Reuters US Domestic News Summary

Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs. NY governor allows outdoor dining in phase two, jabs at Trump Bible photo

New York will allow outdoor dining during phase two of reopening, Governor Andrew Cuomo announced on Wednesday, with restaurants in seven of 10 regions given the green light beginning on Thursday. Cuomo also criticized U.S. President Donald Trump for a staged photo holding a Bible in front of a church near the White House, a visit made possible after protesters were cleared with rubber bullets and tear gas. Amazon is sued over warehouses after New York worker brings coronavirus home, cousin dies

Amazon.com Inc has been sued for allegedly fostering the spread of the coronavirus by mandating unsafe working conditions, causing at least one employee to contract COVID-19, bring it home, and see her cousin die. The complaint was filed on Wednesday in the federal court in Brooklyn, New York, by three employees of the JFK8 fulfillment center in Staten Island, and by family members. Trump's church visit, response to George Floyd's death frustrates some advisers

President Donald Trump's bellicose response to the racial unrest engulfing the United States and his controversial visit to a church after the forced clearing of peaceful protesters have sparked divisions and frustration among some White House staff. Trump's focus on "law and order" to curb sometimes violent protests came after discussion among advisers about the best way to respond to the death of George Floyd, an unarmed black man who died after a white police officer knelt on his neck for almost nine minutes in Minneapolis last week, senior administration officials said. ACLU sues Minnesota police, alleging harassment of journalists at protests

The American Civil Liberties Union has accused Minnesota law enforcement of wrongly arresting, injuring and harassing journalists covering unrest sparked by the death of George Floyd, an unarmed black man, in Minneapolis police custody. In a lawsuit, filed on behalf of journalists in U.S. District Court in Minnesota on Wednesday, the ACLU accuses the Minneapolis Police Department and Minnesota State Patrol of shooting journalists in the face with rubber bullets, arresting reporters and photographers without cause, and threatening them at gunpoint. All four Minneapolis police officers charged in George Floyd death

Prosecutors on Wednesday leveled new criminal charges against all four Minneapolis police officers in the death of an unarmed black man who was pinned by his neck to the street during an arrest, sparking nine days of nationwide protests. Derek Chauvin, arrested Friday on charges of third-degree murder and manslaughter in the death of George Floyd, 46, was newly charged with an additional, more serious count of second-degree murder, according to court documents filed in the case. Obama calls on every U.S. mayor to pursue policing reforms in wake of protests

In his first live remarks on the unrest gripping dozens of U.S. cities, former U.S. President Barack Obama on Wednesday urged every American mayor to review and reform their police department's use-of-force policies in consultation with their communities. The country's first black president also struck a note of optimism, even as he acknowledged the despair and anger powering the protests since the death of George Floyd, an unarmed black man, in police custody nine days ago. U.S. defense chief opposes deploying troops to quell protests, despite Trump threats

U.S. Defense Secretary Mark Esper said on Wednesday he does not support invoking the Insurrection Act to deploy active-duty forces to quell civil unrest for now, despite President Donald Trump's threats to militarize America's response to mass protests. Trump said this week he could use military forces in states that fail to crack down on sometimes violent protests over the killing of George Floyd, an unarmed black man, at the hands of a white police officer in Minneapolis. After long silence, Mattis denounces Trump and military response to crisis

After long refusing to explicitly criticize a sitting president, former Defense Secretary Jim Mattis accused President Donald Trump on Wednesday of trying to divide America and roundly denounced a militarization of the U.S. response to civil unrest. Protests have erupted around the United States since the death on May 25 of unarmed black man George Floyd in Minneapolis police custody. Trump says he likely won't need military to respond to protests

President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that he did not believe that he would need to use U.S. troops to counter domestic protests sparked by a police killing of an unarmed black man in Minneapolis. "It depends, I don't think we'll have to," Trump said when asked in an interview with Newsmax TV whether he would send the military to any cities after sometimes violent protests over the killing of George Floyd. African, Caribbean migrants continue trek towards U.S. border

Migrants from Africa and the Caribbean, stranded in Honduras after Central American countries closed their borders to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus, on Wednesday kept marching north in an attempt to reach the United States. Honduras currently allows only cargo trucks in and out of the country, but migrants and a local official said the group is determined to reach first Mexico and then the United States.