THE WORLD CUP REQUEST TO PLAY IN AMERICA WAS MADE BY PRESIDENT OBAMA
In 2009 President Obama formally wrote a letter to FIFA supporting the U.S. bid to host either the 2018 or 2022 World Cup.
This year, following the games, an investigation is ongoing, and FIFA has not yet determined whether any players, coaches or the Argentine federation will face disciplinary action. Futbol superstar Lionel Messi sent a message to his fans, a day after the defending champions fell to Spain 1-0 in extra time at the World Cup final. Messi was left in tears and with his international future uncertain after he was unable to conjure up one more piece of magic to save Argentina. FIFA has now launched an investigation into Argentina for actions during and after their World Cup loss.

Beyond the blackouts, the run-up to this year's anniversary has been unusually tense. In February, a firefight broke out between Cuba's Border Guard and a U.S.-registered speedboat off Villa Clara province, Cuban authorities said the boat's occupants opened fire first, and five people were killed in the exchange, part of a broader pattern of friction Havana has tied to what it calls U.S.-backed infiltration attempts. That came weeks after the U.S. moved militarily against Venezuela and took custody of then-president Nicolás Maduro, a strike that also cut off Cuba's main lifeline of subsidized oil and deepened the fuel shortages.

Despite the hostility, Díaz-Canel has publicly acknowledged direct talks with Washington aimed at addressing the energy blockade, and Cuba has released more than 2,000 prisoners this year as part of that opening — though the fuel and power crisis has only worsened since, with the energy ministry confirming in May that the country had run out of oil and diesel entirely. Trump, for his part, has invoked the Monroe Doctrine directly regarding Cuba, and members of his administration have openly floated the idea of new leadership on the island.

So the Moncada anniversary this week isn't just ceremonial nostalgia — it's landing in the middle of live negotiations, a shooting incident with U.S. citizens killed, and the worst blackouts of the post-Soviet era, with real questions in Washington and Havana about whether the 67-year Castro-line government survives this round intact.

Why does

Congress was granted many powers under Article I of the Constitution. Recently, lawmakers under current GOP majorities have ceded much of their authority to the president, while Washington is plagued by gridlock, and Congress is marginalized. The US House and Senate are for the most part failing to address many problems facing Americans, and whether they are optimistic that Congress beset by partisanship, gerrymandering, and the president's pressures to do his bidding – could one day find its way again.

On this super Sunday of sports, we take a look at junior varsity Vance, the understudy of weird billionaire tech investor Peter Thiel, who serves as JD Vance’s political mentor and primary financial backer. They met in 2011 at Yale Law School and have since maintained a close professional relationship, with Thiel hiring Vance at Mithril Capital and contributing $15 million to Vance's 2022 Senate race.