Today: Falling From the Stratosphere.

I'm Davan Maharaj, editor of the Los Angeles Times. Here's an amazing story of a pilot who fell from the stratosphere and lived to tell about it; and why is the world wallowing in such a swamp of debt?  Here are some story lines I don't want you to miss today.

TOP STORIES

Fall From the Stratosphere

What do you do when your spaceship breaks up 10 miles high over the Mojave Desert? There's not much you can do, which makes pilot Peter Siebold's survival story all the more amazing. Even in his deadpan pilot-speak, the story is breathtaking. It's detailed in a federal NTSB report on the crash of billionaire Richard Branson's experimental SpaceShipTwo last October. 

A Mountain of IOUs

It's not just Greece and Puerto Rico. It's also China, Italy, Portugal, Japan and even, perhaps, you and me. Debt is piling up on the world. Last year, the total -- government, corporate and household -- hit $199 trillion, or about $27,500 for every person on the planet. Debt itself isn't bad. It's necessary. With such a load, though, it might not take much to set off a global shock. 

Wary Warriors

As Turkey and the U.S. try to shoo Islamic State fighters from a zone near the Syrian-Turkish border, chinks in the alliance are apparent. The strategy is air support for Syrian rebels on the ground, but which ones? So-called moderates, preferred by the U.S., or Al Qaeda sympathizers? And if Turkey uses this as a pretext to bomb its enemies the Kurds, things may even get worse. 

Higher, Faster, Costlier?

Along with civic joy over L.A.'s second chance at landing the 2024 Summer Olympics comes a bit of civic soul-searching. Might L.A. be required to sign the same financial guarantees -- and expose its taxpayers to a blank check -- that Boston found so distasteful? Sorting that out may be the hardest job confronting Mayor Eric Garcetti as he prepares to court Olympic officials.

Waiting for 'La Libertad'

Waiting is woven into life at the Karnes Counter Residential Center in Texas. Sister Sharon Altendorf is willing to wait, and she's not fooled by the name. "It's a prison," she says. Inside are immigrant mothers and children in the U.S. illegally, among thousands being held in conditions a federal judge has called deplorable. A diminutive nun's quest to help them is today's Great Read.

CALIFORNIA

-- The water district's scrap-your-lawn-and-get-a-subsidy program cost a fortune, but the psychological effect on water users could turn out to be priceless. 

-- The killing of an 8-year-old girl and the arrest of a 15-year-old boy stun a community in Santa Cruz.

-- The L.A. City Council votes unanimously to ban gun magazines that can hold more than 10 rounds.

-- A tree falls on chldren in a popular Pasadena park, critically injuring two.

-- Sequoia, Kings Canyon, Joshua Tree and Yosemite are national parks given "Fs" for summer air quality by a national conservation group. 

-- Columnist Steve Lopez: L.A. Mayor Eric Garcetti may have a golden tongue, but he's still a no-show on some things that really matter.

NATION-WORLD

-- The Afghanistan government is examining claims that Taliban leader Mullah Mohammed Omar is dead. Omar has been previously declared dead several times.

-- Texas officials release new video  showing that Sandra Bland, who died in police custody after a traffic stop, was alive when she was processed into the facility.

-- NASA officials trot out a new "lobbyist" in the quest to persuade Congress for more funding: the dwarf planet Pluto.

-- Jonathan Pollard, whose spying for Israel opened a breach in U.S.-Israeli relations, is being paroled.

-- In Africa, where many leaders cling to power, President Obama's joke about a third term had an edge.

BUSINESS

-- Healthcare costs are forecast to rise moderately over the next decade but still outpace economic growth.

-- Edison seeks $7.6 billion from the Japanese maker of faulty steam generators that led to the permanent shutdown of the San Onofre nuclear plant.

SPORTS

-- The NFL players association says it'll appeal the league's decision to uphold New England quarterback Tom Brady's four-game "Deflategate" suspension.

-- For Jen Welter, the most appealing part of joining the Arizona Cardinals’ coaching staff is not that she’s an NFL pioneer — the first female coach in league history — but that she’s treated like an equal. 

-- The latest scores, stats and schedules.

ENTERTAINMENT

-- Here's a real detective yarn behind the recovery of a small Auguste Rodin statue stolen from a Beverly Hills home in 1991. 

-- What some animal lovers won't like about the new Dr. Seuss book.

-- Got pasta? Here are a dozen great dishes.

WHAT OUR EDITORS ARE READING

-- How former Defense Secretary Robert Gates became an unlikely gay rights hero (The Atlantic).

-- Nearly 10 years after Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans, Mayor Mitch Landrieu talks with BuzzFeed about the remaking of a city.

ONLY IN CALIFORNIA

Where else but in San Francisco would Public Works apply urine-repelling paint to buildings and then post signs -- in three languages -- warning public urinators about it? OK, it's just an experiment, but still. "It works. Believe me," said one official, hoping to cut down on steam-cleaning costs. It all started with an article about some paint tests in a bar in Germany.

Please send comments and ideas to Davan Maharaj.