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Leaders across Southcentral Alaska are warning that the region’s shrinking natural gas supply requires urgent action. Mat-Su Borough Mayor Edna DeVries, Anchorage Mayor Suzanne LaFrance and local utility leaders discussed the possibility of rolling blackouts if there is not enough…
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More than three weeks have passed since the U.S. men’s national team crashed out of the 2026 FIFA World Cup with a resounding 4-1 loss to Belgium in the round of 16, and for USA greats Clint Dempsey and Jozy Altidore, the lopsided defeat still stings. “I haven’t even watched the game back,” Altidore, the program’s third all-time goalscoring leader behind only Dempsey and Landon Donovan, told me after the tournament was over. “It’s difficult to swallow.” “It’s a little bit deflating, the way they crashed out of the World Cup,” Dempsey added when we caught up last weekend. Dempsey and Altidore were teammates on the Stars and Stripes 2010 and 2014 World Cup squads. The Americans won their group, ahead of England, in 2010, before an extra-time loss to Ghana in the round of 16. The U.S. survived the Group of Death over Ghana and Cristiano Ronaldo-led Portugal in 2014, losing in extra time to Belgium at the same stage. Playing in a home World Cup for the first time in 32 years, the expectation for the 2026 version was to reach the quarters for the first time since 2002, or at least match their predecessors with a respectable showing in the round of 16. That’s not how it played out. Despite multi-goal group stage victories against Australia and Paraguay and a round-of-32 win over Bosnia and Herzegovina, coach Mauricio Pochettino’s high-risk, high-reward style was exposed against a Belgian side that methodically targeted U.S. frailties in goal and along the back line. “We conceded too many goals — that’s what I was worried about,” Dempsey said. “Look at Spain — not to say that we are Spain, but they only conceded one goal throughout the whole World Cup.” The two American soccer legends are finally getting a break after a breakneck last two months spent broadcasting sports’ marquee event, Dempsey as an analyst with FOX Sports and Altidore with Spanish-language network Telemundo. On site for the World Cup final between Spain and Argentina on July 19, the decisive match was a homecoming for the New Jersey-born Altidore, who began his professional career with the New York Red Bulls. “I used to get dropped off at Giants Stadium by my mom in our Toyota Camry when I was 15, and now I’m back in this same place, but it’s for a World Cup final,” he said. ‘New Faces’ For USA’s Squad Altidore and Dempsey’s post-World Cup rest won’t last long. They’ll both be paying close attention to the players returning to action at their clubs, especially the MLS-based contingent. Following a two-month World Cup break, the domestic league returned to action in mid-July and is hoping to capitalize on the unprecedented explosion of interest in soccer within the broader American public. Later this week, the top 18 MLS teams from last season will also embark on the latest edition of the Leagues Cup, joining all 18 squads from Mexico’s Liga MX in a World Cup-style tournament. The schedule features as many as seven inter-league matches a day during the 10-day first round — many of them in prime time. Two youngsters who just missed out on Pochettino’s World Cup roster – Real Salt Lake duo Zavier Gozo and Diego Luna – will be in action on opening night on Aug 4., when RSL hosts Mexican powerhouse Tigres. “Hopefully, there’s some young bloods coming up in the national team to push these starters and give them a run for their money,” Dempsey said. “The best teams in the world, they have that mix of quality right now, but also younger players who have no fear that are coming up and chomping at their heels.” Altidore was more succinct: “We need new faces,” he said. The harder the games they play as young pros, the better. The 2026 Leagues Cup, which for the first three years of its existence was hosted entirely in the U.S., will also feature games in Mexico. Dempsey’s former club, the defending champion Seattle Sounders, visit Toluca on Aug. 5, while San Diego FC faces mighty Club América at the iconic, 88,000-seat Estadio Azteca in Mexico City the following night. Those experiences will help battle-test the next generation of Americans, many of whom were no doubt inspired by what they saw from the USA during its first four games at the World Cup before the wheels fell off against Belgium. “There a lot of positives you can take away from how they performed in the three games that they won,” Dempsey said, noting that the Los Angeles Olympics are just two years away and possibly another U.S.-hosted Copa América, too. “I’m a fan, so I have rose-colored glasses on. But I’m excited about this team. There is a little bit of a ‘back to reality’ when the World Cup is over, but there’s so much to look forward to.” That goes with whoever the coach is, Dempsey said. Pochettino is out of contract and has not yet agreed to the extension through 2030 that U.S. Soccer has on the table. “Under Pochettino, I saw a team that had an identity and made me excited about watching them play,” Dempsey said. “If he can continue moving things forward, and he’s passionate about being here, then that’s what’s up. And if he’s not, it’s the next man up. I don’t know what the situation is. I figure the ball’s in his court, and he can decide what he wants to do.” Either way, the big picture is bright. Soccer is already more mainstream than it was two months ago. The 2026 World Cup was a cultural phenomenon in this country, one that will have a lasting impact on the sport for decades to come, despite the disappointing exit for the co-hosts. “You can feel the tide turning in a real way,” Altidore said. “I can’t stress enough how important it is for MLS teams in every city to really be on the front foot here. People are watching, they’re listening, their eyes and ears are open to something different. It creates an opportunity to take advantage of.”Latest Sports News from FOX Sports
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Why This Beer Is Only Available In Wisconsin
In Wisconsin, buying a six-pack of this beer is effortless – it’s virtually everywhere. Outside the state, however, it’s a completely different story.
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The 2026 NCSL Legislative Summit will bring together state lawmakers and legislative staff from the 50 states and U.S. territories from July 27-29 in Chicago. (Photo by Leontura/Getty Images)
Like two sides of a coin imprinted with the nation’s motto, “e pluribus unum” — out of many, one — America’s political factions are cast in opposition, but they are intrinsically bound together as parts of a larger whole.
From the beginning, the United States has aspired to build a more perfect union. When our founders convened the Constitutional Convention in 1787, they disagreed about the structure of government, the balance of power and the protection of individual versus collective rights. But when they debated — and they often did, with great conviction and intensity — they honed their arguments on what they thought was best for the entire country, guided by the shared vision of a new nation established on the ideals of individual freedom, equality and opportunity.
Today, that shared commitment to America’s founding creed is under strain.
Most Americans feel exhausted by politics, and a growing number are unhappy with the way the political system is working. Worse, this unhappiness is showing up in unhealthy ways, with low trust in government and each other — a sense that the other side is the problem.
We are painfully aware that partisanship and distrust have grown. We see this too often, when people are reduced to disparaging labels, states are cast as simply red or blue, and the hostility in our politics produces no progress, leaving us all no better off, or worse than before. Our political parties appear deadlocked in a struggle for power, forgetting that they are inseparable sides of the nation’s democratic system, which depends not on who wins but on a shared commitment to the common good. Central to that commitment is a willingness to listen to opposing views, not simply to respond but to understand.
Disagreeing is one thing — it is rooted in our pluralist republic. But when we cannot find ways to work together, it becomes impossible to solve our problems. The founders understood this. They argued passionately, but they shared a deeper allegiance to the nation’s success and its posterity, and they were partners in creating and safeguarding a system that we all continue to rely on.
Whether we choose to engage in political warfare or civil debate is up to each of us. That’s as true in statehouses and city councils as it is at the family dinner table, in the community center, on the debate stage, or standing on opposite sides of a free speech zone. In each of these venues, we can choose to practice democracy by engaging in debate that is spirited, healthy and rooted in strong arguments rather than name calling — or worse, heeding the impulse to withdraw from political engagement altogether.
There are glimmers of hope.
Here in Chicago, as part of the nation’s largest public policy gathering of state legislators and staff from all 50 states and U.S. territories, our organizations, the National Conference of State Legislatures and The Pew Charitable Trusts, are working together to build connections across the political spectrum and share policy ideas and best practices that strengthen legislatures and serve communities nationwide. This follows a series of events held around the country, including a February “America at 250 Forum,” to bring people with opposing views together to discuss issues that matter to everyone. All of the events demonstrate a serious commitment to strengthening our democratic muscles at this historic moment for the country.
Legislators from different parties sitting together to discuss not only their politics but also their human connection and shared belief in the country demonstrates that, despite the spotlight on our divisions, the time is ripe to unite for a common cause. We need to see more unity from our leaders — and be willing to try it ourselves.
Today, Americans must recognize that our political differences are not inevitably divisive, because our futures are fundamentally connected. Politics are difficult, yes, but they do not need to be ugly. Finding common ground is welcome, but at a minimum, Americans need to find the space to connect with one another and the courage to engage in healthy and substantive discussion. We can do that by building up state and local institutions where individuals get to know each other personally and by overcoming the silos and sides we’ve allowed to define us. A far better approach is to deal with people face-to-face and with respect, even when we profoundly disagree.
In a time when polarization and mistrust are treated as inevitable, we encourage all Americans to recommit to the principles and institutions that bind us together: a common belief in individual rights and equality, the rule of law, the legitimacy of representative democracy and our shared pursuit of national prosperity.
As America honors its 250th anniversary, it’s important to say, unequivocally and collectively, that we’re grateful to our country’s founders for starting this great experiment. We care about each other, and we want our fellow citizens to be successful. And we are proud to be part of this diverse, complicated and hopeful country.
Shared beliefs like these are central to the American experiment. E pluribus unum — out of many, one — if we so choose.
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