THE BIG STORY

Cities with Black Lives Matter protests have not seen spikes in COVID-19

Hundreds of thousands of Americans took to the streets over three weeks ago, protesting the killing of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer and prompting speculation it would lead to a surge in COVID-19 cases. But spikes have not shown up in the cities with the biggest protests.

Some commentators are already suggesting that the lack of protest-related surges means that social distancing rules are not so important if people are wearing masks and are outside — as many protesters were.

Protesters march in Washington, DC, on Saturday, June 6. Bill Clark / AP

But some experts say that leaping to this conclusion could be a serious

mistake. "Everything that we’ve learned from the epidemiology of this virus tells us that people who are in close proximity with people who are infected are at risk,” Kate Grabowski, an epidemiologist at Johns Hopkins University, told BuzzFeed News.

What’s more, a new analysis based on cellphone tracking data suggests a surprising reason for the lack of spikes: In the cities with large protests, the wider population actually spent more time at home during the demonstrations.

STAYING ON TOP OF THIS

Chrystul Kizer, a 19-year-old sex trafficking victim who killed her abuser, has been released from jail

Kizer, who is facing a life sentence after being charged with killing the man she says forced her into sex trafficking, was released Monday after spending two years in a Wisconsin detention center awaiting her trial.

She was released after a $400,000 bond was paid by the Chicago Community Bond Fund, the Milwaukee Freedom Fund, Survived & Punished, and the Chrystul Kizer Defense Committee. The organizations announced in a post that when Kizer's case ends, the bond money will be used to establish a national bail fund for survivors of domestic and sexual violence.

SNAPSHOTS

A Louisville police detective has been fired for his role in the shooting death of Breonna Taylor. Police Chief Robert J. Schroeder said Detective Brett Hankison violated the department's regulations and deadly force standards in ways that were a "shock to the conscience."

Porn actor Ron Jeremy was charged with raping three women and sexually assaulting another. The assaults occurred at a bar and a home in West Hollywood from 2014 to 2019, prosecutors say.

The FBI has determined Bubba Wallace was not the target of a hate crime after a noose was found in his garage stall at the Talladega Superspeedway. Investigators determined that the noose had been there since at least October, well before Wallace's team was assigned to the stall last week.

A TikTok showing an 8-month-old baby being tossed into a pool went viral. BuzzFeed News spoke to the boy's mother and swim instructor about the controversial clip, and the reason behind it.

Former Anthropologie employees allege racial profiling at their stores, being followed around when they shopped at other locations, and earning less than their white colleagues.

BUSINESS IS BOOMING

Fireworks conspiracy theories are bursting across the internet

The weekslong onslaught of fireworks in US cities has rattled residents, terrified pets, and caused New York City’s mayor to launch a new illegal fireworks investigation unit — and everyone wants to know where all the rockets are coming from.

Fireworks industry experts and authorities have said the increase has likely been caused by restlessness born of the pandemic and a spike in sales in advance of July 4.

But the constant pyrotechnics are inspiring baseless conspiracy theories by people who claim to have been “boompilled” into believing that the fireworks are part of a government operation.

GET THEE TO A PUNNERY

This Nigerian comedian is the reason people are doing the "Don't Leave Me" challenge

People have been bringing their best wordplay for the "Don’t Leave Me" challenge on TikTok, and it all started with an Instagram post from Josh Alfred, an entertainer from Lagos, Nigeria, who originally posted back in March.

In his short clip, the 29-year-old joked that he was "on leave" while standing on a leaf, but it’s his camera operator and friend's response that has given the challenge its name.

“I think it was the way my hype-man Bello said ‘don’t leave me,’ is what made it funny and catchy for people,” said Alfred. “Coupled with the fact that puns are always engaging and a bit of a brain-tasking game, I think that’s what grabbed people’s attention and why people are giving it a try."

Reporter Ade Onibada put some of the best puns in her interview with Alfred; check it out when you need some good clean fun.

Save a little bit of that kindness for yourself,

Brandon