| Tamika Mallory: 'Movement begins again' when the officers charged with killing George Floyd head to court Posted: 09 Jun 2020 10:53 AM PDT  There comes a time when it's OK for protesters to go home, says activist Tamika Mallory. But she says that when the court trials of the officers accused in George Floyd's killing begin, so does a new stage of the movement.
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| Dr. Birx Says George Floyd Protests Have Resulted in the Destruction of 70 Covid-19 Testing Sites Posted: 10 Jun 2020 08:14 AM PDT  Dr. Deborah Birx, President Trump's coronavirus response coordinator, warned the nation's governors on a conference call that 70 coronavirus testing sites had been destroyed amid widespread protests in the wake of the death of George Floyd.During the Monday call, a recording of which was obtained by the Daily Beast, Birx said governors should "scramble now to make sure there is testing available in urban areas." Vice President Mike Pence, the head of the White House coronavirus task force, said that spikes in cases stemming from the unrest are "an issue our team is following and there is a concern."Birx's comments mirror those of Dr. Anthony Fauci, who has raised concerns that the protests could lead to a spike in cases. "It's a perfect set up for further spread of the virus in the sense of creating these blips which might turn into some surges," Fauci admitted on local D.C. radio station WTOP last week.Members of the Washington, D.C., National Guard have already tested positive for coronavirus since being deployed on May 31 to help deal with mass demonstrations and rioting in the nation's capitol.Data shows that Texas, California, Oregon, North and South Carolina, Mississippi, Utah, Arkansas, and Arizona have all seen sharp increases in coronavirus hospitalizations since Memorial Day weekend, as states have begun to open up following months of lockdowns."There is active community spread in California, North Carolina, Utah, and Arizona," Birx said on the call, adding that her team had seen evidence of community spread in "metro Hispanic neighborhoods."
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| Police officer who put middle fingers up at protesters stripped of his powers Posted: 09 Jun 2020 02:27 PM PDT  A Chicago police officer who raised his middle fingers to demonstrators during George Floyd protests last week, has been assigned to desk duty.During the protests last Thursday, an officer was photographed raising the middle fingers of both of his hands at protesters, as police drove away from the demonstrations.
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| Trump's troop cut in Germany blindsided senior U.S. officials, sources say Posted: 08 Jun 2020 08:22 PM PDT  President Donald Trump's decision to cut U.S. troop levels in Germany blindsided a number of senior national security officials, according to five sources familiar with the matter, and the Pentagon had yet to receive a formal order to carry it out, Reuters has learned. Trump decided to remove 9,500 troops from Germany, one of America's strongest allies, reducing the number there to 25,000 from 34,500, a senior U.S. official said on Friday.
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| Kentucky Rep. Thomas Massie called out by opponent for displaying Confederate battle flag at home Posted: 10 Jun 2020 12:06 PM PDT  U.S. Rep. Thomas Massie's staff did not respond to multiple phone calls and emails seeking comment on whether the flag is still hanging.
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| Sweden says 34 year mystery of Palme assassination is solved Posted: 10 Jun 2020 07:02 AM PDT 
Closing a chapter on Sweden's most notorious unsolved crime: the assassination of Prime Minister Olof Palme. [Head of investigation, Hans Melander, spoke via a translator on Wednesday:] "Well we can say that this is one of the biggest police investigations in the world. It is often compared to the assassination of JFK and also with the Lockerbie bombing and if we look to Sweden then of course it is by far Sweden's biggest criminal investigation ever.'' Palme, the leader of Sweden's Social Democrats, was shot dead in central Stockholm in 1986 after a visit to the cinema. A Swedish prosecutor closed the case on Wednesday (June 10). Krister Petersson, who has led an investigation into the case since 2017, said the killer was Stig Engstrom, a suspect long known to Swedes as "Skandia man" after the company where he worked, with offices near the scene of the shooting. Engstrom, known to have been at the scene, was repeatedly questioned in early investigations but dismissed as a serious suspect at the time. He died in the year 2000. Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Lofven said on Wednesday (June 10) that he hoped the findings could begin healing the wounds left by the national trauma of the assassination 34 years ago. Lofven said that while a conviction and more definitive evidence would have been desirable, the current investigation had gone further than previous inquiries. Palme's son, Marten, told public service radio he also believed Engstrom was the killer, but said, quote, "unfortunately there is no real conclusive evidence." Conspiracy theories around the assassination blamed a range of forces, from the CIA and Kurdish separatists to the South African security services.
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| Coronavirus live updates: U.S. cases top 2 million Posted: 10 Jun 2020 02:03 PM PDT  Here are the latest coronavirus updates from around the world.
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| 14 Beautiful Examples of When Historic and Modern Architecture Come Together Posted: 10 Jun 2020 07:59 AM PDT |
| Protesters across US attacked by cars driven into crowds and men with guns Posted: 09 Jun 2020 03:00 AM PDT  Protesters confronted by armed men – including members of the so-called 'boogaloo movement' – in different parts of AmericaAnti police-brutality protesters have been confronted by armed men in cities around America in recent days, with some brandishing firearms or other weapons, some driving vehicles at crowds, and others – including members of the so-called "boogaloo movement" – claiming they have come to help anti-racism demonstrations.On Sunday, in Seattle, a man drove at speed towards protesters, while several protesters tried to slow or stop the vehicle.One who reached through the car window was shot in the arm by the driver. The driver then exited the vehicle carrying a handgun, which appeared in photographs to have a modified, extra-long magazine. He moved into the crowd, and later surrendered to police.But this was not even the first such incident that day. In Lakeside, Virginia, an armed man named Harry "Skip" Rogers, was arrested on charges of assault and battery after he allegedly drove his truck at protesters, hitting a cyclist.Rogers, reportedly an organizer for the National Association for Awakening Confederate Patriots, carried out a one-man protest in 2016 wearing Ku Klux Klan robes, and was also part of the Unite the Right demonstration in Charlottesville in 2017, where protester Heather Heyer was murdered in a vehicular homicide. Two days days after Unite the Right, according to photographs and accounts of activists, Rogers was bloodied in an altercation that took place when he attempted to disrupt a memorial rally for Heyer, while wearing a shirt with KKK and Confederate flag patches.Other vehicular attacks have also occurred, among other places, on 29 May in Bakersfield, California, and day before in Denver. On 30 May an armed man pulled a gun before driving through a crowd in Gainesville, Florida. In Minneapolis, a man in a semi-trailer truck parted the crowd on an overpass when he drove towards them. Further incidents involving firearms and other weapons have also occurred. In McAllen, Texas, last Friday, a lone man threatened Black Lives Matter protesters with a running chainsaw, first screaming "go home" before shouting racial slurs. In Upland, California, on 1 June, a man pulled an AR-15 from his truck and brandished it at protesters, and was subsequently arrested.In Chicago on 31 May, a lone man armed with a semi-automatic rifle and a sidearm pistol was led away from the scene of a protest by police. Earlier, protesters say, he had brandished the weapon at them.In Boise, Idaho, on 1 June, two armed men disguised with skull masks similar to those favored by some neo-Nazi groups counter-protested a local Black Lives Matter march. One, Michael Wallace, 19, was later arrested after what police were investigating as an accidental discharge of his weapon. In Salt Lake City on 31 May, a man was arrested after threatening a crowd of protesters with a hunting bow. But some armed individuals attending protests, identified as members of the "boogaloo movement", have presented protesters with a troubling ambiguity. So-called "boogaloo bois" are members of a loose-knit, pro-gun, anti-government movement, which is preoccupied with what they believe to be a looming second American civil war. Last week, three former armed servicemen associated with the movement were arrested and charged over an alleged plot aimed at vital national infrastructure.In general, the subculture resents the police and government agencies who would restrict their access to firearms. But they are divided within themselves on several questions, including racial politics. While some ardent white supremacists use the vocabulary and imagery of the movement – including donning Hawaiian shirts – others express strong sympathy for black victims of police violence. At protests around the country, some members of the boogaloo movement have shown up armed to protect stores from protesters, and others are implicitly hostile. But others claim to support the protests. Social media material obtained by the Guardian shows some in smaller communities in the Pacific north-west marching alongside Black Lives Matter protesters. On social media, some of the most popular Facebook pages and groups associated with the movement have celebrated the protests against the killing of George Floyd. One viral social video shows a "boogaloo boi" vocally criticizing police brutality and sympathizing with the protesters.But worries about infiltration and uncertainty about the true motivations of boogaloo sympathizers have led many protesters to keep their distance. The Puget Sound John Brown Gun Club is a leftist "community defense organization", which itself frequently openly carries firearms in defense of leftwing protests, and is known for attempting dialogue with members of rightwing militia groups. Via a messaging app, its spokesman reflected the ambivalence with which many protesters regard boogaloo bois. "The 'boog movement' has many bad actors within its ranks proliferating antisemitic, racist and QAnon dog whistles, either deliberately or inadvertently, but the movement has also scooped up legitimately disillusioned people," the spokesperson said.Asked how the group and other leftists should respond to "boogaloo bois" seeking to join or assist protests, the spokesperson said: "We've had boogaloo types show up at events. Usually we watch from a distance because of the risk and unpredictability."
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| Biden still wants to increase funding for police departments by $300 million to 'reinvigorate community policing' Posted: 10 Jun 2020 08:03 AM PDT  "Nothing about this fight will be easy. Institutions resist change. Racism has been a fixture in our society for hundreds of years," Biden wrote.
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| Fired State Dept watchdog says he was bullied by officials Posted: 10 Jun 2020 09:38 AM PDT  The independent State Department watchdog fired by President Donald Trump says top department officials tried to bully him and dissuade his office from conducting a review of a multibillion-dollar arms sale to Saudi Arabia. Former Inspector General Steve Linick told Congress last week that two senior officials sought to block an inquiry into the arms deal, according to a transcript of the interview made public Wednesday by Democrats leading an investigation into his dismissal. Linick, who had been inspector general since 2013, also said he was looking into previously reported allegations that Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and his wife may have misused government staff to run personal errands and several other matters.
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| Homicides in Los Angeles Increase 250 Percent from Previous Week Posted: 10 Jun 2020 05:56 AM PDT  The Los Angeles Police Department announced that murders increased by 250 percent last week in the wake of national unrest following the death of George Floyd, and just as Los Angeles officials announced plans to slash the city's police budget by up to $150 million.The LAPD announced that, compared to the previous week, "homicides went up 250% and victims shot went up 56%" from May 31 to June 6. The department also said that the city had seen four separate shootings — one resulting in a homicide — over the last 24 hours.> The week of 5/31 to 6/6, homicides went up 250% and victims shot went up 56% compared to the previous week. > > The past 24 hrs has seen 4 shootings, one of those resulting in a homicide. Detectives are following leads to ID & arrest the suspects—but we're also asking for your help pic.twitter.com/UXwZD7pPze> > -- LAPD HQ (@LAPDHQ) June 9, 2020Last week, Mayor Eric Garcetti said that the city would "identify $250 million in cuts so we can invest in jobs, in health, in education and in healing," for women and minority communities, and the black community in particular. L.A. Police Commission President Eileen Decker then revealed that $100 million to $150 million would come in reductions to the police budget.Garcetti said there would be cuts "to every department, including the Police Department, because we all have to be part of this solution together. We all have to step up and say, 'What can we sacrifice?'" The stance marks a major shift from Garcetti's position of just a few weeks ago, when he proposed significantly increasing the LAPD budget during the 2020-21 fiscal year from $1.189 billion to $1.86 billion.The city's police union, the Los Angeles Police Protective League, responded to the announcement by warning the cuts would not make the city safer."What you need to do is ask the citizens of Los Angeles, Do they feel comfortable with cutting $150 million from the police budget?' I would say, No.' Can you imagine if that money was cut and the same situation happened in a year or two? I think it would be 10 times worse," Detective Jamie McBride, a member of union's board of directors, said in response to the news.
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| How the U.S. Army Is Testing Its New Mobile Protected Firepower Vehicle Posted: 09 Jun 2020 07:45 AM PDT  A powerful new edition to the military.
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| Louisville police release the Breonna Taylor incident report. It's nearly blank. Posted: 10 Jun 2020 12:17 PM PDT  Nearly three months after police fatally shot Breonna Taylor, the department has released the incident report. Except, it is almost entirely blank.
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| George Floyd protests: Minneapolis police force drops talks with union headed by Trump loyalist Posted: 10 Jun 2020 08:56 AM PDT  Minneapolis Police Department chief Medaria Arradondo announced the department would immediately withdraw from the police union contract negotiations as one of a series of agency reforms following the death of George Floyd.This first step of many, Mr Arradondo said, was in an effort to provide "transparency and more flexibility for true reform" for how the department polices citizens.
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| Virginia judge blocks governor's demand to pull down Confederate statue Posted: 08 Jun 2020 10:14 PM PDT  The injunction was issued by a Richmond City Circuit Court judge on Monday, the Post reported. A lawyer for the man who sought the injunction - William C. Gregory - did not immediately respond to a request for comment, nor did Northam's office.
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| Dan Bongino Goes Full ‘All Lives Matter’ During Congressional Hearing on Police Brutality Posted: 10 Jun 2020 12:43 PM PDT  George Floyd's brother was among the witnesses invited by Democrats to speak at a House Judiciary Committee hearing on police brutality Wednesday morning. Republicans invited Fox News contributor Dan Bongino. Bongino, a former U.S. Secret Service agent who has made several unsuccessful bids for Congress, used his opening statement to endorse the "few bad apples" theory of police misconduct. But by the time he was getting questioned by Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY), he was going full "All Lives Matter." Jeffries listed off the many familiar names of black men and women who have been unjustly killed by police officers. "But Mr. Bongino, the police are at times able to show restraint under very difficult circumstances, is that correct?" the congressman asked. After Bongino answered in the affirmative, Jeffries listed off some well-known mass shooters, like James Holmes and Dylann Roof, who were not killed by police despite being heavily armed."The police somehow arrested Dylann Roof without incident and even treated him to Burger King," Jeffries said. "Mr. Bongino, Dylann Roof is white, is that correct?" "I don't see where you are going with this," Bongino replied, adding: "It was an awful thing he did, whether he was white or black." After another similar example, Bongino said, "I don't know why you're making a racial thing out of it." "Because black lives matter, sir!" Jeffries told him."All lives matter, sir," Bongino shot back. "Every single life matters. White, black, Asian or otherwise." When Jeffries spelled out the point he was making, Bongino said, "I arrested those people, sir, you didn't," apparently referring to his stint as an NYPD officer in the late '90s.Turning to another witness, Jeffries said: "Innocent, unarmed African-Americans are repeatedly killed in police encounter after police encounter. Is it fair to say that the difference, which seems explicable, in police behavior, somehow relates at least in part to race?" As Georgetown Law professor Paul Butler answered: "In law and in police practices, black lives do not have the same value that white lives have." 'Fox & Friends' Forces Kayleigh McEnany to Defend Trump's Buffalo Protester ConspiracyRead more at The Daily Beast.Got a tip? Send it to The Daily Beast hereGet our top stories in your inbox every day. Sign up now!Daily Beast Membership: Beast Inside goes deeper on the stories that matter to you. Learn more.
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| Dozens killed in attack in northern Nigeria Posted: 10 Jun 2020 10:02 AM PDT  At least 59 people are reported to have been killed in the raid by jihadist militants on Tuesday.
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| Even Trump supporters can't possibly believe the 75-year-old bloodied by Buffalo police is Antifa Posted: 09 Jun 2020 09:45 AM PDT  People occasionally have their attention riveted by something so important, it intrudes on their daily lives. Last week, that was Martin Gugino.
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| Virus pummels global economy, jobs - even without 2nd wave Posted: 10 Jun 2020 03:09 AM PDT  The virus crisis has triggered the worst global recession in nearly a century -- and the pain is not over yet even if there is no second wave of infections, an international economic report warned Wednesday. Hundreds of millions of people have lost their jobs, and the crisis is hitting the poor and young people the hardest, worsening inequalities, Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development said in its latest analysis of global economic data. "It is probably the most uncertain and dramatic outlook since the creation of the OECD," Secretary General Angel Gurria said.
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| President Trump, Senate Republicans to put forward proposals for possible police reform Posted: 09 Jun 2020 03:16 PM PDT  Sources say the reforms would be a combination of executive and legislative action; chief White House correspondent John Roberts reports.
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| This Urban Home in India Maximizes Its Tiny Footprint Posted: 10 Jun 2020 10:28 AM PDT |
| China Carries Out Large-Scale Drills in Latest Showdown With India Posted: 10 Jun 2020 05:30 AM PDT  The latest saber-rattling in the region was meant to demonstrate China's capability to quickly reinforce its border defenses.
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| Philippine journalist Ressa scared but strong ahead of verdict Posted: 09 Jun 2020 11:21 PM PDT  High-profile Philippine journalist Maria Ressa says the libel charge that could see her jailed next week is a government ploy to intimidate all critical voices, but she refuses to be silenced and still holds out hope of winning. "I've been the cautionary tale: be quiet or you're next... that's part of the reason why I have been targeted," said Ressa, 56, the co-founder of news site Rappler and a former CNN journalist. "It's a chilling effect... not just to me and to Rappler, but to journalists and to anyone who asks critical questions."
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| The human remains found in doomsday author Chad Daybell's yard belong to his missing stepchildren, JJ Vallow and Tylee Ryan, their family says Posted: 10 Jun 2020 11:35 AM PDT  JJ Vallow, 7, and his sister Tylee Ryan, 17, were last seen in September. Their mother, Lori Vallow, was arrested in February.
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| Fact check: Cruise ships are registered abroad but they didn't seek a US bailout Posted: 10 Jun 2020 08:46 AM PDT  The claim that cruise ship companies register in foreign countries to avoid US taxes is true. But it's not true that they asked for COVID-19 bailout.
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| George Floyd death: Why US protests are so powerful this time Posted: 09 Jun 2020 01:09 AM PDT  There have been many Black Lives Matter protests before, but things seem different this time. Why?
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| American, Delta say demand uptick helping cash burn; United requiring health checklists Posted: 10 Jun 2020 08:34 AM PDT  American Airlines Group Inc and Delta Air Lines Inc said on Wednesday that a modest recovery in demand was helping to slow daily cash burn rates in June after the U.S. government reported record low passenger numbers in April amid the coronavirus pandemic. U.S. airlines carried 3 million passengers in April, a staggering 96% decline from April 2019, the Transportation Department said on Wednesday. Total U.S. airline passengers were the lowest since 1974 when the government began collecting monthly data.
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| ‘They Folded Like House of Cards’: McConnell Mocks NYT for Caving to Critics of Tom Cotton’s Op-ed Posted: 10 Jun 2020 10:31 AM PDT  Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell on Wednesday accused the New York Times of lying about the substance of Senator Tom Cotton's controversial op-ed for which the paper later apologized after an outcry from readers and Times journalists.During a floor speech, McConnell mocked the Times for bowing to criticism of the paper's decision to publish Cotton's opinion op-ed, titled "Send in the Troops," which called for military intervention to quell the rioting across the country in the wake of the death of George Floyd."One of our nation's most storied newspapers just had its intellectual independence challenged by an angry mob, and they folded like a house of cards," McConnell said from the Senate floor. "A jury of people on Twitter indicted them as accessories to a thought crime and instead of telling them to go take a hike, the paper pleaded guilty and begged for mercy."After the column's publication, several Times staffers tweeted that, "running this puts Black @NYTimes staff in danger." The backlash eventually resulted in the resignation of James Bennet, the Times editorial page editor, on Sunday.The Times has since added a lengthy note editor's note to the op-ed saying that "the essay fell short of our standards and should not have been published." While Cotton's "basic arguments" represent a "newsworthy part of the current debate," the note reads, the "life-and-death importance of the topic" and the Arkansas Republican's "influential position" warranted further substantial revisions." Editors also lamented the "needlessly harsh" tone of the essay and singled out several claims Cotton makes which they said should have been fact-checked.Cotton wrote that "nihilist criminals are simply out for loot and the thrill of destruction, with cadres of left-wing radicals like antifa infiltrating protest marches to exploit Floyd's death for their own anarchic purposes." The Times's editor's note takes issue with those assertions, saying Cotton's claims are unsubstantiated and have been "widely questioned."McConnell acknowledged that Cotton's view was "controversial" but said it remains a "legitimate" one.Afterwards, the Times "began lying about what Senator Cotton had said," saying he had "called for a crackdown on peaceful protests when he had specifically distinguished them from violent rioters," McConnell said.McConnell noted that in the past, the Times has published op-eds from Russian president Vladimir Putin, the Iranian foreign minister, and a leader of the Muslim brotherhood."Presumably it was understood that pushing the envelope and airing disagreements are necessary in a free market of ideas," the Kentucky Republican said. "But one week ago, the Gray Lady finally met her match. Vladimir Putin? No problem. Iranian propaganda? Sure. But nothing, nothing could have prepared them for 800 words from the junior senator from Arkansas.""The New York Times had erred grievously by making people confront a different viewpoint," McConnell said mockingly. "It hurt their feelings by making them confront a different point of view."
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| Peru surpasses 200,000 coronavirus infections: health ministry Posted: 09 Jun 2020 02:31 PM PDT  Peru emerged as a global COVID-19 hotspot on Tuesday as the health ministry registered more than 200,000 cases, ranking the South American country as the eighth-highest in the world by number of infections. The death toll rose to 5,738 and the total number of infections climbed to 203,736, an increase of more than 4,000 cases from the previous day. The figures show Peru as second only to Brazil as Latin America's worst-affected country by number of overall cases, and third after Brazil and Mexico in terms of deaths.
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| No masks, no water: New York protesters held in ‘abysmal’ conditions, experts say Posted: 10 Jun 2020 12:00 AM PDT  More than 2,000 people have been arrested in the city and the police treatment of those detained is emboldening people * George Floyd killing – latest US updates * See all our George Floyd coverageProtesters in New York have been unnecessarily arrested and detained for as long as 48 hours in "abysmal" conditions without access to masks, food and water, according to legal experts.Since the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis just over two weeks ago, tens of thousands of people have taken to the streets of New York City in protest over police brutality. More than 2,000 people had been arrested in the city as of Thursday – around a fifth of the total of over 10,000 arrested nationally – on charges such as resisting arrest, disorderly conduct and violating the now cancelled city-wide curfew. New York Police Department (NYPD) declined a request for updated arrest figures, saying they will be available "in the near future". Lawyers say the NYPD is also denying many of those arrested their right to a phone call, leaving their friends and families fearful for their lives. Details of arrests are not publicly available, but anecdotally, lawyers said protesters are facing charges for disorderly conduct, obstructing governmental administration and for violating the curfew, which was considered a Class B misdemeanour, carrying a maximum sentence of up to three months imprisonment.Despite the coronavirus pandemic, they said most police officers do not wear masks and in some cases confiscate those of protesters who are being "packed" into cells with no regard for social distancing.Corey Stoughton, head of the special litigation unit at the Legal Aid Society, said: "We have heard from our clients who have been arrested that the conditions in the holding cells that they are held in, in many cases for 10-20 hours, are abysmal. Especially following some of the larger demonstrations and mass arrests, that there are extremely crowded conditions, that the cells are dirty and unsanitary and unsafe."Police officers, she added, "rarely" wear masks. "So really an arrest is a decision by the police department to put protesters into a situation that is dangerous for their health and safety."Most protesters that are arrested are taken to a police station and held before being released on a summons ordering them to appear in court at a later date. The protesters the Guardian spoke to had received summonses for September. If they face higher charges, they are arraigned, which means they are detained until they have seen a judge – who either sets bail or releases them.Rigodis Appling, a staff attorney at the Legal Aid Society, where she is a founding member of the Black Attorneys of Legal Aid caucus, said some protesters were held for 48 hours. Ordinarily this would be illegal under New York state's 24-hour arrest-to-arraignment rule but it was suspended as a result of the crisis and upheld by a Manhattan supreme court judge."The people I saw had been sitting in the Tombs [the nickname for where people are detained underneath the courthouse in Manhattan] for 48 hours … in New York, typically you're supposed to see a judge within 24 hours," said Appling. She said of those who were arraigned, were "majority, almost all, black and Latino" and that many were "over-charged" with higher crimes. She has also seen multiple essential workers who were not necessarily a part of the protests in arraignments. Describing the conditions in the Tombs, she said: "Filthy would be an understatement." While she said it is always like that, Covid-19 makes it "even scarier" for her clients. Porsha-Shaf'on Venable, a supervising attorney public defender in New York and an attorney for Good Call, a hotline offering 24-hour free legal support to people who have been arrested in the city and their friends and family, said police treatment of protesters is tantamount to an "act of terror".She added: "People are scared … And if there was any confidence, if there was any modicum of confidence in the NYPD before, they have successfully diminished that. It is gone. And you can hear it in every mother's voice that calls the hotline."Good Call has been flooded with close to 2,000 calls since the protests started and expanded its team of lawyers, who Venable said are working "around the clock".On Thursday night, when protesters in the Bronx were zip-tied, she said they were taken to another borough, Queens."Some of them were ultimately released, but it was still during curfew time with no way to get back home and with real fear of being arrested again for violating the curfew."Many of the arrests are unnecessary, said Jared Trujillo, defence attorney and president of the association of Legal Aid Attorneys. "Ultimately someone who's just out there protesting there is no reason that police officers can't issue an appearance ticket – if they have to arrest them at all."Rather than scaring off protesters, police treatment of those arrested is in some ways "emboldening" people to demonstrate, he said.The Manhattan district attorney, Cyrus Vance, announced on Friday that he will not prosecute protesters for low-level offenses.However, Trujillo said there was no guarantee. "Something to note about the Manhattan DA is oftentimes they say they're not going to prosecute certain things and they do it anyway."Student Kellen Gold, 22, was arrested for violating the curfew on Wednesday night at a march in Manhattan. Gold, who uses they/them pronouns, said they were charged by police on bikes so they ran and kneeled before being "thrown to the ground and then cuffed" and taken to a police station in Brooklyn."I've been arrested a bunch of times [for activism] … this is the first arrest where I've been violently handled," said Gold, who was released at around 1.15am and given a court date in September.Almost all of the officers were not wearing masks, said Gold, and protesters were required to share water cups.Johnathan, 35, a videographer from Brooklyn who did not want to give his last name, said he was arrested for trespassing at the Barclays Centre on 29 May after walking up the sloping grass-covered roof of the train station to get a better vantage point to film.At One Police Plaza, NYPD's headquarters in Manhattan, he claims it was "chaos". He said he was not given a phone call and officers were not wearing masks or social distancing. In a holding area of about 50 people, he said he was the only one wearing a mask.He said he has been summoned to appear in September but that officers told him they will not charge him with trespassing. "I don't know what's in store," he added.The experience has changed him, he said, and he believes the police should be defunded. He added: "If they're messing that up, what else are they messing up? … The fire that has now been lit under me is to hold the police accountable."The NYPD, which Mayor Bill de Blasio announced on Sunday would have its $6bn budget cut following pressure from protesters, said it "supports and respects the rights of protesters to express their views" and that they are given "numerous warnings to disperse" if officers decide to clear the street. It said if directions are ignored, "a person may be subject to an arrest or summons."Sergeant Mary Frances O'Donnell, a spokeswoman for the deputy commissioner, public information, said: "While the majority of the protests have been peaceful, our officers have encountered agitators with different agendas who have used the guise of the protests to commit criminal acts and violence. "Since May 25, our officers have been shot at, stabbed, assaulted with rocks, bricks and other debris, have been struck by vehicles and have even had molotov cocktails thrown inside their vehicle. This behaviour is unacceptable and will not be tolerated."
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| Philippine defense chief flies to disputed island amid feud Posted: 09 Jun 2020 03:14 AM PDT  The Philippine defense chief and top military officials flew to a disputed island in the South China Sea on Tuesday to inaugurate a beach ramp built to allow the "full-blast" development of the territory in a move likely to infuriate China. Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana brought journalists to witness the ribbon-cutting ceremony on the island, internationally called Thitu, in what he said was a milestone in efforts to make the island, long occupied by Filipino forces and fishermen, more livable without militarizing it. Lorenzana said the Philippines has the right to develop its nine occupied islands as other claimants have done.
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| An electric pickup truck with a longer range than Tesla's Cybertruck will soon be up for preorder — check out the Nikola Badger Posted: 09 Jun 2020 08:22 AM PDT  Nikola's Badger pickup truck has an estimated range of up to 600 miles and can hit 60 mph in 2.9 seconds.
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| Israel's Supreme Court strikes down law legalizing settlements on private Palestinian land Posted: 10 Jun 2020 03:31 AM PDT  Court votes to repeal 2017 measure that said settlers could stay on land if they built there without knowing of Palestinian ownership.
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| 2 Chicagoans say police attacked them at Illinois mall, plan to sue officers involved Posted: 09 Jun 2020 05:52 PM PDT  Two people who said police attacked them at the brickyard mall last week, plan to sue the two officers involved.
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| George Floyd and Derek Chauvin 'bumped heads' at the nightclub where they both worked because of Chauvin's aggression with clients, former coworker says Posted: 10 Jun 2020 02:30 AM PDT  Floyd worked as a bouncer inside the club, and Chauvin patrolled the outside of the club. It previously wasn't clear whether the two interacted.
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| U.S. protesters topple Columbus statue and throw it in a lake Posted: 10 Jun 2020 06:59 AM PDT  A wave of demonstrations has swept across the United States and Europe following the death of George Floyd. Protesters have torn down statues linked to empire and the slave trade. Columbus was born in Genoa, Italy in 1451 and his voyages across the Atlantic opened the way for European colonisation of the Americas.
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| D-Day by the Numbers: Here's All the Data You Could Want About That Famous Invasion Posted: 09 Jun 2020 02:00 PM PDT  The data shows how huge the operation was.
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| India and China: How Nepal's new map is stirring old rivalries Posted: 10 Jun 2020 08:01 AM PDT  Nepal is redrawing its official map, fuelling simmering border tensions between India and China.
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| Ex-cops charged with assault sue Atlanta's mayor and police chief Posted: 10 Jun 2020 03:22 PM PDT  "Petitioners have suffered irreparable injury to their personal and professional reputations as a result of their unlawful dismissal," their lawsuit alleges.
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| Iran sentencing an alleged CIA source to death for the Soleimani assassination has reminded US allies of a constant worry: Media leaks can get their people killed. Posted: 10 Jun 2020 09:15 AM PDT  Many allies of the US were unsettled by the level of detail made public about how Qassem Soleimani was killed in January 2020.
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| Trump news – live: President claims campaign rallies could resume next week, after pushing ‘unbelievably sick’ smear against victim of police brutality Posted: 09 Jun 2020 09:31 AM PDT  Donald Trump has taken to Twitter to suggest a 75-year-old Black Lives Matter protester knocked to the ground and injured in Buffalo, New York, during the George Floyd protests could be "an ANTIFA provocateur" and the incident, which was filmed and went viral, "a set up" during a barrage of tweets onTuesday.The president has also claimed his re-election rallies could begin "next week" while dismissing calls for local authorities to "defund the police" and redistribute resources towards social services in the wake of Floyd's killing. "There won't be defunding. There won't be dismantling of our police. And there is not going to be any disbanding of our police," he said on Monday.
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