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Ruling, which includes most of Tulsa, casts doubt on hundreds of convictions
Associated Press

The US supreme court has ruled that a large part of eastern Oklahoma remains a Native American reservation, a decision state and federal officials warn could throw the entire state into chaos. The court’s 5-4 decision, written by Justice Neil Gorsuch, means that Oklahoma prosecutors lack the authority to pursue criminal cases against Native American defendants in parts of Oklahoma that include most of Tulsa, the state’s second-largest city. “On the far end of the Trail of Tears was a promise,” Gorsuch wrote in a decision on Thursday, joined by the court’s liberal members. “Forced to leave their ancestral lands in Georgia and Alabama, the Creek Nation received assurances that their new lands in the west would be secure forever ... Today we are asked whether the land these treaties promised remains an Indian [Native American] reservation for purposes of federal criminal law. Because Congress has not said otherwise, we hold the government to its word.” The court’s ruling casts doubt on hundreds of convictions won by local prosecutors. But Gorsuch suggested optimism. “In reaching our conclusion about what the law demands of us today, we do not pretend to foretell the future and we proceed well aware of the potential for cost and conflict around jurisdictional boundaries, especially ones that have gone unappreciated for so long,” he wrote.
Miles Parks

Ever since the pandemic struck, state and local election officials across the country have made it clear: To avoid an election disaster in November, they need more money now. Congressional Republicans are now signalling a new willingness to provide that, after initial fears from voting rights advocates that the federal government would provide no more support than the $400 million that came as part of a March relief package. Experts expect as many as 70% of all ballots cast in November's presidential election will be cast through the mail, a quick and radical shift that will require equipment upgrades and greatly increase costs for cash-strapped states and counties. During the 2018 midterms, about a quarter of ballots were cast by mail.
Joshua Bote USA TODAY

Transcripts released of body camera footage reveal an extended account of the moments leading up to George Floyd's death, an abridged clip of which set into motion months of ongoing protests against anti-Black racism and police violence. In the exchange, Floyd appears to be deferential to officers as he pleads to not be put in a squad car and instead be restrained on the ground, repeatedly telling them that he has claustrophobia and anxiety and is not carrying a weapon. He told officers he couldn't breathe nearly 30 times. "I'll do anything, I'll do anything y’all tell me to, man," he tells officers early into the transcript. "I'm not resisting, man. I'm not!" Footage from police body cameras used by Thomas Lane and J. Alexander Kueng — as well as transcripts from both cameras — was released Wednesday as part of former officer Thomas Lane's plea to dismiss charges of aiding and abetting Derek Chauvin, who is charged with second-degree murder, third-degree murder and manslaughter after pinning Floyd's neck down and asphyxiating him with his knee for more than eight minutes.
The proposals ahead of the Democratic National Convention don’t include the kind of systemic upheaval that won Sanders so many followers.
By CAITLIN OPRYSKO

Joe Biden’s presidential campaign on Wednesday rolled out the policy recommendations reached by its joint task forces with supporters of Sen. Bernie Sanders ahead of the Democratic National Convention, which is slated for next month. The 110-page document has been submitted to the Democratic National Committee’s Platform Committee and will be personally reviewed by Biden ahead of the nominating convention, the former vice president’s campaign announced. The task force recommendations don’t include the kind of wide-scale systemic upheaval that won Sanders such a fervent following in his two presidential campaigns — while provoking an outcry from moderate Democrats and Republicans alike. A single-payer health care system such as “Medicare for All,” a “Green New Deal” overhauling environmental policy, and doing away with Immigration and Customs Enforcement are not among the policy proposals. But while the recommendations hew more closely to priorities laid out by Biden during the primary, like expanding the Affordable Care Act through a public option, they also include ambitious time lines for reaching certain environmental benchmarks, such as eliminating carbon pollution from power plants and achieving net-zero greenhouse gas emissions for new buildings.
Tensions also continue in some areas as officers confront crowds with flash-bang grenades and pepper spray
Kenya Evelyn

Sustained demonstrations across the US calling for racial justice and an end to police brutality in the wake of the May killing of George Floyd are being met with a rising trend for apparent counter-protesters using vehicles to threaten or slam into marchers. Tension has also continued between protesters and police in some areas, with reports of law enforcement officers confronting crowds with flash-bang grenades and pepper spray. In several US cities there has been a spate of people driving into protesters, with reports of multiple injuries and at least one death. A truck was witnessed accelerating towards a small crowd demonstrating in Newton, near Boston, Massachusetts, on Tuesday. “It was horrifying,” Rachel Alpert-Wisnia, a 16-year-old high school student, told the local outlet WCVB, after a man in a truck reportedly revved his engine and beeped before speeding toward the crowd. Alpert-Wisnia was one of the organizers of the Black Lives Matter action, a protest group of mostly teens. In two videos shared online, a truck can be seen rushing toward the students as they fled to a driveway nearby. New York police department officials confirmed they had detained a man who drove through a Black Lives Matter protest near Times Square in Manhattan on Tuesday night. The driver pulled on to the street after demonstrators first attempted to stop his car as they marched or cycled along.
Scott Neuman

Transcripts of police body camera video in the minutes leading up to George Floyd's death show that he pleaded some 20 times that he couldn't breathe and that one of the officers expressed concern about Floyd's well-being, but was rebuffed by his superior.

The transcripts from cameras worn by former officers Thomas Lane and J. Alexander Kueng were filed in Minnesota state court on Wednesday as part of a motion to dismiss charges against Lane. knee, face-down to the pavement and complaining that he could not breathe, Lane, who was holding Floyd's legs, asked Chauvin whether the suspect should be moved.

Floyd: My face is getting it bad.

Lane: Here, should we get his legs up, or is this good?

Chauvin: Leave him.

And, again, as Floyd is heard speaking for the last time:

Floyd: Ah! Ah! Please. Please. Please.

Lane: Should we roll him on his side?

Chauvin: No, he's staying put where we got him.

Lane: Okay. I just worry about the excited delirium or whatever.

Chauvin: Well that's why we have the ambulance coming.
By Kate Gibson

A Florida man has been fired from his job as an insurance agent after his videotaped tirade when asked to wear a face mask at a Costco Wholesale store drew a massive audience on social media. The video posted Monday on Twitter shows a man wearing flip-flops and a red T-shirt emblazoned with "Running the world since 1776" shouting in the store after reportedly being asked why he was not wearing a face covering, as required at all Costco locations. Screaming "I feel threatened," "back off," and worse, the man lurched in a menacing manner towards an employee who came to the aid of an elderly woman who had asked about his lack of a face covering. The incident at a Fort Myers Costco occurred June 26, and involved a man later identified by multiple news outlets as Daniel Maples, an insurance agent for Ted Todd Insurance.
Javier E. David

United Airlines Holdings (UAL) warned on Wednesday that it may be forced to furlough as many as 36,000 workers, or 45% of its workforce, as weak demand and travel restrictions in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak create “the worst crisis” the industry has ever faced. As the COVID-19 pandemic ravages global demand, United — along with other major carriers like Delta (DAL), Southwest (LUV), JetBlue (JBLU) and Alaska — have struck a deal with the federal government for a major cash infusion worth billions of dollars. The CARES Act, the omnibus coronavirus relief package, set aside $25 billion in loans for air carriers. Yet new domestic flare ups of the virus — along with international travel restrictions — are amplifying the threat, and forcing United to weigh cutting workers en masse. According to United, 36,000 workers — or 45% of U.S. positions — may be impacted or laid off by October 1. Although 3700 have already taken an early-out option, the potential losses affect 15,000 flight attendants, 11,000 airport staffers, 5500 maintenance positions and 2250 pilots, the company told reporters on a conference call. Fallout from the coronavirus pandemic is “the worst crisis to hit the airline industry and United Airlines,” a United executive said on Wednesday. “We can’t count on additional government support to survive.”
"I probably should have never posted anything that Hitler did, because Hitler was a bad person and I know that," the NFL wide receiver said in an apology.
By David K. Li, Mohammed Syed and Ali Gostanian

Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver DeSean Jackson, one of the NFL's most recognizable stars, is being widely condemned for posting anti-Semitic quotes he attributed to Hitler on Instagram. On his Instagram story from Monday, Jackson showed a picture of text detailing a conspiracy theory about a Jewish plot to oppress African Americans. Jackson cited Adolf Hitler as the source of the anti-Semitic text, but it's more likely to have come from the book "Jerusalem" by Dennine Barnett. Then in another Instagram post on Monday, Jackson blacked out much of that offensive text and wrote "this," pointing to only one portion of the screed about a "plan for world domination," apparently as evidence he's not anti-Semitic. Jackson posted an apology video on Instagram on Tuesday and spoke directly into the camera. "I probably should have never posted anything that Hitler did, because Hitler was a bad person and I know that," Jackson said. "I was just trying to uplift African Americans."
Randall Lane Forbes Staff

And that’s just for starters. For much of the phone calls, his core message, strategically, was that he has 30 days to make a final decision about running for president. At that point, he says, he’d miss the filing deadline for most states, though he believes an argument could be made to get onto any ballots he’s missed, citing coronavirus issues. “I’m speaking with experts, I’m going to speak with Jared Kushner, the White House, with Biden,” says West. He has no campaign apparatus of any kind. His advisors right now, he says, are the two people who notably endorsed him on the Fourth: his wife Kim Kardashian-West, and Elon Musk, of whom he says, “We’ve been talking about this for years.” (Adds West: “I proposed to him to be the head of our space program.”) An hour into the interview, the hedging was done: He says he definitely plans to run in 2020, versus his original plan in 2024. The campaign slogan: “YES!” His running mate? Michelle Tidball, an obscure preacher from Wyoming. And why the Birthday Party? “Because when we win, it’s everybody’s birthday.” *** Don’t waste your vote on Kanye it only helps Trump. Kanye wants to help Trump by pulling votes from Biden. Kanye said bush was racist but he has not said a word about his buddy Trump’s racism who is far more racist than bush. ***

FORT MYERS, Fla. — A Florida man was caught screaming at a woman inside a Costco store after she confronted him about not wearing a mask. The altercation happened on June 27 at the store at Gulf Coast Town Center. The person who recorded the video said the man was getting aggressive toward an elderly woman after she asked him why he wasn’t wearing a mask inside the store.
By Ariane de Vogue, CNN Supreme Court Reporter

(CNN) The Supreme Court on Wednesday cleared the way for the Trump administration to expand exemptions for employers who have religious or moral objections to complying with the Affordable Care Act's contraceptive mandate. The 7-2 ruling reverses a lower court decision that had blocked Trump's move nationwide. The ruling is a win for President Donald Trump, who has vowed to act aggressively to protect religious liberty as well as the Little Sisters of the Poor, a Roman Catholic religious order for women who, along with the Trump administration, asked the Court to step in. The case required the justices to balance concerns for women's health care against claims of religious liberty. The law requires that employer-provided health insurance plans cover birth control as a preventive service at no cost. Justice Clarence Thomas, who wrote the majority opinion, wrote that the justices held that the government "had the statutory authority to craft that exemption, as well as the contemporaneously issued moral exemption." Thomas commended the Little Sisters of the Poor for their efforts.
"For the past seven years, they—like many other religious objectors who have participated in the litigation and rulemakings leading up to today's decision—have had to fight for the ability to continue in their noble work without violating their sincerely held religious beliefs," he wrote.
Nina Totenberg at NPR headquarters in Washington, D.C.,

A 7-2 Supreme Court carved out a giant exception to the nation's fair employment laws, ruling that federal employment discrimination laws do not apply to teachers whose duties include instruction in religion at schools run by religious institutions. Justices Sonia Sotomayor and Ruth Bader Ginsburg dissented. The cases before the court involved two fifth grade teachers at Catholic parochial schools in California who were fired from their jobs. One, a veteran of 16 years at her school contends her firing was a case of age discrimination. The other said she was fired after telling her superior that she had breast cancer and would need some time off — a violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act. Both schools denied the allegations but maintained that regardless, the federal fair employment laws do not apply to their teachers because they all teach religion from a workbook 40 minutes a day, in addition to other academic subjects. Dividing along ideological lines, the court's conservative majority agreed with the schools that because of the pervasive nature of religious education, teachers are covered by the"ministerial exception" to laws that generally apply in the workplace. Justice Samuel Alito, a Catholic who did not attend parochial schools, wrote the majority opinion.
By Ariane de Vogue and Paul LeBlanc, CNN

(CNN) Chief Justice John Roberts was briefly hospitalized on June 21 after falling while walking near his home, a spokeswoman for the Supreme Court said Tuesday. "The Chief Justice was treated at a local hospital on June 21 for an injury to his forehead sustained in a fall while walking for exercise near his home," said Kathy Arberg, public information officer for the Supreme Court. The fall happened at the Chevy Chase Club, according to a source familiar with the matter.
"The injury required sutures, and out of an abundance of caution, he stayed in the hospital overnight and was discharged the next morning. His doctors ruled out a seizure. They believe the fall was likely due to light-headedness caused by dehydration." The Washington Post was first to report that Roberts had gone to the hospital. Roberts was taken to Suburban Hospital, a source with direct knowedge told CNN. The Supreme Court did not issue any statement to the media in the days after Roberts fell. Arberg says she responded Tuesday night after an inquiry from the Post. When asked why the public had not been told of the incident earlier, Arberg told CNN, "The injury was not significant; he stayed overnight out of an abundance of caution and went home first thing in the morning.
Jibe comes in light of allegations in Mary Trump's book that her uncle cheated on SATs
Louise Hall

A Republican political action committee has mocked Donald Trump over cheating claims by posting a clip of Biff Tannen from the Back to the Future films. The Lincoln Project, known for its frequent scathing attacks and political adverts against the president, posted the clip on Twitter of Biff, played by Thomas F Wilson, tormenting George McFly to make sure he completes homework on his behalf. “Think McFly, think. I’ve got to have time to re-copy it. Do you realise what would happen if I handed my homework in your handwriting? I’d get kicked out of school. You wouldn’t want that to happen would you?” the renowned bully says in the clip from the hit 1985 movie.
By Christina Zdanowicz and Artemis Moshtaghian, CNN

(CNN) A White man and a White woman who allegedly painted over a California community's Black Lives Matter mural this weekend are each facing a hate crime charge, the Contra Costa County District Attorney's Office said Tuesday. David Nelson and Nicole Anderson are each charged with three misdemeanor counts, including violation of civil rights, vandalism, and possession of tools to commit vandalism or graffiti, the district attorney's office said in a statement. The incident happened soon after the mural was painted in front of the courthouse in Martinez, California, on July 4. "We must address the root and byproduct of systemic racism in our country. The Black Lives Matter movement is an important civil rights cause that deserves all of our attention," District Attorney Diana Becton said in a statement. "The mural completed last weekend was a peaceful and powerful way to communicate the importance of Black lives in Contra Costa County and the country," she said. "We must continue to elevate discussions and actually listen to one another in an effort to heal our community and country."
An Instagram account offers an array of pictures of Jeffrey Epstein’s confidante with celebrities from Kevin Spacey to Princess Diana
Poppy Noor

Should you care about who Ghislaine Maxwell is photographed with? Probably not, seeing as the socialite and confidante of Jeffrey Epstein is photographed with just about everybody. But that doesn’t mean you won’t become enthralled, as thousands have, by an Instagram account dedicated to showing you every celebrity and powerful person photographed with Maxwell, who last week was arrested on sex trafficking charges. The details of the Epstein saga so far have felt closer to soap opera than real life: well-connected, influential financier gets arrested on sex trafficking charges that have the potential to implicate some of the world’s richest and most powerful people, but dies before he is tried; the cause of death is determined as suicide but his lawyers allege foul play; meanwhile a long-time confidante of his (Maxwell) goes into hiding; and a member of British royalty – a prince no less! – becomes implicated after a woman claims she was trafficked by Epstein and forced into a sexual relationship with Prince Andrew while she was underage. Finally, Maxwell is found hiding out at a New Hampshire retreat and arrested on sex-trafficking charges and two counts of perjury, for allegedly helping Epstein to procure and traffic underage girls.
By Brian Fung, CNN Business

(CNN Business) Civil rights and activist groups blasted Facebook's leadership on Tuesday after meeting with CEO Mark Zuckerberg and other executives to discuss the demands of a large advertiser boycott that now includes hundreds of brands. "The meeting we just left was a disappointment," said Rashad Robinson, the president of Color of Change. "[Facebook] showed up to the meeting expecting an 'A' for attendance." Free Press, a media activist group and one of the organizers of the #StopHateForProfit campaign to halt ad spending on the social network, said Facebook still has not taken the boycott's calls to action seriously.
"Instead of committing to a timeline to root out hate and disinformation on Facebook, the company's leaders delivered the same old talking points to try to placate us without meeting our demands," said Free Press Co-CEO Jessica Gonzalez. "Facebook approached our meeting today like it was nothing more than a PR exercise."
Andrew Holleran

The former San Francisco 49ers quarterback posted a message about the American holiday on Saturday. Kaepernick, 32, made his thoughts on the holiday very clear. Kaepernick said that Black people should not join in on the July 4 celebration, which is one of “white supremacy.” “Black ppl have been dehumanized, brutalized, criminalized + terrorized by America for centuries, & are expected to join your commemoration of ‘independence’, while you enslaved our ancestors. We reject your celebration of white supremacy & look forward to liberation for all,” the former NFL quarterback wrote on Twitter on Saturday afternoon.
Fox Business

Rapper and business mogul Kanye West tweeted that he will run for president. However, some critics are skeptical and believe it will hurt Joe Biden's chances in the election.
The decision is a win for election officials who warned of chaos if presidential electors could go against the will of voters in their states.
By Pete Williams

WASHINGTON — The 538 people who cast the actual votes for president in December as part of the Electoral College are not free agents and must vote as the laws of their states direct, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled Monday. The unanimous decision in the "faithless elector" case was a defeat for advocates of changing the Electoral College, who hoped a win would force a shift in the method of electing presidents toward a nationwide popular vote. But it was a win for state election officials who feared that empowering rogue electors would cause chaos. Writing for the court, Justice Elena Kagan said the Constitution gives states far-reaching authority over choosing presidential electors. That includes the power to set conditions on an elector's appointment, "that is to say, what the elector must do for the appointment to take effect." What's more, she wrote, "nothing in the Constitution expressly prohibits states from taking away president electors' voting discretion." The ruling aligns with "the trust of a nation that here, We the People rule," Kagan said.
Laurel Wamsley at NPR headquarters in Washington, D.C.

A federal judge has ruled that the controversial Dakota Access Pipeline must be emptied for now while the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers produces an environmental review. In a decision posted Monday, U.S. District Judge James Boasberg said that it was clear shutting down the pipeline will cause disruption. But he said "the seriousness of the Corps' deficiencies outweighs the negative effects of halting the oil flow" during the estimated 13 months it will take to complete the environmental impact statement.
Memorials to Robert E. Lee in Richmond and Charlottesville are stuck in legal battles despite public protests and the governor's pledge.
By Deepa Shivaram

Monument Avenue in Richmond, Virginia, might need a new name soon. Virginia has always been the state with the most Confederate statues, but in recent weeks, and especially in the city that was once the capital of the Confederacy, the statues have been coming down. Construction crews removed Stonewall Jackson and Matthew Fontaine Maury from Monument Avenue in Richmond last week, and more statues are expected to come down Monday. But one very prominent monument that towers over Richmond remains standing. The six-story-tall statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee, a state-owned memorial that Gov. Ralph Northam has committed to taking down, is stuck in court, thanks to an injunction over a deed the state signed when it took on the statue. Essentially, when the statue arrived in Richmond in the late 1800s, the state told landowners in the area that it would keep the monument intact — and the plaintiffs argue that if the statue were removed, the state would be violating its original promise. "The issue in the Richmond Lee case is what we call private law, which is that there's a property claim being made here that promises were made by the state to private property owners over 100 years ago," said Richard Schragger, a professor of law at the University of Virginia.

CHICAGO (CBS) — Nearly 80 people have been shot in Chicago since Friday night this July 4th holiday weekend, and 15 of them have been killed. Twelve of the weekend shooting victims were under age 18. Two of the 12 were killed. Among the incidents were a shooting that left a 7-year-old girl dead while she was visiting her grandmother for a 4th of July party in South Austin Saturday night, and two mass shootings – one of which left four people dead and four more wounded. Around 7:02 p.m. Saturday, Natalia Wallace, 7, was shot in the forehead as she and other children played in the yard in the 100 block of North Latrobe Avenue. She was taken to Stroger Hospital of Cook County where she later died, police said. Natalia was on the sidewalk when a light-colored vehicle pulled up and an unknown number of people exited. Those people then took out guns and fired shots her direction, police said. A 32-year-old man was also wounded in the shooting, police said. He transported himself to Mount Sinai Hospital in fair condition with a gunshot wound to the ankle and a graze wound to the leg. Family describes Natalia as “sweet, shy, loving, and good at math.” “Kids outside playing, they shouldn’t have to worry about guns and people shooting,” Natalia’s father, Nathan Wallace, told CBS 2’s Marissa Parra. A person of interest was being questioned Sunday night in Natalia’s death. Charges are pending.
Statue of abolitionist, which stood on site of Underground Railroad in Rochester, New York, found damaged by unknown perpetrators
Martin Pengelly in New York

A statue of the great abolitionist Frederick Douglass was torn from its base in Rochester, New York on Sunday, 168 years to the day since the city was the setting for one of his greatest speeches, What to the Slave is the Fourth of July? The statue stood in Maplewood Park, a site on the Underground Railroad, the network through which Douglass and Harriet Tubman, both escaped slaves themselves, and others helped ferry people enslaved in southern states to freedom in the north. One of 13 statues which were placed around Rochester in 2018, the 200th anniversary of Douglass’s birth, the monument was found next to a river gorge, about 50ft from its pedestal, police said. The base and a finger were damaged. Carvin Eison, who worked on the project which brought the statues to the city, told the Democrat & Chronicle newspaper: “It’s particularly painful that it happened at this time … It’s really sad because here in Rochester the statue of Frederick Douglass has always been a face of good.”
Amid protests, some want removal of Washington statue which shows president standing over a man who has broken his chains
Martin Pengelly

An argument between history professors over a statue which many protesters say should be removed from Lincoln Park in Washington led to the discovery of a letter in which Frederick Douglass described his feelings about it. “The negro here, though rising, is still on his knees and nude,” the civil rights campaigner wrote to the National Republican newspaper in 1876, about the statue of Abraham Lincoln, the 16th president, standing over a man who has broken his chains. “What I want to see before I die is a monument representing the negro, not couchant on his knees like a four-footed animal, but erect on his feet like a man.” Amid protests over structural racism and police brutality, debate over such statues has surged. Donald Trump has made defending monuments to Confederate leaders and figures with outdated views on race a central part of his campaign for re-election.
TMZ

An Arizona woman says she was sent by President Trump and a conspiracy theory group to take Target to task for selling face masks ... and to flaunt her alleged high-priced watch. The Internet has dubbed this gal here "QAnon Karen" after she filmed herself going into a Scottsdale-area Target and knocking down all the face masks on display in one of their aisles. She had to talk herself up before doing it, making it sound like a last stand mission. She rants and about "not doing it" anymore -- which we think means she's not gonna let face masks be sold anymore??? Who the hell knows, but she went to town on the display.
FOX News Videos

Jeffrey Epstein's alleged madam is reportedly set to cooperate with the FBI after her arrest; reaction and analysis on 'The Five.'

Chicago police say that 16 people, including a young girl, are dead and at least 62 others have been wounded in shootings across the city over the Fourth of July weekend. Multiple fatal shootings were reported across the city early Sunday morning, including in the 1000 block of East 132nd Street. According to Chicago police, multiple people became involved in an argument with another man before leaving a parking lot and walking into a residence. Police say the man then opened fire through the door, striking two individuals. A 24-year-old man was shot in the left torso, and was later pronounced dead at Christ Medical Center.
Nathan Brown - Indianapolis Star

INDIANAPOLIS — Nothing about Jimmie Johnson’s final full season in NASCAR has been normal. In search of his first victory in the Cup series since 2017, Johnson popped up at IndyCar’s Open Test during Daytona week, saw his sport go on pause for two months due to a pandemic and has been scheduled to test for two different IndyCar teams. This weekend, he was vying to become just the third driver across any racing circuit to win at Indianapolis Motor Speedway five times, joining Jeff Gordon and Michael Schumacher. But Friday’s news that he had contracted COVID-19, forcing him to miss possibly his final Brickyard 400 to be held Sunday at IMS, was an all-too-jarring reminder to the auto racing community of the present-day realities.
Jori Epstein, Mike Jones - USA TODAY

Amid mounting criticism from external figures and a key sponsor asking for change, the Washington Redskins said in a statement Friday morning the franchise will undergo an evaluation of its team name. “In light of recent events around our country and feedback from our community,” the team said, “the team will undergo a thorough review of the team’s name.” Washington said the review "formalizes the initial discussions the team has been having with the league in recent weeks." NFL players, teams and the league itself have shifted tone on racial justice advocacy since George Floyd was killed May 25 in the custody of Minneapolis police. “In the last few weeks we have had ongoing discussions with Dan and we are supportive of this important step," NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said in a statement.
Steve Gorman

(Reuters) - A predominantly Black group of heavily armed protesters marched through Stone Mountain Park near Atlanta on Saturday, calling for removal of the giant Confederate rock carving at the site that civil rights activists consider a monument to racism. Video footage of the Independence Day rally posted on social media showed scores of demonstrators dressed in black - many in paramilitary-style clothing and all wearing face scarves - quietly parading several abreast down a sidewalk at the park. Many of the protesters carried rifles, including military-type weapons, and some wore ammunition belts slung over their shoulders. Although African Americans appeared to account for the vast majority of the marchers, protesters of various races, men and women alike, were among the group. One video clip showed a leader of the demonstrators, who was not identified, shouting into a loudspeaker in a challenge to white supremacists who historically have used Stone Mountain as a rallying spot of their own. “I don’t see no white militia,” he declared. “We’re here. Where ... you at? We’re in your house. Let’s go.”
Less than half of US adults said that they are ‘extremely proud’ to be American
Louise Boyle

American patriotism is at its lowest ebb for almost two decades, a new poll has found. A survey by Gallup found that while 70 per cent of US adults said they are “proud” to be American, less than half said that they are “extremely proud”. The findings were released ahead of the Fourth of July national holiday amid the country’s struggle to rein in the coronavirus pandemic, and calls for racial justice and an end to policy brutality in Black Lives Matter protests in every state. Gallup said that US pride is at its lowest point since the company began taking polls on it in 2001. It is the second year that the number of “extremely proud” people dropped below the majority (45 per cent). Over the decades, the numbers were fairly stable - 81- 92 per cent - but declined to 75 per cent in 2017, during the first year of the Trump administration.
Rich McKay

ATLANTA (Reuters) - Stone Mountain Confederate Memorial, a nine-story-high bas-relief sculpture carved into a sprawling rock face northeast of Atlanta, is perhaps the South’s most audacious monument to its pro-slavery legacy still intact. Despite long-standing demands for the removal of what many consider a shrine to racism, the giant depiction of three Confederate heroes on horseback still towers ominously over the Georgia countryside, protected by state law. The monument - which reopens on Independence Day weekend after the COVID-19 pandemic forced it to close for weeks - has faced renewed calls for removal since the May 25 killing of George Floyd, a Black man who died during an arrest by a white police officer who pinned his neck to the ground with a knee. The brutality of Floyd’s death, captured on cellphone video, triggered a national outcry against racial injustice, and revived a long-simmering battle between those demanding the removal of racist symbols from the public sphere, and those who believe monuments honor the tradition and history of the South. “Here we are in Atlanta, the birthplace of the Civil Rights Movement and still we have the largest Confederate monument in the world,” said Gerald Griggs, a vice president of the Atlanta chapter of the NAACP civil rights group, which staged a march last week calling for the carving to be scraped from the mountainside. “It’s time for our state to get on the right side of history.”
By Katie Bernard

Two Overland Park City Council members are asking the mayor to call for an emergency executive session about a $70,000 severance payment made to the officer who shot and killed 17-year-old John Albers in 2018. Council members Faris Farassati and Scott Hamblin made the request in an email Tuesday after numerous reports revealed the payment made to former officer Clayton Jenison when he resigned. Farssati said it’s an important transparency issue for the city. The Overland Park City Council president, however, said he’d been aware of the settlement for years and that the session would be a “dog and pony show” from which he couldn’t “see anything to be gained.” The decision on whether to move forward with the session will be left to Mayor Carl Gerlach, who could not be reached Thursday because he is out of town, according to city spokesman Sean Reilly. Police Chief Frank Donchez and the Overland Park Police Department spokesman did not respond to The Star’s request for comment in time for publication.
McClain, 23, was pronounced dead Aug. 27, 2019 – a few days after he went into cardiac arrest following a struggle with Aurora Police officers.
Author: Dacia Johnson (9NEWS), Allison Sylte

AURORA, Colo. — The Aurora Police Department has fired two of the three officers who took photographs depicting a choke hold in front of the memorial for Elijah McClain, who died after a confrontation with officers in August 2019.  A third officer was fired for his response to the photos that he received in a text message, and another officer involved resigned Thursday, before his punishment could be handed down. "I speak for all men and women of the Aurora Police Department to say we are ashamed, we are sickened and we are angry about what we have to share with you," Interim APD Chief Vanessa Wilson said at a news conference Friday, where she shared the process of the investigation and the news of the terminations. "While the allegations of this internal affairs case are not criminal, it is a crime against humanity and decency. To even think about doing such a thing is beyond comprehension," she said. "It shows a lack of morals, values and integrity, and judgment. I can no longer trust to allow them to wear this badge." Wilson offered an apology to McClain's family, friends and the community over the incident.
Heather Osbourne - Austin American-Statesman

KILLEEN, Texas — Authorities on Thursday released the names of two suspects — including a Fort Hood soldier who died Wednesday of a self-inflected gunshot wound — after both were tied to the disappearance of Spc. Vanessa Guillen. U.S. Army officials at Fort Hood identified the soldier as 20-year-old Spc. Aaron David Robinson of Illinois. Hours later, United States Department of Justice officials identified the second suspect as Cecily Anne Aguilar, a 22-year-old Killeen resident. Officials during a news conference at Fort Hood Thursday told reporters that Robinson ran away from his post Tuesday evening after reports that partial human remains were found near the Leon River in Bell County. Local law enforcement later found Robinson in the 4700 block of East Rancier Avenue, east of Fort Hood near North Twin Creek Drive, where he pulled a gun and shot himself when confronted by Killeen police early Wednesday.
The Lead

CNN's Jeff Zeleny speaks to longtime Republicans in Florida who say they will not vote for President Donald Trump in November because of his response to the coronavirus pandemic. Source: CNN
By Hollie Silverman, CNN

(CNN) An Oregon State Trooper is on administrative leave and officials have apologized after coffee shop owners say the trooper used profanity and scoffed at the state's mask mandate when he and other officers were asked to wear one. "Oregon State Police Troopers are not above the law and this conduct is being immediately addressed," Travis Hampton, Superintendent of the Oregon State Police, said in a statement emailed to CNN. On Wednesday, four Oregon State Troopers entered a Corvallis coffee shop without wearing face masks despite the statewide mandate issued by Gov. Kate Brown requiring facial coverings in indoor public spaces, Robert and Kathryn Morgan, owners of Allan's Coffee and Tea, said in an email statement to CNN. According to the Morgans, when the troopers were asked to put on masks, one officer "used profanity to disparage the Governor and express his political opinion that the Governor could not infringe on his civil liberties and that businesses need not worry about complying with the order because law enforcement would not be enforcing the order."
By Viral News

Fox News, Rush Limbaugh and the rest of the extreme Right Wing media consistently share Trump’s lies and misrepresentations as fact. With the Coronavirus deaths in the US now passing 130,000 and total cases approaching 3 million (remember when Trump said it would soon go down to zero?), Right Wing media must shoulder their share of the blame due to all of their parroting of Trump’s lies and dangerously ignorant ramblings about the deadly virus. The Fox News network and its hosts have shown they are willing to put their own audience at grave risk just to remain in Trump’s good graces. A news network has one responsibility to its viewers: Keep them informed by telling the truth. We’ll let you be the judge: But Fox News… isn’t a news network. It’s a Trumpist propaganda machine masquerading as a journalistic enterprise. Even so, you would hope that a global pandemic bearing down on America would trigger some moral sense of responsibility among its hosts. Wrong. The opposite happened. Worse yet, the Murdoch family, which owns Fox News, took precautions against the new coronavirus as the network’s hosts downplayed the risk posed by the pandemic on TV.
By Timothy Bella

Two Oklahoma police officers were charged with second-degree murder this week as part of a July 4 incident last year in which the men allegedly used Tasers on a man more than 50 times before he died, according to court documents. The Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation announced Thursday that Wilson, Okla., police officers Joshua Taylor, 25, and Brandon Dingman, 34, were charged in connection with the 2019 death of 28-year-old Jared Lakey. Court documents filed in Carter County, Okla., show that the officers’ use of Tasers was a “substantial factor” in Lakey’s death and that the 50-plus uses of the Tasers “greatly exceeded what would have been necessary or warranted by the attendant circumstances.” Records show that his cause of death is listed as multiple heart attacks as well as “law enforcement use of electrical weapon and restraint,” the Ardmoreite reported.
By Paul P. Murphy, CNN

(CNN) Since its origin three years ago, QAnon has festered in the darker corners of the internet. Now the group's followers, who call themselves "believers," have found a niche on social media and within the Republican Party. QAnon began as a single conspiracy theory. But its followers now act more like a virtual cult, largely adoring and believing whatever disinformation the conspiracy community spins up. Its main conspiracy theories claim dozens of politicians and A-list celebrities work in tandem with governments around the globe to engage in child sex abuse. Followers also believe there is a "deep state" effort to annihilate President Donald Trump. But followers of the group have expanded from those beliefs and now allege baseless theories surrounding mass shootings and elections. Followers have falsely claimed that 5G cellular networks are spreading the coronavirus. There's no evidence that any of what QAnon claims is factual. ​
By Travis Gettys

A ranger at Carlsbad Caverns National Park tased and then fatally shot a man during a New Mexico traffic stop and then handcuffed his lifeless body. Charles “Gage” Lorentz was traveling March 21 from his work site in Pecos, Texas, to his family’s home in southwest Colorado when he detoured at the national park to meet a friend, and that’s where he encountered National Park Ranger Robert Mitchell, reported KOB-TV. The ranger stopped the 25-year-old Lorentz for speeding on a dirt road near the park’s Rattlesnake Springs area, and Mitchell’s lapel video shows him ordering Lorentz to spread his feet and move closer to a railing. Lorentz complies with the order, but he briefly dances to music coming from a nearby vehicle before calmly refusing to turn around.
By Washington Post Staff

The video of George Floyd’s death at the hands of police in Minneapolis triggered protests around the world. It brought renewed attention to the high-profile deaths of black Americans during the past decade and ongoing concerns about systemic racism in the criminal justice system. The police response in some cities has further fueled protesters, leading to calls to defund the police. In Washington, D.C., President Trump’s use of the military and federal police to seize control of parts of the city — including dispersing peaceful protesters in Lafayette Square near the White House — has drawn heavy criticism from the public and top military figures. Floyd’s killing, in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, which has disproportionately infected and killed black people, has exposed long-standing racial inequities in every aspect of American life and forced a deep reckoning across society. Corporations are pledging to combat systemic racism in their companies. Some cities are considering proposals to eliminate police or reduce funds to police departments. And activists have renewed calls to remove Confederate monuments, with some even toppling the statues themselves. To help provide context to the issues driving the debate among people attending marches and rallies or those having more quiet conversations with their families and friends, we’ve compiled deeply reported stories, videos, photo essays, audio and graphics on black history, progress, inequality and injustice.

Social media posts shared thousands of times in the United States contain multiple false or misleading claims about face masks used to stop the spread of COVID-19, including that they violate federal standards for oxygen supply, cloth masks "do not filter anything" and trap carbon dioxide, surgical masks spread germs, and N95 masks expel unfiltered air. "Masks violate OSHA 19.5% min. oxygen level," reads a widely-shared image of text painted on a windshield, referring to the US Department of Labor Occupational Safety and Health Administration's respiratory protection standards. Similar posts are available here and here. Many posts with the image, which has been circulating since at least June 21, 2020, also include a caption attributed to an "OSHA 10&30 certified" expert, claiming: "Everytime you put your (surgical) mask on you are breathing the germs from EVERYWHERE you went," "CLOTH masks do not filter anything," "Cloth masks trap this carbon dioxide... It actually risks health. !!!!!" and "N95 blows the virus into the air from a contaminated person," and more. Experts say the post contains false and misleading information.
By Carrie Johnson

With a boost from the Republican-led Senate, President Trump has now confirmed 200 federal judges. Each one has a life term, representing a legacy that could extend for a generation. The president often trumpets the achievement in speeches and on Twitter. But the credit belongs as much to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., who took a victory lap last week. "When we depart this chamber today, there will not be a single circuit court vacancy for the first time in at least 40 years," said McConnell, who's been advancing the judicial nominees with single-minded focus. "McConnell confirmed the fewest judges since President Truman during Obama's last two years in office," said Christopher Kang, who vetted judicial nominees in the Obama White House. "So the reason President Trump had 200 judgeships to fill in the first place is because McConnell obstructed." Obama made the nominations, but McConnell kept them from being confirmed to wait for a Republican — in Trump — whose campaign the Senate majority leader then carried out with zeal, Kang said. *** Mitch McConnell stacked the court with unqualified judges some who do not know the law.
By Anneken Tappe and Annalyn Kurtz, CNN Business

New York (CNN Business) The US unemployment rate fell to 11.1% as the economy added a record 4.8 million jobs in June, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported on Thursday. The data was far better than economists predicted, and the unemployment rate also fell more than expected. It was the second-consecutive month of growth after more than 20 million jobs were wiped out in April during the coronavirus lockdown. The reopening of the economy is easing the burden on America's stressed labor market.
By Faith Karimi and Alexandra Meeks, CNN

(CNN) A Southern California man who tested positive for coronavirus after attending a party expressed his fear and regret a day before he died. Thomas Macias, 51, went to a barbecue last month near his community in Lake Elsinore, about 70 miles from Los Angeles. Shortly after the party, he started feeling sick. On June 20, he posted a poignant message on Facebook to warn his loved ones about the risks of the virus, his family said. "I went out a couple of weeks ago ... because of my stupidity I put my mom and sisters and my family's health in jeopardy," he wrote. "This has been a very painful experience. This is no joke. If you have to go out, wear a mask, and practice social distancing. ... Hopefully with God's help, I'll be able to survive this." He never made it. He died a day after that post.
Berkeley Lovelace Jr.

The number of confirmed U.S. deaths due to the coronavirus is substantially lower than the true tally, according to a study published Wednesday in JAMA Internal Medicine. Using National Center for Health Statistics data, researchers at Yale University compared the number of excess U.S. deaths from any causes with the reported number of weekly U.S. Covid-19 deaths from March 1 through May 30. The numbers were then compared with deaths from the same period in previous years. Researchers found that the excess number of deaths over normal levels also exceeded those attributed to Covid-19, leading them to conclude that many of those fatalities were likely caused by the coronavirus but not confirmed. State reporting discrepancies and a sharp increase in U.S. deaths amid a pandemic suggest the number of Covid-19 fatalities is undercounted, they said. “Our analyses suggest that the official tally of deaths due to Covid-19 represent a substantial undercount of the true burden,” Dan Weinberger, an epidemiologist at Yale School of Public Health and a lead author of the study, told CNBC. Weinberger said other factors could contribute to the increase in deaths, such as people avoiding emergency treatment for things like heart attacks. However, he doesn’t think that is the main driver. The study was supported by the National Institute of Health.
Maxwell had kept a low profile and her whereabouts were unknown since Epstein’s arrest last July on sex trafficking charges
Guardian staff

Ghislaine Maxwell, the British socialite and close friend of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, has been arrested by the FBI, according to US media. “She was arrested on the east coast on Epstein-related charges and is expected to appear in a federal court later today,” NBC News said in a report that first broke the news. Maxwell had kept a low profile and her location was unknown since Epstein’s arrest last July on charges that he abused and trafficked in women and girls in Manhattan and Florida between 2002 and 2005. The search for Maxwell has been the subject of intense speculation, with reported sightings and rumors of her whereabouts popping up across the US and even abroad. The New York Times reported that Maxwell had been arrested in New Hampshire.
Opinion by John Avlon

(CNN) You reap what you sow. And President Donald Trump's embrace of conspiracy theories is creating a new headache that many Republicans would like to ignore: a growing number of QAnon conspiracy theorists who will be running on their ballot line this November. On Tuesday night in Colorado, conservative newcomer Lauren Boebert bested five-term GOP congressman Scott Tipton in Colorado's 3rd district. Boebert is a gun rights activist and local bar owner who has expressed interest in the sprawling QAnon conspiracy theory. In a statement to CNN, Boebert's campaign manager denied that Boebert was a follower of QAnon. But earlier this year, Boebert told the host of an online talk show that she was "very familiar with" QAnon and that she "hope(s) that this is real." She joins the GOP's Oregon Senate nominee Jo Rae Perkins and Georgia's Marjorie Taylor Greene, who won a 20-point victory in a June primary and faces an August run-off in a safe Republican district. Perkins, after winning the nomination, said in a video "Where we go one, we go all. I stand with President Trump. I stand with Q and the team. Thank you Anons and thank you patriots -- and together we can save our republic." Greene said in a 2017 video that "Q is a patriot," and that "He is someone that very much loves his country, and he's on the same page as us, and he is very pro-Trump."
By Jasmine Gearie

Facebook has admitted that it wrongly shared the personal data of ‘inactive’ users for longer than it was authorized to, as revealed in a blog post from the company. The social media giant estimates the error saw around 5,000 third-party app developers continue to receive information about users who had previously used Facebook to sign into their apps, even if users hadn’t used the app in the past 90 days. Exceeding that time frame goes against Facebook’s policy, which promises third-party apps would no longer be able to receive personal information about a user if they had not accessed the app within the last 90 days. While the company didn’t confirm how many people were affected, it said personal information shared with third-party apps could include email addresses, birthdays, gender or language spoken.
“Harvey avoided accountability for decades, and it was a powerful moment for us to band together and demand justice," plaintiff Caitlin Dulany said.
Addy Baird

A group of women who sued movie producer Harvey Weinstein for sexual misconduct reached a nearly $19 million tentative settlement Tuesday. New York Attorney General Leticia James announced late Tuesday that the settlement, which is part of a class action lawsuit against Weinstein, would also release the women from confidentiality and NDA agreements. A group of women who sued movie producer Harvey Weinstein for sexual misconduct reached a nearly $19 million tentative settlement Tuesday. New York Attorney General Leticia James announced late Tuesday that the settlement, which is part of a class action lawsuit against Weinstein, would also release the women from confidentiality and NDA agreements. “We fought a long and grueling battle in the courtroom,” Caitlin Dulany, one of the plaintiffs in the suit, said in a statement provided by James’ office. “Harvey avoided accountability for decades, and it was a powerful moment for us to band together and demand justice. Knowing that we will help so many women who are long overdue for relief gives me hope that this settlement will continue to empower others to speak.” If approved by bankruptcy and US district courts, the $18,875,000 settlement will provide Weinstein victims with between $7,500 and $750,000 each, according to the settlement filing.
Chuck Labella worked on Trump’s show for years. Now, despite having no ostensible political work on his resume, he’s helping with the 2020 convention.
Lachlan Markay, Sam Stein

Last year, the Republican National Convention began cutting checks to a former producer of NBC’s Celebrity Apprentice who was accused of having, as one contestant put it, “all the dirt” on Donald Trump. From August 2019 through May 2020, the Committee on Arrangements for the 2020 Republican National Convention made a dozen payments totaling more than $66,000 to Labella Worldwide, Inc. for “production consulting services.” The firm is run by Chuck Labella, a former NBC executive and the talent producer who worked on Donald Trump’s famous reality show. Labella is not just a former Apprentice bigwig. According to actor Tom Arnold, who was a contestant on the show and has since become a vociferous Trump critic, Labella was in possession of Trump’s ostensibly salacious—and, in political and media circles, long-sought—behind-the-scenes Apprentice outtakes. "Chuck LaBella was there and knows all,” Arnold said.

Arnold’s accusations are often brushed aside by Trump World as conspiracy mongering. But the charges he leveled were reportedly serious enough that Trump’s then personal lawyer, Michael Cohen, helped situate Labella with a close attorney, Keith Davidson, in late 2017. Davidson’s name became prominent for his representation of another Trump-adjacent personality: porn star Stormy Daniels, whom he helped arrange hush money payments for in order to maintain her silence about her alleged affair with Trump. Davidson did not return a request for comment.  
Desperate to distract from the coronavirus catastrophe, Trump and his media allies are going full-on rabid racism
Amanda Marcotte

Racism is all he's got. Everything else Donald Trump was going to run on this summer and fall has evaporated. The "booming" economy? (Which he inherited from Barack Obama in the first place.) The U.S. has the worst unemployment rate since the Great Depression and the situation is about to get exponentially worse as unemployment benefits expire. And no, "reopening" is not a solution, since the data makes clear that consumers have little interest in shopping or eating out during a pandemic. And then there was Trump's plan to hold big rallies to make himself look like he's got momentum, while Joe Biden campaigns in responsible ways that don't spread the coronavirus Not only was that plan sociopathic, it's also not working. Trump's big comeback rally in Tulsa was a hilarious failure, with only a third of the arena filled. Now Trump has canceled a rally in Alabama, citing coronavirus fears. It's just as likely that the campaign was scared of more empty seats — even some of his most ardent followers would rather root for him at home rather than risk getting sick.

Trump's efforts to paint Biden as too old and out of it to do a job as difficult as being president? Well, in the face of reports that Trump did nothing to push back against Russia paying Afghan fighters to kill American soldiers, the only "defense" of Trump is that he's either too lazy or too illiterate to pay attention to his intelligence briefings. For a 74-year-old man trying to argue he's sharper than his slightly older opponent, having his press secretary argue that Trump does too know how to read is arguably not a great look. As for the coronavirus itself, Trump is so hostile to any efforts to meaningfully fight the disease that people have started to wonder, only half-facetiously, whether he's campaigning on a pro-coronavirus agenda.
The '43 Alumni for Biden' super PAC seeks to unseat Donald Trump, who they say is unfit to lead the United States.

Hundreds of officials who worked for former Republican United States President George W Bush endorsed Democratic White House hopeful Joe Biden on Wednesday, the latest Republican-led group coming out to oppose the re-election of Donald Trump. The officials, including Cabinet secretaries and other senior people in the Bush administration, have formed a political action committee called "43 Alumni for Biden" to support the former vice president in his November 3 race. Bush was the country's 43rd president. Will Donald Trump win a second term? The Super PAC launched with a website and Facebook page and plans to release "testimonial videos" praising Biden from high-profile Republicans. It will also will hold get out to vote efforts in the most competitive states.
In one instance, an ad agency “representing a large entertainment corporation” sent Vice a block list that included “Black people” and “Black Lives Matter."
By Variety

Vice Media Group is calling on the advertising industry to review “brand safe” keywords, after the company recently found that ad blocklists have included such terms as “Black Lives Matter,” “George Floyd,” “protest” and — in one case — “Black people.” Marsha Cooke, Vice Media Group’s SVP of impact, outlined the problem, which she called “the brand-safety paradox,” at the company’s virtual Digital Content NewFronts. While such strategies are designed to keep advertisers away from controversial topics, the result is that their marketing messages end up against content that is “pretty far removed from the national conversation,” Cooke said.

In a recent internal analysis, Vice Media Group discovered that content related to the death of George Floyd and resulting protests was monetized at a rate 57% lower than other news content. That, according to Cooke, is the result of brands and agencies specifically blocking their ads from being next to “quality journalism” about these issues. “In some cases, campaigns outright canceled because of the unrest,” she said. In one instance, an ad agency “representing a large entertainment corporation” sent Vice a blocklist that included “Black people” and “Black Lives Matter,” according to Cooke. She didn’t identify the company but said “it was sent the very same week that the corporation issued a statement in support of the Black Lives Matter movement.”
Bill Chappell

Seattle police started to dismantle the Capitol Hill Organized Protest zone early Wednesday morning, after Mayor Jenny Durkan issued an emergency order declaring the blocks-long area an "unlawful assembly" that requires immediate action. Durkan's order calls for clearing barricades out of the streets near Cal Anderson Park and the police department's East Precinct — two main landmarks of the zone that is widely known by its acronym, CHOP. As of 9:25 a.m. local time, officers had "made a total of 31 arrests for failure to disperse, obstruction, assault, and unlawful weapon possession," the Seattle Police Department said via Twitter. Officers who made their way into the area this morning announced that protesters could leave the zone through a "safe exit" to the south, the department said. As of Wednesday, the Cal Anderson Park area is now closed. The mayor ordered city agencies to remove tents used by people who have been camping in the park, saying police should order protesters to leave. "I can see people wearing florescent vests with 'SDOT' on them putting tents and stuff from the side of the road into bags," said reporter Anna Boiko-Weyrauch, reporting from the scene for member station KUOW. "There are large clusters of police on every side, on the perimeter of the CHOP, some with bicycles, very heavily outfitted, some have coffee at this point in the morning."
The two men held up their arms in surrender, but were beaten by officers, the district attorney said. One of the men suffered a fractured eye socket, the other a broken nose.
By Ben Kesslen

Eight police officers in Louisiana were indicted on charges of excessive force for allegedly beating two men who had raised their arms in surrender when pulled over for seatbelt violations. Caddo Parish District Attorney James Stewart announced Tuesday that each of the officers in Shreveport has been charged with one count of malfeasance in office in connection to the arrest in January. The Jan. 24 incident began when an officer attempted to pull over driver Chico Bell and his passenger, Damon Robinson, for seatbelt violations as the two men were leaving a private home. The men didn't stop the vehicle, and a pursuit began, with video from a police car "showing that Bell threw several unknown objects from the window of his Chevrolet truck during the chase,” the district attorney wrote in a press release.
By Alisha Ebrahimji, CNN

(CNN) A White hotel employee called the police on a guest, a Black woman and her children, who were using the hotel's swimming pool over the weekend. Missy Williams-Wright, her son, 11, and daughter, 7, were staying at the Hampton Inn in Williamston, North Carolina, when a hotel employee called the police to report a trespassing, Williamston Police said in a statement on Monday. Williams-Wright tells CNN she was in town from Raleigh on business, and that she believes she was racially discriminated against because of the color of her skin. "Hilton has zero tolerance for racism or discrimination of any kind," a company spokesperson told CNN on Tuesday. "Through our extensive Diversity & Inclusion training program, we have made diversity and unconscious bias training mandatory for Team Members at all properties and corporate offices globally."
One of the most powerful local police agencies in the US has a history of abuse. Families of those killed by LASD want systematic change
Sam Levin in Los Angeles

One of America’s most powerful local law enforcement agencies is facing a reckoning after decades of reports of violence and corruption. The Los Angeles sheriff’s department (LASD) is the largest county police agency in the US, with 9,000 officers who patrol nearly 200 different southern California cities and towns in a region bigger than most states. It controls a $3.3bn budget and runs the world’s largest jail system. LASD’s history of abuse and scandal is as overwhelming as its size. Two weeks ago, amid national protests over the killings of George Floyd and Rayshard Brooks, LASD killed 18-year-old Andres Guardado at his security job at an autobody shop, allegedly shooting him in the back as he fled. The department also faces questions over its handling of the death of Robert Fuller, a 24-year-old Black man found hanging on a tree.
Trump had endorsed the losing candidate in the contest but tweeted congrats to the victor.
By Associated Press

DENVER — Five-term Rep. Scott Tipton was upset in Tuesday's Colorado Republican Party primary by Lauren Boebert, a pistol-packing businesswoman, ardent defender of gun rights and border wall supporter who wants to abolish the Department of Education. Boebert won after a campaign in which she accused Tipton of not being sufficiently pro-Donald Trump even though the president had endorsed Tipton, and even though Tipton is the Trump campaign's co-chair for Colorado. Trump congratulated Boebert on Twitter, saying, "Congratulations on a really great win." She will run in November's general election against Diane Mitsch Bush, a former state lawmaker who won the Democratic nomination on Tuesday by defeating businessman James Iacino. Tipton defeated Mitsch Bush in the 2018 election to represent the 3rd Congressional District, which encompasses a swath of southern and western Colorado.
Gregory Scruggs

SEATTLE (Reuters) - Seattle crews on Tuesday used heavy machinery to remove some barricades around the city’s “autonomous zone”, as die-hard anti-racism demonstrators camped out for a fourth week despite legal and political pressure to end their protest. Following four nights of gun violence in the last 10 days that left two black teenagers dead and two more people hospitalized, the Capitol Hill Occupied Protest (CHOP) outside an abandoned police precinct has diminished in size and scope. Medic stations, a mobile health care clinic, and multiple free food tents in a police-free zone set up in the wake of George Floyd’s death in Minneapolis police custody have dwindled to a single free kitchen. The crowds that came by the thousands to listen to speeches about police brutality and marvel at street art commemorating black lives, have disappeared.
Joe Sommerlad

Democratic presidential challenger Joe Biden says self-proclaimed “wartime president” Donald Trump “has surrendered, waved the white flag and left the battlefield” when it comes to tackling the coronavirus and standing up to Russia and “does not know what’s going on” in a blistering new campaign speech. With the US passing 2.6m cases of Covid-19 and 126,000 deaths, the administration has bought up almost all global supplies of the drug remdesivir, one of only two treatments proven to assist in the fight against the condition. The president’s top infectious diseases expert, Dr Anthony Fauci, told Congress on Tuesday that the country could find itself facing 100,000 infections a day if tighter shutdown measures are not taken to tackle its renewed spread.
Joe Hernandez

When President Trump tweeted Sunday night about alleged fraud in a May special election in New Jersey, he tried to wrap it into his ongoing effort to claim voting by mail is less secure than in-person voting. "Absentee Ballots are fine. A person has to go through a process to get and use them. Mail-In Voting, on the other hand, will lead to the most corrupt Election is USA history. Bad things happen with Mail-Ins," he tweeted. "Just look at Special Election in Patterson, N.J. 19% of Ballots a FRAUD!" But election law experts say that Trump's spotlight on the case also shows both how rare these kinds of cases are and the safeguards in place to protect the integrity of ballots. "I had been predicting that the Paterson scandal was going to get to the president's attention, because he's been making so many unsupported claims about voter fraud that when there is an actual case involving election crime and absentee ballots, it's not surprising that he's making some hay out of it," said Rick Hasen, an election law professor at the University of California Irvine School of Law.
David Lawder, Dave Graham, David Ljunggren

WASHINGTON/MEXICO CITY/OTTAWA (Reuters) - The revamped trade pact between the United States, Canada and Mexico taking effect on Wednesday was meant to create a kind of fortress North America, boosting the region’s competitiveness - but cracks are already starting to show in the foundation. As the deal kicks in, the Trump administration is threatening Canada with new aluminum tariffs, and a prominent Mexican labor activist has been jailed, underscoring concerns about crucial labor reforms in the replacement for the 26-year-old North American Free Trade Agreement. The risk of disputes among the three trading partners is growing, analysts say. The U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement includes tighter North American content rules for autos, new protections for intellectual property, prohibitions against currency manipulation and new rules on digital commerce that did not exist when NAFTA launched in 1994, an agreement U.S. President Donald Trump has lambasted as the “worst trade deal ever made.”
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