Newsletter: Today: Trump’s Loaded Language. A Deadly Case of Mistaken Identity.

I’m Davan Maharaj, editor-in-chief of the Los Angeles Times. Here are some story lines I don’t want you to miss today.

TOP STORIES

Trump’s Loaded Language

Did Donald Trump suggest gun-rights supporters take nonviolent political action against Hillary Clinton, or did he hint at her assassination? Welcome to another week of “he said what?!” on the campaign trail. Trump’s advisors again scrambled to defend him and blame the media; Democrats deplored his remarks; and the Secret Service would only say it was “aware of the comments.” As Cathleen Decker writes, another self-generated controversy is only playing into Clinton’s hands.

Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump holds a rally in Wilmington, N.C.

(Sara D. Davis / Getty Images )

More Politics

-- House Speaker Paul Ryan easily defeated his Republican primary challenger in Wisconsin.

-- Why the USC/L.A. Times tracking poll differs from other surveys.

More Graduations, but Was the Bar Lowered?

In December, the LAUSD had bad news: Only about half of seniors were on track to graduate under new, more difficult requirements. Now, it has reported good news: a 75% graduation rate, apparently the highest it has ever recorded. What changed? For one, a program was underway to help students earn credits for courses they had already flunked. Read on for more about “credit recovery.”

A Deadly Case of Mistaken Identity

L.A. County sheriff’s deputies were searching for a carjacking suspect who allegedly fired at them late last month in Compton. That’s when they said they found Donnell Thompson lying in a yard, with his left hand under his head and his right hand under his mid-section. They thought he might have a gun. After attempts to communicate and to use less-than-lethal force, Thompson stood up and ran toward a sheriff’s vehicle. That’s when a deputy fatally shot him. This week, officials said Thompson wasn’t a suspect in the carjacking and didn’t have a gun.

The Drama at UC Davis Comes to an End, Almost

As chancellor of UC Davis, Linda Katehi oversaw the raising of $1 billion and the hiring of top talent. Earlier this year, though, she was placed on leave amid questions about conflicts of interest and unethical conduct, including misstating her role in efforts to scrub the Internet of bad publicity over the pepper-spraying of students by police. This week, she resigned as an independent report on her conduct came out — and two disparate portrayals of her emerged.

The U.S. Pixies Powered by Sequins and Gold

They bounced. They shimmied. They conquered. The U.S. women’s gymnastics team decisively won its second straight Olympic gold medal in Rio, prompting some to say they are the best gymnastics team ever. Bill Plaschke talked with “The Final Five” and national team coordinator Marta Karolyi, who is retiring after these Games. “I believe that they are best,’’ she said.

More Olympics

-- Michael Phelps won gold in the 200-meter butterfly for his 24th career Olympic medal.

-- Serena Williams was eliminated from the tennis tournament.

-- Olympic ratings fall short of expectations for NBC’s TV advertisers.

CALIFORNIA

-- “Pillowcase Rapist” Christopher Hubbart is back in custody for failing to meet the terms of his release from a mental hospital two years ago.

-- As many as 60,000 customers of Southern California Gas. Co. may have been under-billed due to faulty meters.

-- The judge who’s been criticized for the light sentence handed out in the Stanford sexual assault case will soon make a ruling in another sex-crime case.

-- Steve Lopez checks in on a woman who’s fighting for the coast from a tiny office in her kitchen nook.

NATION-WORLD

-- A Justice Department report criticizes Baltimore police for unlawful practices against black residents.

-- An infant’s death is the first Zika-related fatality in Texas.

-- Did a U.S. think tank sponsor a military coup? Turkey thinks so.

-- Dozens of Philippine officials turned themselves in after the president publicly accused them of drug ties.

-- Why scientists may need to rethink particle physics.

HOLLYWOOD AND THE ARTS

-- Rocker Jeff Beck celebrates his “50th anniversary” with a politically aggressive new work and a concert at the Hollywood Bowl tonight.

-- Tim Curry does the time warp again in Fox’s new version of the musical “The Rocky Horror Picture Show.”

-- The Toronto Film Festival will showcase an Amanda Knox documentary and Leonardo DiCaprio the environmentalist.

-- Theater review: Steve Martin’s “Meteor Shower” plunges into the absurd at the Old Globe in San Diego.

-- Music critic Mark Swed takes in the most important opera of the year.

BUSINESS

-- An investment industry trade group is trying to kill a California bill that would make retirement savings accounts an almost universal benefit for workers in the state.

-- Roger Ailes and 21st Century Fox are in talks with Gretchen Carlson’s lawyers to settle the sexual harassment suit filed by the former anchor, sources say.

SPORTS

-- The Dodgers are disappointed after Yasiel Puig posts Snapchat videos depicting a night of drinking with his minor-league teammates.

-- USC’s Lynn Swann: “It’s important to be a good caretaker.”

OPINION

-- An author argues the military isn’t “sacred.”

-- Let Gary Johnson (and Jill Stein) into the debates.

WHAT OUR EDITORS ARE READING

-- The Resnicks give away a lot of money, but their agricultural empire also takes a lot of water: It uses more water than all the residents of L.A. combined. (Mother Jones)

-- He got her father’s donated heart. A decade later, he walked her down the aisle. (New York Times)

-- What is the greatest symphony of all time, as voted by 151 conductors? (The Guardian)

ONLY IN L.A.

Frank Zappa didn’t follow conventions when he made music — or when he decorated his house. Now, an auction of his and his wife Gail’s estate, featuring furniture, clothing, memorabilia and recording gear from their Laurel Canyon home, has been announced for November. If you’re in the market for an Italian Baroque console table, Zappa’s business cards or a painting by horror film actress Ashley Laurence titled “Angel Pig,” you could be in luck. Not everyone is happy about it, though: The sale is once again revealing a family feud.

Please send comments and ideas to Davan Maharaj.