The Rundown: Protests Continue Despite Curfews

It was calmer, but protests over George Floyd's death and against police brutality continued Tuesday in cities across the country, and went on into the night in many of them despite curfews having been put in place. But there didn't appear to be the kind of looting in New York City as there had been in Manhattan and parts of the Bronx the night before, or the same tensions in Washington, D.C., as there were Monday night, after police aggressively cleared protesters from Lafayette Park across from the White House before President Trump walked to St. John's Episcopal Church and posed for photos with a Bible.

USAToday 6/3/20

Trump, who had the day before threatened to send in the U.S. military against protesters, tweeted at New York City to call up the National Guard, saying, "The lowlifes and losers are ripping you apart." But Mayor Bill de Blasio said that wasn't necessary, while instituting an earlier curfew of 8 p.m. New York Governor Andrew Cuomo also criticized what had happened in New York City Monday night, saying police hadn't been deployed in sufficient numbers and stating, "The NYPD and the mayor did not do their job last night."

A 29-year-old Las Vegas police officer was on life support yesterday after being shot the day before as police tried to disperse a large crowd of protesters on the Las Vegas Strip. Officer Shay Kellin Mikalonis was shot from across the street and 20-year-old Edgar Samaniego was later arrested on suspicion of the shooting.

Six Atlanta police officers were charged Tuesday after they were seen on video dragging a young African-American couple from a car and shooting them with stun guns Saturday night while they were stuck in traffic caused by protests. Two of the officers were fired on Sunday for using excessive force against 22-year-old Messiah Young and his girlfriend, 20-year-old Taniyah Pilgrim, and the other four were placed on administrative leave. The officers are heard on the video shouting that Young had a gun, but no gun was found. Four of the officers are facing aggravated assault and other charges, a fifth is charged with aggravated battery, and a sixth with criminal damage.

Criticism of Trump Over Park Clearing, Military Threat: Trump and other administration officials were facing criticism from some Tuesday over Lafayette Park being cleared by officers using pepper spray, flash-bang grenades and mounted units against peaceful protesters before his walk to the church the night before. It was reported yesterday that Attorney General Bill Barr gave the order for the park to be cleared, which officials said was decided because of violence there the night before. Republican Senator Ben Sasse was among the critics, saying, "[T]here is a fundamental -- a constitutional -- right to protest, and I’m against clearing out a peaceful protest for a photo op that treats the Word of God as a political prop." After facing criticism, Defense Secretary Mark Esper and General Mark Milley, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, distanced themselves from what had happened, despite having walked with Trump to the church. Media reports cited senior defense officials as saying Esper and Milley didn't know about the decision to clear the park, or that Trump planned to go to the church. Retired Admiral Mike Mullen, who was Joint Chiefs chairman under Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama, yesterday criticized Trump's threat to use the U.S. military against protesters. He wrote in an op-ed for The Atlantic, "our fellow citizens are not the enemy, and must never become so." Mullen also wrote that he was "sickened" by law enforcement, quote, "forcibly and violently" clearing the park for Trump to walk to the church.

Civil Rights Probe Into Minneapolis PD: Minnesota opened a civil rights investigation yesterday (June 2nd) of the Minneapolis Police Department after the death of George Floyd at the hands of one its since-fired and charged officers. Governor Tim Walz and the Minnesota Department of Human Rights announced the move, saying they hope to come to an agreement with the city on identifying ways to address the police department’s history of racial discrimination, and find solutions for systemic change. The goal is to agree on a consent decree that can be enforced legally and with financial penalties. Former Officer Derek Chauvin, who had his knee on Floyd's neck for nearly nine minutes, is facing third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter charges. The three other officers involved were fired, but as of yet have not been charged with anything. State Attorney General Keith Ellison said prosecutors are working as fast as they can to determine if the three other officers should face any charges.

National Guard Posted on Steps of Lincoln Memorial:  There was outrage online by some yesterday evening (June 2nd) over National Guard members being posted on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial amid the ongoing protests over George Floyd's death and police brutality that have at times turned violent. Photos showed dozens of uniformed members of the District of Columbia National Guard, some of them masked, on the Memorial's steps as demonstrators protested peacefully below. Some were particularly disturbed because it's a memorial to Abraham Lincoln, and is the same location where Martin Luther King Jr. gave his "I Have a Dream Speech." But others noted that several Washington, D.C., memorials had been defaced with graffiti over the weekend.

➤ARMY RESEARCHER: CORONAVIRUS VACCINE MAY BE AVAILABLE BY END OF YEAR: A senior Army researcher said Tuesday that a coronavirus vaccine could possibly be ready and available to some parts of the U.S. by the end of the year. Colonel Wendy Sammons-Jackson, director of the Military Infectious Disease Research Program, said at a Pentagon briefing, "It’s reasonable to expect some form of a vaccine available by the end of the year." Another researcher, Dr. Kayvon Modjarrad, said scientists were learning about the virus more quickly than other infectious diseases in the past, stating, "So, going to a vaccine in a matter of months . . . is unprecedented. But in this case I think very much is possible."

There have been more than 106,100 coronavirus deaths in the U.S. as of early this morning, according to Johns Hopkins University's count, and more than 1,831,000 confirmed cases.

➤TROPICAL STORM CRISTOBAL FORMS, WILL THREATEN GULF COAST: Tropical Storm Cristobal formed in the southern Gulf of Mexico on Tuesday, becoming the earliest third named storm of an Atlantic hurricane season on record. The U.S. National Hurricane Center said Cristobal will bring flooding to the eastern Mexican coast, and will later threaten the U.S. Gulf Coast, after turning north by Friday. The Center said there's a risk of storm surge and impacts from rain and wind over the weekend along parts of the Gulf Coast from Texas to the Florida Panhandle.

➤ESPN: NBA AIMING TO RETURN ON JULY 31ST: The NBA is beginning to finalize plans to resume its season on July 31st, with October 12th as the last possible date for Game 7 of the NBA Finals, according to ESPN. The NBA's Board of Governors will reportedly vote on the proposal Thursday. The NBA is reportedly leaning toward having a 22-team playoff format. Additionally, all teams will be located in Orlando, with the rest of the season held at Disney's Wide World of Sports complex, without any fans.