Tuesday Briefing: Donald Trump chooses a running mate

July 16, 2024

	By Daniel E. Slotnik

Good morning. We’re covering Donald Trump’s running mate and a judge’s dismissal of a criminal case against Trump.

Plus, Japan’s ubiquitous book bags.

J.D. Vance in a blue suit and red tie waves beside an American flag.

J.D. Vance, Donald Trump’s running mate. Haiyun Jiang for The New York Times

Donald Trump named J.D. Vance as his running mate

Senator J.D. Vance of Ohio, a political newcomer who was once an outspoken critic of Donald Trump, was chosen to be his candidate for vice president.

Trump made the announcement yesterday as Republicans formally nominated him to run for president, and two days after he survived an attempt on his life at a rally in Pennsylvania.

Vance, 39, a former Marine and author of the best-selling memoir “Hillbilly Elegy,” entered the Senate just last year. He harshly denounced Trump during his 2016 campaign, even texting a former Yale roommate that he feared Trump could be “America’s Hitler.”

But after Vance embraced Trump’s lies about a stolen election, Trump supported him in his senate race. After winning his seat, Vance became a reliable pro-Trump voice in Congress. He has shown that he can energize donors, and his youth could help the ticket at a time when voters have deep concerns about the ages of Trump, 78, and President Biden, 81. Here’s what else to know about him.

The assassination attempt: The F.B.I. said it had gained access to the cellphone data of the man who tried to assassinate Trump. Attention remained focused on the Secret Service’s apparent failure to secure the rally site. Here’s the latest.

The race: The latest New York Times/Siena College polls found that Biden is trailing Trump in Pennsylvania and is just slightly ahead in Virginia, two must-win states.

Dozens of filing boxes, stacked six high, inside a bathroom with a crystal chandelier and matching light sconce.

Boxes of documents stored in a bathroom at Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club in Florida. U.S. Justice Department, via Reuters

A judge threw out the documents case against Trump

A federal judge ruled yesterday that the secret documents case against Donald Trump should be dismissed because the appointment of the special counsel who brought the charges had violated the Constitution.

The stunning ruling by Judge Aileen Cannon, a Trump appointee, flew in the face of court decisions reaching back to Watergate. The indictment was once considered to be the most straightforward of the four criminal cases Trump has faced. Here’s the latest.

The special counsel, Jack Smith, will almost certainly appeal the decision. If Trump wins the election in November, he could ask the Justice Department to dismiss the charges.

Background: Trump was charged with illegally holding onto a trove of highly sensitive state secrets after he left office and then obstructing the government’s efforts to retrieve them. Here’s where the three other criminal cases against him stand.

Two adults with a child in a shopping cart browse the fruit and vegetables in a grocery store.

China’s real estate crash has caused consumers to spend more cautiously. Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

Chinese leaders meet as the economy slows

China’s economy grew 0.7 percent in the second quarter over the previous three months, below the expectations of most economists, according to data released yesterday. The outlook put pressure on Chinese leaders who gathered in Beijing for a four-day meeting to set a course for the country’s economic future.

Success or failure of the meeting will largely turn on whether China’s leader, Xi Jinping, can win renewed confidence from the Chinese population and foreign investors.

MORE TOP NEWS

A crowd of women, many wearing matching orange t-shirts and holding signs bearing slogans in protest of female genital mutilation.

A protest against female genital mutilation in Banjul, Gambia, in March. Muhamadou Bittaye/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

Gambia: In a sharp reversal, the West African country voted to keep a ban on female genital mutilation.
Rwanda: President Paul Kagame was expected to win a fourth term in elections held yesterday in which the opposition faced restrictions.
Pakistan: The government said that it would ban the party of the former prime minister, Imran Khan, a decision expected to exacerbate the country’s political turmoil.
Ukraine: Russian forces pushed into the southern village of Urozhaine, the latest of several slow but steady advances.
Nepal: K.P. Sharma Oli, who leads the nation’s largest communist party, took office as prime minister.
Middle East: China will host senior Palestinian officials from Hamas and Fatah for a meeting next week to discuss the future of the Gaza Strip.
Britain: After a two-day manhunt, a 34-year-old man was arrested and charged with murder after bodies were found in suitcases in Bristol.
Tech: Read how Microsoft’s chief executive, Satya Nadella, went all-in on artificial intelligence.

Sports

Lionel Messi winces while rubbing his ankle. He sits on the bench between teammates.

Lionel Messi at the Copa America final match in Miami on Sunday. Julio Cortez/Associated Press

Copa América: Argentina’s championship victory against Colombia was marred by Lionel Messi’s foot injury. It could be the last major tournament for Messi, 37.
Euro soccer: Lamine Yamal, who just turned 17 on Saturday, was the breakout star as Spain defeated England, 2-1.
Wimbledon: Carlos Alcaraz’s championship rout of Novak Djokovic was a generational moment in tennis.

MORNING READ

Two brushed steel torches are held aloft near each other as flames pass between them. The iconic Arc de Triomphe is visible in soft focus behind them.

The flame in front of the Arc de Triomphe, on the Champs-Élysées in Paris, yesterday. Julien De Rosa/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

The Olympic torch arrived on the Champs-Élysées in Paris in a custom-made Louis Vuitton suitcase, not long before the Games begin on July 26.

The flame’s long journey across France and its overseas departments was meant to be a joyous celebration of the first Olympic Games held in Paris for a century. Instead, France has endured a season of bitter division.

Lives lived: Jacqueline de Jong, a Dutch artist who was at the forefront of a 1960s avant-garde movement, has died. She was 85.

CONVERSATION STARTERS

Gods and Minotaurs: A passion for ancient Greek mythology guided a family trip to Athens and Crete.
Healthy sleep habits: Too much sleep or too little sleep can affect your risk of dementia. Here’s what the experts say.
Your brain on dance: A study incorporates sophisticated imaging technology to show how dance engages the mind as intensively as the body.

We hope you’ve enjoyed this newsletter, which is made possible through subscriber support. Subscribe to The New York Times .

ARTS AND IDEAS

Five children, all wearing the same style of backpack but in different colors, walk down an elevated path in Tokyo.

Noriko Hayashi for The New York Times

In Japan, a bag for books, pencils and tradition

As a child at an international school in Tokyo, my colleague Motoko Rich, The Times’s Japan bureau chief, envied the “supercool leather backpacks,” or randoseru, of Japanese kids — so much that, as an adult in Brooklyn, she bought one on eBay for her daughter.

When she relocated to Japan as an adult, “randoseru were just part of the normal visual landscape,” she said, adding, “Rarely did I see an elementary child with any other kind of school bag.”

No one mandates that students use these backpacks, but strong social norms lead most families to purchase them for their children. It was only when a Korean journalist compared wearing the bag to having to carry days’ worth of rations in a backpack during his army service that she thought of writing about the randoseru “as a microcosm of Japanese culture,” Motoko said, “this large burden carried by children, but also a representation of remarkable consistency and entrenched traditions.”

RECOMMENDATIONS

A whole chicken with browned, crispy skin lies in a cast iron skillet. A red oven mitt covers the handle of th pan. Cilantro and sage leaves lie on the stone table as a garnish.

Andrew Scrivani for The New York Times

Cook: This is a recipe for roast chicken at its simplest and best.

Safeguard: Protect your accounts with a password manager.

Watch: Narrated by Martin Scorsese, “Made in England” is about two fascinating filmmakers.

Read: “Alexander at the End of the World” shows what happened when dreams of conquest met reality.

Play: Spelling Bee, the Mini Crossword, Wordle and Sudoku. Find all our games here.

That’s it for today. See you tomorrow. — Dan

P.S. Alissa Rubin was named senior Middle East correspondent.

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