‘Stop the pain,’ George Floyd’s brother pleads with Congress
WASHINGTON — George Floyd’s brother challenged Congress on Wednesday to “stop the pain” as lawmakers consider a sweeping law enforcement overhaul, so the man he looked up to won’t become just “another name” on a growing list of black Americans killed during interactions with police.
Philonise Floyd’s appearance before a House hearing came a day after funeral services for his older brother, the 46-year-old African American whose death has become a worldwide symbol in demonstrations calling for changes to police practices and an end to racial prejudice.
“I’m here today to ask you to make it stop. Stop the pain,” Philonise Floyd told the silenced hearing room.
Choking back tears, he said he wants to make sure that his brother, whom he called “Perry,” is “more than another face on a T-shirt, more than another name on a list that won’t stop growing.”
Floyd challenged lawmakers to be leaders: “Our country, this world needs the right thing.”
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Trump: No change at bases named for Confederate officers
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump on Wednesday said his administration will “not even consider” changing the name of any of the 10 Army bases that are named for Confederate Army officers. Two days earlier, Defense Secretary Mark Esper indicated that he was open to a broad discussion of such changes.
“These Monumental and very Powerful Bases have become part of a Great American Heritage, a history of Winning, Victory, and Freedom,” Trump wrote. “The United States of America trained and deployed our HEROES on these Hallowed Grounds, and won two World Wars. Therefore, my Administration will not even consider the renaming of these Magnificent and Fabled Military Installations.”
Name changes have not been proposed by the Army or the Pentagon, but on Monday, Esper and Army Secretary Ryan McCarthy indicated in response to questions from reporters that they were “open to a bipartisan discussion” of renaming bases such as Fort Bragg in North Carolina and Fort Benning in Georgia.
Supporters of disassociating military bases from Confederate Army officers argue that they represent the racism and divisiveness of the Civil War era and glorify men who fought against the United States.
To amplify Trump’s view, his press secretary, Kayleigh McEnany, read his tweets to reporters in the White House briefing room. She said he is “fervently” opposed to changing the base names and believes that doing so would amount to “complete disrespect” for soldiers who trained there over the years.
Amazon bans police use of its face recognition for a year
NEW YORK — Amazon on Wednesday banned police use of its face-recognition technology for a year, making it the latest tech giant to step back from law-enforcement use of systems that have faced criticism for incorrectly identifying people with darker skin.
The Seattle-based company did not say why it took action now. Ongoing protests following the death of George Floyd have focused attention on racial injustice in the U.S. and how police use technology to track people. Floyd died May 25 after a white Minneapolis police officer pressed his knee into the handcuffed black man’s neck for several minutes even after Floyd stopped moving and pleading for air.
Law enforcement agencies use facial recognition to identify suspects, but critics say it can be misused. A number of U.S. cities have banned its use by police and other government agencies, led by San Francisco last year.
On Tuesday, IBM said it would get out of the facial recognition business, noting concerns about how the technology can be used for mass surveillance and racial profiling.
Civil rights groups and Amazon’s own employees have pushed the company to stop selling its technology, called Rekognition, to government agencies, saying that it could be used to invade people’s privacy and target minorities.
Amid tears and laughter, visits resume in nursing homes
BOSTON — She wore a mask and sat across the nursing home patio from her elderly mother, but Marcie Abramson’s emotions were on full display as the two connected in person for the first time in nearly three months.
Like many states, Massachusetts in mid-March limited visits to nursing homes and other long-term care facilities to protect those most vulnerable to the coronavirus, which has exacted a heavy toll among older Americans. More than 60% of the state’s nearly 7,500 COVID-19 deaths have involved nursing home residents.
Nationally, over 35,500 people have died from coronavirus outbreaks at nursing homes and long-term care facilities, about a third of the national toll, according to a running tally by The Associated Press.
But in Massachusetts, in-person visits resumed Wednesday with masks, social distancing — and plenty of tears and laughter.
“You wanna give me a kiss?” Abramson called out to her 89-year-old mother, Cynthia Abramson, at the Hebrew Rehabilitation Center in Boston in the pair’s first encounter since the pandemic began.
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California deputy shot in ‘ambush’ attack at police station
LOS ANGELES — A California sheriff’s deputy was shot in the head but survived an “ambush” by a gunman intent on harming or killing police and authorities said Wednesday they were investigating whether there was a connection to two recent deadly attacks on officers.
After wounding the San Luis Obispo County deputy in the small city of Paso Robles, police believe the shooter killed a transient and then eluded an intense manhunt. Police sought the public’s help and released photos from surveillance video showing the suspect — a young dark-haired, bearded man.
The shooter opened fire around 3:45 a.m. on the back side of the police station in Paso Robles, San Luis Obispo County Sheriff Ian Parkinson said. Officers were inside at the time and windows and a door were shot out but no one was injured.
A dispatcher monitoring security cameras saw the attack unfold and called for help.
The deputy was struck while responding and his partner dragged him to safety and returned fire, Parkinson said. The wounded deputy was in serious but stable condition with a bullet lodged in his head, he said.
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Trump picks Tulsa for return of signature campaign rallies
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump is planning to hold his first rally of the coronavirus era on June 19 in Tulsa, Oklahoma. And he says he’s planning more events in Florida, Texas and Arizona as well.
Trump made the announcement as he met with a handful of African American supporters Wednesday afternoon for a roundtable discussion.
Trump’s signature rallies often draw tens of thousands of people but have been on hiatus since March 2 because of the coronavirus pandemic, which has now killed more than 110,000 people in the U.S.
“A beautiful new venue, brand new. We’re looking forward to it,” Trump said during a White House event. “They’ve done a great job with COVID, as you know, the state of Oklahoma.”
The rally will take place on Juneteenth, the commemoration of the ending of slavery in the United States. Tulsa has its own troubling history on race. Its once-thriving African American business community was decimated in 1921, when a racist white mob killed hundreds of black residents. Black residents attempted to rebuild in the decades that followed, only to see their work erased during urban renewal of the 1960s.
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Disney plans to reopen California theme parks in July
ANAHEIM, Calif. — Disney is proposing to reopen its Southern California theme parks in mid-July after what will be a four-month closure due to the coronavirus, the company said on Wednesday.
Disney Parks, Experiences and Products said in a statement that the goal is to reopen Disneyland and Disney California Adventure on July 17. A nearby Disney-themed shopping area would reopen on July 9.
Advance reservations will be required for theme park visitors and capacity will be limited, the statement said. Events that draw large crowds, such as parades and nighttime spectaculars, won’t return immediately and Disney characters will be in the parks but not available to meet with visitors, the statement said.
The plan to reopen the parks, which have been closed since March 14, is still pending government approval.
Disneyland fans normally can bank on the park being open regardless of what’s going on in the world around it. The park closed only a handful of times in 65 years and never for more than a day, according to Jason Schultz, supervisory archivist at the Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum and unofficial Disneyland historian who wrote “Jason’s Disneyland Almanac.” The last closure was after the terror attacks on Sept. 11, 2001.