| Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey was booed out of a protest after he said he would not defund the police department Posted: 07 Jun 2020 08:38 AM PDT  Frey left the protest against the death of George Floyd after an officer knelt on his neck, to shouts of "shame on you" and "go home, Jacob, go home."
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| KKK 'leader' charged for attack on Black Lives Matter protesters Posted: 08 Jun 2020 03:14 PM PDT  A hate crime investigation is underway after a Virginia man allegedly drove his car into protesters.
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| Why Did Iran Want This Florida Man In Exchange For an American Veteran? (Think Herpes) Posted: 08 Jun 2020 11:29 AM PDT  U.S. officials say he was part of a "very large conspiracy" to help Iran research a herpes vaccine.
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| Feds press criminal case against Flynn partner Posted: 07 Jun 2020 08:28 PM PDT  The move occurs even amid ongoing efforts to drop charges against Michael Flynn.
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| China demands proof from U.S. senator for COVID-19 accusation Posted: 08 Jun 2020 12:54 AM PDT  China on Monday challenged U.S. Senator Rick Scott to show evidence supporting his accusation that Beijing is trying to slow down or sabotage the development of a COVID-19 vaccine by Western countries. Scott declined to give details of the evidence when asked during the interview on Sunday but said it had come through the intelligence community.
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| Embattled NY Times Opinion Editor James Bennet Resigns After Staff Revolt Posted: 07 Jun 2020 01:21 PM PDT  New York Times opinion editor James Bennet on Sunday announced that he has resigned, effectively immediately, following an internal revolt over Republican Sen. Tom Cotton's "Send in the Troops" column published last week.The newspaper announced that Katie Kingsbury will step in as an interim opinion page editor through the election; and that Bennet's deputy editor Jim Dao is being reassigned back to the newsroom.In a statement, Times publisher A.G. Sulzberger said: "James is a journalist of enormous talent and integrity who believes deeply in the mission of The Times. He oversaw a significant transformation of the Opinion department, which broadened the range of voices we publish and pushed us into new formats like video, graphics and audio. I'm grateful for his many contributions."Bennet came under intense scrutiny late last week after publishing a column from pro-Trump Sen. Cotton calling upon President Donald Trump to send in the military as a response to nationwide protests against police brutality.The Wednesday afternoon column, which Bennet did not read before its publication, caused an open revolt at the paper as dozens of employees from across various departments all tweeted its headline along with the caption: "Running this puts Black @NYTimes staff in danger."Bennet initially defended the decision to run the opinion piece, but on Friday, during a tense company-wide meeting, he and the paper's bosses issued a mea culpa, lamenting that he allowed the opinion page to be "stampeded by the news cycle," and that it would be necessary to rethink the section altogether. He additionally admitted that the Times did "invite" Cotton to submit the piece."I just want to begin by saying I'm very sorry, I'm sorry for the pain that this particular piece has caused," Bennet said. "I do think this is a moment for me and for us to interrogate everything we do in opinion."Bennet also took several questions from the paper's staff, including why he did not personally read Cotton's column before it was published. That failure, Bennet said, was "another part of the process that broke down." He added: "I should have been involved in signing off on the piece... I should have read it and signed off."In a memo sent to staff following news of Bennet's departure, Sulzberger emphasized that "None of these changes mark a retreat from The Times's responsibility to help people understand a range of voices across the breadth of public debate. That role is as important as it's ever been."He added: "Because we have faced questions in recent days about our core values, I want to say this plainly: As an institution we are opposed to racism in every corner of society. We are opposed to injustice. We believe deeply in principles of fairness, equality and human rights. Those values animate both our news report and our opinion report."Seth Meyers Demolishes New York Times for Running 'Fascist' Tom Cotton Op-EdRead more at The Daily Beast.Get 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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| Brazil records big surge as global deaths approach 400,000 Posted: 07 Jun 2020 09:01 AM PDT  Here are the latest coronavirus updates from around the world.
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| N. Korea to cut communication lines to 'enemy' South: KCNA Posted: 08 Jun 2020 03:39 PM PDT  The threats come with inter-Korean ties at a standstill, despite three summits between the North's Kim Jong Un and the South's President Moon Jae-in in 2018. Pyongyang "will completely cut off and shut down the liaison line between the authorities of the north and the south, which has been maintained through the north-south joint liaison office," as well as other communication links "from 12:00 on June 9, 2020," the Korean Central News Agency said. The links being cut also include "the East and West Seas communication lines" between militaries of the two sides, an inter-Korean "trial communication line," and a hotline between the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea and South Korea's presidential Blue House, KCNA said.
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| George Floyd death: Why US protests are so powerful this time Posted: 08 Jun 2020 04:55 PM PDT  There have been many Black Lives Matter protests before, but things seem different this time. Why?
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| An ocean apart, similar stories: US protests hit home in South Africa Posted: 08 Jun 2020 01:44 PM PDT |
| Army Considering Renaming Bases Named After Confederate Leaders Posted: 08 Jun 2020 03:42 PM PDT  Army Secretary Ryan McCarthy on Monday reversed his stance on renaming U.S. Army bases currently named for Confederate leaders and is now reportedly "open" to renaming them."The Secretary of the Army is open to a bipartisan discussion on the topic," Army spokesperson Colonel Sunset Belinsky told Politico.The reversal comes on the heels of the U.S. Marines' decision to ban the display of the Confederate flag on its military bases, including on bumper stickers, clothing, and coffee mugs. The ban was made official on Friday."The Confederate battle flag has all too often been co-opted by violent extremist and racist groups whose divisive beliefs have no place in our Corps," the Marines said in a statement. "Our history as a nation, and events like the violence in Charlottesville in 2017, highlight the divisiveness the use of the Confederate battle flag has had on our society."Some of the white supremacist protesters who demonstrated in Charlottesville, Virginia during the summer of 2017 sported Confederate flag paraphernalia as they protested the removal of a statue of General Robert E. Lee. The protests turned violent, and one white supremacist protester purposefully rammed his car into a crowd of counter-protesters, killing one woman.The Army previously said in February that it had no plans to rename the nearly dozen major bases and facilities named in honor of Confederate leaders. However, the service branch has faced pressure more recently to rename some of its military installations, including Fort Bragg in North Carolina, Fort Hood in Texas, Fort A.P. Hill in Virginia, and Fort Benning in Georgia.The reversal comes amid national protests and riots over the death of George Floyd, a black man who died in police custody after a white Minneapolis police officer knelt on his neck for close to nine minutes until after Floyd passed out. Both peaceful protests against police brutality as well as riots and looting have broken out in metropolitan areas around the country in the wake of Floyd's death.
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| Saudi Arabia considers limiting haj pilgrims amid COVID-19 fears Posted: 08 Jun 2020 07:32 AM PDT  Saudi Arabia could drastically limit numbers at the annual haj pilgrimage to prevent a further outbreak of coronavirus after cases in the country topped 100,000, sources familiar with the matter said on Monday. Official data show haj and the lesser, year-round umrah pilgrimage earn the kingdom about $12 billion a year. Saudi Arabia asked Muslims in March to put haj plans on hold and suspended umrah until further notice.
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| The UK steps up its fight with China by preparing tough new laws to prevent hostile takeovers of British firms Posted: 08 Jun 2020 02:57 AM PDT  New laws could make it compulsory for British firms to report attempted takeovers that could create risks to national security.
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| AG Barr says pepper spray 'is not a chemical irritant.' But the company that makes pepper-spraying balls says otherwise. Posted: 07 Jun 2020 02:24 PM PDT  According to PepperBall company, their products contain "a proprietary chemical irritant that's proven more effective from even greater distances."
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| Coronavirus: Far-right president Jair Bolsonaro forced into U-turn on releasing death figures following national uproar Posted: 08 Jun 2020 04:59 AM PDT  Far-right President Jair Bolsonaro has been forced into a U-turn on releasing data showing Brazil's total number of Covid-19 cases and deaths following a national uproar.In a move officials said was personally ordered by the president, months' worth of coronavirus data vanished from Brazil's health ministry website overnight on Friday, with a supreme court judge describing the manoeuvre as "totalitarian".
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| George Floyd: What we know about the officers charged over his death Posted: 08 Jun 2020 12:39 PM PDT  Files show two of the Minneapolis officers charged over George Floyd's death were days into the job.
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| New York starts reopening as WHO says virus 'worsening' worldwide Posted: 08 Jun 2020 03:21 PM PDT  New York City -- the epicenter of America's coronavirus outbreak -- began partially reopening its shattered economy Monday after almost three months of lockdown, as the World Health Organization warned the health crisis was "worsening" worldwide. "It's good to be back," said Michael Ostergren, manager of the Shakespeare and Co bookshop on Manhattan's Upper West Side, where a trickle of customers arrived shortly after the doors reopened. As New York entered phase one of its reopening and some of Europe's hardest-hit nations lurched back to a new kind of normal, the WHO reported a record number of new cases globally.
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| 'Enough is enough': South African opposition leads protests outside U.S. missions Posted: 08 Jun 2020 06:43 AM PDT  Demonstrators gathered outside U.S. missions in South African cities on Monday to condemn the killing of George Floyd, the black man whose death in police custody has set off a wave of protests worldwide and ignited a debate about race and justice. Protesters led by opposition party the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) carried placards saying "Black Lives Matter" and "Black people are not slaves" outside the U.S. Embassy in Pretoria and consulates in Johannesburg and Cape Town.
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| Russia rejects US drive for permanent Iran arms embargo Posted: 08 Jun 2020 12:22 PM PDT |
| North Korea: Call from South to North goes unanswered for first time Posted: 08 Jun 2020 12:01 AM PDT  Break comes after the North threatened to shut down the inter-Korean liaison office at the border.
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| A US Marine veteran stood outside the Utah Capitol with the words 'I can't breathe' taped over his mouth for so long that his shoes started melting into the ground Posted: 07 Jun 2020 10:31 PM PDT  Todd Winn, a two-time Purple Heart recipient, stood outside for three hours in complete silence as temperatures rose to 100 degrees Fahrenheit.
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| Treasure chest worth millions found in the Rocky Mountains after deadly decade-long search Posted: 08 Jun 2020 05:35 AM PDT  Multiple people died searching for the treasure hidden 10 years ago in the Rocky Mountains by Forrest Fenn.
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| Trump news – live: President takes stand against movement to defund the police as he tanks in 2020 polls Posted: 08 Jun 2020 06:07 AM PDT  Donald Trump has offered a back-handed compliment to Utah senator Mitt Romney after he became the first Republican senator to join a George Floyd protest march over the weekend, gloating that the ex-presidential candidate's poll numbers are "tanking" in his state.The president's anger follows Romney, 43rd president George W Bush and ex-US secretary of state Colin Powell all saying they will not vote for him in November, prompting Trump to attack Powell as "pathetic", "highly overrated" and "a real stiff" and to criticise his record on the Iraq War.
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| Madera County Sheriff's Deputy fired after using racial slur on social media Posted: 06 Jun 2020 06:59 PM PDT  Madera County Sheriff's Deputy Damian Tabatabai has been fired from his position due to racially insensitive comments on social media accounts.
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| Over half of people tested in Italy's Bergamo have COVID-19 antibodies Posted: 08 Jun 2020 11:44 AM PDT  More than half the residents tested in Italy's northern province of Bergamo have COVID-19 antibodies, health authorities said on Monday, citing a sample survey. Of 9,965 residents who had blood tests between April 23 and June 3, 57% had antibodies indicating they had come into contact with the coronavirus, the survey showed. Health authorities in Bergamo said the results were based on a "random" sample which was "sufficiently broad" to be a reliable indicator of how many people had been infected in the province, which became the epicentre of Italy's outbreak.
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| Brazil expunges virus death toll as data befuddles experts Posted: 06 Jun 2020 09:02 PM PDT  Brazil's government has stopped publishing a running total of coronavirus deaths and infections in an extraordinary move that critics call an attempt to hide the true toll of the disease in Latin America's largest nation. Saturday's move came after months of criticism from experts that Brazil's statistics are woefully deficient, and in some cases manipulated, so it may never be possible to understand the depth of the pandemic in the country. Brazil's last official numbers showed it had recorded over 34,000 deaths related to the coronavirus, the third-highest number in the world, just ahead of Italy.
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| 'This is not a dictatorship': Democratic congressman accuses Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of trying to 'anoint' his successor because she backed his primary opponent Posted: 08 Jun 2020 09:05 AM PDT  Ocasio-Cortez has long argued that robust primaries strengthen democracy and she's has endorsed a slate of progressive challengers this cycle.
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| Coronavirus: John Magufuli declares Tanzania free of Covid-19 Posted: 08 Jun 2020 07:02 AM PDT  President John Magufuli says prayers have helped eliminate the deadly virus from the country.
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| White suburbanites flocked to Detroit's protests. Black residents are divided on their role. Posted: 08 Jun 2020 01:59 PM PDT  As Detroit's black community copes with the death of George Floyd, residents are split over how to respond — and the role of white suburban protesters.
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| Marine Corps to remove displays of Confederate battle flag Posted: 06 Jun 2020 08:45 PM PDT  The flags are being removed "in order to support our core values, ensure unit cohesion and security and preserve good order and discipline," the directive explains.
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| Trump advisers concerned president has damaged his election chances with hard-line response to George Floyd protests Posted: 08 Jun 2020 11:50 AM PDT  Some of Donald Trump's advisers are concerned that his response to the George Floyd protests has damaged support with his own voters, according to reports.The president's aides and advisers are concerned for his chances at the 2020 presidential election, after his responses to the coronavirus pandemic and the protests have been criticised, according to the Associated Press.
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| Small business owner: The looters who broke into my store weren't protesting Floyd death Posted: 07 Jun 2020 04:28 AM PDT  My heart goes out to all those who haven't had a fair shake and are victims of violence. But I'm delighted the National Guard is in Washington.
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| ‘They set us up’: US police arrested over 10,000 protesters, many non-violent Posted: 08 Jun 2020 03:00 AM PDT  Over 10,000 people have been arrested around the US, as police regularly use pepper spray, rubber bullets, teargas and batons * George Floyd killing – latest US updates * See all our George Floyd coverageSince George Floyd's death at the hands of police in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on 25 May, about 140 cities in all 50 states throughout the US have seen protests and demonstrations in response to the killing. More than 10,000 people have been arrested around the US during the protests, as police forces regularly use pepper spray, rubber bullets, teargas and batons on protesters, media and bystanders. Several major US cities have enacted curfews in an attempt to stop demonstrations and curb unrest. Jarah Gibson was arrested while non-violently protesting in Atlanta, Georgia, on 1 June. "The police were there from the jump and literally escorted us the whole march," said Gibson. She said around 7.30pm, ahead of Atlanta's 9pm city-wide curfew, police began boxing in protesters. While protesters were attempting to leave, Gibson tried to video-record a person on a bicycle who appeared to be hit by a police car and was arrested by police. She was given a citation for "pedestrian in a roadway," and "refusing to comply when asked to leave"."The police are instigating everything and they are criminalizing us. Now I have my mugshot taken, my fingerprints taken and my eyes scanned. Now I'm a criminal over an illegal arrest," added Gibson. "I want to be heard and I want the police to just abide by basic human decency."Ruby Anderson was arrested while non-violently protesting in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on 31 May. The police refused to provide a reason for her detention until they were placed in a police van, where they were told the charge was loitering. They were given a wristband that stated "unlawful assembly" and ultimately charged with disorderly conduct. "While I was arrested, I was standing next to two white people who were doing the same thing as me, standing between a group of officers and a group of black teenagers. I was the only one arrested in my group of three, I was the only black person," Anderson said.Reports of excessive police force throughout the protests have emerged around the US. More than 130 reports of journalists being attacked by police have been recorded since 28 May.On 2 June, six police officers in Atlanta, Georgia, were charged with excessive force during an arrest of two college students on 30 May. A staggering 12,000 complaints against police in Seattle, Washington, were made over the weekend of 30 May in response to excessive force at protests.A Denver, Colorado, police officer was fired for posting on Instagram "let's start a riot". In New York City, videos surfaced of NYPD officers pointing a gun at protesters, driving an SUV into a crowd of protesters, swiping a protester with a car door, an officer flashing a white supremacy symbol, and another officer shoving a woman to the ground, which left her hospitalized.Several protesters and bystanders around the US have been left hospitalized from rubber bullet wounds, bean bags, teargas canisters and batons, while police have reportedly torn down medical tents and destroyed water bottles meant for protesters. In Minneapolis, Minnesota, Dan Rojas was arrested on the morning of 27 May. Though there were no protests occurring at the time, Rojas had decided to clean up fragments of rubber bullets, teargas and frag canisters on the public sidewalk in his neighborhood when six police officers confronted him and arrested him. "They put me in handcuffs, took my property off of me, and they shoved a local reporter out of the way. They put me in a squad car and arrested me for rioting at 10.30 in the morning, the day after a peaceful protest," said Rojas, who was not released until over 48 hours later. "At the end of it no charges were filed, everything was dropped and I was never told the probable cause they had to arrest me." Several non-violent protesters arrested during demonstrations requested to remain anonymous for fear of police retaliation as they still face citations and pending charges. The protesters described police tactics of "kettling", where protesters were surrounded and blocked by police forces from leaving, often until curfews took effect or arrests were made for obstructing a roadway. "The curfews are a way to give police more power, exactly the opposite of what protesters want. These curfews, like most other 'law and order' tactics, will disproportionately impact the very same communities that are protesting against state-sponsored violence and brutality," said Dr LaToya Baldwin Clark, assistant professor of law at UCLA.One protester in Los Angeles, California, told how she was returning to her apartment before the city's 6pm curfew, while police were blocking protesters and obstructing exits. "I was arrested two streets away from my apartment, it had just turned 6pm," said the protester. She noted during the arrests, bystanders were protesting against the arrests from their apartment balconies, while police were aiming rubber bullets, teargas and pepper spray at them."They handcuffed us all with zip tie handcuffs and left us in a police bus for about five hours … I asked for medical assistance and they denied it to me, I was handcuffed for over five hours with a bleeding hand that eventually turned purple until I was finally released." She was eventually released at 1am on 2 June, with a citation for being out past curfew. "The police set us up to get arrested. They shut off the streets forcing us on to Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge. Once we were on the bridge, the police blocked both exits in front and behind us," said a protester in Dallas, Texas, who was arrested on 1 June and later released without charges.She added: "They shot teargas at us and shot a protester with a rubber bullet and it injured her hand. The police made us all get on the ground, proceeded to zip tie our hands together, lined us up on the side of the highway and left us there for hours."In Cincinnati, Ohio, a resident in a neighborhood where protests were occurring on 31 May saw several protesters were at risk of being caught outside past the city's curfew at 8pm. "It felt like a trap to me. I felt if I could pick some people up and take them to their cars, I could stop people from getting arrested, so I jumped in my car, drove down the street, saw a group of people hiding, they had their hands up, and they climbed into the car, and shut the doors. We tried to drive, but were stopped," said the resident. "We were asked to leave the car, zip-tied on the side of the road, loaded on to a bus, and they detained us for a few hours doing paperwork." A protester in Houston, Texas, described police kettling her and other protesters before getting arrested on 31 May for obstructing a roadway. "We weren't allowed to go home," she said. "We tried our best to go home and were told 'no, you're not leaving.' From then on, the cops said anyone outside their circle is going to jail and they would push us further from the sidewalk. They had us closed in."
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| 'Numerous' reports of looting in retaken Libyan towns, UN says Posted: 07 Jun 2020 08:49 AM PDT  The United Nations has received "numerous" reports of looting and destruction in two towns outside Tripoli retaken by the forces of Libya's internationally recognised government, it said on Sunday. Forces of the Turkish-backed Government of National Accord (GNA) on Thursday recaptured Tarhouna as part of an advance ending a 14-month offensive on the capital by the eastern-based Libyan National Army (LNA) of Khalifa Haftar. Since the LNA -- backed by Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and Russia -- retreated, videos have been posted online purportedly showing looting of shops and torching of homes of families associated with the LNA and its local backers.
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| Protesters topple Confederate statue in Virginia capital Posted: 06 Jun 2020 10:47 PM PDT  A small group of demonstrators toppled a statue of a Confederate general in the the former capital of the Confederacy late Saturday, following a day of largely peaceful protests in the Virginia city. The statue of Gen. Williams Carter Wickham was pulled from its pedestal in Monroe Park, a Richmond police spokeswoman said. A rope had been tied around the Confederate statue, which has stood since 1891, The Richmond Times-Dispatch reported, adding that someone urinated on the statue after it was pulled down.
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| Satellite images of packed Wuhan hospitals suggest coronavirus outbreak began earlier than thought Posted: 08 Jun 2020 09:07 AM PDT  Coronavirus may have broken out in the Chinese city of Wuhan much earlier than previously thought, according to a new US study looking at satellite imagery and internet searches. The Harvard Medical School research found that the number of cars parked at major Wuhan hospitals at points last autumn was much higher than the preceding year. It also found that searches from the Wuhan region for information on "cough" and "diarrhea", known Covid-19 symptoms, on the Chinese search engine Baidu spiked around the same time. It has led researchers to suggest that the outbreak began much earlier than December 31, the date the Chinese government notified the World Health Organisation of the outbreak. The findings add weight to US calls for Beijing to cooperate with investigators attempting to understand the origins of a virus which has now claimed more than 400,000 lives worldwide.
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| McEnany bashes Romney for supporting Black Lives Matter movement Posted: 08 Jun 2020 01:02 PM PDT  White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany on Monday criticized Sen. Mitt Romney for supporting the Black Lives Matter movement after he marched with demonstrators in Washington, D.C.
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| Coronavirus: Hard-hit Brazil removes data amid rising death toll Posted: 06 Jun 2020 08:51 PM PDT  Brazil will now only report numbers for the past 24 hours, no longer giving the cumulative data.
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| Going to Ghana: Black Americans explore identity living in Africa Posted: 08 Jun 2020 09:25 AM PDT  "It's not all safaris and beaches. There's more than just what you think you understand about the continent, and especially about Ghana."
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| AG Bill Barr says he didn't know about Trump's bible photo-op and 'riots' led to controversial Lafayette Park clearance Posted: 07 Jun 2020 03:17 PM PDT  US Attorney General William Barr defended the clearing of protesters from Lafayette Park in Washington DC through the use of "pepper balls" and denied that the use of force had anything to do with President Donald Trump's photo-op with a Bible outside St John's Church that day.Speaking with CBS News on Sunday, Mr Barr also said that he did not believe that systemic racism is an issue in police forces.
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| Russia’s new nuclear policy could be a path to arms control treaties Posted: 08 Jun 2020 08:18 AM PDT  The document offers a valuable window into Russia's strengths and vulnerabilities as they appear from Moscow.
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| Ku Klux Klan leader drove truck into crowd of peaceful protesters, Virginia officials say Posted: 08 Jun 2020 01:35 PM PDT  "We lived through this in Charlottesville in 2017," Henrico Commonwealth Attorney Shannon Taylor said. "This egregious criminal act will not go unpunished."
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| U.S. sanctions imposed on Iranian shipping network over proliferation take effect Posted: 08 Jun 2020 01:10 PM PDT  U.S. sanctions imposed on Iran's shipping network took effect on Monday, months after they were announced in December following accusations of supporting proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in a statement on Monday warned commercial and maritime industries, governments and others that they risked U.S. sanctions if they did business with the Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines (IRISL) and its Shanghai-based subsidiary, E-Sail Shipping Company. The State Department had announced the designations in December but allowed a delay for them to take effect, giving time for exporters of humanitarian goods to Iran to find different shipping methods, according to the statement.
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