- U.S.Yahoo News
Obama praises George Floyd protests and sees hope for police reform, racial progress
In his first extended remarks on the civil unrest that has roiled the nation following the killing of unarmed civilian George Floyd by police officers in Minneapolis, President Obama sounded a cautiously optimistic note Wednesday, praising the protests that have gathered from Sunset Boulevard to Pennsylvania Avenue and reminding policymakers and elected officials that his own administration offered a plan for police reform. In a virtual town hall, Obama said that this difficult moment in the nation's history was an “incredible opportunity for people to be awakened” to the effects of racial injustice. Floyd was black, while the police officer charged with killing him is white.
- PoliticsYahoo News
As protests rock cities, Rand Paul holds up passage of anti-lynching bill
Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., is holding up the passage of an anti-lynching bill with broad bipartisan support — the latest delay in an effort to pass a federal law against lynching that goes back over a century. When the Emmett Till Antilynching Act passed the House 410-4 on Feb. 26, lawmakers expected it to pass in the Senate and head to President Trump's desk within days. A Senate version, the Justice for Victims of Lynching Act, had already passed by unanimous consent in December 2018 and again in February 2019, but the House version needed to pass separately.
- WorldReuters
Macron demands release of French-Iranian academic Adelkhah
France demanded on Friday that Franco-Iranian academic Fariba Adelkhah, whom Tehran has sentenced to six years in prison, be released immediately, saying her detention was harming trust between the two countries. "My message to Iranian authorities: justice demands that our compatriot be immediately released." Iran does not recognise dual nationality and has rejected previous calls to release the 60-year-old anthropologist, detained since June 2019, saying the demands were an interference in Tehran's internal affairs.
- U.S.USA TODAY
Protests in Minneapolis turned violent: Officials first blamed outsiders, but that’s not what arrests show
Read this: Officials blame 'out-of-state' agitators but those at the heart of protests are homegrown Riot, violence, looting: Words matter when talking about race and unrest, experts say Leggat, the security consultant, said intelligence reports from his colleagues indicate most of the hard-core protesters in Minneapolis were far-left or anarchists, and that far-right groups have not yet made a significant appearance. He said looting is typically done by locals – usually people with no criminal record who just get caught up in the moment. But direct conflicts with authorities come from a mix of both locals and outside groups who see these conflicts as a core part of their mission.
- WorldNBC News
U.K. PM tells China that Britain will admit 3 Million from Hong Kong
The United Kingdom will not walk away from the people of Hong Kong if China imposes a national security law which conflicts with Beijing's international obligations under a 1984 accord, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Wednesday. "Hong Kong succeeds because its people are free," Johnson wrote in The Times of London. "If China proceeds, this would be in direct conflict with its obligations under the joint declaration, a legally binding treaty registered with the United Nations."
- U.S.Associated Press
Lawsuit aims to hold nebulous 'antifa' to blame for injuries
A conservative writer from Portland, Oregon, filed a lawsuit Thursday against purported elements of the nebulous, far-left militant groups collectively known as antifa, days after President Donald Trump blamed those groups for inciting violence at protests over police killings of black people. The suit was filed on behalf of Andy Ngo, who is known for aggressively covering and video-recording demonstrators. “I am hoping that this marks a turning point, that militants belonging to a criminal movement can no longer depend on the anonymity ... to get away with their crimes,” said Ngo, who previously was a writer with the online publication Quillette and now is with The Post Millennial.
- U.S.The New York Times
Witness Who Was in Floyd's Car Says His Friend Did Not Resist Arrest
A longtime friend of George Floyd's who was in the passenger seat of Floyd's car during his fatal encounter with a Minneapolis police officer said Wednesday night that Floyd tried to defuse the tensions with police and in no way resisted arrest. “He was, from the beginning, trying in his humblest form to show he was not resisting in no form or way,” said the friend, Maurice Lester Hall, 42, who was tracked down Monday in Houston, arrested on outstanding warrants and interviewed by Minnesota state investigators. Hall recounted the last moments with Floyd on Memorial Day, May 25, after they had spent part of the day together.
- WorldThe National Interest
In 1985, A Nuclear Submarine Explosion Contaminated Russia's Far East
Here's What You Need To Remember: The explosion blew out the reactor's twelve-ton lid—and fuel rods—and ruptured the pressure hull. The reactor core was destroyed, and eight officers and two enlisted men standing nearby were killed instantly. A the blast threw debris was thrown into the air, and a plume of fallout 650 meters wide by 3.5 kilometers long traveled downwind on the Dunay Peninsula.
- BusinessConsumer Reports
Cars Most Likely to Need a Transmission Replacement
To understand how often such problems occur, we analyzed data on older models from our Annual Auto Surveys to see which major systems can lead to expensive repairs and identify the models that have a significant risk. Three problems areas stood out: Engines, head gaskets, and transmissions. With some models, these problems occur with surprising frequency at a certain age and mileage.
- U.S.INSIDER
2 of the police officers charged over George Floyd's deadly arrest had been less than 4 days into the job, their lawyers say
Hennepin County Sheriff's Office J. Alexander Kueng and Thomas Lane were two of the four police officers involved in George Floyd's deadly arrest on May 25. Attorneys for the two men told a court on Thursday that they were rookies who had been on the job for less than four days, and had no choice but to follow the command of their ranking officer, Derek Chauvin. However, previously released police records show that the two men were made full officers in December.
- PoliticsThe Daily Beast
Trump Camp Hits Biden’s ‘Tough on Crime’ Past, Forgets Trump’s Own Past
President Donald Trump's re-election campaign this week has accused former Vice President Joe Biden of constructing the modern prison-industrial complex, being the architect of American mass incarceration, and filling the nation's prisons with low-level offenders. Part projection, part expectation that the voting public's memory is too short and too overloaded to remember Trump's own past statements and policies, the president's campaign has accused Biden of numerous offenses against criminal justice reform of which the president himself has proudly committed. Among the proposals that Trump made during the 1990s, as a businessman and tabloid celebrity in New York City, included calling for treating fare evasion on the subway as a precursor to “serious crimes,” lamenting that police officers weren't allowed to use violent tactics and racial profiling in locating and arresting suspects, calling for an increase in mandatory minimum sentencing for drug offenders, and even advocating for the United States to bring back hanging as a form of capital punishment.
- U.S.Reuters
Virginia governor banishes statue of Civil War General Lee
Virginia Governor Ralph Northam, responding to widespread protests decrying racism after the death of a black man in police custody in Minneapolis, ordered on Thursday the removal of a statue of Confederate General Robert E. Lee in the state's capital city of Richmond. Saying the statue should be detached from its pedestal "as soon as possible" by the Department of General Services, the Democratic governor acknowledged the move could stir anger from admirers of the commander, who led troops in a slave-owning state during the American Civil War. "Yes, that statue has been there for a long time.
- U.S.USA TODAY
In aftermath of George Floyd's death, San Diego police will 'immediately' end use of carotid restraint
At least three major police departments have banned similar neck holds or chokeholds amid increasing attention on policing maneuvers that cut off oxygen to people under arrest or restraint. Minneapolis officer Derek Chauvin used a similarly controversial knee-to-neck restraint, pressing his knee into Floyd's neck for nearly nine minutes, which resulted in his death. In San Diego, Police Chief David Nisleit and local elected officials announced Monday that officers would immediately stop using the carotid restraint as a use-of-force procedure amid nationwide protests against police brutality.
- WorldNBC News
Coronavirus live updates: Brazil records big surge as global deaths approach 400,000
Fears continue to grow over the growth of COVID-19 in Latin America, with the number of confirmed cases in Brazil passing that of Italy to make it the second worst-affected country, after the United States. Brazil recorded 1,349 deaths in a single day Thursday — only the U.S. and the U.K. have declared more COVID-19 related deaths, according to data from Johns Hopkins University. President Jair Bolsonaro has been accused of minimizing the effects of the crisis.
- U.S.Associated Press
Armed bystanders watch Floyd protesters march in Indiana
Protesters in a rural Indiana city who took to the streets to condemn racism and police killings of black people encountered bystanders who were holding rifles during the demonstration. A video that circulated on social media shows 21 people standing along a bike trail near downtown Crown Point, Indiana, watching protesters march past them Monday during a peaceful protest against police brutality and racism. Eight of the bystanders held firearms, an act Crown Point Police Chief Pete Land said is protected under state law.
- WorldBusiness Insider
Hong Kong passes controversial bill to make disrespecting China's national anthem a crime
Shutterstock / Lewis Tse Pui Lung Hong Kong passed a controversial bill on Thursday that makes insulting China's national anthem a crime. The bill states that anyone who insults or commercially misuses China's national anthem — March of the Volunteers — faces fines of up to HK$50,000, or roughly $6,380, or up to three years in prison. The bill was passed on the 31st anniversary of the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre, in which Chinese troops entered Tiananmen Square in Beijing and fired on unarmed pro-democracy protesters, killing hundreds.
- SciencePopular Mechanics
10 Years Ago Today, SpaceX's Falcon 9 Blasted Off for the First Time
The rocket flew its first test flight on June 4, 2010. It's been a decade of spaceflight innovation ever since. From Popular Mechanics
U.S.Yahoo News VideoActivist DeRay Mckesson to critics of the Black Lives Matter movement: ‘We never want one leader … because if you kill the leader, you kill the movement’
The entire country is on edge right now with people protesting police brutality in the wake of the killing of George Floyd and other unarmed black people by law enforcement. All the while, the world continues to cope with a deadly pandemic, one that disproportionately affects African-Americans. And in November there is a presidential election.
- U.S.INSIDER
Minneapolis City Council members look to disband the police department as schools and other city agencies cut ties with police
Several members of the Minneapolis City Council are exploring ways to permanently disband the Minneapolis Police Department. Over the past week, several other city agencies have severed their ties to the department. Ten days after the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis, Minnesota, several members of the Minneapolis City Council are seeking to get rid of the police department — permanently.
PoliticsFOX News VideosSenate Republicans increase their pressure on investigators of the Russia collusion case
GOP lawmakers consider subpoenas in order to review origins of the Russia investigation; David Spunt reports from the Justice Department.
- U.S.The Daily Beast
New York Cops Beat Protesters for Crime of Being There
Peaceful protests in New York took a dark turn late Thursday as graphic video emerged of an elderly man being knocked to the ground by police in Buffalo and protesters in New York City were confronted with swarms of police officers using heavy-handed tactics to enforce a statewide 8 p.m. curfew. The shocking incident in Buffalo's Niagara Square occurred outside City Hall, where video posted by local media shows the man approaching police as they attempt to clear the square only to be violently shoved. Buffalo police later released a statement saying they had arrested four people and that a fifth person was arrested during a skirmish with other protesters.
- U.S.Reuters
Iran frees American, U.S. allows dual citizen to visit Iran in deal
A U.S. Navy veteran who said he contracted the coronavirus while detained in Iran since 2018 was freed on Thursday as part of a deal in which the United States allowed an Iranian-American physician to visit Iran, his lawyer and a U.S. official said. Iran's decision to release American Michael White and the U.S. move to let dual citizen Majid Taheri visit Iran, both of which were confirmed by Iran's foreign minister, appeared to be a rare instance of U.S.-Iranian cooperation. A White House spokesman expressed hope that White's release could lead to an opening in the bitter relationship.
- WorldThe Telegraph
Exclusive: Coronavirus began 'as an accident' in Chinese lab, says former MI6 boss
A former head of MI6 has said he believes the coronavirus pandemic "started as an accident" when the virus escaped from a laboratory in China. In an interview with The Telegraph, Sir Richard Dearlove said he had seen an "important" new scientific report suggesting the virus did not emerge naturally but was man-made by Chinese scientists. The apparent discovery will raise the prospect of China paying "reparations" for the death and economic catastrophe wreaked upon the world, the former intelligence chief said.
- U.S.NBC News
White House adds fencing around perimeter
After another night of peaceful protests outside Lafayette Square, workers were seen putting up new fencing barriers around the White House complex Thursday morning, adding to the 8-foot fence that was erected around the entrance to Lafayette Square earlier this week. Reporters arriving at the White House as early as 5:30 a.m. ET Thursday described seeing black fences being put up along the Eisenhower Executive Office Building entrance on 17th Street NW. The additional fencing did not have the same slightly sharper edges at the top as the fence blocking off the entrance to Lafayette Square, where the majority of the protests have taken place.
- BusinessThe National Interest
The U.S. Navy's New USS Gerald Ford Aircraft Carrier Is Getting Close to Combat Ready
In addition, the Ford completed its first ordnance movement from a lower deck magazine to the carrier's F/A-18E Super Hornets using the ship's state-of-the-art Advanced Weapons Elevators. the Commanding Officer of the carrier, Captain J.J. Cummings and Commander, Carrier Air Wing (CVW) 8, Captain Josh Sager, explained that the CVW-8 embarked seven squadrons and is operating nearly 30 fixed-wing aircraft and both of their Helicopter Sea Combat squadrons. This serves as an opportunity to stress and test the carrier's unique design, and to demonstrate further her ability to conduct integrated air wing operations.
