• Sarah Palin started her own subscription-based online channel that bills itself as a "direct connection" by the former Alaska governor and GOP vice presidential candidate to her supporters and charges $9.95 per month or $99.95 for a year.
• Linda Ronstadt, 68, who didn't make it to her induction to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in April because Parkinson's disease limits her ability to travel, received a National Medal of Arts at the White House from President Barack Obama.
• The Rev. Jarrett Maupin, a Democratic candidate for Congress in Arizona's 7th District, picked up the endorsement of a Phoenix strip club, The Great Alaskan Bush Co., which announced its backing of Maupin on a sign that reads: "Jarrett Maupin for Congress 'The Rev.'"
• Mikhail Saakashvili, who carried out sweeping political changes from 2004 to 2012 in the small Caucasus nation of Georgia, is facing criminal charges accusing him of abuse of power, largely for his handling of political protests that turned violent in November 2007.
• Pope Francis became the first pope to visit a Pentecostal church, traveling by helicopter to the under-construction Evangelical Church of Reconciliation in the southern Italian city of Caserta and meeting privately with preacher Giovanni Traettino, an old friend.
• Jerry Brown, the Democratic governor of California, took a dig at Texas' decision to deploy National Guard troops to the border, saying while in Mexico that he expects it to be a short-lived measure and that "wiser minds will prevail."
• Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, said he is no longer blocking confirmation of a series of ambassadorial and other diplomatic nominees over the Federal Aviation Administration's 36-hour ban on U.S. airline flights to Israel after receiving a briefing from FAA officials.
• Wayne Schmidt, a Republican state representative seeking an open Senate seat in northern Michigan, picked up support from Michele MacMaster, the mother of Republican state Rep. Greg MacMaster, Schmidt's opponent in the Aug. 5 primary.
• Bill de Blasio, the New York City mayor who hails from Brooklyn, and his family woke up in Gracie Mansion, the mayor's official Manhattan residence, for the first time after the majority of the family's possessions were moved into the home while the family was on its Italian vacation.
A Section on 07/29/2014