North America

MINNEAPOLIS (Minnesota, US), June 2 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The death of George Floyd, an African-American man who died in police custody, has been declared a homicide following an official post-mortem.

He suffered a cardiac arrest while being restrained by Minneapolis police officers on May 25, the report found.

It listed Floyd’s cause of death as “cardiopulmonary arrest complicating law enforcement subdual, restraint, and neck compression”.

The examination also recorded evidence of heart disease and recent drug use.

WASHINGTON, June 1 (Xinhua) -- The extraordinarily high unemployment rate in the United States is in large part due to the poor management of the COVID-19 pandemic by the federal government, a senior U.S. economist said on Monday.

"It was late to acknowledge the threat posed by the virus, and then ultimately ceded the bulk of the crisis management to state governments, which led to a patchwork response that was slow to get going," Mark Zandi, chief economist of Moody's Analytics, said in an analysis.

HOUSTON, June 1 (Xinhua) -- U.S. Texas Governor Greg Abbott, along with all four United States attorneys in Texas, announced Monday that individuals coming to Texas from other states to engage in violence will be subject to federal prosecution.

According to a release from the governor's office, anyone who is arrested and charged with such offenses will be transferred to federal custody.

The United States attorneys in Texas will be working with local prosecutors and law enforcement officials to aggressively identify crimes that violate federal law, said the statement.

CANCUN, Mexico (AP) — Amid a pandemic and a brewing tropical storm, Mexico President Andrés Manuel López Obrador kicked off Mexico’s return to a “new normal” Monday with his first road trip in two months as the nation began to gradually ease some virus-inspired restrictions.

López Obrador said he’s taking all necessary precautions — he drove the 1,000 miles from Mexico City over the weekend rather than flying — on a trip to promote construction of one of his signature infrastructure projects the Mayan Train.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Joe Biden’s search for a running mate could be reshaped by the police killing of George Floyd and the unrest it has ignited across the country, raising questions about contenders with law-and-order backgrounds and intensifying pressure on the presumptive Democratic nominee to select a black woman.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Nearly 26,000 nursing home residents have died from COVID-19, the government reported Monday, as federal officials demanded states carry out more inspections and vowed higher fines for facilities with poor infection control.

The partial numbers released by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are certain to go higher, as only about 80% of nursing homes have reported. Also, the federal data does not include assisted living facilities, which some states count in their coronavirus totals.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Congressional Budget Office said Monday that the U.S. economy could be $15.7 trillion smaller over the next decade than it otherwise would have been if Congress does not mitigate the economic damage from the coronavirus.

The CBO, which had already issued a report forecasting a severe economic impact over the next two years, expanded that forecast to show that the severity of the economic shock could depress growth for far longer.

WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. officials vowed to “maximize federal law enforcement presence” in the nation’s capital Monday night after days of violent demonstrations led to fires across Washington and left scores of businesses with broken windows and dozens of police officers injured.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Riot police firing tear gas scattered a protest crowd from a downtown Louisville square Monday night, hours after the firing of the city’s police chief in the uproar over the early morning shooting death of a popular restaurant owner by security forces.

WILMINGTON, Del. (AP) — Joe Biden vowed to address institutional racism in his first 100 days in office as he sought to elevate his voice Monday in the exploding national debate over racism and police brutality.

The presumptive Democratic presidential nominee offered emotional support and promised bold action during an in-person discussion with black leaders in Delaware and a subsequent virtual meeting with big-city mayors who are grappling with racial tensions and frustrated by a lack of federal support.