Sunday, May 31st, 2020
Supreme Court rejects church’s challenge to California’s religious services restrictions In a 5-4 decision, the Supreme Court on Friday rejected a California church’s challenge to the state’s limits on attendance for religious services during the coronavirus pandemic. For now, California can enforce the rules as a public health measure. The court was split on ideological lines with Chief Justice John Roberts, who often serves as the swing vote, siding with the liberal faction. In the ruling, Roberts wrote that “the precise question when restrictions” should be lifted during the pandemic “is a dynamic and fact-intensive matter subject to reasonable disagreement” and the “Constitution principally entrusts ‘the safety and the health of the people ‘ to the politically accountable officials of the states.” Source: The Los Angeles Times
Merkel turns down Trump’s G-7 invitation German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Friday turned down President Trump’s invitation to attend the Group of Seven summit in person because of concerns over the coronavirus pandemic. The White House has said the summit will go forward in late June in Washington, D.C., rather than at Camp David as previously planned. “As of today, considering the overall pandemic situation, [Merkel] cannot agree to her personal participation,” German government spokesman Steffen Seibert told Politico. The chancellor will reportedly continue to monitor the coronavirus situation, however. Trump and Merkel haven’t always seen eye to eye, and the leaders reportedly had heated disagreements over NATO, China, and the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline during a phone call last week, though it’s unclear if that conversation had any bearing on Merkel’s decision about the summit. Source: Politico
Russian President Vladimir Putin announces the adoption of a new package of measures to support the Russian economy and citizens in the context of the coronavirus pandemic. This payment does not cancel but supplements the previously introduce support measures. Additionally, Putin proposed to establish a monthly payment of 5 thousand rubles for families with children under three years of age. (RT)
Kellie Chauvin, wife of former Minneapolis Police officer Derek Chauvin, who has been charged with murder and manslaughter in the death of George Floyd, files for divorce. (The West Australian)
A Federal Protective Service officer is killed and another injured in an overnight drive-by shooting outside the Ronald V. Dellums Federal Building in Oakland, California, amid protests over the death of George Floyd five days prior. (NBC News)
Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti implements an 8:00 PM curfew meant to prevent a second night of riots. (KTLA)
Protests against police brutality escalate nationwide Protesters gathered in several cities across the U.S. on Friday night to demonstrate against police brutality and institutional racism. Protests in Brooklyn, New York; Atlanta, Georgia; San Jose, California; Washington, D.C.; and Minneapolis, Minnesota, started peacefully, with attendees demanding justice in the case of George Floyd, who died in Minneapolis after a police officer kneeled on his neck for several minutes on Monday. Some protesters clashed with police — in Brooklyn, where a heavy police presence awaited protesters, officers reportedly used tear gas on crowds, meanwhile in Atlanta, a police car was reportedly set on fire. In San Jose, protesters blocked freeway traffic; and in D.C., the White House was briefly on lockdown as demonstrators arrived in the area. Source: CNN
Hundreds of Minnesota National Guard are deployed in Minneapolis to enforce a night curfew, after Mayor Jacob Frey declared a state of local emergency amid civil unrest, but rioting and arson fires continue. (Star Tribune)
In Detroit, police use tear gas to disperse a crowd of protesters and make several arrests, including one person who drove their car at a police officer. A man killed near the protest may be an unrelated targeted murder. (Detroit Free Press)
In Houston, at least 137 people are arrested, eight police officers are hospitalized, and 16 police vehicles are vandalized in a riot. (KHOU)
Several other protests against police brutality and systemic racism take place in large cities across the United States, some of which included arson, vandalism, and looting. (CNN)
The End
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