Today is Wednesday, July 31st. I’m Joseph Delaney and here’s your daily briefing from The Columbus Dispatch. In weather, there's a chance of scattered showers and thunderstorms this afternoon, with a high near 83 and a low around 65. In today's top news: Vice President Mike Pence defended President Donald Trump’s latest tweets slamming the city of Baltimore and Representative Elijah Cummings during a stop in central Ohio yesterday.