Wednesday, June 10 top news briefs
Hello, welcome to The Daily Moth! It is Wednesday, June 10. Here are top news stories briefs.
Yesterday a funeral service for George Floyd took place in Houston at the Fountain of Praise church. According to ABC 13, Floyd’s family attended the church when he grew up in the Houston area. The funeral was a private ceremony but was televised nationwide. There was a Black ASL interpreter present on stage. He was buried next to his mother in Pearland, and that will be his final resting place. He was 46 years old.
George Floyd died just over two weeks ago in Minneapolis while being arrested by four police officers. One of them kneeled on his neck for almost nine minutes. The incident was recorded on a video that went viral, prompting outrage and it has revived the Black Lives Matter movement to call for justice and an end to racism. A Minneapolis Police Department officer has been charged with murder and three others have been charged with aiding and abetting. There is a serious movement among the public and public officials to either defund or reform police departments.
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Today George Floyd’s brother, Philonise, testified before a House committee. He said he wants to make sure that Floyd’s death will not be in vain. He said it hurt him very much to see his brother plead for his life and that he can’t stop seeing the kneeling video because people are talking about it everywhere and said Floyd’s kids had to watch the video. He said the police officers have to be convicted because you don’t do that to a human being. You don’t even do that to an animal. He said his life mattered, all of our lives matter. Black lives matter.
Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.), who is the only Black Republican in the Senate, will be working on a legislative package to address the country’s policing system. Congressional Democrats have already come up with a proposal for police reform, so it is likely we’ll see the House and the Senate work out something to pass legislation for significant changes.
Floyd’s family and the Rev. Al Sharpton said they expect about 100,000 people to partake in a protest/rally in August to push for criminal justice reform. August will be the 57th anniversary of Martin Luther King Jr.’s march on Washington.
It was announced yesterday that “Cops,” a reality show that followed police officers as they made arrests, is now cancelled. The show often showed police officers making arrests or intimidating those suspected of crimes. Critics said it was a glorification of police violence. Clearly, the “Cops” cancellation has to do with the worldwide BLM movement.
NASCAR announced they would ban Confederate flags at racetracks. Yesterday NASCAR driver Bubba Wallace, who is an African-American, called for the ban. He said it makes people feel uncomfortable when they come to games and that the flags should get out. He said it’s time for change. NASCAR, in their announcement of the ban, said the presence of the Confederate flag would be contrary to their commitment to providing a welcoming and inclusive environment.
Last Thursday in Buffalo, New York a video shows a 75-year-old man, Martin Gugino, being pushed by police officers who were walking in a large group wearing riot gear. He fell backwards, hit his head on the concrete, and blood came out of his ears. He is still in the hospital recovering. Two Buffalo police officers were charged with felony assault.
Yesterday morning President Donald Trump tweeted that he suspects the man was a part of “ANTIFA” and faked his fall. Trump said the man was trying to use some kind of technology to block police communications. New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Trump should apologize. He asked “You think the blood coming out of his head was staged? How irresponsible.”
Today the White House said Trump has a right to ask questions and criticized the current mentality to be “anti-police-officer.”
Today over 1,250 former employees of the Department of Justice signed a letter that said there needs to be an investigation of Attorney General Bill Barr’s order to disperse a crowd of protesters around the White House so President Trump could walk to a church and pose for a picture with a bible.
Now, an update on Covid-19. There are almost 2 million cases of Covid-19 in the U.S. 112,600 people have died while 525,000 people have recovered.
Forbes reported that Arizona, which started to reopen on May 15, is seeing a spike in cases with sharp increases in ventilated patients. The Arizona state health director said hospitals need to fully activate their emergency plans. A former state health chief said Arizona might have to order new social distancing rules or build field hospitals.
North Carolina reported 1,011 new Covid-19 cases today. Forbes said Covid-19 is rising in 19 states, but decreasing in 24 states. The numbers could continue to spike in the future because many states have relaxed social distancing rules, and because there have been massive protests in recent days.
That is all for today. See you tomorrow and stay with the light!
https://abc13.com/society/george-floyd-laid-to-rest-after-emotional-service/6238731/
https://www.npr.org/2020/06/10/873865317/please-listen-george-floyd-s-brother-testifies-in-house-judiciary-hearing
https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2020/06/10/george-floyd-protests-live-updates
https://www.espn.com/racing/nascar/story/_/id/29293767/nascar-bans-confederate-flags-racetracks
https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/map.html
https://www.wbtv.com/2020/06/10/north-carolina-reports-new-coronavirus-cases-hospitalization-numbers-grow/