“No justice, no peace”

Protests continue in Minneapolis after the police killing of George Floyd; China's legislature approved a controversial national security law for Hong Kong.

Tonight's Sentences was written by Catherine Kim.

TOP NEWS

Minneapolis racked with protests

Jordan Strowder/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

Minneapolis protesters burned down a police precinct station on Thursday night in response to the death of George Floyd, an unarmed black man killed by police during an arrest. [Vox / Catherine Kim]
The protests were prompted by a video of Floyd getting arrested on Monday. The footage shows a police officer pinning down Floyd by the neck with his knee as he screams, "I can't breathe." After several minutes, Floyd goes silent and his body is limp. Shortly after, he was pronounced dead. [Vox / Catherine Kim]
On Thursday, the third day of demonstrations, protestors targeted the Minneapolis Police Department's Third Precinct because it is where the officer who pinned Floyd down –– Derek Chauvin –– and his three colleagues involved in the incident were based. All four officers were fired, and Chauvin was arrested on Friday and charged with murder and manslaughter. [NBC News / Gabe Gutierrez, David K. Li, and Dennis Romero]
Protests that began peacefully earlier in the day took a volatile turn as protesters and police officers clashed. Having anticipated a potential escalation in violence, Gov. Tim Walz had already signed an executive order activating the National Guard on Thursday. Later that night, 500 members were deployed in the city. [NYT]
Many were also appalled by the arrest of CNN's Omar Jimenez, a black Latino reporter, on live television during the protest –– especially because his white colleague who was also on the ground in Minneapolis remained untouched. [CNN]
President Trump weighed in on the protests with a tweet that implied looting protesters should be shot. The tweet was marked as "glorifying violence" by Twitter and obscured behind a warning. [Guardian / Alex Hern]
The US's history of police violence against black people is long and pervasive, and for many protesters, these demonstrations are a direct challenge to systemic racism and discrimination. [Time / Eddie S. Glaude Jr.]

China approves national security law for Hong Kong

China's legislature has officially approved a controversial national security law that could seriously threaten the political freedom and civil rights of people in Hong Kong. [Guardian / Lily Kuo]
The legislation is sweeping: It bans succession, attempts to overthrow state power, terrorism, and foreign intervention. It allows lets China's feared state security agencies operate in Hong Kong. [CNN / Nectar Gan]
Despite criticism from the international community, China's premier, Li Keqiang, tried to push the measure as positive because it is "designed for steady implementation of 'one country, two systems,'" which allows Hong Kong some autonomy while still under China's control. [CNBC / Weizhen Tan]
The US, however, isn't convinced. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said that the US will likely end its trade and economic relations with Hong Kong because it no longer has significant autonomy, which is a condition for obtaining special status. [NYT / Keith Bradsher]
Protests are still going on, but some Hongkongers say they feel helpless as they watch their civil liberties erode. Many are selling assets and planning to move abroad to avoid China's rule. [Guardian / Verna Yu]
These are crushing times for those in Hong Kong who fought for their autonomy last year through mass protests and successfully blocked similar laws. Under the new law, China would be the one making and enforcing the rules, giving Hong Kong little wiggle room. [NPR / Emily Feng]

MISCELLANEOUS

The Trump administration is threatening to pull federal funding from schools that allow transgender students to participate in athletics.

[NYT / Michael Levenson and Neil Vigdor]

For the first time in its 124-year history, the Boston Marathon is canceled due to the coronavirus. But there's still a virtual event to celebrate the achievements of its participants. [AP / Jimmy Golen]
Wildfires were already a major threat to firefighters. Now they'll have to figure out how to manage these flames while adhering to social distancing measures. [WSJ / Jim Carlton]
India is facing its worst locust invasion in nearly 30 years, which could destroy the country's harvests as hunger is already on the rise due to the pandemic. [Al Jazeera]
Welcome to the new normal: Here's what schools could look like when they're open again. Expect lots of masks, staggered schedules, and separated desks. [USA Today / Erin Richards]

CROSSWORD OF THE DAY

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VERBATIM

""That video that we just have is gut-wrenching. I was getting messages from people who haven't been out protesting ever. They're saying now that they're either fed up; they sat on the sidelines too long and some people have had their eyes opened. So I think this really is a big one."

[Monique Cullars-Doty, an organizer with Black Lives Matter Twin Cities, on George Floyd's killing and the protests that happened afterward]