'Claro que con Trump'

👋🏼 Hi there! I'mPhaedra Trethan, still feeling a little hungover (despite having not a drop of liquor) after covering America's big birthday bash this weekend. 🎂 🎆 🥳

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In Monday's news:

• Raúl Guillermo Rodríguez Castro, whose 95-year-old grandfather is the former president of Cuba, spoke exclusively to USA TODAY about his hopes for the island nation ‒ and the role he wants to play in its future.
• There's a red card reversal involving the U.S. Men's Soccer Team, FIFA President Gianni Infantino and... President Donald Trump. ⚽️
• Imagine growing up with multiple moms and 44 siblings. One TikToker talks about being raised in a polygamous family. 😮

But first: The USA TODAY Network spans the entire nation, and our photojournalists captured pictures of America's 250th celebration from sea to shining sea. 📸

Castro: 'Claro que con Trump'

"I can negotiate with anyone designated by the U.S. If given the opportunity, claro que con Trump." Of course, with Trump.

That's what Raúl Guillermo Rodríguez Castro, 42, grandson of former Cuban president Raúl Castro, said in a series of exclusive interviews with USA TODAY. The man Cubans call "El Cangrejo" – the Crab – is now the one in the seat of power. Unknown to many outside the island nation, Rodríguez Castro holds no formal government office and rarely appears in Cuba's state media, and has never before spoken to a U.S. media outlet. His power, derived from his relationship to Raúl and Fidel Castro, leaders of Cuba's revolution, is a back-channel operator who's "never been interested in politics," but who says he'll step up "if at some point the revolution needs me."

• Photos: Raúl Castro's journey from revolutionary to president. 📸
• Watch our Video of the Day: USA TODAY went to Cuba to meet the man who holds the keys to the island's future.

Red card reversal ⚽️ 🛑

FIFA President Gianni Infantino is rejecting suggestions that President Donald Trump influenced the decision to overturn a red card suspension in a World Cup match. The firestorm began when U.S. forward Folarin Balogun was issued a red card (and a one-game suspension) in a match against Bosnia and Herzegovina. But FIFA's Disciplinary Committee, in a surprise reversal, announced Sunday Balogun would be allowed to play in Monday's match against Belgium.

The decision was even more controversial after multiple reports revealed Trump contacted Infantino ‒ and Trump took credit for FIFA's review.

• Trump's weighing in on other sports controversies, too. What he says about WNBA superstar Caitlyn Clark. ⛹🏻‍♀️
• Watch: Fans react to FIFA's reversal.
• Belgium appealed. How that worked out for them. 🤷🏼
• Photos: Folarin Balogun's career in pictures.
• How FIFA and Infantino have wooed Trump over the years.
• Check out all our World Cup coverage, from scores to stats to stories you won't read anywhere else.

Real quick

• Four people were killed and four others injured in a shootout at an Ohio home.
• A preliminary hearing in the killing of Charlie Kirk began today, with prosecutors laying out their case against accused shooter Tyler Robinson. ⚖️
• More than 20 people died from heat-related illnesses as extreme temperatures blanketed much of the U.S. over the holiday weekend.
• The White House is targeting the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of American History over what it calls "extreme political activism." 🏛️

Talk about a big family

Janet Zitting has four moms. And 44 siblings. Now the 32-year-old is taking to TikTok to share her experiences growing up a in polygamous family that's part of a religious sect. She talks about having a garden and livestock to help offset enormous grocery bills, sharing a bedroom with as many as 16 siblings at a time, and how her life has changed since leaving the sect in which she was raised.

Where have all the fireflies gone? 🧐

For many Americans, fireflies (they're "lightning bugs" to this Jersey girl) evoke images of tranquil summer evenings, bringing a twinkling glow to backyards, fields and meadows from coast to coast. The little beetles (with more than 175 species in the U.S. alone) are in decline, though, with scientists warning that a combination of habitat loss, light pollution, insecticide use and climate change are threatening several species.

A break from the news

• Just in case you spent the weekend under a rock, in a cave or locked in a sensory-deprivation tank, a singer-songwriter and a football player got married in Manhattan. 💍
• The rosters for Major League Baseball's All-Star Game have been announced, and your humble newsletter writer, a lifelong Phillies fan, is pretty excited. ⚾️ ❤️ 🤩
• What's it like aboard Royal Caribbean's newest massive cruise ship? We found out. 🛳️

Phaedra Trethan is a national correspondent at USA TODAY. She'd love to hear from readers about The Short List, story ideas from across the nation and your picks for the MLB All-Star Game.Email her at [email protected].