House Democrats on the Oversight Committee called Saturday for the Department of Homeland Security to explain how it has surveilled people protesting the killing of George Floyd.
Driving the news: The committee's probe follows a Drug Enforcement Administration memo, first obtained by BuzzFeed News, that granted the agency temporary heightened powers to "enforce federal criminal laws in the wake of protests arising from the death of George Floyd."
Over 1,000 new infections have been reported every day in Florida since Tuesday, the longest sustained increase in the state since early April, according to the state health department's tracker and a New York Times analysis.
Why it matters: Florida entered its second phase of reopening on Friday, which does not place a limit on how many customers can be in stores or gyms and allows bars to serve half as many guests as they normally would. Social distancing is encouraged at all businesses.
The pandemic's economic collapse is making it harder for local leaders to address the inequalities in their cities — even as the unrest over police violence has magnified the need for change even further.
The big picture: Evening out some of these disparities requires money — and city budgets are shot.
Hundreds gathered in Raeford, North Carolina to honor George Floyd, whose death in Minneapolis nearly two weeks ago has sparked nationwide protests against police brutality.
The state of play: This is the second memorial for Floyd. A number of his family members remain in Raeford, including his sister. He was born in Fayetteville, North Carolina, The News and Observer reports.
A federal judge in Colorado issued a temporary restraining order on Friday night banning the Denver Police Department from using chemical weapons or projectiles against peaceful demonstrators, NPR reports.
Why it matters: The order comes as police across the U.S. are being criticized for their tactics in response to demonstrators as they continue to protest the killing of George Floyd.
Two Buffalo police officers were charged with assault on Saturday after a video emerged of them shoving a 75-year-old protester while clearing a demonstration in the wake of George Floyd's killing, AP reports, citing prosecutors.
The state of play: Both officers pleaded not guilty to second-degree assault, and were released without bail. After the law enforcement officers were initially suspended without pay on Friday, all 57 officers on the Buffalo Police Department's Emergency Response Team resigned in a show of support for their fellow officers' suspensions.
The North Carolina Supreme Court ruled on Friday to give two black men on death row the chance to downgrade their sentences by proving that racism played an outsized role during court deliberations.
The big picture: The ruling comes amid nationwide protests against how police — and the criminal justice system as a whole — treat black people in the U.S., in the wake of George Floyd's killing in Minneapolis.
Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said he's "very concerned" about the protests that have followed George Floyd's death resulting in a surge in the number of COVID-19 cases across the U.S., in an interview with radio station WTOP.
What he's saying: "It is the perfect set up for the spread of the virus in the sense of creating some blips which might turn into some surges ... There certainly is a risk."
Cities and states are beginning to offer free coronavirus testing as mass protests across the U.S. continue in the wake of George Floyd's death, The Washington Post reports.
Why it matters: Public health experts and officials are cautiously watching hospitalizations and caseloads to gauge whether a spike will follow the demonstrations, per the Post.
Stories about President Trump's photo op at St. John's church after peaceful protesters were forcefully cleared from the area averaged the most online attention of any issue about the president this week.
Why it matters: Trump's force-over-compassion approach to the demonstrators protesting the murder of George Floyd had Republican allies backpedaling to keep a distance — and led to a wave of condemnations that got plenty of online traction on their own.
Former Vice President Joe Biden became the formal Democratic presidential nominee on Friday evening, per AP.
The big picture: Biden has been the presumptive frontrunner to take on President Trump since Sen. Bernie Sanders suspended his campaign in early April.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom directed state police to stop using the carotid "sleeper" chokehold on Friday, after 11 days of nationwide protest over the killing of George Floyd.
Driving the news: Newsom's instruction to state police to stop teaching the hold, which restricts blood flow to the brain to render someone unconscious, comes in the wake of Minneapolis also banning police chokeholds.
