Joe Biden says mass shootings plague the US ‘every damn day’ – as it happened

The justice department announced the disturbing findings of their investigation into the Minneapolis police department, whose officers killed George Floyd in 2020, sparking weeks of nationwide protests. Federal investigators determined Minneapolis cops “routinely” use excessive force, and discriminate against Black and Native American people, as well as those with behavioral health issues. The city and the federal government agreed to negotiate on an agreement to make what appear to be much-needed changes to the department. Meanwhile, Joe Biden spoke to gun safety advocates and decried how mass shootings happen “every damn day” in America.

Here’s what else happened today:

• Iowa’s top court maintained a block on the state’s strict abortion ban, but lawmakers appear to have an avenue to reimpose it.

• National security experts are reacting with horror to the emerging revelations about Donald Trump’s handling of government secrets.

• The supreme court issued more rulings, but none concerned closely watched cases over Biden’s student loan relief plan, affirmative action, or congressional redistricting. The justices will release more opinions on 22 June.

• Daniel Ellsberg, the Pentagon Papers whistleblower, died, aged 92.

• This is the week Donald Trump and Boris Johnson’s paths appear to have diverged.

The message from Joe Biden’s speech to gun safety advocates in Connecticut? Don’t give up.

Recounting how his administration joined with activists to push Congress to pass the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act last year, the president said, “Whether you’re Democrats or Republicans, we all want families to be safe. We all want to drop them off at a house of worship, a mall, a movie, a school door without worrying that’s the last time we’re ever going to see them. We all want our kids to have the freedom to learn, to read and to write instead of learning how to duck and cover in a classroom. And above all, we all agree we are not finished,” he concluded as applause broke out.

“We are not finished. We are not finished,” he repeated.

Here’s the moment where Joe Biden decried how mass shootings happen in the United States “every damn day”:

Later in the speech, which was delivered before an audience of gun safety advocates, he called for stricter liabilities for gun owners whose weapons are used in crimes:

In a speech marking the one-year anniversary of a major bill intended to fight gun violence, Joe Biden decried how mass shootings occur in the United States “every damn day”.

The president recounted how public outrage swells after high-profile killings at schools and places of worship, before declaring, “Every damn day in America, in areas that are poor, mostly minority, there’s a mass shooting. It never reaches the crescendo that it reaches other places – every single day.”

Biden’s was speaking in Connecticut during a summit to mark last year’s passage of the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, which Congress approved following the mass shooting weeks earlier at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas. The legislation toughened background checks for the youngest gun buyers, keeps firearms from more domestic violence offenders and helps states put in place red flag laws that make it easier for authorities to take weapons from people adjudged to be dangerous.

Daniel Ellsberg’s family has released a statement about his death earlier today:

Here’s the Guardian’s Martin Pengelly with a look back at the life of Daniel Ellsberg:

Daniel Ellsberg, a US government analyst who became one of the most famous whistleblowers in world politics when he leaked the Pentagon Papers, has died. He was 92. His death was confirmed by his family on Friday.

In March, Ellsberg announced that he had inoperable pancreatic cancer. Saying he had been given three to six months to live, he said he had chosen not to undergo chemotherapy and had been assured of hospice care.

“I am not in any physical pain,” Ellsberg wrote, adding: “My cardiologist has given me license to abandon my salt-free diet of the last six years. This has improved my life dramatically: the pleasure of eating my favourite foods!”

16 Jun 202314.29 EDT

Pentagon Papers whistleblower Daniel Ellsberg dies, aged 92

David Smith

Daniel Ellsberg, the whistleblower who in 1971 leaked the Pentagon Papers detailing secrets about America’s policy during the Vietnam War, has died at the age of 92, the Guardian can confirm.

Ellsberg’s son, Robert Ellsberg, said by phone that Ellsberg died this morning. In March, Ellsberg announced he had terminal cancer. The former US government analyst’s leaks revealed to the public that successive presidents believed American troops could not win in Vietnam.

Ilhan Omar, the progressive Democrat whose district in the House of Representatives includes Minneapolis, has responded to the justice department’s report finding the city’s police “routinely” use excessive force and discriminate against Black and Native Americans and people with behavioral health issues.

Her statement reads, in part:

As a Black woman living in Minneapolis, I have experienced some of these violations firsthand.

For years, we have been offered a false choice between public safety and accountability. We have been told that bending to the will of the police union and the MPD is the only way to reduce crime. But rampant abuse and racism, constitutional violations, and killing of unarmed Black people does not make our community any safer. Lack of accountability only undermines relations with the community they are designed to protect, and poisons the civic trust that is the lifeblood of a democracy and its institutions.

I welcome this accountability from the Justice Department and support the consent decree being negotiated between the city and the federal government. We must demand a public safety system built on data and trust, not fear and racism.

We must recognize that we cannot prosecute and incarcerate our way to sustainable public safety, that building that trust requires that we address the system that allows racial discrimination—from the disproportionate arrest and incarceration rates Black and brown people face, to the marijuana laws that criminalize Black and brown people. We need to act at the federal level, including by passing my Amir Locke End Deadly No Knock Warrants Act, my package of bills making police violence against protesters a federal crime (among other provisions), and the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act. And most of all, we must build a police force that is well-trained, held accountable by its leadership, and follows the highest standards of ethics and conduct.

Britain’s former prime minister Boris Johnson and America’s former president Donald Trump appear headed down different paths this week as they navigate the fallout from their conduct now that they’ve left higher office – a reflection of the varying political cultures and systems in the nations they once led, the Associated Press reports.

Here’s mostly AP’s take, with some light Guardian editing:

On Thursday, a committee of the House of Commons released a scathing report about how Johnson lied to Parliament and intimidated those investigating lockdown-flouting parties in his administration during the pandemic. The committee said Johnson’s conduct was so flagrant that it warranted a 90-day suspension from Parliament, although that recommendation was largely symbolic because he resigned from the House of Commons last week. He was ousted as prime minister almost a year ago, partly due to the “partygate” scandal.

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Two days earlier, Trump became the first former US president to appear before a federal judge in a criminal case. He also faces charges of filing false business documents in an unrelated matter in New York involving Stormy Daniels, and additional legal risk in two more investigations of his attempt to overturn his 2020 election loss, and the ongoing civil case with writer E Jean Carroll after a jury found he sexual assaulted her.

Both Trump and Johnson want to return to power. But while Trump is the frontrunner for the Republican nomination for the 2024 election, despite facing possibly decades in prison if he is convicted in federal court, Johnson is out in the cold, politics-wise (if not media-wise).

Under Britain’s parliamentary system, prime ministers are selected not by popular vote but because they are the leaders of the party that controls a majority in the House of Commons. That means Johnson would have to win back the support of luminaries in his Conservative Party before he had any chance of returning to Parliament, much less the prime minister’s office.

“We are a parliamentary as opposed to a presidential system. That means that actually there is probably less room for a thorough-going populist to capture both his or her or her party – and, indeed, the country – in the United Kingdom than there is in the United States,” said Tim Bale, a political science professor at Queen Mary University of London.

That’s because of the United States’ two-party system, which Trump exploited in 2016 when he entered electoral politics for the first time. The parties nominate candidates in primary elections decided by their own voters, giving an edge to the most partisan or bombastic. Trump has cemented his power by focusing on building loyalty among Republican voters, so any party member who criticizes him is vulnerable to a primary challenge. That’s effectively split the United States in two.

By contrast, Britain doesn’t have primary elections and doesn’t elect prime ministers by popular vote, making it difficult for politicians to take their message to voters without first winning the support of party leaders.

The US senator Tina Smith, a Democrat of Minnesota, has praised the federal investigation into policing in Minneapolis in the wake of the murder of George Floyd in the city in 2020 and said the “findings released today enumerate in vivid and heartbreaking detail what members of this community have known for a long time”.

Smith issued a statement, saying:

I commend the Department of Justice for its thorough investigation into the patterns and practices of the Minneapolis Police Department. Following the tragic murder of George Floyd, and the violence and harm done to too many people at the hands of the MPD, I called on the Department of Justice to conduct this investigation. The findings released today enumerate in vivid and heartbreaking detail what members of this community have known for a long time, that the MPD has engaged in longstanding practices that deny people their rights under the Constitution and federal law, and has brought lasting and real harm to people. Nonetheless, it is shocking to see spelled out the discriminatory, violent and unaccountable behavior of MPD, especially toward Black and Native American people, and those living with behavioral disabilities.

Every Minnesotan deserves to be safe and protected by law enforcement in their community. Minneapolis has taken some initial steps in advancing reforms, and this investigation provides a template for the work ahead to remake MPD policies, supervision, training, and officer wellness programs so we have true accountability. I’m grateful for the city leaders, faith leaders, public safety and mental health providers, and all the community members who provided their experiences for this report.

I am also deeply aware of the challenges facing MPD officers, and know there are many people inside the department who work hard every day to make our community safe and want the department to do better. I look forward to the Department of Justice negotiating with the City and MPD toward a consent decree to enforce reform. It is vitally important that the community have every opportunity for input into that process.”

What else has Smith been talking about lately? Here are a couple of pertinent tweets.

About the Supreme Court decision yesterday:

This:

And this!

The justice department announced the disturbing findings of their investigation into the Minneapolis police department, whose officers killed George Floyd in 2020, sparking weeks of nationwide protests. Federal investigators determined Minneapolis cops “routinely” use excessive force, and discriminate against Black and Native American people, as well as those with behavioral health issues. The city and the federal government agreed to negotiate on an agreement to make what appear to be much-needed changes to the department. Meanwhile, the supreme court announced more decisions, but did not include closely watched cases on affirmative action or Joe Biden’s student loan plan.

Here’s what else happened today:

• Iowa’s top court maintained a block on the state’s strict abortion ban, but lawmakers appear to have an avenue to reimpose it.

• National security experts are reacting with horror to the emerging revelations about Donald Trump’s handling of government secrets.

• The next opportunity for the supreme court to release decisions is on Thursday, 22 June.