The Short List

Mon Jul 15 2024

Laura L. Davis | Audience Editor

@lauradavis

Donald Trump has picked his running mate, just in time for the Republican National Convention. And another heat wave is making its way across the country.

👋Hey, Monday! Laura Davis here, back from a little time off in the mountains. I spent today catching up on the news, so now, let's get you caught up! Here is what's been going on.

🚀 But first: It sounds like science fiction. But this "Dune"-inspired space suit could recycle urine into drinking water.

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The GOP VP nominee is...

And the Republicans have a VP pick. Former President Donald Trump took to Truth Social on Monday to announce he's chosen Sen. J.D. Vance of Ohio as his running mate. The 39-year-old is expected to officially accept the nomination on Wednesday, but for all intents and purposes, we can expect him to be on the ballot with Trump in November.

Some fast facts about Vance:

- He was elected to the U.S. Senate in 2022.

- Vance rose to stardom for his 2016 memoir "Hillbilly Elegy."

- He would be the first millennial to serve as vice president.

👉 Who is J.D. Vance? Meet Trump's VP pick.

•	Judge tosses Trump classified documents case, but the DOJ is expected to appeal

Sen. J.D. Vance of Ohio, center, is congratulated after being introduced during the first day of the Republican National Convention on Monday, July 15, in Milwaukee. Vance was named Donald Trump's pick for running mate.

Mike Desisti/USA TODAY

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Republican National Convention opens

After months of speculation about Trump's VP pick and an assassination attempt just two days ago, Monday is the first day of the GOP's convention in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, when Republicans will begin laying out their conservative pitch to voters across the country. Trump arrived in Milwaukee on Sunday night and said he is changing the focus of his big convention speech. The assassination attempt against him provided a "chance to bring the whole country, even the whole world, together," he said in an interview. 🗳️ Follow our live updates from the RNC.

•	High anxiety: Why the political process feels more tenuous than ever.
•	Milwaukee homeless say they were told to leave before GOP convention.
•	Who will be at the RNC? See full list of speakers.

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No criminal charges in assassination attempt

Butler County District Attorney Richard A. Goldinger said Monday his office isn't planning to file any criminal charges related to the assassination attempt at Donald Trump's campaign rally, which the FBI said it's investigating as a potential act of domestic terrorism. Goldinger said because the gunman, Thomas Matthew Crooks, died at the scene and appeared to be working on his own, there are no charges to file. 👉 See the latest on the investigation.

•	'Let me get my shoes': Why was Trump looking for his shoes?
•	Nursing aide turned sniper: Thomas Crooks' mysterious plot to kill Trump.

'Dangerous' heat wave bakes from coast to coast

As the political world is heating up, so is the world outside. A record-breaking heat wave expanded into portions of the central and eastern U.S. on Monday, threatening urban areas with "particularly intense" temperatures, forecasters warned.

Deadly heat: The unrelenting heat, which has set dozens of records and has been tied to at least 30 fatalities in the West, has scorched much of the western U.S. and parts of the South, Southeast, mid-Atlantic and southern New England over the last week. More than 140 million Americans were under some form of heat alert on Monday. 🥵 Here's how long it will last.

•	Don't trust heat wave death counts. The true toll is higher.

Summer Heat Wave California United States Weather

A tourist is pictured drinking water as he hikes in the Mesquite Flat Sand Dunes in Death Valley National Park, near Furnace Creek.

ETIENNE LAURENT, AFP via Getty Images

A break from the news

•	😱 Hiker's dramatic video shows grizzly bear getting dangerously close.
•	💸 How travelers are combating increasing tipping requests.
•	🛍️ Shop Prime Day deals on Echo speakers, Ring cameras, Kindles.

Laura L. Davis is an Audience Editor at USA TODAY. Say hi: laura@usatoday.com. Support quality journalism like this? Subscribe to USA TODAY here.