- U.S.Yahoo News
Downtown D.C. burns after another night of protests and provocation near the White House
The capital was awash with anger and pain as tear gas blew along the streets and rubber bullets flew Sunday night and into the early hours of Monday morning. Protesters clashed with law enforcement for the third straight evening outside the White House, and numerous businesses were vandalized by rioters defying a citywide curfew. Protesters gathered throughout Sunday in Lafayette Park, which is across the street from the White House and has been a focal point of the demonstrations that began here Friday evening.
- U.S.Yahoo News
New Yahoo News/YouGov poll: Most Americans say Trump is a 'racist' and want him to stop tweeting
The survey, conducted on May 29 and 30, found that 52 percent of Americans answered yes when asked whether they “think that President Trump is a racist.” Only 37 percent said no. Just 33 percent said the president should continue “posting messages on Twitter.”
- WorldBusiness Insider
China's state media says US can now 'enjoy' protests after criticizing China's handling of unrest in Hong Kong
China has been furious at the US government for criticizing its handling of protests in Hong Kong and for backing pro-democracy demonstrators. Over the weekend, state-run media made the most of the current protests in America, sparked by the police-related death of George Floyd. "US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi once called the violent protests in Hong Kong 'a beautiful sight to behold,'" he wrote.
- U.S.INSIDER
The head of the Minneapolis police union called protests a 'terrorist movement' and blamed politicians for unrest in a leaked email
Tayfun Coskun/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images In a leaked email, the president of the Minneapolis Federation of Police said the ongoing protests over the death of George Floyd were a "terrorist movement" that has occurred following a "long time build up which dates back years." Lt. Bob Kroll blamed politicians for the ongoing tension, specifically targeting Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey. The former police chief of Minneapolis called on Kroll to resign, and Frey said Kroll was "shockingly indifferent to his role in undermining that trust and support" of the police force.
- U.S.CBS News
Police chief fired after fatal shooting of black business owner
Editor's note: This article has been updated with new information from the Louisville Metro Police Department. Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer on Monday announced the firing of the city's police chief after learning that two officers involved in the fatal shooting of a black business owner had not activated their body cameras. The family of the victim identified him as David McAtee, who owned a barbecue near the shooting scene, CBS affiliate WLKY-TV reported.
- WorldThe Daily Beast
The New Top Prosecutor in Ukraine Has Joe Biden in Her Sights
On the night of May 19, Venediktova personally approved the beginning of criminal proceedings against former President Petro Poroshenko for high treason and abuse of office. The move was triggered by leaked recordings of confidential conversations that allegedly took place in 2015-2016 between Poroshenko and then Vice President Biden, as well as John Kerry, who was the U.S. secretary of state at the time. Before her appointment as prosecutor general in March, Venediktova—a graduate of Ukraine's police academy who holds the rank of captain—had served Zelensky as acting chief of the State Bureau of Investigations (DBR).
- PoliticsPolitico
Trump slams North Carolina and says he's moving GOP convention elsewhere
President Donald Trump said Tuesday that Republicans will seek another state instead of North Carolina to hold its August convention after a prolonged standoff with the state's Democratic governor. "Would have showcased beautiful North Carolina to the World, and brought in hundreds of millions of dollars, and jobs, for the State," Trump tweeted. "Because of" Gov. Roy Cooper, he added, "we are now forced to seek another State to host the 2020 Republican National Convention."
- WorldThe Telegraph
Iranian 'spy' scientist flies home after release from US prison, raising hopes of prisoner swap
The families of British dual nationals imprisoned by Iran today criticised the Foreign Office for “complete inaction” in trying to secure their release, as an Iranian scientist previously jailed by the US was allowed to fly home. A plane carrying Sirous Asgari took off early this morning and was on its way back to Tehran to bring him home, Iran's foreign minister announced, raising hopes of a potential prisoner swap for Western dual nationals in Iran. Mr Asgari was accused by a US court in 2016 of stealing trade secrets while on an academic visit to Ohio, where he visited a university working on projects for the US Navy.
- U.S.Associated Press
Black Liberty U. alums rebuke Falwell after blackface tweet
Nearly three dozen black alumni of Liberty University denounced school President Jerry Falwell Jr. on Monday, suggesting he step down after he mocked Virginia's mask-wearing requirement by invoking the blackface scandal that engulfed the state's governor last year. In a letter to Falwell, shared with The Associated Press, 35 faith leaders and former student-athletes told Falwell that his past comments “have repeatedly violated and misrepresented" Christian principles. “You have belittled staff, students and parents, you have defended inappropriate behaviors of politicians, encouraged violence, and disrespected people of other faiths,” they wrote, advising Falwell that “your heart is in politics more than Christian academia or ministry.”
- U.S.The Independent
George Floyd protests: NYC mayor Bill de Blasio ‘proud’ of daughter after she is arrested
New York City mayor Bill de Blasio has told reporters that he is proud of his daughter, Chiara de Blasio, for getting arrested at a George Floyd protest over the weekend. Ms de Blasio was arrested on Saturday, at a protest at East 12th Street in Manhattan, for “unlawful assembly,” according to NBC News. The mayor's daughter was one of 345 people arrested at protests in New York City on Saturday, and was briefly detained, then released from custody.
WorldAFPAustralia probes US police assault on its journalists
Australia is investigating a US police attack on two Australian television journalists outside the White House, the foreign minister said Tuesday, expressing "strong concerns" about the assault caught live on camera. "We have asked the Australian embassy in Washington, DC to investigate this incident," Marise Payne said after the journalists were slammed with a riot shield, punched and hit with a baton while broadcasting from the protest. "I want to get further advice on how we would go about registering Australia's strong concerns with the responsible local authorities in Washington," she said, indicating a formal complaint would follow.
- WorldBusiness Insider
Leaked documents reveal China withheld crucial information about the coronavirus at the start of the outbreak
Xinhua via REUTERS China delayed the release of information about the coronavirus, according to a new investigation. Its health officials did not share the coronavirus genome until over a week after scientists in Chinese laboratories decoded it at the beginning of January. Beijing did not warn the World Health Organization that the virus passed between people until two weeks later.
- U.S.USA TODAY
Trump: GOP 'forced to seek another state' to host the Republican National Convention
While the Democratic Party is working to decide whether it will even have an in-person convention, Republicans are looking at changing the location of theirs to ensure a splashy event. President Donald Trump weighed Tuesday evening in a series of tweets, where he said Republicans were looking for a new state for their convention and criticized North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper for refusing "to guarantee that we can have use of the Spectrum Arena - Spend millions of dollars, have everybody arrive, and....then tell them they will not be able to gain entry." "Governor Cooper is still in Shelter-In-Place Mode, and not allowing us to occupy the arena as originally anticipated and promised," Trump wrote in a series of tweets.
- WorldBBC
Pakistan 'blasphemy' death row couple's plea for freedom
Their lawyer, Saif ul Malook, who also represented Asia Bibi, another Christian woman who had a death sentence for blasphemy successfully overturned, told the BBC the evidence used to convict the couple was deeply flawed. But, he warned, that judges can be "fearful" of acquitting suspects, in case they are targeted themselves by extremists. Court proceedings have also slowed in recent weeks as a result of the coronavirus outbreak.
- PoliticsNational Review
Biden Proposes Training Cops to Shoot Attackers in the Leg to Reduce Fatalities
Joe Biden on Monday suggested that police forces could train officers to shoot attackers in the legs in order to reduce potential fatalities. There is “the idea that instead of standing there and teaching a cop when there's an unarmed person, coming at him with a knife or something, to shoot him in the leg instead of in the heart,” Biden said. Biden made his remarks while meeting with African American community leaders at the Bethel AME Church in Wilmington, Del. The former vice president was discussing the widespread protests touched off by the killing of George Floyd, an African American man, at the hands of white police officers in Minneapolis, Minn.
- WorldReuters
Mexico's president says military is aiding missing students probe
Mexico's military is cooperating with a fresh probe into the 2014 disappearance of 43 student teachers, Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said on Tuesday. The apparent massacre of the youths, whose remains are still being searched for, is widely believed to have been committed by corrupt police working with a violent drug gang, and has drawn international outrage. Lopez Obrador, who came into power in 2018, has vowed to uncover what really happened and examine the prior handling of the case, which led to one of the worst crises of his predecessor Enrique Pena Nieto's administration.
U.S.Yahoo News VideoD.C. police officer to protesters: 'If I didn't think change was possible, I would just give up'
Hours into the mandatory curfew in Washington, D.C., several police officers were recorded engaging in peaceful dialogue with protesters. While remaining in opposition to the extended protests over George Floyd's death, one officer appeared to commiserate with protesters' desire to seek change.
- WorldThe Telegraph
Hong Kong leader accuses international community of double standards over US riots
Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam accused foreign governments for having “double standards,” criticising the US for condemning Beijing's move to impose national security laws to quell protests, while taking its own severe steps to curb unrest at home. “They are very concerned about their own national security, but on our national security...they look through coloured glasses,” said Ms Lam in a weekly press conference. Last week, the US declared that it would axe preferential treatment over worries the global financial hub no longer remained sufficiently autonomous from mainland China, ruled by the Communist Party, with the onset of the national security law.
- U.S.INSIDER
A New York police officer drew his gun on protesters. Mayor Bill de Blasio says he 'should have his gun and badge taken away.'
Seth Wenig/AP Photo A New York City police officer pointed his gun at peaceful protesters in Manhattan Sunday night. After a video of the incident trended on Twitter, Mayor Bill de Blasio said the officer's actions were "unacceptable" and he should "have his gun and badge taken away." On Saturday, de Blasio was widely criticized for defending police officers who drove into a protesting crowd, before backtracking on his comments Sunday.
- U.S.CBS News
McConnell blocks resolution condemning Trump's response to protests
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell blocked a resolution proposed by Senate Democrats that would have condemned President Trump's response to protesters in Washington, D.C., on Monday, when federal law enforcement officers forcefully removed demonstrators from a park across from the White House. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer introduced the resolution on Tuesday, saying on the Senate floor that the removal of the protesters was "appalling" and "an abuse of presidential power." He attempted to pass the measure by unanimous consent, which does not require a vote by the whole Senate but can be blocked by any member.
- U.S.Business Insider
An 'ANTIFA' Twitter account that called for looting 'white hoods' was actually run by white nationalist group Identity Evropa
A fake antifa Twitter account that called for violence was actually run by a white nationalist group, according to a Twitter spokesperson. The account, "@ANTIFA_US," pretended to align with the Black Lives Matter movement and ongoing nationwide protests, and called for protesters to "move into residential areas... the white hoods.... and we take what's ours." Twitter banned the account Monday for breaking its rules against platform manipulation, spam, and inciting violence.
WorldAFPWuhan doctor at whistleblower's hospital dies from coronavirus
A Wuhan doctor who worked with coronavirus whistleblower Li Wenliang died of the virus on Tuesday, state media reported, becoming China's first COVID-19 fatality in weeks. Hu Weifeng, a urologist at Wuhan Central Hospital, passed away after being treated for COVID-19 and allied issues for more than four months, state broadcaster CCTV said. He is the sixth doctor from Wuhan Central Hospital to have died from the virus, which emerged in the central Chinese city last year.
- U.S.BBC
George Floyd: Anonymous hackers re-emerge amid US unrest
As the United States deals with widespread civil unrest across dozens of cities, "hacktivist" group Anonymous has returned from the shadows. The hacker collective was once a regular fixture in the news, targeting those it accused of injustice with cyber-attacks. After years of relative quiet, it appears to have re-emerged in the wake of violent protests in Minneapolis over the death of George Floyd, promising to expose the "many crimes" of the city's police to the world.
WorldReuters VideosItalian doctor says new coronavirus may be losing its potency
One of the hospitals in Italy that has borne witness to the worst of the pandemic says that it's noticed a marked change in their new patients: the virus inside them seems to be losing its potency. Alberto Zangrillo is the head of the San Raffaele Hospital in Milan. Talking to Italy's RAI television, he said: "In reality, the virus clinically no longer exists in Italy."
- U.S.The Daily Beast
Feds Charge Two for Firebombing Minnesota Building During Protests
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms (ATF) made its first known intervention on Monday into the spiraling crisis in Minnesota, following the killing of George Floyd by Minneapolis Police Officer Derek Chauvin. The federal agency charged two men with firebombing a county building in the town of Apple Valley on Friday, and with possessing Molotov cocktails “not registered to them in the National Firearms Registration and Transfer.” The criminal complaint, brought against Garrett Ziegler and Fornandous Henderson, coincided with warnings from President Donald Trump and U.S. Attorney General William Barr of increased federal involvement in local law enforcement efforts to counter the violence that has wracked multiple American cities.
