- Tip News
- Posts
- RFK Jr. May Hop On The Trump Train
Good Wednesday morning. The average gold bar is now worth $1M for the first time. No, you cannot get them at Costco for cheaper. Have a great day!
In Today’s Brief
Births: Dropped in 2023
North Korea: Soldier defects
Instagram: Political abuse
Alaska Air: Key clearance
Taylor Swift: Final European show
... and more
First time reading? Sign up here
Top Tips
1) August surprise?
Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s running mate said he may end his independent presidential bid to align with former President Donald Trump.
The news: Vice Presidential candidate Nicole Shanahan, whose wealth has been critical to Kennedy's struggling campaign, revealed they are considering dropping out of the race to "join forces" with Trump. Shanahan said she and Kennedy may continue their bid, but they are concerned that could swing the election to Vice President Kamala Harris.
Key context: Kennedy is burning through money, his polling has sagged and he continues to face legal challenges and hurdles in securing state-by-state ballot access. He flirted with supporting Trump after the assassination attempt on the former president and reportedly made a rebuffed entreaty to Harris, seeking a cabinet position in return for an endorsement. Trump has since said he is open to giving Kennedy a job in his administration.
Big picture: Democrats and Republicans spent significant energy accusing Kennedy of being an electoral spoiler who could tip the scales in the other direction. But polls have never really reflected those claims. While removing Kennedy does seem to help Trump in national polls, there are few signs (if any) that would dramatically change the current state of play in battleground states.
2) Tragic oversights
The U.S. Army Reserves and local law enforcement missed opportunities to stop a Maine mass shooter.
Catch up: Robert Card, a reservist, killed 18 people in two incidents in Lewiston before taking his own life last October. It was the deadliest shooting in the state's history.
Final report: An independent commission created by Gov. Janet Mills to investigate the shootings concluded the military and police failed to intervene in Card's evident psychiatric crisis. The commission said while only Card was at fault, action by commanding officers or cops may have thwarted the shootings. The commission held over a dozen public meetings, pored through thousands of pages of evidence and interviewed many witnesses. Doctors have since said Card suffered from traumatic brain injuries.
The gaps: The Army Reserves failed to address Card's mental health issues adequately and did not share relevant information with local law enforcement. Police had at least one opportunity under state law to seize Card's weapons and place him in protective custody, but did not do so.
3) Prison break
An alleged serial killer accused of gruesome crimes escaped from jail in Kenya.
What happened: Collins Jumaisi Khalusha and 12 other prisoners broke out of a police station in Nairobi. They reportedly cut through a wire mesh fence surrounding an area where inmates could get fresh air; officials said an initial investigation concluded eight cops helped the prisoners escape.
Shocking allegations: Khalusha was arrested in July; police claim he confessed to murdering 42 women, including his wife, and dumping dismembered bodies in a quarry. A government official previously called him "a vampire" while Khalusha's attorney said he is innocent and was tortured into a false confession, which authorities deny.
Big picture: Police said the other escaped prisoners are Eritrean nationals charged with entering Kenya illegally. Khalusha's alleged crimes have caused shockwaves nationally. They have also led to criticism of the country's police force, as bodies were found within a football field's distance of a law enforcement station.
Quick Tips
U.S. News
U.S. births declined in 2023, ending a two-year uptick following the pandemic. There were about 3.6M children born for a 2% decrease YoY from 2022, according to the National Center for Health Statistics (More)
The former Minneapolis police officer convicted in George Floyd's death has changed prisons. Derek Chauvin was transferred to FCI Big Spring in Texas after being stabbed 22 times at FCI Tucson in December; he is making a longshot bid to overturn his 22-year sentence (More)
California lawmakers will scrap legislation requiring big tech companies to pay for state-based media content. Google will pay out about $175M to newsrooms and artificial intelligence innovation instead; the state will also earmark $70M in funds (More)
World News
A North Korean soldier appears to have crossed the militarized border and defected to South Korea. The man is in South Korean custody and would be the first military member to break from the North in five years; it is the second defection in as many weeks (More)
Czech Republic President Petr Pavel said Ukraine could join NATO without reclaiming all Russian-occupedterritories. The former alliance general cited West Germany's inclusion before reuniting with East Germany; the Kremlin controls about 20% of Ukraine currently (More)
Morgan Stanley International Chairman Jonathan Bloomer and his wife Judy are among the six people missing after the Sicily yacht disaster. Rescue divers were still struggling to reach the sunken ship as of last night; British tech tycoon Mike Lynch is still unaccounted for (More)
Campaign News
Instagram ignored 93% of abusive comments directed toward female U.S. politicians, according to a study. A British non-profit flagged 1K comments directed at Vice President Harris and nine others; it said each posting violated Meta's terms of service (More)
Former President Barack Obama addressed the Democratic National Convention during its second night. Former First Lady Michelle Obama also spoke; Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz will give his vice presidential nominating speech tonight (More)
Former President Trump softened recent comments about influence over Federal Reserve policy. He told Bloomberg that presidents should be able to offer opinions, but "that doesn't mean I'm calling the shot" (More)
Business & Markets
Major indexes closed lower yesterday. The Nasdaq and S&P 500 saw eight-session hot streaks end as the markets took a breather (Dow -0.15%, Nasdaq -0.33%, S&P 500 -0.20%)
Alaska Airlines' $1.9B deal to acquire Hawaiian Airlines passed a Department of Justice review. The Department of Transportation still needs to sign off; DOJ blocked a proposed JetBlue-Spirit merger earlier this year (More)
Johnson & Johnson will pay up to $1.7B to buy medical device maker V-Wave. The pharmaceutical company's initial cost will be $600M; the deal could eventually triple in size if the cardiovascular disease-focused firm hits certain milestones (More)
Entertainment & Sports
Taylor Swift closed out the European leg of the Eras Tour at London's Wembley Stadium. She did not announce a release date for Reputation (Taylor's Version) despite speculation; the tour will resume in October in Miami (More)
Bangladesh's civil unrest has scuttled the country's plans to host a major sporting event. The International Cricket Council said this fall's Women's T20 World Cup has been moved to the United Arab Emirates (More)
Media executive Edgar Bronfman Jr. has raised $5.5B for a bid to buy National Amusements and take over Paramount Global. The entertainment giant has a merger deal with Skydance Media, but a window to entertain other offers ends today (More)
Quick Hitters
Very Cute: A toddler visited her doctor for a checkup. She adorably and confidently decided to run the show.
New Idea: Plastic bags are bad for the environment but are also quite handy. An Indian entrepreneur has invented a replacement option made from corn waste that naturally breaks down within six months.
Go Deep: Researchers found that playing video games boosted the mental health of gamers in Japan during the pandemic. They are now working to see if the findings apply more broadly.
Take Note: You can sometimes get what you want, but cannot control if you get it. That is critical to remember when negotiating for a new job or a raise at your current one, according to experts.
Life Hack: This rundown of tips sounds fake, but they work. Among them: Changing your socks to reset a bad day and a cheat code to stay awake.
Watch This
Rusty nails are no joke.
Links
Elon Musk may get a gig in a Trump Administration 🚀
The world's oldest person has passed away 🪦
Bennifer is getting divorced again ⛓️💥
A 94-year-old daredevil rides a 100mph zipline 🚀
Descending into the real-life 'Gates of Hell' 🔥
Why animals attack humans in the wild 🐻
Antique books may be poisonous ☠️
Take a ride on America's most scenic train routes 🚉
Disney has backed off in a wrongful death case ⚖️
Buy a house built around a 200M-year-old rock 🏡
Looking Ahead …
SpaceX will launch a risky space mission in the next few days. Polaris Dawn will send four private citizens to the highest altitude humans have visited since the Apollo program's end. The crew will also enter a radiation belt and be the first civilians to open a spacecraft's hatch.