10 things you need to know today: June 15, 2020

1. Coroner: Rayshard Brooks died of gunshot wounds to back in homicide

The Fulton County, Georgia, Medical Examiner's Office reported late Sunday that an autopsy showed that Rayshard Brooks, a black man fatally shot by police outside an Atlanta Wendy's, died of two gunshot wounds to the back in a homicide. Brooks, 27, had fallen asleep sitting in his car in the Wendy's drive-through line. Body-cam video showed that he grabbed the Taser of one of the officers as they tried to arrest him after a sobriety test, and was fatally shot as he ran away. The district attorney, Paul Howard, criticized the two white officers involved in the killing. "(Brooks) did not seem to present any kind of threat to anyone," Howard told CNN. The officer who shot Brooks was fired. Howard said a decision on whether to file charges was pending.

CBS News CNN

2. 9 states report record daily coronavirus infections

Nine states continued to report record numbers of new coronavirus infections over the weekend. Florida on Sunday reported its second straight day with more than 2,000 new COVID-19 cases. Saturday's total of 2,581 was a record for the Sunshine State, where the coronavirus outbreak is intensifying but authorities are opening more beaches. Alabama on Sunday reported a record number of new cases for the fourth straight day. Alaska, Arkansas, California, North Carolina, Oklahoma, and South Carolina also have reported daily infections hitting new highs in recent days, according to Reuters. Nationwide totals remained high, with the number of infections in the U.S. nearing 2.1 million with more than 115,000 deaths.

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ABC News Reuters

3. Trump adviser: Wear a mask if you go to Tulsa rally

Supporters who attend President Trump's first rally in three months should wear masks to reduce the risk of spreading COVID-19, White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow said Sunday. "It is a concern," Kudlow said on CNN's State of the Union. "People must observe the safety guidelines, OK, must. The social distancing must be observed. Face coverings in key places must be observed." The event is scheduled to take place June 20 in Tulsa, Oklahoma, where local authorities have expressed concern about the coronavirus risk at an indoor rally with up to 20,000 people. The county on Friday reported a new one-day record number of new coronavirus cases. Tulsa Health Department Director Bruce Dart told the Tulsa World he wished the rally could be postponed. "COVID is here in Tulsa, it is transmitting very efficiently," Dart said.

Reuters The Washington Post

4. Support rallies, protests mark Trump's 74th birthday

Americans marked President Trump's 74th birthday on Sunday with support rallies and protests. Supporters participated in a car parade in Great Falls, Montana, and a flotilla of pleasure boats in the St. Johns River in Jacksonville, Florida. Another "Trumptilla" boat parade was held in Michigan. Participants in some of the ongoing protests against racism and police brutality marked Trump's birthday with calls for him to leave the White House. "If we want to end white supremacy, we must start by ousting the White Supremacist-in Chief from the White House," said Carl Dix, a leading organizer of RefuseFascism.org. "On Trump's birthday, let's fill the streets & SAY GET OUT!! In D.C. and everywhere."

USA Today

5. Macron says France won't take down controversial statues

French President Emmanuel Macron on Sunday vowed to be "uncompromising in the face of racism, anti-Semitism, and discrimination," but said France would not take down statues of people tied to slavery in France's colonial era. "The republic will not erase any trace, or any name, from its history," he said. In the United Kingdom on Saturday, anti-racism demonstrators were met by a counterprotest by right-wing groups in London. Video showed right-wing protestors, who showed up vowing to "protect the monuments" in Parliament Square, throwing bottles and cans at mounted police. Prime Minister Boris Johnson said via Twitter that anyone attacking the police would be prosecuted. "Racist thuggery has no place in our streets," he said. Johnson also rejected calls to remove statues.

The Associated Press The Hill

6. Families of black men found hanging ask for deeper investigations

The families of Robert Fuller and Malcolm Harsch, two black men recently found dead hanging from trees in Southern California's High Desert region, are calling on law enforcement to further investigate their deaths to determine if foul play was involved. Fuller, 24, was found early Wednesday morning in Palmdale, his body hanging from a tree across from Palmdale City Hall, the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department said. Palmdale authorities said Fuller committed suicide, although his autopsy had not been finished. At a Saturday rally, Fuller's sister, Diamond Alexander, said her brother was "not suicidal," and his relatives "just want to know the truth." Harsch's body was found May 31 about 50 miles east in Victorville near a homeless encampment, where people said he was living.

Los Angeles Times

7. China renews some coronavirus restrictions after flurry of infections

China reported another 36 COVID-19 cases on Monday, bringing the country's worst burst of coronavirus infections in nearly two months to a total of 79 cases. China's National Health Commission on Sunday reported 57 confirmed new infections in Beijing. Authorities said the cases appeared to have come from the city's largest wholesale food market, where many imported goods are handled, and that the strain of the virus was different from the one that broke out in the city of Wuhan last year. "Our preliminary assessment is the virus came from overseas," Yang Peng, a government epidemiologist, told state media. "We still can't determine how it got here." The new outbreak prompted Chinese officials to shut down the market and reintroduce strict lockdown measures in areas deemed to be high risk.

CNN Reuters

8. Russia convicts American of spying

A former U.S. Marine, Paul Whelan, was convicted of espionage in a Russian court and sentenced to 16 years in prison on Monday. He was arrested after allegedly being handed a flash drive containing "state secrets" while he was in Russia to attend a wedding. He said he thought the flash drive contained an acquaintance's vacation photos. Whelan, 50, said during the trial that he had been framed, calling his prosecution a "political charade." He said Russia was "taking political hostages" because it "feels impotent in the world." Whelan's attorney said he planned to appeal. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has demanded Whelan's release. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has called the case open-and-shut, saying Whelan was caught "red-handed."

The Washington Post

9. Dallas Fed chief says systemic racism slows economy

Systemic racism and high minority unemployment hold back the economy, Dallas Federal Reserve President Robert Kaplan said Sunday. "A more inclusive economy where everyone has an opportunity will mean faster workforce growth, faster productivity growth, and will grow faster," Kaplan said on CBS's Face the Nation. Raphael Bostic, president of the Atlanta Federal Reserve Bank and the U.S. central bank's only African-American policy maker, on Friday proposed ways the Fed can help end racism. The comments came after weeks of protests against racism and police brutality in the wake of the killing of George Floyd, an unarmed black man, in Minneapolis police custody.

Reuters

10. Thousands gather in Black Lives Matter Plaza for prayer, protest

Thousands of mostly African-American worshippers gathered in Black Lives Matter Plaza near the White House on Sunday for one of the largest faith-based events in the 17 days of anti-racism protests since George Floyd was killed in Minneapolis police custody. Organizers, including regional NAACP branches and Alexandria's Alfred Street Baptist Church, required participants to wear masks and space out in rows as precautions against coronavirus infections. Clergy members saw the event as "a call for something not just incensed with anger, but something that integrated our faith," Alfred Street Pastor Howard-John Wesley said. "We wanted to carve out something safe for teens — I was scared to let them come downtown. We wanted to teach them about protesting peacefully."

The Washington Post