AP News in Brief at 6:04 a.m. EDT
Protests shift to memorializing Floyd amid push for change
ATLANTA (AP) — The tenor of the protests set off by the death of George Floyd at the hands of police has taken a turn from the explosive anger that has fueled the setting of fires, breaking of windows and other violence to a quiet, yet more forceful, grassroots call for more to be done to address racial injustice.
Many of the protests were more subdued for a second night as marches Thursday turned into memorials for Floyd, who was the focus of a heartfelt tribute Thursday in Minneapolis that drew family members, celebrities, politicians and civil rights advocates. At his service, strong calls were made for meaningful changes in policing and the criminal justice system.
At demonstration sites around the country, protesters said the quieter mood is the result of several factors: the new and upgraded criminal charges against the police officers involved in Floyd's arrest; a more conciliatory approach by police who have marched with them or taken a knee to recognize their message; and the realization that the burst of rage after Floyd's death is not sustainable.
“Personally, I think you can’t riot everyday for almost a week,” said Costa Smith, 26, who was protesting in downtown Atlanta.
Despite the shift in tone, protesters have shown no sign that they are going away and, if anything, are emboldened to stay on the streets to push for police reforms.
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George Floyd’s death an American tragedy with global echoes
LONDON (AP) — When black men died at the hands of U.S. police in recent years, the news made international headlines. The name of George Floyd has reached the world’s streets.
Since his death while being detained by Minneapolis police last week, Floyd’s face has been painted on walls from Nairobi, Kenya to Idlib, Syria. His name has been inked on the shirts of professional soccer players and chanted by crowds from London to Cape Town to Tel Aviv to Sydney.
The outpouring of outrage and support reflects the power and reach of the United States, a country whose best and worst facets fascinate the world. It also reflects that deep-seated racial inequalities are not just an American phenomenon.
“This happened in the United States, but it happens in France, it happens everywhere,” said Xavier Dintimille, who attended a thousands-strong Paris protest to show solidarity with U.S. demonstrators and anger over a death closer to home.
The Paris demonstrators declared “We are all George Floyd,” but also invoked the name of Adama Traore, a 24-year-old Frenchman of Malian origin who died in police custody in 2016. The circumstances are still under investigation by justice authorities.
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Despite reopening, some jobs lost to virus are gone for good
BANGKOK (AP) — Factories and stores are reopening, economies are reawakening – but many jobs just aren’t coming back.
That’s the harsh truth facing workers laid off around the U.S. and the world, from restaurants in Thailand to car factories in France, whose livelihoods fell victim to a virus-driven recession that’s accelerating decline in struggling industries and upheaval across the global workforce.
New U.S. jobless figures to be released Friday are expected to show millions more people's wages are disappearing, which in turn means less money spent in surviving stores, restaurants and travel businesses, with repercussions across economies rich and poor.
“My boss feared that since we come from Kibera (an impoverished slum), we might infect them with COVID-19, and so he let us go,” said Margaret Awino, a cleaning worker in a Nairobi charity. “I don’t know how I can go on.”
As the virus and now protests across the U.S. have shed new light on economic inequalities, some experts say it’s time to rethink work, wages and health benefits altogether, especially as automation escalates and traditional trades vanish.
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Another huge blow to US workers expected in May jobs report
WASHINGTON (AP) — America's workers likely suffered another devastating blow in May, with millions more jobs lost to the viral pandemic and an unemployment rate near or even above 20% for the first time since the Great Depression.
Economists have forecast that the government will report Friday that employers shed 8.5 million more jobs last month on top of 21.4 million lost in March and April. A figure that large would raise the total losses since the coronavirus intensified nearly three months ago to almost 30 million — more than triple the number of jobs lost during the 2008-2009 Great Recession.
The economy has sunk into what looks like a deep recession, and most economists foresee unemployment remaining above 10% — its peak during the Great Recession — through the November elections and into next year.
A report Thursday on applications for unemployment benefits reinforced the picture of a bleak job market: The number of people seeking jobless aid last week was double the previous record high that prevailed before the viral outbreak occurred.
Still, that report did offer a few glimmers of hope. As restaurants, movie theaters, gyms, hair salons and other retail establishments gradually reopen, job cuts are slowing and employers are recalling some of their laid-off workers. The total number of people receiving unemployment aid rose slightly, the government said, but stayed below a peak of 25 million reached two weeks earlier. And the number of laid-off workers applying for aid, while historically high, has declined for nine straight weeks.
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NYC calmer as Buffalo police draw ire for protester injury
NEW YORK (AP) — The latest night of protests in New York City sparked by the death of George Floyd at the hands of police was markedly calmer, while video of a police officer appearing to shove an elderly protester who falls and cracks his head in Buffalo drew widespread condemnation.
Video from WFBO showed a Buffalo police officer appearing to push the 75-year-old man who walked up to police clearing Niagara Square around the 8 p.m. curfew Thursday. The man falls straight backward and hits his head on the pavement, with blood leaking out as officers walk past.
The video quickly went viral on social media, spurring outrage. Buffalo police initially said in a statement that a person “was injured when he tripped & fell,” WIVB-TV reported, but Capt. Jeff Rinaldo later told the TV station that an internal affairs investigation was opened. The police commissioner subsequently suspended two police officers without pay, Mayor Byron Brown said in a statement.
The mayor of the western New York city, who expressed he was “deeply disturbed” by the video, said the unidentified man was in “stable but serious" condition at a hospital.
“While it is early, thankfully he is expected to recover,” Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz tweeted shortly after midnight.
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Trump heads to rural Maine but won't escape demonstrators
WASHINGTON (AP) — Maine’s Democratic governor is urging President Donald Trump to watch his tone during a visit to the state Friday to showcase a company that makes specialized swabs for coronavirus testing.
And the sheriff in the state’s most rural county is urging those expected to protest Trump’s visit — and those who support him — to behave themselves as demonstrations continue around the country over the death of George Floyd in police custody in Minneapolis.
Trump has drawn criticism for urging governors to “dominate” protesters and toss perpetrators of violence in prison and for his administration's move earlier this week to forcibly clear out peaceful protesters near the White House so the president could walk to a nearby church to pose for photos holding up a Bible.
Gov. Janet Mills this week urged the Republican president to “check the rhetoric at the door and abandon the divisive words" during his visit.
"I hope he will heed this call and appeal to the best in all people and lead us with courage and compassion through this difficult time," she said Thursday.
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Surgical or homemade, masks mark a major shift in thinking
BRUSSELS (AP) — Think about Hannibal Lecter, the psychopathic cannibal in the “Silence of The Lambs." Or Jason Voorhees, the hockey mask-wearing murderer in the “Friday the 13th" slasher film series.
Before the coronavirus outbreak abruptly disrupted the livelihoods of millions of people, the sight of masks worn in public spaces in the Western world conjured up images of malevolent clowns and terrifying fictional villains.
Even worse, in the streets of Paris, London or Brussels, mask-wearing — a long-accepted measure in some Asian cities — would often trigger unease and angst related to real-life traumatic bloodshed orchestrated by balaclava-led commandos from extremist groups.
France banned the wearing of full veils in public places back in 2011 in part because the government said the face covering violated the nation's secular values, well before the COVID-19 pandemic took shape.
But in the space of just a few weeks this spring, this narrative has been turned upside down. Masks are everywhere and carry a new, positive meaning.
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Navy carrier sidelined by virus is back operating in Pacific
WASHINGTON (AP) — Ten long weeks after a massive coronavirus outbreak sidelined one of the Navy's signature warships, the U.S.S. Theodore Roosevelt has returned to sea and is conducting military operations in the Pacific region.
Lining the flight deck in their dress white uniforms, sailors wearing white face masks stood a virus-safe 10 feet (3 meters) apart in a final, formal thank you as the ship sailed out of port in Guam on Thursday and headed into the Philippine Sea.
“We manned the rail, which we don't normally do. There was a lot of symbolism in that,” Navy Capt. Carlos Sardiello told The Associated Press in an interview from the ship Thursday. “They're excited. They're fired up to be back at sea doing the mission.”
The Roosevelt pulled into Guam on March 27, with a rapidly escalating number of sailors testing positive for the virus. Over time, more than 1,000 were infected with COVID-19, setting off a lengthy and systematic process to move about 4,000 sailors ashore for quarantine and treatment, while about 800 remained aboard to protect and run the high-tech systems, including the nuclear reactors that run the vessel.
Slowly, sailors were methodically brought back on board, while the others who had remained went ashore for their mandated two-week quarantine. And in late March, the ship with only about 3,000 crew aboard went out to sea for roughly two weeks of training, including the recertification of the flight deck and fighter squadron, such as takeoffs and landings on the carrier.
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On sad anniversary, few to mourn the D-Day dead in Normandy
COLLEVILLE-SUR-MER, France (AP) — At least the dead will always be there.
All too many have been, for 76 years since that fateful June 6 on France's Normandy beaches, when allied troops in 1944 turned the course of World War II and went on to defeat fascism in Europe in one of the most remarkable feats in military history.
Forgotten they will never be. Revered, yes. But Saturday's anniversary will be one of the loneliest remembrances ever, as the coronavirus pandemic is keeping almost everyone away — from government leaders to frail veterans who might not get another chance for a final farewell to their unlucky comrades.
Rain and wind are also forecast, after weeks of warm, sunny weather.
“The sadness is almost too much, because there is no one," said local guide Adeline James. “Plus you have their stories. The history is sad and it’s even more overwhelming now between the weather, the (virus) situation and, and, and.”
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Sri Lankan cafe owner feeds and shelters stranded tourists
COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) — The tourists came to see the magical waterfalls and mountain views of the lowland jungle and rainforest. But then the pandemic hit, and they were stranded in Sri Lanka.
When flights were canceled and the airports shut down, Darshana Ratnayake came to the rescue.
Ratnayake, a cafe owner in Ella, a former colonial hill station in Sri Lankan tea country, organized free food and shelter for dozens of stranded tourists.
“We were totally blown away,” said Alex Degmetich, a 31-year-old American cruise line entertainment director.
“It’s pretty remarkable,” he said. “Coming from Western society, where nothing is really given to us and we have to pay for everything which is fine. But here, locals providing us — tourists — free food and accommodation, is really humbling.”