By Ben Church, CNN

(CNN) — Note: This story first appeared in The Beautiful Game by CNN Sports, our daily newsletter on all things World Cup. To subscribe, click here.

Happy Monday, everyone, and welcome to the final week of this year’s World Cup.

The first of the two semifinals will get underway tomorrow when Spain takes on France but, until then, we have plenty of other topics to discuss.

In this edition of the newsletter, we’ll take you pitchside with one of the many photographers documenting this summer’s matches and discuss how one superstar’s life has changed during this record-breaking World Cup.

But first, ask yourself this: Is it possible to have too much of a good thing when it comes to soccer’s biggest tournament?

The Main Thing: FIFA to consider an even bigger World Cup

When it was announced that this year would be the largest World Cup in history, fought between a record 48 teams, there was a bit of pushback initially.

The World Cup should be selective, some argued. The overall quality of the games will be negatively impacted, others said.

And while both of those statements were true to some extent, the 48-team competition has won a lot of people over.

First, many of the debutants did themselves proud. Just look at Cape Verde reaching the knockout rounds or Curaçao winning over hearts with their passion and excitement (not to mention their sensational kits). If it wasn’t for the extended format, some of the best storylines at this World Cup would never have existed.

So, it’s perhaps only natural that FIFA President Gianni Infantino would consider adding even more nations to the mix.

“That’s definitely an issue that will be examined and discussed in the relevant committees after this World Cup,” he said when Swiss outlet Bluewin asked about the possibility of a 64-team tournament in the future.

“When organizing a World Cup, it’s important to organize it for the whole world – not just Europe and South America – but effectively the entire world. Every nation should be ⁠allowed to dream of participating in the World Cup.

“You can see that the quality of the teams is extremely high – and it’s getting higher and higher, all over the world. If you don’t give smaller countries a chance to participate in the World Cup, they’ll lack the incentive to keep improving.”

The next World Cup in 2030 is to be co-hosted by Spain, Portugal and Morocco. However, the first three matches will be played in Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay to mark 100 years since the first edition of the tournament was played in Uruguay.

CONMEBOL, the governing body for South American soccer, has already proposed a 2030 World Cup consisting of 64 teams to properly celebrate the centenary.

And while many will see the benefits of such an expansion, both financially and in terms of legacy, there will be others who are less excited.

The tournament is already taking much longer because of the 104-game schedule. Players who reach the latter stages have little time off before their domestic club seasons get back underway as it stands. I can’t imagine players will be over the moon about yet more competition.

It feels like this proposal is still in the early stages, but it does raise an important question: Can you have too muc

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By Brian Stelter, CNN

(CNN) — For President Donald Trump, this latest leak hunt is really personal.

Last week, reporters at The New York Times received subpoenas referencing “an alleged violation of federal criminal law” just two days after they published a story contradicting Trump’s claims about the new Qatari-gifted Air Force One.

Journalists involved in the matter strongly suspect that the subpoenas were rushed out in response to Trump’s anger about the news coverage.

Joe Kahn, the executive editor of The Times, called the subpoenas “impulsive” in a memo to staffers denouncing the “naked attempt to intimidate individual reporters” and to prevent reporting.

The court orders compel the reporters to testify before a grand jury about their anonymous sources, though The Times will fight to stop that from happening.

“The law protects news gatherers from this sort of retaliatory abuse of prosecutorial power,” Kahn wrote. “It is essential that the courts reaffirm that protection and quash this overreach. We are confident they will in this case.”

While the use of subpoena power against journalists has always been highly controversial, officials in past administrations sometimes justified it by arguing it was used as a last resort, after other investigative avenues were exhausted.

This time, the subpoenas seem more like a first step. FBI director Kash Patel was called to the White House for meetings about the leak investigation on Friday, shortly before the subpoenas were delivered to Times reporters.

Renowned First Amendment attorney Floyd Abrams told CNN, “I can’t think of another such conflict in which the president himself is so personally involved… Nor can I think of one in which there is every reason to think that the president himself was personally involved in the decision to seek to force the press to reveal its sources.”

“Most telling of all,” Abrams added, “I can’t think of a situation in which the public has had such a genuine and appropriate interest in the topic about which the article dealt.”

The plane gift was already highly controversial; figures across the political spectrum bashed the plan to accept the luxurious plane from Qatar last year, and some likened it to a “bribe.”

Trump seemed eager to show off the new jet, however. “The compressed timetable set by the president limited the modifications to the plane,” The Associated Press reported on July 1, the day Trump proudly took his maiden voyage on board.

“Images of the jet captured since its unveiling and analyzed by the Associated Press show that it is not equipped with at least some of the same missile detection and countermeasure systems as the outgoing Cold War-era jets,” the news outlet said.

Indeed, that information was ascertained just by looking at the plane up close.

But when Trump announced, during a NATO summit last Wednesday, that he wouldn’t be flying the Qatari-gifted plane out of Turkey, he claimed the change had nothing to do with security concerns.

He said the plane was being sent to England’s Mildenhall Air Force Base to give US service members “a chance to tour the aircraft.”

Anonymous sources undermined that claim right away. T

* WHAT…Dangerous rip currents and breaking waves with elevated
surf expected. Minor coastal flooding possible. An isolated
lightning strike is possible today.

* WHERE…San Luis Obispo County Beaches, Santa Barbara County
Central Coast Beaches, Santa Barbara County Southwestern
Coast, Santa Barbara County Southeastern Coast, Ventura County
Beaches, Malibu Coast and Los Angeles County Beaches.

* WHEN…Through Wednesday evening.

* IMPACTS…There is an increased risk of ocean drowning. Rip
currents can pull swimmers and surfers out to sea. Waves can
wash people off beaches and rocks, and capsize small boats
nearshore. Lightning strikes can harm individuals.

* ADDITIONAL DETAILS…Southerly swell combined with abnormally
high tides of 7.0 to 7.6 feet will bring the potential for
minor coastal flooding in low-lying areas in the evening.
Remain out of the water due to hazardous swimming conditions, or
stay near occupied lifeguard towers. Rock jetties can be deadly
in such conditions, stay off the rocks.

Seek shelter inside a fully enclosed building or car with metal
roof if lightning is in the area and wait until the lightning has
left the area.

The post Beach Hazards Statement issued July 13 at 7:12AM PDT until July 15 at 11:00PM PDT by NWS Los Angeles/Oxnard CA appeared first on News Channel 3-12.

CNN

By Lauren Mascarenhas, Joe Sutton, CNN

(CNN) — A person was killed Monday in an ICE-involved shooting in Biddeford, Maine, according to the state’s speaker of the house — just days after a federal agent fatally shot a Mexican immigrant during a traffic stop in Houston, sparking mass protests and demands for transparency and accountability.

“A person was killed. ICE was involved. State Police and the Department of Public Safety are now on scene to gather details and would expect the FBI to investigate as well,” Maine House Speaker Ryan Fecteau said in a statement on Facebook. “These are the details that I have at this time. I will provide further updates, as they are relayed to me.”

CNN has reached out to Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Department of Homeland Security for comment.

Biddeford police told CNN there was a “police incident” in the area, about 18 miles south of Portland, and said there is no threat to the public at this time, but declined to provide additional details.

Maine Democratic US Rep. Chellie Pingree said she was “disturbed and angry” upon hearing the news of the shooting. She called for an investigation into the incident, adding a question directed at ICE officers: “Why are you in Maine?”

The incident comes less than a week after a man on his way to work in Houston was shot and killed by an ICE agent. Lorenzo Salgado Araujo was killed during a traffic stop in what ICE initially described as a targeted enforcement operation, though a source later said Salgado Araujo was not the target of the operation.

The shooting has reignited calls for accountability among ICE agents, which reached a fever pitch earlier this year after 37-year-old mother Renee Good and 37-year-old ICU nurse Alex Pretti were killed by federal immigration agents during the Trump administration’s operation in Minneapolis.

The administration dubbed a similar surge in immigration enforcement across Maine in January “Operation Catch of the Day.” The ACLU and other advocates filed a lawsuit against federal immigration agents for “abducting a lawful immigrant” during the surge.

Some community groups and advocates that rallied against the surge earlier this year have already started to organize in response to Monday’s shooting. The group “Maine Resists” has planned an emergency community rally in the city at noon. The racial justice and immigrant rights group Project Relief said it is in touch with the victim’s family.

This is a developing story and will be updated.

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