| |  | | Brought to you by USATODAY.com | | Tragedy in Barcelona: Van attack strikes heart of tourist district | | The Las Ramblas district in Barcelona is lined with stalls and shops, where artists paint streetscapes, tourists snap photos, and people walk down a wide, pedestrian path in the center of the street. On Thursday, a van slammed into the crowds and careened more than 600 yards, killing at least a dozen people and injuring some 80 more. The Islamic State claimed responsibility for the terror attack, and police arrested two people. Here's what we know now, as it updates. In Spain, there hasn't been a major terror attack since the 2004 Madrid train bombings. But across Europe, there have been several high-profile attacks involving vehicles in recent years, part of a disturbing trend of terrorism that requires little organization, manpower or technological know-how. | | Why did Mitch McConnell take a full night to respond to Trump's Charlottesville news conference? | | He was livid. After President Trump equated counter-protesters with the white supremacists they came to resist, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell — who was a pro-civil rights Republican living in Kentucky during the 1960s — had to carefully deliberate on the best way forward. McConnell's anger highlights the quandary many Republicans faced in the aftermath of Trump's comments blaming "both sides" for the violence. Yet despite backlash from his own party, Trump again doubled-down and defended Confederate monuments in Thursday tweets, writing, "You can't change history." While some statues have come down since Charlottesville, the nation's Confederate memorial infrastructure may be too vast and diverse to be moved, hidden or destroyed. | | It's finally (almost) Solar Eclipse Day | | The celestial event of the year/decade/century arrives Monday. If you've procrastinated, we'll do our best to help. The key item you need before you head outdoors to gaze at the moon crossing in front of the sun is decidedly low-tech: eclipse glasses, to prevent "eclipse blindness." (Yup, real thing.) But bad news, if you've procrastinated this long about purchasing the glasses, you may need to beg and borrow a pair because they're a hot commodity. What else do you need to know? Clouds could dim your view in coastal areas of Oregon and South Carolina. But don't worry — you can still livestream the event at USA TODAY, and on Facebook, and we'll be on Instagram Live across the USA, too. Oh, and make sure you check the time. This celestial event is coming for a limited time only: totality will last just 2-3 minutes in any given location . To know when to head outside, check out our interactive map. | | For 391 months in a row, it's been warmer than average here on Earth | | Speaking of the sun, did you feel the burn last month? July was the second-hottest month ever recorded worldwide, missing the top spot by just less than a tenth of a degree, federal scientists announced Thursday. Why? Long-term, man-made global warming is the primary cause, said Jake Crouch, a NOAA climate scientist. The U.S. was hideously hot: Americans sweltered through the 10th-warmest July in 123 years of record-keeping. Little relief is in sight: The fall forecast predicts above-average temperatures for the U.S. | | This is a compilation of stories from across USA TODAY. | |
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