A serious divide exists among Trump advisers over how to address nights of protests and riots in US after Floyd's death

(CNN)A serious divide has emerged among Donald Trump's top allies and advisers over how the President should address several nights of protests and riots across the nation following the death of George Floyd. Trump is being urged by some advisers to formally address the nation and call for calm, while others have said he should condemn the rioting and looting more forcefully or risk losing middle-of-the-road voters in November, according to several sources familiar with the deliberations.

Trump has adopted an uneven message on the demonstrations. While in some appearances he has taken a measured approach in calling for calm, on Twitter he has used violent rhetoric and seemed to suggest Saturday his supporters stage a counter-protest outside the White House.

Over the weekend, some aides sought to convince Trump against using violent rhetoric after he wrote on Twitter that "when the looting starts the shooting starts," warning language like that could inflame an already combustible situation and would not appear presidential.

During a staff call Friday, Trump's top domestic policy aide Brooke Rollins argued for a measured response to riots the night before, advice that was echoed by Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner. Several advisers feared, and hoped to avoid, another Charlottesville moment, when Trump was criticized after declaring in 2017 that "very fine people" were among the Nazi mobs that descended upon Charlottesville, Virginia. When the President made his first vague statement on that violence, he blamed the conflicts on "many sides."

https://www.cnn.com/2020/05/31/politics/trump-protests-george-floyd/index.html

GOP Sen. Tim Scott calls for the arrest of other officers involved in Floyd death

Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.) called for the arrest of the three other officers who were involved in the arrest and death of George Floyd, an unarmed black man who died while in police custody in Minneapolis.

"4 days later. Still three arrests to go. #JusticeForGeorgeFloyd" Scott tweeted Saturday.

Four Minneapolis police officers were fired Tuesday after bystander video emerged showing former officer Derek Chauvin pinning Floyd down behind a police car with his knee on Floyd's neck. Chauvin was arrested and charged with third-degree murder and manslaughter Friday.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/gop-sen-tim-scott-calls-for-the-arrest-of-other-officers-involved-in-floyd-death/ar-BB14OWX6?ocid=spartandhp

George Floyd protests spread nationwide

In a bizarre four-tweet thread, President Trump thanked the Secret Service for their handling of protests in Lafayette Park Friday night. 

The President tweeted that the protesters “would have been greeted with the most vicious dogs, and most ominous weapons, I have ever seen,” had they breached the fence at the White House.

Trump also attacked DC mayor Muriel Bowser, claiming she “wouldn’t let the D.C. Police get involved.”

DC Police were on scene last night, in addition to several other agencies.

https://www.cnn.com/us/live-news/george-floyd-protests-05-30-20/index.html

A Kansas soldier likely saved 'countless lives' by driving into an active shooter, police say

(CNN)Master Sgt. David Royer stood upright with his interlocking hands in front of him Thursday as he matter-of-factly recounted how he rammed his truck into an active shooter before heading home to hug his kids, mow the grass and have dinner.

The military police officer based at Fort Leavenworth likely saved "countless lives" with his quick action one day earlier when a gunman opened fire on a busy bridge connecting Kansas and Missouri, police said.

"I don't necessarily myself feel like I'm a hero," Royer said. "I feel as if most people in my situation would have done the same thing. There was nothing else I could do... I knew lives were in danger."

The gunfire erupted late Wednesday morning on the Centennial Bridge when a man armed with two weapons stopped his vehicle, stepped out and began shooting, according to Leavenworth Police Chief Patrick Kitchens.

https://www.cnn.com/2020/05/28/us/fort-leavenworth-soldier-stops-active-shooter-trnd/index.html

George Floyd Minnesota protests updates: No charges announced as officials ask for 'patience'

The death of George Floyd, a black man who was seen pinned down in a video by a white police officer and later died, has caused outrage in the city of Minneapolis and all over the country. Residents of the city have protested his death since Tuesday. Though they have been mostly peaceful, on Wednesday, officials said "a core group of people" not from Minneapolis caused destruction.

City leaders have called for the community to voice their outrage in a lawful manner.

6:25 p.m.: Investigation is 'top priority' for DOJ

The Department of Justice has made the investigation into Floyd's death a "top priority," Erica MacDonald, attorney for state of Minnesota, said at a press conference.

MacDonald said President Donald Trump and Attorney General Bill Barr are "directly and actively" monitoring the case.

"It is critical, it is essential, it is imperative that the investigation is done right and done right the first time," she said. "And that is what we are going to do."

https://abcnews.go.com/US/dangerous-protests-erupt-overnight-george-floyds-death-minneapolis/story?id=70924047&cid=clicksource_4380645_2_heads_hero_live_hero_hed

The realities of being a black birdwatcher

(CNN)Dudley Edmondson has long had to deal with people calling the police on him while out in nature.

As a black birdwatcher and professional nature photographer, his presence with a camera can arouse suspicion among white people. He has had people accuse him of being drunk, or on drugs, or taking photos of people's homes in order to come back later and rob them.

He's been accused of "a number of things that I'm guessing in their minds fits more the description of what an African American male would be doing, as opposed to photographing nature, as opposed to watching birds," he told CNN.

Edmondson spoke to CNN about racism in the wilderness in the wake of Christian Cooper's experience in Central Park on Monday morning, when a minor dispute over an unleashed dog led a white woman to call police and falsely claim "an African American man is threatening my life."

https://www.cnn.com/2020/05/27/us/birdwatching-black-christian-cooper/index.html

William Bryan Jr. -- the man who recorded the fatal shooting of Ahmaud Arbery -- has been arrested, GBI says

(CNN)William "Roddie" Bryan Jr., the man who recorded the fatal shooting of Ahmaud Arbery in a neighborhood outside Brunswick, Georgia, has been arrested on suspicion of murder, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation said Thursday.

Bryan witnessed the deadly encounter between Travis McMichael and Arbery on February 23 from a vehicle behind a pickup that stopped in the road. Gregory McMichael, who was in the bed of the pickup during the shooting, told police that Bryan had tried to help them stop Arbery earlier.

Kevin Gough, an attorney for Bryan, said earlier this week that Bryan had taken a polygraph test that confirmed he was not involved in the shooting.

Bryan was unarmed at the time of shooting and that Bryan did not have any conversation with Gregory or Travis McMichael before the shooting, Gough said, citing test results.

https://www.cnn.com/2020/05/21/us/roddie-bryan-arrested-ahmaud-arbery-case/index.html

NEW STAR TREK SPINOFF 'STRANGE NEW WORLDS' SET AT CBS ALL ACCESS, FOCUSED ON PIKE, SPOCK, AND NUMBER ONE

CBS All Access' Star Trek universe has now reached a rate of expansion that would make our own cosmos turn green with envy.

Today, the streaming service confirmed that it had placed an order for a Discovery spinoff entitled Star Trek: Strange New Worlds. Written by Akiva Goldsman (an executive producer on Discovery, Short Treks, and Picard), the show will focus on the U.S.S. Enterprise adventures of Captain Pike (Anson Mount), Number One (Rebecca Romijn), and Spock (Ethan Peck) in the decade before James T. Kirk became captain of the famous starship.

The subtitle is a heartwarming nod to Kirk's monologue from the opening titles of the original series: 

https://www.syfy.com/syfywire/star-trek-strange-new-worlds-pike-spock-number-one

FC Seoul apologises for 'sex dolls' in stands

It is a challenge for sports leagues across the world - if play can only resume in empty stadiums, how can the atmosphere be improved?

However, not many clubs will be rushing to follow the example of FC Seoul.

The top-flight South Korean side has apologised after fans accused them of using sex dolls in the stands.

FC Seoul insisted they were "premium mannequins" rather than sex dolls - but did admit they came from a supplier that produces sex toys.

And some of the dolls were holding signs advertising x-rated websites - despite pornography being banned in South Korea.

The mannequins' manufacturer told the BBC they had apologised to FC Seoul. But they also reiterated that the dolls were merely "premium mannequins".

The 2020 K League season was supposed to begin in February but was delayed because of the virus outbreak.

But South Korea's success in fighting the virus allowed football to resume sooner than almost everywhere else.

Article Link

GOP rallies behind effort to defeat Steve King

Top Republicans and conservative outside groups are rallying around Rep. Steve King’s (R-Iowa) challenger ahead of the June 2 primary election, worried that the nine-term lawmaker’s record of inflammatory remarks will be a drag on the GOP everywhere. 

Party leaders such as Karl Rove and Rep. Steve Stivers (R-Ohio), the former chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC), have donated to businessman Randy Feenstra, who has emerged as King’s top challenger for the Republican nomination in Iowa’s 4th Congressional District.

National groups, including the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the National Association of Realtors and the Defending Main Street super PAC are spending heavily in favor of Feenstra. The challenger has also received endorsements from the National Right to Life Committee and the Republican Jewish Coalition, giving him key allies in the effort to unseat King.

The Hill.

The US Senate voted to let Trump spy on your search history. But all is not lost

In a shameful vote this week as part of an extension of the dreaded and controversial Patriot Act, the Senate handed William Barr and the Trump administration the ability to spy on Americans’ web browsing and internet search histories without a warrant.

The vote on a bipartisan amendment to protect this information from government surveillance sparked immediate outrage online – and deservedly so. Our web browsing and search histories contain the most intimate personal information. Any administration – let alone the draconian Trump justice department – should be required to comply with the fourth amendment before trawling through it.

Depressingly, the amendment failed to pass the 60-vote threshold by exactly one vote, 59-37, with two Democratic caucus members, including Bernie Sanders, failing to show up. “As far as I can tell we lost because there were some people absent,” Ron Wyden, who co-sponsored the bill with Republication senator Steve Daines, told Politico.

ARTICLE LINK.

Attorneys for Gregory McMichael say Ahmaud Arbery killing 'not just another act of violent racism'

Attorneys for Gregory McMichael, one of the men charged in the shooting death of Ahmaud Arbery, said Friday that "a very different narrative" will be revealed when all the facts come out.

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"The truth will reveal that this is not just another act of violent racism," Frank Hogue said at a news conference. "Greg McMichael did not commit murder."

Gregory McMichael, 64, and his son Travis McMichael, 34, are charged with aggravated assault and felony murder in the February 23 death of Arbery, who was killed while jogging just outside Brunswick, Georgia. Travis McMichael is the alleged shooter in the case.

Hogue, along with his wife, Laura Hogue, are representing Gregory McMichael. The couple are part of a criminal defense law firm in Macon, Georgia.

"Our client has not been charged the same as his son," Laura Hogue said. "He's been charged as a party to the crime, which is a Georgia statute that holds an individual who aids or abets or facilitates a crime, with the same responsibility as the individual who actually perpetrated the crime."

The shooting incident was captured on video that became public last week. 

ARTICLE LINK.

4-foot-long lizards invade 2 Georgia counties

ATLANTA (Gray News) – There’s yet another creature to haunt dreams in the middle of a pandemic.

Georgia officials are working to eradicate an invasive lizard species from South American called the black and white tegus.

They can grow up to about 4 feet in length and can eat "just about anything they want,” according to John Jensen, a biologist with the Wildlife Conservation Section at Georgia Department of Natural Resources.

The lizards pose a major threat to some of the state's native wildlife.

“One of their favorite foods is eggs from ground-nesting animals such as gopher tortoise — our protected state reptile,” Jensen said. “Birds, including turkeys and quail.”

They also eat fruit, vegetables, insects, pet food and small animals.

“These large lizards are voracious predators that have been found consuming a variety of native wildlife in the longer-established Florida populations,” according to the Orianne Society, a conservation group.

ARTICLE LINK.

Deputy who stayed behind cruiser during Parkland shooting gets job back

US medical mask maker: 'I've been ignored for so long'

Wis. governor says 'many more people' could get sick

A Florida deputy who was fired for remaining behind his patrol car during the massacre at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School will get his job back, his union said Thursday.

The Broward County deputy, Sgt. Brian Miller, will be reinstated with full seniority, back pay and other benefits, according to an arbitration ruling obtained by NBC News.

Miller was paid more than $137,000 in 2018, according to the South Florida Sun Sentinel.

The arbitrator, Danielle Hargrove, said the Broward County Sheriff's Office violated Miller's rights when it fired him in June, several months after the department was legally allowed to.

Miller was fired for neglect of duty in the Feb. 14, 2018, shooting in Parkland, which left 17 students, coaches and a teacher dead.

A state commission that examined the shooting said Miller — who heard gunfire inside the school and was the first supervisor at the scene — claimed that he remained outside to direct the law enforcement response. But Miller's first radio call wasn't made until five minutes after he arrived, the commission said.

"Any law enforcement officer — regardless of rank — who arrives at the scene of an active shooter while shots are still being fired has an obligation to pursue the sound of those gunshots and confront the shooter, but Sgt. Miller remained behind his car in a position of personal safety," the commission found.

ARTICLE LINK

Donations For Native Americans Flood In From Irish People, Returning A Historic Favor From 1847

At the height of the Irish potato famine, members of the Choctaw Nation banded together to donate $170—more than $5,000 today—toward relief efforts, selflessly contributing despite their own hardships.

During a March 23, 1847, meeting in Skullyville, Oklahoma, “they were asked to dig deep for a group of people they had never met,” wrote Natasha Frost for Atlas Obscura in 2018. “And, incredibly, they did.”

Now, as the United States’ Native American community navigates the COVID-19 pandemic, hundreds of Irish people are making charitable donations to return the Choctaw’s 173-year-old favor, report Ed O’Loughlin and Mihir Zaveri for the New York Times.

As of this writing, an online fundraiser benefitting the Navajo Nation and Hopi Reservation has raised more than $2.5 million for water, food and health supplies. Irish donors have contributed around half a million dollars (and counting), the GoFundMe campaign’s organizers tell CNN’s Harmeet Kaur.

Many of these donors have specifically cited the Choctaw’s 1847 gift. One Pat Hayes, for instance, wrote, “From Ireland, 170 years later, the favour is returned! To our Native American brothers and sisters in your moment of hardship.”

Gary Batton, chief of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma, tells the Times that his tribe is “gratified—and perhaps not at all surprised—to learn of the assistance our special friends, the Irish, are giving to the Navajo and Hopi Nations.”

ARTICLE LINK.

Five charts about the biggest carbon crash

We're living through the biggest carbon crash ever recorded.

No war, no recession, no previous pandemic has had such a dramatic impact on emissions of CO2 over the past century as Covid-19 has in a few short months.

Multiple sources indicate we are now living through an unrivalled drop in carbon output.

But even though we will see a massive fall this year, the concentrations of CO2 that are in the atmosphere and warming our planet won't stabilise until the world reaches net-zero.

Energy experts believe there will be a bounce back next year, but that, long term, the world will move to greener fuels.

But it may not be enough to keep temperatures down to safer levels.

"That downward slope will accelerate over time beyond peak fossil energy," said Erik Holm Reiso, from Rystad Energy.

"That doesn't chime with 1.5C, but maybe 1.8-1.9C degrees could be within reach and this situation right now could help achieve that, I think."

Article Link ... Read the full article here

Texas banned abortions - how did that affect women?

Texas was one of a handful of states to deem abortions non-essential procedures during the pandemic. But what impact has that decision had?

As the US was going through the darkest days of the crisis, the state of Texas was fighting hard in the courts to ensure abortions did not take place there.

The battle, against women's health groups, was over the state's assertion that abortions were non-essential.

Texas officials won, and abortions - which usually number about 50,000 a year in the state - were banned. They are only starting to resume again now because of an easing of restrictions on "elective" medical procedures.....

Even though Louise had inside her one foetus that had already passed away and another that was destined to die at birth, she was told she would not be able to have an abortion in the state.

Article Link

Antibody blocks infection by the SARS-CoV-2 in cells, scientists discover

Researchers at Utrecht University, Erasmus Medical Center and Harbour BioMed (HBM) today reported that they have identified a fully human monoclonal antibody that prevents the SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) virus from infecting cultured cells. The discovery, published online today in Nature Communications, is an initial step towards developing a fully human antibody to treat or prevent the respiratory disease COVID-19 caused by the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2.

The COVID-19 pandemic has spread rapidly across the globe infecting more than 3.3M people worldwide and killing more than 235,000 people so far.

"This research builds on the work our groups have done in the past on antibodies targeting the SARS-CoV that emerged in 2002/2003," said Berend-Jan Bosch, Associate Professor, Research leader at Utrecht University, and co-lead author of the Nature Communications study. "Using this collection of SARS-CoV antibodies, we identified an antibody that also neutralizes infection of SARS-CoV-2 in cultured cells. Such a neutralizing antibody has potential to alter the course of infection in the infected host, support virus clearance or protect an uninfected individual that is exposed to the virus."

ARTICLE LINK