Belgium Dominates U.S. 4-1 To Reach World Cup Quarterfinals After Days Of Controversy

The United States’ hopes for a deep World Cup run at home ended when Charles De Ketelaere scored twice and assisted on another goal, helping Belgium expose the Americans’ defensive liabilities in a 4-1 win Monday night that earned a quarterfinal berth.

While the U.S. was boosted by the presence of star forward Folarin Balogun, whose one-game red-card suspension was controversially lifted by FIFA, American defenders were at fault in a pair of first-half goals and goalkeeper Matt Freese’s gaffe gave the Red Devils a third early in the second half.

Second-half substitute Romelu Lukaku added Belgium’s final goal in the third minute of stoppage time.

Seeking its first World Cup title, Belgium knocked the U.S. out in the round of 16 for the second time in 12 years and extended its unbeaten streak to 18 games. The Red Devils play 2010 champion Spain on Friday at Inglewood, California, for a semifinal berth against France or Morocco.

Read more from the Associated Press here:

Latest Live Updates

Maine Democratic Party: Platner's Team Is Trying To Sway Replacement Process

The Maine Democratic Party is working to create an “open, inclusive, transparent and fair” process to replace U.S. Senate candidate Graham Platner, despite his team's efforts to influence it.

"Unfortunately, Graham Platner's team has repeatedly reached out to us in an attempt to put their thumb on the scale of what this process looks like,” said Maine Democratic Party executive director Devon Murphy-Anderson in a video on Tuesday, after two women accused Platner of sexual assault this week.

Murphy-Anderson said the party has called on Platner to drop out of the race and explained to his team that “they have no role in determining our next Democratic nominee for the U.S. Senate, nor in determining what this process looks like.”

An unnamed source told The New York Times on Monday that Platner would only withdraw from the race on the condition that he was “replaced by a candidate who he believes is true to the values and vision and policy agenda of the campaign that Maine voted for.”

Trump Admin Threatens To Strip Antiterrorism Funding From States That Don't Make Election Changes: Report

The Trump administration is threatening to withhold 20% of some antiterrorism grants from states if they don’t comply with new election security measures, including transitioning to paper ballots and verifying citizenship, according to documents viewed by The New York Times.

The move is the latest in the Trump administration’s efforts to transform elections as they continue to push unfounded complaints of widespread voter fraud.

Debate In Key Michigan Senate Race Gets Underway

Michigan Democratic Senate candidates Abdul El-Sayed and Rep. Haley Stevens fired off attacks at one another Tuesday evening, in their first debate since state Sen. Mallory McMorrow ended her campaign.

Early on in Tuesday's debate, Stevens criticized El-Sayed for not releasing his tax returns. She accused her opponent of being more focused on achieving fame than being a good politician.

"Abdul, you talk about getting money out of politics and putting money in people's pockets, but who is putting money in yours?" she said. "What are you hiding?"

El-Sayed argued Stevens is a corporate-focused politician and noted she has received donations from pro-Israel lobbying group AIPAC.

"When it comes to the choice between working people and corporations, I will pick working people every time," he said.

Graham Platner's Ex-Girlfriend Says He Removed Condoms Without Her Consent

Top Democrat Says She’s Heard More ‘Credible’ Graham Platner Allegations

Rep. Debbie Dingell (D-Mich.) alleged Tuesday that she had been told of multiple allegations against embattled Democratic Senate candidate Graham Platner, one day after a woman’s sexual assault allegation prompted scores of allies to call on Platner to drop out of the closely watched race to unseat Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine).

Dingell told CNN's Boris Sanchez she had been “yelled at” by political allies for her past criticism of Platner, but now the same people have told her that her “instincts were right.”

“And quite frankly, I am told that there are more. This is a community that I work in, and there are other credible reports that people have told me of,” she said, referring to her work advocating for victims of sexual violence.

“I don't spread rumors, so I'm not going to get into that. But it's time. We have a sexual predator in the White House, that doesn't make it OK for Democrats. Yes, we need to fight fire with fire, but we've got to have some principles and values that we stand up for,” she said.

Dingell did not specify the nature of the allegations she'd heard, or whether they involved physical violence. Platner has denied any nonconsensual sexual conduct.

Platner Campaign Scraps Fundraisers, Online Ads: Politico

As the list of Democrats calling for him to drop out of the Maine Senate race grows, Graham Platner has canceled “at least a half-dozen” planned fundraisers and isn’t running new ads online, a person with direct knowledge of the situation told Politico.

The campaign upheaval comes after a 41-year-old woman came forward yesterday and accused Platner of sexually assaulting her five years ago, while he was heavily inebriated.

U.S. Revokes Sale Of Iranian Oil Over 'Wholly Unacceptable' Actions In Strait Of Hormuz

The United States revoked a general license Tuesday that authorized the sale of Iranian oil after several tankers reported being struck near the Strait of Hormuz.

A U.S. official told Reuters that negotiators will continue to work in good faith towards a final agreement, but that Iran's actions in the Strait of Hormuz were "wholly unacceptable" and would be met with consequences.

Three tankers reported being struck by unknown projectiles in and near the Straight of Hormuz in recent days, according to Reuters. Tehran has not claimed responsibility for the attacks.

Former Cowboys Player Marshawn Kneeland Posthumously Diagnosed With CTE

Boston University's CTE Center posthumously diagnosed former Dallas Cowboys defensive end Marshawn Kneeland with Stage 1 chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE).

Kneeland died by suicide in November at 24-years-old. His family, who donated his brain to the university center for research purposes, and his girlfriend, Catalina Mancera, released a joint statement Tuesday about the news.

"While this diagnosis does not change the tragedy of his passing, it provides important context about some of the struggles he may have been facing," the statement read. "We share this information to help people understand what NFL and other high-contact sport athletes might be struggling with. Raising awareness is important to us. We continue to remember Marshawn with compassion for the person he was, rather than defining him by the final moments of his life. One Love."

The press release added that “a post-mortem CTE diagnosis should not be considered the cause of a suicide.”

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton May Have Violated Texas Election Law: Report

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has vowed to crack down on what he has called "illegal voting." A new report from The Texas Tribune reveals he may have violated his own election guidance.

“You must register to vote using the address where you reside,” Paxton said in a February news release.

Yet Paxton has apparently used an address where he did not live while voting in six elections over the past two years, according to records obtained by ProPublica and The Texas Tribune.

Read the full story at The Texas Tribune.

Mitch McConnell’s Colleagues Say He's Alive, Talking On The Phone

In an apparently coordinated effort to show Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) is alive and on the mend, a handful of his allies made statements Tuesday saying they have spoken to the senator in the past day and discussed a variety of issues.

“I spoke to my old friend Mitch McConnell this morning, the senior Senator from Kentucky,” conservative pundit Scott Jennings said on social media. “He’s still recovering in the hospital. We talked for just shy of 20 minutes … about IRAN, UKRAINE, the unfolding situation in MAINE, my visit to the TR Presidential Library, and even a little bit of Senate history. I told him we want to see him back at work as soon as possible.”

Aides to Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) and Senate Majority Whip John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) separately said they’ve spoken to McConnell, too, as the 84-year-old senator has been mysteriously hospitalized for weeks.

A Thune spokesperson confirmed to HuffPost that he spoke to McConnell on Monday by phone. The two had “a lengthy and substantive conversation that covered a variety of topics, including national security," NOTUS reporter Al Weaver said on social media.

Barrasso and McConnell spoke Tuesday for 20 minutes, according to Weaver, and “caught up about the latest news impacting Senate races, the Graham Platner scandal, and the recent Supreme Court ruling on coordinated spending limits. They also discussed the Senate’s July work period, including the need to pass the NDAA and confirm President Trump’s nominee for Director of National Intelligence. Senator McConnell was fully engaged and is eager to get back to the Senate.”

The former Senate majority leader has been in the hospital since June 14, the same day emergency medical services were dispatched to his home and reportedly performed CPR on someone who was unconscious and under cardiac arrest. McConnell's office has been mum on his health condition, which has suffered in recent years amid public falls and periods of freezing up and not being able to speak.

Source: HuffPost