By Emma Tucker
Good morning. Here's what we're tracking to catch you up after the long weekend: President Trump is heading to Turkey to meet European leaders at the NATO summit starting Tuesday. Our reporters spoke with some of America's closest allies to get a candid look at the fracturing relationship. Their takeaway? Tensions are high, but nobody has filed divorce papers, and key players on both sides are working hard to keep a loveless marriage going. The meetings should clarify where the alliance stands.
We're also following a stunning World Cup twist: U.S. striker Folarin Balogun's red-card suspension was mysteriously revoked heading into a win-or-its-over game against Belgium tonight — and the U.S. men's team might have Trump to thank.
Today's Headlines
England survived a grueling match at the Azteca to defeat Mexico in a World Cup thriller.
The European Union is exploring a radical idea to get its mojo back: abandoning the unity that has defined it for decades.
Chinese-European electric-truck startup Windrose Technology is facing questions from ex-employees about its future.
Tech companies warned that artificial intelligence would eat jobs, but now — as public opinion of AI has shifted into the negative — their leaders say work will flourish.
Benjamin Netanyahu's bid to survive as Israel's long-serving prime minister is running up against a groundswell of support for a political newcomer.
Live From The Markets
Follow our live financial coverage all day.
Strategy, the bitcoin-hoarding company led by Michael Saylor, is caught in a math trap of its own making, writes Jonathan Weil.
Read It Here First
'There is no going back': This is the inside story of Europe's rupture with America.
Untangling the ties between Europe and the U.S. would be a massive undertaking. Militarily, it is hard to imagine the allies entirely going separate ways. This week's NATO summit will test the resolve of leaders to preserve an iconic fixture of Western might in the face of growing mutual distrust. The White House said Trump is looking forward to having "constructive and frank conversations with many world leaders" at the meeting. And yet the unvarnished private talks now taking place at the commanding heights of European democracies-many reported by the Journal in detail for the first time — signal the perilous path ahead. American allies have begun pushing the gas pedal on an unprecedented experiment in de-Americanization, report Joe Parkinson, Drew Hinshaw and Daniel Michaels.
How a World Cup red card was overturned — with help from the White House.
In the hours after the U.S. secured its first victory in a World Cup knockout match in more than 20 years, the mood inside the White House was anything but celebratory. The game had been marred by a controversial red card for the Americans' top scorer at this tournament, striker Folarin Balogun — and he would be automatically suspended for the next match. That's when senior Trump administration officials hatched a plan to overturn the suspension that would go down as one of the most audacious in the 96-year history of the World Cup, report Brian Schwarz, Natalie Andrews and Joshua Robinson.
On the California coast, a picture-perfect city has fallen on hard times.
At first glance, this coastal enclave bordering Los Angeles appears to have it all: palm trees along a famed shopping promenade, wide beaches and a wealthy tax base. Instead, Santa Monica is in recovery mode. It is trying to bounce back from a string of problems — mounting liability settlements, falling international tourism and years of fading retail businesses — that led the city of roughly 90,700 to declare "fiscal distress" in September, reports Paul Kiernan.
See The Story
Tech billionaire Vinod Khosla wants to pay more taxes. He explained to us why.
Vinod Khosla has been at the center of the technology boom for decades. Now, he oversees billions at Khosla Ventures, one of the first venture capital firms to back OpenAI. In this episode of The WSJ Money Interview, hosted by Gunjan Banerji, he explains his philosophy on risk, the reason he thinks America's tax system is flawed and why he doesn't care that detractors say OpenAI is overvalued.
Happening Today
World Cup: USA vs. Belgium in Seattle; Portugal vs. Spain in Arlington, Texas.
Number Of The Day
82
At 82, Keith Richards isn't done yet. The Rolling Stones' riff master hasn't ruled out a tour next year. "If it's just a matter of energy, yeah, we've got it," he told the Journal. We recently caught up with Richards ahead of the latest Rolling Stones album, "Foreign Tongues," due July 10.
And Finally. . .
Two banks agreed to merge. They can't agree on how to make chili.
Big corporate tie-ups are always delicate affairs, involving integrating systems, replacing signs and branding, and making sure a newly combined workforce gets along. But a nearly $11 billion bank deal last year has an added sticking point: chili recipes. Following Cincinnati lender Fifth Third's acquisition of Texas-based Comerica Bank, employees from different regions have clashed over the best way to make the dish.