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U.S. President Donald Trump says he will veto an annual bill appropriating money for the Defense Department if the measure includes a requirement for renaming U.S. military installations that honor the Confederate States of America. His latest rejection of the move came in a late Tuesday tweet in which he repeated his frequent slur against Senator Elizabeth Warren. “I will Veto the Defense Authorization Bill if the Elizabeth “Pocahontas” Warren (of all people!) Amendment, which will lead to the renaming (plus other bad things!) of Fort Bragg, Fort Robert E. Lee, and many other Military Bases from which we won Two World Wars, is in the Bill!”I will Veto the Defense Authorization Bill if the Elizabeth “Pocahontas” Warren (of all people!) Amendment, which will lead to the renaming (plus other bad things!) of Fort Bragg, Fort Robert E. Lee, and many other Military Bases from which we won Two World Wars, is in the Bill!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 1, 2020Bipartisan approval
The Senate Armed Services Committee gave bipartisan approval in a 25-2 vote on Warren’s amendment last month. It calls for the Pentagon to act within three years to identify and rename any base, street, aircraft, weapon or other “asset” commemorating the Confederacy, a group of states that wanted to preserve slavery and seceded from the country before losing the 1860s Civil War. Defense Secretary Mark Esper, Joints Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Mark Milley, and Army Secretary Ryan McCarthy have all signaled they are open to renaming the bases. Among the installations named after Confederate military figures are Fort Benning, Fort Bragg, Fort Hood and Fort Pickett. People gather around the Robert E. Lee statue on Monument Avenue in Richmond, Va., June 20, 2020. The global civil unrest ignited by Floyd’s death has left many Americans questioning their country’s racist past.Confederate monuments removed
The issue re-emerged amid nationwide protests following the death in police custody of African-American George Floyd.  Protests in multiple cities have targeted monuments to Confederate figures and led to some being removed, including one of Jefferson Davis, the president of the confederacy, in Richmond, Virginia, and one honoring top general Robert E. Lee in Montgomery, Alabama. The popular NASCAR racing series also banned the display of the Confederate flag at its events. 
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Parts of Australia’s second biggest city, Melbourne, are to go back into COVID-19 lockdown Wednesday following a surge in cases. Authorities have said 36 suburbs have had an “unacceptably high” number of new infections detected in the past few days.Australia has had 7,834 confirmed coronavirus cases.  104 people have died. With 73 infections, Victoria has accounted for almost all of the national tally of new COVID-19 cases in the past 24-hours.   Failures in the hotel quarantine program are being blamed.   Travelers returning to Australia from overseas face a mandatory 14-days in isolation. The state government has said that breaches in security have been linked to the spread of the disease in parts of Melbourne.  Health officials have said the surge in infections was ‘heart breaking.’More than 300,000 people will face legally-enforceable restrictions on their movement as dozens of suburbs are once again placed into lockdown.    The Victoria premier Daniel Andrews is warning that the pandemic “will not be over for a long time” and says strict lockdown measures are needed. “The chief health officer has advised me to reimpose restrictions, so they will be stay at home orders and they will run for four weeks.  There will only be four reasons that you are permitted to leave your house and only if you really have to; for work or school,  for care or care-giving, for daily exercise, for food and other essentials,” Andrews said.Fines of about $1,000 could be imposed if residents leave their homes without good reason.  They are also banned from traveling to neighboring New South Wales.  Anyone from a virus hotspot in Melbourne who tries to cross the border in defiance of public health orders could face a fine of almost US $7,500 or up to six months’ in prison.      Disease control measures in New South Wales are being eased.  Museums, libraries and some cinemas can now reopen, while more passengers are allowed on public transport.  Queensland is also planning to reopen its borders to other Australian jurisdictions in 10 days’ time, although travellers from Victoria will face restrictions. 
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Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador will travel to Washington next week to meet with U.S. counterpart Donald Trump. Mexican Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard announced on Twitter Tuesday that Lopez Obrador will spend two days in Washington beginning July 8. Ebrard said further details about the visit will be released later Wednesday. The visit with President Trump will be the first foreign trip for Lopez Obrador since he first took office in December 2018.  He said earlier this week that his trip to the United States will celebrate the start of the new U.S.-Mexico-Canada Trade Agreement, which goes into effect Wednesday.  But Lopez Obrador has come under intense criticism for his planned visit with Trump,  who is widely disliked for demonizing Mexican immigrants as drug dealers and criminals when he launched his presidential campaign, as well as his vow to make Mexico pay for building a proposed wall at U.S.-Mexican border. 
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Former Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper won the Democratic primary for Senate on Tuesday, setting up a November matchup with incumbent Republican Senator Cory Gardner. Hickenlooper, who ran an unsuccessful campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination, captured 60% of the vote to defeat Andrew Romanoff. The contest between Hickenlooper and Gardner will be one of the most closely watched as Democrats try to take control of the Senate from Republicans. In another Colorado race, Lauren Boebert, a businesswoman who advocates strong gun rights and who opened her restaurant in defiance of state coronavirus restrictions, defeated five-term incumbent Congressman Scott Tipton in the Republican primary for the 3rd congressional district.   Tipton had the endorsement of President Donald Trump, but after the race was called Tuesday night the president tweeted congratulations to Boebert on a “really great win!” Former state lawmaker Diane Mitsch Bush will be Boebert’s opponent in November, after defeating James Iacino in the Democratic primary Tuesday. In Oklahoma, Republican Senator Jim Inhofe easily won his primary Tuesday.  His November opponent will be Democrat Abby Broyles, an attorney and former television reporter, who defeated three primary challengers.Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman James Inhofe, R-Okla., speaks to reporters following a GOP policy meeting on Capitol Hill, Tuesday, June 30, 2020, in Washington.In House races, Democrat Kojo Asamoa-Caesar won his primary and will face incumbent Republican Congressman Kevin Hern. Republican Congressman Markwayne Mullin easily defeated two challengers to set up a November race with Democratic challenger Danyell Lanier. Republican Congressman Tom Cole handily won a four-way race and will next go up against Democrat Mary Brannon. Democratic Congresswoman Kendra Horn won her primary Tuesday, but will have to wait until a late August runoff election to find out her opponent.  There were nine Republicans competing in that party’s primary, and with no candidate earning the necessary 50% of the vote, candidates Terry Neese and Stephanie Bice advanced to the runoff. Voters in Oklahoma also narrowly approved an expansion of the Medicaid health insurance program for low-income residents over the opposition of state leaders who expressed concerns about future costs for the state.  The expansion will bring coverage to tens of thousand of people who meet the eligibility requirements of single incomes up to $17,200 or $35,500 for a family of four. In Utah, former Governor and U.S. ambassador to China and Russia Jon Huntsman Jr. was locked in a tight battle with Lieutenant Governor Spencer Cox and two other candidates for the Republican nomination to be the state’s next governor.  The winner will face Democrat Chris Peterson in November. With 75% of precincts reporting, Cox had a lead of 37% to Huntsman’s 34%. There were close battles Tuesday in both the Democratic and Republican primaries for the 1st congressional district, with candidates vying to fill the seat of retiring Republican Congressman Rob Bishop. Darren Parry led Jamie Cheek 53% to 48% with 60% of precincts reporting in the Democratic race.  Republicans Blake Moore and Bob Stevenson were both at 30% of the vote with 80% of precincts reporting. In the 4th congressional district, Republican Burgess Owens defeated three challengers in a primary battle for the right to go up against incumbent Democratic Congressman Ben McAdams. Earlier Tuesday, election officials in Kentucky announced results from last week’s elections after counting a huge number of mail-in ballots. Former Marine fighter pilot Amy McGrath won the Senate Democratic nomination, setting up a November contest against one of the most powerful political figures in the country, Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell.  McGrath, who lost a bid for a House of Representatives seat in 2018, faces an uphill fight against McConnell, a long-standing political fixture in the mid-South state and staunch supporter of President Donald Trump’s legislative agenda in Washington. But numerous national Democratic leaders, including Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer, are supporting her.  In many U.S. elections, voters have come to expect results on the night of the election, but with concerns about in-person voting because of the coronavirus pandemic, states have seen an increase in mail-in votes.  Election experts have cautioned that could very much be the cast come November 3, when the nation votes for president, all 435 House seats and 35 of the Senate’s 100 seats. New York voters are still waiting on some results from last week’s primaries as well, but election officials said mail-in ballots will not be counted until next week. Prominent outstanding races include the 16th congressional district in which former middle school principal Jamaal Bowman led Congressman Eliot Engel, the chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, 61% to 36% before the mail-in votes. In the 12th district, congresswoman Carolyn Maloney, who chairs the House Oversight Committee, held a slight lead over lawyer and activist Suraj Patel before the mail-in ballots were counted in their race. 
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At least eight people were killed and 80 hurt in and around Addis Ababa when protests erupted after Haacaaluu Hundeessaa, a popular Ethiopian singer and musician, was killed. Haacaaluu was shot dead, police said, in what Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed calls “an evil act.” “This is an act committed and inspired by domestic and foreign enemies in order to destabilize our peace and to stop us from achieving things that we started,” he said. Police said several suspects have been arrested, police commissioner Getu Argawhe told state media, but have given no further details, except that Haacaaluu was targeted.Several Ethiopian cities erupted with rage, and three separate bomb blasts rocked the capital, Addis Ababa, killing several bystanders, police said. Doctors reported hospital emergency rooms filled with stabbing and shooting victims. Protests also erupted outside the U.S. embassy, prompting a security alert. Haacaaluu was an Oromo activist, a member of Ethiopia’s largest ethnic group, which has a long history of being discriminated against.The singer was a former political prisoner who became a national figure during anti-government protests that led to Abiy, a fellow Oromo, becoming prime minister in 2018.Abiy won the Nobel Peace Prize last year for economic and social reforms in Ethiopia and working to settle the long-running conflict with neighboring Eritrea.But he has also been challenged by the dozens of other Ethiopian ethnic groups jockeying for more land and power.The coronavirus pandemic has forced officials to postpone the August elections until sometime next year.  
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One person was killed and several others injured during largely peaceful demonstrations in Sudan on Tuesday, a government spokesman said, as tens of thousands of people took to the streets demanding faster reform and greater civilian rule in the country’s transition toward democracy. Waving Sudanese flags, protesters gathered in Khartoum and its twin cities Khartoum North and Omdurman after the government closed roads and bridges leading to the center of the capital in the largest demonstrations since a transitional government took power late last year following the ouster of Islamist ruler Omar al-Bashir after three decades. Similar protests took place across the country, including Kassala in eastern Sudan and in the restive region of Darfur. Protesters chanted “freedom, peace and justice,” the slogan of the anti-Bashir movement. Some protesters blocked streets with burning tires. Civilians chant slogans as members of Sudanese pro-democracy protest on the anniversary of a major protest in Khartoum, June 30, 2020.The gathering on June 30 came on a highly symbolic day, as it was the anniversary of Bashir’s ascent to power in a 1989 military coup and also marks the day one year ago when thousands marched to pressure the generals who assumed power after Bashir’s ouster to resume negotiations over a peaceful power-sharing deal with civilian opposition. Premier Abdalla Hamdok, a technocrat, governs the country in awkward tandem with the long-dominant military that helped remove Bashir after mass protests against his 30-year autocracy. The opposition coalition agreed to joint governance with the military in a three-year transition toward free elections, but key parts of the deal have not been implemented, such as appointing civilian state governors and establishing a parliament. While many protesters expressed their support for Hamdok during Tuesday’s rallies, they renewed their calls for the transitional government to fulfill the agreement. “Your demands are met with complete agreement,” Sudan’s information minister and government spokesman, Faisal Salih, said in a televised address. FILE – Sudan Premier Abdalla Hamdok speaks at a celebration of the first anniversary of the start of the uprising that toppled long-time ruler Omar al-Bashir, at the Friendship Hall in Khartoum, Sudan, December 25, 2019.Hamdok’s government has been preoccupied with a worsening economic crisis. Sudan’s pound currency has plunged, and annual inflation has topped 100%. Last week, foreign donor nations pledged $1.8 billion at a conference hosted by Germany to help Sudan overcome the economic crisis hampering its transition. That was well below the $8 billion in aid Hamdok has said is needed. The crisis has been compounded by the coronavirus pandemic, which has diverted the resources of many donors. Hamdok sought to appease disgruntled citizens with a speech Monday night in which he said he would announce major decisions on the way forward within two weeks. “The transitional government … [is] aiming to achieve the highest levels of consensus and popular approval,” he said, though he gave no details. Hamdok is also pursuing peace talks with rebel groups across the sprawling country, a key priority for both the government and protesters, but no agreement has been reached yet.  
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Something data crunchers have noticed during the coronavirus pandemic: countries with recent outbreaks of measles have fewer deaths and serious illnesses from the coronavirus. Is this a coincidence? Or is there something about the measles mumps and rubella vaccine that protects against the worst outcomes of the coronavirus? We learn more from VOA’s Carol Pearson.Produced by: Barry Unger
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Pope Francis is urging Catholic media in the U.S. to work to overcome the “diseases of racism and injustice” in his latest comments about George Floyd’s death in the U.S. and the anti-racism protests that followed. In a message to a virtual conference of Catholic journalists of North America on Tuesday, Francis said Catholic media must build bridges and dialogue, as well as defend life.  He prayed for journalists to be enlightened by wisdom and understanding and guided by the Holy Spirit to “effectively work to overcome the diseases of racism, injustice and indifference that disfigure the face of our common family.”  Francis has spoken out previously about Floyd’s death on May 25 in Minneapolis and the “sin of racism.” He decried the violent protests that erupted as self-defeating but also asserted that “we cannot close our eyes to any form of racism or exclusion, while pretending to defend the sacredness of every human life.” Floyd, a 46-year-old Black man, died May 25 after a white police officer put his knee on Floyd’s neck for several minutes as he lay handcuffed on the pavement, gasping that he couldn’t breathe. The officer has been charged with murder, and he and other officers involved could get up to 40 years in prison if convicted. Floyd’s death has inspired renewed Black Lives Matter protests around the U.S., some of them attended by Catholic priests, bishops and peace activists. The issue has gotten heavy coverage by the Vatican media.  
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