TERROR ATTACK: At least 15 Russian police officers and four civilians were killed in a coordinated terror attack in two cities of the predominantly Muslim region of Dagestan on the Caspian Sea. A priest was among the dead and five attackers were killed.

 Armed with rifles and throwing Molotov cocktails, the gunmen attacked a synagogue and a church in each of the two cities, Makhachkala and Derbent.

  It was another incident in periodic terror attacks in Russia. In March, four gunmen from Tajikistanassociated with the Islamic State terrorist organization killed 145 people at a Moscow concert hall. No one has taken credit for this latest incident.

  Video of yesterday’s attack shows men all in black firing their rifles. One of them shoots at a passing car. Authorities say the assailants killed police officers guarding a synagogue before setting it on fire. Video also shows a building consumed by flames.

THE WAR ROOM: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu last night dismissed the latest cease-fire proposal backed by President Biden, further angering the families of Israeli hostages held by Hamas. In a television interview, Netanyahu said he was open to a hostage exchange but not a permanent cease-fire.

  “The intense phase of the war will come to an end very soon,” Netanyahu said. “But that does not mean that the war will be over.” He said, “I am willing to make a partial deal, which will bring some of the people back to us. That is no secret. But we’re committed to continuing the war after the truce.”

  Israel’s defense minister is set to meet with top officials in Washington to discuss the third phase of the war in Gaza which has previously been described as “a new security reality for the citizens of Israel.”

DEVOTION: A stunning 1300 people have died in heat up to 125 degrees while attending the annual Muslim pilgrimage to Mecca in Saudi Arabia. 

  About 1.8 million people have made the trip this year and Saudi authorities say 83 percent of the dead are unregistered, people who were not provided with proper protection from the heat. Every able-bodied Muslim is required to make the trip once in their life. Saudi Arabia limits the number of permits but hundreds of thousands of people still go without permission.

ORANGE ALERT: During a speech to Christian conservatives on Saturday afternoon, and again at a rally in Philadelphia that night, Donald Trump claimed that he suggested to his friend Dana White, president of the Ultimate Fighting Championship, that he should start a competition featuring migrants. 

  “I said, ‘Dana, I have an idea,’” Trump told the crowds. “Why don’t you set up a migrant league of fighters and have your regular league of fighters, and then you have the champion of your league — these are the greatest fighters in the world — fight the champion of the migrants.’ I think the migrant guy might win; that’s how tough they are.”

  In his speech, the former president continued to claim that undocumented immigrants are violent criminals coming from “prisons and mental institutions.”

IN THE HEADLINES: Reporters at The Washington Post continue to investigate and write about their boss, the paper’s publisher, William Lewis.

  This time they report that Lewis holds a financial stake in a company called The News Movement which recently developed advertising pitches for Rolex and Starbucks that would also involve the Post. The reporters say the relationship is allowed under the paper’s conflict of interest rules. 

  What’s important here is they are on Lewis’s case. The paper also revealed Lewis’s involvement with the British phone hacking scandal. 

THE SPIN RACK: The husband of the bride killed after her wedding celebration by a drunk driver in South Carolina last year has been awarded a $1.3 million settlement. More than one bar that served the driver and a rental car company are among those paying.  Samantha Miller and Aric Hutchinson were riding in a golf cart marked with the sign “Just married” when they were hit. — Fire in a lithium battery plant in South Korea has killed 22 people. Most of the victims were migrant workers from China. — Israeli soldiers are under investigation after strapping a wounded Palestinian man to the hood of their vehicle and driving him to a medical station. The man had been shot in the leg and arm, and he suffered burns from lying on the hot metal of the vehicle. — Britain’s Princess Anne suffered a concussion after evidently falling off her horse. The royals don’t reveal too many details about such things. — California wildfires have already burned 90,000 acres this year. — A new “Forever Stamp” honoring the late “Jeopardy!” host Alex Trebek is set for issue next month.

BELOW THE FOLD: Tesla billionaire Elon Musk, who says he’s doing his part to maintain the world population, now has 12 children by three women. Three of his youngest are named X Æ A-Xi, Exa Dark Sideræl, and Techno Mechanicus. Their father can afford the therapy bills.