User blog:Cfp3157/Deadliest Fiction News: August 2016

Last month, on Deadliest Fiction...

World News

 * On July 5th, a CD salesman named Alton Sterling was shot point-blank by two police officers in Baton Rogue, Louisiana after he was seen in possession with a firearm while selling his product. Although it is unclear if Sterling was actively resisting arrest, the officers nonetheless shot him as they attempted to apprehend the suspect. The next day, Philando Castile was also killed by police officers in Falcon Heights, Minnesota after he admitted to having a firearm license and attempted to negotiate peacefully. For several days, peaceful protests took place nationally to demonstrate general anger and frustration at the lack of strong judicial process against the officers. In response to this general anger, Afghan War reserve officer Micah Johnson attacked a Black Lives Matter protest in Dallas, Texas and killed five police officers, as well as wounding nine other officers and two civilians before he himself was killed (the single deadliest law enforcement incident since the September 11 attacks in 2001), while three Baton Rogue police officers were killed by Gavin Long on July 17th. These recent "race vs. police" conflicts have garnered international attention, with the Bahamas, the United Arab Emirates, and Bahrain all issuing official travel advisories due to the "American gun culture" and cautioned against traveling into and within the United States.
 * Bernie Sanders unofficially dropped out of the 2016 presidential race on July 12th, endorsing frontrunner Hilary Clinton while not suspending his campaign. Clinton also declared a presumptive running mate on July 22nd; Tim Kaine, the junior Senator of Virginia. Donald Trump, the official Republican nominee, declared his running mate Mike Pence, the governor of Indiana on July 15th.
 * On July 3rd, Abu Maha al-Iraqi organized several coordinated bomb attacks across Baghdad, Iraq on behalf of the terrorist organization ISIS, killing over 300 people and injuring countless others. Then, in Nice, France, the national holiday of Bastille Day was tragically ruined when a 19-tonne cargo truck was driven by Mohamed Lahouaiej-Bouhlel through the Promenade des Anglais while he was shooting at civilians, resulting in the death of 85 people and injuring approximately 308 others. And on July 22, German teenager David Sonboly killed nine people in Munich, Germany with an illegally owned Glock handgun, although this has not been linked to any specific organization and was just a simple, sad act of violence.
 * Pakistani social media celebrity Qandeel Balock was strangled by her brother on July 15th, with the reason stated due to the "dishonor brought to their family by her actions". A radical feminist in the eyes of the conservative Pakistani community, Qandeel garnered international approval but local controversy due to her rather risque posts and controversial videos. Labelled an "honor killing", the death of Qandeel and the lack of justice against her killing has caused Pakistani government to considering passing a bill that withholds the Islamic right for the victim's family to pardon the accused.
 * After the United Kingdom voted to leave the European Union in June, Prime Minister David Cameron resigned from his position both as prime minister and leader of the Conservative Party. Afterwards, several politicians such as Justice Secretary Michael Gove and Secretary of State for Work and Pensions Stephen Crabb sought the nomination as Party's leader. In the aftermath, Home Secretary Theresa May was appointed Leader of the Conservative Party on July 11th, and then sworn in as Prime Minister (only the second woman in history after Margaret Thatcher) on July 13th.

Wikia News

 * El Alamein's user tournament has begun to draw to a close, with Isaac Darkstone and Finn Muller fighting to the death in an epic conclusion. On behalf of the wiki, I'd personally like to express my thanks and satisfaction to El Alamein for his hard work, dedication, and skillful management of this tournament.
 * The Battle of the Month for July 2016 was Valkyrie Cain vs. Jotaro Kujo by Wassboss.
 * Do you have a birthday this month? If so, tell us below in the comment section and we'll give you a shout out on the news blog! We'd give you cake, but...wait a minute, I forgot. Now that Wass' earned a BotM, everyone on the staff is a MOTHERFUCKIN' MILLIONAIRE!!!

Pop Culture News
Things get happy from here, I promise.
 * San Diego Comic Con has displayed a wonderful array of fascinating new footage, trailers, and information about some of the most anticipated events in nerd culture today. For one, Marvel decided to slow down this year, only showcasing teaser trailers for three of their upcoming Netflix series; Luke Cage, Iron Fist, and The Defenders. In sharp contrast, DC has pulled no stops with full-length trailers for their two 2017 films Wonder Woman and The Justice League, as well as their last 2016 film Suicide Squad. In addition, trailers for non-superhero films such as King Arthur: Legend of the Sword, Blair Witch, and Kong: Skull Island all premiered as well.
 * Three largely anticipated blockbusters were released this month; the all-female reboot of Ghostbusters, the third entry of the Star Trek reboot franchise Star Trek: Beyond, and Matt Damon's return to his iconic action role Jason Bourne. All three films have received a good, though not great, critical reception, with Star Trek: Beyond at the highest with 85% and Jason Bourne lowest at 54% on Rotten Tomatoes, while Ghostbusters receives a strong 73%.
 * Throughout July, the mobile app Pokémon Go! was released internationall by Niantic. Revolving around the iconic gaming franchise and reintroducing it as a augmented reality game, Pokémon Go has players live their fantasies to become a Pokémon trainer by having them explore the world around them to catch the pocket monsters. Although the gameplay itself has received mediocre approval, many approve of the game's encouragement of exercise and real life exploration.

Battle of the Month
It's that time of the month again- Time to declare a Battle of the Month! For any battle fully written from July 1st-August 1st, you get to nominate as a battle of the month! For the record, each user only gets to nominate 5 battles, and they cannot nominate their own battles. The five battles with the most nominations will be put on the poll. The poll will be released at the end of the last week of this month, and the results will be announced on next months' news blog.