Extreme Heatwave, World Cup Reversal & 'America's Royal Wedding' - Monday, July 6, 2026

**Erica Mandy** (0:00)
Today is Monday, July 6th, and we have a lot to catch you up on, from the ongoing heat wave around the country to a surge in immigration arrests, to some major Supreme Court decisions you may have missed. Also, Trump's reported request to review a rough call and how the final decision impacts Team USA at tonight's World Cup game. Plus, the biggest July 4th celebrations and mishaps and details of what's being called America's Royal Wedding. Those stories and even more news to know next.
Welcome to The NewsWorthy, all the day's news in less than 15 minutes. I'm Erica Mandy. Thanks so much for being here. Let's do this.
Much of the US is still in the grips of an extreme heat wave. Temperatures have been at least feeling like they're in the triple digits from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to Jacksonville, Florida. Several record highs were set over the weekend, and sadly the heat is now being blamed for than two dozen people dying over the last week. Making the heat wave even more dangerous? Storms knocked out power for thousands of people on the East Coast, and now millions are being warned about the potential for flash flooding in places like Philadelphia and New York City. Forecast show temperatures will finally start to drop this week in that part of the country, but then starting tomorrow, extreme heat watches cover parts of Arizona and California, with some daytime highs reaching up to 114 degrees.
Extreme heat is actually the deadliest weather threat. An estimated 20,000 people died in extreme heat across Europe last month, and now that heat has helped the spread of major wildfires in places like Portugal, Greece and Spain.
American immigration officials seem to be ramping up arrests. Reports found at the end of last month, ICE detained more than 10,000 people in five days. Daily arrests have roughly doubled from earlier this year, and that pace has continued into this month as well. News outlets like the New York Times say top ICE officials have been specifically ordered to focus more on picking up immigrants they want to deport. So with that, ICE officers have arrested more people at check-ins with immigration authorities during traffic stops and on the street. And ICE officials have apparently been told this is the new standard. A Homeland Security Department spokesperson now says this should be a message that anyone who comes to this country illegally will be found arrested and deported.
Last week, the US. Supreme Court announced the final rulings of the term that covered some of the most high-profile issues facing the US right now. For starters, birthright citizenship. The high court rejected President Trump's executive order that ended birthright citizenship for undocumented immigrants and visitors. Most justices agreed the 14th Amendment of the Constitution, which says people born here are US citizens, should extend to all babies no matter what their parents' immigration status is. The president says he's now counting on Congress to change the law.
Separately, the high court handed down a ruling on transgender athletes. It says states can keep banning transgender women and girls from participating on female teams at public schools. Twenty-seven states already have laws like this on the books. This decision keeps those laws intact and could inspire others.
Finally, the justices struck down long-time campaign finance rules that have limited how much political parties can spend on candidates. Before this ruling, national and state parties could coordinate with candidates on ads and campaign strategy, but only up to a point. Now, parties will be able to spend unlimited amounts of money in coordination with their candidates. To be clear, individual donors will still face limits on how much they can give to certain candidates. But those donors are now expected to give more money to the parties instead, starting right away ahead of the midterm elections.
This could be a defining moment for men's soccer in the US. Today, Team USA is getting a chance to finally break through to the quarterfinals of a World Cup for the first time in decades. That is, if the Americans win tonight. It looks like they actually have a realistic chance, especially after a highly unusual decision from FIFA. The decision was actually over something that happened last week. Team USA's top goal scorer was given a red card during the game against Bosnia. That meant Falarin Baligan was not only ejected for the rest of that game, but also suspended for the next game, too. So even though the US won, there was some unease about what would happen without Baligan in today's match against Belgium. Well, soon after the red card was given, senior Trump administration officials engaged lawyers to help the US Soccer Federation try to appeal, despite the fact that FIFA has rules against such appeals. And reports say President Trump even called FIFA President Gianni Infantino and asked him to review the suspension. Then yesterday, that suspension was reversed. This is the first time since 1962 that FIFA has allowed a player to appear in a game when they would have been suspended after being sent off in a World Cup. Well, Belgium is furious and says it's now investigating all potential options. And some reports say there are even senior soccer officials here in the US who are upset about this case and have wondered whether a precedent has now been set. For now, though, much of the attention is on tonight's game. Even with Balligan on the pitch, it's expected to be Team USA's biggest challenge yet.