10 things you need to know today: August 16, 2016

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1. Donald Trump calls for ideological test on Muslims entering U.S.
2. Milwaukee sets curfew to ease unrest
3. Biden joins Clinton on campaign trail
4. Suspect charged in killings of New York imam and assistant
5. Trump campaign chairman calls report of secret Ukraine payments 'silly'
6. Pentagon transfers 15 Guantanamo prisoners, most ever under Obama
7. Pennsylvania attorney general convicted of perjury
8. Bahamas' Shaunae Miller dives over finish line to beat U.S. star Allyson Felix
9. Balance beam slip costs Simone Biles gold
10. Comedy Central cancels Larry Wilmore show

published 16 August 2016

1. Donald Trump calls for ideological test on Muslims entering U.S.

Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump on Monday proposed imposing an ideological test as part of an "extreme, extreme vetting" of Muslim visitors and immigrants before they enter the United States. The requirement was among a variety of policies Trump outlined as part of his plan to mount a Cold-War-like campaign against "radical Islamic terror," blaming the frequency and severity of attacks around the world on President Obama and Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton. "My administration will aggressively pursue joint and coalition military operations to crush and destroy ISIS," Trump said.

Milwaukee was mostly quiet Monday night after authorities imposed a curfew following two days of rioting that broke out after police fatally shot an armed black man fleeing a traffic stop. "There is a curfew that will be more strictly enforced tonight for teenagers," Mayor Tom Barrett said. "So parents, after 10 o'clock your teenagers better be home or in a place where they're off the streets." Barrett repeated a request for state officials to release video of the incident, saying it would show that the use of deadly force against the man, 23-year-old Sylville K. Smith, was justified.

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Vice President Joe Biden made his first appearance with Hillary Clinton on the campaign trail on Monday, joining the Democratic presidential nominee at a rally in his hometown of Scranton, Pennsylvania. Biden helped President Obama sell his candidacy to working-class voters in 2008 and 2012, and the vice president made an appeal to the same demographic to get behind Clinton. He also addressed foreign policy in a bid to get out in front of Republican nominee Donald Trump's speech on his plan to fight Islamist terrorists, saying of Trump, "Someone this lax cannot be trusted."

A Brooklyn man, Oscar Morel, was charged Monday for the killings of a Queens imam, Maulana Alauddin Akonjee, and his assistant, Thara Uddin, after they left their mosque. Both were shot in the head from behind. Police took Morel into custody Sunday night after tracking his Chevy Trailblazer, which matched one seen in surveillance video. Investigators found a pistol they said matched the murder weapon in a search of the 35-year-old Morel's apartment. Police said Monday they were still trying to determine a motive for the murders, which stoked fears in the local Bangladeshi community of growing anti-Muslim sentiment in New York City.

Donald Trump's campaign chairman, Paul Manafort, blasted The New York Times on Monday for publishing an article saying that secret ledgers in Ukraine showed $12.7 million in cash earmarked for his work for the country's ousted pro-Russian leading party. Manafort called the allegations of off-the-books payments, made by investigators from Ukraine's newly formed National Anti-Corruption, "unfounded, silly, and nonsensical," and he accused the Times of "purposefully ignoring facts." The story fueled claims by the campaign of the GOP nominee's Democratic rival, Hillary Clinton, that Trump has "pro-Kremlin" ties.

The Pentagon on Monday transferred 15 prisoners from the terror-war detention facility at the U.S. Navy base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, to the United Arab Emirates, leaving 61 inmates still in the facility. The inter-agency Guantanamo Review Task Force has recommended six of them for release. The transfer, the largest at one time so far under President Obama, comes as the president makes a final push to clear out and close the facility, a first-term campaign promise. GOP critics immediately denounced the latest move. "Once again, hardened terrorists are being released to foreign countries where they will be a threat," said Rep. Ed Royce (R-Calif.), who chairs the Foreign Affairs Committee.

A jury on Monday found Pennsylvania Attorney General Kathleen Kane guilty on perjury and obstruction charges. Kane, once a rising Democratic star, had denied accusations that she leaked confidential information on grand jury deliberations to taint her predecessor, then tried to cover it up. The verdict fueled renewed calls for Kane's resignation, but her lawyer said she would appeal because she had been "wrongfully accused of misconduct." Prosecutors said Kane "felt that she was above the law and that's not the case."

Shaunae Miller of the Bahamas won the gold medal in the women's 400-meter final on Monday night in a stunning finish, diving across the finish line to beat American Allyson Felix by 0.07 seconds. Felix, the reigning world champion, was seeking her fifth gold medal. She rounded the final turn trailing far behind Miller, then gained ground with a final push only to be edged out by Miller's final lunge. "My mind just went blank," Miller said. "The only thing I was thinking was the gold medal. Next you know, I was on the ground." Felix's silver was her seventh medal across four Olympics, making her the most decorated American woman in track and field history.

American gymnast Laurie Hernandez won the silver medal in the balance beam, with her teammate and event favorite Simone Biles settling for bronze. Biles had a shot at a fourth gold but touched the beam to catch herself, marring an otherwise nearly perfect routine and opening the door for Dutch gymnast Sanne Wevers to pull off an upset and win gold. Hometown favorite Flavia Saraiva, who grew up in Rio, finished fifth in the standings.

Comedy Central announced Monday that it had canceled The Nightly Show with Larry Wilmore after a year and a half. Wilmore's show filled the time slot of The Colbert Report when Stephen Colbert left the network to host CBS' The Late Show. Comedy Central thanked Wilmore and his staff for "the conversations the show generated" by addressing pressing social issues. Network president Kent Alterman said the show just "hasn't resonated." Wilmore said he was "really grateful" for the experience, but sad he wouldn't get to cover "this crazy election or 'The Unblackening' as we've coined it."

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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.