10 things you need to know today: July 20, 2016

An attendee at the Republican National Convention

(Image credit: John Moore/Getty Images)

Jump to category:

1. Trump officially declared GOP nominee
2. Ailes reportedly negotiating exit from Fox News
3. Donald Trump Jr. makes his debut at the GOP convention
4. Turkey requests extradition of cleric accused over failed coup
5. Obama calls for more resources for local police
6. Ukrainian journalist dies in car bombing
7. French lawmakers extend emergency rule after Nice attack
8. Officers charged in violent New Hampshire arrest caught on video
9. Netflix announces new Making a Murderer episodes
10. Legendary sitcom creator Garry Marshall dies at 81

published 20 July 2016

1. Trump officially declared GOP nominee

Delegates at the Republican National Convention in Cleveland officially voted to nominate Donald Trump as the party's presidential candidate on Tuesday. The billionaire real-estate magnate, ex-reality TV star, and political newcomer beat out 16 rivals in the primaries. Sen. Jeff Sessions, an early Trump supporter, officially nominated Trump, saying he had shown himself to be "a warrior and a winner." In the night's speeches, Gov. Chris Christie put Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton on a mock trial, with the audience shouting "guilty" as Christie accused her of failure in Libya, Iran, counterterrorism, and trade.

Roger Ailes is negotiating his exit as head of Fox News as he faces a sexual harassment lawsuit filed by ex-Fox News host Gretchen Carlson, one of Ailes' lawyers told The New York Times on Tuesday. The news came a day after New York magazine reported that the leaders of Fox News parent 21st Century Fox — Rupert Murdoch and his sons, James and Lachlan — had decided to push out Ailes. Matt Drudge reported Tuesday that Ailes had been fired, but 21st Century Fox denied it.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Donald Trump Jr. delivered a forceful speech on the night his father was officially nominated as the Republican Party's presidential candidate. The younger Trump bashed Hillary Clinton, the Democratic candidate, and praised his father as a common-sense every-man and mentor who was the "only" choice for president. The speech ignited speculation about the younger Trump's own political future. Detractors noted that the speech contained recycled lines from an article speechwriter F. H. Buckley wrote in the American Conservative in May, prompting comparisons to his stepmother Melania's plagiarism scandal the day before.

Turkey on Tuesday formally requested the extradition of a Muslim cleric Fethullah Gulen from the United States in connection with Friday's failed coup. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan reportedly blames Gulen for the coup attempt, which left 232 people dead and sparked a widening crackdown. The government suspended 15,000 education workers on Tuesday. Prime Minister Binali Yildirim told Parliament the request was looming on Tuesday, calling Gulen a "terrorist leader." Gulen, who lives in Pennsylvania, has denied any role in the plot.

President Obama said Tuesday that local police departments need more resources. Obama said after meeting with members of his domestic security team that the recent murders of three police officers in Baton Rouge and five officers in Dallas demonstrated the importance of federal action to support police. Obama said that more resources would have to be made available to help train local officers to deal with attacks by gunmen. "Unfortunately, not all the departments that want to train their officers have the resources to do it," Obama said.

Prominent Ukrainian journalist Pavel Sheremet was killed in a car bombing in Ukraine's capital, Kiev, on Wednesday. Ukrainska Pravda, the country's top news website, said Sheremet, one of its journalists, was getting into a car owned by its editor-in-chief to drive to work when the blast hit. Government officials said the explosion was caused by a remote-controlled, improvised device with the equivalent of 600 grams of TNT. The publication's founder, Heorhiy Gongadze, was murdered in 2000 in a gruesome crime that traumatized the country's journalists.

French lawmakers on Wednesday approved extended emergency rule for six months in response to last week's truck attack in Nice, which killed 84 people. The Islamic State claimed responsibility, marking the third time in three months that Islamist extremists have boasted of a deadly attack on French soil. The government of President Francois Hollande is under increasing pressure to improve security, and the overwhelming vote by France's National Assembly extends search-and-arrest powers for police.

New Hampshire authorities on Tuesday arrested two state troopers on assault charges over a violent arrest captured on video in May. The two officers were seen in the video punching a driver who had led officers on a chase that started in Massachusetts and ended in New Hampshire. The clip sparked an investigation by New Hampshire Attorney General Joseph Foster. The officers, Joseph Flynn of the Massachusetts State Police, and Andrew Monaco of the New Hampshire State police, were charged with simple assault against pickup truck driver Richard Simone, who was wanted on warrants for assault and battery and other charges.

Netflix's popular documentary series Making a Murderer, from directors and executive producers Laura Ricciardi and Moira Demos, will return with new episodes on the story of convicted murderer Steven Avery. The overwhelming response from viewers "ensured that the story is not over, and we are fully committed to continuing to document events as they unfold," Ricciardi and Demos said in a joint statement. A news release said the new installments will take viewers "back inside" the case, following the appeals of Avery and co-defendant Brendan Dassey.

TV legend and film director Garry Marshall died Tuesday night from complications of pneumonia after suffering a stroke, his publicist confirmed. He was 81. Marshall, the older brother of actor-director Penny Marshall, created Happy Days, Laverne & Shirley, Mork & Mindy, The Odd Couple, and other hit sitcoms in the '70s and '80s. He later directed such films as Pretty Woman (1990), The Flamingo Kid (1984), Beaches (1988), and Runaway Bride (1999). Marshall was inducted into the Academy of Television Arts & Science's Hall of Fame in 1997.

Explore More

Daily Briefing

To continue reading this article...

Create a free account

Continue reading this article and get limited website access each month.

Get unlimited website access, exclusive newsletters plus much more.

Cancel or pause at any time.

Already a subscriber to The Week?

Unlimited website access is included with Digital and Print + Digital subscriptions.
with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.

Not sure which email you used for your subscription? Contact us

Harold Maass is a contributing editor at The Week. He has been writing for The Week since the 2001 debut of the U.S. print edition and served as editor of TheWeek.com when it launched in 2008. Harold started his career as a newspaper reporter in South Florida and Haiti. He has previously worked for a variety of news outlets, including The Miami Herald, ABC News and Fox News, and for several years wrote a daily roundup of financial news for The Week and Yahoo Finance.