[RELEASE] Python 2.7.17 release candidate 1

[Benjamin Peterson]

The first release candidate of Python 2.7.17 is now available for download and testing. Python 2.7.17 includes 80 fixes over Python 2.7.16.

Downloads may be found on python.org:

    https://www.python.org/downloads/release/python-2717rc1/

Read the full changelog at:

    https://raw.githubusercontent.com/python/cpython/1c7b14197b10924e2efc1e6c99c720958be1f681/Misc/NEWS.d/2.7.17rc1.rst

As always with prereleases, please test your applications and libraries and report bugs to:

    https://bugs.python.org/

A final release is scheduled to follow in 12 days.

PEP 373, the Python 2.7 release schedule, calls for 2.7.17 to be the penultimate bug fix release of the Python 2.7 series. Time for Python 2 is running low!

Regards,
Benjamin
2.7 release manager