Mark Esper, Frank Rizzo, Justin Trudeau, Darren Criss, Ella Jones, Greg Gianforte, LGBTQ YouTubers, James Corden: HOT LINKS

MILITARY FORCE. Defense Secretary Mark Esper breaks with Trump, does not support use of active duty troops to control protests: “The option to use active duty forces in a law enforcement role should only be used as a matter of last resort, and only in the most urgent and dire of situations. We are not in one of those situations now. I do not support invoking the Insurrection Act,” he said during a briefing at the Pentagon.

PHILADELPHIA. Frank Rizzo statue removed: “The statue was damaged on Saturday when crowds tried to bring it down, and eventually set it on fire. Crews removed the statue from Thomas Paine Plaza across from City Hall around 2 a.m. on Wednesday. … Rizzo was mayor of Philadelphia from 1972 to 1980, During his tenure, Rizzo was praised by supporters as tough on crime but accused by critics of discriminating against minorities.”

43 ALUMNI FOR BIDEN. Former officials from the Bush administration form Super PAC to support Joe Biden’s campaign. “The super PAC, dubbed 43 Alumni For Biden, referring to the 43rd president, was formed Monday, according to a Tuesday filing with the Federal Election Commission.”

21 SECONDS. The length of time Justin Trudeau paused when asked about Donald Trump’s fascism.

BLACK TRANS LIVES MATTER. Darren Criss and his wife Mia supported the LGBTQ community at L.A. protests.

GLEE DRAMA. HelloFresh says so long to Lea Michele after accusations by black cast member Samantha Ware.

NIGHTMARE FUEL OF THE DAY. This photo:

ELLA JONES. Ferguson, Missouri has its first black and first female mayor. “It’s just our time,” Jones, 65, said in an interview Tuesday night. “It’s just my time to do right by the people.”

ONE-THIRD. Benefit checks lag by $67 billion: “Almost one-third of unemployment benefits estimated to be owed to the millions of Americans who lost their jobs as a result of the coronavirus slump haven’t been paid yet, as flagship policies struggle to cope with the unprecedented wave of layoffs.The Treasury disbursed $146 billion in unemployment benefits in the three months through May, according to data published Monday — more than in the whole of 2009, when jobless rates peaked after the financial crisis.But even that historic figure falls short of a total bill that should have reached about $214 billion for the period, according to Bloomberg calculations based on weekly unemployment filings and the average size of those claims.”

CAROLE BASKIN. Husband Don Lewis’s will was forged, according to sheriff: “Here’s why the will is so important … it has a bizarre clause that says in case of Don’s disappearance Carole gets everything. Talk to any estate planning expert and they will tell you … they’ve NEVER seen a clause like that — EVER.”

DEEP DIVE OF THE DAY. Behind Trump’s church photo-op: “He wanted to send the military into American cities, an idea that provoked a heated, voices-raised fight among his advisers. But by the end of the day, urged on by his daughter Ivanka Trump, he came up with a more personal way of demonstrating toughness — he would march across Lafayette Square to a church damaged by fire the night before.”

MONTANA. Congressman Greg Gianforte, who assaulted journalist, wins Republican nomination for governor. “Gianforte is a former businessman who sold a start-up company to technology giant Oracle in 2011 for $1.8 billion. He lost the first time he ran for Montana governor in 2016 against incumbent Democrat Steve Bullock.” FLASHBACK: Journalist assault.

MESSAGE OF SUPPORT OF THE DAY. James Corden.

LAWSUIT OF THE DAY. LGBTQ YouTubes are suing Google for discrimination. Here’s why:

HUMP DAY HOTTIE. Michael Weferling.

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🌈 Happy Rainbow Riot Month 🌈 The first Pride was a RIOT. Literally. The Stonewall Riots were a protest against police brutality towards LGBTQIA that happened outside of The Stonewall Inn in New York City at 1:20 a.m. on Saturday, June 28, 1969. We celebrate those riots to this day. Wow, how everything comes full circle. Black queers, queer people and allies came together in resistance to the system that tried to take a way the little power and space that society allowed for them to be themselves. But Black, queer woman like, Stormé DeLarverie, Marsha P. Johnson and Sylvia Rivera (Latina) were the leaders of thousands that fought back at the police. In addition to the hustlers, street youths, and "queens,” that participated in these riots, they were joined by curious bystanders, tourists and "police provocateurs" — which could now, as of recent events be known as instigators. There is NO tolerance for those trying to piggy-back and ruin the message that is Black Lives Matter. If you are our allies, be an ally. Do NOT seek to destroy our message (by vandalizing and tagging our movement on buildings, asking us to destroy property, destroying property and leaving us responsible for your perversions) just because YOU need an excuse to “get off. Plenty of police officers participated in these deviant activities as well. We see you: you are just as bad if not worse as white supremacists because you blend in with us but are actually against what we stand for. If it were not for The Stonewall Riots, we would not have Pride parties today. The protests led to the parties — NEVER forget that. Thank you to those that have come before us to bring us to this place of acceptance in our society. We still clearly need to help my Black brothers and sisters in the fight for equality and we ask that our true friends and allies, “PULL UP.” Happy Pride! Happy Black History! Happy Queer History! We need to make our history better for those that we will be bringing (and teaching) into this world, so it will become more harmonious: like a rainbow 🌈

A post shared by Michael Weferling (@michaelweferling) on Jun 1, 2020 at 2:08pm PDT