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Some are scratching their heads to understand why this moment—when the public is politically polarized—catalyzed a broad, diverse, and unified coalition of Americans committing to long overdue progress on racial divisions. Consider that the recent protests occurred against a backdrop of increased national unity and purpose in fighting the coronavirus. The sacrifices of the past few months were never solely about keeping ourselves healthy; they were always about keeping our neighbors healthy too. That increased focus on our neighbors’ well-being made many Americans, some for the first time, more sensitive to other inequities as well. So what does it all mean? Our ability to see—truly see—each other’s humanity may make change possible once and for all, and that would be the best possible outcome of a very trying year. —Mindy Finn
Top Ten

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1. More protests follow killing in Atlanta Atlanta was the scene of another wave of Black Lives Matter protests this weekend, after Atlanta police shot and killed Rayshard Brooks, a black man who was found asleep in his car outside a Wendy's on Friday night. At a Saturday afternoon news conference, Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms announced Police Chief Erika Shields' resignation due to the shooting, and called for the immediate termination of the officer who opened fire. Atlanta's top prosecutor said his office will decide this week whether to bring charges against the officer. —The Washington Post ([link removed])
* — New Orleans. In a similar scene playing out in cities and towns across the country, protesters in New Orleans tore down a bust of John McDonogh and hauled it into the Mississippi River on Saturday. The city is discussing the removal of other statues of the slave-owning McDonogh, as well as renaming schools that had been named in his honor. —WWL ([link removed])
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* — Philadelphia. Philadelphia Police threatened Chris Schiano, a reporter from left-wing non-profit organization Unicorn Riot, as he was covering far-right armed vigilantes protecting a Christopher Columbus statue in South Philadelphia on Saturday. Several men at the scene assaulted Schiano and slashed his bicycle tires, and he was then asked by Philadelphia Police Capt. Louis Campione to leave the scene for "inciting a riot." —The Daily Beast ([link removed])
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* — Seattle. Yesterday, city leadership from the Seattle Fire Department, Seattle Department of Transportation, and Seattle Public Utilities met with representatives of the Capitol Hill Occupied Protest (also known as CHAZ), which currently occupies several blocks of the city, to discuss options for reducing the footprint of the protest zone. The city said it's working to balance the rights of the protesters and the ability of first responders to perform their jobs effectively. —KIRO ([link removed])
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* — Around the world. A letter written on behalf of 54 African countries on Friday called for the United Nations Human Rights Council to urgently debate racism and police brutality amid the unrest in the U.S. "The protests the world is witnessing are a rejection of the fundamental racial inequality and discrimination that characterize life in the United States for black people, and other people of color," it said. —Al Jazeera ([link removed])

More: Violence breaks out at London and Paris protests for racial equality (NPR) ([link removed])

2. Finn: A bad year can lead to lasting reforms "One could be forgiven for taking the cynical view that 2020 has been the worst year in our lifetimes in terms of chaos, fear, and destruction. The silver-linings view is that increased awareness resulting from a brighter spotlight on our systemic challenges may embolden more bridge builders, problem solvers, and reformers. And 2020 may be the year that we finally push the boulder of needed reforms over the mountain, thanks to a new generation of Americans saying enough." —USA Today ([link removed])

Ed. Note: Mindy Finn is chief executive and founder of Citizen Data and co-founder of Stand Up Republic.

More: Young people have the megaphone. Here's what they want everyone else to hear (The Boston Globe) ([link removed])

3. Some governors rethinking reopenings New spikes in cases of COVID-19 in multiple states across the country have some governors warning that the key to staying open is scrupulous mask-wearing and social distancing—something many Americans have forgotten about or have deliberately given up on. Perhaps more troubling for health officials, many of these states are also seeing record hospitalizations—a metric not affected by increased testing. —Reuters ([link removed])
* — Why so secretive? Contrary to an earlier commitment to release individual loan data, federal officials responsible for spending $660 billion in taxpayer-backed pandemic assistance to small businesses say they will not disclose amounts or recipients of subsidized loans. —The Washington Post ([link removed])
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* — Meatpacking mayhem. As of last week, 599 Tyson Foods workers have tested positive for coronavirus, more than a fifth of the plant's workforce. Pages of emails, texts, meeting notes, and reports reveal how the meatpacking company fought with health agencies amid the virus outbreak and had minimal concern for its employees' health. —ProPublica ([link removed])

* — LAX was lax in March. One of the 49 passengers on American Airlines flight 341 to Los Angeles last March was infected with the coronavirus, but no one knew it. He was rushed to the hospital with a high fever and cough, but the virus spread to those he came in contact with after landing, including several people at a Westside living facility. Despite this, the airline and the passengers on board with the man were not informed by anyone in public health that he was infected. —Los Angeles Times ([link removed])

4. SCOTUS rules for workplace equality The Supreme Court made a landmark decision today that protects gay and transgender workers from workplace discrimination. The case was centered around Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which bars employment discrimination based on race, religion, national origin, and sex. ([link removed])
* — ([link removed]) The court's 6-3 ruling expands the definition of sex, which previously meant discrimination based on gender, rather than sexual or gender identity. ([link removed])
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* — Justice Neil Gorsuch, writing the majority opinion, said, "In Title VII, Congress adopted broad language making it illegal for an employer to rely on an employee's sex when deciding to fire that employee. We do not hesitate to recognize today a necessary consequence of that legislative choice: An employer who fires an individual merely for being gay or transgender defies the law." —CBS News ([link removed])

5. ICYMI: Quick takes from the weekend

If you were too busy enjoying the June weather the last few days to check on the news, good for you. Here's what you may have missed...
* — Gender protections dropped. The Department of Health and Human Services announced on Friday that it had finalized a rule regarding the Affordable Care Act's prohibition against discrimination on the basis of sex. The statutory provision will no longer cover trans people or people who are pregnant, reversing an Obama-era interpretation. —The New York Times ([link removed])
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* — Public pressure wins. In a rare about-face, President Trump announced he's moving his upcoming rally in Tulsa, Okla., from June 19 to June 20, so as not to coincide with the Juneteenth holiday, which celebrates the end of slavery. —ABC News ([link removed])
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— Trump at West Point. The president's address to graduates of the U.S. Military Academy on Saturday raised questions about his health, when he appeared to have trouble raising a cup to drink and later walked gingerly down a ramp to exit the stage. —The New York Times ([link removed])
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— DOJ stumps for Trump. The Justice Department asked an appeals court to stop subpoenas of Trump-related businesses in a case over whether the president is illegally accepting emoluments by owning the Trump International Hotel in Washington, D.C. The DOJ plans to appeal the case to the Supreme Court. —CNN ([link removed])
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* — Russia sentences American. In a decision the U.S. Ambassador to Russia called a "mockery of justice," a Russian court found former U.S. Marine Paul Whelan guilty of espionage and sentenced him to 16 years in prison. —CBS News ([link removed])

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6. Rondeaux: Is Flynn case harbinger of lawless future? "[A] reversal of [Gen. Michael Flynn's] guilty plea, which the Justice Department is so clearly pursuing at Trump's request, would be such a bad omen for the future of American democracy. As [John] Gleeson wrote in his scathing brief, 'the Government has engaged in highly irregular conduct to benefit a political ally of the President'—one who, 'pursuant to an active investigation into whether President Trump's campaign officials coordinated activities with the Government of Russia… lied to the FBI about coordinating activities with the Government of Russia.' That ally probably thinks he'll get away with it." —World Politics Review ([link removed])

Ed. Note: Candace Rondeaux is a senior fellow and professor of practice at the Center on the Future of War, a joint initiative of New America and Arizona State University.

More: Court appears reluctant to order dismissal of Flynn case (Associated Press) ([link removed])

7. Alaska court opens door to electoral reform The Alaskan Supreme Court has upheld a lower court ruling that found that a proposed multipart ballot measure was legal. What does that mean? Alaskan voters will now be able to vote in November on whether to introduce ranked-choice voting, non-partisan primary elections, and tough rules on campaign finance disclosures to the state. ([link removed])
* — The state of Alaska argued that the multipart ballot violated a constitutional requirement that limits proposed measures to one subject. The Alaska Supreme Court rejected that argument and unanimously agreed with a lower court on the legality of the multipart ballot measure. ([link removed])
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* — "The initiative process is fundamental to upholding the people's power in our democratic process, and today's ruling is a victory for all Alaskans," said attorney Scott Kendall of Alaskans for Better Elections, the group behind the initiative. ([link removed])
* — The new rules would be in place by 2022 if the measure passes. If it does pass, candidates would be placed in a single primary pool, irrespective of party. The top four candidates from that pool would then move on to the general election, in which voters would use ranked-choice voting to select the winner. —Anchorage Daily News ([link removed])

More: Redistricting reformers to Oregon voters: You've got mail (The Fulcrum) ([link removed])

8. Press freedom under attack in the Philippines Award-winning Philippine journalist Maria Ressa has been found guilty of libel and sentenced to six years in prison by a Manila court. Ressa's conviction is suspicious to some, as she is a frequent critic of Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte. ([link removed])
* — Lawyers for Ressa's employer, the online news site Rappler, argue that the statute of limitations on the libel case already ended. The lawyers go on to say that the crime Ressa is convicted of occurred in 2012, months before the Philippines enacted its cybercrime law, which they say cannot be applied retroactively. ([link removed])

* — "The verdict against Maria Ressa highlights the ability of the Philippines' abusive leader to manipulate the laws to go after critical, well-respected media voices, whatever the ultimate cost to the country," said Phil Robertson of Human Rights Watch. Ressa's lawyer contends that Ressa may not be sent to prison until all appeals were rejected. Ressa will study appeal options in the coming weeks. ([link removed])
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* — Ressa has long argued that the Philippine government is abusing its power to muzzle dissent. Duterte is known for berating journalists and news sites that are critical of him. The country's largest TV network, ABS-CBN, was shut down by the government's telecommunications regulator, making good on a threat by Duterte. —Associated Press ([link removed])

More: Governments all over Asia are silencing critical journalists (The Economist) ([link removed])

9. Pardew: Beware creeping authoritarianism ([link removed])

"The threat of authoritarianism in the United States is not as absurd as it might seem. Democracy is fragile if the rule of law, constitutional checks and balances, and media scrutiny slip away. Should the nation gradually shift toward strongman rule, the country's democracy becomes like the proverbial frog in the saucepot—everything seems alright until it's too late: You're cooked." —The Hill ([link removed])

Ed. Note: James Pardew is a former U.S. ambassador to Bulgaria and career Army intelligence officer. He has served as deputy assistant secretary-general of NATO and is the author of "Peacemakers: American Leadership and the End of Genocide in the Balkans."

More: The United States promotes democracy abroad. Now it needs to promote it at home (Foreign Policy) ([link removed])

10. An American Story: You can't mask a smile San Diego's Michael Conley has been isolated just like everyone else these past few months, but being deaf, he has felt even more limited, because he is unable to read lips due to mask-wearing. So a friend of a friend developed a solution. ([link removed])
* — "It makes you lose your confidence," said Conley, who has been deaf since birth. "It takes its toll." — Enter Ingrid Helton, a costume designer, who heard about Conley's dilemma through a friend. Helton got busy sewing, making masks with plastic windows that allow deaf people to still read lips. ([link removed])
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* — Helton's company, Happy Laugh Masks, is helping people like Conley to gain their confidence and connection with the world back. —Associated Press ([link removed])

Ed. Note: We are spotlighting ways that Americans are helping each other through the coronavirus crisis and recent unrest, and promoting American values. Would you like to suggest an "American Story" from your local news? If so, please forward a link to the story to [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) . Thank you!
What's Your Take?

It is such a shame, even a disgrace, that we are losing so many people every day across this nation to COVID-19, and many more will get sick, because "patriots" will not wear masks. The facts are in. The wearing of masks will save lives. But civilian "patriots" will not wear masks to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, even though doing so would make the recovery go much quicker and easier, with fewer sick and dead people.

Those same people hail our firefighters, police, and military folks as heroes, role models, etc. I was in the military a long time ago. Maybe things have changed, and there were no patriotic Americans in the military back then, because I don't recall anyone refusing to wear a helmet or a flak jacket because they were a patriotic American. I don't recall pilots who refused to wear a parachute because they were patriotic Americans. I don't recall sailors refusing to wear life vests because they were patriotic Americans. I don't recall anyone refusing gas masks because they were patriotic Americans. FYI, I have relatives in various branches right now and they wear masks.

The whole thing is similar to police and firefighters. I don't recall situations in which police refuse to wear their gear, such as a bulletproof vest, because they are patriotic Americans. Nor firefighters refusing to wear their gear, such as helmets or self-contained breathing apparatus, because they are patriotic Americans.

Such a shame that the U.S. has such poor leadership, at so many levels, and we are losing so many more people than we should because people will not do the simple things, like wear a mask. They are too "patriotic" to do so. —Bill T., Arizona

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