COVID-19 crisis
Toronto Raptors guard Fred VanVleet (23) moves past Minnesota Timberwolves guard Jordan McLaughlin (6) during first half NBA basketball action in Toronto on February 10, 2020. Fred VanVleet says people in the United States are reaching a boiling point after hundreds of years of racism. The Toronto Raptors guard was asked Monday what he thought of the protests happening in major cities across the United States following the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis. He was killed after a police officer held his knee on Floyd’s neck for several minutes and ignored his cries of distress. “It’s really unfortunate, but what’s even more unfortunate is I think we’ve seen this movie before, and I think people are tired,” VanVleet said. “People are tired of the racism, and of discrimination and abuse. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Frank Gunn
Hope for hoops: The NBA will present a plan for restarting the season — with 22 teams playing at the Disney campus near Orlando — to the league’s board of governors today. The Associated Press reports. READ MORE
Set for summit: Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, campaigning to get Canada a seat on the UN Security Council, will take part in his third international summit in a week today. The conference, hosted by British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, is aimed at ensuring poor countries would have access to a future COVID-19 vaccine. READ MORE
Weather
Your forecast: Sunny, with a mix of sun and cloud beginning this afternoon, a high of 27 C, and wind from the west at 15 km/h increasing to 30 km/h and gusting to 50 for much of the day.
What’s happening today
Workers with the medical examiner’s office remove a body from a gas bar in Enfield, N.S. on Sunday, April 19, 2020. Before blazing a trail of carnage across Nova Scotia, the man behind one of Canada’s worst mass killings attacked his longtime girlfriend — a story domestic violence experts say is eerily familiar. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Andrew Vaughan
Update on investigation: The RCMP are expected to provide an update on the investigation into the mass shooting in Nova Scotia in April. So far, police have offered few details about the weapons the killer used or how he obtained them. The Canadian Press reports. READ MORE
Anthem bill approved: Hong Kong’s legislature approved a bill that makes it illegal to insult the Chinese national anthem. Most pro-democracy lawmakers boycotted the vote, which coincided with the anniversary of the crackdown on Tiananmen Square in 1989. READ MORE
Protests after police killing
LGBT community members join Black Lives Matter protesters as they block an intersection laying on the street with their hands behind their backs in West Hollywood, Calif. on Wednesday, June 3, 2020, over the death of George Floyd. Floyd, a black man died after being restrained by Minneapolis police officers on May 25. (AP Photo/Richard Vogel)
Memorial in Minneapolis: The first of three memorial gatherings for George Floyd, who was killed by a police officer in Minneapolis last month, is taking place this afternoon. Meanwhile, protests across the U.S. were more subdued Wednesday night. READ MORE
‘When is this going to stop?’: Taylor Allen spoke with black members of the city’s sports community about their thoughts on Floyd’s killing and the ensuing protests. READ MORE
President’s use of prop: Religious leaders in Canada are denouncing U.S. President Donald Trump over a photo opportunity. Protesters were forcibly cleared so he could pose for pictures holding a Bible outside a historic church near the White House earlier this week. John Longhurst reports. READ MORE
In case you missed it
MIKAELA MACKENZIE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS A transit rider wears a mask while getting on a bus in downtown Winnipeg, Tuesday. Winnipeg city councillor Jeff Browaty wants all Winnipeg Transit passengers wearing face masks as the economy reopens.
Lost funds lamented: The City of Winnipeg would have received nearly $23 million more in funding for transit had a cost-sharing agreement with the province continued beyond late 2017, a report states. Joyanne Pursaga reports. READ MORE
Putting up posters: A media advocacy group has launched a campaign in Winnipeg and other cities calling on internet giants to pay royalties to news media, Dylan Robertson reports. READ MORE
On this date
On June 4, 1952: The Winnipeg Free Press reported that a U.S. military police officer was shot and wounded by an East German border patrol guard on the outskirts of Berlin. The Winnipeg School Board voted to drop its numbers from 15 to nine after a bitterly contested battle. The U.S. consul general in Winnipeg would soon be moving to his next appointment, as U.S. consul in Iran. A communist attempt to paralyze France with a sit-down strike failed. In Munsan, Korea, United Nations and Communist negotiators for a truce exchanged strongly worded notes regarding prisoners of war.
Today’s front page
Get the full story: Read today’s e-edition of the Winnipeg Free Press READ MORE
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