George Floyd U.S. protests live updates from June 4, 2020

South Africa's ruling party says it is launching a "Black Friday" campaign in response to the "heinous murder" of George Floyd and "institutionalized racism" in the U.S., at home, and "wherever it rears its ugly head."

A statement by the African National Congress says President Cyril Ramaphosa on Friday evening was to address the launch of the campaign that calls on people to wear black on Fridays in solidarity.

The campaign is also meant to highlight "deaths by citizens at the hands of security forces" in South Africa, which remains one of the world's most unequal countries a quarter-century after the end of the racist system of apartheid.

Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, a South Africa leader who was involved in the struggle to end apartheid and is now an Under Secretary General of the United Nations, spoke with CBS News' Pamela Falk from Johannesburg this week about the protests and where they might lead.  

"People are feeling exhausted about us talking about racism. Try living it to know how exhausting it is to live it," she said. "Those who cannot take talking about it, they haven't lived it to know how much that it eats you from within. So, we need to make sure that we create conditions that will make people feel and touch the changes that are coming into their lives."  

— CBS/AP

Kanye West was in attendance Thursday evening for a protest rally in solidarity with George Floyd, who died at the hands of Minneapolis police last week. The rally was organized by activist and onetime mayoral candidate Ja'Mal Green. It is intended to protest the $33 million contract that Chicago Police has with Chicago Public Schools.

The protest began at the Chicago Public Schools District Office and proceeded to Chicago Police Headquarters. West did not address the rally and only marched briefly. He wore a hoodie and mask and walked along with hundreds of people.

As CBS Chicago's Charlie De Mar reported, there have been calls for West to speak out and have more of a voice in recent days.

He has made a $2 million dollar donation to support the families of Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, and Breonna Taylor. Taylor was shot and killed by Louisville Metro Police in March, while three white men are charged with shooting and killing Arbery while he was jogging in Glynn County, Georgia.

— CBS Chicago

Dallas Police Chief Reneé Hall has put a new rule on the force's policy books making it "the duty of every employee" who witnesses the use of physical force "being inappropriately applied" or used longer than necessary "to either stop, or attempt to stop" the action in question.

A statement released Thursday by the Dallas Police said the new "Duty to Intervene" order was implemented by Chief Hall, "to create a culture where what happened to Mr. [George] Floyd does not happen again."

"Millions watched a Minneapolis police officer suffocate Mr. George Floyd to death by applying pressure with his knee on the victim's neck for nearly 9 minutes. His fellow co-workers either assisted or stood by and watched Mr. Floyd take his last breath. Had the officer's partners intervened, the outcome might have been different," the police said in the statement.

Kansas City is reforming police procedures after criticism from black organizations about police conduct during nearly a week of protests as well as long-standing tension between the department and minorities, the mayor announced Thursday.

A coalition of civil rights organizations demanded Wednesday that Police Chief Rick Smith be fired. But Mayor Quinton Lucas said Smith would remain "as we weather our current crisis and also as we continue to address our issues related to violent crime and the high number of homicides in Kansas City."

Lucas said after a closed meeting of the Kansas City Police Board of Commissioners that the city would ask an outside agency to review all police-involved shootings; create whistleblower protections for officers; end a department policy of not sending probable cause statements to prosecutors in officer-involved shootings; review officers' use of tear gas and projectiles; and provide updates to the city council on the department's community engagement efforts. 

Lucas said he hoped a review of tear gas and projectile use would lead to a new policy in the near future.

The city announced Wednesday that $2.5 million in private funding has been donated to buy police body cameras.

Lucas said the changes addressed long-standing issues, not only concerns raised during the protests over the death of George Floyd.

Tacoma Police Chief Don Ramsdell issued a statement Thursday on the death of Manuel Ellis, confirming the four officers involved in his arrest had once again placed on administrative leave. Ramsdell offered his "most sincere condolences" to Ellis' family and friends. Ellis, a 33-year-old black man, died on March 3 in handcuffs while being restrained on the ground by Tacoma police. 

He was found to have died of respiratory arrest due to hypoxia due to physical restraint, according to the Pierce County Medical Examiner's Office, which ruled his death a homicide.

Speaking Thursday night, Tacoma Mayor Victoria Woodards called for the officers involved to be fired and said they should be "prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law."  

In a 12-minute police radio recording taken the night of Ellis' death, he can be heard at one point saying, "I can't breathe."

"Our hope is that any investigations bring with them answers for everyone involved," Ramsdell said."I would also like to recognize the compassion and empathy our community has shown during this difficult time. We hear your anger, frustrations and hopes. I want you to know we continue to be committed to engaging with you on topics of safety, community policing and race, so that all people feel safe in Tacoma."  

Thousands have gathered in Australia's capital to remind Australians that the racial inequality underscored by George Floyd's death is not unique to the United States. 

The Canberra rally comes before larger rallies expected Saturday in Sydney and other cities, which both federal and state officials in New South Wales are trying to block, citing the risk of spreading the coronavirus. 

Indigenous elder Matilda House says Australians have to understand that their indigenous population experienced similar discrimination to blacks in the United States. 

House said Australia had to move beyond a colonial attitude "that blacks are only here to be walked on, trodden on and murdered." 

One of the protesters, Wendy Brookman, a teacher and member of the Butchulla indigenous people, said Australia should not accept more than 430 indigenous Australians dying in police custody or prison in the past three decades. 

"We're not here to jump on the bandwagon of what's happened in the United States," Brookman said. "We're here to voice what's happening to our indigenous people."

-CBS/AP

Two police officers in Buffalo, New York, have been suspended without pay after a video showed police shoving an older man who stumbled backwards and hit his head on the ground. The video, captured by NPR member station WBFO, shows the man bleeding from his head onto the pavement. 

The incident occurred on Thursday at the end of a protest in Niagara Square, according to CBS affiliate WIVB. The man was eventually taken away from the scene by an ambulance. 

Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown tweeted Thursday night that he was "deeply disturbed" by the video, and that the elderly man was in "stable but serious condition" at the Erie County Medical Center Hospital. 

Buffalo Police Department Captain Jeff Rinaldo told CBS News that "the Police Commissioner has immediately suspended two officers without pay in connection with the incident observed in the video." Rinaldo said the department had launched an internal affairs investigation. 

Warning: The video in the below tweet contains graphic language and content.

Thousands of people remained on the streets of New York City after the 8 p.m. curfew took effect on Thursday night. Many protesters gathered at Brooklyn's Cadman Plaza, where police used batons against demonstrators who were out past the city-imposed curfew a night earlier. 

In some sections of the city, officials watched but didn't immediately move in. At other locations, protesters were arrested.

There is no motive yet in the knife attack on a NYPD officer who was ambushed Wednesday, according to a law enforcement official.

The incident took place in Brooklyn when a man walked up behind the cop and stabbed him in the neck, setting off a struggle in which the assailant was shot and two other officers suffered gunshot injuries to their hands.

It is not clear if the attack was inspired by ISIS or another terror group, or if it was fueled by anti-police sentiments. It's also unclear if the attack was sparked by anti-police rhetoric from protesters, according to the official.

Investigators are scouring the suspect's social media and affiliations for clues to a motive. FBI conducted a search of the suspect's home, but it's unclear if anything of significance was found.

Standing before thousands in his home borough of Brooklyn, Terrence Floyd, George Floyd's brother, thanked New Yorkers on Thursday. For the eighth day, protesters marched throughout New York City, leading up to the memorial service at Cadman Plaza in Brooklyn.

"My brother is gone but the Floyd name still lives on," Terrence said. "I'm proud of the protest but I'm not proud of the destruction."

George Floyd was called a Godly man and a gentle giant. He became a hashtag and his death reignited a movement.

Thousands filled Cadman Plaza as far as the eye could see to honor the life of George Floyd, a man they never knew, but whose desperation and ignored pleas for help resonated so deeply.

"We came today as health care workers because we see time and time again how systemic racism that permeates throughout every single facet of our society is a threat to public health," one protester told CBS N.Y.

Read more from CBS New York.

Waterloo police on Thursday charged two people after an attack on a reporter during a late-night protest.

Police charged Irwin Leon Wade III, 29, of Waterloo, with disorderly conduct and rioting, and set his bond at $11,000, according to the Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier. A 16-year-old also was arrested on similar charges.

They were arrested in connection with an attack after a march in Waterloo just before midnight Tuesday. Those who remained from the earlier protest over the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis had climbed onto a Highway 218 overpass and were followed by Courier reporter Jeff Reinitz.

Wade allegedly demanded that Reinitz leave and then tried to hit him when he refused. Wade is charged with punching another demonstrator who tried to help the reporter.

After another person tried to knock a camera from Reinitz's hand, he was allegeldy struck in the head by the 16-year-old.

George Floyd's death has energized a nation of young people to speak up about systemic racism. Norah O'Donnell speaks with community leaders in Minneapolis who hope the support shown so far in the wake of Floyd's death will bring the change we need.

Protests in the nation's capital over George Floyd's death broke up before dark Thursday as a heavy rain began to fall. The law enforcement presence at the Lincoln Memorial, where protesters gathered, was much smaller than it had been near the White House during the previous nights' demonstrations.

Tomora Wright, 29, of Washington, said her parents were concerned that she was coming down to protest but she wasn't worried. "I know that my people are peaceful and I'm not scared to be around people who believe in the same thing, the same cause. I definitely felt the need to come down here and protest in solidarity."

She wants to see the killers of George Floyd brought to justice but also reopening of past cases such as Sandra Bland in Texas. "These are unimaginable times."

Steps from the very spot George Floyd took his last breath in Minneapolis, a mural has become a place to gather and to mourn. Last week, Xena Goldman, Cadex Herrera and a small group of artists completed the portrait in less than a day.

"Why did you feel so strongly about creating this mural?" CBS News asked.

"I was incredibly angry that I was watching another man die at the hands of law enforcement. We've seen this so many times. We needed to take action," Herrera said.

"And particularly now, we feel like the entire country and world is screaming for justice, and this is our way of screaming as well," Goldman said of the mural, which stands 20-feet wide and 6½ feet high.

Read more here.

A day after an op-ed in the New York Times sparked controversy and internal criticism, the paper announced that the piece "did not meet our standards." The op-ed in question, written by Arkansas Senator Tom Cotton, encouraged the U.S. to "send in the troops" in response to the violence that has accompanied largely peaceful protests across the U.S.

"One thing above all else will restore order to our streets: an overwhelming show of force to disperse, detain and ultimately deter lawbreakers. But local law enforcement in some cities desperately needs backup, while delusional politicians in other cities refuse to do what's necessary to uphold the rule of law," Cotton wrote. 

"We've examined the piece and the process leading up to its publication. This review made clear that a rushed editorial process led to the publication of an Op-Ed that did not meet our standards," the paper said in a statement. "As a result, we're planning to examine both short term and long term changes, to include expanding our fact=checking operation and reducing the number of Op-Eds we publish."

The NYT's statement comes after many of its staffers condemned the op-ed on Twitter on Wednesday night, writing "Running this puts Black @nytimes staff in danger."

Cotton's office spoke out after the Times released its statement, writing, "We weren't contacted by the New York Times in advance of this statement and our editorial process was similar to our past experiences at the New York Times and other publications. We're curious to know what part of that process and this piece didn't meet their standards." 

New York Supreme Court Judge James Burke denied a request Thursday to release hundreds of protesters arrested during George Floyd protests. Some protesters have been held for multiple days, violating the 24-hour arrest-to-arraignment requirement.

The Legal Aid Society, which filed the request, said in a statement that it is particularly disheartened by the judge's denial "because the overwhelming number of people held illegally are those accused of charges that should have resulted in their automatic release."

"We are disappointed with the judge's ruling, which is wrong on the law and contrary to the protections afforded by Roundtree v. Brown. However, since this writ was filed, some progress has been made to ensure the release of New Yorkers within 24 hours of their arrest. We will continue to monitor this situation and we are fully ready to appeal if necessary," it said. 

According to Legal Aid, as of 6 p.m. ET Thursday, 160 New Yorkers remain in custody at least 24 hours after their arrest.

"Lastly, while proclaiming not to be vindictive towards New Yorkers protesting police brutality, the NYPD faulted its own incompetence to distract from its duty to ensure that people are swiftly arraigned and brought before a judge," reads the statement.  

"Motivations aside, the NYPD is fully responsible for the hundreds of New Yorkers who are currently languishing in cages, deprived of their due process rights and at an increased risk of contracting COVID-19."

A man captured on video aiming a bow and arrow at protesters in Salt Lake City over the weekend was charged Thursday with assault and weapon possession.

Brandon McCormick was charged with possession of a dangerous weapon by a restricted person, as well as aggravated assault and threatening or using a dangerous weapon in a fight or quarrel.

He was reportedly pushed to the ground on Saturday after pointing the bow and arrow at people protesting the death of George Floyd at the hands of police. People then flipped over his car and set it on fire.

No attorney was listed in court records.

Attorney General William Barr defended his decision to order the forceful removal of protesters from a park near the White House earlier this week, saying the move to expand the perimeter around the White House was planned well before President Trump decided to walk across the park and pose for photos in front of a historic church.

Speaking at a press conference alongside the heads of all five Justice Department law enforcement agencies on Thursday, Barr said the massive federal response to protests in the nation's capital was justified after days of violent confrontations over the weekend. He said President Trump tasked him with coordinating efforts by thousands of law enforcement officers from various agencies and departments in the district.

"This is the federal city. It's the seat of the federal government," Barr said at the virtual press conference. "When you have a large-scale civil disturbance that is damaging federal property, threatening federal property, threatening federal law enforcement officers, threatening the officials in government and their officers and our great monuments, it is the responsibility of the federal government to render that protection, and we do so in close coordination with the Metropolitan Police Department." — Stefan Becket and Clare Hymes

Read more here.

The American Civil Liberties Union and others have filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration, alleging officials on Monday violated the civil rights of protesters who were forcefully removed from a park near the White House by police using chemical agents.

The lawsuit was filed Thursday in federal court in Washington. It argues that President Trump, Attorney General William Barr and other officials "unlawfully conspired to violate" the protesters' rights when clearing Lafayette Park.

Shortly before 6:30 p.m. on Monday, law enforcement officers began aggressively forcing back the peaceful protesters, firing smoke bombs and pepper balls into the crowd to disperse them from the park.

The ACLU called it a "coordinated and unprovoked charge into the crowd of demonstrators."

Barr said Thursday that he ordered the protesters to be dispersed because officials were supposed to extend a security perimeter around the White House earlier in the day. He said he arrived there later in the afternoon and discovered it hadn't been done.

The lawsuit was filed on behalf of the group Black Lives Matter D.C. and individual protesters who were in Lafayette Park on Monday evening.

Protesters marching from Brooklyn were met with reinforcements when their Manhattan counterparts broke through police barricades set up on the Manhattan side of the iconic Brooklyn Bridge.

The protesters eventually broke through the barricade and headed towards the cohort marching from Brooklyn to walk as one, CBS New York reports.

"Not only are there protesters coming from Brooklyn onto the bridge, but they also have Terrence Floyd with them, George Floyd's brother," protester Joseph Martinez said.

"We want him to see that there are people waiting here for them, being there for them and the community is going to stand with them and we want to march together to get all the way to Foley," Martinez said.

More demonstrations are planned for Thursday. Protesters said they plan to continue until they see tangible change, CBS New York reports.

More than 1,000 people protested outside the White House Thursday afternoon while a group of 100 more gathered on the Capitol lawn.

Washington, D.C., lifted its curfew Thursday after no arrests were made the day before, police said. In Lafayette Square, the site where protesters were hit with tear gas just days before, people sang songs and kneeled on the ground for over eight minutes to honor George Floyd, CBS affiliate WUSA reports. 

A judge has ruled that the cases against all three defendants charged with murder in the death of Ahmaud Arbery can advance to the trial court. During a probable cause hearing Thursday, Magistrate Court Judge Wallace Harrell found that there is enough evidence for the cases against Greg and Travis McMichael and William "Roddie" Bryan to proceed.

Arbery was killed on February 23 after Travis McMichael, 34, and his father, Greg McMichael, 64, gave chase when they spotted the 25-year-old black man running in their neighborhood just outside the port city of Brunswick. Bryan said he saw them driving by and joined the chase, Special Agent Richard Dial said.

Reverend Al Sharpton said at George Floyd's memorial service on Thursday that Floyd's murder has ushered in "a different time," and urged people to "turn their clocks" into a new and better time. 

"America this is the time to deal with accountability in the criminal justice system," he said.

"George Floyd's story has been the story of black folks. Because ever since 401 years ago, the reason we could never be who we wanted, and dreamed of being, is you kept your knee on our neck," Sharpton said of America's racist past and present. 

He highlighted the international protests in reaction to Floyd's death and acknowledged that some in the United States have turned destructive. Sharpton said the family does not condone violence or looting, but urged people to remember that "there's a difference between those calling for peace and those calling for quiet."

He thanked the Floyd family for showing "great grace" through tragedy and leading the movement brought on by their lost family member. 

"We're going to make America great for everybody for the first time," Sharpton said.

A judge set bail at $750,000 apiece Thursday for three fired Minneapolis police officers charged with aiding and abetting in the killing of George Floyd, as a memorial service took place just blocks away.

Tou Thao, Thomas Lane and J. Alexander Kueng made their first appearances in Hennepin County District Court as friends, relatives and celebrities gathered to memorialize Floyd in Minneapolis.

The Minneapolis Police Department fired them last week, along with Derek Chauvin, who is charged with second-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter in Floyd's death on May 25. Widely seen bystander video shows the white police officer pressing his knee into Floyd's neck, ignoring the African American man's pleas that he can't breathe, until he stopped moving.

Defense attorneys argued for lower bail. Attorney Earl Gray, representing Lane, told the court that Chauvin was his client's training officer and that when Floyd died it was only Lane's fourth day on the job.

Defendants don't normally enter pleas during their first appearances in Minnesota courts, which tend to be brief proceedings. Judge Paul Scoggin set their next court dates for June 29.

Members of George Floyd's family memorialized their lost brother on Thursday. His siblings, who knew him as Perry, said they lost a strong, loving brother who always made everyone feel welcome in his presence.

Floyd's brothers shared anecdotes from their childhood, saying: "We didn't have much but we had a house full of love." His family member said the thing she will miss most about him are his hugs: "He was this great big giant, when he would wrap his arms around you... everything would go away."

His family shared their gratitude for the outpouring of love from the public and marveled at the movement triggered by Floyd's murder. 

"I wish he was in the presence, in the flesh, to see it, this great unity," his brother said.  "He would stand up for any injustice anywhere."

Celebrities, civil rights activists, politicians and family members of Floyd gathered in Minneapolis to pay their respects to the man whose death at the hands of police has sparked protests nationwide and calls for an end to racial injustice. 

Mourners wore masks and bumped elbows, rather than hug or shake hands, at the memorial taking place in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic. 

The Reverend Jesse Jackson entered and prayed for several moments over Floyd's golden casket. Others followed his lead, including Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar. Jackson and Klobuchar greeted each other and spoke for a few minutes, before heading to their seats. 

Others in attendance included U.S. Representatives Ilhan Omar, Sheila Jackson-Lee, Ayana Pressley and Joyce Beatty; rappers T.I., with his wife Tiny, Ludacris, and Tyrese Gibson; comedians Kevin Hart and Tiffany Haddish; and actress Marsai Martin.

The Reverend Al Sharpton was among those who spoke.

The highest-ranking American at the Vatican will lead a prayer service on Friday in Rome to pray for "peaceful coexistence" following the death of George Floyd and protests that erupted across the U.S.

Cardinal Kevin Farrell, an Irish-born naturalized U.S. citizen, is the prefect of the Vatican's family and laity office.

The Sant'Egidio Community, a Catholic charity close to Pope Francis, is organizing the evening prayer at its Santa Maria in Trastevere church. Francis this week decried Floyd's death and the "sin of racism" while denouncing violence as "self-destructive and self-defeating." He's appealed for national reconciliation and peace.

Farrell was bishop in Dallas, Texas, and an auxiliary bishop of Washington D.C. before taking his current job in 2016. 

The death of George Floyd in Minneapolis last week has drawn thousands of protesters to the streets of the nation's capital, leading President Trump to direct his administration to boost the number of federal law enforcement officers on the ground.

But photos of unidentified, armed officers donning face shields and protective gear standing guard near the White House have raised concerns among Democrats, who are warning that the dearth of insignia and identifying information could deny victims the ability to hold officers accountable if they engage in misconduct.

"This is unacceptable that you have armed uniformed security, with no identification," Senator Chris Murphy, a Democrat from Connecticut, told reporters on Capitol Hill. "It allows for really dangerous potential mischief. When things go wrong you need to be able to identify who it was that punched a reporter or took a club to a protester, and without identification, there's really no way to do real accountability."

Read more here.

Images and video of bloodied faces and bruised bodies have flowed steadily on social media and in the news over the past week as police across the country have at times used violent tactics in response to protests about police violence.

The use of what are known as "less than lethal" devices on such a large scale is unusual, according to experts on policing and criminal justice. Despite the terminology, use of these weapons can sometimes be fatal.

"What we're seeing is escalated force among law enforcement, which entails the use of tear gas, rubber bullets, pepper spray, flash grenades, all of this is highly confrontational and aggressive in nature," said Jennifer Cobbina, a Michigan State University criminal justice professor who specializes in police-community relations. "What it will do is it will increase levels of violence and injury, which also further exacerbates the problems between protesters and the police."

Read more here.

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said Thursday that people in New York City protesting George Floyd's death should assume they've been exposed to the coronavirus. "If you were at a protest I would assume you're exposed," Cuomo said. 

The governor announced the state is opening COVID-19 testing facilities to all people who were at a protest. He urged protesters to act as if they have been exposed by telling those that they live with, and getting tested. 

"The protesters themselves could wind up creating a spike," he said.

Cuomo spoke after New York City woke up from its third night under curfew, which saw dozens of arrests and clashes between police and protesters. The 8 p.m. curfew is aimed at containing violence and looting in the aftermath of Floyd's death. 

Read more here.

Looters shattered windows and destroyed the entrance to a Minneapolis co-working space last week, but one of its owners believes the incident could have been much worse. Christopher Webley of New Rules said he and some of the artist-tenants who use the building were working at night when they heard the sound of glass shattering at around 3:30 a.m.

"We were able to defend it and run off, basically stave off, any further action," Webley said.  

Amid unconfirmed reports that some protests drew looters from out-of-state and extremist groups, he suspects the people who damaged his business and others were targeting black-owned stores. 

"They want us to leave and close up shop," said Webley, New Rules' managing director, "but you'll find that many of us black businesses here in Minnesota, there's resiliency built into our culture here." 

An estimated 360 small businesses across the Twin Cities suffered different levels of property damage during the civil unrest last week. Now, many of them have vowed to rebuild. In some cases, the damage comes as the owners were preparing to reopen their businesses following a months-long shutdown sparked by the coronavirus pandemic. 

Read more here.

Mourners converged in Minneapolis Thursday for the first in a series of a memorials to George Floyd that is being held North Central University.

Memorials are set to take place in three cities over six days: After the Minneapolis event, Floyd's body will go to Raeford, North Carolina, where he was born, for a public viewing and private family service on Saturday.

Next, a public viewing will be held Monday in Houston, where he was raised and lived most of his life. Then a 500-person service will take place Tuesday at the Fountain of Praise church.

Images on Thursday showed Floyd's remains arriving at North Central University for the first memorial service. 

A state investigator alleged Thursday that a white man was heard saying a racial slur as he stood over Ahmaud Arbery's body moments after killing him. 

The lead Georgia Bureau of Investigation agent in the case testified that Travis and Greg McMichael and a third man in another pickup, William "Roddie" Bryan, repeatedly used their trucks to chase down and box in Arbery, who repeatedly reversed directions and even jumped into a ditch in a desperate struggle to escape.

Travis McMichael then got out of his truck and confronted Arbery. He told police he shot him in self-defense after Arbery refused his order to get on the ground, Special Agent Richard Dial said. A close examination of the video of the shooting shows the first shot was to Arbery's chest, the second was to his hand, and the third was to his chest before he collapsed in the road, Dial said.

The driver of the second pickup truck, William "Roddie" Bryan, who recorded that video, said he heard the gunman say a racist epithet as he stood over Arbery's body before police arrived.

The evidence presented to support murder charges against the McMichaels and Bryan challenges the self-defense claim. Dial also described evidence that questions the idea that the three men were legitimately carrying out a citizens' arrest of a suspected burglar. Thursday's testimony also could factor into a federal investigation into whether hate crime charges are warranted.

Read more here.

Protests against racial injustice have spread not just across the United States but around the globe, with people taking to the streets in Europe, in Africa, in Latin America and Asia.

Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, a South Africa leader who was actively involved in the struggle to end apartheid in her home country and is now an Under Secretary General of the United Nations, spoke with CBS News' Pamela Falk from Johannesburg, and shared her thoughts about the George Floyd protests and where they might lead.

"People are feeling exhausted about us talking about racism. Try living it to know how exhausting it is to live it," she said. "Those who cannot take talking about it, they haven't lived it to know how much that it eats you from within. So, we need to make sure that we create conditions that will make people feel and touch the changes that are coming into their lives."

Read more here.

A group of Oakland City Council members sent a letter Wednesday to Mayor Libby Schaaf, City Administrator Ed Reiskin and interim police Chief Susan Manheimer calling for an indefinite suspension of the use of tear gas to control and disperse crowds during the ongoing protests and amid the coronavirus pandemic.

CBS SF Bay Area reports City Council members Nikki Fortunato Bas, Rebecca Kaplan and Sheng Thao argued that the use of tear gas could needlessly put people at risk for respiratory issues amid a pandemic that can cause significant respiratory damage. They also noted that the department's own training bulletin states that breathing tear gas can cause coughing and sneezing, both of which can spread the coronavirus via droplets.

"The use of tear gas for crowd control adversely affects individuals in crowds of protestors as well as residents who are not involved in protesting, and it can have serious effects on medically vulnerable people and increase the spread of COVID-19," they wrote.

Protests over the death of black Minneapolis resident George Floyd have continued for over a week, as cities across the U.S. see tensions boil between demonstrators and police. Congressman John Lewis, a prominent civil rights leader who was the youngest person to speak at the 1963 March on Washington, decried Floyd's death at the hands of a white police officer and said the horrific video moved him to tears.

Lewis himself had been repeatedly beaten and arrested at nonviolent protests in the 1960s, and offered words of inspiration to people demonstrating against police brutality today. He spoke to "CBS This Morning" co-host Gayle King Thursday, in his first network TV interview since the protests over Floyd's death began. 

Read their conversation here.

Denver Mayor Michael Hancock joined protesters in downtown Denver on Wednesday evening as hundreds gathered first at the state Capitol and then moved on to the streets.

The city has seen protests several days in a row, and several violent nights where Denver police deployed tear gas to break up unruly crowds that were throwing projectiles at police, CBS Denver reported.

Officers dressed in riot gear, and the mayor declared a curfew in Denver over the weekend that lasted several nights to keep crowds from getting out of control. On Wednesday, the marchers were peaceful as they made their way along the 16th Street Mall.

"This is an amazing, peaceful, successful demonstration of raising the voices around freedom and justice and togetherness. I'm proud of the demonstrations going on here tonight," said Hancock. 

A group of nurses gathered and took a knee outside of Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston early Thursday morning. The nurses knelt in solidarity with protesters, who are fighting against racial injustice and police brutality in the wake of George Floyd's death.

Several nurses wore black and others held signs made out of cardboard, CBS Boston reports. They took a knee for eight minutes and 46 seconds – the same amount of time former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin kept his knee on Floyd's neck.

The nurses at Brigham and Women's Hospital plan to honor Floyd and show solidarity with protesters again at 6:30 p.m. Thursday. The event was organized by the nurses and not the hospital, according to CBS Boston. 

Minnesota Governor Tim Walz is sending Minnesota National Guard troops to state's western border because of what he says are credible threats of violence during demonstrations planned in neighboring North Dakota. 

The city of Moorhead, Minnesota, lies just across the border from Fargo, North Dakota.

Walz's order didn't say how many guard members are being deployed in Clay County. The governor didn't provide details on what he perceives is a credible threat.

"The Minnesota National Guard stands ready to provide protection for all Minnesotans," said Walz in a statement. "While Minnesotans turn their attention to rebuilding our communities and re-examining racial inequities in the wake of George Floyd's death, our administration is committed to providing protection for our neighborhoods, businesses, and families in order for those meaningful conversations to happen."

The National Guard adjutant general will work with local government agencies to provide personnel, equipment and facilities as needed, Walz said. 

The Duchess of Sussex has shared her sadness about racial divisions in the United States, telling students at her former high school that she felt moved to speak out because the life of George Floyd mattered. Meghan told graduates at the Immaculate Heart High School in Los Angeles that she wrestled with what to tell them given the days of protests after Floyd's death.

"I realized the only wrong thing to say is to say nothing, because George Floyd's life mattered," she said in a virtual address.

The former Meghan Markle, who has an African American mother and a white father, said the unrest reminded her of riots that took place in her hometown of Los Angeles after police officers were acquitted in the video-taped beating of another African-American, Rodney King.

"I remember the curfew and I remember rushing back home, and on that drive home, seeing ash fall from the sky, and smelling the smoke and seeing the smoke billow out of buildings,'' she said. "I remember seeing men in the back of a van just holding guns and rifles.

"I remember pulling up the house and seeing the tree, that had always been there, completely charred. And those memories don't go away."

A grocery store in Chicago that is the main source of food for people in Chicago's South Shore neighborhood closed for several days after it was hit by looters, CBS Chicago reports. The neighborhood is considered a food desert because there are very few grocery stores, and when the store closed down because of looters, many there had nowhere else to go.

Owner Eva Jakubowsk closed the grocery store for several days. She said her employees and even security were concerned about coming back to work, so she closed up shop. The community no longer had a nearby source for fresh food. 

Now, people in the neighborhood, along with community organizers, plan to show their support Thursday as the store reopens.

"What we're doing is bringing community members to say we are not going to allow our stores to be closed or taken over by vandals, sending a clear signal that the support of the community is behind local market," South Shore Chamber executive director Tony Trice said.

The grocery store was also behind the Feeding South Shore initiative, providing thousands of meals to families in the neighborhood.

The city of Minneapolis says looting and property damage following Floyd's death has caused least $55 million in destruction so far. Vandals damaged or set fire to at least 220 buildings, but that number is expected to go up, city officials said.

Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey will ask for state and federal aid to help rebuild after the civil unrest. Until that happens, community members are pitching in to support Minneapolis neighborhoods.

More than $1 million has been raised to help businesses in north Minneapolis, CBS Minnesota reported. The West Broadway Business and Area Coalition says it will announce how they plan to use the money in the coming weeks.  

-CBS/AP

The arrests of the three other Minneapolis police officers connected to George Floyd's death and the upgraded charge against former officer Derek Chauvin is just the beginning for Floyd's family. Justice, for them, includes convictions.

"We have to have justice. They murdered him in broad daylight in front of everybody," Floyd's brother Philonise told CBS News correspondent Jeff Pegues. 

The charge against Chauvin, who pressed his knee into Floyd's neck while he was handcuffed and pleading for air, was upgraded to second-degree murder, while the other officers were charged with aiding and abetting murder.

But Philonise said he believes the killing was purposeful and wants Chauvin to face the most serious charge of first-degree murder.  

"When you look at that guy, when he was on his neck, and they was pleading for his life like 'please, please, just let him breathe, get off of him, get off of him,' he was just looking at them like they was in a cage or something, like you can't get to me," Philonise said.

Read more here.

A swarm of police officers are seen on cellphone video drawing their batons and beating out the windows of a car outside a Chicago mall Sunday, reports CBS Chicago. The officers dragged two women from the car. One of them says an officer held her down by putting his knee on her neck and back.

George Floyd died in Minneapolis last week after an officer put his knee on Floyd's neck for several minutes. That encounter was also seen on video and set off protests nationwide.

The Chicago video was captured by someone in another vehicle at the scene.

A New York City police officer on an anti-looting patrol was ambushed Wednesday in Brooklyn by a man who walked up behind him and stabbed him in the neck, police said, setting off a struggle in which the assailant was shot and two other officers suffered gunshot injuries to their hands.

The bloodshed happened just before midnight in the hours after an 8 p.m. curfew that was intended to quell days of unrest over the death of George Floyd in Minnesota and looting that's accompanied it.

All three injured officers were expected to recover. The man who attacked them was shot multiple times and was hospitalized in critical condition, said Police Commissioner Dermot Shea.

Police Benevolent Association President Patrick Lynch blamed anti-police rhetoric during the protests.

"Are we surprised? Are we surprised we're here in the hospital again. Did we doubt because of the rhetoric we're hearing, the anti-police rhetoric that's storming our streets, are we surprised that we got this call? I'm not. We said it's going to happen," he said.

A full autopsy of George Floyd provides several clinical details - including that Floyd had tested positive for COVID-19.

The 20-page report released Wednesday by the Hennepin County Medical Examiner's Office came with the family's permission and after the coroner's office released summary findings Monday that Floyd had a heart attack while being restrained by officers, and classified his May 25 death as a homicide.

The report by Chief Medical Examiner Andrew Baker spelled out clinical details, including that Floyd tested positive for COVID-19 on April 3 but appeared asymptomatic. The report also noted Floyd's lungs appeared healthy but he had some narrowing of arteries in the heart.

Police say many smash-and-grab thefts that coincided with protests have been carried out by caravans of well-coordinated criminals capitalizing on chaos. They use social media to communicate with each other and do things to distract and throw police off their trail. 

The wave of crime has followed largely peaceful demonstrations, and law enforcement experts note that it has happened in big and small cities and in rural areas. 

Thieves often target high-end shops as officers are assigned to prevent protests from becoming unruly and enforce curfews. 

In the San Francisco Bay Area, a band of thieves stole nearly 75 vehicles from a dealership.

The driver of a black BMW attempted to drive through protesters blocking an intersection in Cincinnati on Tuesday. The Cincinnati Police Department released video of the incident.

The driver approaches the protesters slowly, apparently attempting to scatter them enough so the car could get through the intersection. A few move out of the way, but at least one demonstrator gets back in front of the car. The driver continues moving forward, making contact with the protester and pushing them backwards. The car eventually comes to a stop and the other protesters return and swarm the vehicle, blocking its path once again.

The driver then puts the car in reverse and speeds off in another direction.