Big Time News Blog: 06/08/20

Monday, June 8, 2020

Trump Rebuffs Protests Over Systemic Racism and Calls Police ‘Great People’

By BY PETER BAKER AND MAGGIE HABERMAN from NYT U.S. https://ift.tt/3f1CbTp

#PublishingPaidMe and a Day of Action Reveal an Industry Reckoning

By BY CONCEPCIÓN DE LEÓN AND ELIZABETH A. HARRIS from NYT Books https://ift.tt/2MIlQXK

First American Woman to Walk in Space Reaches Deepest Spot in the Ocean

By BY HEATHER MURPHY from NYT Science https://ift.tt/2zjfKde

‘Get Rid of Them’: A Statue Falls as Britain Confronts Its Racist History

By BY MARK LANDLER from NYT World https://ift.tt/30mkfi5

Bon Appétit Editor Adam Rapoport Resigns

By BY KIM SEVERSON from NYT Food https://ift.tt/3f5azgk

In Houston, Thousands Wait in the Heat to Pay Respects to George Floyd

By BY MANNY FERNANDEZ from NYT U.S. https://ift.tt/30yCIsb

Will the Jobs Report Destroy Jobs?

By BY PAUL KRUGMAN from NYT Opinion https://ift.tt/3f8bAE3

Trump advisers concerned president has damaged his election chances with hard-line response to George Floyd protests

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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Ku Klux Klan leader drove truck into crowd of peaceful protesters, Virginia officials say

“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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Attackers kill 10 at Mexican drug rehab center

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Army Considering Renaming Bases Named After Confederate Leaders

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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Anti-racism protesters rally around world, topple statue

Thousands of people took to the streets of European cities Sunday to show their support for the Black Lives Matter movement, with protesters in the English port of Bristol venting their anger at the country's colonial history by toppling a statue of a 17th-century slave trader. Demonstrators attached ropes to the statue of Edward Colston before pulling it down to cheers and roars of approval from the crowd. Images on social media show protesters appearing to kneel on the statue's neck, recalling the death of George Floyd in Minnesota on May 25 that has sparked worldwide protests against racism and police violence.

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Coronavirus: Hard-hit Brazil removes data amid rising death toll

Brazil will now only report numbers for the past 24 hours, no longer giving the cumulative data.

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‘Shame!’: Minneapolis mayor booed out of protest for refusing to commit to abolish police

Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey faced a chorus of boos and chants of “shame” when he refused to commit to abolishing the city’s police department this weekend.Saturday was the 12th day of protests over the killing of George Floyd while in the custody of the Minneapolis Police Department.

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A couple got married in the middle of a Black Lives Matter protest after their ceremony was cancelled due to the coronavirus

Dr. Kerry Anne Perkins and Michael Gordon got married alongside Black Lives Matter protestors Saturday to show their solidarity with the movement.

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Deputy killed in California ambush by Air Force sergeant

A Northern California sheriff’s deputy was killed and two law enforcement officers wounded Saturday when they were ambushed with gunfire and explosives while pursuing a suspect, authorities said. The U.S. Air Force confirmed Sunday that the suspect was an active duty sergeant stationed at Travis Air Force Base. Sgt. Damon Gutzwiller, 38, was shot and killed in Ben Lomond, an unincorporated area near Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz County Sheriff Jim Hart said.

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Biden Rejects Calls to Defund Police Departments, Plans Increased Investment in ‘Community Policing’

The Joe Biden campaign has announced its opposition to defunding police departments in the wake of widespread George Floyd demonstrations, advocating for reform measures and even additional funding instead."As his criminal justice proposal made clear months ago, Vice President Biden does not believe that police should be defunded," Biden spokesman Andrew Bates said in a statement. "Biden supports the urgent need for reform-including funding for public schools, summer programs, and mental health and substance abuse treatment separate from funding for policing-so that officers can focus on the job of policing."Bates added, "This also means funding community policing programs to improve relationships between officers and residents." Biden's criminal justice plan would earmark an additional $300 million to community policing efforts.Democrats have faced increasing calls over the past week to dismantle police departments entirely after Floyd, an African American man, was killed during his arrest by white Minneapolis police officers. A majority of Minneapolis City Council members have pledged to dismantle the city's police department, although they have not released a timetable or detailed proposals for doing so.On Monday, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D., Calif.) appeared to demure on the question of whether to defund police."We want to work with our police departments, there are many who take pride in their work" Pelosi said at a press conference. Pelosi suggested "rebalancing" or moving some funding from police departments to tackle housing and mental health issues.

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Brazil records big surge as global deaths approach 400,000

Here are the latest coronavirus updates from around the world.

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‘They set us up’: US police arrested over 10,000 protesters, many non-violent

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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10-foot great white shark kills surfer in Australia

A 60-year-old surfer was attacked and killed by a 3-meter (10-foot) great white shark off the coast of northern New South Wales state on Sunday, officials said. The man received a bite to the back of his thigh and was brought to the shore by other surfers who had fought off the shark, a surf rescue group, Surf Life Saving NSW, said in a statement. “A shark biologist assessed photographs and confirmed a white shark was responsible for the fatal attack,” the state's Department of Primary Industries said.