Civil Unrest

Reuters reports: “We’re certainly going to see transmissions coming out of these gatherings, there’s no question about that,” former FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb said on CBS’ “Face the Nation,” noting that the prevalence of infection in the U.S. was currently about one in 200 people. Gottlieb said that the closest parallel for which there is available scientific data is a …

ABC News reports: “What Americans saw was federal police forces tear gassing peaceful Americans — and how they responded made clear to the president that Americans would exercise their First Amendment rights and they will do it peacefully,” Bowser said on ABC’s “This Week.” She told co-anchor Martha Raddatz, “What (Trump) actually did — as you saw for the remaining …

NBC News reports: President Donald Trump had planned to spend this weekend in New Jersey at his Bedminster golf resort, but the White House opted to change course and cancel the trip a few days ago in large part due to the potential for “bad optics” of the president at one of his private clubs as national protests continue, according …

Randy Rainbow is back this morning, reaching deep into musical archives with Bunker Boy, a parody set to the tune of The Jitterbug, which was cut from the 1939 classic, The Wizard Of Oz. “The Jitterbug” was both a jazzy development of the plot and a nod to the then-popular bobby-soxer dance craze. As the song begins, the four friends …

The New York Post reports: Mayor Bill de Blasio lifted the Big Apple’s controversial curfew a day early in an unexpected announcement Sunday morning. “New York City: We are lifting the curfew, effective immediately,” Hizzoner tweeted, ending the planned final night of the city shutting down to help curb looting and violent protests that plagued the city earlier in the …

CBS News reports: In a heated and contentious debate in the Oval Office last Monday morning, President Trump demanded the military put 10,000 active duty troops into the streets immediately, a senior administration official told CBS News. Attorney General William Barr, Defense Secretary Mark Esper and Joint Chiefs Chairman Mark Milley objected to the demand, the official said. In an …

From the three brothers known as MeidasTouch: MeidasTouch’s new video ‘Bye Ivanka’ has been launched with the hashtag #ByeIvanka. The video takes the commencement address given by Ivanka Trump today that no one asked her or invited her to give (which she gave in front of an empty room using White House resources after Wichita State canceled her speech because …

The Guardian reports: Ivanka Trump has hit out at “cancel culture and viewpoint discrimination” after plans for her to give a virtual commencement speech to students in Kansas were canceled amid criticism of Donald Trump’s response to anti-police brutality protests in the wake of the killing of George Floyd. The move clearly angered Ivanka Trump, who is a top adviser …

The Associated Press reports: Facebook has removed nearly 200 social media accounts linked to white supremacy groups that planned to encourage members to attend protests over police killings of black people — in some cases with weapons, company officials said Friday. The accounts on Facebook and Instagram were tied to the Proud Boys and the American Guard, two hate groups …

The Washington Post reports: The Pentagon has told the District of Columbia National Guard and guardsmen from other states who have arrived in the nation’s capital as backup not to use firearms or ammunition, a sign of de-escalation in the federal response to protests in the city after the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis, according to officials familiar with …

NBC New York reports: Mayor Bill de Blasio said he won’t remove New York City’s nightly curfew before Monday morning as its effectiveness is being questioned as thousands of protesters stay out past 8 p.m. and police officers continue to arrest essential workers even as the mayor says those employees are exempt. Several New York City council members have called …

Politico reports: President Trump on Friday sharply rebuked Washington, D.C., Mayor Muriel Bowser (D), calling her “incompetent” after she demanded he withdraw military personnel and federal law enforcement from the district amid ongoing protests against the police killing of George Floyd. The administration has withstood scrutiny after law enforcement forcefully cleared peaceful protesters from Lafayette Square on Monday before Trump …

The Hill reports: Washington, D.C., is painting large yellow letters spelling out “Black Lives Matter” on a major road leading to the White House Friday. The letters span two blocks of 16th Street NW in the nation’s capital and take up the width of the two-lane road. Painters started on the project early Friday morning after being contacted by Washington, …

Axios reports: Washington, D.C., Mayor Muriel Bowser formally requested in a letter dated Thursday that President Trump remove “all extraordinary federal law enforcement and military presence” in place due to the protests over the killing of George Floyd from the city. The big picture: Tensions between protesters and law enforcement in the capital have died down this week, with the …

“Who is attacking us? Mr. Esper should know this. It’s antifa. Department of Justice, NYPD, others are saying this very clearly. These are people, by the way, that we faced back in 1960’s, 70’s, and early 80’s. “These were people who were far leftists, Marx, Lenin, folks who embraced that ideology. They’ve allied with Black Panther movement and it took …

The Indianapolis Star reports: The Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department is investigating the actions of several officers captured on video using batons and pepper balls to subdue a woman on a downtown sidewalk Sunday night, a spokeswoman said. The video, shared widely on Twitter and Facebook, recorded what happened to two women arrested by officers at the corner of North Pennsylvania …

The Insider reports: President Donald Trump on Thursday night shared a letter on Twitter in which his former attorney described protesters peacefully demonstrating against racism outside the White House as “terrorists.” Trump’s former attorney John Dowd in the letter is describing the protesters who were dispersed from Lafayette Park outside the White House on Monday by police using rubber bullets …

The Associated Press reports: The area around the White House complex, including all of Lafayette Park, will remain closed to the public until June 10 due to ongoing protests, a Secret Service spokesperson said Thursday. The entire Ellipse on the south end of the White House, E Street and its sidewalks between 15th and 17th streets, Pennsylvania Avenue between 15th …

Buzzfeed News reports: The DC chapter of the Black Lives Matter movement filed a lawsuit on Thursday accusing federal law enforcement officers of violating the constitutional rights of peaceful demonstrators who were forcibly cleared from a park north of the White House so President Donald Trump could walk through for a photo op earlier this week. The lawsuit accused officers …

Mediaite reports: “For Jim Mattis to have his head in the sand is, quite frankly, appalling,” White House spokesman Hogan Gidley said in an interview with Fox News’ Ed Henry. “This president is trying to unite a country. He has. He’s talked about the death of George Floyd and how sobering and sad he was when he saw the video, …