Now that the bill has cleared the upper chamber, it’s up to lawmakers in the House to determine its fate when they return in September. President Donald Trump has already signaled he would sign the bill if it lands on his desk.

The bill, which championed by the late Sen. Lindsey Graham and cosponsors including Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) have worked to advance for more than a year, would issue mandatory sanctions not only on Russia’s leadership and energy sector, but also on abetters of Russia’s defense industry and so-called shadow fleet in an effort to curb the flow of cash to Moscow’s war chest.

Ukraine’s supporters on the Hill and officials in Kyiv have been urging its passage, arguing that it would deal a timely blow to Russia’s war efforts as Kyiv seeks to capitalize on a series of recent favorable turns in the war to end it altogether.

In comments on the Senate floor ahead of the vote, ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and vocal backer of the bill Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.) stressed the “urgency” of the moment.

“The momentum is on Ukraine’s side,” Shaheen said. “Now is the time to put more pressure on Putin.” She added that the situation on the ground could turn back in Moscow’s favor within months — especially with assistance from foreign foes like China.

It has already been a long road for the sanctions measure, which Graham and Blumenthal first introduced in April 2025. The lawmakers negotiated for months with the White House, which wanted more control over what entities it could sanction, and by how much. In July, Graham announced — from Kyiv — that the White House had agreed to a revised version of the bill.

Following a last-minute demand from Trump, lawmakers also added language to the bill to extend certain sanctions on Iran.

Graham’s sudden death just days after winning Trump’s green light spurred his fellow senators to support the legislation, which cleared a procedural hurdle at the end of the month by a wide margin.

But a provision in the bill that would grant the White House authority to issue 100 percent tariffs on top buyers of Russian oil, and countries facilitating sanctions evasion, nearly derailed the measure’s passage in the upper chamber before lawmakers left town for August recess.

An amendment pushed by Sens. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) and Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) that would have stripped the tariff language from the bill entirely failed in a 64 to 32 floor vote Friday.

Still, nearly one-third of the upper chamber voted in favor of striking the tariff language, highlighting Democrats’ worries about handing more tariff powers to a White House already eager to use that tool against Washington’s global allies and enemies. That Democratic discontent is likely a foreshadowing of a similar sticking point for lawmakers on the House side when they return from recess in September.

As Senate leadership tried to reach an agreement to fast-track consideration of the bill before the chamber adjourned for the summer, lawmakers opposed to the tariff provisions threatened to derail that effort over squabbles about what amendments should get a floor vote.

One of those amendments was an effort from Sens. Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.) and Bill Cassidy (R-La.), to add language curbing the tariff powers afforded to Trump in the bill. Warnock — who voted to advance the bill in July — had threatened to thwart Senate leadership’s effort to fast-track consideration of the legislation this week if his amendment didn’t get a floor vote.

But Warnock pulled the amendment at the eleventh hour Thursday evening after securing the Trump administration’s commitment to enact a clear off-ramp for countries hit with tariffs, according to a person familiar with the senator’s plans granted anonymity to speak about internal conversations.

That move may not go far enough to quell the concerns of Democrats in the House — some of whom have already expressed frustration over the provision.

House Foreign Affairs ranking member Gregory Meeks (D-N.Y.) and Rep. Don Beyer (D-Va.) issued a joint statement following the Senate vote slamming the current bill text as “unacceptable” and citing the broad waiver authority and tariff powers granted to the White House.

But the lawmakers vowed to “continue to seek a path forward that remedies this bill’s flaws.”

The post US Senate passes Russia sanctions bill appeared first on NEWSMAN.

The ruling, filed Thursday in Santa Fe County District Court, found Meta intentionally used features such as endless scrolling, auto play, notifications and content recommendations to keep users, especially teenagers, on its platforms longer.

The judge ruled that Meta helped fuel the state’s youth mental health crisis through the design of Facebook and Instagram, finding the company created a public nuisance and ordering it to pay $567 million for treatment and prevention programs.

The judge said those features contributed to higher rates of depression, anxiety, self-harm, eating disorders and suicide risk among young people. The court also found the platforms contributed to child sexual exploitation and put added pressure on schools, law enforcement and New Mexico’s mental health system.

Speaking to reporters on Friday, New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez applauded the ruling, calling it a “historic moment.”

The judgment not only helps New Mexico protect online safety but also changes the “narrative in this country and all over the world about whether or not companies of this size and scale can actually be held accountable,” Torrez said.

“[Meta] knew about these harms, they weren’t forthcoming about the danger, they weren’t honest with policymakers, parents and families,” Torrez added. “Now they must pay the price for the choice they made to put profits over children’s safety.”

The judge later ruled the company’s conduct also amounted to a public nuisance and ordered Meta to reduce the harm caused by its platforms rather than shut them down.

Under the order, Meta must pay $567 million into an abatement fund. The money includes $33 million for prevention and awareness, $90 million for screening and assessment, $15 million for referrals and care coordination, $420 million for treatment, and $9 million for program oversight and evaluation.

In a statement to ABC News, a Meta spokesperson voiced disagreement with the ruling and vowed to appeal.

“We work hard to keep people safe on our platforms and have been transparent about the challenges of identifying and removing bad actors and harmful content. We remain confident in our record of protecting teens online and will continue to defend ourselves against claims that misrepresent the facts,” the spokesperson said.

Torrez, of New Mexico, said he expects the appeals process to play out over a period of months or years, but said his office would “be pressing the court to order the payment of these funds as quickly as possible.”

“The longer we wait, the more harm is done to our kids,” Torrez added.

In its statement to the AP at the time, Meta said it shares “the attorneys general’s commitment to providing teens with safe, positive experiences online, and have already introduced over 30 tools to support teens and their families.”

“We’re disappointed that instead of working productively with companies across the industry to create clear, age-appropriate standards for the many apps teens use, the attorneys general have chosen this path,” it added.

The lawsuit was filed in December 2023 by Attorney General Torrez, who alleged Meta’s platforms harmed children and violated state law. Earlier this year, a jury found Meta committed 75,000 violations of the state’s Unfair Practices Act and imposed the maximum civil penalty of $375 million.

In March, a Los Angeles jury found Meta and the Google-owned YouTube negligent for designing apps that harmed kids and teens and failed to warn them about the dangers. The jury awarded total damages of $6 million to the plaintiff Kaley.

Meta is also preparing for a trial later this month in federal court in Oakland, California, The Associated Press reported. The company will face the first four of 29 states that sued it in a federal multi-district lawsuit filed in 2023 for allegedly contributing to the youth mental health crisis by knowingly designing features on Instagram and Facebook that addict children, according to the suit.

The post Youth mental health crisis, a New Mexico judge ordered Meta to pay $567M appeared first on NEWSMAN.

The initiative comes after Fauci invoked the Fifth Amendment and declined to answer questions at a hearing last week about his role in handling the COVID-19 pandemic.

The committee’s party-line vote of 8-5 came after Fauci invoked the Fifth Amendment against self-incrimination and declined to answer questions at a hearing last week about his role in handling the COVID-19 pandemic and its origins.

A contempt resolution would normally now head to the full Senate, where it would require 60 votes. It is unlikely the Fauci resolution would receive enough support in the full Senate to pass.

But committee chairman Sen. Rand Paul told reporters he is opting instead to immediately send it to the Department of Justice in the hopes they’ll take action.

Paul said Fauci could not plead the Fifth Amendment given he was preemptively pardoned by President Joe Biden out of fear of political prosecution.

“We are voting on whether a witness who has received the benefit of a sweeping federal pardon can be ordered by this committee to answer questions and then defy that order without consequence,” Paul said ahead of the vote.

David Schertler, legal counsel for Fauci, called Thursday’s vote “a crude political stunt intended to punish Dr. Fauci for exercising his constitutional rights.”

“The Senate should reject Senator Paul’s meritless and politically-motivated contempt resolution,” Schertler said in a statement. “For years, Senator Paul has proclaimed to anyone who would listen that Dr. Fauci should be prosecuted and put in prison. Dr. Fauci has committed no crime — and Senator Paul knows it.”

Democrats on the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee attempted several times to table the contempt resolution but were unsuccessful.

Fauci invokes 5th Amendment during Senate testimony, refrains from answering lawmakers’ questions

Democratic Sen. Gary Peters, the committee’s ranking member, criticized the vote and the “damaging precedent” it sets, saying this “could harm our ability to conduct future investigations and disregards constitutional protections long recognized by the U.S. Senate.”

“This resolution will not provide the committee with any additional information, or compel Dr. Fauci to provide answers to our inquiries. Criminal contempt is punitive; it does not compel a witness to answer questions or produce the documents we’d all like to see,” Peters said.

Peters also condemned Paul’s suggestion of referring the contempt resolution directly to the Department of Justice after the vote, saying “that would be even more dangerous and widely unprecedented move.”

The post Senate committee votes to hold Fauci in contempt of Congress appeared first on NEWSMAN.

President Trump said that “hundreds of thousands” of people are taking advantage of birth tourism. However, his own Solicitor General John Sauer had a very different response to that question in April, when Supreme Court Justice John Roberts pressed him about the practice during oral arguments around Trump’s Day 1 executive order, saying that “No one knows for sure.”

The first order aims to exclude babies born to members of foreign terrorist groups or employees working for foreign governments, such as ambassadors.

The second order removes automatic citizenship for babies whose parents engaged in “birth tourism.” This is an issue that Trump has raised for years, and the term refers to when pregnant foreigners visit the U.S. in order to give birth, so that their newborn can obtain American citizenship.

Trump again criticized the Supreme Court’s June decision to uphold birthright citizenship, saying Thursday’s actions are “adjustments” because of the high court’s refusal to greenlight his executive order.

“We had a very unfortunate decision in the Supreme Court concerning birthright. It was close, but a very, very unfortunate decision. So we’re making adjustments because it’s very unfair,” Trump said.

The birthright citizenship, a right enshrined in the U.S. Constitution and reaffirmed by the Supreme Court just five weeks ago.

Asked what makes him confident this will hold up to constitutional law, Trump deferred to White House Secretary Will Scharf, but said, “I think it will.”

The orders come as an attempt by Trump to do away with birthright citizenship altogether in an executive order he signed on the first day of his second term last year.

Senior White House adviser Stephen Miller was at the Oval Office when the executive orders were announced, calling the crackdown on the practice one of the most important actions that Trump has taken when it comes to immigration.

“It ends what has been one of the gravest and most egregious abuses of the American system, and it keeps American citizenship sacred,” he said.

Asked how the government would distinguish between a “a tourist and a birth tourist,” Stephen Miller, White House deputy chief of staff, said, “The Immigration and Nationality Act gives the president this authority, citing section 215(a) of the law which, in part, makes it unlawful for any noncitizen to enter or leave the U.S. “except under such reasonable rules, regulations, and order. … The President may prescribe.”

“If you’re telling a consular officer you’re here as a tourist, but your true purpose and intent is to go to a baby mill, give birth and try to mint an American citizen while you’re here and you’re committing a fraud against the American government,” Miller said.

“So that practice of birth tourism is, as of the signing of this order, hereby banned. And what that means is that no one in the world is any more allowed to obtain a visa for this fraudulent purpose,” Miller said.

Sauer cited “media reports” that said estimates are more than 1.1 million, “or 1.5 million from the People’s Republic of China alone.”

“The congressional report that we cite in our brief talks about certain hotspots, like Russian elites coming to Miami through these birth tourism companies,” Sauer said.

In the other order, Miller said people who would be ineligible to obtain citizenship by birthright, would include “alien enemies of the United States, members of foreign terrorist organizations and large categories of people who lobby and act on behalf of foreign governments.”

“This is a situation where you would hope that the Supreme Court would step in very quickly to enforce its prior decision,” he said.

The Center for Immigration Studies — a group that supports restricting immigration — estimates that temporary visitors gave birth to about 70,000 babies in 2023.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that in 2024, fewer than 10,000 babies were born in the U.S. to foreign residents.

Both estimates suggest that tourist births make up a small fraction of the 3.6 million babies born in the U.S. every year.

Over the years, there have been some crackdowns on covert, lucrative businesses coaching travelers on how to conceal their pregnancies from immigration authorities. But the actual scale of the practice is unclear.

The post Trump signs new executive orders on birthright citizenship appeared first on NEWSMAN.

“If you do not know of your rights, you cannot use those rights,” Mamdani said Monday. “Small businesses deserve a partner in city government.”

Every sector will benefit from Monday’s reforms, from bodegas to child care providers, Mamdani said. He noted reforms like streamlining barbers’ licenses and removing caps on bingo prizes.

Standing outside La Bodega Studio in the Bronx, the mayor signed an executive order creating the government body to execute small business reforms, dubbed OPEN, and expanding NYC BEST, a city program that helps business owners navigate permits and violations. The executive order expands education through the “business owner bill of rights.”

Mayor Mamdani on Monday, announced over 50 reforms to simplify small business regulations, including removing the city’s additional permits to sell frozen treats like ice cream. Together, the reforms will “cut red tape, eliminate redundant fees, and streamline the permitting process,” Mamdani said.

The post Mayor Mamdani signs executive order to help NYC small businesses appeared first on NEWSMAN.

 Choe’s visit to Moscow came shortly after North Korea and China exchanged high-level visits, with North Korean Cabinet premier, Pak Thae Song, Kim’s top economic official, meeting Xi in Beijing and Wang Huning, a member of the Chinese Communist Party’s powerful Politburo Standing Committee, visiting Kim in Pyongyang this month.

North Korean state media said Choe departed for Russia on Saturday at the invitation of Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov but has yet to comment on the purpose of her visit.

The visit by North Korean Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui comes without an obvious occasion, such as a multilateral diplomatic event or state anniversary, and has raised speculation that she may be coordinating a possible visit to Russia by North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

Russia’s Tass news agency said Putin during his meeting with Choe at the Kremlin on Sunday praised the countries’ bilateral relations and reiterated his “gratitude to the North Korean leadership and people” for supporting his military operations against Ukraine. Choe told Putin that Kim remains committed to the “comprehensive development” of relations with Russia, Tass said.

Kim traveled to Russia’s Far East for summits with Putin in 2019 and 2023. Putin invited Kim to visit Russia again during their summit in Pyongyang in June 2024, where the leaders signed a strategic partnership agreement pledging mutual aid if either country faces aggression.

Kim in recent years has made Russia the priority of his foreign policy, sending thousands of troops and huge supplies of weapons to support Putin’s war in Ukraine, possibly in exchange for economic aid and technology transfers that some experts say are helping advance North Korea’s military capabilities.

Kim has suspended all meaningful dialogue with the United States and South Korea since the collapse of his nuclear diplomacy with U.S. President Donald Trump in 2019. He has used Russia’s war on Ukraine as a distraction to accelerate the advancement of his nuclear weapons and missile program, while demanding that Washington abandon its calls for North Korea’s nuclear disarmament as a precondition for talks.

Yoon Min Ho, spokesperson for South Korea’s Unification Ministry, which handles affairs related to North Korea, said Monday that Seoul was closely monitoring the meetings but declined to assess whether Moscow and Pyongyang were discussing another summit between their leaders.

The post Putin meets North Korean foreign minister appeared first on NEWSMAN.

“It is with great sadness that I report a third person has died in connection with the Legionnaires’ disease community cluster on the Upper East Side,” New York City Health Commissioner Dr. Alister F. Martin said in a statement on Sunday. “Our hearts are with their family and friends as they mourn their loss.”

Health officials advised that anyone who has spent time in the affected zip codes 10028, 10075, 10128, including Carnegie Hill and Yorkville, should seek medical attention if they develop flu-like symptoms.

Legionnaires’ disease symptoms can appear up to 14 days after exposure, the NYC Dept. of Health said.

The department said it believes the source of the bacteria has likely been eliminated and that it will continue inspecting every cooling tower that tested positive for the bacteria.

Legionnaires’ disease is a severe form of pneumonia caused by inhaling the Legionella bacteria in small droplets of water mixed in the air or contaminated water accidentally going into the lungs.

The bacteria are found naturally in freshwater, but amounts generally don’t lead to disease. The bacteria typically grow best in warm water and in warm to hot temperatures, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

The disease does not generally spread from person to person, but infections can occur if the bacteria get into a building’s water supply, including in shower heads, sink faucets, hot water tanks, heaters, cooling towers and other plumbing systems.

Legionnaires’ disease has increased in prevalence over the last decade, reaching a peak of 2.71 cases per 100,000 in 2018, the CDC said. Cases dropped during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic and then rebounded in 2021.

The post Three dead from Legionnaires’ disease in New York City appeared first on NEWSMAN.

On Monday, Burnham made the was invited by the king to form a new government shortly before the outgoing Prime Minister Starmer traveled to Buckingham Palace to tender his resignation to King Charles III.  

The new prime minister said his government would be “a circuit breaker for Britain, bringing forward the biggest changes in the last 40 years.”

Returning from Buckingham Palace to Downing Street, where he delivered his first remarks as prime minister, “I can do something to give people some breathing space now, some help with the cost of living,” Burnham said.

Standing outside Downing Street, Burnham said he will announce measures to help with the cost of living on Tuesday, promising immediate support for households while setting out plans for longer-term change.

“I will soon go through that door behind me and issue my first instruction: to end rough sleeping in our country.” Burnham also said he would unveil a 10-year plan for Britain later this year.

Burnham said, “It requires my generation of politicians to raise our game.” He said politicians are “acknowledging that many voters have grown frustrated with politics.”

“I want to be honest with you: We have not been good enough, and we need to be better,” Burnham said. “We will be.”

Speaking outside the prime minister’s official residence — 10 Downing Street — on Monday morning, Starmer said, “Today I am here to offer my resignation and close the book on my time as prime minister. My work is done.”

“I thank the British people for the opportunity to serve. I go with good grace, I go with a smile, and I go proud of everything that we have achieved. Thank you very much,” Starmer added.

Andy Burnham, a Member of Parliament for Makerfield, England, ran unopposed to succeed Keir Starmer, who announced his resignation in June, setting Burnham on course to become the United Kingdom’s new prime minister.

Burnham becomes the U.K.’s seventh prime minister in a little over a decade since Britons voted in June 2016 to leave the European Union. That decision ultimately shrank the British economy, triggered anger at the governing class and contributed to a revolving door of prime ministers. Burnham is likely to face some of the same challenges that stymied Starmer: rising costs of living, slow growth and a volatile

Keir Starmer delivered his final speech outside No. 10 Downing St. earlier on Monday before heading to Buckingham Palace to formally resign as prime minister, declaring: “My work is done.”

“In 6 1/2 years, I took our party from a historic defeat in 2019, changed it so it was fit to face the country, and won a landslide general election victory in 2024,” Starmer said. He described serving as prime minister as “the privilege of my life” and said he was leaving office confident Britain was “stronger and fairer” than it was two years ago.

Of his successor, the outgoing prime minister said, “I now pass the baton to Andy Burnham, I wish him every success. He has my full support.”

Closing his final address outside Downing Street, Starmer said, “I go with good grace, I go with a smile, and I go proud of everything we have achieved.”

Starmer led the U.K.’s center-left Labour Party to a landslide victory two years ago. But his personal approval ratings sank. Polls show voters believe he failed to deliver palpable change. He was also criticized for appointing Peter Mandelson, a close friend of the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, as British ambassador to Washington. Starmer later fired Mandelson.

After Labour lost seats to a populist anti-immigration party in May’s local elections, more of Starmer’s own lawmakers joined calls for his removal.

Starmer resigned as Labour leader on June 22, and Burnham assumed that role on Friday. Under Britain’s parliamentary system, the ruling party can replace its leader — and therefore the prime minister — without a general election. The next election is not expected for another three years.

Andy Burnham previously served as a member of Parliament for 16 years, holding several Cabinet roles in the Labour governments of Tony Blair and Gordon Brown. He ran twice for the Labour leadership, receiving a nomination from Starmer during the 2015 contest, before leaving Parliament to become mayor of Greater Manchester.

As mayor, Burnham championed investment and devolution in the post-industrial region and has pledged to bring a similar approach to the U.K. nationally. He returned to Parliament in a special election last month.

Born and raised in the grittier north of England, the new Prime Minister Andy Burnham 56, has cultivated a working-class hero vibe, often wearing T-shirts rather than suits and advocating for blue-collar workers. He moonlights as a DJ on Manchester’s indie music scene. His social media videos have been compared to New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s.

In terms of policy, Burnham has said he’ll scrap plans for digital ID cards, reverse the privatization of public transit and utilities and devolve power away from London toward municipal and regional authorities.

In recent days, there have been reports that Burnham might ease a ban on new drilling for oil and gas in the North Sea — which won him immediate praise from President Trump on social media on Sunday. Trump wrote that with North Sea drilling, Burnham would transform the U.K. from “a Poverty Stricken Disaster, to one of the Richest Countries anywhere in the World!”

Andy Burnham spoke with Trump

Andy Burnham spoke with Trump soon after taking office on Monday afternoon, a statement from his office said.

The new prime minister “underlined his commitment to defense and security and said ensuring the security of the U.K. and its Allies was at the top of his agenda,” the statement said. The two leaders talked about the Middle East, and Burnham outlined Britain’s “commitment to securing the movement of shipping in the Strait of Hormuz to support global supply chains and drive down costs for businesses and families across the country.”

Burnham also spoke on the phone with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, whom he invited to visit the U.K., a Downing Street statement said. Burnham expressed “resolute commitment to the people of Ukraine and underscored that there would be absolutely no change in the U.K.’s approach, including when it came to bearing down on Russia,” according to the statement.

In a conversation with European Commission President Ursula Von der Leyen, Burnham also vowed an “ironclad” commitment to Ukraine, according to another statement from his office.

Congratulations from European leaders

European leaders congratulated Burnham on becoming the U.K.’s new prime minister, with an invitation for his first foreign trip arriving from Berlin.

Through the rest of Monday, Burnham is expected to begin appointing cabinet ministers from Number 10.

The incoming prime minister said he would also make British politics “less toxic, adding, “I will work to build a new politics. The country is crying out for it.”

The post Andy Burnham becomes U.K. prime minister appeared first on NEWSMAN.

Ferran Torres scored the winning goal in the 106th minute. It was his first goal of the 2026 tournament and third World Cup goal overall. Argentina superstar Lionel Messi was completely nonexistence all through the game except once he received the ball and tried to move.

Spain is the most dominant defensive team to win a World Cup; no champion before them had ever conceded only one goal en route to a title. And this Spain team did so with an extra game, as the new, expanded format of the tournament required its champion to play eight matches, a record.

Spain dominated possession all through the championship final and its defense shut out Argentina almost completely — Argentina recorded zero shots and only two touches in Spain’s box through halftime of extra time.  Leonardo messi Yet for the 90 minutes of regulation, Argentina’s defense held firm, with Spain’s crosses and attempts broken up by an Argentine shin or cleat or head, and goalkeeper Emiliano Martínez seemingly always in position to stop any shots that got through. (Martínez finished the game with 11 saves, the most ever recorded in a men’s World Cup final.)

Then, in stoppage time came the pivotal moment, when a tackle by Argentine midfielder Enzo Fernández on Spain’s young star Pau Cubarsí flipped the young defender into the air and hard onto the ground. That earned Fernández his second yellow card of the game, after he received his first for dissent when he publicly disagreed with the referee.

The two yellows combined for a red card, sending Fernández off the field and forcing Argentina to play the 30 minutes of extra time with only ten men.

After recording nearly a dozen shots on target, Spain finally broke through when forward Nico Williams took a cross into the box off his head, sending it back into the empty space in front of his teammate Ferran Torres, who knocked it in for the game’s only goal.

On Sunday, Argentina’s magic ran out as it attempted to become just the third country to win back-to-back men’s World Cup titles. “It really hurts in our soul not being able to take the trophy with us,” said Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni after the match.

Spain’s run to the title came through a wall of top-ten opponents: first a 1-0 win over No. 5 Portugal, then a 2-1 quarterfinal win over No. 9 Belgium, then a 2-0 win in the semifinal over No. 3 France, whose attack had looked unstoppable until then. Argentina had been the world’s No. 1 team; with the win, Spain has moved into the top spot.

Argentina’s Lionel Messi’s performance in this World Cup had been nothing short of unbelievable: His eight goals and four assists — including assists on both crucial late-game goals in the heart-stopping semifinal against England — was second only to France’s Kylian Mbappé in the race for the Golden Boot award. (Mbappé scored twice in Saturday’s bronze medal loss to England and finished the World Cup with 10 goals. He is now the all-time World Cup scoring leader with 22 goals)

With the victory, Spain’s football program extended its global dominance. The Spanish women are ranked number 1 and are the defending Women’s World Cup champions. This is the first time a country has held both titles simultaneously.

At MetLife Stadium, where the get-in price for the game had reached five figures in the days leading up to the final, a crowd of 80,663 piled into the stands to watch the final. And they were treated to a World Cup first: a halftime show that lasted around 12 minutes, featuring Shakira, Burna Boy, BTS, Justin Bieber and Madonna.

The halftime show was a nod to American audiences and halftime spectacles like the Super Bowl, but it was controversial to many soccer fans: traditionally, halftime is 15 minutes. This one — between setup and music performances — lasted around 25 minutes. Sports fans have complained that it slows down the natural rhythm of the game; the more severe traditionalists say it’s part of the trend to Americanize the game (along with hydration breaks, which effectively create four quarters, similarly to an NFL or NBA game.)

The final day of a summer of World Cup fever in North America, the last of 104 matches in total, was a hot and sunny July day in East Rutherford, New Jersey, just across the Hudson River in Manhattan. On Sunday morning, fans — some in Messi jerseys and others draped in Spain flags — stood in line for bagels, sang on the subway and trains to the stadium, and packed into bars and watch parties, including a crowd of about 50,000 in Central Park.

Sunday in Met life stadium in New Jersey, it was only the winning side crowned on the final day of the month-long competition, but there were several other awards that were given out. Spain had a solid day, nearly sweeping the individual trophies along with their second World Cup title.

Golden Boot (most goals in the tournament)

For the first time in men’s or women’s World Cup history, there is a back-to-back Golden Boot winner.

Kylian Mbappé, France –  helped along by a two-goal performance in the third-place game against England on Saturday, July 18, was able to edge out Argentina’s Lionel Messi and win the honor of the World Cup’s leading goal scorer, netting 10 goals to Messi’s eight.

The two were neck-and-neck in both goals and assists at eight and four, respectively, heading into the weekend, but an offensive exhibition between England and France that ended in a 6-4 win for England ultimately proved to be the difference.

The Spain goalkeeper won the Golden Glove as the best goalkeeper at the 2026 World Cup on Sunday, July 19, capping a tournament during which he allowed one goal in eight matches and set records that had stood for decades.

La Roja won a World Cup title, its second in team history, $50 million, and championship rings. It also cleaned up in the individual awards, including the FIFA Young Player Award.

To be eligible for this year’s award, a player must have been less than 21 years old at the start of 2026. That made Spain’s Pau Cubarsí (19 years old) the perfect candidate to win. Cubarsi appeared in 8 matches for Spain.

The award is relatively innovative. It was first awarded in 2006 when Germany’s Lukas Podolski won the prize. Podolski was followed by some of the best players in his generation, Thomas Müller, Paul Pogba, Kylian Mbappe and Enzo Fernández.

Spain’s World Cup champions head home for a royal welcome and a parade through Madrid

Spain’s World Cupwinning soccer team is set to return home on Monday, where the 26-man squad will be greeted by Spanish royalty and Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez before boarding an open-top bus for a parade through central Madrid.

Throngs of fans will greet them as they travel from near Moncloa Palace, the prime minister’s official residence, to Cibeles Square.

A ceremony with the players will then be held at the square, where previous Spanish national teams and their supporters have traditionally gathered to celebrate.

Spain walked off with the trophy at Sunday’s final after defeating now-dethroned champion Argentina 1-0 in East Rutherford, New Jersey. It was only the second time — after a 2010 victory in South Africa — that Spain won the title.

The Spanish capital erupted into celebrations after the final whistle, with thousands of supporters pouring into the streets from bars and restaurants, many draped in Spanish flags or wearing the team’s colors.

Crowds packed Madrid’s Puerta de Sol and other major squares — singing, dancing and setting off flares while car horns blared throughout the capital.

Many celebrated Sunday’s victory long into the wee hours of Monday morning.

The World Cup title, combined with the Women’s World Cup won by Spain in 2023, makes the European nation the first to hold both the men’s and women’s titles simultaneously.

The post Spain win 2026 World Cup  defeating Argentina appeared first on NEWSMAN.

President Trump and Republican lawmakers have been looking to crack down on illegal immigration through mass deportation measures in recent months and have recently introduced legislation to curb “birth tourism,” the practice of traveling to another country with the intention of giving birth there, which is considered rare. This Six-figure fees for entry have also been pegged as another measure to deny immigrants of a certain financial status.

The US State Department spokesperson Tommy Pigott said the administration is evaluating a potential six-figure bond to ensure immigrants are “financially self-sufficient” and “contribute to our society more than they take from it.”

“We are working closely with the Department of Homeland Security to introduce commonsense and effective procedures to enforce U.S. laws, restore the integrity of our immigration system, and protect American public benefits programs from the financial burden of foreigners who arrive with major expensive medical or other needs,” Pigott said in a statement to The Hill.

 “As part of this comprehensive initiative, the Department is exploring the use of a long-standing legal authority under the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) to require certain visa applicants — those who are otherwise ineligible for a visa because they are likely become a public charge — to post a bond as a way to demonstrate they have access to the funds needed to support themselves,” he added.

Pigott said if the program was expanded, it would give “applicants who have the resources to pay their own way another option to demonstrate their self-sufficiency and qualify for a U.S. visa.”

The traditional green-card application fee depends on the specific category and whether the applicant is applying from inside or outside the U.S.

The standard filing fee for Form I-485 is $1,440 for those applying within the country, but those who need to apply for a work permit and travel documents incur additional fees unless filed concurrently under specific conditions.

A $325 DS-260 visa application fee is traditionally paid by those applying from outside of the U.S. through the Department of State’s online Consular Electronic Application Center portal.

The payment is followed by a $235 U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services immigrant fee to process their packet and produce their card after the visa is approved.

The Trump administration previously attempted to impose a $100,000 fee for H-1B visa applications, but the fee was ultimately struck down by a federal judge who said the administration exceeded its authority and that the fee usurped Congress’s power to set immigration policy and taxes.

H-1B visas allow employers to hire international talent for specialty jobs, particularly in the tech industry. Recipients are typically admitted to the U.S. for three years, but they are not lawful permanent residents, unlike green-card holders.

Since last August, visa holders from Malawi and Zambia have been asked to post a $15,000 bond that would be forfeited if they overstay or apply for another immigration status after arriving, such as asylum, according to The Wall Street Journal.

Fifty other countries in Africa have been asked to comply with the policy, and Trump administration officials said it has helped to ensure that 97 percent of visa holders did not overstay, per the Journal.

The post US considering $100,000 bonds on green-card applicants appeared first on NEWSMAN.