By Jessie Yeung, Jenni Marsh, Rob Picheta, Peter Wilkinson, Fernando Alfonso III, Amir Vera and Steve George, CNN
From CNN's Artemis Moshtaghian
Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot announced that she is lifting the city’s curfew “effective immediately,” according to a tweet sent Sunday afternoon.
“I know this time in our city and our country has been difficult for us all, and I’m grateful to our residents for working together to navigate this challenging time,” the tweet said.
Read tweets from the mayor and city:
From CNN's Ryan Browne
The Secretary of the Army Ryan McCarthy said Sunday that the Pentagon did not want to use active duty troops to subdue protestors in the nation’s capital last week but that the invocation of the Insurrection Act, which allows the president to use active duty military forces to quell unrest, was “heavily discussed” within the Trump Administration.
“They were on the outskirts cause we didn’t want to do it. The Department of Defense didn’t want to do it because we knew once we went to that escalation, it’s very very difficult,” McCarthy told reporters on a phone call, referring to the some 1,600 active duty soldiers that that had been flown to bases in the DC area. “We did everything we could to not cross that line."
McCarthy also confirmed out of state National Guard will start going home Sunday at 5 p.m.
“Effective 5 p.m. this evening we will begin redeploying the out of state Guardsmen starting with the state of Mississippi...as well as the state of Florida, Utah and Indiana,” McCarthy said.
The departure process for those contingents is expected to take no more than 24 hours.
The DC national guard will continue to support federal elements as well as local police.
More context: President Trump wrote on Twitter earlier Sunday that he had ordered National Guard troops in Washington, DC, to return home.
McCarthy said the controversial National Guard helicopter flights that flew over protestors Monday night were still under investigation.
The commanding general of the DC National Guard Maj. Gen. William Walker said that “There was no order to disperse the crowd” with the helicopters.
From CNN's Sarah Westwood
Attorney General Bill Barr defended the actions of federal law enforcement officers who cleared LaFayette Park on Monday, but he offered different reasons as to why force was used to move the people out of it.
The protesters were pushed back from the park just before President Trump walked to nearby St. John’s Church for a photo opportunity while holding a Bible.
Barr, in his interview on CBS on Sunday, said the protesters were moved because the Park Police wanted a larger security perimeter around the White House – not to aid the White House in staging his photo op.
Barr also claimed that the protesters around the park, which had become the center of attention for the ongoing demonstrations, were violent. There is no evidence of that contention. CNN personnel on the scene reported the protesters were peaceful.
“They were not peaceful protesters. And that's one of the big lies that the media is — seems to be perpetuating at this point,” Barr claimed. "The Park Police was facing what they considered to be a very rowdy and non-compliant crowd. And there were projectiles being hurled at the police.”
The attorney general reported three warnings were given Monday night before federal authorities moved in aggressively, some using tear gas, to empty the area near the park ahead of the President’s walk. Some people on the ground did not hear warnings.
From CNN's Laura Ly
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo reiterated Sunday that the “frightening” looting that happened in New York City was not the fault of the police offices or the protesters, but rather bad NYPD management.
“Look at the looting that happened in New York City…it was frightening. It was criminals who were exploiting the situation, who were opportunistic, who were just stealing,” Cuomo said.
Cuomo differentiated between looters and protesters, noting that some have tried to conflate the two.
“Now, the looting had nothing to do with protesting. Protesting is different,” Cuomo said. “You have looting, and you have protesting. You have apples, you have oranges. They’re different. Well the night of looting was the fault of the police officers? No, it wasn’t the fault of the protesters and it wasn’t the fault of the police officers, I said it was the management and deployment of the police officers.”
In response to a question about calls to defund the police, Cuomo said that such action, particularly disbanding or stripping entire police departments, would lead to even more looting.
“But no police? You get looting. That’s what you get. Nobody wants that,” Cuomo said.
WATCH GOV. CUOMO:
From CNN's Eric Fiegel
The remains of George Floyd arrived in Houston, Texas, on Saturday evening, according to a statement from the public relations firm handling the memorial and funeral.
Floyd's remains arrived at "IAH Airport with the help of Eagles Wings Air and Delta Airlines," the statement said.
"At the request of the family, his entry was made private. He was led to Fort Bend Memorial Planning Center by Houston Police Department," the statement said. "Mr. Floyd will be buried directly next to his mother on Tuesday."
From CNN’s Max Foster and Nada Bashir in Londion
Anti-racism protesters in the city of Bristol, in southwest England, have pulled down a statue of 17th century slave trader Edward Colston.
During a demonstration on Sunday in solidarity with the US Black Lives Matter movement, protesters tied the bronze statue – which was first erected in 1895 – with rope, before pulling it down as the surrounding crowd cheered.
Demonstrators were later seen rolling the statue to the nearby harbor, throwing it into the River Avon.
While the incident garnered much celebration amongst protesters, local police say an investigation has been launched into the incident.
“There was a small group of people who clearly committed an act of criminal damage in pulling down a statue near Bristol Harbourside,” Avon and Somerset police said Sunday in a statement. “An investigation will be carried out to identify those involved and we are already collating footage of the incident."
According to local police, Sunday’s Black Lives Matter protest in Bristol was attended by an estimated 10,000 people.
“The vast majority of those who came to voice their concerns about racial inequality and injustice did so peacefully and respectfully,” Avon and Somerset police said.
“Keeping the public safe was out greatest priority and thankfully there were no instances of disorder and no arrests were made,” they added.
From CNN's Austen Bundy
Bishop Mariann Edgar Budde spoke out against racism at Sunday's service at Washington National Cathedral and referenced the events from the past week.
After President Trump visited St. John's Church on Monday, Budde said she was "outraged" after the President visited to her church without advance notice to share "a message antithetical to the teachings of Jesus."
During the service, which was live streamed from the cathedral, Budde commented on the dynamic between Trump and Washington, DC, Mayor Muriel Bowser.
"The President of the United States threatened to use military force against American citizens. And then proceeded to use federal officers to disperse peaceful protesters outside of the White House. The African-American mayor of this city stood her ground. She stood the ground for all of us. The debt to black America in this democracy continues," Budde said.
She continued the sermon against racism with references to Ahmaud Arbery's death. Budde said another member of her church community used the term "Covid-1619" to describe systemic racism in America.
From CNN's Chuck Johnston
The city of Philadelphia announced on Sunday that it has lifted its curfew.
In two tweets this morning, the city announced that the curfew was lifted and reminded protesters to wear a mask and maintain social distancing if participating in protests.
Read the city's tweets:
From CNN's Nicky Robertson
Washington, DC, Mayor Muriel Bowser appeared on Black Lives Matter Plaza today with civil rights icon Rep. John Lewis.
"We’ve walked this path before, and will continue marching on, hand in hand, elevating our voices, until justice and peace prevail," Bowser tweeted.
In an interview on Fox News this morning, Bowser said the Black Lives Matter mural she had commissioned on what has been known as 16th St NW, just blocks from the White House, has become “a centering point, a place for healing strategizing and talking.”
“It is also a place of redress," she said on Fox. “[I]t is a right in America where citizens from all over the country come to their nation’s capital to deliver grievances at the footstep of the people’s house.”
See Bowser's tweet: