Donald Trump heads to DC where he’ll be trying
to make new friends and convince Paul Ryan.
Meanwhile, Cameron and the Queen
were caught on mic being mean.
And if a kid says he found a lost city, he’s lying.
Today is National Limerick Day. And here are the 5 things you need to know to Get Up to Speed and Out the Door:
1. Texas plant explosion
Residents of West, Texas, absorbed a shock three years ago when a fertilizer plant exploded, killing 15 people in a blast so powerful it caused a small earthquake. Yesterday, they got another shock: the fire that caused the explosion was arson. ATF officials said they came to the shocking conclusion after conducting 400 interviews. So who started the fire? They wouldn’t comment on that, other than to say “we’re headed in the right direction.” A $50,000 reward’s now on the table.
2. Campaign 2016
Donald Trump may be the presumptive GOP nominee, but the #NeverTrump folks ain’t giving up that easy. Their latest tactic? Going after The Donald over his still-not-released tax returns. Mitt Romney said Trump’s refusal means there must be “a bombshell of unusual size” within them. Trump’s campaign was quick to note that Romney didn’t exactly rush his returns out to the nearest reporter when he ran. Pot, meet kettle?
3. Shootings
One shooting suspect is headed to trial. The other? Not anytime soon. The first, ex-S.C. cop Michael Slager, pleaded not guilty to fatally shooting Walter Scott in the back five times after a traffic stop last year. The other shooting suspect, Robert Lewis Dear, was declared mentally incompetent for trial for the Planned Parenthood clinic shooting in November. Dear’s confessed to the killings, telling cops he dreams of being met in heaven by aborted fetuses who’ll thank him for his actions. His case is on hold while he undergoes treatment.
4. Iraq attacks
Nearly 100 people were killed in a series of attacks that targeted Baghdad’s Shiites yesterday. At least 64 died when a car bomb went off at a market. Seventeen were killed by a suicide bomber at a busy square. Another car bomb killed 12 at a checkpoint. The culprit? ISIS. Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi is trying his darndest to firm up a government and tackle Iraq’s deep economic wounds from years of war. And ISIS is taking full advantage of that security vacuum. Today, suicide bombers hit a police station in another deadly attack.
5. Hot mics
Is this thing on? Yes, it was, but Queen Elizabeth obviously didn’t know it when she bad-mouthed Chinese officials as “very rude” during President Xi Jinping’s first state visit to the U.K. last year. But the Queen wasn’t alone. The same day British PM David Cameron was caught on camera telling the Queen that Nigeria and Afghanistan were “fantastically corrupt.” Here are other world leaders who also forgot the golden rule of broadcasting.
This just in …
Early this morning Brazil’s Senate voted to start impeachment proceedings against President Dilma Rousseff. She must step down for up to 180 days as a special committee investigates claims against her.
BREAKFAST BROWSE
People are talking about these. Read up. Join in.
We built this city (or not)
You know that undiscovered Maya city that a Canadian teen found? Experts — and they ought to know — think it’s nothing more than an abandoned field.
Selfie-sh act
A man — camera in hand, hoping to get the perfect selfie — climbed onto a 126-year-old statue in Portugal … and promptly broke it into a dozen pieces.
She needs an invisibility cloak
Hermione’s a tax cheat? Say it ain’t so! No, but actress Emma Watson apparently used the Panama Papers firm to set up an offshore company.
Traffic alert
America: Stay off the roads Fridays at 6 p.m. in August because that’s when road rage is at its peak, so says Instagram (which, BTW, has a new icon).
It takes a village
There are no locks in the small Indian village of Shani Shingnapur. In fact, there are no doors. And yet, there’s been no theft there for 400 years.
WHAT’S FOR LUNCH
Here’s what’s happening today.
Meeting of the minds
This should be fun. Mr. Trump goes to Washington today to meet the GOP “establishment,” including House Speaker Paul Ryan.
Number of the day
1,400
The number of pain pills that ex-NFL QB Ray Lucas was taking each month after suffering a football injury. He shared his story last night during a CNN town hall on the opioid painkiller epidemic in the United States.