In the News

Here's some stuff in the news today...

All right then: "Key players in the GOP's anti-Trump movement are preparing to launch an independent presidential campaign for Evan McMullin—a CIA veteran and the chief policy director of the House Republican conference—sources close to the effort told BuzzFeed News. Veteran Republican strategist Rick Wilson, a Florida-based media consultant and outspoken Trump critic, is expected to be involved in McMullin's campaign. Sources said Wilson was in Washington on Sunday meeting with members of McMullin's prospective campaign—which includes some who were involved in a group called Better for America, which has been pushing an independent presidential bid. McMullin did not immediately respond to requests for comment from BuzzFeed News. He would make for an unlikely presidential candidate. He has never held elective office before and has spent most of his career as a CIA officer, according to his LinkedIn page. Young and unmarried, McMullin received an MBA at Wharton in 2011, and after a stint at Goldman Sachs, went to work as a policy wonk on Capitol Hill."

[Content Note: Video may autoplay at link] "A former Ronald Reagan political director says he's voting for Hillary Clinton, rejecting the Republican nominee for the first time in 40 years. Frank Lavin, who was Reagan's political director from 1987 to 1989, became the latest GOP official—following Reps. Scott Rigell and Richard Hanna and operatives like former Jeb Bush aide Sally Bradshaw and ex-Chris Christie communications aide Maria Comella—to announce he won't back Donald Trump. ...'It might not be entirely clear that Hillary Clinton deserves to win the presidency, but it is thunderingly clear that Donald Trump deserves to lose,' Lavin wrote in an op-ed for CNN."

[CN: Misogyny] Welp: "Let me be as candid and transparent as possible: I was a very strong supporter of Bernie Sanders, and until the past four weeks, I held out great hope that he would become our next president. Over the past month, I have done a great deal of reflecting and asked myself: Where does this seemingly irrational antipathy toward Hillary Clinton come from? Why have I participated in it? After doing some research and looking hard at systemic misogyny, I have had to confront myself with the truth that I bought into a narrative about Clinton that has been produced, packaged and perpetuated mostly by the GOP, with the help of many Democrats and independents. This narrative is a 30-year-old vilification of a woman who is bright, independent, wealthy and powerful—a woman who asks for what she wants and needs. How dare you, Ms. Clinton. How dare you have a mind of your own. How dare you be bright and powerful. Don’t you know these rights are exclusively for white, Christian, heterosexual men?"

Oh, look: Nicholas Kristof is being helpful again. "Clinton's Fibs vs. Trump's Huge Lies."

[CN: Sexual assault; rape culture] My god: "Two more women allege assaults by Bill Cosby; total now 60." Sixty. I'm not surprised; I have been writing about rape culture far too long to be surprised, and I am all too aware that rape is not, as it is often misrepresented, a "mistake," but a cruel and deliberate act that its perpetrators keep repeating unless and until they are stopped. But I am definitely angry. This is what happens when survivors are disbelieved and a rapist is left to continue abusing people. Sixty.

[CN: Islamophobia] Right on: "Ibtihaj Muhammad will make history on Monday as the first American to ever compete in the Olympics wearing a hijab. Whether she wins a medal in Rio or not, Muhammad has already made quite an impact. Ever since making the Olympic team, Muhammad has been using her platform to advocate for the acceptance of Muslims in America, something that is particularly crucial considering the GOP nominee for president has called for a blanket ban on Muslims entering the country. When asked about Donald Trump in a recent CNN interview, Muhammad did not shy away from addressing his divisive rhetoric. 'I think his words are very dangerous,' she said. 'When these types of comments are made, no one thinks about how they really affect people. I'm African-American. I don't have another home to go to. My family was born here. I was born here. I've grown up in Jersey. All my family's from Jersey. It's like, well, where do we go?'"

[CN: Domestic violence; death; self-harm] I've now read several stories about this awful family annihilator case in Pennsylvania, which each open with some variation on the parents having "struggled to find medication after their young daughter received a heart transplant." While financial strain, including healthcare access, can be a crucial contributing factor, it is deeply irresponsible to mask that this is a known form of domestic violence deeply attached to patriarchal definitions of men as providers. It is also irresponsible to treat this as incidental: "Neighbours told the Reading Eagle that the couple had been heard arguing and Megan Short planned to leave her husband." My condolences to those who knew the family.

[CN: Wildfire] Damn: "A fire near Silverwood Lake in San Bernardino County has grown to 4,500 acres, with only 5% containment, officials said Monday. The Pilot fire, first reported around 12 p.m. Sunday, spread quickly amid dry brush and timber, according to the U.S. Forest Service. Firefighters and bulldozers worked through the night building fire lines, said U.S. Forest Service spokesman Bob Poole. 'Because the vegetation is so incredibly dry, all it takes is a little spark and it's just been chewing through it,' Poole said. 'That's been our difficulty.' Evacuations remain in place for the Summit Valley area, east of Cedar Springs Dam. There has been no structural damage to homes, said Poole, who described the area as rural." Let's hope it stays that way.

Read everything that Imani Gandy writes, including this: "Whole Woman's Health Breathes New Life Into Voting Rights Cases: It is no longer acceptable—at least in theory—for state legislators to announce that a particular restriction advances an interest in women's health and to expect courts and the public to take them at their word. The same goes for, as it turns out, voting rights."

Wow: "It's not clear why the humpbacks would risk injury and waste so much energy protecting an entirely different species. What is clear is that this was not an isolated incident. In the last 62 years, there have been 115 interactions recorded between humpback whales and killer whales, according to a study published this July in the journal Marine Mammal Science. 'This humpback whale behavior continues to happen in multiple areas throughout the world,' says [Alisa Schulman-Janiger, a whale researcher with the California Killer Whale Project], who coauthored the study."

[CN: Video autoplays at link] And finally! CORGI POOL PARTY!!!