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George Floyd protests: 7 Minneapolis police officers quit, 7 more intend to resign

Protests over racism and police violence continue nationwide, fueled by outrage over the death of George Floyd, an unarmed black man who was killed last month while in the custody of Minneapolis police.

Authorities have arrested four Minneapolis police officers -- Derek Chauvin, Thomas Lane, J.A. Kueng and Tou Thao -- in connection with his death. The officers have since been fired.

Floyd, 46, died on Memorial Day after police were called to investigate a report of a man trying to use what looked like a counterfeit $20. Video of his death caught by bystanders and shared on social media showed Chauvin holding his knee to Floyd’s neck for nearly nine minutes as Floyd pleaded for air.

Live updates for Sunday, June 14, continue below:

Dallas, Atlanta Fed chiefs address drag of ‘systemic racism’ on US economy

Update 6:34 p.m. EDT June 14: Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas President Robert Kaplan said Sunday that systemic racism has kept the U.S. economy from realizing its full potential.

“A more inclusive economy where everyone has opportunity will mean faster workforce growth, faster productivity growth, and we’ll grow faster,” Kaplan said in the transcript of an appearance on CBS’s “Face the Nation,” The Wall Street Journal reported.

Meanwhile, Atlanta Fed chief Raphael Bostic said in an essay published Friday that “systemic racism is a yoke that drags on the American economy.” Bostic, who assumed his role in 2017, is the first-ever black leader of a regional Fed bank in the institution’s history.

“I have shared in the outrage of the truly horrific events that brought us to this point. These events are yet another reminder that many of our fellow citizens endure the burden of unjust, exploitative, and abusive treatment by institutions in this country,” Bostic wrote.

Beyoncé calls for justice for Breonna Taylor in letter to Kentucky AG

Update 6:05 p.m. EDT June 14: Singer Beyoncé Knowles-Carter penned an impassioned letter Sunday to Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron, pleading for justice in the wake of Breonna Taylor’s death at the hands of the Louisville Metro Police Department.

“Three months have passed – and zero arrests have been made, and no officers have been fired. The LMPD’s investigation was turned over to your office, and yet all the officers involved in the shooting remain employed by the LMPD,” she wrote to Cameron, imploring him to “demonstrate the value of a Black woman’s life.”

Read the full letter here.

Meanwhile, Taylor’s family released the following statement through attorney Lonita Baker, CNN reported.

“We are extremely grateful that so many icons have used their voice to demand justice for Breonna Taylor. As Beyoncé and others have said, it has been 3 months since Breonna was murdered and her killers have yet to be fired or criminally charged. It is time that our elected leaders, including Mayor Fischer and AG Cameron, stop hiding behind the guise of what we know has been a botched investigation and do the right thing by firing and charging John Mattingly, Myles Cosgrove, Brett Hankison, Joshua Jaynes for their roles in the murder of Breonna Taylor."

7 Minneapolis police officers quit, 7 more intend to resign

Update 2:28 p.m. EDT June 14: At least seven Minneapolis police officers have quit and seven more plan to resign since protests erupted in the wake of the death of George Floyd, The Associated Press reported.

The officers cited a lack of support from department and city leaders.

Mayor Jacob Frey decided to abandon the Third Precinct station during protests. Demonstrators later set the building on fire.

Cherokee Nation removes Confederate monuments from Capitol Square

Update 10:11 a.m. EDT June 14: Two Confederate monuments were removed from the Cherokee Nation Capitol Square in Tahlequah on Saturday as directed by Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr., the Cherokee Nation announced.

In a press release, the Cherokee Nation said two monuments of Confederate Gen. Stand Watie were placed on Capitol Square nearly a century ago when the property was a county courthouse and owned by the state. The Cherokee Nation did not place the monuments, KOKI-TV reported.

“We’ve suffered for centuries with too many others telling our story for us as they see fit,” Hoskin said in a press release. “It’s difficult to tell our story when we have non-Indian-driven monuments talking about the Confederacy, when they greet people as they come into our Cherokee Nation museum. It was time for a change.”

‘Black Lives Matter’ mural painted on street in front of Vermont capitol defaced a day later

Update 10:11 a.m. EDT June 14: A “Black Lives Matter” mural that was painted in front of the Vermont statehouse was defaced a day later.

More than 100 volunteers painted the large mural on the street in front of Vermont's Capitol building Saturday.

By Sunday morning it had been vandalized with graffiti, WCAX reported.

Montpelier Police are investigating.

Clemson removes name of noted slavery supporter from school

Update 8:16 a.m. EDT June 14: Members of the Clemson football team led hundreds of demonstrators during a protest against racial and social injustice Saturday at the school.

The march, organized by quarterback Trevor Lawrence, linebacker Mike Jones Jr., wide receiver Cornell Powell and running back Darien Rencher, came a day after school leaders voted to remove the name of former slavery supporter John C. Calhoun from the honors college.

“This is a historic time, and a challenging time,” head football coach Dabo Swinney said. “But as I tell my team all the time, challenge is what creates change. … Black lives more than matter — black lives significantly matter and equally matter. For far too long that has not been the case for the black community.”

Calhoun, who was from South Carolina, had declared slavery a "positive good" to the U.S. in 1837.

An online petition from students to remove Calhoun's name was signed by more than 20,000 people. Former Clemson football players and current Houston Texans teammates DeAndre Hopkins and Deshaun Watson also showed their support for the name change.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.