While You Were Sleeping: 5 stories you might have missed, July 15
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The selection of James David Vance (right) could increase the odds of Trump supporters turning out for the Nov 5 election.
PHOTO: REUTERS
Trump picks one-time critic as running mate
Donald Trump selected JD Vance, a Republican US senator from Ohio, as his running mate on July 15, elevating a politician who once criticised the former president in acid terms but has since become one of his most stalwart defenders.
The news, carried on Trump’s Truth Social media website, emerged at the start of the four-day Republican National Convention in Milwaukee to nominate the party’s presidential ticket.
The selection of James David Vance, author of the bestselling memoir Hillbilly Elegy, could increase the odds of Trump supporters turning out for the Nov 5 election, as the Ohio native is deeply popular with the Republican candidate’s base.
A staunch conservative from a Republican state, Mr Vance is unlikely to bring many new voters into Trump’s corner, however, and may even alienate some moderates. Some Trump supporters had pushed him to select a woman or person of colour as his No. 2 to expand a coalition that skews towards white men.
Teamsters consider no endorsement in 2024 race
VIA REUTERS
President Joe Biden is on the brink of failing to win a key labour endorsement, as leaders of the 1.3 million-member Teamsters union consider backing no candidate at all in the US presidential race, according to two people familiar with the matter.
The International Brotherhood of Teamsters decision has not been finalised and is expected to be made in the coming weeks.
Not backing Mr Biden, who the union endorsed in 2020, would compound political damage to the Democratic president’s re-election bid.
Latest data adds to confidence inflation is returning to 2%
Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell said on July 15 the three US inflation readings over the second quarter of this year do “add somewhat to confidence” that the pace of price increases is returning to the Fed’s target in a sustainable fashion, remarks that suggest a turn to interest rate cuts may not be far off.
“In the second quarter, actually, we did make some more progress” on taming inflation, Mr Powell said, at an event at the Economic Club of Washington.
“We’ve had three better readings, and if you average them, that’s a pretty good place.”
Patrolling soldier stabbed at Paris station
A soldier was stabbed and wounded by a man armed with a knife at a railway station in Paris, the interior minister said on July 15, days before the French capital hosts the summer Olympic Games.
Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said on X that the assailant had been arrested and the soldier's wounds were not life threatening.
France is on its highest state of alert. The soldier was deployed within Operation Sentinelle, a 3,000-strong unit which patrols sites such as railway stations, places of worship, schools and theatres.
Copa chaos raises concerns for 2026 World Cup
USA TODAY Sports via Reuters Con
The chaotic scenes at the Copa America final have raised serious questions for the organisers of the 2026 World Cup which will be held in North America.
The start of the July 14 final between Colombia and Argentina at Miami’s Hard Rock Stadium was delayed by 82 minutes as overwhelmed security struggled to process the safe entry fans into the stadium.
Organisers blamed ticketless fans rushing entry points into the venue for their decision to keep the gates closed for almost three hours after the planned opening time.
