AMERICA PROTESTS-NORTH CAROLINA
North Carolina capital to impose curfew amid protests
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — North Carolina’s capital city will be enacting a curfew starting Monday night. The move comes after two nights of protests over the death of George Floyd that led to street fires, store break-ins, and fireworks being thrown at police officers. Raleigh Mayor Mary-Ann Baldwin told the News & Observer she decided to impose the curfew for the safety of the city’s residents. Protests in the city Sunday night led to direct confrontations with police and tear gas being released by officers to disperse crowds. Several offices and businesses also had their windows smashed. WRAL-TV reports this includes the state’s archives and Transportation department buildings. Police said the National Guard was deployed in Raleigh.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-REPUBLICAN CONVENTION
RNC sets Wednesday deadline for response on NC convention
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — The Republican National Committee says it wants to hear from North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper by Wednesday on whether the state can fully accommodate the party’s national convention in August this summer. The letter sent Saturday by RNC Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel to Cooper comes a day after Cooper talked by phone with President Trump about the issue. The two disagreed about the viability of a full-fledged convention. The convention is currently scheduled to begin Aug. 24 in Charlotte. Trump and Republicans have said they want no coronavirus-related restrictions on attendance or hotel and restaurant capacity.
AP-US-AMERICA-PROTESTS-POLICE-TACTICS
Use of force criticized in protests about police brutality
As protests grip the nation, officers have doused crowds with pepper spray, struck protesters with batons, steered police cars into throngs and shoved demonstrators. Some action has been directed against people smashing windows, breaking into stores and burning cars, but many find other instances more difficult to understand — like the elderly man knocked over by police as he walked with a cane on a Salt Lake City sidewalk. The protests began after the death of George Floyd while he was in the custody of Minneapolis police. Now, some are questioning whether tough police tactics against demonstrators are actually making the violence worse rather than quelling it.
MINNEAPOLIS-POLICE-DEATH-MICHAEL JORDAN
Michael Jordan: “Truly pained and plain angry”
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Michael Jordan is “deeply saddened, truly pained and plain angry.” With protesters taking to the streets across the United States again Sunday, Jordan released a statement on George Floyd and the killings of black people at the hands of police. “I am deeply saddened, truly pained and plain angry,” the former NBA star and current Charlotte Hornets owner said in the statement posted on the Jordan brand’s social media accounts and the team’s Twitter account. “I see and feel everyone’s pain, outrage and frustration. I stand with those who are calling out the ingrained racism and violence toward people of color in our country. We have had enough.
HUMAN REMAINS FOUND
Park rangers discover human remains on North Carolina island
HARKERS ISLAND, N.C. (AP) — Authorities in North Carolina say they are trying to identify human remains that were discovered on a barrier island over the weekend. Cape Lookout National Seashore officials said rangers found the remains around 3:30 p.m. Sunday on Shackleford Banks. The National Park Service said in a statement that the remains were turned over to the medical examiner’s office. The agency didn’t comment further.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-HURRICANES-NORTH CAROLINA
Virus hurts North Carolina counties’ hurricane readiness
As hurricane season starts Monday, most of North Carolina’s coastal counties are grappling with shortfalls or concerns about equipment and resources as they balance the dual threat of tropical weather and the COVID-19 pandemic. All 20 counties in the state’s coastal management zone told The Associated Press that COVID-19 is factoring into hurricane preparations. Five said overall plans hadn’t changed, but they’re ready to adjust to the virus if needed. Fifteen counties acknowledged shortfalls or concerns about supplies, with protective gear being the most common worry during a national shortage. However, three others _ Dare, New Hanover and Pender_ say they have sufficient resources for hurricane season.
MINNEAPOLIS POLICE DEATH-CONFEDERATE MONUMENTS
Protesters in some cities target Confederate monuments
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Confederate monuments have become a target of protesters demonstrating against the police killing of George Floyd. As tense protests swelled across the country Saturday into early Sunday, monuments in Virginia, the Carolinas and Mississippi were defaced. The headquarters of the United Daughters of the Confederacy in Richmond also burned for a time and had graffiti scrawled on its exterior. The presence of Confederate monuments across the South and elsewhere in the United States has been challenged for years. Some of the targeted monuments have been under consideration for removal. In Tennessee and Pennsylvania, statues of people criticized for racist views, but without Confederate ties were also targeted.
AP-NC-MINNEAPOLIS POLICE-DEATHS-CHARLOTTE PROTESTS
Police use tear gas to disperse Raleigh protesters
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — More than 1,000 people marched in downtown Raleigh on Saturday night, breaking windows as police in riot gear released tear gas and pepper spray to disburse the crowds. WRAL-TV showed video of throngs of people in front of the Wake County Courthouse to protest the killing of George Floyd. Protesters gathered in the late afternoon marching peacefully north from the courthouse chanting, “No Justice, No Peace.” But tension grew after nightfall as some people threw rocks at windows and spray painted anti-police slogans on walls. Fayetteville Street was the focus of most of the vandalism with multiple buildings along the street having windows broken out.
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