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Author: Mary Chastain

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Mary Chastain

Mary is the resident libertarian. She covers stories in every vertical, but her favorite thing to do is take on the media. She saw its bias against the right when she was a socialist.

Mary loves the Chicago Cubs, Chicago Blackhawks, tennis, cats, Oxford comma, Diet Coke, and needlework.

Instead of a protest, Black Lives Matter activists in Wichita, KS, joined their local police department for the First Steps Cookout to open dialogue and bring together the community. Both sides decided this was a better option, especially after police shootings in Dallas, TX, and Baton Rouge, LA. https://twitter.com/TrooperChadKHP/status/754832830287405056

On Sunday, at 8:40AM, Gavin Long from Kansas City, MO, opened fire in Baton Rouge, LA, killing three officers and injuring three more. https://twitter.com/Breaking911/status/754864528375029760

Turkish authorities have demanded the U.S. extradite Fethullah Gülen, leader of the Gülen Movement, because they believe he orchestrated the coup. They even said keeping him in the states is a "hostile act" towards the regime:
“I do not see any country that would stand behind this man, this leader of the terrorist gang especially after last night. The country that would stand behind this man is no friend to Turkey. It would even be a hostile act against Turkey,” Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım told reporters at a press conference on July 16 as the coup attempt has been foiled earlier in the day.

*UPDATE* Turkey has resumed operations at Incirlik air base after they cut it off due to the failed coup. https://twitter.com/FranTownsend/status/754412322513358852 The U.S.'s airstrikes against the Islamic State (ISIS/ISIL) have stopped due to Turkey's failed coup. Authorities stopped all flights from the Incirlik air base:
“At this time, Turkish authorities are not permitting aircraft to depart Incirlik,” an American military official said on Saturday morning.

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan claimed his forces have successfully defeated the coup attempted by some in the military, which left over 250 dead and thousands injured. He promised a swift and quick retaliation for those who retaliated against him. It didn't take him long: https://twitter.com/DailySabah/status/754300366603288576 https://twitter.com/DailySabah/status/754319064005283840

The U.S. Congress has released 28 pages about the 9/11 attacks that discuss potential Saudi Arabia ties to the terrorist attack. The papers remained classified for 13 years after the investigation by the House and Senate Intelligence Committees. They found:
According to sources familiar with the documents, the information in the pages lays out a number of circumstances that suggest it's possible two of the 9/11 hijackers living in California in the months leading up to the attack were receiving operational support from individuals loyal to Saudi Arabia.

There was an attempted coup in Turkey on Friday. Military officials backing the coup claimed initial success, but as events developed during the day Friday, the coup appeared to faulter and be on the verge of collapse. We will have a full UPDATE at 10:30 a.m. Eastern on Saturday. Here are the latest events on Friday. After returning to Istanbul airport, Erdogan appeared on television and proclaimed that he still was in control and the coup would fail: https://twitter.com/MahirZeynalov/status/754123604606980101

The GOP handed the anti-Trump movement a defeat when they stopped an attempt to unbind delegates, which would allow them to "vote for any candidate they like." In fact, the voice vote for Trump was loud "the presiding officer did not need to call for an official count."

Democrat presumptive presidential candidate Hillary Clinton's poll numbers have slipped after she escaped charges for her emails at the State Department. A New York Times/CBS News poll shows that 67% of voters do not find Clinton "honest and trustworthy." In a month, she lost her 6% lead over Trump in the CBS News poll, which now puts them dead even.

The UN's Joint Inspection Unit (JIU) has found during their nine month investigation that the organization simply ignores corruption when it comes to light. The investigators found that UN officials remain in a "state of near denial" about this corruption:
“The report is pretty devastating,” observes Brett Schaefer, an expert on U.N. finances at the conservative Heritage Foundation. “The U.N. apparently has very little interest in policing fraud, and there is very little reason to believe its own figures and data about it.”

Two Los Angeles based U.S. Marines wanted to capture Pokemon on Tuesday, but instead caught a man wanted for attempted murder. Javier Soch, 26, and Seth Ortega, 24, started their hunt at 9AM when they noticed a man bothering a woman and her sons at a playground when Soch's game froze:
The man appeared odd, wearing a mismatched outfit with an oversized jacket and a baseball cap. He held an artificial rose in his hand, Ortega said. At some point he snapped his fingers and appeared fidgety.

President Barack Obama, who promised less fighting in the Middle East, has decided to send 560 more troops to Iraq to help battle against the Islamic State (ISIS) in Mosul. Secretary of Defense Ash Carter visited Baghdad on Monday:
“With the retaking of Qayara West airfield, the Iraqi Security Forces have once again demonstrated a serious will to fight,” Mr. Carter said. “I congratulate them on their recent successes and reaffirm that the United States, along with our coalition partners, will continue to do all we can to support Iraq’s effort to serve ISIL a lasting defeat,” he said, using an acronym for Islamic State.

Attorney General Loretta Lynch would not answer questions about the Hillary Clinton email scandal at a hearing with the House Judiciary Committee. She said:
“While I understand that this investigation has generated significant public interest, as attorney general, it would be inappropriate for me to comment further on the underlying facts of the investigation or the legal basis for the team’s recommendation,” Lynch told the House Judiciary Committee.

The Rio police have rescued eight girls from a sex-trafficking ring near an Olympic stadium. Three of the girls, aged 15 and 16, were forced into prostitution in Recreio near the beaches. Child sex tourism in Brazil has expanded in the country, especially during events that bring in foreign tourists.

Energy Secretary Andrea Leadsom dropped out of the race for prime minister on Monday morning, leaving Home Secretary Theresa May as the only candidate left standing. Current Prime Minister David Cameron said he will leave on Wednesday since there is no need for an election. The Conservative Party officially named May as his successor:
"Obviously, with these changes, we now don't need to have a prolonged period of transition. And so tomorrow I will chair my last cabinet meeting. On Wednesday I will attend the House of Commons for prime minister's questions. And then after that I expect to go to the palace and offer my resignation. So we will have a new prime minister in that building behind me by Wednesday evening," Cameron told reporters outside 10 Downing Street on Monday.

Five Dallas cops lost their lives protecting citizens in Dallas during a Black Lives Matter protest. The victims included veterans, husbands, and fathers. The killings were the deadliest attack on police since September 11, 2001. Their coworkers and family members remember them as "caring, dedicated and professional." https://twitter.com/9NEWS/status/751523111288315905