Reuters US Domestic News Summary

Trump defends holding first rally in months on Juneteenth in Tulsa Amid protests against racial injustice, President Donald Trump is defending his decision to schedule his first campaign rally in months on a day commemorating the end of U.S. slavery and in Tulsa, Oklahoma, a city where white mobs massacred African-Americans a century ago.

Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs. One American city's model of policing reform means building 'social currency'

Zsakhiem James, a police captain in Camden, New Jersey - once considered the most dangerous city in the United States - sees every encounter with a resident as an opportunity to build "social currency" to prevent or solve a future crime. That's why during a tour this week of Federal Street, a main thoroughfare through Camden's business district, he preached to two young officers the importance of forging personal ties on their beat. U.S. officials reiterate COVID-19 safety advice, warn of more restrictions if cases spike

U.S. health officials on Friday urged Americans to continue adhering to social distancing and other COVID-19 safety measures following rising concerns among experts that the reopening of the country's economy could lead to a fresh wave of infections. Officials from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said that states may need to reimpose strict restrictions if COVID-19 cases spike. Google, NFL latest to call for Juneteenth commemorations

Google and the National Football League have joined a growing list of U.S. private sector organizations choosing to commemorate June 19th, the date marking the emancipation of the last remaining slaves at the end of the U.S. Civil War. Google, a unit of Alphabet Inc, has instructed employees to cancel unnecessary meetings on "Juneteenth," according to a staff memo seen by Reuters. Meanwhile, the NFL has decided to recognize the date as a league holiday and will close the league office. Kentucky to remove statue of Confederate leader Jefferson Davis from Capitol

Kentucky on Friday agreed to remove a statue of Confederate President Jefferson Davis from its State Capitol building, the latest action in a renewed drive to take down such monuments in the wake of nationwide protests for racial justice. In a bipartisan vote, a state historical commission agreed to remove the statue of Davis, president of the short-lived Confederate States of American, from its Capitol Rotunda in Frankfort. Democratic Governor Andy Beshear lauded the move, saying it was overdue. Trump defends holding first rally in months on Juneteenth in Tulsa

Amid protests against racial injustice, President Donald Trump is defending his decision to schedule his first campaign rally in months on a day commemorating the end of U.S. slavery and in Tulsa, Oklahoma, a city where white mobs massacred African-Americans a century ago. Trump, seeking re-election on Nov. 3, scheduled the Tulsa rally for June 19, a day celebrated as Juneteenth. On that date in 1865, Texas became the last of the pro-slavery Confederate states forced to comply with President Abraham Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation during the Civil War declaring all people held as slaves free. Minneapolis City Council resolves to replace police with community-led model

The Minneapolis City Council on Friday unanimously passed a resolution to pursue a community-led public safety system to replace the police department following the death of George Floyd at the hands of the city's police. The move comes days after a veto-proof majority of the council voted to disband the police department after the country erupted in protest over the killing of Floyd, a black man who died when a white police officer knelt on his neck for nearly nine minutes. New York City oversight bill to force police to detail surveillance tools

New York City politicians are expected to vote next week to force the largest police force in the United States to divulge the surveillance technology it uses, one of many reforms of law enforcement being considered across the country. City council members will vote on June 18 on a long-delayed oversight bill that would force the New York Police Department to give details about its surveillance tools, the council's speaker's office said on Friday. U.S. unveils vision for more development in national forests

Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue on Friday unveiled what he called a "blueprint" for enabling energy extraction, mining, grazing and logging in federal forests by speeding up environmental reviews and permitting. In a memorandum to U.S. Forest Service Chief Vicki Christiansen, Perdue said more was needed to relieve burdensome regulations on industries and make federal forests and grasslands more productive. Trump says police generally should not use choke holds

U.S. President Donald Trump said in an interview aired on Friday it would be a good thing if police use of choke holds was ended in most instances, although he suggested their use would be understandable in situations where an officer was in danger. "I don't like choke holds ... (but) sometimes, if you're alone and you're fighting someone, it's tough," Trump told Fox News Channel, while adding: "It would be, I think, a very good thing that, generally speaking, it should be ended." U.S. health agency reverses Obamacare transgender protections

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services issued a rule on Friday that would lift anti-discrimination protections under Obamacare for transgender people and women seeking abortions. The rule reverses some provisions of the 2011 Affordable Care Act passed during Democratic President Barack Obama's administration, also known as Obamacare, that extended civil rights protections in healthcare to cover areas including gender identity and the termination of a pregnancy.