Steve Futterman

The Patriots have engineered one of the biggest turnarounds in league history.

Last season they won just four games.

Today they are trying to win number 18.

New England coach Mike Rabel says fans can appreciate their rags to riches rise.

The Seahawks, meanwhile, have adopted a four-word mantra to respond to the preseason naysayers, we did not care.

For NPR News, I'm Steve Futterman in Santa Clara, California.

The NFL fiercely protects its league and team logos for good reason.

Merchandise brings in billions of dollars each year in revenue.

This week, law enforcement officials have been here describing efforts to stop the selling of counterfeit merchandise.

Ivan Arvelo is director of the National Intellectual Property Rights Coordination Center.

The big lure for these knockoffs, he says, are much lower prices.

But producing these items is illegal.

In the last year, officials have seized nearly $40 million in unlicensed NFL material.

For NPR News, I'm Steve Futterman in San Francisco.

California voters approved the redrawn congressional districts in November, with nearly 65 percent of voters giving them a thumbs up.

The move came in response to similar action in Texas.

In Texas, it was Republicans at the urging of President Trump who pushed to give the GOP up to five additional seats in the House.

In California, it was Democrats leading the drive to give their party five new seats.

Governor Gavin Newsom has been a key supporter.

Republicans challenged the California map, but the high court rejected a request to block it from taking effect.