Confederate Statue Toppled • Trump Finally Decries Racists • Hurricane Gert Forms: Patch Morning Briefing

Good morning! It's Tuesday, and the week is moving right along. Here's what you need to know to start your day.

Statue Comes Down

A swelling tide could bring down many monuments to the legacy of the Confederacy as counter-protests to the violent rally in Charlottesville gain momentum. Monday night, a group of angry anti-fascism activists in Durham, North Carolina, toppled a century-old statue of a Confederate soldier outside the county courthouse. The mob looped a yellow rope around the statue's neck and pulled it down, then surrounded the felled soldier — now bent at its knees — while shouting at it and beating it with their hands and feet, video showed. Watch the protesters chant “No KKK! No fascist USA!" as the statue came down. (Patch)

President Trump Decries White Supremacists For VA Violence — After Criticism For Delay

President Trump denounced white supremacists, the KKK and neo-Nazis in a prepared statement Monday afternoon addressing the violence in Charlottesville, Virginia, over the weekend. In his statement on Saturday, he did not single out these hate groups for specific condemnation. "Racism is evil," he said Monday at the White House. Later that night, Trump retweeted a complaint from a self-described member of the "new right" who asked why the media wasn't outraged about recent fatal shootings in Chicago. (Patch)

Hurricane Gert Forms

The hurricane formerly known as Tropical Storm Gert is making its way north across the Atlantic Ocean. It was officially declared a hurricane Monday night, the second of the season. While Gert will have little direct impact on the mainland, those visiting the ocean may notice choppier seas on the East Coast. Some experts have predicted that this season could feature several major hurricanes. (The Weather Channel)

PATCH SPECIAL REPORT: Mourning, Love, Fear Mix In Aftermath Of Charlottesville Violence

The hatred and racial strife that ultimately left three people dead in Charlottesville isn't the city that Octavius Boykin, 39, knows. He has lived in Charlottesville his whole life and sees Charlottesville as a safe town. “We’ve never had this violence before,” Boykin said Monday. (Patch)

Quick Hits

Berry Gordy’s ‘Motown Mansion’ In Detroit Sells For $1.65M (Patch)

Texas A&M Cancels White Lives Matter Rally (Patch)

Roger Federer's 'Tweaked' Back Thwarts His Cincinnati Hopes (Patch)

Ric Flair Hospitalized Over The Weekend (Patch)

Jury Sides With Pop Superstar Taylor Swift

A jury in Denver federal court needed fewer than four hours Monday to side with Taylor Swift, finding that a former radio show host assaulted the pop superstar before a 2013 concert at the Pepsi Center and awarded her a symbolic $1 in damages. Her attorney, Douglas Baldridge, called the award "a single symbolic dollar, the value of which is immeasurable to all women in this situation." (Patch)

No Vote, No Problem For Wichita High Schooler Running For Governor

Jack Bergerson, 16, is running as a Democrat. His classmate, 17-year-old Alexander Cline, would be his lieutenant governor. (Patch)

Kathleen Rice Under Fire After Calling NRA 'Domestic Security Threats'

The Democratic congresswoman has faced calls to resign but hasn't backed down from her comments. What do you think? (Patch)

Steve Bannon On The Outs

Top Trump strategist Steve Bannon could be gone as soon as the end of the week, according to a report from the New York Times. (New York Times)

Record Air Travel In Summer 2017 Includes BWI Airport: TSA

A record number of air passengers have gone through security at the nation's airports, including BWI Airport this summer, says the TSA.

Seahawk Michael Bennett Will Sit For National Anthem This Season

“Seeing everything in Virginia ... I just wanted to be able to use my platform to continuously speak out on injustice," Bennett said Sunday. (Patch)

This Day In History

1914 — The Panama Canal opens for business

1971 — The United States drops the gold standard under President Nixon

Famous Birthdays

1912 — Julia Child, renowned chef and author

1924 — Phyllis Schlafly, a constitutional lawyer and conservative activist who fought against the Equal Rights Amendment

AP Photo/Jonathan Drew