North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper advocated for the removal Confederate statues around Raleigh and has said that now is the time to finally act. “If the legislature had repealed their 2015 law that puts up legal roadblocks to removal we could have avoided the dangerous incidents of last night,” Cooper said Friday. The 2015 law Cooper referred to bars removal of the memorials without permission of a state historical commission, but Cooper, a Democrat, said the law creates an exception for public safety emergencies. Lt. Gov. Dan Forest, a Republican, criticized Cooper for letting things get so out of hand and accused him of shifting blame. “While Gov. Cooper shifted blame when our cities were looted and buildings were damaged, he has no excuses this time. Last night’s destruction occurred on state property, right next to his office. It is clear that Gov. Cooper is either incapable of upholding law and order, or worse, encouraging this behavior.”

Florida authorities are seeking the individuals who used an interstate overpass to stage a mock lynching with a mannequin in a police uniform and pig mask, according to reports. Deputies pulled down the mannequin Saturday morning after responding to the overpass on I-95 in Jacksonville for a possible suicide. They found “KKK” scrawled on it, KHQ-TV reported. The manequin also had NYPD patches. The mock lynching of a law enforcement officer was “extremely disturbing,” Jacksonville Sheriff Mike Williams said on Facebook. “Both the tactics and props used were a deliberate attempt to exasperate an anti-police sentiment and drive a divide in our community,” he said. "This incident was carried out by people wanting to undermine our dedicated efforts to keep our city safe." Mayor Lenny Curry tweeted that he wouldn’t let “an appalling and disturbing act like this derail our progress.”

Stuttgart, Germany, today.

⚠️ #WANTED! For an ASSAULT on 6/17/2020 6:15 P.M., on the suthbound “B” “D” train 174-175 street subway station. Reward up to $2500. Seen him? Know who he is? Call 1-800-577-TIPS or DM. Calls are CONFIDENTIAL! New York City police are searching for a man in connection to the assault on a 73-year-old woman who was punched in the face while standing on a subway platform last week. The incident happened around 7:15 p.m. on June 17 at the 174-175th Street station in the Bronx. The woman was waiting on the Manhattan-bound side of the platform when a man walked up to her and punched her in the side of her face before fleeing the station, police said. He did not speak or have any interaction with the victim before the attack. The woman was treated at Bronx Care Hospital for pain and swelling, police said.

Solar eclipse, view from the ISS, today.