It’s Arlene Martínez with news to take you into the weekend. 

But first, check out what to wear, what your rights are, how to treat pepper spray and tear gas and other tips before you head out to protest. 

In California brings you top stories and commentary from across the USA TODAY Network and beyond. Sign up for free delivery right to your inbox. 

Newsom calls for policing to get into the 21st century

Gov. Gavin Newsom on Friday ordered the state police training program to stop teaching officers how to use a long-controversial hold designed to block the flow of blood to the brain. The carotid restraint, aka sleeper hold or blood choke, is named because it applies pressure to the carotid arteries that supply blood to the brain.

It marked his first action on police use of force following nearly two weeks of protests across the country over the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis. Floyd died on Memorial Day after a police officer put his knee on Floyd’s neck for nearly nine minutes as Floyd repeatedly said, “I can’t breathe.” The officer continued applying the pressure even after Floyd stopped moving altogether. 

Since then, there’s been a renewed push for law enforcement to review their use-of-force policies, along with calls to defund or dramatically decrease spending on police.

San Diego police officers used the carotid hold 574 times between 2013 and 2018, and as late as last year staunchly defended the practice, saying it saved lives. On Monday, the department banned its use, effective immediately.  So did the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department. 

Newsom said departments are using methods that “put people’s lives at risk. That has no place any longer in 21st century practices and policing.”

Temecula Mayor James Stewart resigns after sending an email in which he stated he didn’t “believe there’s ever been a good person of color killed by a police officer” in Riverside County. Stewart says he isn’t sure how “good” got added to his voice-composed message. 

Shasta County Sheriff Eric Magrini said he didn’t invite militiamembers to attend a protest earlier this week in Redding, but he knew they were coming. 

The mayor of San Luis Obispo, where police used tear gas to disperse protesters, has asked for a wide-reaching explanation into the department’s use-of-force policies. The council set aside $160,000 this week for anti-racism efforts. (Opinion)

A group of doctors say unequivocally, coronavirus cases will rise as a result of the protests. 

Traveling considerations and watch to learn

So you wanna road trip? One couple who traveled from the Ojai Valley to Kansas City, Missouri, found few “pleasures of the open road.” 

And while we’re talking travel, some states require quarantining when you cross into their territory. Find out which state requires what.

20 movies and shows towatch in a pandemiclearn about racism in America. 

Phase 3: Get ready to work out, drink and camp

Schools, day camps, bars, gyms, campgrounds and professional sports can start reopening in counties that have met certain thresholds related to number of cases, tracing and preparedness starting next Friday. 

Mark Ghaly, the state’s top health official, said the state will release guidance to help the businesses reopen safely and minimize the risk of spreading the coronavirus.

The guidelines will also include rules on hotels, casinos, museums, zoos and aquariums and the resumption of music, film and television production. Nail salons are not yet cleared to reopen.

What’s happening in our prisons and courts 

An explosion of coronavirus cases was recorded at the Chuckawalla Valley State Prison in Blythe, surging from 148 on May 26, to 794 three days later. 

Nationwide, 40,000 people incarcerated at prisons have tested positive. Here’s a state-by-state look at where those cases are located. 

Monterey County moves toresume jury trials. 

What else we’re talking about

Oil companies like California Resources Corp. toil with collapse or bankruptcy, but that won’t stop its top executives from seeing big paydays.

Can the Apple Watch or Fitbit detect or predict the coronavirus in a wearer? New research, including out of the Stanford Healthcare Innovation Lab, aims to find out.

Amazon cuts $2 per hour hazard pay; Target will keep its for another month.

J.C. Penney announces which of its stores will permanently close. Nine California locations are on the list.

If racism exists, he’s ‘never’ seen it, Simi Valley cop-turned-elected official says

An elected official and 30-year LAPD veteran took to Facebook earlier this week to share a suggestion: “Wanna stop the riots? Mobilize the septic tank trucks, put a pressure cannon on em… hose em down…. the end.”

Simi Valley City Council member Mike Judge captioned the post with, “This is brilliant, it will also enforce the mask rule!”

On Thursday night, as petitions calling for his resignation neared 6,000 signatures, Judge apologized for “any offense my Insensitivity caused.” He said he spoke with an African American friend who told him those who don’t know him wouldn’t realize it was a joke.

In initially defending the post, Judge said he’d “never” seen an instance of racism. He then (wrongly) explained that a young, black activist who invited him to walk during a “peaceful protest” probably got the perception there was racism because of the role Simi Valley played in the 1992 trial of Rodney King. 

The trial of the four officers caught on videotape beating King was moved to Simi Valley over concerns publicity over the case would bias jurors against the officers; legal experts at the time argued Simi’s demographics would in turn bias jurors in favor of the officers.

Mikiiya Foster, a black teenager who is organizing a protest on Saturday, shot down Judge’s explanation. “As a white male he openly discredits a black woman’s experience with racism instead of coming from a place of understanding and empathy,” she said. 

In California is a roundup of news from across USA TODAY Network newsrooms. Also contributing: The Marshall Project, Los Angeles Times, Associated Press, San Diego Union-Tribune, San Luis Obispo Tribune. 

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