DEM CONVENTION. A list of banned items.

SWING STATE DEMOCRATS. Skipping the convention: “The Democrats looking to flip Senate seats in Arizona, Wisconsin, Florida and Missouri are all skipping the convention, as is the woman running to hold Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid’s seat in Nevada. And the Democrat hoping to take back the governor’s mansion in North Carolina will also stay home.”

WIKILEAK. DNC staffer apologizes for suggesting DNC use Bernie Sanders’ religious beliefs against him: “I deeply regret that my insensitive, emotional emails would cause embarrassment to the DNC, the Chairwoman, and all of the staffers who worked hard to make the primary a fair and open process. The comments expressed do not reflect my beliefs nor do they reflect the beliefs of the DNC and its employees. I apologize to those I offended.”

OPTIMISTIC. What Trump thought his RNC Speech was. “I thought it was very optimistic. To me, it was an optimistic speech.”

GAY REPUBLICANS. Why?

SIGNORILE. How the media allows Donald Trump to appear LGBTQ-friendly. “Trump can count on much of the media falling for stock phrases, engaging in superficial coverage and often running with a false narrative that the Trump campaign hands to journalists on Trump and LGBT issues rather than doing the most basic reporting and presenting an accurate story.”

ARIANA GRANDE. Donut-licking incident cost her a White House appearance.

CHURCH OF ENGLAND. Gay priest quits to avoid ban on marrying. “The Rev Clive Larsen, 60, officially left his post as a parish priest in the diocese of Manchester on Friday. The clergyman would have faced disciplinary action if he had gone ahead with the marriage tomorrow without quitting.”

JACK MONROE. Food blogger comes out as non-binary transgender.

ZACHARY QUINTO. Scared to be a gay American. “There are indicators of the pendulum swinging the other way right now in terms of the political temperature and the landscape of Trump. It’s absurd to me, but I have to have faith that we’ll endure and triumph. I have to feel like people will look at these two old white men, who represent everything that is negative in history, and say there are more people who want to go a different direction. I hope so. I am scared. I don’t take anything for granted. I have a lot of people in my life that think there’s no way Trump will win. I don’t believe that for a second. We have to fight with everything we have to continue the path that we’ve been able to gain such ground on in the last five to ten years. It’s just a bleak and dangerous moment in our geopolitical landscape right now.”

BOY SCOUTS. One year after easing ban on gay adults, group is thriving: “Remarkably, nearly 12 months after the BSA National Executive Board’s decision, the Boy Scouts seem more robust than they have in many years. Youth membership is on the verge of stabilizing after a prolonged decline, corporations which halted donations because of the ban have resumed their support, and the vast majority of units affiliated with conservative religious denominations have remained in the fold — still free to exclude gay adults if that’s in accordance with their religious doctrine.”

PULSE. Boy Scouts collected weathered flags at site of Orlando massacre this week. “Officials from the Orange County Regional History Center oversaw the Scouts, who were asked to collect the flags so the American Legion can give them a proper retirement ceremony. The flags have been deemed unserviceable for various reasons, including touching the ground, and will be respectfully retired and burned, said Chris Crowley, director of field service for the Boy Scouts of America Central Florida Council.”

POLICY CHANGES. Transgender drill sergeant Ken Ochoa not sure if he’ll be processed as male or female. “Following Defense Secretary Ashton Carter’s announcement that transgender individuals can serve openly in the military, but with specific guidance not due for months, Drill Sergeant Ken Ochoa faces uncertainty about whether he’ll be processed as male or female as he moves to a new post.”

BRYAN FULLER. Star Trek: Discovery TV series weighs in on gay Sulu controversy: “I think when you’re an actor, you’re playing a role from a specific direction. It is that interpretation that you worked with, with the creator of the show, that has been cemented in your mind. So I think [George Takei] is absolutely entitled to feel that way, because I absolutely understand why he feels that way. I think the bigger picture is that we need gay representation. And the fact that they embraced that idea and made John Cho’s portrayal as Sulu a gay man was a lovely move of inclusivity.”

RWANDA. Woman shoved by gorilla during safari tour. “The couple said the group observed the gorillas for about 40 minutes before one gorilla, the male head of the family, beat his chest and charged toward the humans. The gorilla gave Gemma a one-handed shove, knocking her to the ground, before continuing on his way.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vFyZTb6v-fw

POKEMON GO. Two Canadian teens illegally crossed the U.S.-Canada border while playing the game: “The two, who were not identified, were found by U.S. Border Patrol agents on Thursday, with their attention affixed to their phones as they were trying to hunt down cartoon characters on a journey that took them over the border.”

BLAIR WITCH. The upcoming film The Woods was revealed to be a sequel to the horror classic The Blair Witch Project, at San Diego’s Comic-Con. Here’s the trailer. It has a September 16 release date.