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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
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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
- — 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
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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
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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
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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
More: Violence breaks out at London and Paris protests for racial equality (NPR)
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
- — 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
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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
- — 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
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...
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.
- — 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.
- — "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.
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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
More: Governments all over Asia are silencing critical journalists (The Economist)
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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