BREACH OF THE DAY. This Great White Shark off Wellfleet, Massachusetts – Cape Cod, which snuck up on researcher and tagger Greg Skomal. “While out on research trips, we’ve seen white sharks breach and we’ve received multiple reports of breaching white sharks this year from fishermen and boaters. While encounters like this one are rare, this video shows that they’re certainly possible. White sharks are wild and unpredictable animals. This is a good reminder of the importance of not becoming complacent and always staying vigilant when in or on the water.”

OHIO. Squeaker House special election sounds alarm for GOP: “This goes beyond sounding alarms. It’s not about being awake for GOP incumbents – it’s about surviving, with a rematch in Ohio’s 12th Congressional District among the dozens of potentially competitive House contests on the expanded fall map.” CHUCK TODD. Democrats could win 40-60 seats….

SHE’S ANGRY. Kathleen Turner unleashed: “Kathleen starts the flaming right out the gate by torching Elizabeth Taylor, and from there she drags Nicolas Cage, Burt Reynolds, the Friends cast, Trump, and Hollywood-at-large.”

TWITTER CEO JACK DORSEY. Alex Jones hasn’t violated our rules: “We didn’t suspend Alex Jones or Infowars yesterday. We know that’s hard for many but the reason is simple: he hasn’t violated our rules. We’ll enforce if he does. And we’ll continue to promote a healthy conversational environment by ensuring tweets aren’t artificially amplified. Truth is we’ve been terrible at explaining our decisions in the past. We’re fixing that. We’re going to hold Jones to the same standard we hold to every account, not taking one-off actions to make us feel good in the short term, and adding fuel to new conspiracy theories. If we succumb and simply react to outside pressure, rather than straightforward principles we enforce (and evolve) impartially regardless of political viewpoints, we become a service that’s constructed by our personal views that can swing in any direction. That’s not us. Accounts like Jones’ can often sensationalize issues and spread unsubstantiated rumors, so it’s critical journalists document, validate, and refute such information directly so people can form their own opinions. This is what serves the public conversation best.”

We didn’t suspend Alex Jones or Infowars yesterday. We know that’s hard for many but the reason is simple: he hasn’t violated our rules. We’ll enforce if he does. And we’ll continue to promote a healthy conversational environment by ensuring tweets aren’t artificially amplified.

— jack (@jack) August 8, 2018

FANTASTIC. Trump tells WSJ about his “fantastic” relationship with deputy attorney general Rod Rosenstein, who is overseeing the Mueller probe. ‘In a statement provided to the Journal, the Department of Justice said Rosenstein and Trump have a “productive working relationship.” Rosenstein’s improved standing with the president comes amid growing tension between Trump and Sessions, Rosenstein’s superior at the Justice Department.

JULIAN ASSANGE. The Senate Intelligence Committee wants to talk: “Spokespeople for Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Richard Burr, R-North Carolina, and the top Democrat, Mark Warner of Virginia, declined to comment on the letter.”

BREAKING: US Senate Intelligence Committee calls editor @JulianAssange to testify. Letter delivered via US embassy in London. WikiLeaks' legal team say they are "considering the offer but testimony must conform to a high ethical standard". Also: https://t.co/pPf0GTjTlp pic.twitter.com/TrDKkCKVBx

— WikiLeaks (@wikileaks) August 8, 2018

RUBY ROSE. The new lesbian Batwoman. ‘The news was announced this morning by the CW Network, which airs the DC Comics annual crossover TV show. The network had expressed its desire to have an LGBT actor play the role, to stay true to the comic book series, in which Batwoman is openly gay. Ruby Rose was thus a natural choice: the openly lesbian actor identifies as “gender fluid” and has publicly campaigned for LGBT rights.’

EXCRUCIATING PAIN. P!nk apologizes for cancelling concert.

ABC EXEC. Firing Roseanne wasn’t hard. “It wasn’t that difficult. It felt like a line had been crossed and we needed to stand by our values as a company.”

BEN STOKES TRIAL. British cricketer is seen mocking gay men in surveillance video: ‘This incident lead to a brawl between him, the two men in question, and national teammate Alex Hales. Stokes was reported to have thrown “15 punches in one minute” during the altercation.’

https://youtu.be/TMHxz9qEnh4

NEW ZEALAND. Petitions to ban harmful gay ‘conversion therapy’ headed to parliament: “Two petitions with a combined 20,000 signatures, calling for a ban on gay conversion therapy were handed to parliament this afternoon.”

MUSIC VIDEO OF THE DAY. “T69 Collapse” by Aphex Twin.