DONALD TRUMP, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee (Gage Simon photo).

On the first day of the Republican National Convention in Cleveland Monday, a platform was adopted that declared the party’s opposition to same-sex marriage and “bathroom choice” for transgender people. It was turbulent Monday for the GOP gathering as it took two voice votes to adopt the rules of procedure. Some tension was evident also in that Donald Trump’s campaign manager Paul Manafort, said that Ohio Gov. John Kasich was being “petulant” for refusing to endorse Trump. The roll call of states for nomination will take place on Tuesday. The nominee – presumably Trump – will make his acceptance address Thursday evening.

CLINTON CONDEMNS SHOOTINGS

Hillary Clinton, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee address the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People convention Monday in Cincinnati and condemned the killing of police officers.

According to the Associated Press, she said “They represent the rule of law itself, if you take aim at that and at them you take aim at all of us,” Clinton told civil rights activists at the annual convention of the NAACP. “There can be no justification, no looking the other way.”

An ex-Marine, Micah Johnson, ambushed and killed three officers in Baton Rouge, La., on Sunday. His motives are still unclear; some reports on Monday suggested he was a member of the “sovereign citizen” movement, which claims it is exempt from state and federal laws and is not obligated to pay taxes.

TURKISH PURGE RATTLES THE WEST

Reacting to Friday night’s failed coup, the Turkish government has arrested or detained thousands of people, and fired nearly 9,000 public employees, according to the AP. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan told CNN that he would consider bringing back the death penalty if the Turkish parliament agreed. An estimated 234 persons, along with 24 plotters of the military coup, are said to have died in the brief struggle. Erdogan is the democratically-elected president, but has turned more autocratic recently, say his critics.

ANOTHER NEW STOCK MARKET RECORD

For the fifth time in six days, the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index of stock set a new record on Monday. It hit 2,166.99, rising 5.15 points. The Dow Jones Average was up by 16.5 to 18,533.05. NASDAQ closed at 5,055.78, up 26.19.