WASHINGTON (AP) — Secretary of State Marco Rubio has ordered diplomatic correspondence to stop using the Calibri font and return to the more traditional Times New Roman effective Wednesday, reversing a Biden administration shift to the less formal typeface that he called wasteful, confusing and unbefitting the dignity of U.S. government documents.
“Typography shapes how official documents are perceived in terms of cohesion, professionalism and formality,” Rubio said in a cable sent to all U.S. embassies and consulates abroad Tuesday.
In it, he said the 2023 shift to the sans serif Calibri font emerged from misguided diversity, equity and inclusion policies pursued by his predecessor, Antony Blinken. Rubio ordered an immediate return to Times New Roman, which had been among the standard fonts mandated by previous administrations.
“The switch was promised to mitigate accessibility issues for individuals with disabilities,” the cable said, asserting that it did not achieve that goal and had cost the department $145,000 but did not offer any evidence.
Since taking over the State Department in January, Rubio has systematically dismantled DEI programs in line with President Donald Trump’s broader instructions to all federal agencies. The Trump administration says the goal is to return to purely merit-based standards.
Rubio has abolished offices and initiatives that had been created to promote and foster diversity and inclusion, including in Washington and at overseas embassies and consulates, and also ended foreign assistance funding for DEI projects abroad.
“Although switching to Calibri was not among the department’s most illegal, immoral, radical or wasteful instances of DEI it was nonetheless cosmetic,” according to Rubio's cable obtained by The Associated Press and first reported by The New York Times.
“Switching to Calibri achieved nothing except the degradation of the department’s correspondence,” he said, adding that it also clashed with the typeface in the State Department letterhead.
According to a separate memo sent to department employees, the return to Times New Roman takes effect Wednesday and all templates for official documents are to be updated to remove the offending Calibri font.
The only exceptions are documents prepared for international treaties and for presidential appointments, which are required to use Courier New 12-point font, the memo said.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio arrives to join Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth in a secure room in the basement of the Capitol to brief lawmakers on the military strike on a suspected drug smuggling boat and its crew in the Caribbean near Venezuela Sept. 2, at the Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, Dec. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Lionel Messi used the front of his white-and-blue, sweat-soaked jersey to wipe the tears from his eyes, a flood of emotions cracking his usually calm, confident demeanor after he gave Argentina an early lead in its World Cup opener against Algeria.
Then he scored again. And again.
Suddenly, any questions about Messi's hamstring injury, or whether he could help Argentina become the third team to win consecutive World Cups — even as his 39th birthday approaches next week — had been answered. With a brilliant hat trick in a 3-0 win over Les Fennecs, Messi moved into a tie with Germany's Miroslav Klose for the tournament's career scoring record.
“My tears after the first goal? I’ve had some tough days. It wasn’t related to football. And those feelings were because of that,” Messi said afterward, without elaborating. “I thank my teammates, the coaching staff and the delegation for helping me.”
Messi scored that emotional first goal in the opening minutes on a nifty feed from Inter Miami teammate Rodrigo De Paul, the second off an opportunistic rebound early in the second half, and the third on a crisp strike moments before subbing out to a standing ovation from a crowd of 69,045 tilted heavily toward the three-time World Cup champions.
“At a loss for words about Leo. What can I say?” Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni said. “He’s incredible.”
His incredible trio of goals came 20 years to the day that Messi made his World Cup debut in a match against Serbia and Montenegro — he scored in that one, too — and made the pride of Rosario only the second player to score in five editions of the tournament.
Messi has 16 goals in his record six World Cup appearances overall, and it seems inevitable that Klose's record will fall in the coming weeks. The hat trick was the 61st of Messi's career, his 11th while playing in his national team colors and his first in the World Cup.
It also was the fifth straight World Cup game in which Messi has scored.
“It makes me very happy to have lived through everything that came my way. What I’m living though now is the cherry on top,” Messi said. “I’m very happy an grateful for this wonderful group. I enjoy it so much.”
Messi upstaged two of soccer's other stars — Kylian Mbappé of France and Erling Haaland of Norway — who had big games of their own on Tuesday. Mbappé scored twice in France’s 3-1 win over Senegal to move into a tie for fourth on the World Cup goals list with 14, while Haaland scored twice for Norway in its 4-1 victory over Iraq.
“Messi is a madman,” Haaland said in a post on Snapchat during Argentina's game.
Messi had been dealing with a minor hamstring injury with Inter Miami that slowed him in the lead-up to the World Cup. But the eight-time winner of the Ballon d'Or, which honors global soccer's best player, had no problems in a tuneup last week with Iceland, scoring on a penalty kick while playing 20 minutes in a sharp performance.
“This is my sixth World Cup, and I still feel like I’m in good shape,” Messi said. “Fortunately, I’m doing well, and today we managed to win a tough match. It’s important to start the tournament with a victory in the first game, as that’s never easy in a World Cup.”
Messi's appearance against Algeria was the 200th of his international career, which began in 2005 at age of 18. The only players with more are Portugal's Cristiano Ronaldo, who will play his 229th on Wednesday, and Bader al-Mutawa, who played in 202 for Kuwait.
Messi and Ronaldo are the only players to have scored in five World Cups.
“Class is permanent,” Algeria coach Vladimir Petkovic said. “He's fortunate to have the privilege that the entire Argentina team works for him, and supports him, and for a number of years now — decades — he's done incredible things.”
Argentina is among four national teams making their base camps in the Kansas City metro. And much as it has the rest of the world, Messi-mania has swept through the area ever since La Albiceleste's arrival in the Heartland about two weeks ago.
On match day, thousands of fans wearing his No. 10 jersey trekked into the home of the NFL’s Chiefs on the outskirts of Kansas City, singing odes to their hero. Meanwhile, during a watch party at the downtown Power & Light District, a goat accompanied by former NFL quarterback-turned Fox broadcaster Jameis Winston came on stage wearing an Argentina jersey.
The humorous moment seemed to have foreshadowed a big night for Messi when he scored an hour later, and the argument that he's soccer’s GOAT — the greatest of all time — is becoming no argument at all with every match he plays.
“It’s an advantage to have Leo because of how he handles the group and pushes it forward. Because of who he is,” De Paul said. “He doesn’t care about individual records. He prioritizes the group, and for us it’s incredible.”
AP World Cup: https://apnews.com/fifa-world-cup
Argentina's Lionel Messi (10) shoots and scores their third goal against Algeria's Riyad Mahrez (7) and Nabil Bentaleb (19) during the World Cup Group J soccer match between Argentina and Algeria in Kansas City, Mo., Tuesday, June 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Reed Hoffmann)
Argentina's Lionel Messi reacts after scoring his third goal during the World Cup Group J soccer match between Argentina and Algeria in Kansas City, Mo., Tuesday, June 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)
Argentina's Lionel Messi (10) celebrates after scoring his second goal during the World Cup Group J soccer match between Argentina and Algeria in Kansas City, Mo., Tuesday, June 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Ed Zurga)
Argentina's Lionel Messi (10) celebrates after scoring the opening goal during the World Cup Group J soccer match between Argentina and Algeria in Kansas City, Mo., Tuesday, June 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Ed Zurga)
Argentina's Lionel Messi (10) celebrates after scoring the opening goal during the World Cup Group J soccer match between Argentina and Algeria in Kansas City, Mo., Tuesday, June 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Ed Zurga)
Argentina's Lionel Messi is congratulated by teammate Cristian Romero, left, as Rodrigo de Paul, right, watches after scoring his team's first goal during the World Cup Group J soccer match between Argentina and Algeria in Kansas City, Mo., Tuesday, June 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)
Argentina's Lionel Messi, third left, celebrates with teammates after scoring his team's first goal during the World Cup Group J soccer match between Argentina and Algeria in Kansas City, Mo., Tuesday, June 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)
Argentina's Lionel Messi (10) battles for the ball with Algeria's Fares Chaibi (10) during the World Cup Group J soccer match between Argentina and Algeria in Kansas City, Mo., Tuesday, June 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Reed Hoffmann)
Argentina's Lionel Messi (10) celebrates with Rodrigo de Paul (7) after scoring their opening goal during the World Cup Group J soccer match between Argentina and Algeria in Kansas City, Mo., Tuesday, June 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Reed Hoffmann)
Argentina's Lionel Messi, right, celebrates after scoring his team's first goal during the World Cup Group J soccer match between Argentina and Algeria in Kansas City, Mo., Tuesday, June 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)
