Thursday's Headlines: Mattis accuses Trump of trying to divide Americans

Mattis, Esper reveal tension building among current, former Pentagon officials; Murder charges filed against all 4 officers in George Floyd's death as protests against biased policing continue; A dangerous new factor in an uneasy moment: Unidentified law enforcement officers; New York Times staffers denounce paper for Cotton editorial urging military incursion into cities ; Virginia governor to announce plans to remove statue of Robert E. Lee in state capital, a target in protests; Scores of testing sites forced to close because of vandalism in civil unrest; Even amid strife, the best of America shows itself; #BlackOutTuesday was a case study in how performative solidarity goes awry; The best white statement to make right now may be to shut up and listen; The police no longer need the cover of darkness to kill innocent black people; The military officers aiding Trump's stunt have been promoted to the level of their incompetence; Steve King was Trump before Trump. It's good news that Republicans just ousted him.; Rosenstein testifies to Senate panel; Trump and allies try to rewrite history on handling of police brutality protests; The dystopian Lincoln Memorial photo raises a grim question: Will they protect us, or will they shoot us?; In protests over racism and police, a challenge for Joe Biden ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌

Sign up for this newsletter Read online The morning's most important stories, curated by Post editors.     Mattis accuses Trump of trying to divide Americans In an extraordinary criticism, former defense secretary and retired Marine general Jim Mattis took exception to President Trump's threats of military force on American streets. He also praised those demanding justice following George Floyd's death in police custody. By Dan Lamothe ●  Read more »   Mattis, Esper reveal tension building among current, former Pentagon officials "The option to use active-duty forces in a law enforcement role should only be used as a matter of last resort," Defense Secretary Mark Esper said. His predecessor, Jim Mattis, wrote in an extraordinary rebuke: "We are witnessing the consequences of three years without mature leadership." By Dan Lamothe, Missy Ryan, Paul Sonne and Josh Dawsey ●  Read more »   Murder charges filed against all 4 officers in George Floyd's death as protests against biased policing continue Thomas Lane, Tou Thao and J. Alexander Kueng have been charged with aiding and abetting unintentional second-degree murder. Derek Chauvin now faces a second-degree murder charge. By Brittany Shammas, Kim Bellware and Brady Dennis ●  Read more »   A dangerous new factor in an uneasy moment: Unidentified law enforcement officers Identification is needed to hold law enforcement officers accountable for their actions. The public also needs to know how someone is authorized to enforce the law in any given situation. Analysis ●  By Philip Bump ●  Read more »   New York Times staffers denounce paper for Cotton editorial urging military incursion into cities Several New York Times staffers tweeted that running Cotton's essay "puts Black @nytimes staffers in danger." By Elahe Izadi ●  Read more »   ADVERTISEMENT   Virginia governor to announce plans to remove statue of Robert E. Lee in state capital, a target in protests Lee is the only one of the five Confederate figures along Richmond's Monument Avenue that is owned by the state. Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam (D) has supported removal since the deadly Unite the Right white-supremacist rally in 2017, but he had long deferred to local sentiment. By Gregory S. Schneider and Laura Vozzella ●  Read more »   Scores of testing sites forced to close because of vandalism in civil unrest At least 70 testing locations across the country have had to close because of destruction, according to figures compiled by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. By Amy Goldstein ●  Read more »     Opinions Even amid strife, the best of America shows itself By Editorial Board ●  Read more »   #BlackOutTuesday was a case study in how performative solidarity goes awry By Karen Attiah ●  Read more »   ADVERTISEMENT   The best white statement to make right now may be to shut up and listen By Molly Roberts ●  Read more »   The police no longer need the cover of darkness to kill innocent black people By Wil Haygood ●  Read more »   The military officers aiding Trump's stunt have been promoted to the level of their incompetence By George Will ●  Read more »   Steve King was Trump before Trump. It's good news that Republicans just ousted him. By Dana Milbank ●  Read more »     More News Rosenstein testifies to Senate panel The former deputy attorney general conceded that, in hindsight, he would not have signed off on continued monitoring of a former Trump campaign adviser. By Matt Zapotosky ●  Read more »   Trump and allies try to rewrite history on handling of police brutality protests The president's false account of his trip to a secure bunker is part of a larger effort to downplay or whitewash the administration's handling of the George Floyd protests. By Ashley Parker and Robert Costa ●  Read more »   The dystopian Lincoln Memorial photo raises a grim question: Will they protect us, or will they shoot us? The chilling image speaks to how the military must think about the optics of its behavior. Perspective ●  By Philip Kennicott ●  Read more »   In protests over racism and police, a challenge for Joe Biden What Joe Biden has to say about ongoing protests. How President Trump uses religion as a political tool. And protesters in their own words. Post Reports | Listen Now ●  By The Washington Post ●  Read more »     We think you'll like this newsletter Check out Coronavirus Updates for the most important developments in the outbreak in your inbox every day. Access to all stories in the newsletter is free. Sign up »

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