Friday, May 29 top news briefs and coronavirus updates
Hello, welcome to The Daily Moth. It is Friday, May 29. Here are today’s top news briefs.
There was a third straight night of protests and property damage in Minneapolis over the killing of George Floyd.
News broke this afternoon that Derek Chauvin, the police officer who kneeled on Floyd’s neck, was arrested and charged with third-degree murder and manslaughter.
Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman announced the charges against Chauvin. He said his knee was on Floyd’s neck for 8 minutes and 46 seconds.
In Minnesota, a conviction for third-degree murder carries a sentence of up to 25 years. The manslaughter charge carries a maximum of 10 years.
Freeman said he expects for there to be charges against the three other officers involved in the arrest. There were two other officers who kneeled on Floyd’s back that were out of sight and a third officer was blocking a crowd from helping Floyd as he lay begging for help.
Floyd’s family said they expected first-degree murder charges and said the remaining three officers should be arrested and charged soon.
During protests last night, a police building and several other buildings burned up in flames. A CNN journalist, Omar Jimenez, was arrested this early morning while doing a live report of the protests. He was later released.
Protests also took place in St. Paul, Phoenix, Denver, Louisville, Memphis, and Columbus.
President Donald Trump tweeted last night that if Minneapolis couldn’t control the city, he would send in the National Guard. He said "these THUGS are dishonoring the memory of George Floyd, and I won’t let that happen. Just spoke to Governor Tim Walz and told him that the Military is with him all the way. Any difficulty and we will assume control but, when the looting starts, the shooting starts. Thank you!”
Twitter flagged the tweet as violating Twitter Rules by “glorifying violence.” The tweet was hidden but you can view the tweet by clicking “View.” Many Black leaders on social media said the term “thug” is racist.
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz said this morning — before Chauvin’s arrest was announced — that he expects swift justice against the police officers who arrested George Floyd. Gov. Walz said that the protests is the “result of generations of pain, of anguish” from racism in policing.
The Vice President of the Minneapolis City Council said Floyd and Chauvin knew each other for many years from when they worked security for a night club named El Nuevo Rodeo.
Former U.S. President Barack Obama tweeted a statement on the death of George Floyd. He said “it is natural to wish for life to just get back to normal… but that we have to remember that for millions for Americans, being treated differently on account of race is tragically, painfully, maddeningly “normal” — whether it’s while dealing with the health care system, or interacting with the criminal justice system, or jogging down the street, or just watching birds in the park. Obama said “This shouldn’t be ‘normal’ in 2020 America” and called for a thorough investigation and justice for George Floyd’s death.
The family of George Floyd said they will arrange for an independent autopsy of Floyd’s body.
In Louisville, Kentucky, there was a protest to demand justice for Breonna Taylor, a 26-year-old black female EMT worker who was shot and killed in a police raid in March. There were gunshots that rang out during the protests and seven people were shot. Two of the injured underwent surgery. It is unclear what happened, but news reports said no police officers discharged their firearms. There was property damage and tear gas during the Louisville protests.
Minneapolis will have a curfew starting tonight at 8 p.m. until Saturday at 6 a.m. No travel or gatherings in public will be allowed. Only law enforcement, the National Guard, or medical personnel or those in emergency situations are allowed to be out in the public.
Now, here are two coronavirus updates.
President Trump said the U.S. would terminate its relationship with the World Health Organization (WHO) and redirect its funding to other public health needs. The U.S. is the largest donor to the WHO by providing about 20% of its budget. Trump has accused the WHO of siding with China to minimize the risks of the coronavirus at the beginning of the pandemic.
As of this early evening, there are 5.8 million confirmed cases of Covid-19 in the world. 363,000 have died while 2.5 million have recovered. The U.S. has the most cases and deaths in the world at 1.7 million infected and 102,500 dead.
That’s all the news updates for today. I want to acknowledge the feedback that my background and look is too dark. I am going to try and lighten up the wall. Thank you for the feedback. Have a wonderful weekend and stay with the light!
https://www.cnn.com/us/live-news/george-floyd-protest-updates-05-28-20/index.html
https://www.startribune.com/ellison-expects-charges-soon-against-officers-tied-to-george-floyd-s-death/570862732/
https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2020/05/29/george-floyd-minneapolis-protests-live-updates/
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2020/05/29/breonna-taylor-shooting-what-know-louisville-protest/5281552002/
https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/609.195
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/29/us/coronavirus-us-usa.html
https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/map.html
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