Black Lives Matter protests: Atlanta shooting of Rayshard Brooks declared homicide – live

In some coronavirus news, the Food and Drug Administration has withdrawn its emergency use authorizations for chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine as potential treatements against the virus.

The FDA’s chief scientist Denise M. Hinton said “the drug’s potential benefits for such use do not outweigh its known and potential risks” in a letter to Gary Disbrow, the acting director of the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority, who requested the change.

Hinton said the anti-malaria drugs, which Trump previously touted as a potential “game-changer” in the fight against coronavirus, were “unlikely to produce an antiviral effect.”

Trump took hydroxychloroquine for two weeks as a prophylactic measure, despite FDA guidance to the contrary and concerns that the drug could cause complications for the 74-year-old president.

An adviser to Trump said the president is looking to sign an executive order on policing and “co-responders” this week.

Ja’Ron Smith, deputy assistant to the president, said the order would look at ways to “bring community and police together” after the police killings of George Floyd and Rayshard Brooks sparked protests across the country.

Smith told Fox News that the order would specifically look at the role of “co-responders.” “Co-responders would allow for police to do their job but bring in social workers and experts that deal with mental health and deal with issues such as drug addiction,” Smith said.

“There’s a better way to do policing, and we have great examples,” he added. Smith cited the example of Camden, New Jersey, which disbanded its police department in 2013 and reenvisioned it through progressive reforms.

Rayshard Brooks’ widow, Tomika Miller, thanked those who have protested the police killing of her husband and asked that the demonstrations remain peaceful.

“His name will forever be remembered,” Miller said. She added, “There is no justice that can ever make me feel happy about what’s been done.”

Miller asked demonstrators to “keep it as a peaceful protest” in order to “keep [Brooks’] name positive.”

The family also announced that producer Tyler Perry, who has a large film studio in Atlanta, will be covering the cost of Brooks’ funeral.

L Chris Stewart, an attorney for the family of Rayshard Brooks, criticized police officers for firing their weapons in a crowded Wendy’s parking lot.

Stewart said another man had sent a photo of his car, which was in the parking lot and was hit by a bullet when a white police officer shot at Brooks as he ran away.

Stewart said the police officer could have caused another death if the bullet landed just a few inches higher than it did.

The family of Rayshard Brooks is holding a press conference in Atlanta, Georgia, after Brooks was shot and killed by a white police officer.

Brooks’ cousin said the trust between the Atlanta community and its police department had been “broken” and called for the officer involved to be convicted.

The press conference comes one day after a medical examiner concluded that Brooks died by homicide caused by gunshot wounds to the back.

Joe Biden has released a statement celebrating the Supreme Court’s decision on LGBTQ+ workers’ rights, calling it a “momentous step forward for our country.”

“Bfore today, in more than half of states, LGBTQ+ people could get married one day and be fired from their job the next day under state law, simply because of who they are or who they love,” the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee said.

“This landmark 6-3 ruling affirms that LGBTQ+ Americans are entitled to equal rights under the law.”

The former vice president noted the decision came in the middle of Pride Month, which celebrates LGBTQ+ history.

“This decision is another step in our march towards equality for all,” Biden said. “And while we celebrate this victory today, we know that our work is not yet done. As President, I look forward to signing into law the Equality Act, protecting the civil rights of LGBTQ+ Americans, and championing equal rights for all Americans.”

A Black Lives Matter banner has been removed from the US embassy in Seoul, after Trump expressed displeasure about it, according to Bloomberg News.

Bloomberg reports:

[Secretary of state Mike] Pompeo and Trump were both displeased about the banner, the people said. A large, multicolored ‘pride’ banner recognizing lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer people was also removed on Monday. They were replaced with a banner commemorating the 70th anniversary of the end of the Korean War.

The embassy unveiled the banner on Saturday in support of the George Floyd protests, saying in a tweet that it “stands in solidarity with fellow Americans grieving and peacefully protesting to demand positive change.”

The Supreme Court also rejected the Trump administration’s challenge to California’s “sanctuary law,” marking a defeat for a president who has made immgiration a central focus of his term.

The administration had asked the court to review the law, which limits cooperation between local law enforcement and federal immigration authorities.

The justices decided not to hear the case, although conservative justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito disagreed with the decision.

Trump has repeatedly criticized California’s law and others like it, accusing state leaders of attempting to circumvent the federal government on immigration.

The Supreme Court’s ruling marks a defeat for the Trump administration, who had argued against expanding the scope of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

The court’s 6-3 decision was interestingly written by Justice Neil Gorsuch, who was nominated by Trump. Chief justice John Roberts and the court’s four liberals joined the decision.

The Supreme Court has ruled that existing federal law protects gay and transgender employees from job discrimination, marking a victory for LGBT rights advocates.

The justices said Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which forbids job discrimination on the basis of sex and other factors, also covers sexual orientation and gender identity.

The decision comes three days after the Trump administration finalized a rule reversing protections for transgender patients under the Affordable Care Act.

The gun rights cases represented an opportunity for the conservative-leaning Supreme Court to expand the scope of the Second Amendment.

In declining to hear the cases, the justices leave in place state laws that gun rights activists have argued violate the right to bear arms.

The court has not heard a major gun rights case since 2010, when the justices ruled in McDonald v Chicago that state governments had a limited ability to restrict the right to bear arms.

Justices Clarence Thomas and Brett Kavnaugh argued in their dissent that the court needed to examine the issue in the wake of recent state laws imposing additional restrictions on gun ownership.

“This Court would almost certainly review the constitutionality of a law requiring citizens to establish a justifiable need before exercising their free speech rights,” the pair of conservative justices wrote.

The Supreme Court has declined to take up 10 cases related to gun rights, which will leave in place lower-court decisions on issues such as owning assault weapons and openly carrying firearms.

Justices Clarence Thomas and Brett Kavanaugh wrote a dissenting opinion on the court’s decision not to hear the appeals.

“The text of the Second Amendment protects ‘the right of the people to keep and bear Arms,’” the two justices wrote.

“Yet, in several jurisdictions throughout the country, law-abiding citizens have been barred from exercising the fundamental right to bear arms because they cannot show that they have a ‘justifiable need’ or ‘good reason’ for doing so. One would think that such an onerous burden on a fundamental right would warrant this Court’s review.”

This is Joan Greve in Washington, taking over for Martin Belam.

A top Army general has banned displays of the Confederate flag on all bases in Korea, according to the military outlet Task & Purpose.

Army General Robert Abrams reportedly said in a memo released early this morning that the Confederate flag “does not represent the values of U.S. Forces assigned to serve in the Republic of Korea.”

“While I acknowledge some might view it as a symbol of regional pride, many others in our force see it as a painful reminder of hate, bigotry, treason, and devaluation of humanity,” Abrams wrote in the memo.

“Regardless of perspective, one thing is clear: it has the power to inflame feelings of racial division. We cannot have that division among us.” Abrams ordered all US commanders in Korea to remove any displays of the Confederate flag.

The memo comes less than a week after Trump said he would “not even consider” renaming military bases named after Confederate generals, which the Pentagon has said it is open to considering.

Mayor Sandy Stimpson of Mobile, Alabama, has confirmed that the History Museum of Mobile has received the statue of Confederate Admiral Raphael Semmes. He says it will be displayed there in a way which places it into “the appropriate historic context”

The statue had stood on the Mobile waterfront for 120 years until taken down on 5 June. The statue of Semmes, who died in 1877, had been erected in in 1900, the year before Alabama ratified a Constitution that established white supremacy in the state by essentially disenfranchising African Americans and poorer white citizens. It was rededicated as recently as 2000 – with a memorial plaque and ceremony featuring Confederate flags; red, white and blue balloons; and a cannon salute.

There may yet be legal ramifications from the move. “I have no doubt that moving the statue from public display was the right thing to do for our community going forward” said Mayor Stimpson on Twitter.

However, Attorney General Steve Marshall had sent a letter to the mayor after the statue’s removal saying the city could be subject to a $25,000 fine for permanently moving the statue, an action that would violate a state law protecting monuments over 40 years old. Marshall’s office has also been pursuing legal actions against the city of Birmingham for removing a confederate monument.