This week’s filter bridges the gap between ongoing tragedies and the last thing some people believe America needs right now: Donald Trump’s Republican National Convention. As Slate put it in the title of their weekly political podcast: “Last week was awful and next week I have to go to Cleveland.”
Will Pokemon Go prove a sufficient distraction to keep our nation from spiraling into chaos? We can only hope the streets of Cleveland are flooded with more Pidgeys than clashing protesters.
Things we saw (and heard)
Gun deaths in America (interactive feature) — FiveThirtyEight.com
Truck plows into Bastille Day crowd in Nice, France, killing dozens: what we know — Vox
Sharia does not mean what Newt Gingrich thinks it means — The Atlantic
State moves to shut down virtual charter school — Oklahoma Watch
Donald Trump officially picks Mike Pence as his running mate — Washington Post
Gov. Mary Fallin to speak on final night of GOP convention — Tulsa World
Surprising new evidence shows bias in police use of force but not in shootings — The Upshot (New York Times)
The tragedy of Turkey’s attempted coup — CNN
In first, U.S. judge throws out cell phone ‘stingray’ evidence — Reuters
Homeless teen bikes six hours to get to college, sleeps in tent — Fox13Now.com
Holocaust Museum, Arlington National Cemetery plead: No Pokemon — NPR
Life-Hacks of the Poor and Aimless — The Baffler
Quotes to note
“We told them that we wanted a copy of their websites and were told that such things do not exist. That’s not my understanding of how the internet works.”
—Jeff Ernsthausen, data reporter for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution regarding the paper’s investigation into sexual abuse by medical providers, 7/11/16
“The kid was a mensch.”
— Rabbi Steven Abraham discussing the shooting death of Democratic National Committee staffer Seth Rich, 7/11/16
“Each day, he’s going to have to go out on the trail and eat a shit sandwich.”
— A top Indiana Republican reacts to the news that Mike Pence will be Donald Trump’s running mate, 7/13/16
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