President blames 'slippery' ramp for trouble walking while health experts issue coronavirus warning over his Tulsa rally

About two-thirds of Americans oppose the 'defund the police' movement, poll says

A strong majority of Americans oppose the "defund the police" movement that launched following the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis. 

An ABC News/Ipsos poll released on Friday found that 64 per cent of Americans opposed the movement while 34 per cent backed it.

About 60 per cent of Americans strictly oppose reducing budget for police or reallocating it to other programs, such as public health or education. This compared to the 39 per cent who support that decision. 

African Americans differed in the poll, though, with 57 per cent saying they support defunding the police in an effort to address police brutality. About 64 per cent of African Americans said the money taken from police departments should go towards community programs. 

The poll showed that African Americans were twice as likely compared to whites to back the movement. When polling Hispanics, the group found that 42 per cent were in favour of the movement. 

Conversations about defunding the police mounted across the country in recent weeks. Already cities like Los Angeles and New York City have vowed to reduce their police budgets in favour of other programs.

In Minneapolis, the city council voted unanimously to completely disband the police department. What would be put in place for law enforcement has not been revealed. 

President Donald Trump has come out as a strong opponent of the "defund the police" movement, calling himself the "law and order" president. But his 2020 challenger, Joe Biden, has also said he doesn't completely support the movement. 

Mr Biden instead said he wanted to boost up community policing and other programs to better help areas. This poll could be one to further push Mr Biden from supporting the movement so he doesn't lose potential voters in November. 

Secret Service admits using pepper spray on protesters before Trump's Bible photo op despite previous denial Oliver O'Connell reports: 

New Arkansas poll shows Trump's lead over Biden diminishing

A poll conducted Talk Business & Politics-Hendrix College on 9 June and 10 June interviewed 869 of Arkansas' likely voters in the November election. It found that 50 per cent of voters disapproved of Donald Trump's performance, while 46 per cent approved. 

The likely voters were then asked who they would vote for if the election was held today. It found that 47 per cent would vote for Mr Trump and 45 per cent would vote for Joe Biden, with the former vice president gaining ground among independents. 

Independent voters will be a key factor in the upcoming election. Based on the current Arkansas poll, Mr Trump only had support of 40 per cent of independents compared to the 46 per cent supporting Mr Biden. 

In 2016, Mr Trump easily won Arkansas with 60 per cent of the votes. 

A reason why the president's lead could be diminishing is his administration's response to the coronavirus pandemic on top of the unrest across the country involving police brutality against black Americans. 

Swing states Mr Biden might be able to pick up if his momentum continues include Florida, Arizona, Michigan, Texas, Wisconsin, North Carolina, Georgia, and Pennsylvania. 

Real Clear Politics reported on Friday that Biden was up in each of the swing states besides Texas and Georgia, based on polling. 

But if history does, in fact, repeat itself, polling should be taken with a grain of salt as numbers looked positive for Hillary Clinton in the 2016 election. She went on to lose the electoral college to Mr Trump but win the popular vote. 

French president says he stands against racism but country will not remove colonial-era statues 

President Macron addressed the recent unrest in France following Black Lives Matter protests erupting first across the US. 

Calls have heightened for the removal of colonial-era statues that symbolise racism and oppression for residents. In the US and UK, statues have been removed by both protesters and local officials. 

But Mr Macron said on Sunday that he would not advocate for the country to remove any of its statues. "The republic will not erase any trace, or any name, from its history ... it will not take down any statue," Mr Macron said. 

"We should look at all of our history together" including relations with Africa, with a goal of "truth" instead of "denying who we are," he added.

Mr Macron did acknowledge race issues and promised to be "uncompromising in the face of racism, anti-Semitism and discrimination."

The Associated Press contributed to this report

Black Lives Matter mural vandalised in Vermont, governor says

Vermont Governor Phil Scott announced on Twitter that one of the state's Black Lives Matter murals was vandalised. 

He said that the vandalism shows "we are not immune to racism, divisiveness, and hate in Vermont," adding the need for the state to "redouble" its efforts to "dismantle systemic racism and bigotry".

CNN anchor clashes with Trump campaign lawyer over 'fake news' attacks 

CNN anchor Brian Stelter and senior Trump campaign legal advisor Jenna Ellis traded barbs during a segment on Sunday where Mr Stelter predicted the president's advisers would one day look back with regret on their strategy to attack the integrity of traditional media outlets.

When Ms Ellis derided the "fake news media" as "peddlers of false information," Mr Stelter interrupted her with a plea to her future self not to use such terms.

"You understand that, like, some day you're going to regret this, right? Some day you're going to regret this, when your kids and your grandkids look back at this time, and you use slurs and smear us as fake news to hurt news outlets," Mr Stelter said, as he and Ms Ellis talked over one another.

Griffin Connolly reports: 

Black Trans Lives Matter protest takes over Brooklyn after Trump administration pulls back healthcare

A large Black Trans Lives Matter protest is taking place in Brooklyn, New York, on Sunday to address the rights for transgender people of colour. 

Video footage and reports from the protest show large groups of people gathering outside the Brooklyn Museum for the protest. 

This large protest formed following news that the Trump administration rolled back Obama-era transgender healthcare regulations that prohibited doctors and other providers from discriminating against them. The Trump administration ended these regulations on the anniversary of the Pulse nightclub massacre in Orlando, Florida -- causing outrage within the LGBTQ community. 

The transgender community and allies came out in full force to Brooklyn on Sunday to advocate for their rights. 

White officer who shot black man at drive-thru could be charged with murder

 The white police officer who fatally shot Rayshard Brooks could be charged with murder by Wednesday according to the Fulton County district attorney.

Paul Howard told CNN that his office will decide by the middle of the week whether it will be filing charges against Garrett Rolfe, the officer who killed Mr Brooks on Saturday.

"[Brooks] did not seem to present any kind of threat to anyone, and so the fact that it would escalate to his death just seems unreasonable," Mr Howard said.

Oliver O'Connell reports: