In Brief: June 6, 2020

Black cops feel pain of Floyd’s death, duty to their uniform

OKLAHOMA CITY — Black police officers find themselves torn between two worlds: They feel the pain of seeing yet another black man killed at the hands of fellow officers, yet they must also try to keep the peace during angry protests fueled by that death.

Those feelings, familiar to many blacks in law enforcement for years, have never been more intense than in the days since the death of George Floyd. The 46-year-old black man died in Minneapolis after a white officer pressed his knee into his neck for several minutes even after Floyd stopped moving and pleading for air as other officers watched.

“My emotion, my fervor is no less than those people on the streets,” said New York City police Detective Felicia Richards, who is black. “I stand in this uniform, and I understand what my obligation is to this uniform, but I can’t compromise my humanity.”

Richards, president of the NYPD Guardians Association, a fraternal organization, said she was horrified by the video that captured Floyd’s arrest and final moments. She struggled to understand what could possibly have warranted such “brute force.”

Barr says he didn’t give tactical order to clear protesters

WASHINGTON — Attorney General William Barr says law enforcement officers were already moving to push back protesters from a park in front of the White House when he arrived there Monday evening, and he says he did not give a command to disperse the crowd, though he supported the decision.

Barr’s comments in an interview with The Associated Press on Friday were his most detailed explanation yet of what unfolded outside the White House earlier this week. They come after the White House and others said repeatedly that the attorney general ordered officers to clear the park. Shortly after officers aggressively pushed back demonstrators, President Donald Trump — accompanied by Barr, Pentagon leaders and other top advisers — walked through Lafayette Park to pose for a photo at a nearby church that had been damaged during the protests.

The episode played out on live television and prompted an outcry from some Republicans and former military leaders, including Gen. Jim Mattis, Trump’s first defense secretary. Barr told the AP that much of the criticism was unwarranted and that Mattis’ rebuke was “borne of ignorance of the facts.”

Still, administration officials have spent much of the week trying to explain how the situation escalated and why smoke bombs, pepper balls and police on horseback were needed to clear the largely peaceful crowd.

US unemployment drops unexpectedly to 13.3% amid outbreak

WASHINGTON — U.S. unemployment dropped unexpectedly in May to 13.3% as reopened businesses began recalling millions of workers faster than economists had predicted, triggering a big rally Friday on Wall Street and giving President Donald Trump something to boast about in his reelection bid.

The jobless rate is still on par with what the nation witnessed during the Great Depression. And for the second straight month, the Labor Department acknowledged making errors in counting the unemployed during the coronavirus outbreak, saying the real figure is worse than the numbers indicate.

Still, after weeks of dire predictions by economists that unemployment in May could hit 20% or more, the news that the economy added a surprising 2.5 million jobs last month is evidence that the employment collapse most likely bottomed out in April, when the rate reached 14.7%.

Most economists had expected rehiring to kick in this summer as lockdowns were increasingly lifted and people gradually resumed shopping and eating out.

Trump evokes Floyd after hailing strong jobs report

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump on Friday declared it was “a great day” for George Floyd as he discussed a strong jobs report for the country and efforts to bring about racial equality. Joe Biden, the Democratic presidential nominee, said Trump’s comments about Floyd were “despicable.”

Trump’s comments about Floyd came as he shifted from discussing a drop in the unemployment rate to say everyone deserved “equal treatment in every encounter with law enforcement, regardless of race, color, gender or creed.”

“We all saw what happened last week. We can’t let that happen,” Trump said. “Hopefully George is looking down right now and saying this is a great thing that’s happening for our country.”

He added: “This is a great day for him. It’s a great day for everybody. This is a great day for everybody. This is a great, great day in terms of equality.”

Floyd, who was black, died after a white police officer pressed his knee on Floyd’s neck for several minutes, ignoring Floyd’s cries that he couldn’t breathe and bystander shouts.

From wire sources

Floyd’s death set off protests around the world, including outside the White House.

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Trump jabs Maine’s Democratic governor; she hits back

GUILFORD, Maine — President Donald Trump on Friday laced into Maine’s Democratic governor for not moving quickly enough to reopen the state’s economy and urged his supporters to help him win the rest of the state in November if they want to see the country rebound from the coronavirus shutdown.

Referring to Maine’s electoral votes, Trump said: “Get that other half to go with Trump.” He spoke in the small town of Guilford, home to Puritan Medical Products, one of only two major companies producing a special type of swab needed to ramp up coronavirus testing.

At stops in Guilford and Bangor, Trump used his first visit to the state as president to lob jabs at Gov. Janet Mills for not reopening businesses more quickly. Trump won just one of Maine’s four electoral votes in 2016.

“When are you going to open the state up?” Trump demanded as he spoke at Puritan Medical Products. “What’s she doing?”

Earlier in Bangor, Trump compared Mills to a “dictator” and said she was preventing her state from reaping money from Maine’s busy summer tourist season.

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AP Explains: Key takeaways from a surprising jobs report

BALTIMORE — No one saw it coming — 2.5 million job gains in May and a lower unemployment rate.

Economists, political aides and business leaders had been bracing for another horrific month of job cuts and swelling unemployment. In April, the coronavirus shutdown had caused 20 million-plus job losses. Mounting applications for unemployment benefits had suggested that the misery continued through May.

It didn’t. The gap between what was expected and what happened when the Labor Department issued the jobs report Friday morning was so vast that it raised some doubts about its accuracy. But as analysts dug into the numbers, they found the numbers to be correct and suggested that the pessimistic forecasts might have mainly reflected how hard it is to gauge economic performance during a pandemic.

Here are five major takeaways from a jobs report that showed the economy faring better than believed, even if the overall picture remains bleak, with many millions still jobless and unemployment well into double digits.

IS THE UNEMPLOYMENT RATE REALLY 13.3%?

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AP PHOTOS: Images of calm emerge after days of protests

Amid the anger, violence and grief evident in the massive protests shaking the country after the death of George Floyd, images of calm are beginning to emerge as the mood shifts to more peaceful calls for change.

The country’s most significant demonstrations in a half-century were initially marred by the setting of fires and smashing of windows, but Friday marked the third day of more subdued demonstrations.

In New York, a health care professional riding a bus leans out a window to greet protesters as they break curfew and march along 34th Street. In San Antonio, some protesters lie on their stomachs with their hands behind their backs, like Floyd in his last moments. In Austin, Texas, two police officers hold up their hands in support during a Black Lives Matter rally. And in Portland, Maine, demonstrators gather at a rally to peacefully protest and demand an end to institutional racism and police brutality,

Floyd, who was black, died last week after a white Minneapolis police officer pressed his knee into his neck for several minutes even after Floyd stopped moving and saying he could not breathe. The shocking scene was caught on video and seen around the world, sparking the protests and calls for change.