Ex-CIA officer launches presidential campaign aimed at thwarting Donald Trump

A former CIA case officer who has served as top policy aide to House Republicans is launching an independent campaign for the presidency on Monday with the backing of veteran GOP strategists and donors determined to block Donald Trump from getting anywhere near the White House. Feeding off mounting discontent within GOP ranks over Trump, Evan McMullin — who is resigning today as chief policy director for the House Republican Conference — announced his campaign with an open “Letter to America” that took pointed shots at both the GOP nominee and Democrat Hillary Clinton.

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  Too Little, Too Late Never-Trumpers Say of McMullin's Independent Bid

  Newsmax
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  Who Is Evan McMullin? Donald Trump Alternative To Launch Independent Presidential Campaign

  International Business Times

U.S. recovers data recorder from sunken cargo ship El Faro

The data recorder from the cargo ship El Faro, which sank near the Bahamas during a Caribbean hurricane last October, has been recovered, offering possible answers about why the vessel went down, the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board said on Tuesday. A U.S. Coast Guard panel in May revealed the ship's captain intended to avoid the brewing storm when he departed, but may have had outdated weather data.

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  Sunken ship’s ‘black box’ recovered from deep beneath the sea

  San Francisco Chronicle
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  'Black box' recovered from freighter El Faro, which sank in hurricane 10 months ago

  Fox News

Man killed by deputy in Compton not involved with carjacker

The Los Angeles Sheriff's Department acknowledged Tuesday that a deputy shot and killed a black man who was mistakenly identified as a suspect in a carjacking, again bringing into question the appropriateness of a police agency's use of deadly force. Donnell Thompson, 27, was shot at close range by a deputy riding in the turret of an armored vehicle, one of two dispatched as officers searched for suspects in Compton after a car chase and shootout. Police said the shooting occurred after Thompson ignored their commands and charged at them.

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  Man killed by L.A. County deputy wasn’t involved in carjacking

  San Francisco Chronicle
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  Black man killed by LA police 'not suspect' in carjacking

  AFP

Enes Kanter Has Reportedly Been Disowned By His Family For His Political Beliefs

Earlier this summer, Turkey was besieged by an attempted military coup. Government officials believed the so-called Gülen Movement (also known as “FETÖ”) was behind the insurrection, headed by their enigmatic leader, Fethullah Gülen, who’s been living in self-imposed exile in the United States for more than two decades. It bears mentioning that Fethullah Gülen operates approximately 150 privately-run, publicly-funded schools in the U.S. (and numerous others around the world), all of which adhere to statewide standards of education.

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  Turkish NBA star 'disowned by family' over Gulen support

  AFP
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  This Turkish NBA Star’s Family Cut Ties with Him Over His Support for Gulen

  Foreign Policy Magazine

Air raids again target Yemen capital after talks flounder

Saudi-led coalition warplanes have resumed air strikes on Yemen's capital for the first time in three months, killing 14 people Tuesday and shutting the airport after UN-brokered talks were suspended. The coalition intervened in March last year after Shiite Huthi rebels and allied forces loyal to former president Ali Abdullah Saleh overran Sanaa the previous September. Hadi is now based in Riyadh, as are members of his internationally recognised government who travel between Saudi Arabia and Yemen's temporary capital Aden in the south.

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  Yemen official, medics say 14 killed in Saudi-led airstrike

  Washington Post
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  Saudi Arabia intercepts two missiles fired from Yemen, Al Arabiya says

  Reuters

Ibtihaj Muhammad Makes History in Rio

Were you hoping Donald Trump was watching? “Who?” Ibtihaj Muhammad, the American fencer who had just lost to Cecilia Berder, of France, in the round of 16 at the women’s individual saber event in Rio, coyly replied with a smile. The other members of Team USA nearly voted her to carry the opening ceremonies flag — she trailed only Michael Phelps.

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  Ibtihaj Muhammad didn't need a medal to leave her mark on U.S., Olympics

  Sports Illustrated
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  Ibtihaj Muhammad Makes History As the First U.S. Olympic Athlete to Compete In a Hijab

  Seventeen

Mother of dead California skydiver says jump on bucket list

The mother of a skydiver who plummeted to his death with an instructor in a California vineyard said her teenage son was an adventurous spirit who was willing to try just about anything — including the jump that was on his bucket list of things to do in life. Tyler Turner, 18, had a mild case of cerebral palsy and walked with a crouched gait. Tyler Turner had graduated from high school with honors and had been bound for the University of California at Merced this month to study biomedical engineering.

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  FAA inspects parachute after skydiving death of instructor and high school grad

  Los Angeles Times
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  Before teen’s fatal skydive, ‘he said, “I love you, Mom” — and then he got on the plane’

  Washington Post

The first family’s summer vacation at Martha’s Vineyard

President Barack Obama’s seventh and final summer vacation at Martha’s Vineyard has begun with hopes of getting in some relaxing time with the first family before the busy fall leading up to November’s presidential election. Obama will fill the next two weeks with leisurely rounds of golf, beach outings, bike rides and hikes with his wife and daughters, and dinner with Mrs. Obama and their friends at some of the island’s top restaurants. Congress is also on an extended summer break from Washington, something the White House has chided it for as the nation deals with the Zika virus making its way to Florida.