The Belgian soccer federation is demanding an explanation from FIFA about a decision Folarin Balogun play at the World Cup despite getting a red card in his previous game. President Donald Trump called FIFA president Gianni Infantino after the game and asked FIFA to review the red card, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the person was not authorized to speak publicly about the matter.
Trump rang a ceremonial bell Monday as the New York Stock Exchange and the Nasdaq opened, The event was aimed at promoting for children, which Republicans created as part of their .
Trump will meet with Ukrainian President and Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa on Wednesday at the , as Kyiv tries to refocus his attention on the and as Trump in the Middle East.
Trump: 鈥楴obody cares鈥� about World Cup red card controversy
The president preemptively waved away potential questions from the press about against U.S. star Folarin Balogun.
After introducing the press at an Oval Office event on Monday, Trump said: 鈥淭hey don鈥檛 want to know anything about soccer slash football. Fortunately, they won鈥檛 be asking any questions on that. Nobody cares about that, right?鈥�
Trump said he wanted to keep attention on his administration鈥檚 new investment accounts for U.S. children, the topic of Monday鈥檚 Oval Office event.
What are critics saying about the child investment accounts?
Critics point out that the accounts do little to help children in their early years, when they鈥檙e most vulnerable and most likely to be in poverty. The accounts, they say, also fail to offset to other programs that benefit young people and the adults in their lives, including food assistance and Medicaid.
And even with government contributions, critics say the Trump Accounts will widen the wealth gap. Affluent families that can afford to make the maximum pretax contributions will realize the greatest benefits. Poor families that can鈥檛 afford to set aside money for the accounts will benefit the least. Assuming a 7% annual return, the $1,000 in seed money would grow to roughly $3,570 over 18 years.
鈻�
Bessent says 6 million American children signed up for Trump Accounts
Ahead of the president ringing the market bell, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent gave an overview of the program so far.
He said that 86% of the 6 million signed up came from families earning less than $200,000.
Under the program, parents can open for any child born during Trump鈥檚 second term and automatically receive $1,000 from the government. Accounts can be opened for older children 鈥� as long as they don鈥檛 turn 18 before the end of the calendar year 鈥� but they will not receive the $1,000. The accounts were set to open for deposits July 4, which was also the day the Treasury Department plans to transfer the $1,000 bonus.
Trump rings bell at the White House as US markets open
Trading had begun just before Trump rang the ceremonial bell brought to the Oval Office to mark the opening of trading in U.S. markets on Monday.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said it was the first time the opening bell had been rung in the Oval Office. Trump joked that he wanted to keep the large, silver bell for the White House.
A crowd gathered in the Oval Office to watch as Trump rang the bell, including a group of children who were visibly 鈥� and vocally 鈥� excited to be there.
Someone whispered 鈥渂e quiet鈥� to a child who began speaking just as the president was launching into an intro about the importance of the moment.
Trump鈥檚 emphasis on stock market gains ring hollow for many Americans
The Oval Office bell-ringing is aimed at promoting , which were created as a vehicle for children to have investments in stock indexes as part of Republicans鈥� .
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has emphasized that millions of people 鈥� 38% of American adults have no direct exposure to stocks, so don鈥檛 immediately benefit from investments that largely accrue to more affluent households 鈥� 鈥渂ut with Trump Accounts, over time, we can get that number down to zero.鈥�
The S&P 500 posted gains of 17.9% in 2025, after annual returns of 25% in 2024 and 26.3% in 2023 under President Joe Biden. The benchmark stock index has risen roughly 10% so far this year. But just as , Trump has also seen his approval fall as and created new inflationary pressures.
Trump rings opening bells for NYSE and Nasdaq
rang the opening bells for the New York Stock Exchange and the Nasdaq from the golden confines of the Oval Office on Monday, a symbolic act that reflects how he has increasingly tied his presidency to the stock market.
With hurting Trump鈥檚 popularity, the Republican president has tried to get more Americans to focus on their 401(k) investments, claiming that his policies should get the credit for any gains, particularly as the November midterm elections draw closer.
Only 33% of U.S. adults approve of Trump鈥檚 economic leadership, according to by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research.
An all-time controversy in the World Cup鈥檚 96-year history is raging
The Belgian federation says it is challenging FIFA鈥檚 decision Folarin Balogun play Monday as co-host United States faces Belgium with a quarterfinals place at stake.
The European soccer body UEFA said FIFA 鈥渃rossed a red line鈥� by deciding, after pressure on the world soccer body鈥檚 leader Gianni Infantino from not to enforce for getting a red card in his previous game.
鈥淲hen the certainty of rules is no longer guaranteed by its guardians, the integrity of the game is at stake and the credibility of a competition is undermined,鈥� UEFA鈥檚 statement said.
Infantino鈥檚 predecessor Sepp Blatter, who was forced from office in 2015 in fallout from corruption scandals, : 鈥淩ed cards are not overturned by political phone calls. They are overturned by rules, evidence and independent bodies.鈥�
White House takes fresh aim at Smithsonian Institution
Trump may be preparing at the after a branded its leadership, especially at the , as radical activists who cannot be trusted.
Trump already revealed his at the Smithsonian with an targeting funding for programs advancing what he called 鈥渄ivisive narratives鈥� and 鈥渋mproper ideology.鈥�
Historian Lonnie Bunch, the Smithsonian鈥檚 current secretary, is the first African American to lead the institution. In an unrelated interview that aired Sunday on NBC鈥檚 鈥淢eet the Press,鈥� Bunch said 鈥淎merica鈥檚 greatest strength, it鈥檚 not running away from its history, but it鈥檚 understanding how that history shaped us and continues to shape us.鈥�
鈻�
Trump won big spending promises from NATO last year. This week in Turkey, he鈥檒l try to enforce them
Trump got what he wanted from NATO at an alliance whose members had largely acceded to his demands to step up their defense spending.
This week, when he his mission is to
The speed with which most NATO countries have tried to heed Trump鈥檚 call to spend 5% of their annual gross domestic product on defense over the next decade underscores how the U.S. president has reshaped the alliance and bent it to his will 鈥� even as he continues to spar with its members over the , his flirtation with , and various personal tiffs.
Trump leaves Monday evening for the summit, and for days leading up to the trip has been airing grievances about how much the U.S. spends on defense compared with other countries. That鈥檚 despite efforts from , the alliance鈥檚 secretary-general, who tried to feed the ego of the tempestuous U.S. leader in an Oval Office meeting last month.
鈻�
Trump posts a doctored photo of the Obamas and Air Force One with graffiti spray-painted on plane
Trump on Sunday posted a falsified image of former and his wife, , waving before boarding an Air Force One that had been spray-painted with graffiti.
It came months after another by the president that showed the couple as primates in a jungle. That one was deleted after stiff, bipartisan backlash.
The latest image shows the Obamas smiling and waving at the top of stairs alongside a baby blue and white presidential plane with graffiti painted on it that included the Democrat鈥檚 campaign slogan 鈥淵es We Can,鈥� 鈥淥bama鈥� and 鈥淏LM,鈥� short for Black Lives Matter. The post also shows graffiti in Arabic on the plane that says the phrase 鈥渁lhamdulillah,鈥� which means 鈥減raise be to God鈥� or 鈥渢hank God.鈥�
Trump has a yearslong record of intensely personal criticism of the Obamas, and of using incendiary, sometimes racist, rhetoric. That includes everything from feeding the lie that Obama was not born in the United States to crude generalizations about majority-Black countries and posts that have sparked anger on his Truth Social website.
鈻�
FIFA lifts US star striker Balogun鈥檚 red card suspension at World Cup after Trump calls Infantino
Trump intervened on behalf of star U.S. forward Folarin Balogun, whose red-card suspension was lifted in a decision that allows him to play in a match against Belgium on Monday.
Balogun, the American leader with three goals in the tournament, for stepping awkwardly on the right ankle of Tarik Muharemovi膰 of Bosnia-Herzegovina in a 2-0 round of 32 win on Wednesday, triggering an automatic one-game suspension.
FIFA announced Sunday that the suspension had been lifted for the round of 16 match, an extraordinary move that triggered praise from Trump and outrage from Belgium鈥檚 team. It appeared to be the first time since 1962 that a red card during a World Cup didn鈥檛 result in a suspension.
Trump called FIFA president Gianni Infantino after the game asking FIFA 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.
鈻�
Trump鈥檚 administration won鈥檛 seek new bids to repair the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool
The Trump administration will not seek new bids to repair the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, Interior Secretary said Sunday as he faced new questions about the troubled project and the taxpayer money involved.
Like , Burgum said he was 100% sure that to the century-old Reflecting Pool on the National Mall. Trump has charged that a 350-foot gash was cut into the pool鈥檚 liner in the midst of recent renovations, while Burgum described it as multiple cuts adding up to that figure. He also said the pool would have to be at least partially drained in the coming week to finish the repairs.
The repairs will not be opened up to new contractors, he said.
鈥淲e鈥檒l use the same company, because they did a fantastic job,鈥� Burgum told CNN鈥檚 鈥淪tate of the Union.鈥� 鈥漈hankfully, the vandalism was small. It was bad. I mean, it could cost tens of thousands of dollars to repair, so then it could fall into a felony … just like damaging any other government property could. But the job that was done to fix the Reflecting Pool was done extremely well.鈥�
鈻�
Trump to meet with Ukraine鈥檚 Zelenskyy and Syria鈥檚 al-Sharaa during the NATO summit
President plans to meet with Ukrainian President and Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa on Wednesday while attending the NATO summit in Turkey, the White House said. Those discussions will come as Kyiv tries to refocus Trump鈥檚 attention on the and as Trump has in the Middle East.
White House spokesperson Anna Kelly confirmed the meetings in a call with reporters while previewing the , where Trump also plans to meet with Turkey鈥檚 President on Tuesday. Before returning to the United States on Wednesday, Trump is scheduled to have a news conference, Kelly said.
Trump鈥檚 meeting with Zelenskyy comes as Russia鈥檚 war in Ukraine is now in its fifth year. Both Zelenskyy and Russian President Vladimir Putin held phone calls with Trump on Saturday, congratulating him on the July Fourth commemoration of the .
鈻�
Copyright © 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, written or redistributed.
