San Francisco drivers who pay for parking meters by phone have two new official options: ParkMobile and HotSpot.

Why it matters: PayByPhone, the app San Franciscans have used for more than a decade, stopped processing SFMTA parking payments on June 1, KQED reports.

How it works: Drivers only need to download one of the new apps. Both let users enter a license plate, pay by card and extend parking remotely when allowed.

• Physical meters and pay stations remain available.
• Parking rates and time limits haven't changed because of the app transition.
• Enforcement officers will check license plates against app payment records, so make sure the plate in the app matches the car you parked.

Pro tip: Don't automatically pay a citation if you get ticketed.

• SFMTA officials told KQED that drivers can contest a citation with their app receipt.

These are nervy days for U.S. men's soccer team fans.

Why it matters: The national team features starters on prestigious European clubs and on paper it should have its best chance ever to make a deep run in the World Cup.

Yes, but: Fans worry the team hasn't lived up to its potential and could flame out.

State of play: The U.S. team opens World Cup play today after having lost three of its last four tune-up games.

• During the last two games, a 3-2 win over Senegal and a 2-1 loss to Germany, the USMNT controlled play for long stretches and talisman Christian Pulisic broke his scoring drought.

Flashback: The core of the team — Pulisic, Adams, Weston McKennie, Timothy Weah, Antonee Robinson and Sergiño Dest — was dubbed the Golden Generation in the run-up to the last World Cup.

What we're watching: Strikers Folarin Balogun (13 goals) and Ricardo Pepi (16 goals) who are new to the World Cup roster are coming off big club seasons and could bring firepower the team lacked four years ago.

What's next: The U.S. faces Paraguay today in L.A. before facing off against Australia on June 19 in Seattle.

• The U.S. returns to L.A. for its final group stage match against Turkey on June 25.

Tell a fan

🐺 "Comeback City," a new 2.5-minute video packed with celebrity cameos and starring a wandering coyote, casts San Francisco as on its way back amid Mayor Lurie's push to reshape the city's image. (SF Standard)

• Believe in SF — the nonprofit behind the video — projects to spend nearly $30 million between 2025 and 2027 on priorities championed by Lurie. (Standard)

❌ The government should legally be able to block or deter dangerous AI deployments, Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei said this week. (Axios)

💰 SFPD is offering a $250,000 reward for information on the "Doodler" serial killings, in which at least six gay men were murdered near Ocean Beach in the mid 1970s. (NBC Bay Area)

🏗️ Chinatown's Portsmouth Square is finally undergoing a two-year, $73 million renovation after four decades of delays. (SF Chronicle)

🤖 OpenAI and Anthropic's blockbuster IPO plans could mint thousands of new multi-millionaires, fueling the city's next wealth boom but bringing little direct tax revenue to City Hall. (Mission Local)

As another week ends, we are reminded that the weekly news quiz giveth, and the weekly news quiz taketh.

• Time to test your knowledge of our fair city's biggest news stories this week.

😳 Less than 19% of you scored the coveted 3/3 last week.

👏 Shoutout to Geoff D. for being the first to send us his score! And as always, do the same if you score a flawless victory today.

👉 You know the drill, click here and hop to it!