SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE – AT 11:55 P.M. ET:

NEW BOMBING IN GERMANY – FROM CNN:   (CNN) An explosion in the southern German city of Ansbach was a suicide attack, according to the region's interior minister. The bomber died in the blast.  A device was exploded by a 27-year-old Syrian national outside a music festival. He had been denied entry into the event due to the lack of a ticket, Bavarian Interior Minister Joachim Herrmann said during a news conference early Monday.  Twelve people were injured.  This is the third attack in Germany this week.  They're getting routine, aren't they?  This is the way we live now. 

TRUMP GAINS IN BATTLEGROUND STATES – FROM THE HILL:   Support for Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump ticked up across battleground states following the Republican National Convention last week, according to the new CBS News Battleground Tracker Poll.  Trump now has 42 percent support across the 11 battleground states surveyed — up from the 40 percent he had last week before the convention. Presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton has 41 percent support, unchanged from last week's poll.  The key will be the polls taken right after this week's Democratic National Convention.  If Hillary gets a bump, it will probably wipe out any Trump advantage.  If she doesn't, she might want to cancel the moving van.

THE UNREADY OLYMPICS – FROM AFP:   Rio de Janeiro (AFP) - The Australian Olympic team will not move into the athletes village in Rio after it was condemned as "not safe or ready" by the country's chef de mission on Sunday.  Team chief Kitty Chiller said problems include blocked toilets, leaking pipes, exposed wiring, darkened stairwells where no lighting has been installed and dirty floors in need of a massive clean.  She claimed that water has come through the ceiling resulting in large puddles on the floor around cabling and wiring.  "Due to a variety of problems in the Village, including gas, electricity and plumbing I have decided that no Australian Team member will move into our allocated building," she said in a statement.  "We were due to move into the Village on July 21 but we have been living in nearby hotels, because the Village is simply not safe or ready."  Absolutely incredible.  What else isn't ready?  How about security, for the athletes and the public?  And where is the legendarily arrogant International Olympic Committee in all this?  The games start in less than two weeks, and we have every right to wonder what really is going on. 

July 24,  2016