William Barr, George Floyd Protests, Birdsongs: Your Tuesday Evening Briefing

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/02/briefing/william-barr-george-floyd-protests-birdsongs.html

Version 0 of 1.

(Want to get this briefing by email? Here’s the sign-up.)

Good evening. Here’s the latest.

1. Attorney General William Barr personally ordered that peaceful protesters be cleared from a Washington park by using tear gas and flash grenades, above, on Monday.

The decision, made so President Trump could walk to a historic church near the White House and have his picture taken, was executed just before he set out, an official said.

The action drew condemnation from political leaders of both parties and clergy members. Joe Biden, Mr. Trump’s likely challenger in the presidential election, said the nation was “crying out for leadership.”

Retired senior military leaders also spoke out against the strategy of deploying active-duty units onto America’s streets.

2. Demonstrations continue over the death of George Floyd despite President Trump’s threat to deploy the military. Above, the Minnesota State Capitol today.

Many have been calm, others have turned violent in a finger snap. Our reporters and photographers captured what American protests looked like on a recent night.

Arrest warrants have been issued for six Atlanta police officers after video showed them firing Tasers and dragging two college students from a car while enforcing a curfew.

Law enforcement officers were targeted in attacks across the country overnight, with some officers wounded in gun battles in St. Louis and Las Vegas; others were injured as they were run over by cars in New York City and Buffalo. Here’s the latest.

3. Looting in Manhattan dealt another blow to a city reeling from the nation’s worst coronavirus outbreak.

Macy’s, Nike, Coach, Bergdorf Goodman and scores of smaller storefronts in New York City’s central business district were ransacked overnight following otherwise peaceful protests on Monday in the wake of the death of George Floyd.

A curfew has been imposed for the rest of the week, from 8 p.m. until 5 a.m., and vehicle traffic is banned in parts of Manhattan. Tuesday’s demonstrations were punctuated by gospel songs and offers of prayer. We have live updates here.

Protests across the country are showing how American cities have changed: Unlike in the 1960s, protest and looting targets have included the wealthy areas of many cities.

4. You may have seen a sea of black boxes on your Instagram and other platforms today.

It was part of a digital protest and day of reflection after the death of George Floyd, but it quickly became something broader: Black squares with #blackouttuesday were adopted by artists like Rihanna, Quincy Jones, Yoko Ono and the Rolling Stones, and spread far beyond music, leading some to complain that #BlackLivesMatter posts were being silenced.

Separately, Mark Zuckerberg defended Facebook’s inaction on President Trump’s inflammatory posts about demonstrators on the social network, a day after hundreds of employees had protested.

5. Our science reporter compared the coronavirus to a microscopic photocopy machine.

For at least six months now, the virus has replicated among us. We took a broad look at the infection that has sickened more than six million people around the world. Any pause is illusory, and health officials fear another major wave of infections in the fall, and beyond. The exhaustive examination is also available in audio form.

In Washington on Tuesday, the Democratic governors of Michigan and Colorado testified that the Trump administration had failed to support testing efforts in their states.

And in France, sidewalk cafes reopened. Parisians were reunited with a ritual: a table in the sun with a tiny cup of black coffee.

The Times is providing free access to much of our coronavirus coverage, and our Coronavirus Briefing newsletter — like all of our newsletters — is free. Please consider supporting our journalism with a subscription.

6. It’s Primary Day in eight states and Washington, D.C., and the first national test for vote by mail.

In Pennsylvania, both parties are treating the election as a statewide “dry run” before the November presidential vote. The outcome will test their outreach, turnout and voting strategies in one of the country’s crucial battleground states.

Counting votes could take a very long time given all the processing of large numbers of mailed ballots.

One election of note: Representative Steve King of Iowa, who has become an outcast among many mainstream Republicans, faces four challengers. Above, voters in Des Moines. Here’s what else to watch for.

President Trump has relentlessly attacked mail voting, which has some Republican officials and strategists worried that the criticism could hurt their party.

7. Disney World is poised to become the center of the basketball universe.

The N.B.A. is in negotiations with Disney to restart its season in late July by bringing its players, coaches and staffs to ESPN Wide World of Sports, a sprawling, 220-acre complex at the Florida resort. Three arenas can be configured into 20 basketball courts (but no, the referees won’t be wearing Mickey Mouse ears).

Tennis officials for their part have proposed staging a doubleheader in New York by moving a tournament that leads into the U.S. Open.

8. Honk if you’re having a good time.

To stop the spread of the coronavirus, nightclubs are still shuttered even as Europe emerges from a lockdown. But Index, a family-run nightclub in Schüttorf, a small German town just east of the Dutch border, has found another way to host a party: a drive-in disco.

“This feels like Saturday again!” a 19-year-old student said from his hatchback — just without the drinking or the dancing.

And if hip-hop has Charlamagne tha God and comedy has Marc Maron, then pop music has Zane Lowe. The D.J.’s daily interviews on Apple Beats 1 have gone from promotional stops to opportunities for deep thoughts, anchored by an impulse to share his own story.

9. We can’t travel yet, but we can daydream. Today’s trip: Bangkok’s food scene.

In search of creative inspiration, a New York-based photographer spent two weeks documenting the city’s fresh markets and street vendors, where she found “an endless array of scenes and exchanges.” It’s the latest installment of our visual series from Travel.

Cooking, one of life’s most basic chores, has suddenly become a creative outlet for many — but certainly not for all. One home not-cook found a silver lining: “I also realized my smoke detectors don’t work.”

10. And finally, the birds are singing.

Migratory birds are not new to New York City, but when the pandemic collided with their annual spring migration, the urban pause presented a unique opportunity: You could actually hear them.

Here is a mix of birds filling New York with their songs. Some are best found only in the mornings or at dusk, and some will only be heard, and never seen, from the yellow billed cuckoo to the scarlet tanager, and the laughing gull.

Have a melodic night.

Your Evening Briefing is posted at 6 p.m. Eastern.

Want to catch up on past briefings? You can browse them here.

What did you like? What do you want to see here? Let us know at briefing@nytimes.com.