…And the World:

We begin today in Austria, where border checks have backed up traffic for hours following last week’s ghastly discovery of dozens of dead migrants in a truck on the side of the road. Europe is struggling to deal with this influx of people, principally from North Africa. An emergency meeting of EU ministers has been called to address the crisis while German Chancellor Angela Merkel calls for unity and for countries to admit more migrants.

In Ukraine, a national guardsman is killed amid protests against a parliamentary vote to grant the country’s war-torn east more autonomy.

In neighboring Russia, facing a blip of a drop in his approval rating, Vladimir Putin hits the gym.

The Associated Press has a preview of Pope Francis’ visit the United States, which is also his first trip to the USA, despite once being an archbishop in the same hemisphere.

India is said to have beaten tetanus in the sense that it is no longer lethal there.

Thai police make an arrest in connection to the bombing of a Bangkok shrine popular with tourists and have issued warrants for two more suspects.

Singapore will drop its ban on HIV+ travelers.

The Feds:

The Los Angeles Times says China and Russia have been capitalizing on the major hacks of business, healthcare and US government computer systems.

In 2016 Republican potpourri: The Boston Globe reviews Donald Trumps years at the Wharton School of Business. The Washington Post considers what appears to be Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker’s bad summer. Meanwhile, The Tampa Bay Times rips apart Jeb Bush’s sale of himself as a consensus builder. It was already a bad week for Jeb! after Politico wrote about his top fundraisers jumping ship.

The August congressional recess was supposed to be the summer of hope for Iran deal opponents. That didn’t happen.

In New Jersey, Newark’s new mayor has reached the one year mark and, despite the history of radicalism in his family, it would seem fears he would divide the city have not come to be.

Hartford’s mayoral race hits the airwaves.

Republicans grumble after President Obama renames Mount McKinley, Denali, what natives call it. Obviously, William McKinley was a Republican.

The State of Things:

Today’s Massterlist postulates that Elizabeth Warren may not run for reelection in 2018, leaving the possibility of a wide open primary in 2018. Please, Liz, don’t do that to us.

Transit advocate Stephanie Pollack is now on the other side of the tracks and facing a crisis over the price of the Green Line extension she once fought to make happen.

Elsewhere in Massachusetts rail, Holyoke gets a stop on the train for the first time in 50 years. MassDOT says it is open to more Western Mass service, too.

Holyoke gets The Globe treatment with a hopeful piece about the first school year beginning under state control.

The Boston City Council (or least some of it) wants a raise, but some of the same members who want the hike are not fastidious about attending all the meetings.

The preliminaries are coming! The preliminaries are coming! Consult our guide to communities in Hampden County holding preliminaries. Worcester Magazine has you covered for its hometown.

Among cities without a preliminary this year—The Reminder interviews Westfield candidate Muneeb “Moon” Mahmoud, 22, who is running for councilor at-large.

The Fourth Estatements:

Egypt sentences al-Jazeera journalists to 3 years in prison. Meanwhile Turkey charges a Vice crew working there with supporting ISIS.

City Slickers:

Mayor Domenic Sarno has declined all invitations to mayoral forums before the September 8 preliminary due to city and family commitments. His opponents are, predictably responding. Johnnie Ray McKnight called the move disrespectful to residents. In a release, Sal Circosta said the mayor somehow found the time for a fundraiser at the Fort on Wednesday. The Republican‘s Ron Chimelis pipes in to emphasize the importance of public forums, but offers a lame apologia for Sarno’s decision to take a pass.

Elsewhere in mayoral news: Our first profile of a candidate for mayor is of Sal Circosta.

Obligatory first day of school note in Springfield.

Twitter Chatter:

This blog is loath to step into the realm of pop culture without some political dimension, which must be why Kanye West is in the markup at all. Last night at the MTV Video Music Awards, West said something about running of president, setting social media aflame. While a Kanye kandidacy in 2020, no matter what, seems unlikely, it could very well make for an epically ridiculous race. Just how ridiculous? Today we award the Tweet prize to Liberty Square Group president Scott Ferson, who said a Kanye run would make people long for 2016’s insane circus. It’s hard to say how anything could top 2016’s absurdity—although the punditocracy says that during almost every presidential cycle.