Good afternoon! It’s Thursday, that’s right — only Thursday. Here’s what you need to know today. (PS: You can have this delivered to your inbox by subscribing here.)

1. Black woman says a white Chicago cop knelt on her neck

The family of Mia Wright today called for a criminal investigation after a police officer grabbed her hair, pulled her out of her car, handcuffed her and knelt on her back and neck Sunday outside the Brickyard Mall on the Northwest Side.

A video posted on social media shows officers surrounding Wright’s car and using batons to break car windows.

“All I thought about was George Floyd and it could have been another situation like that,” Wright said. “I have anxiety now. I can’t sleep. I had to go to a doctor. I had to go to the emergency room.”

She was charged with disorderly conduct. The Cook County state’s attorney’s office said it is reviewing the allegations, and the Civilian Office of Police Accountability, which investigates police misconduct, has launched an investigation. [Chicago Tribune]

In Joliet, three pastors are calling for Mayor Robert O’Dekirk to resign after a video showed him grabbing and shoving a protester. [Chicago Tribune]

2. Minneapolis holds memorial for George Floyd

Hundreds of people gathered in downtown Minneapolis today for the first of six days of memorials for George Floyd. Other memorials, which include public viewings of Floyd’s body, will be held in Raeford, N.C., where he was born, and in Houston, Texas, where Floyd was raised and spent most of his life. [NPR]

A man who was in Floyd’s car during the infamous arrest said Floyd did not resist. “I could hear him pleading, ‘Please, officer, what’s all this for?’ ” said Maurice Lester Hall. [New York Times]

A medical examiner’s report revealed Floyd tested positive for the coronavirus. As NPR notes, the report also said Floyd had fentanyl and methamphetamine in his system at the time of his death, but the drugs are not listed as the cause. [NPR]

Meanwhile, 8 minutes and 46 seconds, the amount of time former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin had his knee on Floyd’s neck, has become a symbol for protests against police brutality. [AP]

Also today, a man charged for the murder of Ahmaud Arbery was heard saying a racial slur, according to an investigator. [Buzzfeed News]

3. Former Defense Secretary Jim Mattis denounces Trump

Retired Marine Gen. Jim Mattis issued a stunning and extraordinary rebuke of President Donald Trump’s handling of the nationwide unrest. Mattis, who retired a year ago as defense secretary, described Trump as a threat to the Constitution and warned against “militarizing our response” to the protests. [NPR]

You can find Mattis’ statement here. [NPR]

Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, today said Mattis’ words are “true, honest, necessary and overdue.” She said she is “struggling” over whether to support Trump in this year’s election. [CNN]

Meanwhile, Trump today promised that longtime confidant Roger Stone will not serve time in prison. [Politico]

4. Coronavirus cases are growing at fastest rate yet

The number of known cases is growing faster than ever as hot spots emerge in Latin America, Africa, Asia and the Middle East, reports The New York Times.

As the newspaper points out, more new cases were reported on May 30 than any single day during the pandemic, and a growing number of countries have reported an increase in cases within the last two weeks. [New York Times]

Meanwhile, a new study says patients with Type A blood are at greater risk of respiratory failure. [New York Times]

Worldwide, more than 387,000 deaths and more than 6.5 million known cases have been reported. [Johns Hopkins]

Deaths in the U.S. from COVID-19 have climbed past 107,000, and more than 1.8 million cases have been reported. [NPR]

In Illinois, state officials announced 116 new deaths today, pushing the total number of fatalities to 5,736. Officials also announced 929 new cases after 22,841 tests were conducted in the last 24 hours. That brings the total number of known cases in Illinois to 124,759. [WBEZ]

5. New jobless claims dip below 2 million

The pandemic’s pressure on the U.S. economy appears to be easing, and signs are emerging that the job market could begin to slowly recover.

The Labor Department today said 1.87 million new claims were filed last week. That’s down 249,000 from the week before. More than 42 million claims have been filed in the last 11 weeks as businesses across the U.S. closed due to the pandemic. [NPR]

Meanwhile, enhanced unemployment benefits are scheduled to expire at the end of next month, and Senate Republicans find themselves at a crossroad. Many Republicans oppose extending the benefits, saying it could make Americans unwilling to return to work. [Politico]

Here’s what else is happening

• Here is some advice about how white parents can talk to their children about race. [NPR]
• A large statue honoring Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee will be removed in Richmond, Virginia. [NPR]
• It is now a crime to make fun of China’s national anthem in Hong Kong. [NPR]
• Four major publishers are suing the Internet Archive for “mass copyright infringement.” [NPR]

Oh, and one more thing …

Here’s a video of an epic malfunction at Disney World’s Hall of Presidents. “Jimmy Goose.” [YouTube]

Tell me something good …

What acts of kindness have you seen?

Christina writes:

“A member of our neighborhood Facebook group posted that her mom passed away from COVID-19 and as it has been a very hard time for the family, asked if we could send cards to her daughter who was about to have a birthday and help to make her smile.

“While I don’t know anyone in the group personally, I am fairly certain that my kind neighbors sent her daughter birthday cards. (I did my part and sent her daughter a card, a puzzle and a fun notebook.) A few days after that post, the lady thanked everyone who sent a card and said that the show of kindness also made her daughter cry.”

Feel free to email at therundown@wbez.org or tweet to @whuntah.

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