Are Russian hackers leaking false stories to sway the US election?

The second presidential debate had a lot of voters outside the Beltway wondering: who is Sidney Blumenthal? Donald Trump has tried to link the unofficial Hillary Clinton advisor to the ‘birther’ conspiracy. And now Trump is repeating a false story that links Blumenthal to Benghazi, which journalist Kurt Eichenwald says began when Russian hackers attributed his writing to Blumenthal. Are Russian hackers leaking false stories to influence the US presidential election?

Then, California is heading into what will most likely be a 6th year of drought, and many scientists – and Governor Brown – say water scarcity is the “new normal” in the state. With mandatory statewide cuts lifted, are Californians slipping on conservation?

Also, when the drought was front and center in our minds, one thing many Angelenos did to save water is replace their lawns with more drought-tolerant landscaping. Many used a company called Turf Terminators, and Press Play producer Anna Scott wrote about the company’s rise and fall recently for Bloomberg Businessweek.

Next, a new book titled, “The Black Panthers: Portraits From an Unfinished Revolution,” chronicles some of the lesser known, more philanthropic things the Black Panthers were up to in the 1960s.

And finally, creepy clowns are popping up all over and freaking people out. How do legitimate clowns feel about the clown hysteria the pranksters have caused?

Photo courtesy of Official Internet Resources of the President of Russia