—From Pilot Knob, NY.

Red Card: The international soccer federation FIFA is in crisis today after the arrest and indictment of officials by the US and the simultaneous launch of a criminal investigation in Switzerland. Investigators say FIFA is rife with corruption.

 The Swiss announcement came only hours after the arrest of seven officials at a luxury hotel in Zurich at the request of the US Justice Department. In all, the US indicted nine members of FIFA’s governing body and five corporate executives on charges of taking gifts and bribes. The indictment does not include FIFA President Sepp Blatter, who’s running for his fifth term at the organization’s meeting in Zurich.

According to Attorney General Loretta Lynch the investigation “spans at least two generations of soccer officials who, as alleged, have abused their positions of trust to acquire millions of dollars in bribes and kickbacks.”

The Swiss are examining the votes to award the World Cup tournament to Russia in 2018 and Qatar in 2022. Swiss investigators say they are examining “persons unknown on suspicion of criminal mismanagement and of money laundering.” The implication is that officials sold their votes, but FIFA said it will not reconsider the votes on Russian and Qatar.

Nation: Only days after a Cleveland police officer was acquitted of murder for killing two unarmed people, the city’s police department has reached a settlement with the Justice Department to clean up its tactics and follow exacting standards. The Justice Department had found that Cleveland cops beat suspects, used stun guns when it wasn’t necessary, and shot at people who posed no threat. From now on, Cleveland cops will have to report and justify every use of force.

>A federal appeals court in New Orleans yesterday turned down the Obama administration’s request to lift an injunction against the President’s executive action on immigration. Texas and other states are trying to block the President’s initiative to protect millions of illegal immigrants from deportation and allow them to work.

The Hard Way: Nebraska Gov. Pete Ricketts yesterday vetoed a bill that would do away with the death penalty, rejecting a bipartisan vote in his legislature. Ricketts noted that the state has only 10 people on death row, and said of the death penalty, “We use it judiciously and prudently, and therefore we need to retain it.” Legislative leaders in the largely conservative state said they would immediately call a vote to override the governor.

Heavy Weather: Severe storms that struck Texas and Oklahoma are moving into the southeast today while a string of storms stretches all the way from Louisiana and Florida north into New England.

Texas and Oklahoma are digging and draining out today. Hundreds of cars were stranded on roads and parking lots and hundreds of homes destroyed. Seventeen people are reported dead and some are still missing.

Heat Wave: A deadly heat wave continues in India with 1,100 people reported dead and no relief in sight. Temperatures in the states of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh have hovered at about 113 degrees. Most of the dead we re working class people unable to take shelter from the sun.

Playoff Season: The Cleveland Cavaliers swept the Houston Rockets 4-0 to become one of the NBA’s final pair. It’s the first season back at home for LeBron James after leaving the Miami Heat.

Houston meets Golden State again tonight in a series led 3-1 by the Warriors.

Power: Artist of angst Taylor Swift is number 64 on the Forbes list of the world’s 100 most powerful women. She’s only 63 degrees of separation away from Germany’s Angela Merkel.

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