By Kyle Feldscher, CNN

(CNN) — Before this World Cup began, I kept thinking one thing over and over as the tournament grew closer: “This could be a disaster.”

Headlines from around the country swirled about how the lengthy US government shutdown left local municipalities without the necessary funds to prepare for millions of people coming to the US. There were concerns about the USA’s toxic political environment keeping many of the international visitors from coming for the tournament. Reports of price gouging around the games made it seem like the tournament could see thousands of empty seats as fans were priced out from traveling. The start of the war in Iran soured the reputation of the US government at home and abroad.

It was enough to make me, a World Cup enthusiast, be worried that this tournament would be huge letdown.

I couldn’t have been more wrong.

From the moment that the first ball was kicked in Mexico City to the final whistle in the New Jersey Meadowlands, North America was the host of one of the most epic parties the world has ever seen. It was a total vibe shift, one that couldn’t have been more needed.

On that opening night in Mexico, we saw South Koreans and Mexicans bonding like long lost brothers. When the attention turned north of the border, we watched the Scots drink Boston dry; Norwegians row on every form of surface imaginable; Brazilians, Argentines and Colombians come out in droves and take over entire cities; and random tourists discover American delicacies like Buc-ee’s and Waffle House.

There were even a few weeks there when Americans could believe – however far-fetched it seemed – that the USA had suddenly turned a corner and became a World Cup contender after two inspiring wins to start the tournament.

The US, for years, had seen the political chaos from Washington, DC, radiate out and affect the mood of the country. For more than five weeks, the headlines from so many other cities – Algeria’s love affair with Lawrence, Kansas; Boston’s summer fling with Scottish fans and then their takeover of Miami; Seattle’s epic atmosphere; Atlanta’s downtown suddenly overrun with thousands of people as its fanfest became the hottest ticket in town, etc. – suddenly reminded millions of Americans of something that was true all along: This country is actually pretty great.

That’s not to say the politics that so often dominate our lives were absent or should have been ignored. The 39 days of the World Cup definitely had their moments of politics invading what was hoped to be a sporting sanctuary.

The Iranian team’s treatment by FIFA and the US government was rightly criticized as Iran was forced to move its training base at the last moment and then could only fly into and out of the US days before its games, not leaving it much time to prepare or recover. President Donald Trump’s intrusion into the saga around Folarin Balogun briefly made observers question the integrity of the whole tournament (at least until Belgium battered the US and sent the Americans home). One referee was not allowed into the country because he was Somalian and other nations had visa issues that were blamed on Trump’s administration.

But for a tournament that threatened to have Trump loom over proceedings and dominate the headlines on a day-to-day basis, as was done with the celebration of the nation’s 250th birthday in Washington or that whole thing with DC’s reflecting pool, it was largely about the soccer.

Even when Trump took over the headlines with the Balogun affair, the game itself took the headlines right back. It was a day after that embarrassing affair for US soccer that Lionel Messi and Argentina pulled off one of the escapes of the tournament, storming back from a late 2-0 deficit against Egypt to win 3-2 in one of the mos

By Chris Isidore, CNN

(CNN) — The average price US drivers pay for gas hit $4 a gallon on Monday, only the second time it has reached that benchmark since the war in Iran disrupted global oil supplies.

The average price is now at $4 a gallon, according to the American Automobile Association (AAA). Gas first crossed the $4 mark on March 31, a month into the conflict.

The average national price for a gallon of regular gas was $2.98 before the fighting began and cut off most oil flowing through the critical Strait of Hormuz.

Prices rose to a four-year high of $4.56 in early May before falling on hopes that negotiations between Iran and the United States would reopen the waterway and release oil tankers that had been trapped in the Persian Gulf.

The two countries signed a memorandum of understanding on June 14 to halt hostilities, prompting gas to fall back below $4 a few days later.

But prices at the pump began to climb again after Iran resumed attacks on ships trying to exit the strait and after the US retaliated and put a blockade on Iranian ports. The average price is up around 13 cents over the past week.

About half of America’s states still have an average price below $4 a gallon, however. Indiana has the lowest average price at $3.35 a gallon, while California is the most expensive at $5.49. Washington state and Hawaii also have an average price above $5 a gallon, according to the AAA.

Gas prices are not expected to decline anytime soon, according to Tom Kloza, an independent oil analyst and advisor to Gulf Oil. The recent run-up in gasoline futures indicates prices will rise another 10 to 25 cents over the next week.

“That’s baked in,” he said.

The war with Iran and renewed closure of the strait aren’t the only factors driving prices higher. There’s also Ukraine’s recent drone attacks on Russian refineries, Kloza said.

“Russia has had to import gasoline, whereas they’ve been a net seller for many, many years,” he said. “It has raised fears in markets of a refined product shortage. And no matter how much gasoline we make here, it is a global market.”

All of this comes amid peak driving season in the United States, where demand for gas is at a maximum, Kloza said. Stronger demand is expected to keep upward pressure on gas prices through Labor Day.

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By Alaa Elassar, CNN

(CNN) — Months after moving to Kerrville, Texas, John Melendrez stood in a neighborhood deli with a sandwich he just realized he couldn’t pay for. His only credit card was declined, and as he apologized to the owner, Chong Chin, embarrassment washed over him.

The two men had never met. But as Melendrez turned to leave empty-handed, Chin looked up from behind the counter, smiled, and waved him back. “Don’t worry about it,” Melendrez remembers Chin saying. “We need you to eat.”

It was a small act of grace, but one that lingered long after the meal.

Six years later, their roles have reversed.

After sweeping floodwater swallowed Greengrocers – Chin’s gourmet grocery story – Melendrez is now helping his neighbor, cutting drywall and gathering volunteers to haul trash bags stuffed with mud-caked debris, ruined furniture and waterlogged memories.

For the second year in a row, this quiet Hill Country town is digging itself out of a catastrophe that has mercilessly taken a community trying to heal and set them back on the path of mourning.

About a year’s worth of rain fell in parts of southern Texas last week and authorities said “a large and deadly flood wave” moved down the Guadalupe River, before it crested at nearly 38 feet in Center Point Thursday morning. A river gauge downstream from there in Comfort rose 25 feet in a single hour.

A year ago, historic flooding in Hill Country killed more than 130 people, including 25 young girls attending summer camp and two camp counselors. Their deaths shattered families across Texas and far beyond.

This year, two people were killed. The heartbreak was just as devastating.

Jennie Steward was away visiting family when the flood struck. For a few agonizing hours, first responders desperately searched for her husband, John Mark Steward. Their home had been ripped from its foundation and swept into floodwaters with him still inside.

“Wherever you are, my love, I am going to search high and low for you,” she wrote on Facebook, pleading for anyone who might have seen her husband, known affectionately as Mark to nearly everyone in Kerrville. “My best friend, my confidant. I love you like crazy.”

But hours later, she confirmed he had been found dead. Their third wedding anniversary was just one day earlier.

“Mark was such a loving soul to everyone around him. He made you feel seen and loved, no matter who you were,” Steward told CNN. “He completed me and I completed him.”

Mark, a stepfather to her children, had recently embraced a new title: grandfather.

“Our Ellie had his heart wrapped around her finger, literally and figuratively,” she told CNN. “She was his whole world. We got to spend Father’s Day together this year and it was the most beautiful day.”

Now Steward is grieving not only the loss of her husband, but also the loss of the home they built together. Friends, neighbors and her church have rallied around her, raising money and helping her navigate the unimaginable. Their support, she says, is the one steady thing left to hold onto.

“Our garden, our memories, everything material is gone but we have our friends, our church and our community,” she said. “I could not be in a better place for this to ha

By Lauren Mascarenhas, CNN

(CNN) — Social media influencers Andrew and Tristan Tate are expected in federal court this week, following an extradition request from the United Kingdom on charges of sexual offenses, including rape and sex trafficking.

US Marshals arrested the brothers, who are dual US and UK citizens, in Miami on Saturday. An attorney for the brothers has said they are innocent.

The brothers are set to appear in Miami federal court Monday, attorney Joseph McBride, told CNN on Sunday. The brothers are expected to fight the extradition request, McBride added.

Here’s what we know:

Who are the Tate brothers?

After getting their start on reality TV in the UK, the Tate brothers have gained notoriety over the years by promoting increasingly misogynistic content online, racking up followers — and criminal charges.

Andrew Tate, a self-proclaimed misogynist, has earned masses of online supporters — many of them young men and boys — with content promoting male dominance, female submission and a reverence for wealth and power.

He once argued women should “bear responsibility” for being sexually assaulted. The comments got him banned from almost every social media platform. When Elon Musk took over Twitter in 2022, he reinstated Tate’s account.

Tristan Tate has built a following by creating and promoting a similar take on modern masculinity.

The Tates have been ardent supporters of President Donald Trump. Despite reports the Trump administration pressed Romanian authorities to ease restrictions on the brothers last year, White House officials said the US government had no direct role in bringing them to Florida and Romania’s foreign minister said he did not face pressure to lift the restrictions.

What charges are they facing?

Andrew Tate faces 42 charges, including rape, human trafficking, indecent images of a child and assault, according to the UK Crown Prosecution Service and Bedfordshire Police. Tristan Tate faces 17 charges, including sexual assault, rape and trafficking, according to officials, bringing the total to 59 charges between them.

The extradition request followed an investigation by the UK Crown Prosecution Service, which said the alleged offenses were reported by seven women and took place in the East of England, north of London, between 2010 and 2017.

The brothers were already facing rape and human trafficking charges in the UK over allegations from 2012 to 2015. The new charges were brought after Bedfordshire Police investigated reports made by four additional women, police said.

Andrew Tate also faces a civil suit in the UK from four women who have accused him of rape and coercive control.

In Romania, the brothers face charges of human trafficking and forming an organized criminal group to sexually exploit women.

The state of Florida is also conducting an active criminal investigation into the brothers. Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier

CNN

By Lauren Mascarenhas, CNN

(CNN) — Social media influencers Andrew and Tristan Tate are expected in federal court this week, following an extradition request from the United Kingdom on charges of sexual offenses, including rape and sex trafficking.

US Marshals arrested the brothers, who are dual US and UK citizens, in Miami on Saturday. An attorney for the brothers has said they are innocent.

The brothers are set to appear in Miami federal court Monday, attorney Joseph McBride, told CNN on Sunday. The brothers are expected to fight the extradition request, McBride added.

Here’s what we know:

Who are the Tate brothers?

After getting their start on reality TV in the UK, the Tate brothers have gained notoriety over the years by promoting increasingly misogynistic content online, racking up followers — and criminal charges.

Andrew Tate, a self-proclaimed misogynist, has earned masses of online supporters — many of them young men and boys — with content promoting male dominance, female submission and a reverence for wealth and power.

He once argued women should “bear responsibility” for being sexually assaulted. The comments got him banned from almost every social media platform. When Elon Musk took over Twitter in 2022, he reinstated Tate’s account.

Tristan Tate has built a following by creating and promoting a similar take on modern masculinity.

The Tates have been ardent supporters of President Donald Trump. Despite reports the Trump administration pressed Romanian authorities to ease restrictions on the brothers last year, White House officials said the US government had no direct role in bringing them to Florida and Romania’s foreign minister said he did not face pressure to lift the restrictions.

What charges are they facing?

Andrew Tate faces 42 charges, including rape, human trafficking, indecent images of a child and assault, according to the UK Crown Prosecution Service and Bedfordshire Police. Tristan Tate faces 17 charges, including sexual assault, rape and trafficking, according to officials, bringing the total to 59 charges between them.

The extradition request followed an investigation by the UK Crown Prosecution Service, which said the alleged offenses were reported by seven women and took place in the East of England, north of London, between 2010 and 2017.

The brothers were already facing rape and human trafficking charges in the UK over allegations from 2012 to 2015. The new charges were brought after Bedfordshire Police investigated reports made by four additional women, police said.

Andrew Tate