Fernando Mendoza, Diego Pavia, KC Concepcion headline long list of Latino prospects in NFL draft

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) —Fernando Mendozaand Diego Pavia pulled off an unprecedented double at the Heisman Trophy ceremony in December. It marked the first time in the award's history that two Latino players were finalists.

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Even more notable: Mendoza, of Indiana, joined Jim Plunkett and Bryce Young as just the third Latino to win the trophy whilePavia, from Vanderbilt,was the runner-up.

Now with the NFL draft almost here, Mendoza and Pavia continue to drive conversation about where they will go. Mendoza is projected to be the No. 1 selection Thursday night, likely going to the quarterback-needy Las Vegas Raiders, while Pavia hopes to prove any lingering doubters wrong.

And while the two quarterbacks are the headliners, they are certainlynot the only Latino prospectshoping to hear their names called before the draft ends Saturday.

Here's a look at nine players who attended the NFL's annual scouting combine in Indianapolis in February.

QB Fernando Mendoza, Indiana

The Heisman Trophy winner and national championship-winning quarterback seems a virtual lock to be the No. 1 pick after throwing for 3,535 yards, leading the nation with 41 TD passes and running for seven more scores, including the memorable TD that helped seal Indiana's national title. Mendoza eagerly embraces his Cuban lineage. He has talked often about the role his parents and family played in his growth as a player, and his four grandparents who fled Cuba in 1959.

WR KC Concepcion, Texas A&M

The 5-foot-11 1/2, 196-pound, do-it-all receiver with Puerto Rican connections emerged as one of the nation's top playmakers in 2025. He was a first-team All-America selection as the all-purpose player and though his 40-yard dash time of 4.43 seconds may cause some scouts to question his top-end speed, Concepcion always seems to deliver in clutch moments or when plays appear to be over. He also has written about his speech impediment, indicating he wants to become a role model for those who “may be too scared to speak.” He could be picked on Day 1 or early on Day 2.

LB Jacob Rodriguez, Texas Tech

The 6-1, 231-pound Rodriguez did a little bit of everything with one of last season's top defenses. He made 128 tackles, broke up seven passes, intercepted four, forced seven fumbles, recovered two and posted one sack. And the unanimous All-American also won the Nagurski Trophy, Butkus Award, Lombardi Award and Bednarik Award on a defense stacked with future NFL players. He seemingly did it all in college, including playing quarterback at Virginia in 2021. The question is where he will land and how all that experience will translate to the pro level.

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LB Taurean York, Texas A&M

At 5-11, 186 pounds, York is smaller than prototypical linebackers but could find a home by playing the trendy safety-linebacker hybrid NFL teams seem to increasingly want. He's been productive, too. The second team all-SEC selection started all three seasons with the Aggies, and he finished last season with 72 tackles and three passes defensed. He's one of five players in this draft with family ties to Mexico. Look for York to be chosen on Day 2 or early on Day 3.

QB Diego Pavia, Vanderbilt

He's one of the most polarizing players in this draft class, in part because he's not afraid to express his thoughts and in part because he stands only 5-foot-10, much shorter than most teams prefer in a quarterback. But there are two things on Pavia's resume that can't be ignored — he's routinely defied the odds and he wins. Pavia started his college career at New Mexico Military Institute, played well enough to jump to New Mexico State and then led Vanderbilt to its most successful back-to-back seasons in recent memory. Now the 2025 SEC Offensive Player of the Year and the first Heisman finalist from Vanderbilt will be waiting to find out which NFL team will give him a chance to prove himself all over again.

TE Josh Cuevas, Alabama

Cuevas has been a more proficient blocker than pass catcher at his three college stops — Cal Poly, Washington and Alabama. And though his size, 6-3 1/2, 245 pounds, may prompt some teams to project him more as a fullback than a tight end, there's plenty to like. Cuevas produced solid numbers last season with the Tide — 37 receptions, 411 yards, four TDs — and had career bests in 2022 at Cal Poly (58 catches, 678 yards, six TDs). The other thing coaches will appreciate is his accountablilty. He apologized to Alabama fans after the 2025 season-opening loss to Florida State, saying the players failed to meet the expected standard in that game. He also used his Senior Bowl platform to throw his support behind Crimson Tide coach Kalen DeBoer.

OL Fernando Carmona, Arkansas

Carmona showed his versatility last season by moving to guard after playing left tackle the previous three seasons. That gave NFL teams a potential preview of what he could do next season with his shorter arms and massive size — 6-4 1/2, 316 pounds. He's also improved steadily in college, going from honorable mention all-Western Athletic Conference with San Jose State in 2023 to third-team all-SEC in 2024 and second-team all-SEC last year. While scouts also seem to like his energy and edge, they also realize he'll need better technique to excel at the next level.

QB Joey Aguilar, Tennessee

Aguilar is one of the rare prospects who didn't want to be on any draft list. Despite throwing for 3,565 yards and 24 touchdowns in his only season with the Volunteers, Aguilar wanted to return to school for one more year. But just days before the NFL's annual scouting combine was set to begin, a Tennessee court denied his preliminary injunction, pushing him into the draft. The decision put Aguilar in an awkward position because most of the other players had spent weeks or months preparing for the draft. That makes his landing spot — or even a selection — anybody's guess.

OL Enrique Cruz Jr., Kansas

Cruz has the size teams covet — 6-5 1/2, 313 pounds — and the versatility they like in late-round prospects because he played both left and right tackle in college. He also overcame the adversity of going from starter to backup at Syracuse by reclaiming the starting job last year at Kansas. Will it be enough to entice an NFL team? Perhaps.

AP NFL:https://apnews.com/NFL

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April 24, 2026

Fernando Mendoza, Diego Pavia, KC Concepcion headline long list of Latino prospects in NFL draft

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) —Fernando Mendozaand Diego Pavia pulled off an unprecedented double at the Heisman Trophy ceremony in December. It ma...

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EU prepares to clash with US again over shipping carbon levy

By Kate Abnett and Jonathan Saul

BRUSSELS/LONDON, April 24 (Reuters) - European Union countries agreed on Friday to keep pushing for a global price on shipping's CO2 emissions in U.N. talks ‌next week, setting up another potential clash with the United States over the proposal.

Governments at ‌the International Maritime Organization decided last year to postpone the climate plan by a year, after the Trump administration strongly opposed ​the measure and threatened to impose sanctions and visa restrictions on delegates who supported it.

That has not stopped European countries attempting to revive the plan, according to the EU's negotiating position for next week's IMO talks, seen by Reuters.

EU countries "shall oppose any attempts" to remove the climate measures from being negotiated at the meeting, ‌the document said.

EU countries will consider ⁠changes to the original carbon pricing plan if this helps gather support, the document said. However, some EU officials said they were pessimistic any compromise deal on climate ⁠measures could pass, given the firm opposition from the U.S..

Norway's environment minister Andreas Bjelland Eriksen said that the IMO still had a chance to strike a historic deal, but had to look at "different approaches" to avoid a ​repeat ​of last year's failure.

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"Also... whether we can do some ​things already now and potentially postpone other ‌parts of the regulation to a later stage, for example," he added while speaking to journalists.

A total of 57 countries - among them, China and major shipping states including Liberia - voted to delay the carbon price at the meeting in October, versus 49 who sought to land a deal.

The supporters included European nations, Brazil and some small island countries vulnerable to climate change.

A coalition of the world’s top three ship ‌registries, Liberia, Panama and the Marshall Islands, plus oil tanker ​companies including Saudi Arabia’s Bahri urged IMO members to consider ​alternatives to the original carbon pricing plan when ​they meet next week.

"Support for the framework in its current form has continued ‌to erode" since the IMO meeting last year, ​they said in a ​statement.

The IMO decision last year split the EU, as Greece and Cyprus - each home to major shipping industries - broke ranks with the bloc and abstained in the vote, rather than supporting ​the EU-backed climate proposal.

Greece, Malta and ‌Italy declined to endorse the new EU negotiating position, which was passed by a reinforced ​majority of EU countries, officials said.

(Reporting by Kate Abnett and Jonathan Saul, additional reporting ​by Nerijus Adomaitis in Oslo; Editing by Kirsten Donovan)

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April 24, 2026

EU prepares to clash with US again over shipping carbon levy

By Kate Abnett and Jonathan Saul BRUSSELS/LONDON, April 24 (Reuters) - European Union countries agreed on Friday to keep pushing ...

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Simple change in food handling process can cut exposure to toxic plastic chemicals by half

Changes to one’s food handling process can help create a “lowplastic”diet, effective in significantly reducing exposure totoxic polymer compoundsfrom our surroundings, a new study finds.

The daily use of plastic products has been associated with severalhealth risks, includinghormone fluctuations,reproductive conditions, andseveral types of cancer.

Recent studies estimate that over16,000 chemicalsare used in plastic products, with many of these, including phthalates and bisphenols, well established as hazardous to human health.

While several countries have implementedmeasures to limit exposureto hazardous plastic chemicals, regulation of these individual compounds has been challenging.

To address this, researchers in Australia have conducted a comprehensive clinical trial to assess health benefits of minimising all plastic “touchpoints” during the production, handling, processing, packaging, preparation and storage of food products and personal care items.

They found that by minimising these touchpoints, the levels of these chemicals in the human body could be reduced just within seven days.

“This trial has delivered a message of hope that we can actively reduce plastic chemical levels in our bodies but is linked to significant changes in the way we produce and package our food,” said Michaela Lucas, an author of the study published inNature Medicine.

“Our results showed strictly adhering to a diet of food which has not touched plastic, whether that is during production or packaging, can reduce plastic chemicals in our body in as little as a week,” said Dr Lucas, a biologist from the University of Western Australia.

In the study, an interdisciplinary team of researchers, including dieticians, doctors, nurses, statisticians and biologists analysed urine, blood and nasal samples, as well as behavioural questionnaires and socio-demographic data from 211 healthy adults.

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All the participants showed high levels of plastic chemicals in their bodies, with each found to have at least six different chemical types on any given day.

Eating highly processed, packaged and canned foods and beverages were significant contributors to the levels of plastic chemicals found in these participants, researchers say.

Sixty of these participants were selected to be part of a trial involving a low plastic diet and lifestyle intervention.

They were divided into five groups to test the effectiveness of replacing food and beverages, kitchenware and personal care products with low plastic alternatives.

Other plastic chemical sources like silicones and cans were also removed from the participants’ food supply chain.

“Our dieticians worked with over 100 farmers and food producers to educate and transform their food handling processes and packaging to reduce plastic exposure from paddock to plate,” said Amelia Harray, another author of the study from the University of Western Australia.

After the seven-day intervention, all trial groups showed a significant decrease in plastic chemical levels in their urine, compared to the control group.

By changing to low plastic kitchenware personal care products, the levels of phthalates decreased by more than 44 per cent in their urine, and bisphenols by more than 50 per cent, the study found.

“Participants had access to any type of food they would usually consume – pasta, salads, meats, butter, chocolate, fruit and snacks – which allowed energy intake to remain the same,” Dr Harray said.

“By delivering participants low plastic food and providing them with plastic-free kitchenware, such as stainless-steel pots, pans, kettles, toasters and wooden chopping boards, we showed changing what you eat and how you prepare food could reduce plastic chemicals in the body,” she said.

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April 23, 2026

Simple change in food handling process can cut exposure to toxic plastic chemicals by half

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Taking vitamin D supplements has hidden potential benefits for some people

Vitamin Dsupplements could help preventtype 2 diabetesinthose who possessa certaingene.

Figures show 4.6 million people in the UK have adiabetes diagnosis, but an estimated 6.3 million people have non-diabetic hyperglycemia, more commonly known as pre-diabetes, according toDiabetes UK.

If left untreated, pre-diabetes can develop intotype 2 diabetes, yetvitamin Dmay help delay orprevent that progression.

Known as the sunshine vitamin, it’s found in the sun’s UVB rays, as well as oily fish, mushrooms and red meat and is vital for keeping bones, teeth and muscles healthy. But scientists say it also plays a role in blood sugar control.

A study by researchers at Tufts University in Massachusetts found pre-diabetic adults with certain variations in thevitamin Dreceptorgenehad a 19 per cent lower risk of developing diabetes when taking a high daily dose of vitamin D.

"Diabetes has so many serious complications that develop slowly over years. If we can delay the time period that an individual will spend living with diabetes, we can stop some of those harmful side effects or lessen their severity,” said Bess Dawson-Hughes, senior scientist at Tufts University.

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For the report, published inJAMA Network Open, researchers analysed data from the D2d study, a clinical trial which tested the effect of 4,000 units of vitamin D per day versus placebo in more than 2,000 US adults with pre-diabetes. They hoped to see if a daily high dose would lower the chance of these particularly high-risk individuals from developing diabetes.

Vitamin D circulating in the blood is converted into its active form in the body before binding to the vitamin D receptor, a protein that helps cells respond to the vitamin.

The researchers wondered whether genetic differences in this receptor might explain why some people benefited from vitamin D while others did not. The pancreas's insulin-producing cells have vitamin D receptors, suggesting the vitamin may help influence insulin release and blood sugar control.

Researchers split participants into two groups: those who appeared to benefit from vitamin D supplementation and those who did not.

They found those with agenevariation, called AA, found in 30 per cent of the population, did not respond to daily treatment with a high dose of vitamin D. But the same treatment in adults with two other variations, AC and CC, saw a significantly reduced risk of developing diabetes.

"Part of what makes vitamin D appealing as a potential preventive tool is that it is inexpensive, widely available, and easy for people to take,” Professor Anastassios Pittas from Tufts University School of Medicine said.

However, study authors cautioned against taking high doses of vitamin D to prevent pre-diabetes without medical advice. The NHS urges people not to take more than 100 micrograms (4,000 IU) of vitamin D a day, as too much can cause calcium to build up in the body, weakening the bones, damaging the kidneys and the heart.

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