Face of Nation : The United States women’s national team will get a ticker-tape parade up lower Manhattan on Wednesday in honor of their record-breaking World Cup win. It’s the city’s first ticker-tape parade since the women’s team won the 2015 Cup. The procession will move up the Canyon of Heroes, a section of Broadway between the Battery and City Hall. Afterward, the team will fly to Los Angeles to attend the ESPYs on Wednesday night. The U.S. won its fourth World Cup title Sunday with a 2-0 win over the Netherlands.
The University of Alaska could lay off more than 1,000 employees and cut dozens of programs, thanks to a dramatic slash in money it gets from the state. Alaskan oil production and worldwide oil prices have declined in recent years, so the state has used billions in savings to balance its budget. Higher education observers have been watching the fight in Alaska closely as activists have warned the cuts could send Alaska’s brightest students out of state for college. University officials, who say the $130 million cut could prove disastrous for the state’s future, have pleaded with the Legislature to override the veto in a vote Wednesday but say they have little hope that will happen.
The very last Volkswagen Beetle is rolling off the assembly line as the company marks the end of production for the iconic car Wednesday at its plant in Puebla, Mexico. The end of the Beetle comes at a turning point for Volkswagen as it rebounds from a scandal over cars rigged to cheat on diesel emissions tests. The company is now gearing up for mass production of the battery-driven compact ID.3, a car that the company predicts will have an impact like that of the Beetle and the Golf by bringing electric mobility to a mass market.
Funeral services will be held Wednesday in Michigan for Lee Iacocca, the legendary auto executive who died last week at age 94. Iacocca rose to prominence at Ford in the 1960s, where he led development of the Mustang. Then as CEO of Chrysler, he saved the automaker from bankruptcy by securing federal loan guarantees. During the height of his career in the 1980s, Iacocca was arguably the most popular business figure in the world, thanks in part to a string of iconic TV commercials for Chrysler. A funeral mass for Iacocca will be held at 11 a.m. in Bloomfield Hills, followed by burial in Troy.
Who says there’s no sports on the day after the MLB All-Star Game? In addition to quarterfinal U.S. Open Cup soccer action and four WNBA games, the ESPY Awards will be held Wednesday night in Los Angeles. Two recent champions — the Toronto Raptors and the U.S. women’s national soccer team — are among the nominees for the coveted “Best Team” award. The ESPYS — which will be hosted by comedian Tracy Morgan — will air on ABC at 8 p.m. ET.
