and ines de la cuetara has more on that. >> reporter: this morning a statue of chris totopher columb sitting at the bottom of a lake, removal of what some say are symbols of racism. ed a crowd knocking it down, dragging to the park and throwing it into the water. and near by, a stalemate to this monument of robert e. lee. and bubba wallace now calling for confederate flags to be removed from racetracks. >> no one should feel uncomfortable when they come to a nas car race. so they have no place for thech >> reporter: and itfuls . and friend, family members and celebrities packing a church in houston. >> i want justice for my brother. >> reporter: his death in police custody in minneapolis is sparking a global outcry over police brutality and racial prejudice. just hours after the funeral, the district attorney's office announced that it is dropping charges against nearly 800 protesters in houston. on capitol hill, mitch mcconnell asking tim scott a black republican to draft a police reform bill. >> i've asked senator tim scott to lead a group that is working on a proposal to allow us

ines de la cuetara, abc news, washington. >>> and let's take a look at what is going on weather-wise.e'll start with the inland east bay neighborhoods, neighborhoods that will be nearly 35 to 40 degrees warmer this even afternoon. 58 in pleasant hill. and you can see that wealth of 50s out there. 51 in pacifica. 59 in oakland. here is a look outside, breezy, and mild. so a little caution at the beaches. surfaces could be too hot for walking the dog and heat illness risk is low to moderate this afternoon. so get out there and exercise right after our show ends at 7:00. here is a look at san francisco where we have mid to upper 70s for the afternoon hours with a mix of some low clouds, even a few high clouds and that sunshine this afternoon. for the peninsula, 62. not completely sunny, mid-80s for several hours this afternoon. 72 at 8:00. and the east bay, 62 at 8:00, 81 at noon. mid to upper 80s also nofor a couple hours this afternoon. and 72 with sunshine at 8:00 when the breezes start to kick in. and that wind of change will take us all back into the 60s and 70s as quickly as friday

abc's ines de la cuetara has more. >> reporter: this morning, president trump and vice president joe den in agreement. both rejecting calls to defund the police. >> i don't support defunding the police. i support conditioning federal aid to police based on whether or not they meet certain basic standards of decency. >> reporter: the president saying he's appalled by the movement. >> there won't be defunding. there won't be dismantling our of police. >> reporter: protesters are demanding departments be stripped of their budgets. attorney general william barr calling the idea dangerous. >> i think defunding the police, holding the entire police structure responsible for the actions of certain officers is wrong and i think it's dangerous to demonize police. >> reporter: in minneapolis the city council says it will end the department within a year and build a new model of public safety. on capitol hill, house democrats taking a knee in floyd's memory as they unveiled police reforms that would ban chokeholds, create a national reg city of police misconduct and make it easier to prosecute a

abc's ines de la cuetara has more. >> reporter: this morning, president trump lashing out at widespreadticism for this photo-op standing in front of a vandalized church holding a bible with no explanation. >> is that your bible? >> it's a bible. >> reporter: the backlash growing after federal police used tear gas to clear out peaceful demonstrations near the white house monday allowing president trump and senior advisers to walk across the street to the historic church which was burned during the unrest the night before. the number of republican politicians criticizing the president including nebraska senator ben sasse saying in a statement, i'm against clearing out a peaceful protest for a frodoop that treats the word of god as a political prop. ♪ we shall overcome >> reporter: local pastors gathering at the church tuesday also expressing outrage. >> mr. president, i know you stood right here and held the bible in your hand. >> upside down. >> but it is clear you don't have the bible in your heart. >> reporter: the president responding overnight tweeting, you got it wrong. if the prote

abc's ines de la cuetara has the details. >> reporter: this morning president trump staying largely silentxcept on twitter as protests raged nationwide. abc news has learned with protesters gathering at 1600 pennsylvania avenue friday, the president briefly took shelter in an underground bunker. it's unclear what specifically prompted the immediate move to the bunker which serves as a secure shelter that presidents have used in the past during terrorist attacks. according to an email sent to staff sunday night, the white house is maintaining an elevated security posture due to the ongoing protests. in the meantime critics claim the president is adding fuel to the fire with his recent tweets calling for law and order and saying the secret service was ready, if needed, to take on protesters with vicious dogs and ominous weapons. the president also retweeting this message, saying this isn't going to stop until the good guys are willing to use overwhelming force against the bad guys. >> he should just stop talking. this is like charlottesville all over again. he speaks and he makes it worse. >

. >> we begin our coverage with abc's ines de la cuetara. >> reporter: this morning, a statue of christopher columbus sitting at the bottom of a lake as george floyd's death sparks a new movement, the removal of what some say are symbols of racism. a crowd in richmond, virginia, knocking the statue down dragging it from a park and throwing it into the water. nearby a stalemate over this monument to robert e. lee. the governor wants it gone but a judge has now issued an injunction against its removal. in jacksonville, florida, the mayor ordering all confederate statues removed and nascar driver bubba wallace now calling for confederate flags to be removed from racetracks. >> it should feel uncomfortable when they come to a nascar race so it starts with confederate flags. get them out of here. there is no place for them. >> reporter: it follows an emotional final farewell for george floyd tuesday. ♪ i believe, i believe that a change is going to come ♪ >> reporter: friends, family members, politicians and celebrities packing a church in houston. >> i want justice for my brother, my big brother

abc's ines de la cuetara has more. >> reporter: this morning, conflicting medical reports about georgeloyd's final moments. the results from two autopsies finding floyd's death was a homicide, but they differ on what caused his death. the county medical examiner says floyd died from a heart attack at the scene complicated by law enforcement's subdual restraint and neck compression adding floyd had other significant conditions, fentanyl intoxication and recent methamphetamine use, but experts hired by floyd's family say he died of asphyxiation from sustained pressure concluding the handcuffs, his position seen in the video and the weight on him all contributed to his death. >> the autopsy shows that mr. floyd had no underlying medical problem that caused or contributed to his death. >> reporter: floyd's family now calling for the arrest of the three officers in the video of his death. in addition to derek chauvin who is charged with murder. minnesota attorney general keith ellison who is taking over the prosecution says investigators are taking a fresh look at the other officers who wer

here's abc's ines de la cuetara. >> reporter: this morning, the economic toll of the coronavirus pandemicoming into focus with 43 million american workers filing for unemployment benefits since march. the monthly jobs report today is expected to show figures we haven't seen since the 1930s. experts predicting a jobless rate of nearly 20% with another 8 million jobs lost in may. the big question, how many of those jobs will be lost for good? >> i went from working 70 hours to nothing. >> reporter: this woman from chattanooga lost her bar tending job in march. her bar has since re-opened but only rehired a fraction of the staff. she gets $275 in state unemployment benefits each week, plus $600 a week in federal benefits, but they expire at the end of next month. >> if it was just 275 that i was getting a week with the stimulus which ends in july which is kind of scary for a lot of people, that made it to a livable wage. >> reporter: one recent survey found 78% of people who recently lost their jobs believe their layoffs will be temporary. that's the hope of donald franklin in aliquippa, pen

abc's ines de la cuetara reports his answer is drawing widespread criticism. >> reporter: this morningure hall of fame quarterback drew brees facing backlash across the sports world including from his own teammates. >> you are part of the problem. >> reporter: it comes after brees reiterated his stance against players kneeling during the anthem in the wake of protests over the killing of george floyd. >> i will never agree with anybody disrespecting the flag of the united states of america or our country. ♪ at the twilight's last gleaming ♪ >> reporter: cin kaepernick started the movement across sports in 2016 kneeling during es taking part then made it clear they were protesting racial inequality and police brutality, not the flag. this morning, star athletes are slamming brees including aaron rodgers writing, it has never been about an anthem, not then, not now, and brees' teammate malcolm jenkins getting emotional in this instagram video. >> the onslaught of the [ bleep ] that we have to deal with is crazy right now. the whole country is on fire and the first thing that you do is cr