Pentagon releases 15 detainees
Fifteen prisoners at the Guantanamo Bay detention center are sent to the United Arab Emirates in the single largest release of detainees during the Obama administration, the Pentagon announces. The latest batch of released prisoners — 12 Yemeni nationals and three Afghans — had been held without charge at Guantanamo, some for over 14 years.
July was hottest month ever
Earth just broiled to its hottest month in recorded history, according to NASA. NASA calculates that July 2016 was 1.51 degrees Fahrenheit warmer than the 1950-1980 global average.
Vegas casino going out with bang
The remains of the iconic, 61-year-old Riviera Hotel and Casino, which hosted Liberace, Dean Martin and countless other acts, is scheduled to be demolished in an overnight implosion.
Pennsylvania official found guilty
The state’s attorney general is convicted of all nine charges against her in a perjury and obstruction case related to a grand jury leak but insists she’s innocent and vows to appeal. Jurors agree Attorney General Kathleen Kane, the first Democrat and first woman elected to the office, leaked information about a 2009 grand jury probe to embarrass a rival prosecutor.
Ohio volunteers go to Louisiana
The American Red Cross deploys eight volunteers from Northeast Ohio to Louisiana, where massive floods caught the state off guard. Up to 1,500 volunteers from across the country are expected to be assisting with recovery and relief efforts by week’s end. A seventh body was pulled from floodwaters Monday, authorities say.
Olympic fans trigger panic at JFK
Travelers at New York’s Kennedy Airport cheering and loudly celebrating Usain Bolt’s Olympic 100-meter dash victory may have prompted the ultimately unfounded reports of gunfire there, police say.
Social media divide is exposed
Black social media users are nearly twice as likely to see posts about race and race relations as whites, according to a report by the Pew Research Center. According to a survey of more than 2,000 social media users, 65 percent of black users say that they encounter posts about race or race relations whereas 35 percent of their white counterparts say the same.