Trump’s speech, Khamenei funeral, Swiss Alps

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By Nadja Lovadinov

July 06, 2026

By Nadja Lovadinov

July 06, 2026

 
 

Welcome back and hope you had a lovely holiday weekend. In the news today: FIFA makes an extraordinary decision, lifting a U.S. World Cup star’s suspension after a call from Trump; the president’s mix of patriotism with partisanship in his speech marking America’s 250th; and crowds pack Tehran for the funeral procession for Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Also, a look at a historic railway through the stunning Swiss Alps.

 
FIFA President Gianni Infantino awards President Donald Trump with the FIFA Peace Prize in Washington, 2025.

FIFA President Gianni Infantino awards President Donald Trump with the FIFA Peace Prize in Washington, 2025. (AP Photo/Chris Carlson)

WORLD NEWS

FIFA lifts US star’s suspension at World Cup after Trump call

President Donald Trump intervened on behalf of star U.S. forward Folarin Balogun, whose red-card suspension was lifted, allowing him to play against Belgium on Monday. Read more.

Why this matters:

  • Trump called FIFA president Gianni Infantino after the game with Bosnia-Herzegovina asking FIFA to review the red card, according to a person familiar with the call who spoke on condition of anonymity because the person was not authorized to speak publicly about the matter. It appeared to be the first time since 1962 that a red card during a World Cup didn’t result in a suspension.

  • The extraordinary move triggered praise from Trump and outrage from Belgium’s team. “Thank you to FIFA for doing what was right, and reversing a great injustice!” Trump said in a statement on social media. The Royal Belgian Football Association said it was “astonished.”

RELATED COVERAGE ➤

  • UEFA says decision by FIFA to let U.S. forward play at World Cup is ‘incomprehensible’

  • Previewing the US match against Belgium
 

POLITICS

Trump mixes patriotism with partisanship as he celebrates America’s 250th anniversary

Speaking in Washington on Saturday, President Donald Trump honored veterans, including several from World War II and one of the first Black officers to lead a Special Forces team in combat in Vietnam. Yet Trump also leaned into partisan territory unusual for an Independence Day address, which presidents typically use as a moment to unify the country. Read more.

Why this matters:

  • Trump stumped again for the SAVE America Act, an elections bill that’s encountering challenges even from fellow Republicans in Congress. He highlighted his support for the Second Amendment and revived denunciations of communism, which are becoming an increasingly central part of Trump’s message ahead of the November midterms. The event organizers were largely aligned with the White House, supplanting a bipartisan organization that was launched by Congress a decade ago.

RELATED COVERAGE ➤

  • Photos from 250th anniversary celebrations

  • 150 people from 50 countries become US citizens at Mount Vernon on America’s 250th birthday

  • Trump posts a doctored photo of the Obamas and Air Force One with graffiti spray-painted on plane

  • Belgian diamond group that won tariff relief gifted Trump a lavishly encrusted ring

  • Trump pardons former Abramoff partner, 9 people convicted of violating vehicle emissions controls

  • Trump administration’s interpretation of slavery under George Washington can be reinstalled

  • White House report brands Smithsonian leadership as radical activists who can’t be trusted

  • Trump’s administration won’t seek new bids to repair the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool 
 

WORLD NEWS

Mourners throng funeral procession in Tehran for Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei

His flag-draped coffin, and those of his family killed Feb. 28 in an airstrike at the start of the war launched by Israel and the United States, sat on board a truck as a procession began Monday. Read more.

Why this matters:

  • The massive turnout, encouraged by Iran’s theocracy as a sign of strength, came as it negotiates with the U.S. over a permanent end to the war that killed the 86-year-old cleric. Talks appear to be on hold until after the burial. Authorities have shut down streets, airspace and daily life for the mourning, which began Saturday and will end Thursday as Khamenei is buried at the Imam Reza shrine in Mashhad, his birthplace.

RELATED COVERAGE ➤

  • WATCH: Coffin paraded through Tehran 

  • Photos of the funeral

  • Khamenei’s other sons appear at his funeral in Iran as new supreme leader remains in hiding
 

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WATCH

Brooklyn Bridge fire: Crews put out blaze after firework shows malfunction

The Seine: