Zach Jewell

A small plane slammed into the tallest skyscraper in Beijing on Friday, hitting the building before falling to the street below.

A Somali flag that Buffalo, New York, city officials raised in Niagara Square earlier this week to celebrate the foreign country's independence was cut down by vandals, the mayor said on Thursday.

A Somali flag that Buffalo, New York, city officials raised in Niagara Square earlier this week to celebrate the foreign country’s independence was cut down in the dead of night. The flag robbery took place one day after city officials canceled Buffalo’s Fourth of July fireworks celebration.Buffalo Mayor Sean Ryan said “unknown vandals” removed the Somali flag at some point late on Wednesday night, according to Buffalo-Toronto Public Media. Ryan added that the Buffalo Police Department is investigating the incident. The Somali flag has been raised in Niagara Square for the past four years on July 1 to celebrate Somali Independence Day.“Buffalo is a proud, diverse city, and our administration remains committed to honoring and celebrating the many cultures that make our community stronger,” Ryan added.The Somali flag-raising has stirred controversy in the city, especially since it falls so close to the Fourth of July and the celebration of America’s 250th anniversary. As they raised the Somali flag in the city square, Buffalo city officials were also blasted for scrapping the Fourth of July fireworks celebration.“City Hall canceled its downtown fireworks display, leaving Buffalo as one of the only cities in Western New York without a public Fourth of July celebration, and instead raised the flag of Somalia outside City Hall,” Erie County, New York, GOP Chairman Michael Kracker said. “No one is questioning the contributions of Buffalo’s immigrant communities. But this week belongs to all of us, as Americans.”Mayor Ryan announced in early June that the city planned to revive its patriotic fireworks display for America’s 250th birthday. Buffalo hasn’t put on a Fourth of July fireworks show in decades as the city focuses on a big New Year’s Eve fireworks display. This week, however, Ryan said the patriotic show wouldn’t take place.“After exploring potential locations, an appropriate site could not be identified that would provide a safe and widely accessible viewing experience for residents. As a result, the City will not be hosting a downtown fireworks display this year,” he said.Buffalo isn’t the only American city to raise the Somali flag on government property to celebrate the foreign country. Columbus, Ohio, which is home to the second-largest concentration of Somalis in the United States, also announced that it would hoist the Somali flag on July 1, The Daily Wire previously reported.The Columbus Parks and Rec Department deleted the post announcing the Somali flag raising moments after The Daily Wire asked about it.

President Donald Trump joined second lady Usha Vance for a special edition of “Storytime with the Second Lady” on Thursday and read about the favorite pastimes of America's presidents.

President Donald Trump joined second lady Usha Vance for a special edition of “Storytime with the Second Lady” on Thursday and read about the favorite pastimes of America’s presidents.Trump, sitting beside Usha Vance in the Oval Office, stayed true to his comic nature as he read from the book “Presidents Play!” by author Jonathan Pliska and illustrator John Hutton.“With so much going on in the world, it’s really kind of you to take a moment to read,” the second lady said. “And I know that you have 11 grandkids, so hopefully some of them will tune in and watch you read as well.”“Well I’ll make sure they will,” Trump replied. “I’ll make it mandatory. That won’t mean anything. That means they still won’t do it, but I’ll make it mandatory.”Trump went on to read “Presidents Play!” — which colorfully dives into the favorite playtime activities of former presidents. During his reading, Trump took a couple shots at President Barack Obama’s basketball and golf games.“I don’t know if he was a good basketball player. I tend to doubt it,” Trump said. “Actually, his favorite sport is golf, but he won’t be in the Masters anytime soon.”The book begins with describing the activities of Presidents Lyndon B. Johnson and Ronald Reagan.“I think the presidents all work hard, but sometimes they take a break to have fun and exercise like Ronald Reagan. He was in very good shape,” Trump said. “Lyndon Johnson wasn’t in shape, but he was a very tough cookie, a real great politician.”The book then describes how President Bill Clinton had a track built on White House property so he could keep up his running habit.“I don’t think I’ll ever do that,” Trump commented. “I don’t see myself doing that. I don’t know. But he actually was a nice guy. I like Bill Clinton a lot, still do.”President Abraham Lincoln, the book explains, often rode horses around the White House.“And that’s great. I’d like to ride horses too,” Trump said. “In fact, it gives me an idea, but when you fall off a horse, I’ve seen too many bad things happen. Falling off a horse is not good. So we’ll get a nice old horse that’s extremely slow, lazy and maybe ride it.”On President Gerald Ford’s love for swimming in the White House’s outdoor pool, President Trump said, “I don’t know if I’d look good in a bathing suit. I haven’t had a bathing suit in a long time.”The book also shows President William Howard Taft throwing out the first pitch at a baseball game, but Trump couldn’t help but mention Taft’s weight. The former president, who also served on the Supreme Court, weighed over 350 pounds.“He was a large man, very large, and he loved baseball. He would go to baseball games, loved the hot dogs at the baseball games,” Trump said. “He was our heaviest president, and I have to be careful because I don’t want to supersede his record. And a thing like that would be possible if I allowed it to happen.”“For all of you out there watching, keep yourself in good shape,” he added.

A heat dome affecting much of the United States has turned the nation's capital into one of the hottest places on earth as Americans gather to celebrate the Semiquincentennial.

The Belgian national team on Monday morning was granted the right to appeal FIFA’s last-minute decision to reverse a one-game suspension that had been imposed on U.S. soccer star Folarin Balogun after he received a phantom red card in America’s round of 32 victory.FIFA’s decision to overturn Balogun’s suspension on Sunday, which came after a phone call between President Donald Trump and FIFA President Gianni Infantino, outraged the soccer elites of Belgium and other European nations. Belgium’s soccer officials said they were “astonished.” Belgium soccer coach Rudi Garcia also took a shot at FIFA after the reversal.“I didn’t know that in the FIFA offices the 5th of July corresponded to the 1st of April … it was a discovery for me,” Garcia said.Belgium also reportedly “lawyered up” to fight FIFA’s decision to overturn Balogun’s suspension. After the outrage, Belgium was granted an appeal, which will ultimately leave it up to one member of the FIFA appeals committee to decide whether Balogun’s suspension should be upheld. A decision on Belgium’s appeal could be handed down before the game between the United States and Belgium starts at 7:00 p.m. ET, but Belgium was not guaranteed that a ruling would come from FIFA before the game, The Athletic reported.The appeals committee member selected to hear the appeal is not a member of the European soccer association, UEFA, or of the Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football to ensure the appeals process is unbiased. The UEFA released a statement Monday morning, siding with Belgium, and blasting FIFA’s decision to allow Balogun to play Monday night.“Yesterday’s decision to suspend for a probationary period of a year the implementation of the one-match automatic suspension following the red card issued to the player Folarin Balogun crossed a red line,” UEFA wrote in a statement, adding, “When the certainty of rules is no longer guaranteed by its guardians, the integrity of the game is at stake and the credibility of a competition is undermined. Equally, such decision creates a precedent in the ongoing tournament, where similar situations will now require an equal treatment, to the detriment of the competition.”Norway’s coach Ståle Solbakken, whose team advanced to the quarterfinals on Sunday, also ripped FIFA over the decision.“I think it is not a great conclusion. [Balogun] got a red card and the VAR concluded that it was a red card. He was sent off. That means you are suspended for one game,” Solbakken said. “I think what is really bad about that situation is it will be [hanging] over the United States now. Because if they beat Belgium, it will always have that extra thing about it. Maybe he scores a goal, maybe he plays a good game, and the Belgians will be furious.”FIFA reversed Balogun’s suspension after the White House put together a team of elite lawyers to challenge soccer officials’ use of replay review in determining Balogun’s red card last week, Outkick founder Clay Travis reported. Balogun’s was given a red card for his contact with a defender for Bosnia and Herzegovina after the referee used video replay to determine that the U.S. star’s cleat scraped the back of the defender’s ankle.Trump also called FIFA’s president to better understand why a red card had been issued, but Trump did not push FIFA to overturn the suspension, according to Axios. During that phone call, Infantino informed Trump that a review of the red card had already begun.America’s star player, who leads the team with three goals so far in the tournament, is preparing to play Monday night as the United States looks to advance to its second-ever quarterfinals. Team USA was ecstatic on Sunday after hearing the news that Balogun could play.

President Donald Trump said on Monday that he “relayed” to FIFA President Gianni Infantino that there would have been “a big stain” on the World

American soccer star Folarin Balogun has been cleared once again to suit up on Monday night against Belgium as the European country's effort to keep the U.S. striker sidelined was shot down by the FIFA Appeal Committee.

American soccer star Folarin Balogun has been cleared once again to suit up on Monday night against Belgium as the European country’s effort to keep the U.S. striker sidelined was shot down by the FIFA Appeal Committee.The FIFA committee ruled that Belgium’s appeal of the decision to overturn Balogun’s one-game suspension was “inadmissible” since Belgium was “not a party to the proceedings and, as such, has no standing to appeal the decision,” The Athletic reported. Belgium said it could still pursue other actions to contest Balogun’s eligibility for Monday night’s round of 16 showdown, but for now, the Belgians will have to accept the reality they’ll likely be facing America at full strength.“The [Royal Belgian Football Association] has informed the United States Soccer Federation that it contests the eligibility of the player, should the player be listed on the referee’s team sheet. This leaves all further actions open,” Belgium’s soccer bosses wrote after the appeal was rejected.The Royal Belgian Football Association also complained that it “has still not received any grounds for” FIFA’s decision to overturn Balogun’s one-game suspension. The U.S. star was given a red card during Team USA’s round of 32 game against Bosnia and Herzegovina when he collided with an opposing defender and his cleats caught the back of the defender’s ankle. The referee did not dish out the red card until after he used replay assist to revisit the incident. With a red card, Balogun was also ruled ineligible to play in America’s round of 16 game, according to FIFA rules.Shortly after a phone call between President Donald Trump and FIFA President Gianni Infantino, however, FIFA overturned Balogun’s suspension on Sunday, sparking outrage among European soccer elites.“I didn’t tell [Infantino] what to do,” Trump said on Monday. “I can’t tell him what to do, and I don’t believe he made the decision. I believe it was a committee that made the decision, and they made the right decision.”The referee who gave Balogun a red card is suspected of using replay assist improperly and slowing down the speed of the video that showed the collision between the U.S. star and the player from Bosnia and Herzegovina. The White House put together a team of elite lawyers to look into challenging soccer officials’ use of replay review, OutKick founder Clay Travis reported.European soccer leaders blasted FIFA after the suspension reversal, claiming the decision hurts the “integrity” of the game.“When the certainty of rules is no longer guaranteed by its guardians, the integrity of the game is at stake and the credibility of a competition is undermined,” the Union of European Football Associations wrote. “Equally, such decision creates a precedent in the ongoing tournament, where similar situations will now require an equal treatment, to the detriment of the competition.”The United States takes on Belgium at 7:00 p.m. ET on Monday.