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President Donald Trump’s agenda appeared on life support as defectors in the House GOP, for a time, appeared ready to torpedo it. But in the end, only two Republicans voted against the bill, and it’s now heading to the president’s desk.

Reps. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., and Brian Fitzpatrick, R-Pa., were the sole defectors against Trump’s ‘big, beautiful bill.’ House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., could only afford to lose three Republicans, given that no Democrat was willing to cross the aisle to support the $3.3 trillion megabill.

While he did vote to support the procedural hurdle to get the bill on the floor, Massie’s decision to vote against the bill was seemingly predetermined. He has continually argued that the colossal tax, border, defense and energy package would add trillions to the nation’s debt and do little to actually curb Washington’s spending addiction.

And he was not among the many conservatives who Trump and Republican leadership tried to pressure throughout the day on Wednesday, nor as the floor stayed open into early Thursday afternoon.

‘[Trump] reaches out every day on Twitter, reaching out with a million dollars of ads in my district with a picture of me and the Ayatollah,’ Massie said. ‘So, that’s the only sort of reaching out I’ve seen so far.’

While Trump did not directly single him out, the president did call on holdout Republicans to stop holding the bill hostage late Wednesday night, and declared on Truth Social that ‘MAGA IS NOT HAPPY, AND IT’S COSTING YOU VOTES!!!’  

Trump had previously threatened Massie with a primary challenger, as he did with Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., before his retirement announcement, for defecting against the bill. 

But senior White House officials told reporters on a call just after the bill passed that the president had not threatened a primary against lawmakers to earn their vote, and that lawmakers ‘well understand the President’s political power, and ultimately, they want his political power to be used for their benefit.’

Fitzpatrick had raised concerns about changes the Senate GOP had made to Medicaid reforms in the bill but had not publicly staked a position until the procedural vote.

He was the only ‘no’ vote on the rule, and that resistance carried into the final vote that ultimately saw House Republicans largely unify and pass the legislative behemoth.

Fitzpatrick said in a statement just minutes before the bill passed that he had voted to ‘strengthen Medicaid protections, to permanently extend middle class tax cuts, for enhanced small business tax relief, and for historic investments in our border security and our military,’ but that the Senate’s tweaks soured him to the bill.

‘However, it was the Senate’s amendments to Medicaid, in addition to several other Senate provisions, that altered the analysis for our PA-1 community,’ he said. ‘The original House language was written in a way that protected our community; the Senate amendments fell short of our standard.’

‘I believe in, and will always fight for, policies that are thoughtful, compassionate, and good for our community,’ he continued. ‘It is this standard that will always guide my legislative decisions.’ 

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WASHINGTON — Riley Greene didn’t see a replay of Jacob Young’s catch.

He has no plans to watch it — ever. 

The Detroit Tigers star left fielder is good like that. He watched it live, watched the Washington Nationals center fielder climb the wall in center and rob him of a home run in the ninth inning in Game 2 of the doubleheader Wednesday, July 2.

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Of the four Grand Slams that take place each year on the tennis calendar, perhaps the most traditional one is Wimbledon at the All England Lawn Tennis & Croquet Club — it is the oldest of the four, after all.

However, the 138th edition of The Championships at Wimbledon has broken away from at least one of its longstanding traditions.

If you keep a keen eye on the action at Wimbledon as the tennis ball goes past a player and out of bounds on the grass court surface, you’ll notice there are no longer line judges standing near the lines.

Here’s why the 2025 Wimbledon Championship doesn’t have line judges on the courts:

Why does Wimbledon not have line judges?

A new change to the 2025 Wimbledon Championships was the removal of a line judge and the introduction of an electronic line-calling system. There is still a chair umpire used in the Grand Slam event.

“The decision to introduce live electronic line calling at The Championships was made following a significant period of consideration and consultation,” said Sally Bolton, chief executive of the All England Club, in an October statement.

“Having reviewed the results of the testing undertaken at The Championships this year, we consider the technology to be sufficiently robust and the time is right to take this important step in seeking maximum accuracy in our officiating. For the players, it will offer them the same conditions they have played under at a number of other events on tour.

“We take our responsibility to balance tradition and innovation at Wimbledon very seriously. Line umpires have played a central role in our officiating set-up at The Championships for many decades and we recognize their valuable contribution and thank them for their commitment and service.”

As noted by The Associated Press, Wimbledon’s decision to go away from a human line judge for this electronic line-calling system isn’t a first for Wimbledon and the All England Lawn Tennis & Croquet Club to use technology. The tournament has used line-calling technology to call whether serves are in or out.

Here’s what it looks like on the baselines at a Wimbledon this season without line judges:

Do any Grand Slams in tennis have line judges?

Following Wimbledon’s move to electronic line calling, the only Grand Slam event on the tennis schedule that still uses a human line judge is the French Open.

‘I think we are right to keep our referees and line judges at Roland Garros,’ French Tennis Federation president Gilles Moretton told ESPN. ‘For Roland Garros, we want to keep our linesmen as long as the players agree with that.’

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Justice Samuel Alito raised concerns about a ‘potentially significant loophole’ in the Supreme Court’s decision to curb universal injunctions, and now his warning is hanging over lawsuits involving President Donald Trump.

Alito said in his concurring opinion in Trump v. CASA that class action lawsuits and lawsuits brought by states leave room for judges to hand down injunctions that, in practice, would function the same way a universal injunction does.

‘Federal courts should thus be vigilant against such potential abuses of these tools,’ Alito said.

Alito’s warning comes as judges continue to hand down sweeping rulings and as plaintiffs begin filing lawsuits tailored to avoid running into the new roadblock established by the high court.

In one major ruling, Judge Randolph Moss, an Obama appointee based in Washington, D.C., found this week that Trump’s proclamation declaring an ‘invasion’ at the border was unlawful.

Trump’s proclamation restricted migrants from claiming asylum when crossing into the United States, a practice the Trump administration says has been abused by border crossers.

Moss ‘set aside’ that policy under the Administrative Procedure Act, which had an effect similar to that of a nationwide injunction. More than a dozen potential asylees brought the lawsuit, and Moss also agreed to certify the case as a class action lawsuit that applied to all potential asylees in the country.

The Trump administration immediately appealed the ruling. Attorney General Pam Bondi said in a statement that Moss was a ‘rogue district court judge’ who was ‘already trying to circumvent the Supreme Court’s recent ruling against nationwide injunctions.’

In his concurring opinion, Alito warned against class action lawsuits that do not strictly abide by Rule 23, which lays out the criteria for certifying a class. He said the Supreme Court’s decision on universal injunctions will have ‘very little value’ if district courts do not adhere to the rule.

‘District courts should not view today’s decision as an invitation to certify nationwide classes without scrupulous adherence to the rigors of Rule 23,’ Alito wrote. ‘Otherwise, the universal injunction will return from the grave under the guise of ‘nationwide class relief,’ and today’s decision will be of little more than minor academic interest.’

Alito also noted that another area for exploitation could be states that seek statewide relief from a court.

For instance, Democrat-led states have filed several lawsuits challenging Trump’s policies. A judge could grant those states statewide injunctions, meaning everyone living in the state would be exempt from the policies. Alito warned that giving third parties widespread standing in cases in that manner required careful scrutiny.

If judges are lax about these statewide lawsuits, states will have ‘every incentive to bring third-party suits on behalf of their residents to obtain a broader scope of equitable relief than any individual resident could procure in his own suit,’ Alito wrote. ‘Left unchecked, the practice of reflexive state third-party standing will undermine today’s decision as a practical matter.’

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A key House ally of President Donald Trump is calling for the Republican leader to be eligible for a third White House term over passage of his ‘big, beautiful bill.’

Rep. Andy Ogles, R-Tenn., also called for Trump to be added to Mount Rushmore in South Dakota alongside George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln.

‘I was at the White House with President Trump for several hours yesterday and spent countless hours whipping votes with Speaker Johnson for the One Big Beautiful Bill. This historic legislation will unleash our economy and usher in a new golden age for America,’ Ogles told Fox News Digital after the bill passed.

‘Thanks to President Trump, we’re finally reversing the damage caused by Big Government and Democrat cronies. Wins like this are exactly why he deserves serious consideration for a third term—AND why so many believe he belongs on Mt. Rushmore.’

Ogles had previously introduced a resolution to give Trump the ability to run for a third term as president.

He was also seen at the White House in the lead-up to the last step of Congress advancing Trump’s massive tax and immigration bill. Ogles was also present on the House floor during tense negotiations on the bill, speaking to both Republican holdouts and House leaders at times.

The legislation narrowly passed on Thursday afternoon after a marathon session in the House of Representatives that began with a House Rules Committee meeting to advance it at 1:30 p.m. ET Tuesday, which ended nearly 12 hours later on Wednesday morning.

House lawmakers then met to debate the bill at 9 a.m. on Wednesday, though those proceedings were delayed for hours as House GOP leaders – and Trump himself – worked to persuade critics behind closed doors.

The bill numbers more than 900 pages and advances Trump’s agenda on taxes, the border, defense, energy, and the national debt.

The bill would permanently extend the income tax brackets lowered by Trump’s 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA), while temporarily adding new tax deductions to eliminate duties on tipped and overtime wages up to certain caps. It also includes a new tax deduction for people aged 65 and over.

The legislation also rolls back green energy tax credits implemented under former President Joe Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act, which Trump and his allies have attacked as ‘the Green New Scam.’

The bill would also surge money toward the national defense, and to Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in the name of Trump’s crackdown on illegal immigrants in the U.S.

The bill would also raise the debt limit by $5 trillion in order to avoid a potentially economically devastating credit default sometime this summer, if the U.S. runs out of cash to pay its obligations.

New and expanded work requirements would be implemented for Medicaid and federal food assistance, respectively.

Democrats have blasted the bill as a tax giveaway to the wealthy while cutting federal benefits for working-class Americans.

But Republicans have said their tax provisions are targeted toward the working and middle classes – citing measures eliminating taxes on tipped and overtime wages – while arguing they were reforming federal welfare programs to work better for those who truly need them.

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Congress has officially passed President Donald Trump’s ‘one big, beautiful bill’ on Thursday afternoon after back-to-back sleepless sessions for both the House and Senate.

The massive agenda bill now goes to Trump’s desk to be signed into law just in time for Republicans’ self-imposed Fourth of July deadline.

The bill – which advances Trump’s policies on tax, the border, defense, energy and the national debt – narrowly passed the House of Representatives in a mostly party-line vote. All but two Republicans, Reps. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., and Brian Fitzpatrick, R-Pa., voted for the bill, which passed 218 – 214.

It’s a commanding victory for Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., and for the president himself, both of whom spent hours overnight trying to persuade GOP critics of the bill.

‘The President is very engaged. He was very helpful in the process. He helped answer questions and articulate his vision and what this bill will mean for the country, and his agenda, and how urgent it is for us to get it done,’ Johnson told reporters the morning ahead of the vote.

The House initially passed its version of the legislation by just one vote in late May.

Senate Republicans took the bill up late last month and passed it after their own marathon voting session, also by just one vote – though the legislation underwent key changes in the upper chamber.

House lawmakers were slated to return to Washington on Wednesday morning to begin debating the bill, which included a procedural hurdle known as a ‘rule vote.’

But even before the rule vote could begin, it was clear the legislation had been hemorrhaging support from both moderates and conservatives in the House GOP.

Moderate Republicans were among those concerned about the Senate bill shifting even more of the Medicaid cost-burden onto states that expanded their health benefit populations under the Affordable Care Act (ACA), while conservatives were irate that those cuts did not go far enough to mitigate what they saw as excessive spending in other parts of the bill.

But the vote that was initially slated to occur Wednesday morning eventually passed after 3 a.m. on Thursday, after which both Republicans and Democrats hurriedly began to debate.

Among Democrats’ delay tactics included a lengthy speech by House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., who attacked Republicans for their overnight schedule.

‘If Republicans were so proud of this one big, ugly bill, why did debate begin at 3:28 a.m. in the morning? Republicans are once again, which has been the case, Mr. Speaker, through every step of this journey, trying to jam this bill through the House of Representatives under cover of darkness,’ Jeffries said.

But even before debate, the legislation’s fate appeared in limbo for much of Wednesday as closed-door negotiations paralyzed the House floor.

Five Republicans had initially voted against proceeding with debate on the bill, while eight GOP lawmakers had not voted at all.

The bill’s future was uncertain on Wednesday evening, but rather than accepting defeat, House GOP leaders kept the vote open for hours as they negotiated with holdouts behind closed doors.

One House Republican told Fox News Digital that Trump was directly involved in trying to persuade holdouts.

The president, meanwhile, aired his frustrations on Truth Social, ‘FOR REPUBLICANS, THIS SHOULD BE AN EASY YES VOTE. RIDICULOUS!!!’

In the end, they returned to the House floor where nearly all Republicans – save for moderate Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick, R-Pa. – voted to begin debating the bill.

Johnson told reporters when asked about Fitzpatrick’s defection, ‘I talked with him at length. Brian is a very good and trusted friend, and he just has convictions about certain provisions of the bill, he’s entitled to that.’

Meanwhile, House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., told reporters that critics were made to understand the bill is their only option on the table.

‘They recognized this is the vote that’s before us and it’s not going to change. There are other things we can do down the road, and we want to do. But we’ve got to get this bill done first,’ Scalise said.

The bill would permanently extend the income tax brackets lowered by Trump’s 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA), while temporarily adding new tax deductions to eliminate duties on tipped and overtime wages up to certain caps. It also includes a new tax deduction for people aged 65 and over.

The legislation also rolls back green energy tax credits implemented under former President Joe Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act, which Trump and his allies have attacked as ‘the Green New Scam.’

The bill would also surge money toward the national defense, and to Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in the name of Trump’s crackdown on illegal immigrants in the U.S.

The bill would also raise the debt limit by $5 trillion in order to avoid a potentially economically devastating credit default sometime this summer, if the U.S. runs out of cash to pay its obligations.

New and expanded work requirements would be implemented for Medicaid and federal food assistance, respectively.

Democrats have blasted the bill as a tax giveaway to the wealthy while cutting federal benefits for working-class Americans.

But Republicans have said their tax provisions are targeted toward the working and middle classes – citing measures eliminating taxes on tipped and overtime wages – while arguing they were reforming federal welfare programs to work better for those who truly need them.

Conservative groups also praised the bill, with Club For Growth CEO David McIntosh telling Fox News Digital, ‘By preventing the biggest tax hike in history, passing full expensing, and beginning to make key cuts to bloated programs and giveaways we are setting up our country to prosper in a new Golden Age.’

Top Republicans also praised the bill and Johnson’s role in its passage.

‘We delivered historic tax relief for working families, unprecedented border security investments, unleashed American energy dominance, and massive cuts to wasteful federal spending,’ Republican Study Committee Chairman August Pfluger, R-Texas, told Fox News Digital. ‘After years of failed policies, we stepped up to put Americans first and fulfilled our promises. On July 4th, 2025, we will return power to where it belongs—with the American people.’

House GOP Policy Committee Chairman Kevin Hern, R-Okla., said the bill ‘took an incredible amount of work to get this bill across the finish line, starting several years ago with field hearings, stakeholder meetings, and a lot of research into niche tax policy.’

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Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., shattered a speech record in the House of Representatives on Thursday, as lawmakers continue to wrestle with President Donald Trump’s ‘big, beautiful bill.’

Jeffries has been able to command the House floor via a ‘magic minute,’ a privilege for party leaders in the chamber that allows them to speak for however long they want.

He’s used it as a stalling tactic to delay the final vote on Trump’s massive tax and immigration bill, after a marathon House-wide session considering the bill that began around 9:30 a.m. Wednesday.

It’s now the longest-enduring ‘magic minute’ in U.S. House of Representatives history, breaking the previously record held by ex-Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif.

McCarthy spoke for eight hours and 32 minutes in November 2021 to oppose Democrats’ progressive Build Back Better bill.

Like Republicans’ One Big Beautiful Bill Act, lawmakers were working to pass it via the budget reconciliation process – which fast-tracks certain pieces of fiscal legislation by lowering the Senate’s threshold for passage from 60 votes to 51.

The New York Democrat began speaking minutes before 4 a.m. on Thursday and broke McCarthy’s record about 1:30 p.m, by approximately 12 minutes. Jeffries ended his speech after eight hours and 44 minutes.

‘I feel the obligation, Mr. Speaker, to stand on this House floor and take my sweet time,’ he said at one point.

The first part of Jeffries’ speech saw him read from a binder that he said contained accounts of people who could lose their Medicaid coverage under the GOP bill, taken from residents of states with Republican lawmakers.

‘This Congress is on the verge of ripping food out of the mouths of children, veterans and seniors as a result of this one big ugly bill in order to reward billionaires with massive tax breaks and exploding the debt in the process,’ he said at one point.

Jeffries said this ‘one big, ugly bill’ that ‘our Republican colleagues are trying to jam down the throats of the American people will undermine their quality of life.’

At another point in the wide-ranging speech, he accused Republicans of cutting federal benefits to pay for tax breaks for wealthy Americans like Elon Musk – who notably opposes the bill.

‘I think it’s important for the American people to process… SNAP on average provides $6 per day. At the same time, Elon Musk, his federal contracts, as we understand it, amount to $8 million per day. Mr. Speaker, if Republicans were really serious about targeting waste, fraud and abuse in the United States of America, start there – $8 million per day, start right there,’ Jeffries said.

‘Don’t take it. Don’t rip it from the mouths of children, seniors or veterans. If Republicans were really serious about targeting waste, fraud and abuse, start right there with Elon Musk.’

House Republicans are expected to hold their vote.

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Want to know a cool story about Alex Delvecchio?

Well, let me take you back to the early 1970s in the Motor City. There was a kid gearing up for another summer playing baseball in the Police Athletic League (PAL), but the dude’s glove was shredded, his bat was cracked and the spikes were about two sizes too small.

And money was tight, with his single mom raising three kids.

Delvecchio, though, came up with an idea: He told the kid to go to Olympic Sporting Goods and get whatever baseball equipment he needed.

“Tell them to put it on my account,” he declared.

That kid was me. So, I took the city bus to the store on Livernois Avenue and left the place with all sorts of stuff – including a sweet Cesar Cedeno glove.

Thanks, Alex.

Delvecchio, the Detroit Red Wings legend and hockey Hall of Famer, died on July 1 at 93, prompting a flood of personal memories.

He was a true hero to me.

I grew up about 10 blocks from Olympia. When I was around 10, I wandered there routinely on Saturday mornings to watch the Red Wings practice, the access first granted by Art, a security guard who figured that I meant no harm.

One thing sure led to another. They gave me skates, and I learned how to use them after Red Wings practices (Gary Bergman taught me how to skate backward). Of course, after expending all of that energy, the kid welcomed rides home.

Thanks, Alex.

Then there was that period when Delvecchio, for 12 years the team captain, was pressed into becoming the head coach and ultimately the GM. These were tough times for the Wings. But he tried. And during my high school years in the mid-1970s, he came up with another idea for me: He gave me an after-school “job” as a gopher helping out Kathy Best, the public relations secretary.

I’d run invoices over to concessions. Pick up the mail. Stuff press releases into envelopes. Pass out stats in the press box.

And for this “job” that was off the books, as they say, Alex paid me cash out of his pocket.

Thanks, Alex.

Trust me, it helped. Yet the more essential perk from that experience around the Red Wings at Olympia Stadium was that it exposed to me a whole new world and industry, which led to me pursuing a career in journalism.

There were so many supportive people from that era. In addition to Kathy, players like Henry Boucha and Jimmy Rutherford were awesome to chat with. Marcel Dionne? He didn’t speak much (if any) English during his rookie year, but while horsing around with me on the ice one day he inadvertently taught me a hockey ‘survival skill’ by pulling my jersey over my head. Looking back, the idea of Dionne getting into a skirmish is hilarious, because during his Hall of Fame career he didn’t fight nobody!

The trainer, Lefty Wilson, was also special. When I went through a phase of skipping school, flunking classes at Northwestern High and showing up to Olympia during school hours, Lefty made it an issue and demanded that I start bringing him my report cards. Needless to say, it helped get me back on track.

Yet it all started with Alex, who they used to call “Fats.” He won three Stanley Cup crowns with the Red Wings during the 1950s, earned 13 NHL All-Star appearances, centered the “Production Line II” with Gordie Howe and Ted Lindsay, making his mark as an awesome assist agent that set up the prolific goal scorers. Fittingly, he also won the Lady Byng Trophy three times for, well, classy conduct.

And while it’s not on his NHL resume, Alex was also the first person to let me take their car alone after I got my driver’s license – something my momma was not signing up for.

With Alex, working into the night as GM, it basically involved me driving to Burger Chef for hamburgers … and then maybe a joy ride.

 Thanks, Alex.

We can all have the power to impact another person’s life in some form or fashion. As I reflect on Alex, I am compelled to share some of these memories to illustrate just how much of a difference he made for me.

Like my sophomore year at Michigan State (thanks, Earvin “Magic” Johnson), when I decided to study abroad in a mass media program at the University of London. I put together scholarships, grants and a loan to handle the tuition, room-and-board and the travel.

Yet the broke college student didn’t have squat to pay for daily personal expenses, like, uh, fish and chips, splurging at the Hard Rock Cafe or hanging out at Ronnie Scott’s jazz club. 

Well, Alex made that happen. He hired me to work for a month at his engraving business, Alex Delvecchio Enterprises, putting me on a project to help him (with his sleeves rolled up) make signage for the relatively new Renaissance Center. It allowed to me earn enough to handle the personal expenses in England.

Thanks, Alex.

When I had no one else to turn to in the clutch, he dished off another amazing assist.

Forever grateful. RIP, Alex.

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The soccer world on Thursday is mourning the deaths of Liverpool player Diogo Jota, and his brother André Silva, who both died in a car crash in Spain. Jota was 28, while Silva was 26.

Jota helped Liverpool win the Premier League last season, and helped Portugal win the UEFA Nations League last month. He also married his wife, Rute Cardoso, last month. They share three children.

‘We have lost two champions. Their deaths represent irreparable losses for Portuguese football, and we will do everything we can to honour their legacy every day,’ the Portuguese Football Federation said in a statement.

Portuguese star Cristiano Ronaldo also shared his condolences as players and clubs around the world issued statements Thursday.

‘It doesn’t make sense. Just now we were together in the National Team, just now you had gotten married,’ Ronaldo said on social media. ‘To your family, your wife, and your children, I send my condolences and wish them all the strength in the world. I know you will always be with them. Rest in Peace, Diogo and André. We will all miss you.’

FIFA president Gianni Infantino shared a statement on social media:

‘I am deeply saddened to hear of the tragic passing of Diogo Jota and his brother André Silva. Aged just 28, Diogo had enjoyed a fantastic career to date and had many great years ahead of him, while his brother André was thriving at FC Penafiel – they will both be so sorely missed by all those who knew them and by the worldwide football community,’ Infantino said.

‘On behalf of FIFA and the wider football family, my thoughts are with their family and friends, as well as everyone at Liverpool FC, FC Penafiel and the Portuguese Football Federation. May they rest in peace.’

Tennis legend Rafael Nadal said in a social media post: ‘What terribly sad and painful news.’

NBA superstar LeBron James, who is a minority owner of Liverpool FC, also posted a message on social media.

Atlético Madrid, which Jota played from 2016-2018:

FC Porto, the Portuguese club where Jota played on loan from 2016-17:

Here are some other social media posts from the soccer world Thursday:

(This story was updated to add a video.)

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The State Department has changed its hiring and promoting criteria for foreign service officers to eliminate any diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) considerations. 

Before now, the second of five core precepts used in State Department hiring and promotion emphasized promoting DEI, according to documents obtained by Fox News Digital. That precept has now been replaced with one focused on ‘fidelity.’

A senior State Department official said it was ‘unbelievable’ fidelity was not already part of the promotion criteria. 

‘This is a commonsense and needed change. U.S. Foreign Service Officers represent America overseas and should be judged on their ability to faithfully and dutifully represent and champion our country abroad.’ 

The department’s previous hiring guide for 2022–2025 required foreign service employees to ‘demonstrate impact in diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility,’ according to the internal documents.

Entry-level applicants were expected to proactively seek to ‘improve one’s own self-awareness with respect to promoting inclusivity.’ Mid- and senior-level supervisors were told to recruit and retain diverse teams, respond immediately to non-inclusive workplace behaviors, and ‘consult with impacted staff before finalizing decisions.’

That guidance is now out.

READ THE NEW GUIDANCE BELOW. APP USERS: CLICK HERE

The department’s new document for 2025–2028 lists ‘fidelity’ as the first of five core precepts, followed by communication, leadership, management and knowledge. Under the new policy, mid- and senior-level Foreign Service Officers must demonstrate loyalty by ‘zealously executing U.S. government policy’ and ‘resolving uncertainty on the side of fidelity to one’s chain of command.’

The move comes amid a government-wide effort to eliminate DEI within federal agencies, and root out those who they believe to be working to undermine President Donald Trump’s agenda. 

The State Department has also frozen the Foreign Service Officer Test (FSOT) – typically administered three times a year – as it moves to restructure and potentially downsize its workforce. In May, the department submitted a plan to Congress outlining a 15% reduction of its 19,000 employees and the consolidation of over 300 bureaus and agency offices.

While a court order has temporarily paused mass layoffs across federal agencies, a recent Supreme Court ruling determined that nationwide injunctions issued by federal district courts ‘likely exceed the equitable authority that Congress has granted.’

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