White House senior adviser Jared Kushner will travel with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to meet with Mexican leaders on Friday, a senior State Department official told reporters.

The official said that Kushner, along with Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, will make the trip to Mexico City on Friday to meet with Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto, Foreign Secretary Luis Videgaray and President-elect Andrés Manuel López Obrador.

The official called the delegation “a testament to the importance the administration and the United States places on the bilateral relationship.”

“The fact that the State Department, DHS, and Treasury, and the president’s senior adviser Jared Kushner are traveling together shows that this is a whole-of-government approach and underscores the importance of our relationship with Mexico,” the official said.

Kushner, the president's son-in-law, has served as a point person for global affairs in the White House, meeting with foreign leaders and working on policies like a peace plan for the Middle East.

The Washington Post reported Thursday that Kushner doesn't have the security clearance needed to view the government's most sensitive information, which experts said could impede his ability to carry out his White House duties.

The State Department official said the officials will discuss the opioid epidemic, trade, “curb irregular immigration” and ways “to combat transnational criminal organizations” in Mexico.

López Obrador, a left-wing candidate and prominent critic of President Trump, won Mexico’s presidential election earlier this month.

Mexico-U.S. relations have soured under the Trump administration: Trump has repeatedly slammed the country over trade and immigration, and has claimed he will make Mexico pay for a wall on the U.S. border. Peña Nieto has repeatedly said Mexico won’t pay for the wall.

Los dos tigres que tras la prohibición de exhibirse en un circo, fueron colocados por su dueño en una casa de la colonia Paraíso, partieron rumbo a Durango luego de permanecer en observación durante un mes.

Ambos se van en excelentes condiciones de salud y con un aumento de más de 15 por ciento en su peso, comentó el delegado de la Procuraduría Federal de Protección al ambiente (PROFEPA), Víctor Jaime Cabrera Medrano.

Se trata de un macho y una hembra de 200 y 180 kilos de peso, uno de ellos atacó el seis de Abril a la persona que los aseaba y daba de comer, en un domicilio de Juchitlán 314 en la colonia Paraíso, de Guadalupe, Nuevo León.

Los animales eran del mago brasileño Ericko Tranvensuli, y en unos tres meses se sabrá la sanción que le van a aplicar, pues demostró ser el legítimo propietario de los tigres, pero el trato que recibían los animales era inadecuado.

El traslado de los tigres corre por cuenta de la PROFEPA y van en unidad climatizada, pues el viaje al estado de Durango se prolonga por siete horas.

How Mexican journalists are reporting in secret on drug cartels.

Reporters use cross-border outlet to break the news gag imposed by gangs.

How is it possible to report in a country regarded as one of the most dangerous places for a journalist to operate? Answer: do it secretly; do it online; and do it remotely.

According to a Christian Science Monitor article, a Mexican reporter called AJ Espinoza worked out this safe way of working some two years ago.

He teamed up with a US-based reporter in order to write stories he thinks fellow Mexicans should read. But they appear in a US-based outlet rather than his local newspaper.

In that way, he can safely report on the activities of the drug cartels that plague the Mexico-US border region where he operates. Espinoza is quoted as saying: “No one else needs to know that I’m doing this.”

He formed a partnership with Ildefonso Ortiz, a reporter for Breitbart along the Texas-Mexico border, who says that people who don’t live in the region find it “hard to grasp that in cities like Matamoros or Reynosa, organised crime has complete control [over the media]”.

Celeste González de Bustamante, an associate professor at Arizona university who studies the effects of violence on journalism, says:

“Newsrooms started waiting for the green light to publish. But the green or red light wasn’t coming from the owner of the paper or managers, but from members of organised crime.” Editors “have to answer to two bosses: the publishers and the cartels.”

Newspapers have come up with creative ways to overcome the problem. El Mañana, one of the oldest newspapers in the region, will occasionally run a sensitive story from Tamaulipas on the front page of its neighbouring Nuevo Leon-based edition, while burying the story locally.

Others have tried to adapt by creating alternative publications that come out less frequently. And some outlets will sometimes risk publishing or broadcasting stories that implicate cartel activity, but will omit bylines or cite hard-to-trace Twitter users as sources.

Ortiz said: “For people not on the border, it’s hard to grasp that in cities like Matamoros or Reynosa, organised crime has complete control. It’s like an alternative form of government. They control the media; they boss around politicians and the government.”

Last year, Ortiz and his Breitbart editor developed a project called the Cartel Chronicles, which is published in both English and Spanish.

But there are still risks, even when working anonymously. In 2014, a crusading Twitter user who publicised details of cartel violence in Tamaulipas was kidnapped and murdered.

Despite those dangers, Espinoza says teaming with Ortiz is worth it. “If no one knows what’s really happening, how can the situation ever change?”

Germany beats U.S. 1-0 but both go through.

United States' Matt Besler walks past as Germany's
Thomas Mueller, third from right, celebrates scoring
the opening goal during the group G World Cup soccer
match between the USA and Germany at the
Arena Pernambuco in Recife, Brazil, Thursday, June 26, 2014.

A 55th minute Thomas Mueller goal gave Germany a 1-0 win over the United States on Thursday but the result allowed both teams to progress to the second round of the World Cup.

Germany top Group G and will face the runner-up in Group H while the United States finish second and will face Group H's winner. Portugal who beat Ghana 2-1 are eliminated with the Africans.

The Germans dominated the game with Juergen Klinsmann's team, with their backs againt the wall, creating very few chances.

The breakthrough came when Tim Howard parried out a Per Mertesacker header but Mueller collected the loose ball on the edge of the area and superbly side-footed into the bottom corner.

New York City police say a man has been treated for a non-life-threatening injury after walking into a McDonald's restaurant with a kitchen knife stuck in his back.

An unidentified man walks into a
McDonald's in Jamaica, Queens with a knife in his back.

Chief of Detectives Robert Boyce told reporters Wednesday that investigators have recovered video of the argument between four men that preceded the Tuesday stabbing.

Boyce says the victim has been treated at a hospital and has spoken to detectives but has not been cooperative.

Police say officers responded to the fast-food restaurant in Jamaica, Queens, at about 10 a.m. Tuesday after receiving 911 calls from inside the restaurant.

Witnesses tell local media the man was chatting on his cellphone and appeared composed despite the knife in his back. They say his T-shirt was stained with blood.

There have been no arrests.

Information from: New York Post, http://www.nypost.com

America can advance, even with a loss. 

But a win would be hugely significant.

In the wake of the U.S. team’s heartbreaking come-from-ahead draw against Portugal in the World Cup on Sunday, soccer analysts and Twitter users scrambled to figure out the many ways the U.S. can still get to the next round.


With a three-point lead over Portugal and Ghana in Group G, the Americans can advance even if they lose their match against Germany at noon Eastern today, depending on the outcome of the Portugal-Ghana game played at the same time.

Deadspin has one of the better graphical breakdowns of every potential scenario for the U.S., including the dreaded drawing of lots.

All the focus on permutations and goal-differential scenarios has undercut the importance of today's game for American soccer. There’s not as much at stake, goes the implication, because we can move ahead even if we lose to Germany.

But this is about more than getting to the next round. This is an opportunity for the U.S. to face one of soccer’s elite teams on the biggest stage and prove it can hang with—even beat—any country in this World Cup.

Before the tournament, most people thought it would be an unlikely success for the U.S. just to get out of the so-called Group of Death and to the Round of 16.

Now, after beating Ghana and dominating much of the game against Portugal, the U.S. can dream bigger. Beat Germany, and America wins its group for the second straight World Cup, a result nearly unthinkable when the draw was announced in December.

Beat Germany, and the U.S. secures a favorable Round of 16 match most likely against Algeria or Russia, rather than a trickier faceoff with sneaky-good Belgium.

Just as important, a win would mean that the Americans have defeated one of soccer’s oligarchs at a World Cup, with both sides trying their best for a victory. That by itself would be a precedent-setting result. The U.S. is 3-6 against Germany since that country became unified in 1990, and 0-2 against it in the World Cup, including a 1-0 loss in the 2002 World Cup quarterfinals. Of the U.S.’s five World Cup wins since 1950, only one has come against a European team, a 3-2 triumph over Portugal in 2002 that ranks among the greatest accomplishments in American soccer history.

So even though Jurgen Klinsmann’s squad could manage to advance in defeat, a win (or well-contested draw) would be a big deal. Unlike the Ghanaians or the Portuguese, talented but flawed teams whose weaknesses can be exploited, the Germans lord over the soccer world, the second favorites to win this World Cup after the host Brazilians. Germany's talent reserve is so deep that offensive wizard Miroslav Klose, whose equalizing touch against Ghana tied him for the most career goals in World Cup history (15), has been used as a second-half substitute. The top German player, young striker Thomas Muller, recorded one of two hat tricks in the World Cup thus far with three goals in Germany’s 4-0 shellacking of Portugal.

Germany is one of a very small handful of countries, along with Brazil, Argentina, and already-eliminated Spain (and potentially France and The Netherlands), that will consider anything less than a World Cup victory a disappointment. They occupy the space that many American soccer fans dream of seeing the U.S. enter in their lifetimes: perennial favorites. And the only way for the U.S. men to ever get there is to beat the best teams when it counts the most.

America's team is objectively worse than Germany, to be sure. Though Clint Dempsey has been a beast spearheading the American offensive attack and midfielder Jermaine Jones has emerged as a legitimate star, the U.S. has struggled to maintain possession at times and is vulnerable to counter-attacking plays like the one that led to Portugal’s last-minute equalizer. Striker Jozy Altidore, who strained his hamstring against Ghana, will miss his second game in a row.

But the U.S. has the self-belief of a winner, as it showed when it overcame Ghana’s late tying goal to win, and when it rallied from a 1-0 halftime deficit against Portugal. That, plus Klinsmann’s familiarity with the German squad he coached in the 2006 World Cup (with current German coach Joachim Low as his deputy),gives the U.S. a real chance to shock the soccer world.

A U.S. fan holds a scarf during the 2014
World Cup G soccer match between
Portugal and the U.S. at the Amazonia arena in Manaus June 22, 2014.

This crucible moment for U.S. men's soccer comes as Americans are tuning in to support the team in record numbers.

More than 25 million people watched the U.S.’s draw against Portugal, far more than saw the NBA Finals or the World Series (and that figure does not completely account for the millions of people watching in bars and outdoor communal areas nationwide).

While the noon Eastern starting time against Germany may hurt viewership, millions of working Americans will undoubtedly be calling in sick, taking a long lunch, or playing hooky to watch the match.

A loss, even if the U.S. advances anyway, would confirm for many first- or second-time soccer viewers that America has an above-average squad who can’t hang with the greats.

A draw could potentially be chalked up to wink-wink collusion because both Germany and the U.S. will advance if they tie, despite both sides vociferously denying that they will play for a draw.

But a win, no matter how it happens, would be a watershed moment for the American team and open up the real possibility of a deep run in the knockout stage. Regardless of what happens in the rest of the tournament, the U.S. would return home having won the Group of Death by beating its deadliest team, announcing America as a soccer force to fear in the future.

The Supreme Court on Thursday limited the president's power to fill high-level vacancies with temporary appointments, ruling in favor of Senate Republicans in their partisan clash with President Barack Obama.

The high court's first case involving the Constitution's recess appointments clause ended in a unanimous decision holding that Obama's appointments to the National Labor Relations Board in 2012 without Senate confirmation were illegal. Obama invoked the Constitution's provision giving the president the power to make temporary appointments when the Senate is in recess.

Problem is,the court said, the Senate was not actually in a formal recess when Obama acted.

Obama had argued that the Senate was on an extended holiday break and that the brief sessions it held every three days — what lawmakers call "pro forma" — were a sham that was intended to prevent him from filling seats on the NLRB.

The justices rejected that argument Thursday.

President Barack Obama speaks
at the White House about
the Iraq situation in Washington June 19, 2014.

Justice Stephen Breyer said in his majority opinion that a congressional break has to last at least 10 days to be considered a recess under the Constitution.

Neither house of Congress can take more than a three-day break without the consent of the other.

The issue of recess appointments receded in importance after the Senate's Democratic majority changed the rules to make it harder for Republicans to block confirmation of most Obama appointees.

But the ruling's impact may be keenly felt by the White House next year if Republicans capture control of the Senate in the November election. The potential importance of the ruling lies in the Senate's ability to block the confirmation of judges and the leaders of independent agencies like the NLRB. A federal law gives the president the power to appoint acting heads of Cabinet-level departments to keep the government running.

Republican leaders in both houses, House Speaker John Boehner and Sen. Mitch McConnell, praised the court for rejecting what they described as Obama's unconstitutional power grab. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said the decision underscores the importance of the Senate rule change to make sure that a small number of senators cannot block qualified nominees.

Still, the outcome was the least significant loss possible for the administration. The justices, by a 5-4 vote, rejected a sweeping lower court ruling against the administration that would have made it virtually impossible for any future president to make recess appointments.

The lower court held that the only recess recognized by the Constitution is the once-a-year break between sessions of Congress. It also said that only vacancies that arise in that recess could be filled. So the high court has left open the possibility that a president, with a compliant Congress, could make recess appointments in the future.

Justice Antonin Scalia, writing for himself, Chief Justice John Roberts and Justices Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas, said he would have upheld the lower court's reasoning. He said Thursday's decision means "the abolition of the Constitution's limits on the recess-appointment power."

Obama has made relatively few recess appointments, 32 in his five-plus years in office, according to the Congressional Research Service. President George W. Bush made 171 such appointments over two terms and President Bill Clinton filled 139 posts that way in his eight years in office, the research service said.

But Obama was the first president to try to make recess appointments when Congress explicitly said it was not in recess. The Constitution requires that the Senate and House must get the other's consent for a break lasting longer than three days. At the end of 2011, the Republican-controlled House would not give the Democratic-led Senate permission for a longer break.

The partisan roles were reversed during Bush's presidency, when Senate Democrats sought ways to prevent the president from making recess appointments.

In fact, the very basis on which the justices decided the case — that the Senate can use extremely brief sessions to avoid a formal recess — was a tactic devised by Reid to frustrate Bush.

On a practical level, there may be little difference between how the court decided the case and Scalia wishes it were decided, said Andy Pincus, a veteran Supreme Court lawyer in Washington.

"The practical effect of today's decision is to return the rules governing recess appointments to what just about everyone believed them to be before President Obama adopted a significantly broader view of that authority in January 2012. Those rules give Senate the ability to block all recess appointments by convening for pro forma sessions — a practice that began under the Bush administration and has continued in the Obama administration. The recess appointment power has receded into practical irrelevance as a result of this practice, and today's decision likely cements that reality," Pincus said.

A recess appointment can last no more than two years. Recess appointees who subsequently won Senate confirmation include Chief Justice Earl Warren and Justice William Brennan, Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan, two current NLRB members and Consumer Financial Protection Bureau director Richard Cordray. Former UN Ambassador John Bolton is among recess appointees who left office because they could not win a Senate vote.

The case challenging the appointments was brought by Noel Canning, a soft drink bottling company in Yakima, Washington. The company claimed an NLRB decision against it was not valid because the board members were not properly appointed and that the board did not have enough members to do business without the improperly appointed officials.

Noel Canning prevailed in the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, and two other appeals courts also had ruled against recess appointments.

A Georgia medical examiner has found a 22-month-old toddler who died last week in suburban Atlanta after being left in his father's SUV for seven hours appears to have succumbed to heatstroke, according to local officials.

Did Justin Ross Harris intentionally kill his
22 month old son Cooper?
Justin Ross Harris with his wife, Leanna and son

The medical examiner also found that the child's manner of death was homicide, though a final ruling for the cause and manner of how he died will not be made until toxicology tests are completed, Cobb County police said in a statement released on Wednesday.

Heatstroke, or hyperthermia, can be fatal when the body gets too overheated.

The child's father, Justin Ross Harris, 33, of Marietta, has been charged with felony murder and second-degree child cruelty and is being held in jail without bail.

The case has drawn wide interest after reports of an emotional scene of Harris pulling into a shopping center parking lot on his way home from work and appearing to frantically try to revive his son last Wednesday.

More than 11,500 people have signed an online petition asking the county's district attorney to drop the murder charge in a case Harris' supporters consider a tragic accident.

But in the statement, Cobb County Police Chief John Houser said detectives had collected physical evidence and witness statements that led them to believe a "more serious crime" was committed.

"The chain of events that occurred in this case does not point toward simple negligence, and evidence will be presented to support this allegation," Houser said.

An updated arrest warrant on Tuesday said Harris ate breakfast with his son at a Chick-fil-A restaurant on June 18 and then headed straight to work at Home Depot's headquarters instead of dropping the child off at daycare.

The boy was left strapped in his rear-facing car seat in the back seat of the SUV while Harris worked. Temperatures in the Atlanta area reached 92 degrees Fahrenheit that day, according to the National Weather Service.

Police also said that during his lunch hour, Harris went to his office parking lot and placed something in his SUV through the driver’s side door, then returned to his office.

Cobb County police investigate an SUV where a toddler died June 18, 2014, near Marietta, Ga.,
when the father forgot to drop his child off at day care
and went to work. Justin Ross Harris, 33, was being
held without bond on a felony murder charge Thursday, police in suburban Atlanta said.