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Most Americans trust Black Lives Matter movement more than Trump to promote justice and racial equality

Most Americans trust Black Lives Matter movement more than Trump to promote justice and racial equality

USA Today reports: The police crackdown to clear protesters from Lafayette Square last week looms as a defining moment in the national debate over race and law enforcement that has been sparked by the death of George Floyd. An exclusive USA TODAY/Ipsos Poll finds Americans overwhelmingly endorse the right of peaceful protest outside the White House – a view held by nearly 9 of 10 people across racial and partisan lines. Nearly 9 of 10 had heard about the clashes…

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Pentagon is open to replacing base names linked to white supremacy, but Trump shuts down the discussion

Pentagon is open to replacing base names linked to white supremacy, but Trump shuts down the discussion

The New York Times reports: Monuments and memorials bearing the names of men who fought to preserve slavery and uphold white supremacy are facing a reckoning, as demonstrations against police brutality have erupted across the country in response to the killing of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer. The protests have also reignited a debate within the military community over 10 Army bases named after Confederate leaders, which as recently as February the service said it had no intention…

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More than 1,250 former Justice Dept. workers call for probe on Barr’s role in clearing peaceful demonstrators

More than 1,250 former Justice Dept. workers call for probe on Barr’s role in clearing peaceful demonstrators

The Washington Post reports: More than 1,250 former Justice Department workers on Wednesday called on the agency’s internal watchdog to investigate Attorney General William P. Barr’s involvement in law enforcement’s move last week to push a crowd of largely peaceful demonstrators back from Lafayette Square using horses and gas. In a letter to Justice Department Inspector General Michael Horowitz, the group said it was “deeply concerned about the Department’s actions, and those of Attorney General William Barr himself, in response…

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Former federal judge determines Justice Dept reversal on Flynn case was a ‘gross abuse’ of power

Former federal judge determines Justice Dept reversal on Flynn case was a ‘gross abuse’ of power

The New York Times reports: Accusing the Justice Department of a “gross abuse of prosecutorial power,” a former mafia prosecutor and retired federal judge urged a court on Wednesday to reject the Trump administration’s attempt to drop the criminal case against Michael T. Flynn, President Trump’s former national security adviser, and instead sentence him. The authority of judges to scrutinize case dismissal requests “empowers courts to protect the integrity of their own proceedings from prosecutors who undertake corrupt, politically motivated…

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White House goes quiet on coronavirus as outbreak spikes again across the U.S.

White House goes quiet on coronavirus as outbreak spikes again across the U.S.

Politico reports: The coronavirus is still killing as many as 1,000 Americans per day — but the Trump administration isn’t saying much about it. It’s been more than a month since the White House halted its daily coronavirus task force briefings. Top officials like infectious disease expert Anthony Fauci have largely disappeared from national television — with Fauci making just four cable TV appearances in May after being a near fixture on Sunday shows across March and April — and…

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Large majorities of Americans support protests over Floyd killing and say police need to change, poll finds

Large majorities of Americans support protests over Floyd killing and say police need to change, poll finds

The Washington Post reports: Americans overwhelmingly support the nationwide protests that have taken place since the killing of George Floyd at the hands of police in Minneapolis, and they say police forces have not done enough to ensure that blacks are treated equally to whites, according to a Washington Post-Schar School poll. President Trump receives negative marks for his handling of the protests, with 61 percent saying they disapprove and 35 percent saying they approve. Much of the opposition to…

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While 75-year-old victim of police assault remains hospitalized, Trump claims protester injured himself

While 75-year-old victim of police assault remains hospitalized, Trump claims protester injured himself

NBC News reports: President Donald Trump tweeted a conspiracy theory on Tuesday about a Buffalo man injured by police that has circulated around fringe, far-right online media in recent days, adding to efforts from the president and other conservatives to cast protesters as part of a shadowy antifa movement. Trump suggested that 75-year-old Martin Gugino, who is in serious but stable condition in a Buffalo hospital after being pushed by two police officers at a protest, may be an “ANTIFA…

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After this city dissolved its police department, crime fell by almost half

After this city dissolved its police department, crime fell by almost half

CNN reports: Last week, Minneapolis officials confirmed they were considering a fairly rare course of action: disbanding the city police department. It’s not the first locale to break up a department, but no cities as populous have ever attempted it. Minneapolis City Council members haven’t specified what or who will replace it if the department disbands. Camden, New Jersey, may be the closest thing to a case study they can get. The city, home to a population about 17% of…

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Police think they can get away with anything. That’s because they usually do

Police think they can get away with anything. That’s because they usually do

Bocar Abdoulaye Ba and Roman Rivera write: Minneapolis citizens had already put the city’s police department on notice that Derek Chauvin, the officer charged with second-degree murder in the death of George Floyd, might be dangerous. Over his 18-year career, they lodged at least 17 complaints against him, but none resulted in meaningful discipline. Chauvin’s example mirrors a pattern seen in earlier prominent police killings — such as the murder by Jason Van Dyke of 17-year-old Laquan McDonald, in Chicago…

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Bernie Sanders isn’t done fighting

Bernie Sanders isn’t done fighting

Andrew Marantz writes: In 1997, during his fourth term as a U.S. representative, Bernie Sanders published a political memoir called “Outsider in the House.” On the book’s cover, superimposed over an image of the Capitol, was a photo of Sanders, with his signature Coke-bottle glasses and mussed gray hair, raising his arm in a closed-fist salute. At the time, he was the only member of Congress who was neither a Republican nor a Democrat. This was the essence of his…

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Coronavirus and the climate crisis

Coronavirus and the climate crisis

Gaurab Basu and Samir Chaudhuri write: There are many ways in which the impacts of COVID-19 will make previously existing climate-related health threats in India worse. For instance, COVID-19 compounds the grave threat climate change poses to global food security. In India, 38 percent of children already show signs of chronic malnutrition. The World Food Programme has just reported that the pandemic will nearly double the number of people facing food insecurity worldwide, from 135 million to 265 million. Likewise,…

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The virus isn’t done with us

The virus isn’t done with us

Alexis C Madrigal and Robinson Meyer write: After months of deserted public spaces and empty roads, Americans have returned to the streets. But they have come not for a joyous reopening to celebrate the country’s victory over the coronavirus. Instead, tens of thousands of people have ventured out to protest the killing of George Floyd by police. Demonstrators have closely gathered all over the country, and in blocks-long crowds in large cities, singing and chanting and demanding justice. Police officers…

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William Barr, Trump’s ‘law and order’ enabler

William Barr, Trump’s ‘law and order’ enabler

David Rohde writes: Over the past week, Attorney General William Barr has taken a series of actions that will likely forever tie his legacy to that of Donald Trump. All of them were in defiance of Barr’s duty, as the country’s chief law-enforcement officer, to foster public faith in the American criminal-justice system by acting as apolitically as possible. All of them echoed the political messaging of Donald Trump. On Sunday, May 31st, as protests over the police killing of…

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Minneapolis’ Third Precinct served as ‘playground’ for renegade cops

Minneapolis’ Third Precinct served as ‘playground’ for renegade cops

Star Tribune reports: Long before former officer Derek Chauvin knelt on George Floyd’s neck, the Third Precinct in south Minneapolis had a reputation for being home to police officers who played by their own rules. One officer kicked a handcuffed suspect in the face, leaving his jaw in pieces. Officers beat and pistol-whipped a suspect in a parking lot on suspicion of low-level drug charges. Others harassed residents of a south Minneapolis housing project as they headed to work, and…

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Why military leaders like me are speaking out

Why military leaders like me are speaking out

Admiral James Stavridis (ret.) writes: The demonstrations set off by the death of George Floyd are creating remarkable crosscurrents in American society, from new ideas about police reform to an increased focus on the disparate health and economic damage African-Americans have suffered from Covid-19. There is increasing turmoil in terms of the use of the military as well. A number of retired generals and admirals have spoken out with alarm over the last week about adding active-duty military to law…

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Hospitals got bailouts and furloughed thousands while paying CEOs millions

Hospitals got bailouts and furloughed thousands while paying CEOs millions

The New York Times reports: HCA Healthcare is one of the world’s wealthiest hospital chains. It earned more than $7 billion in profits over the past two years. It is worth $36 billion. It paid its chief executive $26 million in 2019. But as the coronavirus swept the country, employees at HCA repeatedly complained that the company was not providing adequate protective gear to nurses, medical technicians and cleaning staff. Last month, HCA executives warned that they would lay off…

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