WHAT'S BREWING
DEMOCRATIC LEADERS PLAY CATCH-UP ON BLACK LIVES MATTER Joe Biden’s remarks about George Floyd's killing at a historically Black church in Wilmington, Delaware, on Monday, weren’t what protesters wanted to hear. “Instead of standing there and teaching a cop, when there’s an unarmed person coming at them with a knife or something ― you shoot them in the leg instead of in the heart, is a very different thing,” Biden said. “There’s a lot of different things that could change.” The comment sparked anger among the most progressive activists, who call for defunding the police, ending racist law enforcement practices and holding police accountable at a federal level. [HuffPost]
OBAMA 'PROUD' OF ANTI-RACISM PROTESTERS Former President Barack Obama held a virtual town hall in support of anti-racism protests. Addressing claims that encouraging people to vote won’t solve the injustices facing the Black community, he said: “It is mayors and county executives that appoint most police chiefs and negotiate collective bargaining agreements with police unions, and that determines police practices in local communities. It’s district attorneys and state’s attorneys that decide, typically, whether or not to investigate and ultimately charge those involved in police misconduct. And those are all elected positions.” [HuffPost]
JIMMY CARTER: THE POWERFUL MUST SAY 'NO MORE' TO RACIST JUSTICE SYSTEM Former President Jimmy Carter called on people in power to provide more than lip service to improving what he termed “a racially discriminatory police and justice system.” In a statement posted at CarterCenter.org, Carter said he and his wife, Rosalynn, are “pained by the tragic racial injustices and consequent backlash across our nation in recent weeks.” Carter, 95, added he and his wife’s hearts “are with the victims’ families and all who feel hopeless in the face of pervasive racial discrimination and outright cruelty.” [HuffPost]
TRUMP WENT FULL FASCIST FOR A PHOTO OP. WHAT'S HE WILLING TO DO TO STAY IN POWER? Authoritarianism experts who worried about Trump’s tendencies during his campaign and his first years in office are now sounding fresh alarms following the clearing of a park adjacent to the White House using gas, flash-bang grenades, pepper pellets and other aggressive tactics ― all so he could stand in front of a church he does not attend and be photographed holding a Bible. “It was everything that an autocrat is,” said Gail Helt, who watched for signs of democratic decay in Asian countries during her dozen years as a CIA analyst. Trump has defended the photo op, calling it "symbolic." [HuffPost]
DEMOCRATS FACE CLASSIC LEGISLATIVE DILEMMAS OVER POLICING With protests continuing that call for changes to policing after an officer killed yet another unarmed Black man, some lawmakers in Congress are struggling to write bills that fit two important criteria: measures that have the possibility to become law and would address actual problems. All the proposals being drafted likely would face trouble in the Republican-controlled Senate. Trump, who has made his preference for the police over the protesters clear, would have to sign the legislation. And even if Democrats did push their measures into law, it’s unclear how much good they would do. [HuffPost]
TEXAS LT. GOV.: RACISM WON'T STOP UNTIL WE 'ACCEPT JESUS CHRIST' Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick claimed that the root of America’s racial problems was the lack of faith by “the left. ”Speaking after more than a week of demonstrations against the police killing of George Floyd, Patrick tried to pin the nation’s long and deep-rooted racial problems on people not being religious enough ― and more specifically, “the left” not accepting Jesus Christ. Patrick said on Fox News that Floyd’s killing and the unrest breaks his heart and that it’s an issue of “loving God.” Patrick also said laws can’t fix racism, only Jesus and God can. [HuffPost]
39 INJURED IN KNIFE ATTACK AT CHINESE KINDERGARTEN A school security guard injured at least 39 people in a knife attack at a kindergarten in southern China. The motive was unknown. The attack was an eerie throwback to deadly attacks at schools in China over past years that prompted security upgrades and that authorities have blamed largely on people bearing grudges or who had unidentified mental illnesses. The local government in the Guangxi region’s Cangwu county said 37 students and two adults suffered injuries of varying degrees in the attack. [AP] | 
