Brazilian Officials Say Lochte Lied About Robbery, Then Changed Details of His Story
Olympic medalist Ryan Lochte, who claimed that he and three other swimmers were robbed at gunpoint in Rio de Janeiro, is under fire after a Brazilian police official told the Associated Press that the group lied to cover up an altercation. The officials said the swimmers broke the door of a gas station while they were looking for a bathroom.
Brazilian police sought to keep Lochte from leaving the country, but he had already returned to the U.S. On Wednesday though, two of his teammates were pulled from the plane and detained by local authorities. [Associated Press and Los Angeles Times]
Floods Continue to Ravage Louisiana
Devastating flooding in the state has killed 13 people and displaced tens of thousands so far — and more rain was in the forecast Thursday.
"It turns your heart upside down," a meteorologist told NBC. "You think it's over, and then it starts raining again." [NBC]
How the Haunting Image of a Five-Year-Old Boy Became the Symbol of Aleppo’s Suffering
A photograph of five-year-old Omran Daqneesh, a Syrian boy covered in dust and dried blood after being pulled from the rubble of a damaged building, has been rapidly shared throughout social media as a symbol of his country’s suffering. [New York Times]
Justice Department Says It Will End Use of Private Prisons
The federal government plans to halt contracts with privately run prisons because they have proven to be less effective over the past decade and have seen a rising number of safety lapses. [Washington Post]
Michael Moore Says He Knows “For a Fact” Trump Doesn’t Want to be President
Filmmaker Michael Moore now says he knows “for a fact” that Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump never actually wanted to be president. He claims the campaign started as a way for Trump to get a better deal for hosting and starring in “The Apprentice” and argues that his “meltdown” over the past few weeks might not be an accident but a way for him to get out of the race. [Newsweek]
The Racist History of Portland, the Whitest City in America
Hipster haven Portland has a lineage that belies its seemingly quirky, progressive atmosphere: a long history of racism. That inequality remains an issue in the mostly white city. [The Atlantic]
How Does Twitter Respond to Hate Speech and Abuse On its Platform?
BuzzFeed News has launched a survey to find out how Twitter handles online harassment against its users. [BuzzFeed]
It’s Not Just You, It Really Is the Hottest Year Yet
NOAA announced this week that July was the hottest month ever recorded — or at least since 1880, when people started recording temperatures. January, February, March, April and May were also record-breakers. [Vice]
Comedy Central Says Its Ad Game Is Good Despite Drop In Ratings
Worries arose after Viacom-owned cable channel, best known for its political takes during election season, dropped “The Nightly Show With Larry Wilmore" this week. But Comedy Central claims they have more advertisers than even two years ago when Stephen Colbert and Jon Stewart, were both headlining late-night shows for the channel. [Ad Age]
This column was compiled by DNAinfo reporters Ewa Kern-Jedrychowska, Eddie Small, Nikhita Venugopal, Irene Plagianos, Shaye Weaver, Jeanmarie Evelly, Dartunorro Clark, Allegra Hobbs and Carolina Pichardo.
