Unrest overshadows peaceful US protests for another night
WASHINGTON (AP) - Tens of thousands of protesters took to the streets across America again Sunday, with peaceful demonstrations against police killings of black people overshadowed by unrest that quickly ravaged parts of cities from Pennsylvania to California.
City and state officials had deployed thousands of National Guard soldiers, enacted strict curfews and shut down mass transit systems, but that did little to stop many cities from again erupting into unrest.
Protesters in Philadelphia hurled rocks and Molotov cocktails at police, officials said, while masked crowds broke into upscale stores in a San Francisco suburb, fleeing with bags of merchandise. In Minneapolis, a truck driver drove into a massive crowd of demonstrators nearly a week after the death of George Floyd, a black man who pleaded for air as an officer pressed a knee into his neck.
Tensions mounted outside the White House, where police fired tear gas and stun grenades into a crowd of more than 1,000 chanting protesters across the street in Lafayette Park. They scattered, piling up road signs and plastic barriers to light a raging fire in a street. Some pulled an American flag from a nearby building and threw it into the blaze. Others added tree branches. A cinder block building housing bathrooms and a maintenance office in the park was engulfed in flames.
The entire Washington, D.C., National Guard - roughly 1,700 soldiers - was being called in to help control the protests, according to two Defense Department officials who insisted on anonymity because they were not authorized to publicly discuss the matter.
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The Latest: DC calls in entire National Guard for protests
The Latest on the death in Minneapolis of George Floyd, a handcuffed black man who pleaded for combo du lịch sapa air as a white police officer pressed a knee on his neck:
___
WASHINGTON - The entire Washington, DC National Guard is being called in to help with the response to protests outside the White House and elsewhere in the nation´s capital, according to two Defense Department officials.
Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser said Sunday that she had requested 500 DC Guardsman to assist local law enforcement. Later on Sunday, as the protests escalated, Army Secretary Ryan McCarthy ordered the rest of the Guardsman - roughly 1,200 soldiers - to report.
The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to publicly discuss the matter.
___
Officials see extremist groups, disinformation in protests
WASHINGTON (AP) - U.S. officials sought to determine Sunday whether extremist groups had infiltrated police brutality protests across the country and deliberately tipped largely peaceful demonstrations toward violence - and if foreign adversaries were behind a burgeoning disinformation campaign on social media.
As demonstrations spread from Minneapolis to the White House, New York City and overseas, federal law enforcement officials insisted far-left groups were stoking violence. Meanwhile, experts who track extremist groups also reported seeing evidence of the far-right at work.
Investigators were also tracking online interference and looking into whether foreign agents were behind the effort. Officials have seen a surge of social media accounts with fewer than 200 followers created in the last month, a textbook sign of a disinformation effort.
The accounts have posted graphic images of the protests, material on police brutality and material on the coronavirus pandemic that appeared designed to inflame tensions across the political divide, according to three administration officials. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss investigations.
The investigations are an attempt to identify the network of forces behind some of the most widespread outbreak of civil unrest in the U.S. in decades. Protests erupted in dozens of cities in recent days, triggered by the death of George Floyd, who died after he was pinned at the neck by a white Minneapolis police officer.
___
Trump took shelter in White House bunker as protests raged
WASHINGTON (AP) - Secret Service agents rushed President Donald Trump to a White House bunker on Friday night as hundreds of protesters gathered outside the executive mansion, some of them throwing rocks and tugging at police barricades.
Trump spent nearly an hour in the bunker, which was designed for use in emergencies like terrorist attacks, according to a Republican close to the White House who was not authorized to publicly discuss private matters and spoke on condition of anonymity. The account was confirmed by an administration official who also on condition of anonymity.
The abrupt decision by the agents underscored the rattled mood inside the White House, where the chants from protesters in Lafayette Park could be heard all weekend and Secret Service agents and law enforcement officers struggled to contain the crowds.
Friday's protests were triggered by the death of George Floyd, a black man who died after he was pinned at the neck by a white Minneapolis police officer. The demonstrations in Washington turned violent and appeared to catch officers by surprise. They sparked one of the highest alerts on the White House complex since the Sept. 11 attacks in 2001 .
"The White House does not comment on security protocols and decisions," said White House spokesman Judd Deere. The Secret Service said it does not discuss the means and methods of its protective operations. The president's move to the bunker was first reported by The New York Times.
___
DC mayor: We have to be concerned about virus rebound
MIAMI (AP) - In hindsight, Rosa Jimenez Cano realizes that attending a protest against police brutality was risky - and not just for the usual reasons.
"This can be kind of a tinderbox for COVID," the 39-year-old venture capitalist said after attending a demonstration in Florida, one of many around the country sparked by the death of George Floyd, a black man who died after he was pinned at the neck by a white Minneapolis police officer.
As more beaches, churches, mosques, schools and businesses reopened worldwide, the sudden and mass civil unrest in the United States is raising fears of new virus outbreaks in a country that has more confirmed infections and combo du lịch sapa từ hà nội deaths than any other. And it´s not just in the U.S. - London hosted a large anti-racism protest Sunday where demonstrators violated social distancing rules.
Rosa Jimenez Cano said she planned to self-quarantine for 14 days, worrying she was perhaps "irresponsible" when she attended Saturday night's protest in Miami, where she exposed herself to crowds of people.
Protests over Floyd's death - the latest in a series of killings of black men and women at the hands of police in America - have shaken the country from Minneapolis to New York, from Atlanta to Los Angeles. Some turned into riots and clashes with police, leaving stores in flames and torched cars in the streets.
___
Unrest demonstrates Biden's challenge in breaking through
WASHINGTON (AP) - President Donald Trump spent much of Sunday using Twitter as a bullhorn to urge "law and order" and tougher action by police against protesters around the country. Joe Biden quietly visited the site of protests in his hometown of Wilmington, Delaware, and talked to some of the demonstrators. Earlier, he wrote a post on Medium expressing empathy for those despairing about the killing of George Floyd.
That low-key, high-touch approach may be a sign of how the presumptive Democratic nominee presents himself in the five months before the presidential election, emphasizing calm and competence as a contrast to a mercurial president.
It is an approach that carries the risk of being drowned out by the much louder, more persistent voice of Trump. On one of the most profound weekends the nation has seen, with violence in dozens of cities, Biden was out of wide public view.
"He´s not in office, and he certainly does not have the megaphone like the person currently occupying the White House does, but I do think our people are looking for someone who can make them feel better during these extremely tough times," said Rep. Val Demings of Florida, whom Biden is considering as a running mate. "America just needs to be reassured that there´s someone who´s understanding, someone who´s willing to say, `Yes, we do have some issues,´ and someone who´s willing to address it."
Reassurance requires presence, though, and that has been a hurdle for the former vice president, driven inside by the coronavirus pandemic, still working to adapt to the power of social media as a substitute and without the natural platform of a public office.
___
SpaceX's historic encore: Astronauts arrive at space station
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) - SpaceX delivered two astronauts to the International Space Station for NASA on Sunday, following up a historic liftoff with an equally smooth docking in yet another first for Elon Musk´s company.
With test pilots Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken poised to take over manual control if necessary, the SpaceX Dragon capsule pulled up to the station and docked automatically, no assistance needed. The hatches swung open a few hours later, and the two Dragon riders floated into the orbiting lab and embraced the three station residents.
Unlike the SpaceX and NASA flight control rooms, where everyone was spaced well apart, there was no social distancing or masks needed in orbit since the new arrivals had been in quarantine for many weeks.
"The whole world saw this mission, and we are so, so proud of everything you have done for our country and, in fact, to inspire the world," NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine said in a call from Mission Control in Houston.
Hurley credited SpaceX and added, ""It's great to get the United States back in the crewed launch business."
___
History, right now: Echoes of 1968, and other American years
The streets were on fire as National Guard troops streamed into American cities. The shouts were soaked in anger and anguish: "We´re sick of it!"
There was dark talk of "radical agitators." Violent outbursts and arrests piled up across the republic. The White House issued martial statements about law and order. On TV, footage of unrest and anger played on a continuous loop.
The voice from mission control was cool and calm as the rocket soared into the sky and towards space. "Stage One propulsion is nominal."
It was the late 1960s. It is right now.
For Americans of a certain age - and for those mindful of the past - it is impossible to ignore the similarities between these past few days and some of the more unsettling moments from the 1960s. In particular 1968, a year marred by assassinations and violent social unrest.
___
Faith leaders in dual roles guiding congregations and police
ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) - As an African American pastor who serves as a chaplain in the Minneapolis police precinct where the white officer charged with murdering George Floyd worked, the Rev. Charles Graham believes he is exactly where God intended.
"God is putting us where he wants us to be," said Graham, pastor emeritus at Macedonia Baptist Church in Minneapolis and chaplain at the 3rd Precinct for six years. "I know it´s my job to show the hope. We might as well learn how to live together."
Graham and other Twin Cities faith leaders who minister to communities historically ravaged by racial injustice know their neighborhoods are also the most vulnerable to poverty and crime. Most of the worst looting and vandalism this week struck long-established Native American and African American areas that more recently became home to large groups of Hmong, Somali and Latino migrants.
Firm in their denunciation of brutality and racism, the religious leaders believe that using faith to build bridges between law enforcement and the communities they police will ultimately keep everyone safe.
"We´re better together," said Joan Austin, a minister at New Creation Baptist Church in Minneapolis and a chaplain in the 5th Precinct, which was engulfed in violent protests the night after the third precinct was torched. "I lift (officers and congregants) up in prayer every single night."
___
Christo, artist known for massive, fleeting displays, dies
NEW YORK (AP) - Christo, known for massive, ephemeral public arts projects died Sunday at his home in New York. He was 84.
His death was announced on Twitter and the artist's web page. No cause was given.
Along with late wife Jeanne-Claude, the artists' careers were defined by their ambitious art projects that quickly disappeared soon after they were erectedthat andoften involved wrapping large structures in fabric. In 2005, he installed more than 7,500 saffron-colored vinyl gates in New York's Central Park. He wrapped the Reichstag in Berlin in fabric with an aluminum sheen in 1995. Their $26 million Umbrellas project erected1,340 blue umbrellas installed in Japan and 1,760 blue umbrellas in Southern California in 1991. They also wrapped the Pont Neuf in Paris, the Kunsthalle in Bern, Switzerland and a Roman wall in Italy.
The statement said the artist's next project, L´Arc de Triomphe, Wrapped, is slated to appear in September in Paris as planned. An exhibition about Christo and Jeanne-Claude´s work is also scheduled to run from July through October at the Centre Georges Pompidou.
"Christo lived his life to the fullest, not only dreaming up what seemed impossible but realizing it," his office said in a statement. "Christo and Jeanne-Claude´s artwork brought people together in shared experiences across the globe, and their work lives on in our hearts and memories."
WASHINGTON (AP) - Tens of thousands of protesters took to the streets across America again Sunday, with peaceful demonstrations against police killings of black people overshadowed by unrest that quickly ravaged parts of cities from Pennsylvania to California.
City and state officials had deployed thousands of National Guard soldiers, enacted strict curfews and shut down mass transit systems, but that did little to stop many cities from again erupting into unrest.
Protesters in Philadelphia hurled rocks and Molotov cocktails at police, officials said, while masked crowds broke into upscale stores in a San Francisco suburb, fleeing with bags of merchandise. In Minneapolis, a truck driver drove into a massive crowd of demonstrators nearly a week after the death of George Floyd, a black man who pleaded for air as an officer pressed a knee into his neck.
Tensions mounted outside the White House, where police fired tear gas and stun grenades into a crowd of more than 1,000 chanting protesters across the street in Lafayette Park. They scattered, piling up road signs and plastic barriers to light a raging fire in a street. Some pulled an American flag from a nearby building and threw it into the blaze. Others added tree branches. A cinder block building housing bathrooms and a maintenance office in the park was engulfed in flames.
The entire Washington, D.C., National Guard - roughly 1,700 soldiers - was being called in to help control the protests, according to two Defense Department officials who insisted on anonymity because they were not authorized to publicly discuss the matter.
___
The Latest: DC calls in entire National Guard for protests
The Latest on the death in Minneapolis of George Floyd, a handcuffed black man who pleaded for combo du lịch sapa air as a white police officer pressed a knee on his neck:
___
WASHINGTON - The entire Washington, DC National Guard is being called in to help with the response to protests outside the White House and elsewhere in the nation´s capital, according to two Defense Department officials.
Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser said Sunday that she had requested 500 DC Guardsman to assist local law enforcement. Later on Sunday, as the protests escalated, Army Secretary Ryan McCarthy ordered the rest of the Guardsman - roughly 1,200 soldiers - to report.
The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to publicly discuss the matter.
___
Officials see extremist groups, disinformation in protests
WASHINGTON (AP) - U.S. officials sought to determine Sunday whether extremist groups had infiltrated police brutality protests across the country and deliberately tipped largely peaceful demonstrations toward violence - and if foreign adversaries were behind a burgeoning disinformation campaign on social media.
As demonstrations spread from Minneapolis to the White House, New York City and overseas, federal law enforcement officials insisted far-left groups were stoking violence. Meanwhile, experts who track extremist groups also reported seeing evidence of the far-right at work.
Investigators were also tracking online interference and looking into whether foreign agents were behind the effort. Officials have seen a surge of social media accounts with fewer than 200 followers created in the last month, a textbook sign of a disinformation effort.
The accounts have posted graphic images of the protests, material on police brutality and material on the coronavirus pandemic that appeared designed to inflame tensions across the political divide, according to three administration officials. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss investigations.
The investigations are an attempt to identify the network of forces behind some of the most widespread outbreak of civil unrest in the U.S. in decades. Protests erupted in dozens of cities in recent days, triggered by the death of George Floyd, who died after he was pinned at the neck by a white Minneapolis police officer.
___
Trump took shelter in White House bunker as protests raged
WASHINGTON (AP) - Secret Service agents rushed President Donald Trump to a White House bunker on Friday night as hundreds of protesters gathered outside the executive mansion, some of them throwing rocks and tugging at police barricades.
Trump spent nearly an hour in the bunker, which was designed for use in emergencies like terrorist attacks, according to a Republican close to the White House who was not authorized to publicly discuss private matters and spoke on condition of anonymity. The account was confirmed by an administration official who also on condition of anonymity.
The abrupt decision by the agents underscored the rattled mood inside the White House, where the chants from protesters in Lafayette Park could be heard all weekend and Secret Service agents and law enforcement officers struggled to contain the crowds.
Friday's protests were triggered by the death of George Floyd, a black man who died after he was pinned at the neck by a white Minneapolis police officer. The demonstrations in Washington turned violent and appeared to catch officers by surprise. They sparked one of the highest alerts on the White House complex since the Sept. 11 attacks in 2001 .
"The White House does not comment on security protocols and decisions," said White House spokesman Judd Deere. The Secret Service said it does not discuss the means and methods of its protective operations. The president's move to the bunker was first reported by The New York Times.
___
DC mayor: We have to be concerned about virus rebound
MIAMI (AP) - In hindsight, Rosa Jimenez Cano realizes that attending a protest against police brutality was risky - and not just for the usual reasons.
"This can be kind of a tinderbox for COVID," the 39-year-old venture capitalist said after attending a demonstration in Florida, one of many around the country sparked by the death of George Floyd, a black man who died after he was pinned at the neck by a white Minneapolis police officer.
As more beaches, churches, mosques, schools and businesses reopened worldwide, the sudden and mass civil unrest in the United States is raising fears of new virus outbreaks in a country that has more confirmed infections and combo du lịch sapa từ hà nội deaths than any other. And it´s not just in the U.S. - London hosted a large anti-racism protest Sunday where demonstrators violated social distancing rules.
Rosa Jimenez Cano said she planned to self-quarantine for 14 days, worrying she was perhaps "irresponsible" when she attended Saturday night's protest in Miami, where she exposed herself to crowds of people.
Protests over Floyd's death - the latest in a series of killings of black men and women at the hands of police in America - have shaken the country from Minneapolis to New York, from Atlanta to Los Angeles. Some turned into riots and clashes with police, leaving stores in flames and torched cars in the streets.
___
Unrest demonstrates Biden's challenge in breaking through
WASHINGTON (AP) - President Donald Trump spent much of Sunday using Twitter as a bullhorn to urge "law and order" and tougher action by police against protesters around the country. Joe Biden quietly visited the site of protests in his hometown of Wilmington, Delaware, and talked to some of the demonstrators. Earlier, he wrote a post on Medium expressing empathy for those despairing about the killing of George Floyd.
That low-key, high-touch approach may be a sign of how the presumptive Democratic nominee presents himself in the five months before the presidential election, emphasizing calm and competence as a contrast to a mercurial president.
It is an approach that carries the risk of being drowned out by the much louder, more persistent voice of Trump. On one of the most profound weekends the nation has seen, with violence in dozens of cities, Biden was out of wide public view.
"He´s not in office, and he certainly does not have the megaphone like the person currently occupying the White House does, but I do think our people are looking for someone who can make them feel better during these extremely tough times," said Rep. Val Demings of Florida, whom Biden is considering as a running mate. "America just needs to be reassured that there´s someone who´s understanding, someone who´s willing to say, `Yes, we do have some issues,´ and someone who´s willing to address it."
Reassurance requires presence, though, and that has been a hurdle for the former vice president, driven inside by the coronavirus pandemic, still working to adapt to the power of social media as a substitute and without the natural platform of a public office.
___
SpaceX's historic encore: Astronauts arrive at space station
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) - SpaceX delivered two astronauts to the International Space Station for NASA on Sunday, following up a historic liftoff with an equally smooth docking in yet another first for Elon Musk´s company.
With test pilots Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken poised to take over manual control if necessary, the SpaceX Dragon capsule pulled up to the station and docked automatically, no assistance needed. The hatches swung open a few hours later, and the two Dragon riders floated into the orbiting lab and embraced the three station residents.
Unlike the SpaceX and NASA flight control rooms, where everyone was spaced well apart, there was no social distancing or masks needed in orbit since the new arrivals had been in quarantine for many weeks.
"The whole world saw this mission, and we are so, so proud of everything you have done for our country and, in fact, to inspire the world," NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine said in a call from Mission Control in Houston.
Hurley credited SpaceX and added, ""It's great to get the United States back in the crewed launch business."
___
History, right now: Echoes of 1968, and other American years
The streets were on fire as National Guard troops streamed into American cities. The shouts were soaked in anger and anguish: "We´re sick of it!"
There was dark talk of "radical agitators." Violent outbursts and arrests piled up across the republic. The White House issued martial statements about law and order. On TV, footage of unrest and anger played on a continuous loop.
The voice from mission control was cool and calm as the rocket soared into the sky and towards space. "Stage One propulsion is nominal."
It was the late 1960s. It is right now.
For Americans of a certain age - and for those mindful of the past - it is impossible to ignore the similarities between these past few days and some of the more unsettling moments from the 1960s. In particular 1968, a year marred by assassinations and violent social unrest.
___
Faith leaders in dual roles guiding congregations and police
ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) - As an African American pastor who serves as a chaplain in the Minneapolis police precinct where the white officer charged with murdering George Floyd worked, the Rev. Charles Graham believes he is exactly where God intended.
"God is putting us where he wants us to be," said Graham, pastor emeritus at Macedonia Baptist Church in Minneapolis and chaplain at the 3rd Precinct for six years. "I know it´s my job to show the hope. We might as well learn how to live together."
Graham and other Twin Cities faith leaders who minister to communities historically ravaged by racial injustice know their neighborhoods are also the most vulnerable to poverty and crime. Most of the worst looting and vandalism this week struck long-established Native American and African American areas that more recently became home to large groups of Hmong, Somali and Latino migrants.
Firm in their denunciation of brutality and racism, the religious leaders believe that using faith to build bridges between law enforcement and the communities they police will ultimately keep everyone safe.
"We´re better together," said Joan Austin, a minister at New Creation Baptist Church in Minneapolis and a chaplain in the 5th Precinct, which was engulfed in violent protests the night after the third precinct was torched. "I lift (officers and congregants) up in prayer every single night."
___
Christo, artist known for massive, fleeting displays, dies
NEW YORK (AP) - Christo, known for massive, ephemeral public arts projects died Sunday at his home in New York. He was 84.
His death was announced on Twitter and the artist's web page. No cause was given.
Along with late wife Jeanne-Claude, the artists' careers were defined by their ambitious art projects that quickly disappeared soon after they were erectedthat andoften involved wrapping large structures in fabric. In 2005, he installed more than 7,500 saffron-colored vinyl gates in New York's Central Park. He wrapped the Reichstag in Berlin in fabric with an aluminum sheen in 1995. Their $26 million Umbrellas project erected1,340 blue umbrellas installed in Japan and 1,760 blue umbrellas in Southern California in 1991. They also wrapped the Pont Neuf in Paris, the Kunsthalle in Bern, Switzerland and a Roman wall in Italy.
The statement said the artist's next project, L´Arc de Triomphe, Wrapped, is slated to appear in September in Paris as planned. An exhibition about Christo and Jeanne-Claude´s work is also scheduled to run from July through October at the Centre Georges Pompidou.
"Christo lived his life to the fullest, not only dreaming up what seemed impossible but realizing it," his office said in a statement. "Christo and Jeanne-Claude´s artwork brought people together in shared experiences across the globe, and their work lives on in our hearts and memories."
