Good Morning. A White House call got America's striker back on the field. Belgium won 4-1 anyway. We break down the most controversial 24 hours in US World Cup history.
Plus, Bryan Johnson's diagnosis, how to improve your gut, Disney's mosquito playbook, and your real retirement number (forwarded this email? Join 523k readers).
TOP STORY TODAY
Belgium Defeats USA
Belgium eliminated the US men's national team 4-1 in Seattle last night, ending the co-hosts' World Cup run in the round of 16. The Americans were chasing their first quarterfinal since 2002.
The loss came 24 hours after President Trump spoke with FIFA president Gianni Infantino, resulting in striker Folarin Balogun's red card suspension being lifted. Belgium's appeal was denied. Balogun started but managed zero goals on three shots.
Balogun and US Soccer were fined $40,000, and European soccer's governing body called the reinstatement unprecedented. Belgium advances to the quarterfinals, having scored twice through Charles De Ketelaere despite benching three top stars.
Walmart Slashes Prices
Walmart announced it is cutting prices on thousands of items, including a 12% drop on ground beef, cherries at half price, and 24-packs of Coca-Cola falling one-third to $9.97.
The move lands as affordability dominates American politics. Ground beef prices ran 12% higher in May than a year earlier, and the federal government recently pledged up to $500 million to small and midsize meatpackers to keep slaughter volumes steady.
President Trump praised the cuts minutes before Walmart's announcement, urging other retailers to follow. The Justice Department is separately investigating the four largest US meatpackers over record beef prices. Seasonal rollbacks or real change?
2,400 Miles Solo
Kelsey Pfendler became the fastest solo rower ever to cross from California to Hawaii, arriving on O'ahu Friday night after 43 days, 17 hours, and 55 minutes covering more than 2,400 miles of open Pacific (see 43-day breakdown).
The 32-year-old Grand Canyon raft guide departed Monterey on May 21, celebrated her birthday at sea, and became the first American woman to make the crossing solo and unassisted. She beat the women's record by roughly 40 days.
She also edged the men's mark by about a week. Along the way she documented daily video diaries, got serenaded by a passing Coast Guard crew, and raised over $30,000 for river guides. See her Instagram.
TOGETHER WITH NIBBLES
Spoil your pet this summer
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GET 1% BETTER
Retirement: How Much is Enough?
How much do you actually need to never work again? There is a formula, and the man who invented it just changed it. Bill Bengen, creator of the 4% rule:
The quick math. Multiply the income you want by 25. Want $80k a year? You need about $2 million.
The rule got a raise. Bengen now says 4.7% is safe, not 4%, which drops your number from 25x to about 21x.
Retiring early? Flip it. For a 40-year retirement, lean cautious at 3.5%, closer to 28x. Longer runway, bigger cushion.
See your year. Our free calculator shows the exact year your savings cross the finish line, at any spending level.
Disney World’s Secret Mosquito Strategy
Disney World sits on Florida swampland, yet you never get bitten there. They run a five-point, all-natural system. Steal it for your own yard:
Kill standing water. Mosquitoes breed in any still water in under 48 hours. Dump it, or drop in mosquito bits, a natural larvicide, to wipe out the larvae.
Plant herbs everywhere. Lemongrass, lemon balm, rosemary, basil. The trick is volume: ring your seating areas, paths, and doors, not one lonely pot.
Spray garlic before you sit. Blend a few garlic heads with water, strain, and mist the ground an hour before guests arrive. Repels them, no chemicals.
Zap on demand. Keep an electric zapper going for cookouts and company.
Skip to 14:58: the fifth trick is the simplest of all, and it uses herbs you already have.
TRENDING
5 Stories
▲ Bryan Johnson reveals incurable "stomach eating itself" autoimmune disease at 48 despite spending millions each year on longevity
▲ Epstein bank moved $45 million through dormant Virgin Islands shell before and after his death, probe closed without findings
▲ Ronaldo's World Cup career ends as Spain's stoppage-time goal eliminates Portugal 1-0, closing record 146-goal international run
▲ Heat wave kills millions of French chickens as record June temperatures wipe out flocks unable to sweat
▲ Toyota Tacoma production returns to Texas in $3.6 billion expansion adding 2,000 San Antonio jobs by 2030 | Last manual pickup
TOGETHER WITH COCOJUNE
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