I'm Paul Tenorio, I cover soccer for the athletic.
And I'm Amy Lawrence, I cover football for the athletic.
Whatever you call it, the biggest competition in the sport is happening right now,
“and the athletics world cup coverage has everything you need to follow the tournament.”
We've got more than 70 obsessive reporters on the ground. If you eager to know more about the teams, the matches, all the stories on and off the pitch, we've got you sorted. Throughout the tournament, you have free access to all the coverage in our app. Download the athletic app and see you there.
From the New York Times, it's the headlines. I'm Tracy Mumford.
Today's Wednesday, July 15th, here's what we're covering.
After announcing a drastic plan for the U.S. to charge ships a fee to pass through the straight-of-horror moves, President Trump quickly backtracked on his own proposal yesterday. Frankly, it's bad because I don't like the idea of a fee. It's got to remain free because otherwise, others will do the same thing. And he returned to the approach he had at the start of the war that the U.S. will strike
Iran, quote, "very hard" until the country agrees to make a peace deal. U.S. forces carried out a new round of attacks overnight that stretched for seven hours.
“The only way you can negotiate with these people is to strike.”
And the only strength is military strength. Analysts say the abrupt flip-flop underscores how much Trump seems to be relying on impulse and improvisation as he tries to confront an adversary that is not bending. He has pivoted between tactics at times contradicting his own administration and himself. One expert on Iran told the Times, "On the one hand, he keeps saying,
"We want to make a deal with you guys and make Iran a thriving economy." And on the other hand, he says, "I'm going to obliterate your civilization." Another analyst said that much of the president's foreign policy this term, whether it's tariffs or the U.S.'s new role in running Venezuela, has depended on the willingness of other countries to make concessions.
But with Iran, quote, "He's encountered a country that is not willing to play by his set of rules." The Iranian military launched its own strikes overnight, targeting U.S. military facilities in Bahrain, Kuwait, and Jordan. Officials in all three countries said the attacks were being intercepted. Meanwhile, new federal data released yesterday showed that in June, when the ceasefire was still in place, inflation slowed, with the pause in hostilities helping
bring down oil prices. We've seen oil prices come down over the last few weeks, and that has flowed through to gas prices. But we also saw broader improvement, even when you strip out energy, we saw slower inflation in June. And so that's an encouraging sign that we might see some continued progress on inflation as the year goes on. Ben Castleman is the times chief economics correspondent. The big caveat, of course, is that oil prices
have been rising. Again, this data was from June that was before the ceasefire began to break down, and so as oil prices rise, that's going to affect prices in July and August and going forward. Now, a few other quick updates on the Trump administration, starting with the immigration
“crackdown. I think it's going to be a short pause, and I'm confident that”
ice is well trained to be across the apps, and you're going to see it's keep moving forward. But this is it. As of yesterday, ice officers have been ordered not to carry out most traffic stops, following back-to-back deadly shootings in Texas and Maine, where agents fired on drivers after pursuing their vehicles. In an interview on Fox News, White House borders our Tom Homes said the order is not a policy change,
but a temporary pause, quote, "to make sure we're doing the right thing." Since Trump returned to office and pushed for more aggressive immigration enforcement, 22 people have been fired on by federal agents, nearly all of them, while in vehicles. Beyond questions about traffic stops, the recent shootings have also highlighted the slow rollout of body cameras to ice agents. Earlier this year, DHS pledged that the government would
quote "rapidly acquire and deploy the technology." But currently, only about half of ice field offices have body cameras, and none of the agents involved in the two recent shootings were wearing them. Also, in Washington today, Todd Blanche, the acting U.S. Attorney General,
will face a crucial cent hearing as he tries to get confirmed to the roll. Blanche, who used
to be Trump's personal defense lawyer, is expected to face sharp questions about his role in some of the DHS controversial actions over the last 18 months. That includes the government's handling of the Epstein files, mass firings at the DHS, and politically motivated prosecutions of the president's perceived enemies. We've had powerful attorneys general, but this is an entirely different
Situation.
and Blanche's essential acquiescence to that model are completely new in terms of the animals of
“the department. My colleague Glenn Thrash says today's hearing could be a big review of how the White”
House has eroded the traditional independence of the D.O.J., but it may also end up being largely symbolic because Blanche could continue to serve in an acting capacity even if he doesn't get confirmed. Glenn has more on today's episode of The Daily. And last update, according to online court records, President Trump has paid the writer E. Jean Carroll 5.6 million dollars, the amount with interest that a jury awarded her back in 2023 after it found Trump liable for sexually abusing her
and a Manhattan department store in the 90s, then defaming her by calling her accusation "a hoax and a lie." Trump had been trying to appeal the verdict, going all the way to the Supreme Court.
“But after the Justice's decline to review the case, a lower court judge ordered Trump to make the payment.”
Around the U.S., the number of confirmed cyclospora infections has nearly doubled in a matter of days, as officials race to identify what's behind the rise in cases, which can cause severe diarrhea. People have gotten sick from the parasite in more than 30 states, Michigan's been the hardest hit, with more than 3,000 reported cases, up from an average of just 40 to 50 in a typical year. Cyclospora infections often come from eating contaminated produce, but unlike many other food
born illnesses, it can take weeks before you start feeling sick. That makes it harder to track for public health experts, who have to try and interview people about everything they've had to eat or drink over that period. Those tracing programs have also been severely underfunded, and last summer, the CDC quietly scaled back the country's most comprehensive system for tracking food-born illness outbreaks. One expert in infectious diseases told the times that, as a result,
the U.S. is probably missing a lot of cases, but, quote, "We will never know because we don't
have the surveillance system in place to really look for it." In the past, Cyclospora outbreaks have been linked to fresh fruits and vegetables, including lettuce, raspberries, and other foods, and experts say rinsing produce before eating it can reduce your risk of getting sick. And finally, the burrito chain Chipotle is celebrating a grand opening this week in a place
“it sees as an untapped market. We believe Rio Mexico is a really important milestone”
for our great brand and we believe what we do and what we offer will really resonate with the
Mexican community. The company CEO has been talking up its south of the border expansion. The first
ever Chipotle in Mexico will open in Monterey tomorrow, and it has plans for more. Now, there are plenty of valid questions about whether there's going to be a market in Mexico for an American spin on Mexican food. One restaurant industry analyst told the times that Chipotle's burrito bowls could help them out there. The heaping customizable bowls are the company's best selling item in the U.S. and could bring a bit of novelty. The expert made a comparison between
Chipotle's ambitions and how Starbucks in the late 90s expanded into Europe. Famous for its cafe culture initially, it was not seen as a market that needed another place to buy a capuccino and look at it now. But bringing Mexican-inspired food back to its roots could be a bit more fraught. Just as Taco Bell, the chain tried to open locations in Mexico twice once in the 90s and again in 2007, those locations have since closed. Those headlines, I'm Tracy Mumford,
we'll be back tomorrow.
