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Oct. 27, 2025, 6:00 AM EDTBy Rohan NadkarniWhen the Kansas City Chiefs started the season 1-2, many were quick to cast doubt on the contending capabilities of the reigning AFC champions — NBC News included. So, in the interest of fairness, it deserves to be noted: Since Week 4, the Chiefs’ offense is finally starting to resemble what it did during the heights of their dynastic run. And that should terrify the rest of the league. Entering Week 8, Kansas City ranked sixth in points per game, which would be the team’s best mark since 2022 when it finished first in scoring. Before this week’s slate of games, the Chiefs were fifth in yards per game, also their best since 2022.After finishing near the middle of the pack in both scoring and yardage a year ago, Kansas City is starting to get hot. Patrick Mahomes has his best passer rating since 2022, and is also on pace for his most passing touchdowns since that season. The Chiefs have also scored at least 28 points in each of their last four games — the first time they’ve done so since 2021.“We have a lot of weapons. We have a lot of guys and they all love each other, and they want each other to succeed,” Mahomes said after a 31-0 win over the Las Vegas Raiders in Week 7. “We want to be better than what we are now, but this was a good step in the right direction.”More from SportsFormer Jets center Nick Mangold dies at 41, less than 2 weeks after announcing he had kidney diseaseLSU wanted its coach gone. It could cost $54 million.‘Nightmare for the league’: Gambling scandal roils the NBAA big reason for Kansas City’s success has been the improved play of its pass catchers. Despite the Chiefs spending the fifth-lowest amount on their receivers this year, that group has started to exceed expectations. Per ESPN’s Bill Barnwell, over the first three weeks of the season, only 46% of Kansas City’s passes were thrown to open receivers. Beginning in Week 4, that number increased to 62.7% after the win over the Raiders, the best mark in the NFL. Against Las Vegas, the Chiefs received another boost with the return of receiver Rashee Rice, who missed the first six games of the season due to a suspension as a result of an April 2024 arrest.A second-round pick in 2023, Rice was sensational as a rookie, catching 79 passes for 938 yards and seven touchdowns. But he played in only four games last year before undergoing season-ending surgery on his knee. In his first action of the season in Week 7, Rice had seven catches for 42 yards and two scores.“I thought the whole receiving crew did a nice job, but it was great to have him back,” head coach Andy Reid said after the Raiders win. “The energy he brings is just tremendous.”If the recent offensive surge is sustainable, then Kansas City is a much more dangerous team than it showed early in the season. The defense has been spectacular in its own right, ranking fourth in total yards allowed and third in points per game allowed entering Week 8.Even though the Chiefs would only be in seventh place in the AFC with a win over the Washington Commanders on Monday, they appear to be peaking as we enter the second half of the NFL season. “We’re going to get even more and more in sync with having the full arsenal,” tight end Travis Kelce said following the return of Rice in Week 7. “As long as we keep playing unselfish and getting excited for each other, the sky’s the limit for this group.”Rohan NadkarniRohan Nadkarni is a sports reporter for NBC News. 

After finishing near the middle of the pack in both scoring and yardage a year ago, Kansas City is starting to get hot. Patrick Mahomes has his best passer rating.

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Oct. 26, 2025, 9:39 PM EDTBy Marlene Lenthang, Bill Feather and Linda TakahashiFive crew members were rescued after a Navy Seahawk helicopter and a Super Hornet fighter jet went down in the South China Sea a half-hour apart in separate incidents Sunday, the Navy’s Pacific Fleet said.In one incident, an MH-60R helicopter assigned to the “Battle Cats” of Helicopter Maritime Strike Squadron 73 went down at 2:45 p.m. local time, the Pacific Fleet said on Facebook. The squadron is based at Naval Air Station North Island on the Coronado peninsula in San Diego.Search-and-rescue teams were deployed and safely recovered all three crew members on the helicopter, the Pacific Fleet said.Separately, an F/A-18F Super Hornet fighter assigned to the “Fighting Redcocks” of Strike Fighter Squadron 22 went down at 3:15 p.m., according to the fleet. That squadron is based at Naval Air Station Lemoore in Kings and Fresno counties, California.Both crew members “successfully ejected” and were also rescued, the Pacific Fleet said.In both incidents, the aircraft were conducting “routine operations” from the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz, the Pacific Fleet said. The Defense Department deferred comment to the Navy, which did not immediately respond to a request for comment Sunday night.All crew members involved are in safe and stable condition, the fleet said.The incidents happened as President Donald Trump is in Southeast Asia for a three-country tour.He arrived in Malaysia on Sunday. He will also stop in Japan and South Korea and is expected to meet Thursday with Chinese President Xi Jinping.It was unclear Sunday whether the Navy helicopter and the fighter jet that went down were conducting flights related to Trump’s trip. Marlene LenthangMarlene Lenthang is a breaking news reporter for NBC News Digital.Bill FeatherBill Feather is an assignment editor for NBC Los Angeles who covers general assignment and daily breaking news, primarily in Southern California.Linda Takahashi

Five crew members were rescued after a Navy Seahawk helicopter and a Super Hornet fighter jet went down in the South China Sea a half-hour apart in separate incidents Sunday,.

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Savewith a NBCUniversal ProfileCreate your free profile or log in to save this articleOct. 27, 2025, 5:00 AM EDTBy Monica AlbaWASHINGTON — The country’s largest union representing federal workers is calling for lawmakers to pass a short-term spending measure to end the government shutdown immediately, urging Democrats to abandon their current position and join Republicans in supporting a stopgap solution.“Both political parties have made their point, and still there is no clear end in sight,” American Federation of Government Employees President Everett Kelley wrote in a statement first shared with NBC News. “It’s time to pass a clean continuing resolution and end this shutdown today. No half measures, and no gamesmanship.”The statement could increase pressure on Democrats to budge from their current stance. Senate Democrats have insisted that they won’t vote to reopen the government without a commitment from Republicans and President Donald Trump on extending health care subsidies through the Affordable Care Act, which are set to expire at the end of the year. Without them, health insurance premiums on Obamacare markets will skyrocket for many individuals and families. AFGE is calling on Congress to pass a clean continuing resolution.Bill Clark / CQ-Roll Call via Getty Images file“It’s time for our leaders to start focusing on how to solve problems for the American people, rather than on who is going to get the blame for a shutdown that Americans dislike,” Kelley said, stressing there should be a “resolution that allows continued debate on larger issues” like growing costs and a dysfunctional federal funding process in Congress.“Because when the folks who serve this country are standing in line for food banks after missing a second paycheck because of this shutdown, they aren’t looking for partisan spin,” he added. “They’re looking for the wages they earned. The fact that they’re being cheated out of it is a national disgrace.” AFGE represents 820,000 federal and D.C. government workers across almost every agency. The group is suing the Trump administration on several fronts connected to the shutdown: first over the mass layoffs organized by Trump budget chief Russell Vought and second over partisan out-of-office email messages blaming Democrats for the shutdown that were set by the Education Department, without employees’ permission or foreknowledge. The union believes the government should reopen now and workers should receive their back pay, both those who have had to work without pay and those who have been furloughed for the last 26 days. “None of these steps favor one political side over another. They favor the American people — who expect stability from their government and responsibility from their leaders,” Kelley said. The House-passed continuing resolution, which has failed 12 times in the Senate so far, would expire on Nov. 21. The group says it would support either that resolution or one that would fund the government for a longer period. Three senators who caucus with Democrats have voted with Republicans to pass the bill: John Fetterman, D-Pa., Catherine Cortez Masto, D-Nev., and Angus King, I-Maine. Five more would be needed to reach the 60-vote threshold required. There are no signs of negotiations between the two parties to end the stalemate, which will hit the one-month mark this week. Trump has said he’s willing to meet with Democrats only once they’ve voted to reopen the government. “These are patriotic Americans — parents, caregivers, and veterans — forced to work without pay while struggling to cover rent, groceries, gas and medicine because of political disagreements in Washington,” Kelley wrote. “That is unacceptable.” #embed-20251002-shutdown-milestones iframe {width: 1px;min-width: 100%}Monica AlbaMonica Alba is a White House correspondent for NBC News.

AFGE, the nation’s largest union representing federal workers is calling for lawmakers to pass a short-term spending measure to end the government shutdown immediately.

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