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The novel coronavirus pandemic has only exacerbated income inequality, experts say, stretching the racial wealth gap in the United States and making the richest wealthier while leaving many of the poorest without jobs. As the COVID-19 pandemic overtook the U.S., it brought with it an unprecedented financial crisis and unemployment rates at their highest levels since the Great Depression, especially among Black, Hispanic and Asian workers (16.8%, 17.6% and 15% in May compared to 12.4% for whites). At least 45 million people have filed for unemployment since the pandemic began. (Thorbecke and Mitropoulos, 6/28)

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said he had agreed to shift more than $1 billion in annual funding out of the New York Police Department, as he and the city council raced to agree on the city’s budget for the coming fiscal year. The mayor provided few details Monday about the proposed reductions because he and the council were still in negotiations. However, part of the funding changes would involve shrinking the NYPD’s head count and transferring school safety agents and crossing guards from the control of the police to the Department of Education, according to people familiar with the matter. (Honan and Brody, 6/29)

The national movement to defund the police seemed to score its biggest victory yet over the weekend with a tentative deal to shift $1 billion away from the NYPD. The agreement to cut a sixth of the budget of the nation’s largest police force would have been unthinkable even several weeks ago, when it became clear the economic crisis sparked by the coronavirus pandemic would force huge reductions to city spending. That the city’s Democratic establishment quickly coalesced around such a proposal is testament to how much the mass protests against police brutality have changed the political dynamic in the city and across the country. But for those pushing for the cuts, it's not enough — not even close. (Durkin, 6/29)

Congress on Monday began to investigate tactics used by federal law enforcement officers to clear protesters near Lafayette Square ahead of President Trump’s photo op in front of the pale yellow facade of St. John’s Episcopal Church. Protesters, journalists and witnesses who were caught in clouds of chemical irritants, hit with police batons, pelted by projectiles and shoved with riot shields described their experiences and injuries to lawmakers, whose confidence in police officers’ tactics seemed to splinter along party lines. (Lang, 6/29)

 Gov. Gretchen Whitmer said Monday she wants to ban police use of chokeholds and make racially motivated 911 calls hate crimes. The measures were among a new series of police reforms called for by Whitmer, who on June 3 announced other measures she wants enacted in Michigan, including requiring police officers to intervene if they see colleagues using excessive force. (Egan, 6/29)

The first day protesters gathered outside Colorado’s State Capitol last month to call for policing changes, state Rep. Leslie Herod stood with them. ...The urgency of the public protests, paired with legislative sessions interrupted by the coronavirus pandemic, put policing changes on a fast track in Colorado and elsewhere, said Amber Widgery, a policy analyst with the criminal justice program of the National Conference of State Legislatures. (Van Ness, 6/30)

As social unrest swept across Los Angeles this month, police dispatchers were hit with a curious, if brief, trend. Calls for service handled by officers — incidents ranging from loud parties and fireworks to domestic disputes and traffic stops — declined nearly by half during the two-week demonstration period. That means each day there were 2,000 fewer calls for police compared with the department’s typical workload, according to a Times analysis of dispatch data. (Stiles, 6/29)

Barbecuing at Lake Merritt in Oakland. Selling water without a permit. Both instances in which a Black person was doing something deemed criminal by a white person. Both instances in which a white person called the police. Now, as racial tensions continue to flare as the nation protests the death of George Floyd and others, a Bay Area lawmaker plans to introduce legislation that would make discriminatory 911 calls a hate crime, joining a handful of states in pushing to criminalize emergency calls. Three states — New York, Oregon and Washington — have recently enacted new laws. (Castillo, 6/29)

For years, social media platforms have fueled political polarization and hosted an explosion of hate speech. Now, with four months until the U.S. presidential election and the country’s divisions reaching a boiling point, these companies are upping their game against bigotry and threats of violence. What’s not yet clear is whether this action is too little, too late — nor whether the pressure on these companies, including a growing advertiser boycott, will be enough to produce lasting change. (Ortutay and Arbel, 6/29)