Trump marks one-year anniversary of assassination attempt at the FIFA Club World Cup final
The president joined the players on the field after the match to congratulate the tournament's outstanding performers, present PSG players with their runner-up medals and hand Chelsea their championship trophy.
Trump and first lady Melania Trump were greeted with cheers as they arrived at MetLife Stadium just ahead of the pre-match performance by musical artists Robbie Williams and Laura Pausini. And the president got a smattering of boos when he was briefly shown on the stadium's mega-screen.
The president waved to the crowd and pumped his fist as he and his entourage arrived at the stadium luxury box, where they took in the match with FIFA President Gianni Infantino and his wife, Leena Al Ashqar.
Other guests spotted in the president's suite included Attorney General Pam Bondi, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, NFL great Tom Brady and media mogul Rupert Murdoch.
MetLife in a little over a year will host the 2026 World Cup final.
Chelsea, of the English Premier League, spoiled PSG's bid to win its fourth major title of the season, exactly 100 days after PSG clinched Ligue 1 on April 5. The Paris team added the Coupe de France by beating Reims 3-0 on May 24, then romped over Inter Milan seven days later in the Champions League Final.
Chelsea dominated throughout, racing out to a 3-0 lead in the first half behind a pair of goals from Cole Palmer and one from Joao Pedro.
Sunday's match fell on the first anniversary of the assassination attempt Trump survived in Butler, Pennsylvania, while campaigning for president.
In an interview with his daughter-in-law and Fox News show host Lara Trump that aired Saturday, Trump briefly touched on the anniversary but was otherwise muted.
The U.S. Secret Service announced last week that six staffers had been disciplined with suspensions ranging from 10 to 42 days without pay over the incident.
"I have great confidence in these people," Trump said. "I know the people and they're very talented, very capable."
The international sporting match also offered an opportunity for Trump and aides to huddle with Qatari government officials.
Trump envoy Steve Witkoff, in a brief exchange with reporters ahead of the match, said he remained "hopeful" about Gaza ceasefire and hostage negotiations.
Witkoff, who joined Trump for the tournament finale, appeared to nod affirmatively when asked by reporters if he planned on meeting with senior officials from the Gulf nation of Qatar, which is serving as an intermediary with Hamas in the talks, during the match.
"I'll be meeting them," Witkoff said.
The president, who has a warm relationship with Infantino, has said he plans to attend multiple matches of the World Cup tournament next year that will be held at stadiums in the U.S., Canada and Mexico.
Preparations for next year's big soccer moment for North America are well underway. But it comes amid heightened tensions between the U.S. and its neighbors over proposed tariffs, immigration and Trump repeatedly saying that Canada should become the 51st state.
Trump earlier this year said the tensions will only make the tournament more "exciting."
" Tension's a good thing, " Trump said.
Sporting events have made up the bulk of Trump's trips in the U.S. since taking office this year. In addition to his visit this weekend to the soccer tournament, he's attended the Super Bowl in New Orleans, the Daytona 500 in Florida, UFC fights in Miami and Newark, New Jersey, and the NCAA wrestling championships in Philadelphia.
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Yomiuri Shimbun
2 hours ago
- Yomiuri Shimbun
Harvard Slams Trump Administration Funding Cuts in Pivotal Court Hearing
BOSTON – Attorneys for the nation's oldest university said Monday that the Trump administration's reasons for withholding billions in federal funding were 'cooked up,' and unconstitutional, sparring with the government during a key hearing in a legal battle that could determine whether the president's attacks on higher education will stand. A federal judge heard arguments from a team of attorneys for Harvard University and its chapter of the American Association of University Professors and from a lawyer for the federal government, peppering them with questions as Harvard cast its arguments as a First Amendment case and the government sought to frame it as simply a dispute over money and contracts. The hearing marked a pivotal moment in the fight between Harvard and the Trump administration in an unprecedented case that is being watched by all of higher education. Harvard has challenged the administration's move to slash billions of dollars in federal funding with critical scientific research and the autonomy of the nearly 400-year-old university on the line. The administration's lawyer said the government froze the funding because the school had not done enough to combat antisemitism. Both sides had asked the judge to issue a ruling in the case without a trial, but U.S. District Judge Allison Burroughs ended the hearing without rendering a decision. Burroughs acknowledged that both sides want a rapid resolution; Harvard, in particular, has pleaded urgency in hopes that the funding terminations will not become final. Steven P. Lehotsky, who argued for Harvard, called the government's actions a blatant, unrepentant violation of the First Amendment, touching a 'constitutional third rail' that threatened the academic freedom of private universities. The lone attorney for the government cast the case as a fight over billions of dollars. 'Harvard is here because it wants the money,' said Michael Velchik, a Justice Department lawyer. But the government can choke the flow of taxpayer dollars to institutions that show a 'deliberate indifference to antisemitism,' he said. President Donald Trump reacted to the hearing Monday afternoon with a post on social media about the judge. 'She is a TOTAL DISASTER, which I say even before hearing her Ruling.' He called Harvard 'anti-Semitic, anti-Christian, and anti-America.' 'How did this Trump-hating Judge get these cases? When she rules against us, we will IMMEDIATELY appeal, and WIN. Also, the Government will stop the practice of giving many Billions of Dollars to Harvard,' he said. Spokespeople for Harvard did not immediately respond to a request for comment Monday about the president's remarks. Peter McDonough, vice president and general counsel at the American Council on Education, said all of higher education could be impacted by the case. 'And I don't think it is too dramatic to say that Americans and the constitutional protections that they value are in court,' he said. 'Freedom of speech is on trial, due process is on trial,' he said, with the executive branch of the government essentially charged with having violated those rights. The administration has engaged in intense efforts to force changes in higher education, which it has said has been captured by leftist ideology and has not done enough to combat antisemitism in the wake of protests at some colleges over the Israel-Gaza war. Its biggest target has been Harvard. The administration announced earlier this year that it would review nearly $9 billion in federal funding to the school and its affiliates, including local hospitals whose physicians teach at Harvard Medical School. In April, a letter from a federal antisemitism task force, alluding to civil rights law, demanded that the university upend its governance, hiring, student discipline and admissions, and submit to years-long federal oversight over multiple aspects of its operations. Harvard refused to comply. Hours later, the administration announced it would freeze more than $2 billion in federal research grants to Harvard. It has also launched multiple investigations into the Ivy League institution's operations, threatened to revoke the school's tax-exempt status, and moved to block its ability to enroll international students. Harvard filed a lawsuit challenging the funding cuts, and later filed another to counter the administration's effort to block international students and scholars from Harvard. In the latter case, Burroughs twice ruled swiftly in Harvard's favor, allowing the university to continue welcoming non-U.S. students while the case proceeds. On Monday, Harvard's lawyers argued that the government violated the school's First Amendment rights and ignored the requirements of federal civil rights law, and that its actions were unlawfully arbitrary and capricious. Any claim that Harvard is simply interested in getting money back is 'just false,' Lehotsky said. 'We're here for our constitutional rights.' He called the government's actions an end-run around Title VI of the Civil Rights Act, and compared it to the scene in 'Alice in Wonderland' in which the queen orders that the sentence comes first then the verdict afterward, with the funding freeze preceding the investigation required by statute. 'The government now says Title VI is totally irrelevant,' he said, arguing it had cooked up a post hoc rationale. Harvard had asked the judge to grant a summary judgment, set aside the funding freezes and terminations, and block any similar actions as soon as possible before Sept. 3, after which the university believes the government will take the position that restoration of the funds is not possible. Velchik, the Justice Department attorney – himself a Harvard alumnus – defended the government's decisions to slash the university's funding in response to what he said was its failure to tackle antisemitism. 'Harvard does not have a monopoly on the truth,' he said. Those same funds would be 'better spent going to HBCUs or community colleges.' The government canceled the grants under an obscure regulation that allows it to terminate funding when they no longer align with agency priorities. 'Harvard should have read the fine print,' Velchik said. Although Burroughs pushed both sides to justify their arguments, she appeared skeptical of the administration's rationale for the cuts. She repeatedly pressed the government on what process it had followed in deciding to terminate a major portion of Harvard's federal funding. 'This is a big stumbling block for me,' she said, even as she acknowledged the government had argued some of its points well. (A 'Harvard education is paying off for you,' she told Velchik.) Burroughs noted that the government had apparently slashed Harvard's funding without following any established procedure or even examining the steps Harvard itself had taken to combat antisemitism. If the administration can base its decision on reasons connected to protected speech, Burroughs said, the consequences for 'constitutional law are staggering.' At one point, Velchik appeared to grow emotional. He spoke about wanting to go to Harvard since he was a child, then seeing the campus 'besieged by protesters' and hearing about Jewish students wearing baseball caps to hide their kippot, a visible sign of their identity. 'It's sick. Federal taxpayers should not support this,' he said. Burroughs also spoke about the case in unusually personal terms. 'I am both Jewish and American,' she said. Harvard itself has acknowledged antisemitism as an issue, she said. But 'what is the connection to cutting off funding to Alzheimer's or cancer research?' she asked. 'One could argue it hurts Americans and Jews.' A complaint by Harvard's chapter of the American Association of University Professors against the administration, filed before the university took action, is being heard concurrently with Harvard's case. In its court filings, the Justice Department urged Burroughs to reject Harvard's request for summary judgment. Summary judgment is a motion in which a party in a civil suit asks a judge to decide a case before it goes to trial. To win a summary judgment, the party filing the motion must show there is no genuine dispute over the central facts of the case and they would prevail on the legal merits if the case were to go to trial. Harvard supporters, with crimson colored shirts, signs and hats along with American flag pins, crowded around the main entrance of the John Joseph Moakley federal courthouse Monday afternoon. About 100 alumni, faculty, staff and students rallied in a joint protest with the Crimson Courage alumni group and supporters of the American Association of University Professors union. 'What the federal administration is doing is basically co-opting American values for their own political ends, and we are determined to say this is not what America is about,' said Evelyn J. Kim, a co-chair of the Crimson Courage communications team and a 1995 Harvard graduate. 'America is about the values that allow for Harvard to exist.' Walter Willett, 80, a professor of epidemiology and nutrition at Harvard's T.H. Chan School of Public Health, biked to the rally to deliver a speech to the group. In May, $3.6 million of National Institutes of Health grant money that funded Willett's research on breast cancer and women's and men's health was cut, he said. It is critical to push back against the administration, Willett said. 'In this case, our basic freedom – what we're fighting for – is also at stake.' The stakes are high – and not just for Harvard. More than a dozen amicus briefs filed in support of Harvard argue that the administration is imperiling academic freedom, the autonomy of institutions of higher education and the decades-long research partnership between universities and the federal government. Eighteen former officials who served in past Democratic and Republican administrations noted in a brief that they were aware of no instances in more than 40 years where federal funds had been terminated under Title VI, the provision of civil rights law that Trump officials have in some cases cited in slashing Harvard's grants. The administration received outside support in a brief filed by the attorneys general of 16 states, led by Iowa. 'There are apparently three constant truths in American life: death, taxes, and Harvard University's discrimination against Jews,' it said, citing Harvard's own internal report on antisemitism on campus. Harvard has taken numerous steps to address antisemitism after protests over the Israel-Gaza war in the 2023-2024 academic year sparked concerns from some Jewish and Israeli students, but the administration has repeatedly said the problem persists and must be acted upon forcefully. James McAffrey, 22, a senior and first-generation college student from Oklahoma, co-chairs the Harvard Students for Freedom, a student group that joined the rally Monday to support the school. He said the administration's actions pose a threat to the nation's well-being. 'I think the reality is it's time for us to root out the evils of anti-Americanism in the Trump administration,' he said.
Yomiuri Shimbun
3 hours ago
- Yomiuri Shimbun
Trump Administration Releases Files on Martin Luther King Jr.'S Assassination
The Trump administration on Monday released more than 230,000 files related to the April 1968 assassination of civil rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr. Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, who announced the move, said the files include 'discussion of potential leads, internal FBI memos detailing the progress of the case, information about James Earl Ray's former cellmate who stated he discussed with Ray an alleged assassination plot, and more.' She said the files released Monday had not previously been digitized and were shared with minimal redactions. King's son Martin Luther King III and daughter Bernice A. King wrote in a statement that they 'object to any attacks on our father's legacy or attempts to weaponize it to spread falsehoods' and warned against people sharing FBI surveillance of their father in the files. 'We strongly condemn any attempts to misuse these documents in ways intended to undermine our father's legacy and the significant achievements of the movement,' they wrote. 'Those who promote the fruit of the FBI's surveillance will unknowingly align themselves with an ongoing campaign to degrade our father and the Civil Rights Movement.' The King children said that the files 'must be viewed within their full historical context,' that their father 'was relentlessly targeted by an invasive, predatory, and deeply disturbing disinformation and surveillance campaign orchestrated by' then-FBI director J. Edgar Hoover. The release of the King documents on Monday comes as Democrats and some members of Trump's base have demanded the release of a different trove of records, those related to the sex trafficking investigation of Jeffrey Epstein. Trump on Thursday told the Justice Department to seek the release of 'all pertinent' grand jury testimony, following the administration's announcement earlier this month that it would not release the files from the case. On Monday, Bernice A. King said on X: 'Now, do the Epstein files.' King's niece Alveda King appeared to take a different view from King's son and daughter, saying in a statement that 'the declassification and release of these documents are a historic step towards the truth.' Ray was convicted of the assassination of King after fleeing the country and being captured abroad, and Gabbard said the documents include CIA records outlining 'overseas intelligence on the international hunt for the prime suspect.' But the King children reaffirmed that they believe someone else was the shooter and that Ray was set up to take the fall. 'As we review these newly released files, we will assess whether they offer additional insights beyond the findings our family has already accepted,' the Kings said. They asked for people engaging with the files to 'do so with empathy, restraint, and respect for our family's continuing grief.' Trump signed an executive order in January directing the release of the assassination records of King and President John F. Kennedy and his brother Robert F. Kennedy. Last month, a federal judge said it could be a 'long journey' toward releasing the King FBI surveillance records, and at the time, King's children and the King-founded civil rights organization the Southern Christian Leadership Conference opposed the unconditional public release of information compiled by the FBI. In a 1977 lawsuit settlement, the government gave the National Archives tapes, transcripts, wiretap logs and other records of surveillance at King's home in Atlanta and other offices. They were to remain under seal for 50 years, until Jan. 31, 2027, according to the Justice Department filing. No surveillance-related records were immediately found in a review of the files released Monday. Coretta King received a letter in 1964 that also contained alleged tape recordings of her husband having sex with other women, a letter that the FBI later confirmed was directed by Hoover, though the wiretaps were approved by then-Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy, a Democrat. News reporters were offered the material at the time, but all refused to publish it. Later that year, King was given the Nobel Peace Prize. 'Hoover was so angry, he had hate in his heart,' Martin Luther King III told The Post in 2018. 'Certainly he hated Dad. He had a vehement hatred of folks of color.' As a result, the King family always felt the FBI was involved in the assassination, and more recently feared the bureau or the Trump administration would release such salacious material in an attempt to sully the civil rights leader's reputation. It could not immediately be determined whether any related items were in the massive release Monday. Numerous civil rights leaders told The Washington Post in 2018 that they did not believe Ray had killed King, and King's son Dexter King met with Ray in prison in 1997 to tell him the family believed in his innocence. Ray initially pleaded guilty, then tried to withdraw his plea days later. The move was rejected. The late civil rights leader Rep. John Lewis (D-Georgia), former Atlanta Mayor Andrew Young and the late Rev. James Lawson, one of King's mentors, all told The Post that they did not think Ray had shot King. 'I think there was a major conspiracy to remove Doctor King from the American scene,' Lewis said in 2018. 'I don't know what happened, but the truth of what happened to Dr. King should be made available for history's sake.' King's family hired a New York lawyer, William Pepper, who had been friendly with King since the early 1960s. Pepper filed a civil suit in Memphis on their behalf alleging a government conspiracy that also involved Loyd Jowers, who owned the bar on the first floor of the rooming house where Ray stayed. A jury in 1999 found Jowers liable in the killing. 'There is abundant evidence,' Coretta King said after the verdict, 'of a major, high-level conspiracy in the assassination of my husband.' She said the jury found the mafia and various government agencies 'were deeply involved in the assassination. … Mr. Ray was set up to take the blame.' That led King's family to appeal to President Bill Clinton to reinvestigate the case, and then-Attorney General Janet Reno created a new probe led by assistant attorney general Barry Kowalski. Kowalski found that Jowers had changed his story repeatedly and told The Post that 'our thorough investigation, just like four official investigations before it, found no credible or reliable evidence that Doctor King was killed by conspirators who framed James Earl Ray.' Author James Douglass, who covered the 1999 trial and has written extensively about the assassinations of King and other American leaders, said Monday he had not reviewed the files, but 'frankly, I think we knew more than enough long ago to know that the United States government killed Dr. Martin Luther King.' No documents implicating government agents could be immediately found. Ray claimed that he had been manipulated by an unknown man whom he knew as 'Raul' to be in Memphis on April 4, 1968. But others have pointed out that Ray appeared to be stalking King in the weeks before the shooting, driving from Los Angeles to Atlanta, and he carried a map of Atlanta with the church and residence of King circled. Ray also bought a rifle on March 30, 1968, in Alabama, then returned to Atlanta. When news reports indicated that King would be heading to Memphis to participate in another march to support the sanitation workers' strike there, Ray drove to Memphis. The rifle and some binoculars were found in the doorway of a store near the boardinghouse where Ray stayed soon after the shooting, with Ray's fingerprints on them.
The Mainichi
3 hours ago
- The Mainichi
UK, Japan and 26 other countries say the war in Gaza 'must end now'
LONDON (AP) -- Twenty-eight countries including Britain, Japan and a host of European nations issued a joint statement Monday saying the war in Gaza "must end now" -- the latest sign of allies' sharpening language as Israel's isolation deepens. The foreign ministers of countries also including Australia and Canada said "the suffering of civilians in Gaza has reached new depths." They condemned "the drip feeding of aid and the inhumane killing of civilians, including children, seeking to meet their most basic needs of water and food." The statement described as "horrifying" the recent deaths of over 800 Palestinians who were seeking aid, according to the figures released by Gaza's Health Ministry and the U.N. human rights office. "The Israeli government's aid delivery model is dangerous, fuels instability and deprives Gazans of human dignity," the countries said. "The Israeli government's denial of essential humanitarian assistance to the civilian population is unacceptable. Israel must comply with its obligations under international humanitarian law." Israel and U.S. reject the criticism Israel's Foreign Ministry rejected the statement, saying it was "disconnected from reality and sends the wrong message to Hamas." It accused Hamas of prolonging the war by refusing to accept an Israeli-backed proposal for a temporary ceasefire and hostage release. "Hamas is the sole party responsible for the continuation of the war and the suffering on both sides," Foreign Ministry spokesperson Oren Marmorstein posted on X. U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee also rejected the statement from many of America's closest allies, calling it "disgusting" in a post on X and saying they should instead pressure the "savages of Hamas." Germany was also notably absent from the statement. German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul wrote on X that he spoke with Israeli counterpart Gideon Saar on Monday and expressed the "greatest concern about the catastrophic humanitarian situation" in Gaza as Israel's offensive widens. He called on Israel to implement agreements with the EU to enable more humanitarian aid. A worsening humanitarian crisis Gaza's population of more than 2 million Palestinians is in a catastrophic humanitarian crisis, now relying largely on the limited aid allowed into the territory. Israel's offensive has displaced some 90% of the population, with many forced to flee multiple times. Most of the food supplies Israel has allowed into Gaza go to the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, an American group backed by Israel. Since its operations began in May, hundreds of Palestinians have been killed in shootings by Israeli soldiers while heading to the sites, according to witnesses and health officials. The Israeli military says it has only fired warning shots at those who approach its forces. Israel's 21 months of war with Hamas have pushed Gaza to the brink of famine, sparked worldwide protests and led to an International Criminal Court arrest warrant against Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Israel has brushed off previous criticism Allies' criticism about Israel's actions has had little clear effect. In May, Britain, France and Canada issued a joint statement urging Netanyahu's government to stop its military operations in Gaza and threatening "concrete actions" if it didn't. Israel rejects criticism of its wartime conduct, saying its forces have acted lawfully and blaming civilian deaths on Hamas because the militants operate in populated areas. It says it has allowed enough food in to sustain Gaza and accuses Hamas of siphoning off much of it. The United Nations says there is no evidence for widespread diversion of humanitarian aid. The new joint statement called for an immediate ceasefire, saying countries are prepared to take action to support a political pathway to peace in the region. Israel and Hamas have been engaged in ceasefire talks but there appears to be no breakthrough, and it's not clear whether any truce would bring the war to a lasting halt. Netanyahu has vowed to continue the war until all the hostages are returned and Hamas is defeated or disarmed. Speaking to Parliament, British Foreign Secretary David Lammy thanked the U.S., Qatar and Egypt for their diplomatic efforts to try to end the war. "There is no military solution," Lammy said. "The next ceasefire must be the last ceasefire." Australian Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke said Tuesday the hostages needed to be released and the war must end, but the images of destruction and killing coming out of Gaza were "indefensible." "We're all hoping that there'll be something that will break this," Burke told Australian Broadcasting Corp. Hamas triggered the war when militants stormed into southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing around 1,200 people and taking 251 others hostage. Fifty hostages remain in Gaza, but fewer than half are thought to be alive. Israel's military offensive has killed more than 59,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza's Health Ministry. Its count doesn't distinguish between militants and civilians, but the ministry says more than half of the dead are women and children. The ministry is part of the Hamas government, but the U.N. and other international organizations see it as the most reliable source of data on casualties.
