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June 18, 2020 (San Diego’s East County) - East County Magazine's World Watch helps you be an informed citizen on important issues globally and nationally. As part of our commitment to reflect all voices and views, we include links to a variety of news sources representing a broad spectrum of political, religious, and social views. Top world and U.S. headlines include:
U.S.
Police violence/George Floyd protests
- George Floyd death: Al-Qaeda tries to exploit US unrest (BBC)
- Report: FBI found weapons, booby traps after arrest of 3 men (AP)
- Trump campaign touts Trump’s executive order on police reform (The Hill)
- Police say projectile launchers are safer than other ‘less lethal’ alternatives. Injured protesters disagree (Los Angeles Times)
- Video Shows Law Enforcement Officers Slashing Tires at Minneapolis Protests (Slate)
- Arrest warrant: Suspect shown on social media setting fire to Minneapolis police station; appears before judge in Denver (KDVR)
- Former Atlanta officer faces murder charge in Rayshard Brooks killing (Washington Post)
Other National News
- Judge Orders Trump Administration To Give Tribes Their COVID-19 Relief Funds (Huffington Post)
- Gay spouses entitled to Social Security survivors benefits, court rules (NBC)
- MLBPA Rejects MLB's Recent 72-Game Season Offer, Will Not Counter (Bleacher Report)
- Poll: 80 percent of voters say things are out of control in the U.S. (NBC)
- People are sawing through and climbing over Trump’s border wall. Now contractors are being asked for ideas to make it less vulnerable. (Washington Post)
- Bush, Romney won't support Trump reelection: NYT (The Hill)
- Colin Powell 'cannot in any way support' Trump, will vote for Biden (The Hill)
- Justice Dept. seeks emergency order to block publication of Bolton’s book (Washington Post)
WORLD
- Rio cartels go from running drugs to pushing medications (CNN)
- Trump signs bill pressuring China over Uighur Muslim crackdown (Reuters)
- President of Honduras says he and his wife have coronavirus (CNN)
- Brother of George Floyd urges U.N. probe into U.S. racism, violence (Reuters)
- Johnson condemns 'thuggery' after far-right protests in London (Reuters)
For excerpts and links to full stories, click “read more” and scroll down.
U.S.
Police violence/George Floyd protests
George Floyd death: Al-Qaeda tries to exploit US unrest (BBC)
…The latest issue of the jihadist group's online magazine One Ummah uses the iconic image of George Floyd's last moments and a painting by the graffiti artist Banksy to help deliver its message of unsolicited support to protesters on US streets.
Report: FBI found weapons, booby traps after arrest of 3 men (AP)
FBI agents found rags, gasoline, aerosol cans and weapons along with booby traps, fireworks and handwritten notes of military and survival tactics while serving search warrants on three Nevada men who authorities say sought to spark violence during recent Las Vegas protests…U.S. prosecutors say Stephen T. Parshall, 35, Andrew T. Lynam Jr., 23, and William L. Loomis, 40, have ties to a loose movement of right-wing extremists advocating the overthrow of the U.S. government. Authorities said the men hoped to carry out a plan to create civic unrest by capitalizing on protests over businesses closed due to the coronavirus and later, the death of George Floyd…
Judge Orders Trump Administration To Give Tribes Their COVID-19 Relief Funds (Huffington Post)
The Treasury Department was planning to sit on $679 million in emergency aid that was due to go to tribal governments months ago.
Trump campaign touts Trump’s executive order on police reform (The Hill)
President Trump’s reelection campaign touted his executive order on police reform this week, saying the effort proves Trump’s leadership as the nation is rocked by protests over systemic racism and police brutality…The order prioritizes federal funding for police departments that embrace de-escalation tactics, including a ban on chokeholds outside of instances where an officer’s life is in danger, and improves the government’s ability to track officers with a history of excessive force complaints. It also encourages deeper collaboration between police officers and social workers. Democrats panned the executive order, saying it does not go far enough and pointing to their own plan that is much broader…
Police say projectile launchers are safer than other ‘less lethal’ alternatives. Injured protesters disagree (Los Angeles Times)
Police call it a “40-millimeter Less-Lethal Launcher,” but to those who have found themselves on the business end of the weapon during recent protests, the wounds feel deadly serious. And unjustified. A homeless man in a wheelchair had his eye bloodied in downtown Los Angeles. A San Jose activist suffered a ruptured testicle after a blast to the groin. A radio reporter interviewing protesters in Long Beach suffered a neck wound.
People are sawing through and climbing over Trump’s border wall. Now contractors are being asked for ideas to make it less vulnerable. (Washington Post)
U.S. Customs and Border Protection has asked contractors for help making President Trump’s border wall more difficult to climb over and cut through, an acknowledgment that the design currently being installed along hundreds of miles of the U.S.-Mexico boundary remains vulnerable. The notice of the request for information that CBP posted gives federal contractors until June 12 to suggest new anti-breaching and anti-climbing technology and tools, while also inviting proposals for “private party construction” that would allow investors and activists to acquire land, build a barrier on it and sell the whole thing to the government.
Video Shows Law Enforcement Officers Slashing Tires at Minneapolis Protests (Slate)
A week ago, there were many reports out of Minneapolis that protesters, reporters, and even medics had found that the tires of their cars were slashed at some point during a night of protest. Witnesses said at the time that law enforcement officers had carried out the act. And now there is clear evidence to support that claim. Mother Jones located video footage that shows officers slashing tires at a highway overpass. The officers at the scene appear to be a mixture of state troopers and county police.
A suspect accused of setting fire to a Minneapolis police station on May 28 stood in front of a judge, remotely, for the first time on Tuesday in Denver.
Former Atlanta officer faces murder charge in Rayshard Brooks killing (Washington Post)
Garrett Rolfe faces 11 charges in the shooting of the 27-year-old black man Friday, which sparked new protests in a city beset by demonstrations for weeks.
Other national news
Gay spouses entitled to Social Security survivors benefits, court rules (NBC)
Same-sex couples who were not legally married for the requisite nine months due to same-sex marriage bans are still entitled to survivors benefits.
MLBPA Rejects MLB's Recent 72-Game Season Offer, Will Not Counter (Bleacher Report)
Major League Baseball's latest proposal to the players' union to restart the season has officially been rejected. The widely expected move was first announced Saturday by Major League Baseball Players Association executive director Tony Clark, and ESPN's Jeff Passan reported the players will not make a counteroffer:
Poll: 80 percent of voters say things are out of control in the U.S. (NBC)
Joe Biden maintains his lead over President Donald Trump in new NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll as most voters remain concerned about the coronavirus and the economy.
Bush, Romney won't support Trump reelection: NYT (The Hill)
Former President George W. Bush and Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) will not support President Trump’s reelection, The New York Times reported Saturday.
Colin Powell 'cannot in any way support' Trump, will vote for Biden (The Hill)
Retired Gen. Colin Powell, the secretary of State under former President George W. Bush, said Sunday he will be voting for presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden.
Justice Dept. seeks emergency order to block publication of Bolton’s book (Washington Post)
The move escalates a legal battle against Bolton, even after many explosive details spilled into public view.
WORLD
Rio cartels go from running drugs to pushing medications (CNN)
Coronavirus rages on the edges of Rio de Janeiro -- in the hills and slums run by drug gangs, where police dare not go unless on an armed raid. Absent of help from the state -- President Jair Bolsonaro has pledged to crush criminals "like cockroaches" -- the gangs have stepped up. Where before they peddled narcotics with the rule of the gun, now they also push curfews, social distancing and food handouts for the neediest.
Trump signs bill pressuring China over Uighur Muslim crackdown (Reuters)
China threatened retaliation after U.S. President Donald Trump signed legislation on Wednesday calling for sanctions over the repression of China's Uighurs, as excerpts from a book by his former national security adviser alleged he had approved of their mass detention.
President of Honduras says he and his wife have coronavirus (CNN)
Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernández says he has tested positive for coronavirus.
Brother of George Floyd urges U.N. probe into U.S. racism, violence (Reuters)
The brother of the late George Floyd, a black man whose death under the knee of a white officer roused world protests against racial injustice, urged the United Nations on Wednesday to investigate U.S. police brutality and racial discrimination.
Johnson condemns 'thuggery' after far-right protests in London (Reuters)
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson condemned "racist thuggery" after far-right protesters clashed in London on Saturday with anti-racist demonstrators and police trying to keep the two sides apart.
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