A PROTESTOR and a policeman face off in Los Angeles on Sunday with a police cruiser ablaze in the background. Many protests broke out after the death of George Floyd, some peaceful, some violent (Shutterstock/Hank Shallunt).

George Floyd, the black man who’s death at the hands of police in Minneapolis galvanized a national movement for an end to brutality in law enforcement, was praised at his funeral Tuesday as a man who “is going to change the world.”

Over 500 people wearing masks due to the coronavirus pandemic were in attendance at the observance in Houston, according to the Associated Press. Floyd was born in North Carolina, grew up in Houston and died in Minneapolis when a white policeman knelt on his neck for nearly nine minutes on May 25. That officer has been arrested and charged with murder. Three accompanying policemen have been arrested and charged with aiding and abetting.

Floyd’s death led to protests and demonstrations across the nation and world. One of those protests in Buffalo remained in the news on Tuesday when President Donald Trump accused a man injured by police of being an antifa provocateur. Martin Gugino, 75, approached a line of police officers, and was shoved to the ground by two officers. His head struck the ground and he lay on he concrete, bleeding. The officers offered no assistance.

A cell phone video recorded the incident and the officers were arrested and charged with assault. The president, in a tweet on Tuesday, wrote “I watched, he fell harder than he was pushed. Was aiming scanner. Could be a set up?”

Coronavirus pandemic not over: Dr. Fauci

Infectious disease expert Dr. Anthony Fauci said on Tuesday that the outbreak of coronavirus was his “worst nightmare.” He added that, “In a period of four months, it has devastated the whole world. And it isn’t over yet.” He was optimistic that one or more vaccines would be developed, but doubted an early solution. “Where is it going to end? We’re still at the beginning of it.”

The Dow drops 300 points, S&P by 25

Showing some mixed results, two of three major stock indexes on Wall Street declined on Tuesday. The Dow Jones dropped 300.14 points to 27,272.30, a fall of 1.09 percent. The S&P 500 fell 25.21 points to 3,207.18, a retreat of 0.78 percent. On the other hand, the Nasdaq was up 29.01 points to 9,953.75, a gain of 0.29 percent.

Heat wave to gradually taper off

The run of hot dry weather that started today (Tuesday) should gradually taper off as we move toward the weekend. For West Orange County, the highs were around 100 degrees with sunny skies. Temperatures should drop to 90 on Wednesday and fall again on Thursday to 86, reaching 80 on Friday. Evening lows should slide from 65 to 60. Highs near the beach should be around 10 degrees cooler.

–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––