Newsletter: Today: A Sea Change on Race.

I'm Davan Maharaj, editor of the Los Angeles Times. Surveys suggest that all those videos of police confrontations with black suspects are changing the nation's outlook on race; and might Donald Trump disappoint in Cleveland? Here are some story lines I don't want you to miss today.

TOP STORIES

Sea Change on Race

That relentless string of videos showing fatal encounters between white police and black suspects may pack a bigger jolt than anyone thought. Polls suggest most whites now say the country needs to do more to make equal rights a reality. That's a sea change from previous surveys, with big implications for police and politicians. Here's a link to the Pew Research poll.

Civility in Cleveland?

Maybe we're in for a disappointment? After weeks of upsetting the Republican applecart, Donald Trump says he wants a "very civil" debate tonight in Cleveland and won't pounce unless attacked first. If that holds, many of his rivals might be more interested in taking on a less bombastic, longer-term threat in the primaries: former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush.

Nuclear Words

Mocking what he called "armchair nuclear scientists" and "knee-jerk partisanship," President Obama defended the proposed Iran nuclear deal against critics who insist it doesn't do enough to curb Tehran's quest for the bomb. Most Republicans and a few Democrats will oppose it no matter what he says. Its fate in Congress could come down to the votes of a dozen senators.

The Everywhere Show

Jon Stewart and "The Daily Show" didn't invent journo-political satire, though you can argue they perfected it. What set them apart was a format perfect for social media and websites: short, sharp rants diced into fun-size bits ideal for sharing on those small screens. As Stewart bids farewell today, TV critic Mary McNamara looks at a remarkable run that has changed TV.

Since Watts, an Altered State

It may seem counterintuitive, but 50 years after the deadly unrest in Watts, the effect on California politics is hard to find. At the time, it was pivotal. A mostly white conservative electorate lurched rightward toward leaders like Ronald Reagan to restore order. Decades later, demographics -- especially the Latino population -- have turned all that on its head.

CALIFORNIA

-- L.A. reaches a tentative deal with unions that represent about 20,000 city employees.

-- L.A. hits the brakes on a plan to allow ride-sharing services like Uber and Lyft to make pickups at LAX.

-- L.A. agrees to transfer ownership of the L.A./Ontario International Airport back to Ontario. 

-- The California Fish and Game Commission approves a statewide ban on bobcat trapping.

 -- Just because: Photos of L.A.'s newest mountain lion kittens, and the back story.

NATION-WORLD

--A federal court rules that the Texas voter ID law violates the 1965 Voting Rights Act.

-- Russia and the U.S. agree on ridding the Middle East of Islamic State militants, but not on how to do it.

-- Trail Guide: Your daily look at developments in the U.S. presidential campaign.

-- An aircraft window and other plane parts were collected on Reunion Island, but there's no confirmation yet they belonged to missing flight MH370.

-- The pope says Catholics who remarry should get better treatment from the church.

BUSINESS

-- The SEC votes to require public companies to disclose a ratio showing the differences between earnings of CEOs and other employees.

-- Media stocks falter after Disney's warnings of lower cable profits.

-- Tesla's second-quarter loss widens, and it cuts its annual production forecast.

SPORTS

-- Former Clippers owner Donald Sterling files for divorce from his wife a year after their legal fight over the sale of the team.

-- Bill Dwyre: Why "Missoula" is a must-read for every football coach in high school and college, their athletic directors, and players and parents.

-- The latest scores, stats and schedules.

ENTERTAINMENT

-- Review: The New York Philharmonic sticks with American Classics at the Santa Barbara Bowl.

-- Don Cheadle's Miles Davis movie, "Miles Ahead," is headed to theaters.

-- Steve Jobs, the opera, coming to Santa Fe in 2017.

Passings: Lynn Manning, 60, poet, playwright and co-founder of the Watts Village Theater Company (all after he was shot and blinded by a stranger at 23). Billy Sherrill, 78, country music legend who produced "Stand by Your Man." 

WHAT OUR EDITORS ARE READING

-- Interesting Economist graphics: The long shadows of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. And more, with photos, in The Guardian.

-- NASA's view of the Northern California wildfires.

-- Sounds, smells, locations: Crosscut has a few tips for spotting Bigfoot in Washington state.

ONLY IN CALIFORNIA

There are few eerier manifestations of severe droughts than what happens to lakes, especially man-made ones. Docks and diving boards are left high and dry. Names like Lakeview Hotel become false advertising. And things people haven't seen for decades begin to surface. Here's a look at some oddities the current and previous droughts have uncovered. 

Please send comments and ideas to Davan Maharaj.