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Monday, June 15

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POLICE VIDEO SHOWS SOBRIETY TEST TURN DEADLY  FOR RAYSHARD BROOKS One minute, Rayshard Brooks was chatting cooperatively with Atlanta police officers, and agreeing to a breath test. The next, they were wrestling on the ground and grappling over a Taser before Brooks took the weapon and ran. Seconds later, three gunshots sounded and Brooks fell mortally wounded. Atlanta police video showed a seemingly routine sobriety check outside a Wendy’s restaurant that quickly spun out of control, ending in gunfire. The killing of the 27-year-old Black man in an encounter with two white officers late Friday rekindled fiery protests in Atlanta and prompted the police chief’s resignation. [AP]

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CUOMO 'MAY REVERSE' REOPENINGS AFTER 25,000 COMPLAINTS 

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo warned he could roll back reopening measures in some areas after the state received 25,000 complaints of businesses violating social distancing measures. “We’re getting reports from all across the state that there are large gatherings, social distancing is being violated, people are not wearing masks,” Cuomo said. “We have never received more complaints in a shorter period of time." Cuomo pointed the finger directly at businesses in Manhattan and the Hamptons, where images of residents flocking to bars circulated widely this weekend. [HuffPost]

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NEW FOOTAGE SHOWS POLICE OFFICER IGNORING PLEAS TO HELP GEORGE FLOYD Chilling new footage released by the attorney for the family of George Floyd shows one of the officers on the scene ignoring pleas from bystanders asking him to intervene. “He’s not f***ing moving,” one of several bystanders told then-Minneapolis police officer Tou Thao as then-officer Derek Chauvin pressed his knee into Floyd’s neck. The footage posted by Ben Crumb showed Thao ignoring repeated calls from bystanders to intervene and help Floyd, to check his pulse and to stop the assault. Thao does not. [HuffPost]

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KUDLOW VOWS END TO $600 UNEMPLOYMENT AID President Donald Trump’s economic adviser Larry Kudlow on Sunday vowed an end to an extra $600 a week in unemployment payments for the jobless, calling it a “disincentive to work” — assuming there is work. Kudlow’s dismissive attitude about the payments amid massive unemployment amid the COVID-19 pandemic was a dramatic contrast to his defense of the Payment Protection Plan for businesses, which can use the forgivable public loans to pay exorbitant executive salaries. He insisted on CNN’s “State of the Union” that the extra unemployment aid “might have worked for the first couple of months,” but “it’ll end in late July.” [HuffPost]

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PROTESTS CONTINUE AFTER DEATHS OF MORE BLACK MEN The fatal shooting of a Black man by a white Atlanta police officer and the death of another Black man found hanging from a tree outside a city hall in California ignited new anti-racism protests over the weekend. Roughly 150 protesters marched outside the Wendy’s restaurant outside where Rayshard Brooks was shot, reigniting demonstrations that had largely simmered in the Georgia capital nearly three weeks after George Floyd died after a white Minneapolis police officer pressed a knee to his neck.  [HuffPost]

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AUTHORITIES INVESTIGATE 2ND HANGING DEATH OF BLACK MAN IN TWO WEEKS Authorities in the Southern California city of Palmdale are investigating the death of a 24-year-old Black man found hanging from a tree near City Hall, which they originally described as an apparent suicide, prompting outrage in the community. A passerby reported seeing Robert Fuller’s body around 3 a.m. Wednesday. Emergency personnel responded and found that he appeared to have died by suicide, Los Angeles County Sheriff’s officials said. Fuller’s death has generated intense scrutiny, especially after nationwide protests rebuking the police killing of George Floyd. [AP]

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BLIND VOTERS FEAR LOSS OF PRIVACY WITH SHIFT TO MAIL VOTING Not that long ago, Ann Byington had to squeeze into a voting booth with a Republican poll watcher on one side and a Democrat on the other reading her voting choices out loud so her ballot could be marked for her and the selections verified. Blind since birth, Byington welcomed the rise in recent years of electronic voting machines equipped with technology that empowered her and others with disabilities to cast their ballots privately and independently. But now, as election officials plan a major vote-by-mail expansion, Byington worries she is being left out. [AP]

WHAT'S BREWING

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KUDLOW: NO 'TRANSPARENCY' PROMISE ON BAILOUT LOANS White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow claimed the Trump administration never promised to disclose which businesses received more than $500 billion in coronavirus relief loans, contradicting an earlier statement by Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin. Kudlow, director of the U.S. National Economic Council, made his statement to Jake Tapper on CNN’s “State of the Union” about the Paycheck Protection Program, which Congress authorized in March to bail out companies harmed by the coronavirus pandemic. [HuffPost]

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HEALTH EXPERT: TRUMP'S TULSA RALLY IS 'EXTRAORDINARILY DANGEROUS' Trump on Saturday plans to head to Tulsa, Oklahoma, to rally his reelection supporters inside a 19,000-seat arena. Trump’s rallies typically draw tens of thousands of screaming fans. They usually stand outside in line for hours before passing through airport-style security and cramming inside. Many attendees are older, which would put them at higher risk of severe complications from COVID-19. Dr. Ashish Jha, director of Harvard’s Global Health Institute, called the rally “an extraordinarily dangerous move for the people participating and the people who may love them and see them afterward.” [AP]

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BIDEN HAS PROBLEMS HE CAN'T SOLVE FROM HIS BASEMENT All of Joe Biden's public events in recent weeks have been in the Philadelphia metro area. And in that time, which coincided with Trump’s near-constant delivery of divisive rhetoric about the death of George Floyd, racism and police brutality, his lead has grown. This has led to a loose conventional wisdom that Biden should continue to shun the spotlight. He's prone to gaffes, and campaign officials have long said a straight-up referendum on Trump is a race they win. But Biden’s team and are increasingly battling for more news coverage of the former vice president. [HuffPost]

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TRUMP LABOR SECRETARY SAYS WORKERS AREN'T BEING FORCED BACK TO WORK. WORKERS DISAGREE. Trump’s labor secretary didn’t like it this week when Democrats accused him of forcing workers off unemployment insurance even if their jobs presented a risk of severe illness from the coronavirus. But the Trump administration, in coordination with state workforce agencies, has been forcing workers to make that choice for weeks. The president has called for workers to be “warriors” for the economy, and the Labor Department is prodding them into battle as the virus continues to spread. [HuffPost]

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FAR-RIGHT PROTESTERS CLASH WITH ANTI-RACIST PROTESTERS IN LONDON British Prime Minister Boris Johnson condemned “racist thuggery” after far-right protesters clashed in London with anti-racist demonstrators and police trying to keep the two sides apart. Fights broke out between groups outside Waterloo station, with fireworks thrown before police cordoned off areas. On a nearby bridge, stones were lobbed at police. Sporadic skirmishes continued in parts of the city center. The Metropolitan Police said they arrested more than 100 people for offenses including violent disorder and assault on police. Six officers suffered minor injuries. [Reuters]

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INDIA TO TRANSFORM TRAIN CARS INTO HOSPITAL WARDS India’s home minister has offered 500 railway carriages for use as makeshift coronavirus hospital wards as the capital New Delhi struggles to contain a spike in cases. Amit Shah, India’s second-most powerful politician after Prime Minister Narendra Modi, was set to convene a meeting Monday with all major political parties represented on the deteriorating situation in the capital. Delhi has about 9,000 beds dedicated to COVID-19 patients among public and private hospitals, but a state government panel of experts has said that Delhi will need at least 15,000 beds by the end of June. [AP]

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