Demonstrators protest in Atlanta’s Centennial Olympic Park.
Photo: Mike Stewart/AP/Shutterstock
Large protests over the deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and other people of color at the hands of police continued in multiple cities on Friday. Here are some of the most powerful images photojournalists were able to capture at demonstrations in Minneapolis, Atlanta, New York, Louisville, and several other cities.
A Hennepin County Sheriff’s Department officer stands watch as a protest convenes outside the Hennepin County Government Center on Friday in Minneapolis.
Photo: Stephen Maturen/Getty Images
A woman holds a sign during a rally in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on May 29.
Photo: Kerem Yucel/AFP via Getty Images
Police officers hold a barrier during a protest in Brooklyn on Friday night.
Photo: Brendan McDermid/REUTERS
Police officers try to calm down the crowd after a physical altercation broke out in the crowd during a demonstration in Houston over the death of George Floyd.
Photo: Mark Felix/AFP /AFP via Getty Images
Protesters demonstrate in front of Charlotte Mecklenburg Police Department Metro Division 2 just outside of downtown Charlotte, North Carolina. In Charlotte, CMPD Metro Division 2 was home to CMPD officer, Wende Kerl, who shot and killed Danquirs Franklin outside of a Burger King on March 25, 2019. CMPD found that officer Kerl operated in the constraints of the law but later a citizen review board would find that the officers actions were not justified. No charges were ever brought.
Photo: Logan Cyrus/AFP via Getty Images
Police confront protesters in front of the Barclays Center in Brooklyn on Friday in New York City.
Photo: Spencer Platt/Getty Images
A woman reads a bible in front of a line of National Guardsmen as the 8 p.m. curfew approaches during protests sparked by the death of George Floyd while in police custody on May 29, 2020 in Minneapolis.
Photo: Scott Olson/Getty Images
Protesters gather to protest the recent killing of George Floyd on Friday in Detroit.
Photo: Matthew Hatcher/Getty Images
Protesters holds signs as they march outside the Capitol in Washington, D.C., on Friday during a demonstration over the death of George Floyd.
Photo: Eric Baradat/AFP via Getty Images
Protesters help an injured woman after clashing with police officers outside the District Four Police station during a Black Lives Matter protest in Boston, Massachusetts, on Friday.
Photo: Joseph Prezioso/AFP via Getty Images
An Atlanta Police Department vehicle burns during a demonstration against police violence, in Atlanta on Friday night. The protest started peacefully earlier in the day before demonstrators clashed with police.
Photo: Mike Stewart/AP/Shutterstock
Tear gas is deployed as people protest on Friday night against the deaths of Breonna Taylor by Louisville police and George Floyd by Minneapolis police, in Louisville, Kentucky.
Photo: Bryan Woolston/REUTERS
A protester smiles at a row of police officers during a “Justice 4 George Floyd” demonstration in Houston on May 29.
Photo: Mark Felix/AFP /AFP via Getty Images
Jennifer Granholm has been confirmed as energy secretary
Former Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm won Senate confirmation Thursday to be President Joe Biden’s energy secretary. The vote was 64-35.
Granholm, who served two terms as governor in a state dominated by the auto industry, will be a key player in Biden’s vision for a green economy as the United States fights to slow climate change.
Trump’s years-long quest to conceal his tax returns has come to an end
Breaking: Manhattan District Attorney’s office has obtained former President Donald Trump’s tax returns and related records, according to sources familiar with the matter. @kpolantz@ShimonPro reporting
The Biden administration is shifting language used by the government
At the Department of Homeland Security, the phrase “illegal alien” is being replaced with “noncitizen.” The Interior Department now makes sure that mentions of its stakeholders include “Tribal” people (with a capital “T” as preferred by Native Americans, it said). The most unpopular two words in the Trump lexicon — “climate change” — are once again appearing on government websites and in documents; officials at the Environmental Protection Agency have even begun using the hashtag #climatecrisis on Twitter.
And across the government, L.G.B.T.Q. references are popping up everywhere. Visitors to the White House website are now asked whether they want to provide their pronouns when they fill out a contact form: she/her, he/him or they/them.
It is all part of a concerted effort by the Biden administration to rebrand the government after four years of President Donald J. Trump, in part by stripping away the language and imagery that represented his anti-immigration, anti-science and anti-gay rights policies and replacing them with words and pictures that are more inclusive and better match the current president’s sensibilities.
Pfizer is looking at ways to make its COVID vaccine more effective
Pfizer Inc. and BioNTech have begun a study testing in people whether the companies’ Covid-19 shot can provide protection against emerging strains of the coronavirus.
The companies said Thursday they have started the small study to see whether a third dose of their authorized Covid-19 vaccine would increase its effectiveness against new variants, such as the strain first identified in South Africa.
The approach differs from that of Moderna Inc., which said Wednesday it had made a new vaccine targeting the strain found in South Africa and shipped doses to U.S. government researchers for human testing.
Pfizer and BioNTech said they are also in discussions with U.S., European and other health regulators about studying a tweaked version of their vaccine that researchers designed to protect against the variant found in South Africa.
“We are taking multiple steps to act decisively and be ready in case a strain becomes resistant to the protection afforded by the vaccine,” Pfizer Chief Executive Albert Bourla said in a statement.
Manchin got over his reservations about Haaland, a day after everyone pointed out that he had no problem confirming Jeff Sessions
Democratic Senator Joe Manchin will throw his support behind Congresswoman Deb Haaland to lead the Biden administration’s Interior Department, he said in a statement on Wednesday, likely securing her confirmation to become the first Native American in a cabinet position.
Manchin’s “yes” vote is seen as crucial to Haaland’s confirmation because he is a supporter of fossil fuel development who wields significant power in a U.S. Congress split 50-50 among Democrats and Republicans, meaning every Democratic backer counts. He had previously said that he was undecided on her bid.
“While we do not agree on every issue, (Haaland) reaffirmed her strong commitment to bipartisanship, addressing the diverse needs of our country and maintaining our nation’s energy independence,” Manchin said in a statement. “For all these reasons, I believe Deb Haaland will be a Secretary of the Interior for every American and will vote to confirm her.”
The Johnson & Johnson vaccine could be authorized in the U.S. as soon as this weekend
A Food and Drug Administration review released Wednesday of the single-shot coronavirus vaccine made by pharmaceutical giant Johnson & Johnson found it was safe and effective and completely prevented hospitalizations and deaths in a large clinical trial.
… The review, though positive, was more nuanced than regulators’ assessments of the first two coronavirus vaccines, reflecting a pandemic that has entered a more complicated phase as variants capable of slipping by some aspects of immunity have emerged. The Johnson & Johnson vaccine was more than 85 percent effective at preventing severe illness, including in a region dominated by a concerning variant, but only 66 percent protective overall when moderate cases were included.
The FDA scientists found that the “known benefits” of the vaccine included reducing the risk of symptomatic and severe cases of covid-19 at least two weeks after vaccination. The review found vaccine efficacy against severe covid-19 “was similarly high across the United States, South Africa, and Brazil.”
“We know this vaccine prevents 85 percent of the severe disease. … It was 100 percent effective in preventing hospitalization and deaths, and that’s really what’s important,” said Nancy M. Bennett, a professor of medicine and public health sciences at the University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry. “Those facts are the most important thing to recognize.”