Wednesday, June 3 top news briefs
Hello, welcome to The Daily Moth! It is Wednesday, June 3. I will share updates on George Floyd and then provide Covid-19 updates.
Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison announced that Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin’s third-degree murder charge has been elevated to second-degree murder.
The three other police officers who took part in the arrest last Monday were charged with aiding and abetting. They will be jailed. All four police officers have already been fired. Floyd died on May 25, last Monday.
An attorney for George Floyd’s family, Benjamin Crump, said the charges were a “bittersweet moment” and a “significant step forward on the road to justice.” The family still wants a first-degree murder charge.
In Minnesota, a second-degree murder charge means prosecutors must prove in court that Chauvin intended to kill Floyd or killed him while committing another felony. Either one.
Chauvin now faces up to 40 years in prison with the elevated charge.
Today there was an emotional scene when the mother of Floyd’s 6-year-old daughter Gianna, Roxie Washington, said through tears that Floyd loved his daughter and grieved that she would be without her father for big moments in her life. Washington said she wants justice for Floyd because he was a good man. A retired NBA player, Stephen Jackson, who was close with Floyd, was there with the family to provide support and said he would walk Gianna down the aisle when that day comes.
ABC News reported that in London, there was a large crowd of #BlackLivesMatter demonstrators in the front of the U.S. embassy and at Hyde Park. “Star Wars” actor John Boyega gave a speech in which he said “Now is the time. I ain’t waiting.”
In Paris on Tuesday night, there were about 20,000 protesters who marched in support of #BlackLivesMatter. Many in Paris honored Adama Traoré, a 24-year-old black man who died in 2016 after being arrested and pinned down by three police officers. The exact circumstances are unclear, but he died in police custody and people drew parallels with Floyd’s case. Most of the protests were peaceful, but there was some violence with thrown stones and tear gas.
CNN reported that there were protests and rallies in Germany, Denmark, Brazil, Mexico, Ireland, New Zealand, Canada, and Italy. In Syria, there was a mural of George Floyd painted on a crumbled piece of concrete. Al Jazeera reported that there were protests in Nigeria and Kenya.
In Brooklyn, state Senator Zellnor Myrie was handcuffed and pepper sprayed by police on Tuesday. He said he wanted to help keep the peace between protesters and law enforcement but was shoved, pepper sprayed, and handcuffed. After police realized he was a senator, they released him. He tweeted two images of the arrest with the words, “Pain.” He said in an interview with CNN that the DNA of this country is brutality against people who look like me. He is pushing for police reform.
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CBS News reported that a Denver police officer posted a picture of himself and two other officers in riot gear on Instagram with the caption, “Let’s start a riot.” His name is Thomas McClay. The post was made over the weekend and he was fired on Tuesday. He was in his first year of being an officer.
Former U.S. president Jimmy Carter and his wife Rosalynn said in a statement, “We all must shine a spotlight on the immorality of racial discrimination.”
News images from last night showed rows of National Guard soldiers standing on the steps of the Lincoln monument in Washington, D.C. There were hundreds of peaceful protesters who gathered in front of the steps.
Today Defense Secretary Mark Esper said he is opposed to using the U.S. military as a response to protesters. He said this option should only be used as a matter of last resort and only in the most dire situation. He said we are not in one of those situations now.
Now, here are updates on Covid-19.
There are now 1.8 million cases in the U.S. and 106,700 deaths. There are 6.4 million cases in the world with 381,000 total deaths. That number includes the U.S.
The World Health Organization said there have been more than 100,000 new Covid-19 cases reported for each of the past five days. There are accelerating cases in Central and South America. The WHO said they are concerned with a spike of cases in Haiti, Brazil, Peru, and Nicaragua.
New York State said they are now at their lowest level of people hospitalized because of Covid-19, but was concerned that protests over George Floyd could cause a spike in cases.
A college football player at Oklahoma State University said he tested positive for Covid-19 after attending a protest in Tulsa. He said he protected himself but still got it. He encouraged others who are going to protests to take care of themselves and to stay safe.
The U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Jerome Adams said he expects there to be new clusters or new outbreaks of the coronavirus going forward because of the protests and the way the disease spreads.
Dr. Anthony Fauci predicted that the U.S. would have about 100 million doses of a potential vaccine for Covid-19 by the end of the year. He said they would start manufacturing doses of vaccines before they know if it works just to stay ahead. He hopes to have 200 million doses by the beginning of 2021.
That is all the news updates for today. See you tomorrow and stay with the light!
https://statelaws.findlaw.com/minnesota-law/minnesota-second-degree-murder.html
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/03/us/live-george-floyd-protests-today.html
https://abcnews.go.com/US/mother-george-floyds-young-daughter-speaks-friends-march/story?id=71029279
https://abcnews.go.com/US/thousands-gather-london-george-floyd-inspired-protests-sweep/story?id=71043376&cid=clicksource_4380645_2_heads_hero_live_headlines_hed
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-52898262
https://www.cnn.com/us/live-news/george-floyd-protests-06-02-20/h_e3f8c09c0fb417ca3626ad0e8208f535
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2020/06/03/george-floyd-protests-mark-esper-opposes-use-troops/3133229001/
https://abcnews.go.com/Health/coronavirus-updates-us-100-million-doses-vaccine-end/story?id=71038663&cid=clicksource_4380645_4_three_posts_card_hed
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