Black Lives Matter murals painted nearly three years ago on blocked-off city streets across America after the murder of George Floyd are getting paved over or worn away by traffic.
Why it matters: The bright, block-spanning declarations became commonplace on streets quieted by the pandemic — but the return of rush hours and declining support for the Black Lives Matter movement have made them difficult to maintain.
Historic sites linked to enslavement and emancipation are getting new attention — and funding for preservation — after years of neglect.
The big picture: The popularity of Juneteenth and the racial reckoning after George Floyd's murder in 2020 led several cities and states to rethink how they commemorate difficult chapters of American history, including slavery.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken told reporters on Monday that he had a "robust conversation" with Chinese President Xi Jinping in a meeting that capped off a two-day visit to Beijing to stabilize strained ties between the two superpowers.
Why it matters: Though fundamental disagreements remain, the consensus on Monday between Blinken, Xi and other Chinese officials to continue high-level discussions going forward is a crucial step towards ensuring that tensions between the two superpowers do not escalate into conflict.
Former Attorney General Bill Barr said Sunday the case against former President Trump that resulted in his indictment on federal charges related to his handling of classified documents was "entirely of his own making."
What he's saying: "He had no right to those documents," the former Trump administration official told CBS. "The government tried for over a year, quietly and with respect, to get them back, which was essential that they do, and he jerked them around. And he had no legal basis for keeping them."
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken met today with senior Chinese officials in Beijing, as the U.S. and China try to reduce tensions in their bilateral relationship, which is at its lowest point in decades.
Why it matters: Blinken is the first U.S. secretary of state to visit China in five years, and the most senior Biden administration official to make the trip. It comes as part of an effort to stabilize ties and restore normal channels of communication.
President Biden often uses old-timey expressions that confound even his own staff. That happened again Friday when he ended a speech on gun violence with “God save the queen, man.”
Even Olivia Dalton, the White House’s principal deputy press secretary, didn't know what her boss meant. When journalists asked, she replied only that he “was commenting to someone in the crowd.”
