George Floyd US gears up for weekend of Black Lives Matter protests – live updates
about 5 years in The guardian
Trump campaign asks supporters to sign waiver ahead of rally
Lawmakers declare racism a public health emergency
Capturing the cry for change: photographers on the BLM protests
Seattle protesters create police-free ‘autonomous zone’
Sign up to our First Thing newsletter
3.41pm BST
Microsoft won’t sell its facial recognition technology to police departments until federal legislation is passed to regulate its use, the company says.
The moratorium is a concession to campaigners, who have called on all the major tech companies to stop selling the technology to law enforcement. It follows IBM declaring a total cessation of sales of “general purpose” facial recognition technology, and Amazon declaring that it would stop selling its own tech to police departments for the next year, in the hope that the pause provides time for a societal conversation.
SURPRISE: their law sucks. Policy experts agree that, while there is benefit to requiring a warrant for the use of FRT, the MSFT-backed law has giant loopholes, allowing a vague definition of “emergency” to allow for continued rampant use of FRT unsupervised by the courts. /2
3.28pm BST
Trump is once again attacking Democratic lawmakers in Washington state, bemoaning the “anarchists takeover” of Seattle, where demonstrators have taken over several city blocks to protest police brutality.
The president specifically called out Seattle mayor Jenny Durkan, saying in a tweet, “These Liberal Dems don’t have a clue. The terrorists burn and pillage our cities, and they think it is just wonderful, even the death. Must end this Seattle takeover now!”
Hundreds of protesters have taken over several blocks of Seattle and transformed it into the Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone, or ‘Chaz’, helping to amplify nationwide protests while offering a real-world example of what a community can look like without police.
For three days, protesters have filled several blocks and at least part of a park in the artsy Capitol Hill neighborhood of Seattle, after police abandoned their east precinct, following dangerous clashes between protesters and law enforcement. ...
Related: Seattle protesters take over city blocks to create police-free 'autonomous zone' Continue reading...