10 things you need to know today: August 2, 2016

Clinton retakes lead from Trump in post-convention poll, Trump says he fears general election will be 'rigged,' and more

Hillary Clinton at a campaign rally
(Image credit: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

1. Clinton retakes lead over Trump with post-convention bounce

Hillary Clinton surged past Donald Trump after her party's convention, giving her a nine-percentage point lead in a head-to-head matchup, according to a CNN/ORC poll released Monday. Fifty-two percent of the survey's participants backed Democratic nominee Clinton while 43 percent supported her Republican rival. In a similar poll before the Democratic convention, Trump led 48 percent to 45 percent, indicating a seven-point post-convention bounce for Clinton. In a four-way race including Libertarian candidate Gary Johnson and the Green Party's Jill Stein, Clinton led Trump 45 percent to 37 percent, with Johnson at nine percent and Stein at five percent. Four of five post-convention polls have shown Clinton getting a clear bounce.

2. Trump says he fears general election will be 'rigged' for Clinton

Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump said Monday that he is "afraid the election is going to be rigged, I have to be honest." The claim — unprecedented for a modern presidential candidate — came following Trump's assertion that the Democrat primaries were rigged against Sen. Bernie Sanders to guarantee that Hillary Clinton, now the Democratic nominee, would win. He also accused Republican insiders of trying to steer the GOP primaries in favor of his rivals, saying the party's nominating process was a scam and a disgrace.

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.

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

Sign up

The Associated Press

3. Backlash grows against Trump for criticizing parents of slain Muslim soldier

A growing bipartisan group of politicians, and military veterans and families scolded Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump for criticizing the parents of Capt. Humayun Khan, a Muslim-American soldier killed in Iraq. Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), whose experience as a prisoner of war Trump belittled in the past, issued a lengthy statement Monday saying Trump's remarks "do not represent the views of our Republican Party, its officers, or candidates." Also Monday, the families of 17 fallen military service members released an open letter to Trump demanding an apology.

The Washington Post

4. CDC issues travel warning over Miami Zika cases

Federal health officials on Monday warned pregnant women against traveling to a Miami neighborhood where 10 new infections with the mosquito-borne Zika virus were reported. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention advisory appeared to be the first ever to warn people against visiting a place in the continental U.S. A total of 14 cases have been reported, all in the Wynwood neighborhood. Florida Gov. Rick Scott (R) has asked the CDC to "activate" an emergency team to investigate the surge in cases of the virus, which has been linked to devastating birth defects.

The New York Times

5. Warren Buffett challenges Donald Trump to release tax returns

Billionaire Warren Buffett challenged Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump, also a billionaire businessman, to release his tax returns. Buffett promised to bring his returns, too, and let people ask questions about them. "You will learn a whole lot more about Donald Trump if he produces his income tax returns," Buffett said while campaigning for Trump's Democratic rival, Hillary Clinton, in Nebraska. Trump has said he couldn't release his returns yet because he was under audit. "I've got news for him," Buffett said. "I'm under audit, too."

CNBC

6. U.S. launches expanded airstrikes against ISIS in Libya

The U.S. has started a sustained campaign of airstrikes against Islamic State targets in Libya's coastal city of Sirte, Pentagon officials said Monday. The Libyan Government of National Accord requested the air offensive to support ground forces fighting ISIS in its main Libyan stronghold. President Obama authorized the airstrikes on the recommendation of Defense Secretary Ash Carter to deny ISIS a safe haven from which it could launch attacks on other nations.

The New York Times CNN

7. Militants down Russian helicopter in Syria, killing five

Foreign-backed militants on Monday shot down a Russian Mi-8 helicopter that had just delivered aid to the besieged, divided Syrian city of Aleppo, Russia's state-run Sputnik news agency reported. All five people on board were killed. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the victims "died heroically" trying to steer away from people on the ground. It was Russia's single biggest loss of life since its warplanes began airstrikes in Syria nearly a year ago.

CNN

8. Ex-L.A. sheriff withdraws guilty plea on charges of lying to FBI

Former Los Angeles County sheriff Lee Baca on Monday withdrew his guilty plea on charges that he lied during an FBI investigation into his county's jails, paving the way for a trial. The move came after U.S. District Judge Percy Anderson said last month that he would reject the plea deal, which would have capped prison time at six months for Baca, who retired in 2014 and was recently diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease. One of Baca's attorneys said he now expects prosecutors to file more serious charges, including obstruction of justice.

Los Angeles Times

9. AP study warns athletes and tourists of illness risk in polluted Rio waters

Just days ahead of the opening of the Rio Olympics, The Associated Press on Monday released the results of a 16-month investigation that found viral levels in Rio's waterways up to 1.7 million times what would be considered dangerous in the U.S. and Europe. Experts warned that pollution from sewage and other sources endanger the 1,400 athletes who will compete in outside water competitions. Tourists also could be sickened. Valerie Harwood, chair of the Department of Integrative Biology at the University of South Florida, warned: "Don't put your head underwater."

The Associated Press

10. Kesha drops California lawsuit against Dr. Luke

Lawyers for singer Kesha on Monday filed to drop her California sexual abuse lawsuit against producer Dr. Luke. Her attorney, Daniel Petrocelli, said Kesha wants to focus on her case against Dr. Luke, whose real name is Lukasz Gottwald, in New York. Kesha says that Dr. Luke raped and ridiculed her, and she is appealing two rulings in New York that prevented her from breaking her contract with his label and dismissed her claims of emotional and sexual abuse. The producer has denied the allegations.

The Associated Press

Explore More
Harold Maass, The Week 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.