The John Fredericks Show: Mayor Levar Stoney Responds to Richmond Riots and Looting by Demanding to Legalize Pot

Live from Virginia Friday morning on The John Fredericks Show –  weekdays on WNTW AM 820/ FM 92.7 – Richmond, WJFN FM 100.5 – Central Virginia, WMPH AM 1010 / FM 100.1 / FM 96.9 (7-9 PM) Hampton Roads, WBRG AM 1050 / FM 105.1 – Lynchburg/Roanoke and Weekdays 6-10 am and 24/7 Stream –  host Fredericks was dumbfounded by the recent letter written to the Governor of Virginia by Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney which revealed his top priority was marijuana legalization in the wake of Richmond’s violence.

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‘Unacceptable and Misguided’: Richmond Protest Explodes Into Riot, Damaging Buildings and Hurting Support for Demonstrations

Protests in the City of Richmond took a turn for the worse late Tuesday night as vandalism and violence broke out, damaging multiple city buildings.

The James Center, Sun Trust building, John Marshall Courts Building, and other city buildings in Richmond had their windows smashed in by a group of roughly 50 people, the Washington Post reports

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‘Egregious’: Democratic Mayors Ask Congress to Restrict to Restrict Deployment of Federal Officers to Quell Riots

Democratic mayors wrote to Congress Monday, asking for limitations on the Trump administration deployment of “unidentified federal officers” to their cities to calm protests, according to a letter posted on Twitter.

The mayors requested that federal agents be required to present identification except “on an undercover mission authorized by the local U.S. Attorney,” according to the letter Wheeler posted on Twitter. Six Democratic mayors, including Mayor Ted Wheeler of Portland and Mayor Lori Lightfoot of Chicago signed the letter.

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Riots in Oakland Leave a Trail of Fires, Smashed Windows

  OAKLAND, California (AP) — A protest in Oakland, California, in support of racial justice and police reform turned violent when a small group of rioters wearing helmets and goggles and carrying large signs that doubled as shields set fire to a courthouse, vandalized a police station and shot fireworks at officers, authorities said. About 700 demonstrators participated in what started as a peaceful march Saturday night but then some broke from the larger group and smashed windows, spray-painted graffiti and pointed lasers at officers, said Officer Johnna Watson, an Oakland Police Department spokesperson. Several fires were set in the downtown area, including one at the Alameda County Superior Courthouse that was quickly contained. Demonstrators hurled rocks, ceramic paint-filled balls and frozen water bottles through windows at the courthouse, federal building and police building in a raucous night that was unlike peaceful marches that have taken place in the city in recent weeks, Watson said. “This was different,” Watson said. “This group of protesters had specific intentions to participate in one way or another — whether that’s carrying backpacks in with clearly very heavy items, and the smaller group would actually be engaged in doing the damage — there is…

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Commentary: When Tyranny Through Bureaucracy Takes Root the Growth of Violence Follows

by Annie Holmquist   It’s funny how peaceful all this recent protesting for change has been. In fact, it’s so peaceful that average Americans, trying to go about their lives as normally as possible, are simply surrounded by love and feelings of euphoria. I speak tongue-in-cheek, of course, for the exact opposite seems to be the case. The video of a Black Lives Matter protest in Utah is only the latest, high-profile example. https://twitter.com/NiasDiad/status/1277866102995877893?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1277866102995877893%7Ctwgr%5E&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.intellectualtakeout.org%2Ftyranny-without-a-tyrant-hannah-arendt-on-the-root-and-growth-of-violence%2F According to media reports, the video shows a 60-year-old local driving through Provo during a Black Lives Matter Protest. The vehicle is quickly surrounded by protesters, one of whom pulls a gun and shoots through the passenger window. The injured driver guns it, hightailing it out of the area, while protesters try to stop him, the shooter sending another bullet through the rear passenger window. Police later arrested 33-year-old Jesse Taggart in connection with the shooting; reports indicate he also attempted further violence following the incident. Unfortunately, we can’t chalk this up to a one-time incident by a crazed-person in a southwestern town, because many of our largest cities have experienced similar incidents of violence. Even CHAZ/CHOP, the allegedly peaceful people’s utopia in Seattle, has given way…

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Walz Asks Federal Government to Help Twin Cities Rebuild from $500M Worth of Rioting Damage

Gov. Tim Walz has requested federal financial assistance to help the Twin Cities recover from more than $500 million worth of damage caused by rioting.

In a press release, Walz’s office said nearly 1,500 Twin Cities businesses were vandalized, burned, or looted during the late May riots, with current estimates of the damage exceeding $500 million.

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Tennessee Man Arrested on Eight Charges Connected to Nashville Riots

The Metro Nashville Police Department announced a “significant arrest” Wednesday night in connection to the May 30 riots outside the Metro Courthouse.

According to a press release, authorities have arrested 33-year-old Ryan Keith Ray on eight criminal charges. Ray has been charged with inciting a riot, arson, two counts of burglary, and four counts of felony vandalism.

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Commentary: President Trump Will Win If He Responds to Righteous Voter Rage

by Victor Davis Hanson   The 2020 election will be decided in the fall by swing voters in ten or 15 states. Prior to the COVID-19 outbreak, those voters were leaning to reelect President Trump, largely on the powers of incumbency and a near-record vibrant economy. The Democratic left-wing primary agendas, from the New Green Deal to reparations, the clownish candidates of the Beto O’Rourke and Corey Booker sort, the arrogance and meltdown of Mike Bloomberg, and Joe Biden’s cognitive impairment collectively frightened voters. Meanwhile, the booming economy, record energy production, record-low minority unemployment and reckoning with China had overshadowed Trump’s cul de sac tweeting, 93 percent unfavorable media coverage, and the three-year slow-motion coup of the 25th Amendment nonsense, Russian “collusion,” Robert Mueller, Ukraine, and impeachment. Then came the contagion, the lockdown, the recession, and the collective madness of looting and arson, which in turn led to the present anarchy of statue toppling, cancel culture, name-changing, and McCarthyism 2.0. Of course, a president is blamed for chaos on his watch even if he did not create the chaos. He either stops it and is praised as a winner or, like Jimmy Carter during the Iran hostage crisis of 1979-1980,…

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18-Year-Old Charged with Inciting a Riot, Civil Disorder in Knoxville Unrest

An 18-year-old from Heiskell, Tennessee was charged Monday with inciting a riot and civil disorder for his involvement in a May 30 riot in downtown Knoxville.

According to WVLT, a group of 50 to 100 people gathered in Market Square around 11:30 p.m. on May 30 to commit acts of vandalism as unrest spread across the nation in response to the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis.

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DeWine Opines on ‘Fast Reopening’, Walks With His Dog in Exclusive Dispatch Interview

What’s a newspaper to do when given an exclusive interview with the governor during a pandemic that has ravaged the state’s economy and rioting that has ravaged the capital city? Would you push against answers that are not true?

If you’re The Columbus Dispatch, you allow Gov. Mike DeWine to talk about the “quick” reopening of the state, his walks with his dog Dolly and how he social distances with his grandkids.

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Trump Mocks ‘Stone-Cold Crazy’ Minneapolis Officials, Predicts ‘Big Victory’ in Minnesota: ‘They’ve Had It’

President Donald Trump described Minneapolis officials as “stone-cold crazy” during his return to the campaign trail Saturday night in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

The lawlessness of the “radical left” was a recurring theme of the president’s speech, and Minneapolis was a prime target.

“Our incredible success in rebuilding America stands in stark contrast to the extremism and destruction and violence of the radical left,” the president said early in his 90-minute address.

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Three More Charged in Minneapolis Arson Cases, ATF Offers $70K Reward for Additional Information

At least three more Minnesotans were charged this week for their involvement in the destruction of Minneapolis.

On Monday, U.S. Attorney Erica MacDonald announced that 25-year-old Montez Terrill Lee of Rochester was charged with arson for starting a pawn shop on fire. According to a criminal complaint, surveillance video showed a masked man, later identified as Lee, pouring liquid from a metal container throughout the pawn shop on the night of May 28.

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Commentary: Violence Seen and Unseen

Morally speaking, we live today as a people peering into a mirror without reflecting glass. As a culture, we hardly know who we are.

This has become most clear to me as a consequence of the experiment I have conducted in recent days. I requested people of disparate backgrounds, dispositions, understandings, and political inclinations to respond to a video that has circulated around the web. The video engages the drumbeat narrative of racial differences and their consequences, and I sought to discover whether anyone at all could peer beyond the now orthodox content to identify the Mengele-like substance. 

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President Trump Signs Executive Order on Police Reform

Following weeks of national protests since the death of George Floyd, President Donald Trump signed an executive order on policing Tuesday that he said would encourage better police practices and establish a database to keep track of officers with a history of excessive use-of-force complaints.

In Rose Garden remarks, Trump stressed the need for higher standards and commiserated with mourning families, even as he hailed the vast majority of officers as selfless public servants and held his law-and-order line.

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Protesters Topple, Behead Christopher Columbus Statues in Richmond And Boston

Protesters attacked Christopher Columbus statues in Richmond, Virginia and Boston Tuesday night.

The Columbus statue in Richmond’s Byrd Park was toppled, set on fire, and thrown into a nearby lake, ABC affiliate WRIC News reported. The Boston statue, located in Christopher Columbus Park, was discovered decapitated Wednesday morning, according to Boston 25 News.

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St. Paul Man Charged with Arson in Third Precinct Fire

Federal authorities charged a St. Paul man this week with aiding and abetting arson for his involvement in the destruction of the Minneapolis Police Department’s Third Precinct.

The Third Precinct was one of the hundreds of buildings destroyed by rioters in the wake of George Floyd’s alleged murder by police officers on Memorial Day. Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey has faced substantial criticism for his decision to give up the Third Precinct on the night of May 28.

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Analysis: Media Outlets Stir Racial Strife and Slander Trump for Urging Governors to Protect People’s Rights

After falsely accusing the U.S. Park Police of tear-gassing peaceful protesters on behalf of President Trump, many media outlets and politicians are claiming that he called on governors to forcibly “dominate protestors.” Quite the opposite, Trump explicitly stated he is an “ally of all peaceful protesters” and that it is the “professional anarchists, violent mobs, arsonists, looters” and other lawbreakers who should be stopped.

Beyond their failure to draw a distinction between peaceful demonstrators and violent lawbreakers, the same cadre of media outlets are stirring racial strife by using anecdotes and half-truths to paint a false picture of systemic police violence against African Americans.

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Minneapolis Bans Police Chokeholds, Neck Restraints in Wake of George Floyd Death

Minneapolis agreed Friday to ban chokeholds by police and to require officers to try to stop any other officers they see using improper force, in the first concrete steps to remake the city’s police department since George Floyd’s death.

The changes are part of a stipulation between the city and the Minnesota Department of Human Rights, which launched a civil rights investigation this week in response to the death of Floyd. The City Council approved the agreement 12-0.

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City of Minneapolis, State Patrol Sued for Attacks on Journalists During Riots

A class-action lawsuit was filed this week against the leaders of the Minneapolis Police Department, the Minnesota State Patrol, and the Minnesota Department of Public Safety for their “attacks” on journalists during last week’s riots.

“The press is under assault in our City. Over the past week, the Minneapolis Police and the Minnesota State Patrol have tear-gassed, pepper-sprayed, shot in the face with rubber bullets, arrested without cause, and threatened journalists at gunpoint, all after these journalists identified themselves and were otherwise clearly engaged in their reporting duties,” states the lawsuit.

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St. Paul Man Charged with Attempted Murder for Shooting at Police During Riots

One Minnesota man has been charged with attempted murder for allegedly shooting at police officers during unrest in Minneapolis last week, while two others face federal charges for allegedly throwing Molotov cocktails into a suburban government building, according to charges made public Tuesday.

The charges are the latest to stem from unrest following the death of George Floyd, a handcuffed black man who died May 25 after a white Minneapolis police officer pressed his knee into Floyd’s neck for several minutes, ignoring Floyd’s cries that he couldn’t breathe.

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Who Is Funding and Organizing the Antifa Insurrection?

Someone is organizing criminals and vandals to loot and destroy cities but the corporate media don’t seem all that interested in getting to the bottom of it. In fact, Democrats and their allies in the press have been actively engaging in misdirection, lamely accusing white supremacists of being behind the mayhem plaguing “peaceful protests.”

A looter who was caught by the police in Santa Monica, California on Sunday was very candid with a local reporter when he was asked about his motive.

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Minneapolis Council Member Says City Council Looking Into ‘Disbanding’ Police, Making Modern ‘Policing a Thing of the Past’

Minneapolis Council Member Steve Fletcher said Tuesday that he and his colleagues are looking into “what it would take to disband” the Minneapolis Police Department (MPD) and “start fresh.”

In a lengthy statement posted to Twitter, Fletcher said the behavior of Police Officers Federation of Minneapolis President Bob Kroll demonstrates that “the department is irredeemably beyond reform.” Kroll was widely condemned this week after a letter to his fellow officers was leaked to the press. In the letter, Kroll said the officers involved in the death of George Floyd were fired “without due process.”

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Minnesota GOP Chairwoman Calls for Resignation of Mayor Frey, Governor Walz

Minnesota Republican Party Chairwoman Jennifer Carnahan called on Gov. Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey to resign for their “failed” leadership during last week’s riots.

“Gov. Walz and Mayor Frey have been largely silent, other than a handful of unhelpful tweets and press conferences blaming everyone but themselves. Minneapolis is decimated. Minneapolis is damaged to a level we never could have imagined. The destruction caused this past week will unfortunately live in our memories forever. It’s a dark stain on our state,” Carnahan said in a statement released over the weekend.

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Whitmer Calls for Police Reform in Michigan Amid George Floyd Protests

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer announced her support on Wednesday for a series of policy changes that would help police reform in Michigan, including additional training for officers, increased reporting and encouraging agencies to implement intervention policies.

Whitmer also voiced support for a Michigan Senate bill that would mandate implicit bias training, de-escalation techniques and mental health screenings for incoming law enforcement officers.

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US Job Losses in May Could Raise 3-Month Total to 30 Million

The epic damage to America’s job market from the viral outbreak will come into sharper focus Friday when the government releases the May employment report: Eight million more jobs are estimated to have been lost. Unemployment could near 20%. And potentially fewer than half of all adults may be working.

Beneath the dismal figures will be signs that job cuts, severe as they are, are slowing as more businesses gradually or partially reopen. Still, the economy is mired in a recession, and any rebound in hiring will likely be painfully slow. Economists foresee unemployment remaining in double-digits through the November elections and into 2021.

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Former President George W. Bush on Riots: ‘Protest Shows Strength’

Former President George W. Bush weighed in Monday on the riots that have torn across the United States, saying that “lasting justice will only come by peace.”

Bush spoke out following the seventh night of destructive riots following the demise of George Floyd, a black man who died after a Minneapolis police officer knelt on his neck for several minutes, according to footage of the incident.

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Host Leahy and TN State Senator Roberts Discuss Mayor Cooper’s Pandering to the Left During Saturday’s Protest

Live from Music Row Tuesday morning on The Tennessee Star Report with Michael Patrick Leahy – broadcast on Nashville’s Talk Radio 98.3 and 1510 WLAC weekdays from 5:00 a.m. to 8:00 a.m. –  host Leahy welcomed all-star panelist and Tennessee state Senator Kerry Roberts to the studio.

During the second hour, Leahy and Roberts discussed Saturday’s rally where Mayor Cooper sat and listened to local left-wing social justice warrior Justin Jones advocate for overcoming oppressors and de-funding the police department. They noted that it was at that point Cooper should have left the rally but instead stayed and was followed by violence in downtown Nashville.

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Rudy Giuliani Says Mayor Frey, Other ‘Progressive Democrats’ Should Resign for Handling of Riots

Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani called on Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey to resign for failing to protect his citizens from a week of riots that left portions of his city in ruins.

In a Friday interview with Fox News, Giuliani said “progressive Democrats are incapable of keeping their people safe because they have criminal-friendly policies that are pathetic.”

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Nine States Plus D.C. Vote Amid Coronavirus Pandemic, Social Unrest

Voters across America navigated curfews and health concerns Tuesday in a slate of primary elections amid dueling national crises as Joe Biden looked to move closer to formally clinching the Democratic presidential nomination.

In all, nine states and the District of Columbia were hosting elections, including four that delayed their April contests because of the coronavirus outbreak. While voters cast ballots from Maryland to Montana, Pennsylvania offered the day’s biggest trove of delegates. The state also represented a significant test case for Republicans and Democrats working to strengthen their operations in a premier general election battleground.

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Walz Condemns House DFL Leader for Falsely Claiming Truck Driver at Center of 35W Incident Was ‘White Supremacist’

Minnesota House Majority Leader Ryan Winkler (DFL-Golden Valley) falsely claimed that the truck driver at the center of Sunday’s frightening incident on I-35W was a “white supremacist.”

State officials said the driver, who has been identified as 35-year-old Bogdan Vechirko, might not have realized that the interstates had been shut down in an effort to quell unrest in the Twin Cities. Vechirko was arrested on suspicion of assault and remains jailed, but Department of Public Safety Commissioner John Harrington said Monday that he didn’t seem to be acting intentionally.

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‘Majority’ of Those Arrested in Riots Are from Minnesota, Public Safety Commissioner Confirms

As of Monday afternoon, the “majority” of those arrested in the Twin Cities for rioting, violating curfew, looting or other similar charges had Minnesota addresses.

“That would be accurate,” Department of Public Safety Commissioner John Harrington confirmed during a Monday press conference. During a previous briefing, he said he didn’t “have any credible evidence of any specific group being here in Minnesota.”

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Atty Gen Barr Says Regional Joint Terrorism Task Forces Directed to Locate, Apprehend Antifa Leaders, Other ‘Radical Agitators’

U.S. Attorney General William Barr said in a Sunday statement that the regional Joint Terrorism Task Forces of the FBI  have been directed to locate and apprehend Antifa leaders.

His statement was issued after President Donald Trump announced that the U.S. would be declaring Antifa a domestic terrorist organization for its alleged involvement in the terrorizing of major cities after the death of George Floyd.

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Ohio Black Caucus Introduces Bill to Declare Racism ‘Public Health Crisis’

The Ohio Legislative Black Caucus announced Friday that it plans to introduce legislation to declare racism a “public health crisis.”

“Our citizens of color have been subjected to the effects of racism since the founding of the State of Ohio in 1803. Since that time, Ohioans of color have endured unequal education, unsafe work conditions, inadequate health care services, subpar housing and an unjust criminal justice system, based on policies that were rooted in a belief that people of color are not worthy of the American Dream,” said a statement from the caucus sent to every member of the Ohio General Assembly.

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Trump Says US to Designate Antifa a Terrorist Organization

President Donald Trump announced that the United States will designate Antifa a domestic terrorist organization.

“The United States of America will be designating Antifa as a Terrorist Organization,” the president wrote on Twitter Sunday morning, acting on an idea long called for by conservative lawmakers. The president said in 2019 that he was considering labeling Antifa a terrorist organization, but didn’t take any further action.

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Two Killed During Protests in Oakland, Detroit Over Police Death of George Floyd

Two people, including a federal security contractor, were killed Friday night during protests over the death of George Floyd, a 46-year-old black man who was killed in police custody earlier this week, according to police and the FBI.

The FBI is investigating the fatal shooting of a Federal Protective Services officer outside of the Ronald V. Dellums Federal Building in Oakland on Friday, reported the San Francisco Gate.

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A City in Ruins: Three Nights of Riots Leave South Minneapolis Looking Like War Zone

MINNEAPOLIS, Minnesota – Three consecutive nights of rioting in response to the alleged murder of an unarmed black man at the hands of a Minneapolis police officer have left stretches of the city in ruins, producing scenes most accurately described as a war zone.

Officer Derek Chauvin, the man filmed pressing his knee into the neck of a handcuffed George Floyd, was arrested Friday on charges of murder and manslaughter. He and three colleagues involved in the incident were fired from the Minneapolis Police Department Tuesday.

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Gov. Walz Activates National Guard in Response to Minneapolis Riots, Declares Emergency

Gov. Tim Walz announced Thursday afternoon that he has signed an executive order activating the Minnesota National Guard to help respond to the riots in Minneapolis.

Wednesday night’s riots were marked by widespread looting, vandalism, and arson, leaving portions of south Minneapolis in ruins. In one case, a construction site being developed for low-income housing was set ablaze early Thursday morning and collapsed into the street below it as rioters cheered.

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Shocking Footage Shows Minneapolis Protesters Wreaking Havoc on Police Precinct, Destroying Squad Cars, Looting Target

Officers with the Minneapolis Police Department were reportedly attacked with rocks and paintballs Tuesday night as protesters rioted in response to the death of George Floyd.

Video from the tragic Monday night incident shows a Minneapolis police officer pressing his knee into the neck of a handcuffed Floyd, who repeatedly said he couldn’t breathe. Floyd was pronounced dead shortly after he was taken into custody.

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Macron Bails on Climate Summit as France Melts Down Over High Gas Taxes

by Chris White   French President Emmanuel Macron made his way back to France Sunday as protesters turn the streets of Paris upside down over sky-high gas taxes designed to fight global warming. Officials are considering declaring a state of emergency to deal with the unrest. Macron returned from his trip in Argentina to chaos in the streets as so-called “yellow jacket” demonstrators continued protesting against taxes and Macron’s perceived indifference toward everyday citizens. Prime Minister Edouard Philippe canceled plans to attend a climate change summit in Poland. One person died outside Paris during the weekend’s protests, bringing the number of casualties to three. More than 260 people were arrested, including 133 in Paris, according to police reports. More than 412 people were arrested nationwide. Christophe Castaner, France’s interior minister, told reporters Sunday he would not rule out the president’s declaring a state of emergency. Macron has emergency powers that were expanded after terrorist attacks roiled the country in 2015 — it is not yet clear if he will exercised those powers. Saturday and Sunday’s protests drew roughly 136,000 people, slightly down from the 166,000 who gathered in late November, the Interior Ministry said in a press statement. Politicians and police officials believe the situation was…

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Commentary: A Half-Century Later, Cities Still Suffer the Economic Effects of the 1968 Riots Sparked by Martin Luther King Jr.’s Assassination

by Joe Carter   This month marks the 50th anniversary of the riots that began in 1968 after the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. The riots—sometimes referred to as the Holy Week Uprising or King assassination riots – spread through 110 cities across the United States. As historian Peter B. Levy notes: Fifty-four cities suffered at least $100,000 in property damage, with the nation’s capital and Baltimore topping the list at approximately $15 million and $12 million, respectively. Thousands of small shopkeepers saw their life savings go up in smoke. Combined, 43 men and women were killed, approximately 3,500 were injured, and 27,000 were arrested. Not until over 58,000 National Guardsmen and army troops joined local state and police forces did the uprisings cease. Put somewhat differently, during Holy Week 1968, the United States experienced its greatest wave of social unrest since the Civil War. From 1964 to 1971, as many as 700 riots erupted in cities across America. The large numbers of injuries, deaths, property damage that occurred in predominantly black neighborhoods caused considerable short-term damage on the communities. But the impact over the long run (from 1960 to 1980) was even more severe. In 2004, the National Bureau…

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