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RNC, Day 3: Sen. Ted Cruz was booed when he didn’t endorse Trump, and Mike Pence is official.
Cruz, who was a leading rival to presidential nominee Donald Trump during the primaries, was booed off the stage at the Republican National Convention. The moment was stunning and showed that the party has not fully unified behind the nominee. Trump, in an effort to swing the attention back to him in the moment, walked on the convention floor while Cruz was still speaking. Cruz’s wife, Heidi, had to be escorted from the floor by security and the couple were later reportedly accosted as “traitors.” Here’s a full recap of Cruz’s speech.
Some more stuff.
Mike Pence formally accepted the Republican vice presidential nomination. But he didn’t quite get his moment to shine.
Melania Trump’s speechwriter, Meredith McIver, issued a statement saying she was responsible for plagiarizing first lady Michelle Obama’s 2008 convention speech. Trump rejected McIver’s resignation.
The head of NATO called for solidarity and warned that European security is tied to the safety of the US after Trump said NATO members must “fulfill” their obligations to the US if they want protection. “We defend one another,” Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg told BuzzFeed News. Trump said the US has to “fix our own mess” before trying to alter the behavior of other nations, the New York Times writes.
ICYMI: An acclaimed former astronaut supported Trump at the RNC last night. Former Trump campaign manager Corey Lewandowski is starting a super PAC. “We’re black and we’re here,” BuzzFeed culture writer Bim Adewunmi reports from the convention.
WE’RE KEEPING AN EYE ON
Turkey’s president has declared a three-month state of emergency after a failed coup last week that left at least 260 people dead.
Turkey has been cracking down on what it says are anti-government forces and institutions after the failed military coup. But it’s not immediately clear what impact the state of emergency will have, BuzzFeed News correspondent Borzou Daragahi reports from Turkey.
“The institution of the state of emergency is to protect those (democratic) values against any attack,” President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said during a late-night address to the nation Wednesday. “No one should have the slightest reservations about this.”
QUICK THINGS TO KNOW
Race relations in the US: Black leaders say police are conflating activists with assassins. (BuzzFeed News) A manifesto allegedly written by Gavin Long, who fatally shot three Baton Rouge, Louisiana, police officers, said the shootings were a “necessary evil” to “create substantial change within America’s police forces and judicial system.” (BuzzFeed News)
Your tech update: Forget the RNC, emojis are getting their own convention. Emojicon is taking place in San Francisco in November. (BuzzFeed News) Here’s everything you need to know about Tinder Social, the app’s new group dating feature. It debuts today in the US, the UK, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and India. (BuzzFeed News) Tesla Motors revealed a new master plan that includes commercial trucks, buses, and a shareable fleet of self-driving cars. (BuzzFeed News) And there’s a new dating service just for Pokémon Go players. (BuzzFeed News)
Carpool Karaoke: Michelle Obama singing Missy Elliott’s “Get Ur Freak On” is absolutely glorious. (BuzzFeed News)
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