Dispatches

July 29

In addition to its campaign against the Islamic State in Syria, Turkey launched airstrikes on Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) camps in northern Iraq, upsetting Kurds who play a vital role in the fight against the Islamic State. Turkey said the airstrikes were in response to the killings of policemen and soldiers blamed on the Kurdish militant group. Another Kurdish group, the YPG, is an important partner in the U.S.-led coalition against the Islamic State as the only troops on the ground, but Turkey is concerned about the YPG’s ties to the PKK, and worries its increased strength could encourage Kurdish separatists.

Lion’s share of attention

July 28

The same week pro-life activists released undercover videos revealing how Planned Parenthood sells aborted human babies’ body parts for research, mainstream media were more upset about the killing of a lion. Minnesota dentist Walter J. Palmer shot Cecil, the most famous lion in Zimbabwe’s Hwange National Park, with a crossbow after two local guides lured the animal out of the government reserve. Cecil survived another 40 hours until hunters tracked him down and shot him with a gun. A WhiteHouse.gov petition to extradite Palmer to Zimbabwe far exceeded the 100,000 signatures needed to trigger an administration response.

Brady sidelined

July 28

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell upheld the four-game suspension of star Patriots quarterback Tom Brady in the scandal over the use of deflated footballs in games. Part of the reason Goodell upheld the suspension is that Brady had an assistant destroy his cellphone containing thousands of text messages reportedly near the date of Brady’s March 6 meeting with investigators. Brady says the cellphone was broken, and he’s asking a federal court to overturn Goodell’s decision: “I did nothing wrong,” he said in a Facebook post, “and no one in the Patriots organization did either.”

Sanitation games

July 30

One year away from the Rio de Janeiro Olympics, pollution in the waterways where swimmers and sailors will compete is causing headaches for Olympic officials—and causing fever, vomiting, and diarrhea for athletes training there. An Associated Press investigation found high levels of disease-causing viruses linked to raw sewage flowing into the waters. When bidding to become the Olympic host city, Rio promised to spend $4 billion to improve its waterways, but it won’t reach its cleanup goal in time for the 2016 opening ceremony.

Officer charged

July 29

A white University of Cincinnati police officer could face life in prison if convicted of murder for shooting and killing an unarmed African-American man during a traffic stop. Campus officer Raymond Tensing pulled over Samuel DuBose on July 19 for not displaying a front license plate. Tensing initially claimed he opened fire because he feared for his life as DuBose started driving away, dragging Tensing along. Yet footage from a body camera showed he drew his gun immediately as the car began rolling forward and fatally shot DuBose in the head. DuBose’s mother told reporters that whatever the outcome of the indictment, she knew God would one day bring complete justice. Yet “if [Tensing] asks for forgiveness, I can forgive him. … God forgave us.”