8 Things You Need To Know This AM — Jul 20 2016

1. Major News: ISIS claimed responsibility for Monday night’s axe attack on a German train that left more than 20 people injured.

Despite the claims, Interior Minister Joachim Herrmann told the news agency that the suspect, a 17-year-old Afghan asylum seeker, appeared to have self-radicalized, and that notes found in the unidentified teen’s bedroom did not indicate any direct connection with the group. (Read More)

2. World News: The Turkish government fired tens of thousands of public employees following last week's attempted coup.

Turkish media, in rapid-fire reports, said the Ministry of Education fired 15,200 people across the country; the Interior Ministry 8,777 employees; and Turkey’s Board of Higher Education requested the resignation of 1,577 university deans — akin to dismissing them. (Time)

3. Talking Points: The Republican Party's new platform backs the elimination of public funding for Planned Parenthood.

"We oppose the use of public funds to perform or promote abortion or to fund organizations, like Planned Parenthood, so long as they provide or refer for elective abortions or sell fetal body parts rather than provide health care," the platform reads. (Read More)

4. ICYMI: Nickelodeon will feature its first same-sex couple on the cartoon show The Loud House.

According to Variety, The Loud House will become the first Nickelodeon cartoon to feature a married same-sex couple. The network confirmed that the July 20 episode would feature same-sex parents, but has not made any further comments. Instead, Nickelodeon is simply planning to air the episode. (Read More)

5. In-The-Know: A vaginal ring with antiretroviral drugs has been found to reduce women's risk of contracting HIV by 56%.

Among women who used the ring most consistently (mostly older women), the risk was cut by 75%. Dr. Zeda Rosenberg of the International Partnership for Microbicides said in a statement that these findings suggest it "could be an important option for women who urgently need new tools to protect themselves from HIV." (Read More)

6. Hot Stuff: A record heat wave set to scorch the U.S. starts today — with temperatures over 100 degrees.

Starting in the Plains region as early as Wednesday, unusually high temps will take over the West Coast, Midwest, South, New England, and even parts of Canada. So, yeah, pretty much everywhere. The only areas that are safe are some parts of the Pacific Northwest. (Read More)

7. This Is NOT A Drill: Netflix's Making a Murderer is officially returning with new episodes.

"The new installments will take fans of the acclaimed documentary series back inside the story of convicted murderer Steven Avery and his co-defendant, Brendan Dassey, as their respective investigative and legal teams challenge their convictions..." the announcement from Netflix explains. (Read More)

8. Tech Talk: Twitter is taking steps to correct its harassment problem.

Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey tweeted Ghostbusters star Leslie Jones, telling her to DM him so they could take steps to rectify the widespread and frankly disturbing abuse she received Monday. The company made it clear that it wouldn't continue to tolerate this abuse moving forward. "We know many people believe we have not done enough to curb this type of behavior on Twitter. We agree." the company said in a statement. (Read More)