Ryan Lochte Says He Refused When Robbers Ordered Him On the Ground
Concerns about safety in Rio de Janeiro have deepened after Olympic medalist Ryan Lochte and three other American swimmers were robbed at gunpoint Sunday. The athletes said that their taxi was stopped by men posing as armed police officers who demanded their money. When swimmers were ordered to get down on the ground, Lochte refused. “I was like, we didn't do anything wrong, so — I'm not getting down on the ground," he said later. None of the swimmers were injured, according to the U.S. Olympic Committee. [NPR]
The Appalling Last Act of Rudy Giuliani
Rudy Giuliani, mayor of New York at the time of 9/11 and its aftermath raised eyebrows for his performance at the Republican National Convention, but he went further this week when he said, “We didn’t have any successful radical-Islamic terrorist attack in the United States” during the 8-year Bush Administration. New Yorker writer Jelani Cobb takes a stern look at Giuliani going on the stump for Republican nominee Donald Trump and the former mayor's legacy. [New Yorker]
Trump’s Top Aide Had $12.7 M Set Aside For Him By Ukraine’s Pro-Russia Party
The strange saga that is the seeming bromance between Trump and Vladimir Putin, just got weirder. The New York Times reports that Trump’s campaign manager, Paul Manafort, had millions set aside for him by the pro-Russian party in the Ukraine — while investigators are still trying to figure out whether this was some off-the-books attempt at a campaign contribution. [New York Times]
Comedy Central Cancels ‘The Nightly Show’
Comedy Central has canceled Larry Wilmore’s "The Nightly Show" after about 18 months on the air. The last show will air on Thursday, and "@midnight" will then temporarily move into its time slot as Comedy Central searches for a replacement. Wilmore said he was grateful for the opportunity but “saddened and surprised we won’t be covering this crazy election, or ‘The Unblackening’ as we’ve coined it. And keeping it 100, I guess I hadn’t counted on ‘The Unblackening’ happening to my time slot as well.” [Deadline]
Former Nazi Secretary Says “It Was Just Another Job.”
Brunhilde Pomsel, 105, worked as a secretary for Nazi propaganda minister Joseph Goebbels and is now opening up about her experience. Unapologetic, Pomsel says that it was just another job, she didn’t know anything about the Holocaust, and Goebbels treated her kindly. [The Guardian]
Doctor Bikes Across the Country to Talk to Americans About Obamacare
A medical professor from the University of Arizona, Dr. Paul Gordon, combined his 40-year dream of biking across the country with his sabbatical as a “scholarly exercise,” where he asked Americans about their thoughts on Obamacare. Gordon said he discovered that the project could turn him into “a better teacher, better clinician, a better human being.” [Los Angeles Times]
12-Year-Old Boy Genius Gets Ready for Ivy League College
Jeremy Shuler, a pre-teen who was functionally bilingual by age two and learning calculus by age five, will start school this fall at Cornell University, likely the youngest student the Ivy League university has ever had. [Washington Post]
An Olympic Horse Danced Around to a Santana Song
The Olympics saw its breakout star this week in Lorenzo, a Dressage horse whose trotting performance was set to a smooth jazz rendition of the 1999 hit song “Smooth” by Carlos Santana and Rob Thomas. It’s seriously mesmerizing. [The Independent]
Donald Trump Probably Wouldn’t Pass His Own ‘Ideological Test’ to Enter the U.S.
Trump has revised his plan to ban Muslims entering the United States, he has now revised his position to urge an “ideological-screening test” to ban anyone opposing the Constitution and to test stances on religious freedom, gender equality, and gay rights. So, can this also be a requirement for presidential candidates? [New York Magazine]
This column was compiled by DNAinfo reporters Ewa Kern-Jedrychowska, Gwynne Hogan, Irene Plagianos, Shaye Weaver, Eddie Small, Noah Hurowitz, Carolina Pichardo, Jeanmarie Evelly and Allegra Hobbs.
