. ‘Development objectives have rarely been met, instability has often worsened, and anti-American sentiment has only grown.’  

‘This era of government-sanctioned inefficiency has officially come to an end,’ he continued. ‘Under the Trump Administration, we will finally have a foreign funding mission in America that prioritizes our national interests. As of July 1st, USAID will officially cease to implement foreign assistance. Foreign assistance programs that align with administration policies—and which advance American interests—will be administered by the State Department, where they will be delivered with more accountability, strategy, and efficiency.’

The shuttering comes after DOGE gutted USAID as part of Trump’s effort to remove waste, fraud and abuse from the federal government earlier in 2025. 

Trump repeatedly had touted DOGE’s work uncovering fraud and mismanagement within the federal government, including in his March address before Congress celebrating that DOGE identified $22 billion in government ‘waste,’ including at USAID.

‘Forty-five million dollars for diversity, equity and inclusion scholarships in Burma,’ Trump said as he rattled off various examples of federal waste. ‘Forty million to improve the social and economic inclusion of sedentary migrants. Nobody knows what that is. Eight million to promote LGBTQI+ in the African nation of Lesotho, which nobody has ever heard of. Sixty million dollars for indigenous peoples and Afro-Colombian empowerment in Central America. Sixty million. Eight million for making mice transgender.’

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Trump’s ‘big, beautiful bill’ stalls in House amid conservative mutiny threats

President Donald Trump’s legislative agenda temporarily ground to a halt in the House of Representatives Wednesday afternoon.

Plans for an early afternoon vote to begin debate on Trump’s ‘big, beautiful bill’ slipped away as both conservative concerns and weather delays led to issues in passing two procedural votes ahead of the critical measure.

It’s not clear if the key vote will proceed today at this point. House Freedom Caucus Chairman Andy Harris, R-Md., one of the bill’s biggest critics, told reporters a vote was still ‘possible.’

‘No, not yet,’ he said when asked if he was getting what he needed from the White House to support the measure. ‘But the evening is so young.’

House GOP leaders had hoped to vote to begin debate on the vast tax and immigration bill, a maneuver known as a ‘rule vote,’ with the goal of teeing up a vote on the legislation’s final passage by late Wednesday or early Thursday at the latest.

The president has directed Republicans to get a bill to his desk for a signature by the Fourth of July, though he’s suggested in some recent comments he would not mind a delay of a few days.

The rule vote was meant to be the third in an early afternoon series of three votes. As of early evening Wednesday, that vote is still being held open, and the House floor is effectively paralyzed.

Lawmakers who expected a vote were told to return to their offices to await further instructions.

Multiple House Freedom Caucus members who left a meeting next to the House floor declined to comment on what they discussed, but several have made clear in recent days that they have serious issues with the Senate’s version of Trump’s agenda bill.

The mammoth piece of legislation includes Trump’s agenda on taxes, the border, energy, defense and the national debt.

Office of Management and Budget Director Russell Vought was seen briefly entering and exiting the room where the fiscal hawks were gathered.

He said little to reporters other than announcing they were ‘making good progress’ on his way out of the room.

Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, suggested that conservatives were speaking with the Trump administration about how Republicans could make up for what they saw as deficiencies in the current version of the bill.

Fiscal hawks were angered by last-minute moves made to placate Senate GOP moderates who were uneasy about the bill’s near-immediate phase-out of most green energy tax subsidies in former President Joe Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act (IRA).

They’ve also argued the Senate’s bill would add more to the federal deficit than the House’s earlier version, though Senate Republicans have pushed back.

‘We were not happy with what the Senate produced. We thought there was a path forward as of late last week, even though I had concerns in public about them. But then they jammed it through at the last minute in a way that, you know, we’re not overly excited about,’ Roy said. ‘So, now we’re trying to understand what our options are from this point.’

Other representatives, like Keith Self, R-Texas, and Josh Brecheen, R-Okla., declined to comment about the meeting to reporters.

Rep. Tim Burchett, R-Tenn., who is not a member of the Freedom Caucus but had some concerns about the bill, told reporters when leaving the meeting, ‘I’m just waiting to see what’s going on honestly. Everybody’s just discussing what’s going on and trying to get to some [resolution].’

Burchett told reporters earlier he was leaning in favor of voting to debate the bill.

But Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., can afford just three defections to still pass the bill along party lines.

‘We’re going to get there tonight,’ Johnson told reporters.

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Long before Diddy’s sex-crimes trial, he almost became an NFL owner

A 12-person Manhattan jury delivered a split verdict Wednesday in the case of Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs, who was found guilty of two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution but was acquitted on the top charge of racketeering and both sex trafficking counts.

The verdict came after allegations of sexual assault and trafficking started mounting against the music mogul following a bombshell lawsuit from his former girlfriend of a decade, Casandra ‘Cassie’ Ventura Fine, who provided devastating testimony during the trial that began May 5 in Combs’ hometown of New York City.

It wasn’t long ago that Combs attempted to join one of the most exclusive clubs in American society: NFL ownership. Here’s a look back at Diddy’s dalliance with ‘The Shield.’

Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs wanted to buy Carolina Panthers

Combs first voiced his desire to buy the Carolina Panthers via social media in December 2017. The Golden State Warriors’ Stephen Curry responded that he wanted to be a part of the ownership group.

Combs’ ownership push came amid the Colin Kaepernick protests that he inspired across the league. In May 2018, however, owners unanimously approved a new national anthem policy that requires players to stand if they are on the field during the performance and extinguished Combs’ desire to own a team, apparently.

‘Man, I really wanted to go in there and be a part of the NFL and try to be a positive change,’ Combs said, via Billboard. ‘This last move, though, I don’t even want to own an NFL team no more.’

The team eventually went to David Tepper.

During an appearance with ‘The Breakfast Club’ following his failed attempt to buy the team, Combs said:

“It was never about me buying the Panthers. It was always about ‘we.’ It was always about ‘we’ need a team,” he said. “I jumped out there to make sure that they understood that they have to consider some Black ownership right now with 80%, 70% of the league being African American. It’s just time.”

Robert Kraft wanted Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs to own NFL team

During a run-in with gossip website TMZ, Patriots owner Robert Kraft voiced his support for Combs when asked about the prospect of the 55-year-old buying into the league.

‘I hope so,’ he told TMZ Sports. ‘I’m a big fan of his.’

Combs later told TMZ that ‘it’s time’ for him to own a team.

This post appeared first on USA TODAY
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Aaron Nola injury update: Latest on Phillies pitcher’s rehab

PHILADELPHIA — Philadelphia Phillies right-hander Aaron Nola remains on track with his rehab process.

That latest step towards the mound for the veteran, who has been out since May 16, has taken place across the last few days at Citizens Bank Park with agility work and throwing on the ground in the outfield ahead of each game of the Phillies’ three-game series vs. the San Diego Padres.

‘It’s going smooth so far,’ Nola told USA TODAY Sports. ‘I’ve thrown probably seven times, no problems. Haven’t really gotten on it super hard yet. Hoping today goes well again and having tomorrow off to recover and back at it on Friday. It is going smoothly.’

Prior to his stint on the injured list on May 16, Nola was in an uncharacteristic rut for the Phillies, who signed him to a new seven-year, $172 million dollar contract in 2023. In nine starts this season, Nola had a 1-7 record with a career-high 6.16 ERA in 49 ⅔ innings pitched.

The Phillies entered Wednesday, July 2 with a two-game lead over the New York Mets in the National League East.

Here’s the latest updates on Nola’s injury and when the Phillies might expect their All-Star right-hander back:

Aaron Nola injury update

Nola went on the injured list for the first time — for a non-COVID injury — since 2017, on May 16 with a right ankle sprain that he sustained while doing agility work ahead of a May 9 road start vs. the Cleveland Guardians.

He pitched with the injured ankle vs. the Guardians and then again on May 14 against the St. Louis Cardinals, two starts in which he’d give up a combined 13 runs on 18 hits and five home runs.

‘I’m just blessed that it’s nothing season-ending or anything huge. But yeah, it’s been a while obviously since we’ve been on the [IL], but it’s part of baseball,’ Nola said, on the injured list for a lengthy period for the first time in his career. ‘A little speed bump that I got to get over and I believe I’m going to get over it and hopefully come back strong and have a fresh arm hopefully.’

Nola said over the last few days, he has been able to continue doing some running and agility work in the outfield, along with getting some tossing in. As for how his arm has responded to the throwing, Nola said it’s ‘feeling good.’ He also said his stress-fractured rib cage is progressing well.

‘We’re doing a good job of planning everything out and I’ve been feeling good every time I’ve thrown. I’m not trying to push it too quickly because I don’t want any setbacks,’ Nola said. ‘Obviously have some days that are a little sore just in the arm because we’re not throwing for three weeks, but that’s just normal.’

He was scheduled to run and toss a bit ahead of Game 1 of the Phillies’ doubleheader vs. the Padres on July 2, and then throw again in two days, where he hopes to get back near the mound.

‘Just to throw a couple up off the mound to feel the slope and feel the push off with my ankle and stuff like that since I haven’t been (doing that) in a little while,’ Nola said. ‘That’s kind of the progression right now.’

In his pregame availability with the media on July 2, Phillies manager Rob Thomson said the hope is to get Nola on the mound for a full bullpen session by the end of the weekend. Thomson also said that once Nola begins to ramp up his throwing program, the Phillies will treat it like a second spring training.

‘I’d say pretty close, yeah, starting over really,’ Thomson said.

Nola reiterated that plan, building up to bullpen sessions on the mound and then getting a few rehab starts — maybe two or three — to get his pitch count up. He additionally said he’s still hopeful for a target date of late July, early August, though he couldn’t tell ‘a date or a week’ for that return.

‘Honestly, trying to take it day by day and pushing the envelope just a little bit more every day I throw and run and work out,’ Nola said. ‘That’s kind of the way it’s going right now.’

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Democratic doctors’ protest against Trump’s ‘beautiful bill’ derailed by flood of US Capitol tourists

The Democratic Doctors Caucus was interrupted by a barrage of tourists during a press conference outside the office of House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., on Wednesday.

As Congress rushes to pass President Donald Trump’s ‘big, beautiful bill’ before the self-imposed July 4 deadline, House Democrats hosted press conferences throughout the Capitol on Wednesday protesting the $3.3 trillion bill. 

The Democratic Doctors Caucus, comprised of the six Democratic physicians serving in the House of Representatives, planned a press conference in Statuary Hall, a room down the hall from the House speaker’s office. 

Apparently noticing the large gaggle of reporters staking out Johnson’s office amid last-minute member holdout negotiations, the caucus moved their press conference to right outside the speaker’s office. Donning their white coats in the crowded hallway, the Democratic doctors began their prepared remarks. 

But that area is a major tourist corridor, and the press conference was quickly flooded with tourists walking from the Rotunda past Johnson’s office and into Statuary Hall. 

Police officers directed members to stand on one side of the corridor, while the press stood on the other. 

The result was unusable to journalists as tour guides and tourists’ chatter drowned out their remarks. The Democrats’ comments were inaudible. 

Their press conference also created somewhat of a tourist traffic jam between the two areas, as officers struggled to keep the area open. 

Democrats have railed against potential Medicaid cuts since Trump was elected in November. According to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), at least 10 million people will lose health insurance by 2034 due to Trump’s megabill. 

While Trump has maintained that the bill does not cut Medicaid and Republicans claim the bill only cuts waste, fraud and abuse in the program, Democrats have continued to speak out against the projected cuts. 

The Democratic Doctors Caucus planned to highlight the harm Medicaid cuts could have on hospitals during their press conference Wednesday, but their remarks were drowned out by the steady flow and chatter of tourists walking back and forth from the Rotunda to Statuary Hall.

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As his feud with Trump reignites, Musk’s business with the government is back in the crosshairs

Elon Musk and President Donald Trump are fighting again. Now Musk’s business interests — and the billions in government contracts they enjoy — are once again in the crosshairs.

Investors were already punishing Tesla on Tuesday, sending shares in the electric carmaker more than 4% lower in afternoon trading. The stock has experienced a late-spring rally alongside the broader market but remains down some 20% so far this year. The shares have been pummeled by a global backlash to Musk’s alliance with Trump on the campaign trail and in the White House, where the multibillionaire led a sweeping program of government cuts

Musk acknowledged there had been “some blowback” to the actions taken by his Department of Government Efficiency project that may have affected Tesla sales. Yet investors remain largely bullish on the company and its efforts to pivot away from mass-market EVs and toward self-driving taxis and robotics, pushing its market valuation back toward $1 trillion.

Tesla remains Musk’s best-known business, but its fortunes are less directly tied to the government than SpaceX, his rocket-building company. SpaceX’s $350 billion valuation largely rests on the many government contracts that fuel it. SpaceX’s work for NASA has ramped up in recent years in support of the Artemis mission to return to the moon.

Meanwhile, SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft is currently the only active vessel capable of carrying astronauts to and from the International Space Station. SpaceX has also become essential to the Department of Defense’s missions taking satellites into orbit and today is responsible for the majority of such missions, according to Ars Technica.

SpaceX is privately held, meaning its shares don’t trade on the open market. It is thus difficult to get a real-time gauge on how worsening relations could affect the company’s fortunes. But the impact could be substantial. Since fiscal year 2000, total revenue for SpaceX and Tesla from federal unclassified contracts sits at $22.5 billion, according to Bloomberg Government data — with most of those going to the former. The Washington Post has put the figure for SpaceX alone at close to $38 billion, with $6.3 billion alone coming in 2024 — the highest annual total to date.

The dispute with Trump has also taken a chunk out of Musk’s personal net worth. After soaring to an all-time high of nearly half a trillion dollars after Trump’s election win, Musk’s publicly available wealth tally now sits at $400 billion, though that still makes him the world’s wealthiest individual by nearly $150 billion ahead of Oracle founder Larry Ellison, another Trump ally.

The Musk-Trump tiff first exploded into public view last month, shortly after Musk formally stepped down from his special government employee role and criticized the massive spending and tax cut bill that Republican senators passed Tuesday. Trump responded at the time by threatening to “terminate Elon’s Governmental Subsidies and Contracts.”

Musk, in turn, said he would begin “decommissioning” the Dragon, only to reverse course hours later after an X user advised him and Trump to “cool off and take a step back for a couple of days.”

Before their initial flare-up subsided, Musk announced he would be reining in his political spending weeks after a candidate he had backed lost a key Wisconsin Supreme Court race. Some analysts believe the current relapse in tensions between the two men will be short-lived given Musk’s reliance on the government, and vice-versa.

Still, Musk is now discussing launching his own political party to address the U.S.’s fiscal imbalances, which he believes Trump’s bill will exacerbate — a contention supported by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office. While the South Africa-born executive is ineligible to run for office, any candidate he backed for national office would likely face immediate conflict-of-interest questions.

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Apple sues former Vision Pro employee for allegedly stealing ‘thousands of documents’ before joining Snap

Apple has accused a former engineer for its Vision Pro headset computer of stealing company trade secrets before starting a new job at Snap, according to a lawsuit filed in California last week.

In the June 24 court filing, Apple accuses Di Liu, a senior design engineer, of downloading thousands of documents in his final days at the Cupertino company last year and saving them to his personal cloud accounts.

This lawsuit is the latest example of Apple publicly going after a former employee for leaking internal information. Apple is an intensely secretive company, and lawsuits like this one highlight how the iPhone maker exercises tight control over its internal information, even if it has to pursue legal action against former staff.

Apple alleges that Liu didn’t inform the company when he resigned late last year that he was headed to Snap, a competitor and maker of smart glasses. As a result, Apple did not shut off his access to accounts and allowed him a customary two-week transition period, which he used to download company files, according to the lawsuit.

“Worse still, the review of Mr. Liu’s Apple-issued work laptop also shows that while maintaining access to Apple’s Proprietary Information under false pretenses, he used his Apple credentials to exfiltrate thousands of documents containing Proprietary Information from Apple’s secure file storage systems,” the iPhone maker’s lawyers said in the filing.

Many of the files downloaded by Liu had codenames for Apple projects and described the company’s technology, product design and supply chain, according to the lawsuit. Apple says that all employees agree to keep Apple files confidential and that Liu broke confidentiality agreements he made when he joined. Liu worked for Apple between 2017 and 2024, according to the lawsuit.

Liu worked on Apple’s Vision Pro headset as a system product design engineer, per the filing. Liu did not respond to a request for comment from CNBC.

Apple lawyers wrote that Liu could use the trade secrets in his work at Snap. Apple is not suing Snap, and the social media company did not respond to a request for comment.

“The overlap between Apple’s Proprietary Information that Mr. Liu retained and Snap’s AR products (for which Mr. Liu is a ‘product design engineer’) suggests that Mr. Liu intends to use Apple’s Proprietary Information at Snap,” according to the filing.

Apple is seeking damages and for Liu to have his devices inspected by a forensic examiner to make sure all the trade secrets are deleted.

The iPhone maker has sued several former employees in recent years for taking files when they left the company.

Apple settled with former engineer Simon Lancaster in 2022 over providing information to a journalist. Apple also sued a former employee, Andrew Aude, in 2024 over leaking details to the media. That lawsuit was dismissed after Aude apologized.

The Cupertino company sued Rivos, a chip startup staffed by former Apple semiconductor employees, over its intellectual property, and settled in 2024.

Additionally at least three former Apple employees have also been arrested and accused by the government of taking company secrets and giving them to China-linked organizations. One pled guilty and was sentenced to four months in prison, and two are still in proceedings.

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Heisman sleepers: Five unlikely candidates who could contend

Two out of the past five Heisman Trophy winners did not play quarterback, but smart money remains on a quarterback reclaiming the award this season. Quarterbacks won the Heisman in nine of the 10 years throughout the 2010s.

The Heisman favorite wears one of football’s most famous surnames on the back of his jersey. Texas quarterback Arch Manning enjoys 6-to-1 odds from BetMGM.

LSU quarterback Garrett Nussmeier (8½-to-1), Clemson quarterback Cade Klubnik (9-to-1), Ohio State wide receiver Jeremiah Smith (10-to-1) and Penn State quarterback Drew Allar (14-to-1) complete the top five of oddsmaker front-runners.

Give me a three-pack of Heisman picks, and I’d take Manning, Smith and Nussmeier.

Behind the front-runners are a few more quarterbacks and another wide receiver that stand out as Heisman sleepers. How do I define a sleeper? Their odds are worse than 15-to-1.

Full disclosure: I am a Heisman voter. I do not wager on the award.

Here are my top Heisman sleepers for the 2025 season:

Prime Heisman Trophy sleeper candidates

Carson Beck, Miami, QB

BetMGM odds: 25-to-1

Beck headlined the shortlist of Heisman front-runners last summer. Since then, he threw twice as many interceptions (12) in 2024 as he did the previous season, then he transferred to a worse program, he had his expensive cars stolen, and he split with his model girlfriend. Ouch! Never mind all that. He still can make throws most other quarterbacks can’t, and he should find ACC defenses to his liking. Cam Ward finished fourth for the Heisman after transferring to Miami before last season. Beck injured his elbow in December. He resumed throwing recently. If healthy, he retains Heisman-level talent.

EXPERIENCE MATTERS: Familiar faces top Big Ten QB rankings

TIME TO SHINE: Arch Manning headlines SEC QB rankings

LaNorris Sellers, South Carolina, QB

BetMGM odds: 18-to-1

Few quarterbacks outclassed Sellers by the end of last season. Ask Missouri about Sellers’ passing ability. Ask Clemson about his running ability. Dual-threat quarterbacks make for good Heisman contenders, and Sellers fits that billing. He’s an efficient passer, but he must reduce his turnovers after a redshirt freshman season filled with fumbles. A neat story helps a Heisman campaign. How’s this? Sellers signed with South Carolina as a three-star recruit who played in goggles. (He later switched to contacts.) His Heisman hopes will depend on the Gamecocks rekindling their 2024 success, when they reached the playoff’s doorstep.

Julian Sayin, Ohio State, QB

BetMGM odds: 18-to-1

Coach Ryan Day churns out successful quarterbacks. Sayin, a former blue-chip recruit, is next in line. If Sayin outperforms Manning in a season-opening clash of top teams at “The Horseshoe,” his Heisman stock will soar. Here’s your buy-low opportunity. Sayin should benefit from throwing to one of the nation’s best wide receiving corps. He might encounter Heisman competition from his teammate, Smith, but a big season for Smith probably also means a big season for Sayin. He played sparingly in 2024, but he’s got the arm to be a star. Sayin exudes upside, with a great supporting cast around him.

Long-shot sleeper to contend for Heisman Trophy

John Mateer, Oklahoma, QB

BetMGM odds: 25-to-1

Oklahoma needed a quarterback to lead a revival after the Sooners’ dismal first season in the SEC. Insert Mateer, who starred at Washington State, like Ward before him. Mateer’s offensive coordinator, Ben Arbuckle, preceded him to Oklahoma, so there’s no need for Mateer to learn a new system. Now, he just needs to prove himself in the SEC. He’s a dual threat with a bundle of playmaking skills. Oklahoma’s brutal schedule – it’s perhaps the nation’s toughest – will create a platform for Mateer to sink or shine.

Hail Mary sleeper to contend for Heisman Trophy

Ryan Williams, Alabama, WR

BetMGM odds: 35-to-1

How’s this for a Heisman narrative: Williams, at 18 years old, would be the youngest player to win the award. He introduced himself on the scene with a 177-yard receiving game against Georgia. He’ll need to find more consistency as a sophomore to emerge as a contender. Alabama will have a new starting quarterback, and it’s unclear whether that will help or hamper the pass game. Williams’ Heisman hurdles include proving himself as the nation’s best receiver within a landscape that includes Smith from Ohio State. Williams enjoys an advantage in playing for Alabama, which has produced four Heisman winners since 2009.

Blake Toppmeyer is the USA TODAY Network’s national college football columnist. Email him at BToppmeyer@gannett.com and follow him on X @btoppmeyer.

This post appeared first on USA TODAY
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