Newsletter: Today: Trump Pushes ... and Pushes the Envelope. Tragedy in the Texas Sky.

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 Pushes ... and Pushes the Envelope

Donald Trump’s combative style pushed him through the primaries and has given him a competitive footing in the polls with Hillary Clinton. At what point could it hurt him? It didn’t when he questioned John McCain’s heroism in Vietnam or a federal judge’s ability to be fair because of his Mexican heritage. Trump’s latest feud with the grieving parents of a U.S. soldier killed in Iraq shows how he can’t seem to resist taking a shot or responding to an attack, even when it looks like a no-win situation.

Khizr Khan and his wife, Ghazala, at the Democratic National Convention. They are the parents of U.S. Army Capt. Humayun Khan, who was killed while serving in Iraq.

(Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times)

More Politics

-- Trump questions the debate schedule, citing conflicts with football games.

-- The Clinton campaign is trying to lure working-class white voters in battleground states.

-- Here’s how Democrats are trying to reclaim patriotism from Republicans.

-- Two conventions, one vast gulf: Republicans and Democrats appear to be speaking to different countries.

Tragedy in the Texas Sky

Investigators are sorting through the wreckage of a hot-air balloon crash that killed 16 people in Texas over the weekend, the worst such disaster in U.S. history. Just two years ago, safety investigators recommended that the Federal Aviation Administration have greater oversight of commercial hot-air balloon operators — a recommendation the FAA rejected. More from the scene outside Austin.

Where a Girl’s Value Is Measured in Cows

When South Sudan gained independence in 2011, some hoped for peace, prosperity and better human rights for the nation’s 11.3 million people. Instead, there is still fighting, poverty and a market for child brides. Many girls are sold into marriage for cows — the typical price is 20 to 40 cows, each worth up to $500. Here are more disturbing details about what’s known as being “taken to village.”

Homeless? The Government Wants Proof

Meet Rory Gallegos. After being discharged from detox, he was homeless for a year before finding a place in Pacoima that could give him an apartment and provide mental health services, he says. One problem: To get a voucher to pay for it, he had to show he was chronically homeless. Welcome to the bureaucracy facing those on the streets of L.A. County.

Downtown Is Losing Its Bling

L.A.’s jewelry district in downtown’s historic core is one of the country’s largest. But since the 2008 recession many sellers have been struggling to survive. Changing demographics and the rise of online shopping have hurt business. Read on to see how rising rents are putting even more strain on the craftspeople and small businesses there.

OUR MUST-READS FROM THE WEEKEND

-- California’s coast: How we come to care and why we sometimes go wrong.

-- L.A. garment factories use check cashing services to mask true wages, workers say.

-- Deep in the Mojave Desert lies a secret memorial to fallen motorcycle riders.

-- As populist movements take hold, Iceland’s Pirate Party offers a glimpse at a more radical future.

-- Flush, then fill up: Japan taps sewage to fuel hydrogen-powered cars.

-- Even the baseball card industry sees its future in the App Store.

-- “Bad Moms” and taking the shame out of motherhood on screen.

-- The way they are: Adele and Barbra Streisand keep a fading pop-diva tradition alive.

CALIFORNIA

-- State officials want these reservoir owners to warn people not to eat the fish.

-- These six major issues and one big unknown will confront lawmakers returning to Sacramento today.

-- After more than 80 years, the old Lincoln Heights Jail faces a makeover.

-- A national coalition is putting $2 million into the fight against pot legalization measures, including one in California.

NATION-WORLD

-- The Baltimore officers cleared in Freddie Gray’s death face an uncertain future.

-- Zika’s unrelenting march across the Americas: “An emergency that we need to address.”

-- An American physician laments Haiti’s sick healthcare system, as a grinding doctors’ strike drags on.

-- With nearly half its food imported, who will feed Britain after “Brexit”?

-- As it builds a 123-story skyscraper, one of South Korea’s most powerful companies faces a towering problem.

HOLLYWOOD AND THE ARTS

-- For the love of monsters: an insider tour of Guillermo del Toro’s Bleak House before his LACMA show.

-- As Kirk Douglas turns 100, a major UCLA retrospective looks at his amazing body of work.

-- Still a singular sensation: “A Chorus Line” wowed the Hollywood Bowl.

-- The Hard Summer music festival, bigger than ever, is driven by political hip-hop.

-- Mad magazine’s Jack Davis set the bar high in comic art and movie posters.

-- “Jason Bourne” dominated the weekend box office.

BUSINESS

-- After Yahoo, what tech firms might be sold?

-- A photographer is suing Getty Images for $1 billion after she was billed for her own photo.

-- Could the success of the tiny-budget horror film “Lights Out” jolt Hollywood’s YouTube strategy?

SPORTS

-- Jimmy Walker wins the PGA Championship to become the fourth first-time major winner this year.

-- Can you survive the crushing feeling of seeing your Olympic dream die?

OPINION

-- When it comes to water, do not keep on trucking.

-- Why borders matter and a borderless world is a fantasy.

WHAT OUR EDITORS ARE READING

-- Ghazala Khan responds: “Donald Trump said I had nothing to say. I do.” (Washington Post)

-- The white savior narrative: Matt Damon stars in “The Great Wall.” (Daily Beast)

-- The evolution of Howard Stern. (New York Times)

ONLY IN CALIFORNIA

Who needs a parachute when you have a 100-by-100-foot net? Luke Aikins boldly went where no person had gone before by jumping out of a plane at 25,000 feet without a wingsuit or parachute and landing in a net at the Big Sky movie ranch in Simi Valley. Here’s how he made the big leap.

Please send comments and ideas to Davan Maharaj.