June 11 Black Lives Matter protests

Ongoing protests in Seattle have sparked a Twitter row between President Donald Trump, the city's mayor, Jenny Durkan, and Washington Gov. Jay Inslee, who are both Democrats.

What's happening?

Seattle Police Assistant Chief Deanna Nollette said they have received reports that a group of protesters set up barricades and "some armed individuals running them as checkpoints" in the city's East Precinct on Capitol Hill.

CNN affiliate KOMO reports that protesters have surrounded the area with barricades and are calling it the Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone. Police left the East Precinct building in the Capitol Hill neighborhood, boarded up, but unoccupied. Officers are only responding to emergency calls. 

However, Nollette said "in an effort to try to collaborate and cooperate and move forward peacefully, we're trying to get a dialogue going."

Who's organizing it?

That's unclear right now. Nollette said police are trying to figure out a point of contact in order to establish a dialogue.

Seattle officials say they have no indication that the occupied area is being coordinated by left-wing activist groups under the umbrella of Antifa, despite online rumors to the contrary.

“City officials have not interacted with ‘armed antifa militants’ at this site, but will continue to be on site to monitor the situation closely,” Lori Patrick with the mayor’s office tells CNN.

What did Trump say?

Trump tweeted that "domestic terrorists have taken over Seattle," claiming they are "run by Radical Left Democrats." In another tweet, he said Mayor Durken and Gov. Inslee need to "take back" their city and that "these ugly Anarchists must be stooped (sic) IMMEDIATELY."

How did Durken and Inslee respond?

Durken responded by telling Trump to "go back to your bunker," a reference to when US Secret Service moved him to a secure, underground section of the White House during protests last month.

Inslee told him to "stoop tweeting"

Bubba Wallace, the only full-time African American driver in the auto racing Cup Series, responded to NASCAR's decision to ban the Confederate flag saying, "bravo."

Wallace was interviewed on FOX Sports 1 ahead of this evening’s race in Martinsville, Virginia.

NASCAR announced the decision in a statement earlier today saying "the display of the Confederate flag will be prohibited" from all events and properties.

Some background: Wallace told CNN's Don Lemon he wanted NASCAR to go further than 2015, when it asked fans not to bring the Confederate flags to races –– instead prohibit it all together.

George Floyd's death has sparked an outpouring of grief and protest worldwide. Here's the latest on the demonstrations:

New York City Police Commissioner Dermot Shea joined CNN's Don Lemon to discuss the protests in the city and around the nation.

When asked about the case of an office charged for shoving a woman to the ground, Shea said that "officers that do not uphold the standards that we set have to be held accountable."

Regarding a report in The New York Times that as many as 40 more officers could be charged, Shea said he did not know how the Times got that number and believes the number of officers charged will be "very small."

Shea on defunding the police: Shea said he believes that law enforcement is not the problem, but rather should be part of the solution. However, he warned that dismissing the concerns or fears of others -- including those of black mothers who worry about their children being shot and killed by police -- is a " big mistake."

When asked about the growing movement to defund the police, Shea said he believes people should acknowledge "the unprecedented time we're in" with respect to how the pandemic has affected the economy.

"Everyone is going to have to tighten their belts including the New York Police Department," he said.

Still, Shea told CNN's Don Lemon he is committed to "taking some money out of the NYPD budget if it can be used to restore programs for kids. I think that's crime fighting.

He continued:

WATCH:

The detective who applied for the warrant that ended in the March shooting death of Breonna Taylor has been placed on administrative reassignment, the Louisville, Kentucky, interim police chief said.

Police shot the 26-year-old EMT at least eight times after breaking down the door of her apartment in an attempted drug raid. Recent protests in the city have called for justice in her death.

The Taylor family, their attorney, the US postal inspector and others have raised questions about how and why the warrant was approved, Louisville Metro Police Interim Chief Robert Schroeder said Wednesday.

Schroeder added that the detective who applied for the warrant has been put on administrative reassignment until those questions can be answered.

"This is all part of the process of getting to the truth of what happened that night and leading up to that night," Schroeder said.

The matter has also been referred to the FBI, he said.

Read more:

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Breonna Taylor death: Detective who applied for warrant put on administrative reassignment

Over the weekend, thousands of people took part in Black Lives Matter marches across Australia. Yet these protesters weren't just marching to voice their anger about the mistreatment of African Americans in the United States -- they want to end entrenched discrimination against Australia's Indigenous population.

The numbers back up their conviction that Australia needs to change. While the country's Indigenous population makes up just 3.3% of its 25 million people, they account for more than a quarter of its prisoners. Indigenous Australians are also almost twice as likely to die by suicide, have a life expectancy that is almost nine years lower, and have higher infant mortality rates than non-Indigenous Australians.

That's just the tip of the iceberg, too. A study by Australian National University released Tuesday found that 75% of Australians hold a negative view of the nation's original inhabitants.

"This study presents stark evidence of the solid invisible barrier that Indigenous people face in society," said report author Siddharth Shirodkar. "But the data is actually not about Indigenous Australians -- it's about the rest of us."

Read more:

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Why US protests have prompted a conversation about race in Australia

The Boston Red Sox say have apologized to former Minnesota Twins outfielder Torii Hunter, who said he was subject to racial abuse while in Boston or playing in the city's famed Fenway Park.

Hunter, a five-time All Star and nine-time Golden Glove winner, told ESPN last week that has "been called the N-word in Boston 100 times. … From little kids, and grownups right next to them didn’t say anything."

Hunter said he negotiated no trade-clauses in his contracts while playing professional baseball so he did not have to go to Boston.

Hunter is not the first professional athlete to complain about racial abuse in Boston. Baltimore Orioles outfielder Adam Jones told USA Today in 2017 he was racially abused and had peanuts thrown at him while playing in Boston. Celtics guard Marcus Smart told ESPN's The Undefeated, the network's platform that covers the intersections of race, sports and culture, he's been called the n-word in the city.

The Red Sox have a troubled past when it comes to race. They became the last Major League Baseball team to integrate in 1959, 12 years after Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier with the Brooklyn Dodgers.

However, the team has been attempting to combat that narrative in recent years. Yawkey Way, an iconic street named after the late Red Sox owner who resisted integration, was renamed in 2017 because of Yawkey's racist legacy.

Both Hunter and Jones posted on Twitter in support of the Red Sox's statement published Wednesday.

Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti said the United States past few days have been "traumatic" while addressing the demonstrations in the city over George Floyd’s death.

Garcetti said the struggle has been particularly difficult because of how the novel coronavirus pandemic has affected demonstrations.

Garcetti talked about making progress in racial injustice by having quiet conversations at dinner tables, in the workplace, or in neighborhoods.

“Racial justice is something that we all own,” he said. 

Garcetti previously announced that Los Angeles will invest $250 million in communities of color. He added that $150 million in cuts from the Los Angeles Police Department’s budget “is not enough,” as he addressed the need for advancing police reform.

The A&E television network is stopping production of "Live PD," a show that follows police officers around the nation, amid the ongoing protests, the network said in a statement.

Here's what A&E said:

A&E's decision comes shortly after "Cops" was canceled after a 30 year-run. A spokesperson for Paramount Network said that it has no "current or future plans for it to return."