theblaze--2020-07-05--Seattle Black Lives Matter protester dies, another critically injured after car struck them on highw

Seattle Black Lives Matter protester dies, another critically injured after car struck them on highway

Seattle Black Lives Matter protester dies , another critically injured after car struck them on highway The driver of the @ @ @ @ @ police unsure if this was a motivated attack

One person is dead and another is in critical condition after a car drove onto a closed highway in Seattle and plowed into two protesters early Saturday morning.
Summer Taylor, 24, of Seattle, died Saturday night at Harborview Medical Center. Diaz Love, 32, of Portland, Oregon, was in critical condition in the hospital's intensive care unit, according to spokesperson Susan Gregg.
Both women were struck by a white Jaguar automobile on Interstate 5 around 1:30 a.m. local time. The freeway was closed, and there was a Black Lives Matter protest happening on the highway.
Graphic video shows the car swerve around a van parked in the middle of the highway and then hit the two women. Love was livestreaming the protest on Facebook, which she captioned: "Black Femme March takes I-5."
The suspect, Dawit Kelete of Seattle, fled the scene after mowing down the protesters on the I-5 highway. A protester chased the driver in their car and stopped him by pulling his car in front of Kelete's vehicle.
The driver was later apprehended by police, booked into King County Correctional Facility, and charged with two counts of vehicular assault.
Kelete, 27, was not impaired according to officials, who are unsure if this was a targeted attack.
Authorities had closed the freeway more than an hour before the incident, and officials aren't sure how Kelete accessed the highway. Protesters had shut down the highway for 19 consecutive days up until Friday night, according to Washington State Patrol Capt. Ron Mead.
Mead stressed that the freeway is "simply not a safe place" to hold protests.
"The WSP is exercising the safest means possible to avoid injuries or worse to motorists, protesters, WSDOT personnel and our troopers by closing the roadway as needed and separating protesters and vehicular traffic," Mead said. "But ... the freeways are an inherently dangerous place for any pedestrian, and that is especially so for those assembling illegally on them. The WSP continues to support the rights of peaceful protesters, but the interstate is not a safe place to do that."
The Washington State Patrol's official Twitter account said that protestors would no longer be allowed to enter I-5, and wrote, "For the safety of all citizens including protesters and motorists, pedestrians walking on the freeway will be arrested."
Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan tweeted, "Early this morning two women were hit by a car and very seriously injured while peacefully protesting. Many others were almost hit and witnessed this horrific event. Our city stands beside their friends, families and loved ones in praying for these women and all who were there."
Protesters in Seattle observed Taylor's death by having five minutes of silence.


theblaze--2020-07-05--Kanye West announces presidential campaign, already has first major endorsement

Kanye West announces presidential campaign , already has first major endorsement 'We must now realize the promise of America by @ @ @

Rapper Kayne West announced late Saturday that he is running for president in 2020.
"We must now realize the promise of America by trusting God, unifying our vision and building our future. I am running for president of the United States," West tweeted, adding the hashtag "#2020VISION."
As of Saturday evening, West did not have a campaign website, he had not officially filed with the Federal Election Commission, nor was it clear if West had campaign staff.
However, West has already received his first major endorsement — from close friend Elon Musk.
"You have my full support!" Musk told West on Twitter.
West has mentioned publicly many times his desire to run for the White House. However, as an ardent supporter of President Donald Trump, West said last year that he would wait until 2024 to run.
"When I run for president in 2024, we would have created so many jobs I'm not going to run, I'm going to walk," West said.
Kanye West Meets President Trump In The Oval Office Of The White House. (Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
A bid for the White House this late into the campaign season has serious challenges.
Not only do both major political parties already have their presumptive nominees — Trump for the Republican Party and Joe Biden for the Democratic Party — but the filing deadline has passed in many states to appear on the presidential ballot as an independent candidate.
Those states include Indiana, Maine, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, and Texas — equalling a whopping 102 Electoral College votes.


theblaze--2020-07-06--Atlanta mayor airs frustrations after 8-year-old is killed: 'You can't blame this on a police office

Atlanta mayor airs frustrations after 8-year-old is killed: 'You can't blame this on a police officer'

Atlanta mayor airs frustrations after 8-year-old is killed : 'You ca n't blame this on a police officer' Mayor Keisha @ @ @ @ @ consoles Tomika Miller , the wife of Rayshard Brooks , at the conclusion of his @ @ @ @ @ on June 23 , 2020 in Atlanta .
( Photo by Curtis Compton-Pool/Getty Images )

Atlanta Mayor Keisha Bottoms expressed her frustration with violence in her city after an 8-year-old girl was shot and killed, saying that criminal community members are doing more damage to the city than the police officers that have been so vehemently protested against, according to The Daily Wire.
What happened? Secoriea Turner, 8, was killed on Saturday after a group of people shot at the car she was in—not far from the Wendy's where Rayshard Brooks was killed by Atlanta Police Department officers on June 12. That Wendy's was burned down after Brooks' death, and has reportedly been occupied by protesters since then.
Brooks' death led to more protests in Atlanta, as the city and the nation were already on edge with racial tension after the death of George Floyd. The officer who shot Brooks has been charged with felony murder.
What did Bottoms say? "We've talked a lot about what we are demanding from our officers in our communities," Bottoms said. "We've protested, we've demonstrated, we've been angry, we've cried, we've demanded action. Well now we're demanding action for Secoriea Turner and for all the other people who were shot in Atlanta last night and over the past few weeks, because the reality is this: These aren't police officers shooting people on the streets of Atlanta, these are members of the community shooting each other, and in this case, it is the worst possible outcome."
"You can't blame this on a police officer, you can't say this is about criminal justice reform," said Bottoms. "This is about some people carrying some weapons who shot up a car with an 8-year-old baby in the car. We got to stop this. We are doing more harm than any police officer on this force."
About Keisha Bottoms: The Atlanta mayor is reportedly in consideration as a vice presidential candidate for Democratic nominee Joe Biden, who is under pressure to pick a female running mate—particularly a minority female. Bottoms has been a loyal Biden supporter this election cycle, even when his campaign seemed to be a lost cause after some early primary disappointments.


theblaze--2020-07-07--Suspect in murder of Vanessa Guillen appears in court

Suspect in murder of Vanessa Guillen appears in court A 22-year-old woman has been charged with helping to hide the @ @ @ @ @ soldier

A suspect accused of assisting in hiding the body of murdered Army Specialist Vanessa Guillen appeared in court on Monday, amid increasing calls for an independent investigation into the disappearance of the solider who went missing more than two months ago.
What are the details?
Cecily Aguilar, 22, has been charged with conspiracy to tamper with evidence in connection with Guillen's death.
According to the U.S. attorney's office for the Western District of Texas, "20-year-old U.S. Army Specialist Aaron Robinson told Aguilar that he killed a female soldier by striking her in the head with a hammer while on Ft. Hood on April 22, 2020," and "subsequently, Robinson enlisted the help of Aguilar in disposing of the dead female's body."
Aguilar allegedly identified the deceased woman as Vanessa Guillen.
ABC News reported that Aguilar was Robinson's girlfriend. She is cooperating with the FBI and faces up to 20 years in prison if convicted.
Robinson killed himself last week when authorities closed in to question him about the disappearance of Guillen, who had been missing since late April.
Guillen's family has called for a congressional investigation into her death, claiming the Army has not been forthright in providing details since her disappearance from the base. The soldier's loved ones also said Guillen had told them she was sexually harassed by a superior prior to her disappearance and that she refused to report the alleged misconduct out of fear of retaliation.
Anything else?
Also on Monday, Rep. Will Hurd (R-Texas) called for an independent investigation into Guillen's disappearance and murder by the Department of Defense inspector general's office.
"Spc. Vanessa Guillen's disappearance should have been investigated as soon as she went missing," Hurd said in a statement. "We need to ensure our military service members know there are procedures in place to protect them while on base if they experience any type of harassment while in service to our country."


theblaze--2020-07-07--Brit Hume dismantles media's 'dishonest and biased coverage' of Trump's Mt. Rushmore speech

Veteran Fox News political analyst Brit Hume blasted the media for their `` dishonest and biased coverage '' of President Donald Trump 's speech at Mt .
Rushmore .
Hume made the comments on Monday at Fox News .
`` President Trump never mentioned any dead confederates ! ''
said Hume when shown a criticism from Sen. Tammy Duckworth ( D-Ill. ) on the speech .
`` His speech , in its bulk , was a ringing , a full-throated defense of America 's history and heroes , and there were no confederates mentioned , it was all the you @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Washington , Lincoln and other great Americans , and that was really the main bulk of it , so what she said was flat out false , '' he continued .
`` And those headlines you mentioned from those newspapers were unbelievably misleading and some of the other headlines were even worse than those !
In fact as I followed this over the weekend , I do n't think I 've ever seen such dishonest and biased coverage of any event , '' Hume said .
`` This was a speech meant to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ think the messenger was flawed , the speech itself was quite strong and in some ways very positive , '' he added .
Hume reiterated his criticism on Twitter where he linked to an article in the Washington Post misrepresenting the speech by the president .
`` This editorial is simply insane .
Yes , he criticized the violent rioters and radicals rampaging in the streets , '' tweeted Hume .
`` But his speech was mostly a full-throated defense of America 's history and heroes , and cited not a confederate among @ @ @ @ @ @

Veteran Fox News political analyst Brit Hume blasted the media for their "dishonest and biased coverage" of President Donald Trump's speech at Mt. Rushmore.
Hume made the comments on Monday at Fox News.
"President Trump never mentioned any dead Confederates!" said Hume when shown a criticism from Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.) on the speech.
"His speech, in its bulk, was a ringing, a full-throated defense of America's history and heroes, and there were no Confederates mentioned, it was all the, you know, the forefathers of our country, Washington, Lincoln, and other great Americans, and that was really the main bulk of it, so what she said was flat-out false," he continued.
"And those headlines you mentioned from those newspapers were unbelievably misleading, and some of the other headlines were even worse than those! In fact, as I followed this over the weekend, I don't think I've ever seen such dishonest and biased coverage of any event," Hume said.
"This was a speech meant to be inspiring, and even if you think the messenger was flawed, the speech itself was quite strong and in some ways very positive," he added.
"Remarkable!" Hume concluded.
"Simply insane"
Hume reiterated his criticism on Twitter, where he linked to an article in the Washington Post misrepresenting the speech by the president.
"This editorial is simply insane. Yes, he criticized the violent rioters and radicals rampaging in the streets," tweeted Hume.
"But his speech was mostly a full-throated defense of America's history and heroes, and cited not a confederate among them," he added.
Here's the video of Hume's comments:


theblaze--2020-07-07--EXCLUSIVE: Daily Wire turns five years old, names new editor-in-chief

EXCLUSIVE : Daily Wire turns five years old , names new editor-in-chief Ben Shapiro will remain co-owner and the site @ @ @

Popular conservative news and commentary site the Daily Wire is celebrating their five year anniversary with the announcement of a new editor-in-chief, the company's co-CEO Jeremy Boreing told TheBlaze in a phone and email conversation Monday.
What are the details?
Ben Shapiro, the prominent conservative commentator and co-founder of the Daily Wire, will be stepping aside from his role as editor-in-chief and entering into a new role as editor emeritus.
Shapiro, who hosts the largest conservative podcast in the country, "The Ben Shapiro Show," will remain a part owner of the site as well as the site's featured talent, but will no longer drive its editorial direction.
Replacing Shapiro is John Bickley, who according to Boreing has been with the site since its launch as a writer and editor — and most recently as supervising editor — under the pseudonym, "James Barrett."
Boreing added that the move has been in the works for some time as Bickley has been performing the essential duties of the role for roughly the past two years. Now what has been the reality of day-to-day operations is being formalized in title.
Shapiro said in a statement: "John Bickley isn't just a tremendous editor and writer, he's a principled conservative and an honest human being. I can't think of anyone better to take over as EIC, and I look forward to seeing the new, exciting editorial direction of the site."
In an email, Bickley stated that he is committed to the Daily Wire's goal of becoming "the biggest alternative media company and counter-cultural outlet for news, opinion, and entertainment in the nation."
He added that he is motivated, like Shapiro, by a philosophy of "facts over feelings," and said, "that's never going to change."
Anything else?
Since its founding in 2015, the Daily Wire has become a go-to website for conservative news and commentary. In just five years, the site has amassed 3.85 billion page-views and 136,000 paid subscribers, Boreing told TheBlaze.
Much of the site's success is owed to a massive social media presence.
"Since inception, The Daily Wire has accumulated over 30 million followers, 3 billions video views, and 180 million hours of video watched across all our platforms," said the site's executive vice president, Jon Lewis, in a statement.
The success has caused some on the left to suspect foul play. Judd Legum, who now runs the political newsletter, Popular Information, has published a series of articles alleging the "dirty secret" to Daily Wire's success is a sprawling paid content sharing scheme on Facebook.
Legum, a one-time Hillary Clinton campaign staffer who formerly worked for the progressive news site ThinkProgress, alleges that the site's partnership with pages that "exploit racism, religious bigotry, and violence" is unfairly driving traffic to the site.
Upon revelations of the Daily Wire's paid partnership with Facebook pages such as Mad World News, Facebook did inform the site that such a partnership violates its Branded Content rules.
Boreing told TheBlaze that the site was unaware they were in violation, but after receiving notice from Facebook, they immediately cut ties with Mad World News and ended the referral program.
In a statement, Boreing said: "Referral traffic is certainly not one of the keys to our success, or whatever Legum is suggesting. Our relationship with Mad World is worth barely 1% of our traffic the last three months. Are we aggressive as a company? Yes. Does 1% make an impact? Of course. Does it equal 'the reason for the other 99% of our success?' Of course not. We try to play by the rules. When Facebook pointed out that this form of referral relationship violates their standards, we immediately stopped. I'm sure Legum will be happy to report on how we continue to succeed."
Boreing provided TheBlaze with screenshots of the Daily Wire's Google Analytics which did in fact show that referral traffic from Mad World only accounted for 1.01% of total traffic to the site.


theblaze--2020-07-07--NOT OKAY: The left is NORMALIZING violent anti-white racism

NOT OKAY : The left is NORMALIZING violent anti-white racism It 's all divide and conquer

This week on "Slightly Offens*ve," BlazeTV host Elijah Schaffer took on the leftist mob and cancel culture to talk about the taboo subject of anti-white racism.
"I can get canceled just for talking about this because we live in a society where free speech no longer exists, especially online," Elijah said. "But our culture isn't just becoming pro-black, which is a good thing, it's becoming anti-white. And this unfair racist bias is not okay, no matter what the left is trying to normalize."
Watch the video below to hear Elijah break down the proof: (Content warning: Strong language)
Want more from Elijah Schaffer?
Subscribe to Elijah's 'Slightly Offens*ve' channel on YouTube for FREE access to his man-on-the-street interviews, protest coverage and more craziness that happens everyday in the USA.


theblaze--2020-07-06--GOP Sen. Chuck Grassley to skip Republican National Convention due to COVID-19 concerns

The Iowa senator has not missed the event since being elected in 1980

Iowa GOP Sen. Chuck Grassley says he will be skipping the Republican National Convention for the first time in 40 years, citing concerns over the coronavirus.
What are the details?
"I'm not going to go. And I'm not going to go because of the virus situation," Grassley told reporters Monday, according to the Des Moines Register. The 86-year-old pointed out that he has not missed a convention — held every four years — since being elected to the Senate in 1980.
According to the Washington Post, "Grassley's move makes him the first congressional Republican to announce that he will skip this year's convention, which was moved to Jacksonville [Florida] from Charlotte after North Carolina state and local officials declined to agree to [President Donald] Trump's demands for a crowded large-scale event amid the pandemic."
Sen. Grassley added, "Going to a place where the governor feels that it's safer is probably the right thing to do if you want to have a convention—and I think we should have a convention, but I think you should do whatever you can to make it as safe as possible so that would mean with face masks and with social distancing."
CNN noted that Grassley is the oldest Republican in the Senate and also the longest-serving GOP member in the upper chamber.
The Hill reported that other Republican senators have also voiced concerns over attending the RNC next month — where President Trump will officially accept the party's nomination — citing the virus.
During a conference call last month, Sen. Rob Portman (R-Ohio) said, "We'll see what the situation is then in terms of what COVID-19 is that week," and Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) recently told a local outlet he is waiting to commit and wants to know "what kind of social distancing, what kind of precautions are being taken."


theblaze--2020-07-06--Woman who called police on black man in viral Central Park video charged with making a false report

Woman who called police on black man in viral Central Park video charged with making a false report 'How many @ @ @ @ @ destroy ? '

Amy Cooper, the white woman who was recorded calling the police on a black man in Central Park over a disagreement about her dog is being charged for filing a false report.
The video captured by Chris Cooper, who is not related to her, quickly went viral, as many saw it as an example of discrimination against African-Americans.
Chris Cooper said that he was in the park for bird-watching and got into an argument with Amy Cooper because she didn't have her dog on a leash, which is required in that section of the park. She responded by calling the police and telling them that an African-American man was threatening her and her dog.
When police arrived, no one was cited, and both parties went on their ways.
The Manhattan district attorney announced on Monday that Amy Cooper would face misdemeanor charges for filing a false report against the bird-watcher.
In the wake of the controversy, Amy Cooper lost her job and voluntarily gave back her dog to a rescue organization from which she obtained it.
"How many lives are we going to destroy?"
Her attorney, Robert Barnes, criticized the charge and blamed "cancel culture" for the controversy.
"Once all the facts are known, Amy Cooper will be found not guilty of the single, misdemeanor charge filed in this case," Barnes said, according to WABC-TV.
"The rush to judgment by some in the public, in this cancel culture epidemic, will be proven as wrong as cancel culture itself," he added. "She lost her job, her home, and her public life. Now some demand she lose her freedom? How many lives are we going to destroy over misunderstood 60-second videos on social media?"
Amy Cooper could face up to a year in jail for the charge if she's found guilty.
Here's a local news report about the charges:


theblaze--2020-07-06--Georgia governor declares state of emergency, deploys National Guard after deadly weekend

'Georgians are being targeted , shot , and left for dead '

Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp (R) has declared a state of emergency and called up the National Guard to protect citizens and property after violence over the Independence Day weekend left more than thirty Georgians injured and five dead from shootings.
What are the details?
The governor issued an executive order Monday to deploy as many as 1,000 Georgia National Guard troops focused on the city of Atlanta, where an 8-year-old girl was killed Saturday night as riots continue to rage weeks after the death of Rayshard Brooks.
"Peaceful protests were hijacked by criminals with a dangerous, destructive agenda," Kemp said in a statement. "Now, innocent Georgians are being targeted, shot, and left for dead. This lawlessness must be stopped and order restored in our capital city."
He added, "Enough with the tough talk. We must protect the lives and livelihoods of all Georgians."
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported that Kemp "issued the emergency order after threatening late Sunday to 'take action' to curb the unrest in Atlanta if Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms (D) failed to do so, a move that highlighted the complicated, and increasingly tense, relationship between two of the state's most prominent politicians."
A press release from the governor's office stated that "the Georgia Guard will provide support at state buildings, including the Georgia State Capitol, Georgia Department of Public Safety Headquarters, and Governor's Mansion. This aid will allow state law enforcement personnel to increase patrols on roadways and throughout communities, especially those in the City of Atlanta."


theblaze--2020-07-06--Trump demands Bubba Wallace apologize for 'hoax' noose scandal, and he just responded

Trump demands Bubba Wallace apologize for 'hoax ' noose scandal , and he just responded Both Wallace and NASCAR responded @ @ @ @ @

President Donald Trump fired off a tweet critical of Bubba Wallace and the controversy over a rope noose found at his garage, and Wallace responded immediately.
"Has @BubbaWallace apologized to all of those great NASCAR drivers & officials who came to his aid, stood by his side, & were willing to sacrifice everything for him, only to find out that the whole thing was just another HOAX?" the president tweeted Monday morning.
"That & Flag decision has caused lowest ratings EVER!" he added.
Wallace is the only African-American driver in NASCAR, and he made headlines when he called for the banning of Confederate flags at all NASCAR events. Another controversy flared up when the FBI concluded that there was no hate crime in a rope tied into a noose found at Wallace's garage. They noted that the rope had been present at that garage months before Wallace was assigned to it.
Wallace responded to the president with his own statement on Twitter.
"To the next generation and little ones following my foot steps," he tweeted.
He posted a screenshot of his full statement:
Your words and actions will always be held to a higher standard than others. You have to be prepared for that. You don't learn these things in school. You learn them from trials and tribulations, the ups and downs this crazy world provides. You will always have people testing you. Seeing if they can knock you off your pedestal. I encourage you to keep your head held high and walk proudly on the path you have chosen. Never let anybody tell you can't do something! God put us all here for a reason. Find that reason and be proud of it and work your tails off every day towards it! All the haters are doing is elevating your voice and platform to much greater heights!
Last thing, always deal with the hate being thrown at you with LOVE! Love over hate every day. Love should some naturally as people are TAUGHT to hate.
Even when it's HATE from the POTUS.
Love wins
NASCAR also responded to the president with a statement in support of Wallace.
"We are proud to have @BubbaWallace in the NASCAR family and we commend his courage and leadership," the statement read. "NASCAR continues to stand tall with Bubba, our competitors and everyone who makes our sport welcoming and inclusive for all racing fans."
Here's more about the NASCAR controversy:


theblaze--2020-07-06--American Girl is none too happy about a fake ad for a new, armed 'Karen' doll

American Girl is none too happy about a fake ad for a new , armed 'Karen ' doll Does it @ @ @ @ @ , it does

American Girl has been making expensive dolls with creative backstories since the mid-80s, capitalizing on parents' desires to give their daughters a toy they relate to, want to spend time with, or whatever. If the parents are willing to shell out the cash, American Girl will help them find a way.
Each doll has a unique name and booklet telling the owner everything she needs to know about where her fluff-stuffed plastic-and-fabric friend is from, what time period she represents, and what her passions are.
But the latest imagined AG doll, which made the social media rounds last week, is an unsanctioned rip-off that has the company "disgusted," the New York Post reported.
A fake ad for a parody American Girl doll appeared on the Facebook page of Adam The Creator on June 29. The ad introduces a "new doll" for this year: "Meet Karen 2020 Girl of the Year."
The image shows a doll with an angry expression, a stereotypical "Karen" haircut, a Walmart shopping cart, and a pistol. "Karen" is decked out in a purple jogging suit and appears ready to lecture no-goodniks and big-box store managers.
"She's an independent thinker who refuses to wear a mask in public places!" the ad says of the doll.
Image source: Facebook screenshot
After the fake ad took flight across cyberspace, duped social media users contacted the company, worried that the doll-maker was sending the wrong message to kids.
One Twitter user wrote, "@American_Girl I saw a post of an American Girl doll, Karen, who refuses to wear a mask and carries a gun as disgusting. Is this what we want to teach our children?" the Post noted.
The company responded that it was "disgusted" by the parody and was doing what it could to get it removed.


theblaze--2020-07-06--Miami-Dade County closes restaurants, gyms, and more for a second time amid COVID-19 pandemic

Miami-Dade County closes restaurants , gyms , and more for a second time amid COVID-19 pandemic

Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos Gimenez has ordered Miami-Dade County restaurant dining rooms, gyms, and more to close under a planned emergency order going into effect this week.
What are the details?
According to a Monday report from the Miami Herald, restaurant dining rooms, gyms, casinos, movie theaters, and strip clubs are ordered closed effective Wednesday in order to tamp down the spread of COVID-19, which has hit astronomical numbers across the Sunshine State.
Short-term vacation rentals will also be banned effective Wednesday.
In a statement, Gimenez said, "We want to ensure that our hospitals continue to have the staffing necessary to save lives."
He added, "At this time, I plan to keep open various outdoor activities, including condominium and hotel pools with strict social distancing and masks rules, as well as summer camps and child daycare centers with strict capacity limits, requiring masks, and social distancing of at least six feet."
Gimenez also said that beaches would be permitted to reopen on Tuesday following a temporary closure over the long holiday weekend.
The Republican mayor also warned that future closures are not out of the question.
“Beaches will be open on Tuesday, July 7, 2020, but, if we see crowding and people not following the public health rules, I will be forced to close the beaches again," he added.
What else?
Earlier today, Gimenez said that Black Lives Matter demonstrations likely accounted for a portion of the recent spike in COVID-19 infections.
Speaking with CBS' "Face the Nation," Gimenez said, "Obviously the protests had a lot to do with it."
"We had thousands of young people together outside, a lot of them not wearing masks, and we know that when you do that and you are talking, and you are chanting, et cetera, that really spreads the virus," he explained. "So absolutely the protests had something to do with it."
Gimenez explained that the protests weren't the only contributing factor, however, and insisted that there were a good many residents who "let their guard down" too soon.
"[I]t's all of the above," he said. "I'm not saying it's just [protesting], but it was a contributing factor."
At the time of this writing, researchers at Johns Hopkins estimate that there have been at least 206,447 confirmed cases of coronavirus in Florida, with at least 3,778 deaths due to the virus.


theblaze--2020-07-06--'This is our street, motherf***er!': Protesters shoot fireworks toward district attorney's home on J

'This is our street, motherf***er!': Protesters shoot fireworks toward district attorney's home on July 4, block streets, burn American flag

'This is our street , motherf***er ! '
: Protesters shoot fireworks toward district attorney 's home on July 4 @ @ @ @ @ American flag

Protesters shot fireworks toward the East Memphis, Tennessee, home of Shelby County District Attorney Amy Weirich on Saturday, blocked several streets with their vehicles, removed American flags from Weirich's front lawn, and set a U.S. flag on fire — and the whole Independence Day episode was documented on now-deleted video that a protester livestreamed on Facebook.
What are the details?
Several dozen protesters drove in a caravan of about 25 cars into Weirich's neighborhood, the Commercial Appeal reported, and called for Weirich to be fired around 5:30 p.m.
Image source: Facebook video screenshot
The protester who livestreamed the "F*** Yo Fourth" demonstration, Keedran Franklin, complained on video about Weirich's record and said she isn't fair to people of color compared to white people.
Image source: Facebook video screenshot
Once protesters were gathered in front of Weirich's home, Franklin called for streets to be blocked off and said — apparently in reference to motorists — "They're gonna have to talk to our marshals if they wanna get by." A kid on a bicycle riding down the sidewalk was part of the scenery:
Image source: Facebook video screenshot
Franklin also yelled at nearby houses, "This is our street, motherf***er! Call the police! This is our street! For right now while we talk to Amy Weirich, this is our street! You either come and join us or go in the house!"
The protest seemed well organized, as a man dressed in an orange vest was seen speaking apparently into a walkie-talkie and trying to figure out "where we need the rest of the team."
Image source: Facebook video screenshot
The Commercial Appeal said protesters "set off about 10 small firecrackers outside the house" — but video caught them actually shooting fireworks toward Weirich's home, seemingly over the roof.
Image source: Facebook video screenshot
Franklin ordered his comrades not to film the fireworks being shot toward the home and at one point in the video turned the camera away and said "video can make things look different."
Image source: Facebook video screenshot
"If Black Lives Matter, Amy Weirich, come outside!" protesters chanted.
One protester dressed in a red head covering got on a megaphone and told fellow protesters, "If y'all see me run, just get in the cars ... y'all know me: I love goin' up on cops and s**t, but I got fireworks in my hand!"
Image source: Facebook video screenshot
Later she was seen apparently shooting fireworks toward the home:
Image source: Facebook video screenshot
Soon an American flag was on fire as protesters stood on the sidewalk:
Image source: Facebook video screenshot
And video caught protesters shooting more fireworks at Weirich's home and also taking U.S. flags from her lawn:
Image source: Facebook video screenshot
But when protesters apparently got word that police were on their way, they ran to their cars and took off:
Image source: Facebook video screenshot
Weirich did not come outside her home during the protest, the Commercial Appeal reported — but her neighbor did and appeared to give one protester a little talking-to:
Image source: Facebook video screenshot
Here's a short clip of the nearly half-hour protest, taken from another angle, which also shows a pair of protesters shooting fireworks over Weirich's roof. (Content warning: Language):
Anything else?
The Commercial Appeal said the protesters also want people who have not been convicted of crimes released from jail due to COVID-19 risks — and for land to be returned to Chickasaw, Quapaw, Choctow, and Creek nations.
The paper said it reached out to Weirich's office for comment but didn't say if there was a response.
More from the Commercial Appeal:
Weirich was re-elected in 2014 with 65% of the vote for an 8-year term set to expire in 2022.
She has held the position since January 2011 when then-Gov. Bill Haslam appointed her as Shelby County's first female district attorney. She succeeded Bill Gibbons, who left to head the state Department of Safety.
During her tenure, she has come under fire for not filing any charges against officers who shot Martavious Banks and for a Harvard Law School project that ranked her highest in Tennessee for prosecutorial misconduct. At the time, Weirch refuted the findings of the study.
(H/T: KWAM Radio)


theblaze--2020-07-06--Is BOOK BURNING next? Cancel culture targets 'problematic' books

The fundamental transformation of America is happening now .

On the radio program Monday, Glenn Beck, Pat Gray, and Stu Burguiere reacted to a recent Washington Post op-ed in which the author, Ron Charles, suggests that "as Confederate statues finally tumble across America, [and] television networks are marching through their catalogues looking to take down racially offensive content," perhaps the next items on the cancel-culture chopping block should be "problematic books."
"Monuments celebrating racist traitors, which were erected to fabricate history and terrify black Americans, are not works of art that deserve our respect or preservation. Similarly, scenes of modern-day white comedians reenacting minstrel-show caricatures are not ironical interrogations of racism that we have to stomach any longer. But complex works of literature are large, they contain multitudes," Charles wrote.
He goes on to argue that "calibrating our Racism Detector to spot only a few obvious sins" is but an insidious source of self-satisfaction when compared to the process of critical debate on the values and intentions of history's literary legends.
"If cancel culture has a weakness, it's that it risks short-circuiting the process of critical engagement that leads to our enlightenment," Charles wrote. "Scanning videos for blackface or searching text files for the n-word is so much easier than contending with, say, the systemic tokenism of TV rom-coms or the unbearable whiteness of Jane Austen."
Could cancel culture really spiral all the way down to book burning? In the clip below, Glenn, Pat, and Stu agreed that this radical progressive movement is really about erasing America's history and overturning the foundation of our country. The fundamental transformation of America is happening now.
Watch the video below to catch more of the conversation:
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To enjoy more of Glenn's masterful storytelling, thought-provoking analysis and uncanny ability to make sense of the chaos, subscribe to BlazeTV — the largest multi-platform network of voices who love America, defend the Constitution and live the American dream.


theblaze--2020-07-06--ESPN is working on a Colin Kaepernick documentary series with Jemele Hill as a producer

ESPN is working on a Colin Kaepernick documentary series with Jemele Hill as a producer Colin Kaepernick looks on during @ @ @ @ @ held at Charles R. Drew High School on November 16 , 2019 , in Riverdale @ @ @ @ @ by Carmen Mandato/Getty Images )

Former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick will be the subject of yet another major entertainment production, this time a documentary series about his life that will be featured on ESPN and produced by the Atlantic's Jemele Hill, among others, Variety reported.
The series will be the first project to come from an agreement between Disney and Kaepernick's company, Ra Vision Media, which will "emphasize scripted and unscripted stories that deal with race, social injustice and the quest for equity, and work to showcase directors and producers of color," according to Variety.
"I am excited to announce this historic partnership with Disney across all of its platforms to elevate black and brown directors, creators, storytellers, and producers, and to inspire youth with compelling and authentic perspectives," Kaepernick said in a statement. "I look forward to sharing the docuseries on my life story, in addition to many other culturally impactful projects we are developing."
The Kaepernick documentary series will be executive produced by ESPN executives Libby Geist, Kevin Merida, and Connor Schell, with Hill, a former ESPN personality, also on the project as a producer. The documentary will reportedly focus on Kaepernick's transition from NFL quarterback to social justice activist.
"Colin has had a singular path as both an athlete and an activist, and, as the nation continues to confront racism and social injustice, it feels particularly relevant to hear Colin's voice on his evolution and motivations," ESPN President Jimmy Pitaro said, according to Variety.
Kaepernick recently announced a scripted series based on his life that will be on Netflix, a project led by Ava DuVernay. The former quarterback also reportedly signed a $1 million book deal with Penguin Random House in 2017, although no book has come from that deal.
In February, Kaepernick announced that he was writing a memoir to be published by his own publishing company. He also has an endorsement deal with Nike. His last season in the NFL was 2016.


theblaze--2020-07-06--Missouri police on the lookout for suspect who sucker-punched street-dancing 12-year-old for no appa

Missouri police on the lookout for suspect who sucker-punched street-dancing 12-year-old for no apparent reason

Police in Cape Girardeau, Missouri, are on the lookout for a suspect who was caught on video sucker-punching a 12-year-old street corner dancer for no apparent reason.
The video, which was shared on gossip site TMZ, shows the 12-year-old, who is identified in the story as "Ethan," dancing peacefully until the suspect approaches in what appears to be a black Honda CR-V. Someone gets out of the passenger seat of the car and begins moving toward the victim, doing his own dance moves as if to hide the fact that he is about to commit an attack. At the last second, he releases a roundhouse punch against the defenseless youth and then tucks tail and runs like a coward back to his car.
After being knocked down, the young man checked himself and stood back up as onlookers gathered to assess his condition.
According to WBTV-TV, local police believe they have identified the suspect and have made "multiple attempts to locate and take him into custody," but had not yet been successful as of Monday morning. Police are not yet releasing the suspect's name or any other information about him, other than that he is from Cape Girardeau.
Police told WBTV that the incident occurred about 11:40 p.m. Saturday and that the victim told police that he did not recognize the man who hit him, nor did he have any disputes with him that might have caused the attack. He was taken to a local hospital and is expected to recover.
Police are encouraging anyone with information about the crime to come forward. "This is a cowardly and disgusting act of inexcusable violence on one of our public streets and the Cape Girardeau Police would like to ensure that this suspect is safely apprehended," Sgt. Joey Hann said in a statement to WBTV.


theblaze--2020-07-06--Tennessee church shows support for cops by giving $1,000 to each employee of local police department

Tennessee church shows support for cops by giving $ 1,000 to each employee of local police department Money where their @ @

In the wake of some bad apples being exposed among their ranks — and a troubling history of too many bad apples not being held to account — police departments across the U.S. are facing calls for defunding, harsh criticism from the public they're sworn to protect, attacks on officers and precincts, and low morale.
So a Tennessee church decided to make make clear where it stands on supporting local law enforcement — by donating $1,000 to each member of its town's law enforcement, the Christian Post reported.
What happened?
According to the Post, the Lighthouse Missionary Baptist Church in Jonesborough presented checks to its local police Saturday after raising $23,000 for the effort.
The church's pastor, Perry Cleek, told the outlet that his church members believe it is their job to help out, considering the anti-cop climate in the U.S. today.
From the Post:
We have heard the news reports of entire police departments suffering from a debilitating lack of morale. In many places in America, local governments are signaling their support for those who are attacking law enforcement by defunding their local police.
We wanted to make a bold statement in support of law enforcement. Our desire was for our action to send a symbolic message of our support to the Jonesborough Police, but to also show our support in a very practical way by recognizing and supporting each individual employee.
Pastor Cleek admitted that the church is not speaking for everyone in the community and would not ask other churches to join. But his church wanted to be "loud and bold" in its support.
"We believe that millions of Americans feel exactly the same way we do about the treatment of law enforcement in our country, but do not feel they have a voice," Cleek told the Post. "The voices of those blaming and condemning law enforcement for much that is wrong in our country are very loud. We wanted our voice in support of law enforcement to be loud and bold."


theblaze--2020-07-06--JK Rowling goes off on hormone therapy, gender surgery

JK Rowling goes off on hormone therapy , gender surgery

Author J.K. Rowling took heavy criticism after supporting the notion that hormone therapy and gender reassignment surgeries are often over-prescribed to questioning teens in today's society.
What are the details?
In a series of Sunday tweets, the "Harry Potter" creator took a social media thrashing after "liking" a tweet that said hormone therapy pills were similar to antidepressants: in some cases, grossly overprescribed.
The tweet said, "Hormone prescriptions are the new anti depressants. Yes they are sometimes necessary and lifesaving, but they should be a last resort. Pure laziness for those who would rather medicate than put in the time and effort to heal people's minds."
Naturally, many people on social media castigated Rowling for her support of the apparently controversial tweet, and some even called into question her support of antidepressants for people with mental health issues.
In response to the harsh criticism, the award-winning writer fired back, "I've ignored fake tweets attributed to me and RTed widely. I've ignored porn tweeted at children on a thread about their art. I've ignored death and rape threats. I'm not going to ignore this."
Rowling said that many social media users crossed a line with their questioning of her motives and continued, writing, "When you lie about what I believe about mental health medication and when you misrepresent the views of a trans woman for whom I feel nothing but admiration and solidarity, you cross a line."
The "Harry Potter" author added that she's never been shy about her own personal struggle with mental health and doesn't think there's anything wrong with taking necessary medications.
"I've written and spoken about my own mental health challenges, which include OCD, depression and anxiety," she added. "I did so recently in my essay 'TERF Wars.' I've taken anti-depressants in the past and they helped me."
The author added that it's not always in a young person's best interest to receive hormone therapy treatment or gender reassignment surgery.
"Many health professionals are concerned that young people struggling with their mental health are being shunted towards hormones and surgery when this may not be in their best interests," she reasoned.
She added, "Many, myself included, believe we are watching a new kind of conversion therapy for young gay people, who are being set on a lifelong path of medicalisation that may result in the loss of their fertility and/or sexual function."
Rowling argued that while transitioning from one gender to the other may be the better option for some people, it isn't the most viable option for all cases.
She wrote, "As I've said many times, transition may be the answer for some. For others, it won't — witness the accounts of detransitioners. 'The system sees surgery as the easy fix to girls who do not conform.'"
She continued, "The long-term health risks of cross-sex hormones have now been tracked over a lengthy period. These side-effects are often minimised or denied by trans activists."
She concluded, "None of that may trouble you or disturb your belief in your own righteousness. But if so, I can't pretend I care much about your bad opinion of me."


theblaze--2020-07-06--Heavily armed militia marches on Stone Mountain State Park in Georgia to protest monument to Confede

Heavily armed militia marches on Stone Mountain State Park in Georgia to protest monument to Confederate leaders

A large, heavily armed militia that was described by its leaders as "100 percent black" was seen marching through Stone Mountain State Park in Georgia on Saturday protesting a monument to Confederate Generals Robert E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson and Confederate President Jefferson Davis. The protest, which was described by local law enforcement as "peaceful" and "orderly," was intended as a challenge to local white supremacists, who allegedly use the massive carving in the side of Stone Mountain as a meeting point for their rallies.
Video of the event was widely shared on social media and showed a large procession of protesters with guns drawn marching through the site.
According to Newsweek, Stone Mountain State Park officials described the group as "peaceful, orderly and escorted by police." Park officials noted the history of the site in connection with white supremacist groups, and a spokesman said, "It's a public park, a state park. We have these protests on both sides of the issue from time to time. We respect people's First Amendment right. We understand the sensitivities of the issue here at the park ... so we respect that and allow them to come in as long as it's peaceful, which it has been."
A number of the protest leaders, who said they are not affiliated with the Black Lives Matter movement, but rather the "Not F***ing Around Coalition," repeatedly challenged white supremacists to come out and confront them at the site of the monument, but there were none to be seen.
The group further insisted that they were not protesters but were rather a militia. According to Newsweek, a spokesman for the group asked, "Our initial goal was to have a formation of our militia in Stone Mountain to send a message that as long as you're abolishing all these statues across the country, what about this one?"
The size of the group was estimated to be between 500 and 1,000 members.
Some of the protesters were additionally caught on video stopping white motorists and demanding reparations.


theblaze--2020-07-06--Bizarre viral video shows woman  wearing '$40,000 Rolex' and trashing face mask display at Target: '

Bizarre viral video shows woman  wearing '$40,000 Rolex' and trashing face mask display at Target: 'This s**t is f***ing over!'

Bizarre viral video shows woman wearing ' $ 40,000 Rolex ' and trashing face mask display at Target : 'This @ @ @ @ @ '

An Arizona woman — who boasted about wearing a $40,000 Rolex watch — went viral after filming herself trashing a face mask display in a local Target.
What are the details?
The woman, identified as Melissa Rein Lively, can be seen in the store approaching the display of face masks.
"Finally," she says, "we meet at the end of the road. I've been looking forward to this s**t all my f***ing life."
She can be seen knocking all of the masks from the display and onto the floor, saying, "So, Target, I'm not playing any more f***ing games. This s**t is f***ing over. This s**t's over. Yeah! Woo!"
When employees approach the woman, she insists she be permitted to rant and rave in the store as she sees fit.
"This is over," one employee insists, referring to Lively's behavior.
"Why?" Lively snaps. "You let everyone else do it. ... I can't do it because I'm a blonde, white woman? That's wearing a f***ing $40,000 Rolex? I don't have the f***ing right to f*** s**t up?"
The video ends, but another video catches Lively — who reportedly runs a PR company in Scottsdale, Arizona — speaking with police officers about the encounter at what appears to be her home.
"They drained the swamp," she says. "They did everything that Donald Trump was elected to do. You can read about it on Twitter. You can read about it on the news. All the deep state politicians. It's done."
She doesn't reveal who "they" are during the rant.
During her exchange with officers, Lively can be heard insisting that she's a "QAnon spokesperson" for the White House.
"I was hired to be the QAnon spokesperson," she can be heard telling officers and later insists that cops are targeting her because she's Jewish.
"This is a Nazi f***ing game!"
Content warning: rough language
What else?
According to Heavy, Lively appeared on a Scottsdale radio program in June, where the host described her as a "political expert."
During an interview about the Scottsdale mayoral race and the COVID-19 pandemic, radio host Billy Harfosh introduced Lively, who he said is "tapped into what's happening in Scottsdale."
About masks and the local government, Lively said, "Where does government overreach take place and where does personal responsibility begin? When is it appropriate for a mayor or a governor or a federal government or anything to put restrictions on what people can do and what businesses can do?"


theblaze--2020-07-06--5-year-old who lost both of his legs from childhood abuse walked over 6 miles in June to raise over

5-year-old who lost both of his legs from childhood abuse walked over 6 miles in June to raise over $1 million for the hospital that saved his life

5-year-old who lost both of his legs from childhood abuse walked over 6 miles in June to raise over $ @ @ @ @ @ that saved his life

A 5-year-old boy British boy with two prosthetic legs raised over £1 million (or $1.24 million) for the hospital that saved his life by walking 6 miles in the month of June, Reuters reported.
Tony Hudgell had both of his legs amputated and was on life support at Evelina London Children's Hospital after being abused by his biological parents as a newborn. The doctors weren't certain he would live, much less ever be able to walk.
But Tony did survive, and after receiving a set of new limbs in February, he has been making incredible walking progress.
His adoptive mother, Paula Hudgell, told Reuters that he has gone from barely being able to take a single step at the beginning of June to now walking hundreds of yards a day.
Tony reportedly was inspired to begin his walk for charity after he saw 100-year-old British war hero Captain Tom Moore raise tens of millions for health care workers by walking 100 laps outside his home north of London.
"I can do that," Tony's mother recalls him saying.
Tony's initial target was £500, a goal that was surpassed quickly. The exuberant 5-year-old added that it felt "really good" to have completed his mission of walking 10 kilometers, or 6.2 miles, with a few days to spare in June.
"It is incredible to think just three and half weeks ago he could barely take a few steps," his mother said, amazed at Tony's progress and shocked at how successful the fundraiser had become.
She first met him at the London children's hospital five years before, when he was fighting for his life as a result of several critical injuries.
"He'd had all his limbs broken, he'd had blood trauma to the face, sepsis, multi-organ failure, and they never expected him to survive," Hudgell said. "We took him home ... he was broken, shutdown, a tiny, tiny underweight little boy."
Hudgell and her husband then adopted Tony in 2016, recalling, "We didn't want him to go anywhere else, he was our little boy by then."
Fast-forward several years later, and Tony is now speed-walking with his new legs and inspiring a nation.
As for long-term plans, Tony told reporters that he wants to eventually become a policeman.
"I want to handcuff bad people and robbers," he said.
Watch the final steps of his challenge:


theblaze--2020-07-06--Kanye West's presidential bid will only hurt Joe Biden's chances of winning, betting site predicts

Kanye West 's presidential bid will only hurt Joe Biden 's chances of winning , betting site predicts

An online betting site predicts that rapper Kanye West's presidential bid will only serve only to hurt former Vice President Joe Biden's chances of winning the 2020 presidential election.
West announced his presidential bid on July 4.
In a tweet, the rapper wrote, "We must now realize the promise of America by trusting God, unifying our vision and building our future. I am running for president of the United States! #2020VISION."
What are the details?
Bet Online opened on Sunday with West added at 100/1 odds — or +10,000 — to win the 2020 presidential election, according to The Wrap.
Biden, the site's favorite, moved down from 5/9 (or -180) to 5/8 (or -160) odds, and President Donald Trump's odds improved with West's announcement, moving from 3/2 (or +150) to 13/10 (or +130).
According to Bovada, a politics odds and futures site, West's odds of winning the election are +6,000. His popularity is nearly the same as that of Vice President Mike Pence, who sits at +6,600. 2016 presidential candidate Hillary Clinton is at +5,000 to win, and former First Lady Michelle Obama sits at +8,000.
Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk endorsed West shortly after his announcement.
On Twitter, Musk told West, "You have my full support!"
What else?
Both the Republican and Democratic Parties have their presumptive nominees — Trump and Biden, respectively — and the deadline to file as an independent candidate has passed in a many states, including Indiana, Maine, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, and Texas.


theblaze--2020-07-06--States can punish Electoral College members who change their votes to disrupt elections, Supreme Cou

States can punish Electoral College members who change their votes to disrupt elections, Supreme Court rules

Some tried in 2016 to derail Donald Trump 's election States can punish Electoral College members who change their votes @ @ @ @ @ Court rules House Clerk staff verify the official Electoral College votes from Illinois during a @ @ @ @ @ the U.S. Capitol in Washington , D.C. , on Jan. 6 , 2017 .
( @ @ @ @ @ Images )

Electoral College members hoping to disrupt the system to influence the election results took a loss Monday, as the Supreme Court ruled that states can punish "faithless electors" who vote differently from how they are pledged to vote based on the general election results.
What's this about? There have been conflicting legal decisions regarding whether states can punish Electoral College members who change their vote. In 2016, for example, three electors in Washington state cast their votes for Colin Powell instead of Hillary Clinton.
They hoped to inspire electors in states won by President Donald Trump to change their own votes, preventing Trump from getting a majority of Electoral College votes and pushing the election to the House of Representatives, and were fined $1,000 each for their actions.
What did the Supreme Court say? The Supreme Court ruled in a 7-2 decision that states are justified if they choose to punish these faithless electors.
"The Constitution's text and the nation's history both support allowing a state to enforce an elector's pledge to support his party's nominee—and the state voters' choice—for president," Justice Elena Kagan wrote.
Kagan wrote that since the state has the power to appoint electors, that also grants the state the power to discipline them for changing their vote.
What does this mean? Despite the ruling, not all states will choose to require electors to vote according to their pledges. Only 32 states and the District of Columbia require electors to vote in line with their pledges, and of those, only 15 states enforce that requirement with termination or fines.
Only seven electors voted against their pledges in 2016. Although it was the most electors in a century to do so, it did not have an impact on the result of the election, in which Donald Trump defeated Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton.


theblaze--2020-07-06--Shootings skyrocket more than 200% in NYC, just weeks after NYPD disbands 'anti-crime' unit

Shootings skyrocket more than 200 % in NYC , just weeks after NYPD disbands 'anti-crime ' unit 'Many lives would @ @ @ @ @

Shootings in New York City have skyrocketed more than 200% in recent weeks as a violent crime wave grips the nation's largest city.
According to the New York Post, citing police statistics, there were three times as many shootings in the Big Apple during the last two weeks of June as during the same time period in 2019.
There were 116 shooting incidents between June 15 and July 2 of this year, compared to just 38 during the same two-week period last year. In total, 157 New Yorkers were injured from gunfire, compared to just 57 last year during the same period.
According to the NYPD, last month was the deadliest and most violent June in 24 years, recording a total of 205 shooting incidents over the entire month.
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio blamed the soaring violence on the coronavirus.
"This is directly related to coronavirus," de Blasio said on Monday, Fox News reported. "This is a very serious situation. … As we're getting into warmer and warmer weather, we're feeling the effects of people being cooped up for months, the economy hasn't restarted — we have a real problem here."
However, Hazel Thomas — the mother of Jomo Glasgow, who was gunned down on June 17 — attributed the sharp increase of violence to the NYPD disbanding its "anti-crime" unit of plainclothes officers.
"They shouldn't have disbanded it," Thomas told the Post. "Whatever the problem they have, address it. But don't disband the unit. Many lives would have been saved. Not just my son."
The NYPD eliminated its controversial plainclothes units last month, impacting about 600 officers, in response to calls for police reform. The "anti-crime" units had been involved in a disproportionately high number of officer-involved shootings over the years.


theblaze--2020-07-06--Country music icon Charlie Daniels — an outspoken proponent of conservative values — dies at 83

Country music icon Charlie Daniels — an outspoken proponent of conservative values — dies at 83 Last year , Daniels @ @ @ @ @ inspired ' abortion law to the Holocaust and warned that God 'is waiting behind the @ @ @ @ @ are final and eternal '

Country music icon Charlie Daniels died Monday morning after suffering a hemorrhagic stroke, the Tennessean reported. He was 83.
Daniels' publicist, Don Murry Grubbs, confirmed his death, the Tennessean said. Daniels — a Country Music Hall of Fame member known far and wide for "The Devil Went Down to Georgia" — is survived by his wife, Hazel, and son Charlie Daniels Jr., the paper said.
Outspoken conservative
In addition to his famed fiddling, Daniels became well known for his outspoken conservative views.
Last year, he compared New York's "satanically inspired" abortion law to the Holocaust and warned that God "is waiting behind the final veil" where "verdicts are final and eternal."
Shortly after President Donald Trump's 2017 inauguration, Daniels blasted those rioting over Trump's policies.
"I see young people interviewed on television who can't even articulate the reason they are protesting," he wrote in a CNS News op-ed, adding that he watched "hysterical protestors screaming about First Amendment rights which they seem to think only protect them and those who think like them and that the opposition has no First Amendment protection and should be shouted down at all costs."
Given the present climate in America, one might say the following prediction in his op-ed was prophetic: "The pot is boiling and it's only a matter of time before there will be blood on the streets."
Daniels also went off on fellow musicians who demanded more gun control after the 2016 Orlando mass killing, calling it the "biggest farce going on." Daniels also sent a blistering message that same year to the "ayatollahs of Iran and every terrorist [they enable]" on behalf of the National Rifle Association and in 2015 raked Congress over the coals for the controversial Iran nuclear deal.
Anything else?
The Tennessean noted that in addition to "The Devil Went Down to Georgia," Daniels also had been a highly regarded session musician and played on three Bob Dylan albums — including "Nashville Skyline" — as well as on recordings for Ringo Starr and Leonard Cohen.
Daniels was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2016, the paper said.
Upon the release of his memoir, "Never Look at the Empty Seats," Daniels in 2017 spoke to Glenn Beck about his faith, life, and storied career: "I've had a great life; I wouldn't trade lives with anybody."
And check out what went up Sunday on his Twitter page:
Here's one more look at Daniels onstage:


theblaze--2020-07-06--Ohio city declares itself a 'sanctuary city' — for statues, monuments being torn down

Ohio city declares itself a 'sanctuary city ' — for statues , monuments being torn down 'These great leaders ... @ @ @ @ @ place of honor and respect '

Newton Falls, a small town in northeast Ohio, has declared itself a "sanctuary city" — but not for illegal immigrants.
Instead, city manager David Lynch proclaimed Saturday that the town will be a "Statuary Sanctuary City" where monuments and statues being targeted for destruction across America will be given amnesty, WFMJ-TV reported.
The city will welcome statues of the following people to make Newton Falls their new home:
George Washington
Abraham Lincoln
Thomas Jefferson
Ulysses S. Grant
Patrick Henry
Francis Scott Key
Theodore Roosevelt
Christopher Columbus
"The great leaders of our country and Western civilization, though flawed in many ways, have risen to great achievement such as the founding of our nation, the ending of slavery, establishment and protection of our national parks, the establishment of antitrust laws to protect our citizens from overaggressive monopolization of industry, and the discovery of the new world itself," the proclamation states, according to WFMJ.
"These great leaders as represented in beautiful and artistic statuary throughout our nation deserve to stand in a place of honor and respect as a reminder that we, as Americans, can achieve great things," the document continues.
The proclamation vows to place relocated statues "in a place of honor and respect to inspire greatness and achievement."
Newton Falls' stand comes as protesters nationwide tear down monuments and statues dedicated to America's early leaders.
Washington, for example, is being targeted because he owned slaves, while Lincoln is being targeted despite signing the Emancipation Proclamation.
Even Frederick Douglass, who was born into slavery and is one of the most prominent black men in American history, has been targeted, including the tearing down of his statue in Rochester, New York, over the weekend.


theblaze--2020-07-06--Miami-Dade mayor says BLM protests 'absolutely' had 'a lot to do with' the recent coronavirus spike

Miami-Dade mayor says BLM protests 'absolutely ' had ' a lot to do with ' the recent coronavirus spike 'Obviously @ @ @ @ @ to do with it '

The Republican mayor of Miami-Dade County, Florida, said Sunday that Black Lives Matter protests were definitely a "contributing factor" in the recent surge of coronavirus cases in the county.
Speaking with CBS' "Face the Nation," Mayor Carlos Giménez said, "Obviously the protests had a lot to do with it."
"We had thousands of young people together outside, a lot of them not wearing masks, and we know that when you do that and you are talking, and you are chanting, et cetera, that really spreads the virus," he said. "So absolutely the protests had something to do with it."
The mayor did note, however, that the protests were likely not the only contributing factor, saying that residents who "let their guard down" also had something to do with the spike.
"So it's all of the above," he said. "I'm not saying it's just [protesting], but it was a contributing factor."
Miami-Dade County reported single-day highs of 2,418 new cases and 12 deaths on Saturday. On Sunday, the totals dropped only slightly with 2,282 new cases and 5 deaths reported, according to the Miami Herald. As of Sunday, Miami-Dade's total pandemic counts are 47,011 cases and 1,043 deaths.
The county's uptick is reflective of the state of Florida as a whole, which surpassed 200,000 total cases following the influx of new cases reported over the weekend. Several states across the country have experienced similar surges.
In the interview, Giménez suggested that the rapid rise of younger people testing positive for the virus and being hospitalized in the county in mid-June indicated that increased socializing and protests were responsible for the surge.
Many have suggested that the mass protests against racial injustice which erupted across the country following George Floyd's death in late May would lead to the further spread of the virus and have been suspicious of a recent study which concluded there was "no evidence" that such was the case.
After all, America's top infectious diseases expert, Dr. Anthony Fauci, warned in early June that mass protests were "a perfect set-up for the spread of the virus."
Yet despite enforcing strict lockdowns on businesses and churches in the early stages of the pandemic, state and local leaders did comparatively little to stop mass protests in the name of public health. In some cases, public health experts and state and local leaders openly supported the protests in the face of health risks.


theblaze--2020-07-06--Horowitz: The worst Texas coronavirus increase? On the BORDER

Horowitz : The worst Texas coronavirus increase ?
On the BORDER Why was the border not CLOSED ?

When New York and New Jersey were the epicenter of the serious coronavirus cases in March and April, nearly every state posted signs on highways requiring residents of those states to quarantine for 14 days. Yet no such order was given to those coming into Texas' border counties, even as Tamaulipas, Mexico, became a hot zone in late May and early June. In fact, to this day, even as Texas has placed severe restrictions on its own citizens, there is still no closure of the international border. Why is cross-border travel more sacred than cross-state travel?
The pattern we are seeing now with the virus is remarkable. As cases rise, primarily as a result of universal testing and milder cases among younger people, deaths continue to plummet every week. However, there is one exception. We are seeing serious cases in border counties and even an increase in deaths. How is it that after America reached its peak in April, we are seeing higher deaths again – but only at the border? The answer is that cross-border travel is so pervasive that Americans likely brought back Mexico's much later epidemic curve, which, unlike this current mild wave in the interior of our country, is more serious.
The border connection is irrefutable
Consider the following information a friend prepared on Twitter from the Texas dashboard data by county:
Hidalgo County, Texas, which contains the main international border crossing in the Rio Grande Valley, experienced a 641% increase in cases per thousand residents from June 1 to July 2. Harris County (Houston), by comparison, experienced just a 167% increase, which is more in line with the rate of increase in testing.
Hidalgo County recorded just 23 deaths from the beginning of March through June 23, but 34 deaths since June 24. Hidalgo composes just 2.9% of Texas' population, yet accounted for 20% of the state's deaths from June 30-July 2. On many days, it recorded more deaths than Dallas County. That is simply astounding, given that Dallas County is three times larger and five times denser. Based on everything we've seen throughout the country, unless there is some bizarre anomaly, the more densely populated county always suffers more deaths.
Overall, 31.39% of total deaths in border counties since the beginning of the epidemic were reported in the last 10 days, compared to just 16% in Texas statewide. Put another way, 19.71% of all Texas deaths in last 10 days were reported in border counties, compared to just 10.04% before June 24.
We are seeing the same trends in hospitalization as well.
In the rest of the state and the country, most of the increase is due to universal testing in hospitals and discovering more people with COVID-19 who came in for other ailments. These are not serious cases. To illustrate the point, 25% of all COVID-19 hospitalizations among women ages 15-49, according to the CDC, have been pregnant women. This is a big reason why the increase over the past month (over April and May) is so superficial. My wife gave birth in April but was not tested. That is enough to account for the general increase in hospitalizations, but not the insane increase of 1100% in Hidalgo County. Those are being driven by serious cases being brought over from Mexico's first wave, which is more serious than what is being passed around in the rest of our country since June.
Why has the border changed in the past month?
The timing is remarkable. The average duration from infection to death with a COVID-19 case is about three weeks. Thus, the spike at the border occurred right as Mexico experienced its peak. https://twitter.com/kerpen/status/1279418850703020032
The main border county that receives the most cross-border traffic had zero deaths during the critical weeks after Texas' May 1 reopening. There is therefore no way the reopening was the culprit of the recent spike. On the other hand, the timing matches up perfectly with the spike in Mexico:
Last week, CNN reported how border hospitals were getting flooded with medical tourists from Mexico. "They'll literally come to the border and call an ambulance," said Van Gorder, president and CEO of Scripps Health in southern California.
The New York Times reported a similar dynamic on the Arizona border. "Border towns in Arizona are experiencing an increase in infections that health officials believe is tied to people coming in from Sonora state," reported the Times on June 7.
CNN quoted a border academic as saying that "there just is not a wall for viruses at the border." "The wall is an illusion, because the two sides are really woven together," said Josiah Heyman, director of the Center for Inter-American and Border Studies at the University of Texas at El Paso.
It is definitely true that people on both sides, especially dual citizens, go back and forth to shop, work, or visit family on a daily or weekly basis. However, are they more interwoven than Americans living within America or in different states who were locked down from going to work or forced to quarantine after traveling from another state? Why was the border not closed, or at the very least, why did federal or state officials not require a 14-day quarantine for anyone who crossed the border?
Last week, I reported about the dual citizens or Mexican green card holders who came across for medical care after contracting serious cases of COVID-19. However, a more serious problem of widespread transmission could be the Americans living on our side of the border who blithely traveled back and forth throughout May and June, even after the virus in Mexico began surging and America's epidemic was waning. At least those who came for care were likely brought straight to the hospital and hopefully were not responsible for mass community spread. The same cannot be said for those who unknowingly contracted the virus while going on daily shopping trips in Matamoros or Reynosa and crossed back into communities in Hidalgo and Cameroon Counties.
Matamoras and Reynosa, which border McAllen and Brownsville on the U.S. side respectively, are the biggest hot spots in the Mexican state of Tamaulipas. They are very popular destinations for cross-border traffic over the bridges. One Customs and Border Protection official told KVEO News two weeks ago that the public seemed to continue travelling back and forth, though at a lower rate than normal.
"Considering that there are travel restrictions, people just don't seem to take them very seriously," said Philip Barrera, a U.S. Customers and Border Protection officer.
Barrera says bridge traffic is down, but there doesn't seem to be much enforcement in Mexico.
"From what we understand they have checkpoints, but they're done on a random basis, this is what we hear from the traveling public and they're not there all the time and obviously people take advantage of that," said Barrera who says pedestrian traffic has gone down 35%-40% and vehicular traffic is down 50%.
What many who don't follow the border will miss is that these cases are qualitatively worse than the ones we are seeing elsewhere in the country now, because they are likely from the first unattenuated strain from Mexico. Whereas most Texas hospital systems are lamenting how the media and politicians are overblowing the situation, the hospitals in the Rio Grande Valley are sounding the alarm.
Manny Vela, the CEO of Valley Baptist Health System, warned "that we are now at the point of grave concern." Ten of 12 hospitals in Hidalgo, Cameron, and Starr Counties – the three counties bordering Mexico – are now on "diversion status."
It makes sense that these cases in the border counties are more serious than elsewhere. San Diego officials were warning as early as the end of April that serious cases were coming over the border, not the mild ones we are seeing spread throughout most of the country now. "So, what we're seeing now is an uptick in the number of U.S. citizens that are coming across the border and when they arrive here they've been in pretty bad shape. Critical cases," said San Diego County District 3 Supervisor Kristin Gaspar to local ABC news on April 29.
Strangely, Mexican health officials are the ones first calling for a shutoff of cross-border travel. Why didn't we close our border for real in March or at least when we saw things getting bad in Mexico in May and border agents began getting sick?
The media is puzzling why America seems to be languishing from the virus longer than Europe. But European countries closed their borders so they wouldn't re-import another country's epidemiological curve. Citizens were allowed to come back one time at the beginning. In America, border residents were traveling back and forth for weeks as if nothing was happening.
Therefore, as a result of not locking down the Mexican border, Americans living and traveling within the cities and between the states will now be forced into a more severe quarantine than was ever required of those crossing an international border in middle of a pandemic. Once again, as we see with the dichotomy between the ban on mass gatherings and the public endorsement of BLM protests, some people and causes are created more equal than others.


theblaze--2020-07-06--Frederick Douglass statue torn down in city where he gave speech about the Fourth of July and slaver

Frederick Douglass statue torn down in city where he gave speech about the Fourth of July and slavery prior to Civil War

Frederick Douglass statue torn down in city where he gave speech about the Fourth of July and slavery prior to @ @ @ @ @ painful that it happened at this time '

A statue of iconic abolitionist Frederick Douglass was torn down over the weekend where it stood in a park in Rochester, New York, the Democrat & Chronicle reported — and the act occurred on the anniversary of Douglass' speech "What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?" that he gave in the city prior to the Civil War.
What are the details?
The Douglass statue in Maplewood Park was toppled from its base and left near the Genesee River Gorge, about 50 feet from its pedestal, police told the paper. The base and lower part of the statue were damaged, as was a finger on the statue's left hand, but police added to the paper that there were no signs of graffiti.
Image source: Democrat & Chronicle video screenshot
"It's particularly painful that it happened at this time," said Carvin Eison, a leader of the project that brought a number of Douglass statues to Rochester in 2018 in remembrance of his 200th birthday, the Democrat & Chronicle reported.
More from the paper:
That year, two St. John Fisher students were arrested for severe damage to one of the downtown statues. They maintained they were drunk when they vandalized the statue, while one witness claimed he heard racial slurs before the crime.
They later pleaded guilty to criminal mischief and participated in a restorative justice program in which they learned of the legacy of Douglass.
Eison told the Democrat & Chronicle that the damage to the Maplewood Park statue is too severe for a repair, but another Douglass will take its place. The damage is under investigation, the paper added.
More from the Democrat & Chronicle:
There is historical significance to the timing of the vandalism — though no one can now say whether the timing was mere happenstance — just as there is historical significance to the statue's very location. The Maplewood Park location includes Kelsey's Landing, where Douglass, Harriet Tubman, and others helped shuttle slaves to safety along the Underground Railroad.
Across the United States, Douglass' July 5, 1852 speech, has been shared widely on social media and elsewhere as a reminder of the country's legacy of slavery and racism.
Douglass, a former slave, delivered the speech to the Ladies' Anti-Slavery Society at Corinthian Hall in downtown Rochester. He told the listeners there and beyond that the country could not lay claim to the purest of ideals while willingly enslaving and oppressing its black citizens.
Douglass escaped slavery in Maryland in 1838 and settled in Rochester for about 30 years, the paper said, adding that in his speech Douglass said July 4th's celebration of liberty and citizenship was offensive to the enslaved population.
"Your high independence only reveals the immeasurable distance between us. The blessings in which you, this day, rejoice, are not enjoyed in common," he said, according the the Democrat & Chronicle. "This Fourth July is yours, not mine. You may rejoice, I must mourn."


theblaze--2020-07-06--ABC claims 'luxury car' responsible for killing protester on highway, excludes fact that the driver

ABC claims 'luxury car' responsible for killing protester on highway, excludes fact that the driver was black

ABC claims 'luxury car ' responsible for killing protester on highway , excludes fact that the driver was black 'Saying @ @ @ @ @ does n't fit the narrative , so they went for luxury car '

ABC News was harshly criticized Sunday for whitewashing the story of a Black Lives Matter protester, 24-year-old Summer Taylor, who was killed while demonstrating on a Seattle highway over the weekend.
ABC News reported, "A young protester has died from injuries she suffered when a luxury car plowed into her and another woman during a Black Lives Matter protest Saturday on a Seattle freeway that has been shut down for days due to the civil unrest, police said."
The story was reminiscent of when a white nationalist plowed into a crowd of demonstrators in Charlottesville, Virginia, in 2017, killing Heather Heyer.
Except that's not what happened on Seattle's I-5 highway late Saturday. The reported driver of the "luxury car" was Dawit Kelete, a black man.
ABC News was subsequently bashed on social media for excluding the key detail about the driver to instead claim his car was responsible for striking the demonstrators.
Greg Gutfeld said, "'luxury car.' you know they discussed how to adjust this narrative when it didn't fit the game plan. Our media is irredeemably evil. and every time i see evidence of it, it's like i'm discovering it for the first time.
"Saying that the driver was black doesn't fit the narrative, so they went for luxury car. If he can't be judged evil because of his race, they make it about class," another person said.
"'Luxury car' lmao. Black driver doesn't quite fit huh?" another person responded.
"If the roles were reversed, @ABC headline would read 'Racist white man deliberately plows down 2 peaceful BLM protesters, who were just singing and dancing'. We know that, because that is exactly what they do," another commenter noted.
"Why does ABC think it's unthinkable that a black man would be driving a Jaguar?" another person responded.
"Apparently black people are only defended when it fits the narrative. Now they're trying to pretend the guy is rich so he must be evil obviously," another person said.
As TheBlaze reported, Kelete was apprehended a short time after striking Taylor and another demonstrator. He was booked in the King County Jail on two charges of vehicular assault.
He was, in fact, driving a Jaguar, which is widely seen as a luxury car.


theblaze--2020-07-06--Grieving father of slain Atlanta 8-year-old blasts killers: 'They say black lives matter. You killed

Grieving father of slain Atlanta 8-year-old blasts killers: 'They say black lives matter. You killed your own'

Grieving father of slain Atlanta 8-year-old blasts killers : 'They say black lives matter .
You killed your own '

The father of a young girl who was killed near a protest zone in Atlanta denounced the protesters whose violent conflict took his daughter's life over the weekend, WSB-TV reported.
"They say black lives matter," Secoriya Williamson, the father of Secoriea Turner, said. "You killed your own this time. ... You killed a child. She didn't do nothing to nobody."
Secoriea's mother, Chamaine Turner, broke down as she attempted to speak about her daughter during a press conference.
"She was only 8 years old," Turner said, WSB reported. "She would have been on Tik Tok dancing on her phone, just got done eating. We understand the frustration of Rayshard Brooks. We didn't have anything to do with that. We're innocent. My baby didn't mean no harm."
Secoriea was shot and killed Saturday night while riding in the car with her mother and one other person in a parking lot near the burned-down Wendy's where Rayshard Brooks was killed weeks earlier.
The site has been the location of protests since Brooks' death, and just before Turner was killed, the driver of the car she was in tried to turn into a parking lot that had been blocked off by protesters. At that point they were confronted by a "group of armed individuals."
Someone fired into the car, hitting Secoriea. It's unclear what sparked the gunfire at this time. She died at Atlanta Medical Center.
Atlanta Mayor Keisha Bottoms, who earned national attention for her stern words toward rioters in the wake of George Floyd's death, condemned the shooting and called for an end to the lawlessness.
"Enough is enough," Bottoms said, according to WSB. "If you want people to take us seriously and you don't want us to lose this movement, we can't lose each other."
Authorities are seeking information from the public about who might be involved in the shooting. Bottoms said there were at least two shooters.


theblaze--2020-07-06--Police arrest seven white men in Oregon for harassing black family by using racial slurs and Nazi sa

Police arrest seven white men in Oregon for harassing black family by using racial slurs and Nazi salutes Police said @ @ @ @ @ highly intoxicated '

Police in Oregon arrested seven white men over Independence Day weekend on charges that included threatening law enforcement and harassing a black family.
According to the Lincoln City Police Department, the group was "confrontational and highly intoxicated" during the incident.
The department said in a news release that officers had arrived on the scene late Saturday evening during Fourth of July celebrations after bystanders had reported the group of white men for shooting off illegal fireworks on the beach. When officers arrived, the group allegedly surrounded them and began "taunting and challenging" them for seizing the fireworks.
It was at this point that police learned the same group had allegedly been harassing a black family nearby, "yelling racial slurs at them, insulting them, and using Nazi salutes towards them."
After the black family informed police that they felt threatened by the group's actions, police formed a barrier between them and the group of white men and allowed the family to leave the beach and return to their room.
While this was happening, some in the group began challenging the officers to fight, while others resumed shooting off "multiple large illegal aerial fireworks."
Additional law enforcement was called to the scene before officers moved in to make the arrests.
The department said that the seven men, who ranged in age from 22 to 45 and were all from Clark County, Wash., were arrested for the following crimes: "Riot, Interfering with Police, Disorderly Conduct II, Harassment, Possession of Illegal Fireworks, and Offensive Littering."
Due to current coronavirus restrictions, six of the arrested individuals have been released and issued criminal citations. The seventh, who was found with no ID and refused to identify himself, was "transported to and booked into the Lincoln County Jail for fingerprint identification" and charged with the same crimes as the others.


theblaze--2020-07-07--Museum: 'General Lee' car from 'Dukes of Hazzard' will remain on display

Museum : 'General Lee ' car from 'Dukes of Hazzard ' will remain on display 'We feel the car is @ @ @ @ @ and people love it '

The museum housing the last remaining Confederate-flag-emblazoned car from the first season of "The Dukes of Hazzard" television show says the famed General Lee will remain available for public viewing, despite a nationwide movement to remove Confederate symbols.
What are the details?
The Daily Herald of Arlington Heights inquired about the General Lee's fate last week, at its home in the Volo Auto Museum in northern Illinois. Museum director Brian Grams says the 1969 Dodge Charger is not going anywhere.
"We feel the car is part of history, and people love it," Grams told the outlet. "We've got people of all races and nationalities that remember the TV show and aren't offended by it whatsoever. It's a piece of history and it's in a museum."
But according to Grams, no one has called to complain about the General Lee — yet.
"Several people have reached out with positive comments about us leaving it on display," Grams said, "complimenting us for leaving it there and not having a knee-jerk reaction to remove it like a lot of places are."
The Daily Herald had a good reason for asking about the famous "Dukes of Hazzard" car. Since the death of George Floyd in late May, Confederate statues have been either torn down or peacefully removed throughout the Southern U.S., and Mississippi passed a law retiring its state flag — the last in the nation that contained the Confederate battle emblem.
The General Lee displayed in the the Volo Auto Museum is the last of its kind, too. The very first General Lee shown in the "Dukes of Hazzard" was purchased by golfer Bubba Watson, who had the Confederate flag removed from the vehicle.
A few years ago, Grams told the Daily Herald that 249 General Lees were used over the course of the show's run from 1979 to 1985. Of those, only 11 remained as of 2015. The car held by Volo is the last surviving vehicle from the first season.


theblaze--2020-07-07--South Carolina mayor pro tem resigns after public outrage over Facebook post comparing BLM to Confed

South Carolina mayor pro tem resigns after public outrage over Facebook post comparing BLM to Confederate flag

A councilman in Mauldin, South Carolina, resigned as mayor pro tem after public outrage over his Facebook posts comparing the Confederate flag to minority activist groups, including Black Lives Matter.
The Mauldin City Council passed a motion admonishing Dale Black and accepting his resignation on Monday.
"Our minority community is hurting and our trust in each other is damaged," said Mauldin Mayor Terry Merritt, according to WHNS-TV.
"Councilman Black's over 23 years of public service for this city has been tarnished by his lack of sensitivity in sharing racially-insensitive posts on his personal Facebook account," he added.
Black posted memes on his personal account that many called racist and insensitive. They were circulated on social media by angry activists:
Image Source: Twitter screenshot
Another meme read, "Time to take down the pyramids! Pretty sure they were built on slavery!" Another read, "7 funerals, a golden casket, and broadcast on every major network for a man who was a violent felon and career criminal? Soldiers die and the family gets a flag," apparently in reference to the death of George Floyd.
Black met with local leaders who were calling for his resignation and he apologized, but they were not appeased by the offering.
Protesters marched and held a rally at city hall to demand Black's resignation.
"Recently, I received a Facebook message concerning the controversy involving historic monuments which I re-posted on my Facebook account. I regret this and now understand why that was offensive. As a public leader, I pledge that this will never happen again," read a statement from Black.
Here's a local news report about the controversy:


theblaze--2020-07-08--NBC News chief announces new affirmative action goals for workforce

The chairman of NBC Universal News Group announced new affirmative action goals Tuesday for hiring at the corporation , aiming for a workforce comprised of 50 % women and 50 % people of color .
What are the details ?
A New York Times media columnist posted an internal email from NBC News chief Cesar Conde on Twitter , wherein Conde explains to employees that the network would be formulating an action plan to achieve the goal of making `` 50 % of our New organization employees be women and 50 % of our total workforce be people of color @ @ @ @ @ @ @ MSNBC , and CNBC—did not spell out a specific timeline for executing the new affirmative action goals , but asked employees to provide feedback over the next 100 days to `` collectively decide on the key metrics to track ( the organization 's ) progress . ''
According to The Wrap , NBC does not have far to go in meeting its mission when it comes to gender .
The outlet reported : An article from U.S. News and World Report from 2017 reported that `` men and women of color make up @ @ @ @ @ @ @ '' Conde said in his letter to employees that `` over the past several weeks we have covered a country reckoning with systemic inequality and the painful consequences of a long history of racial injustice . ''
He added , `` as a news organization we have a unique responsibility to reflect the country and all of the communities we serve . ''

The chairman of NBC Universal News Group announced new affirmative action goals Tuesday for hiring at the corporation, aiming for a workforce comprised of 50% women and 50% people of color.
What are the details?
A New York Times media columnist posted an internal email from NBC News chief Cesar Conde on Twitter, wherein Conde explains to employees that the network would be formulating an action plan to achieve the goal of making "50% of our New organization employees be women and 50% of our total workforce be people of color."
To that, Washington Examiner reporter Joe Simonson replied, "Quotas baby."
Conde—who oversees NBC News, MSNBC, and CNBC—did not spell out a specific timeline for executing the new affirmative action goals, but asked employees to provide feedback over the next 100 days to "collectively decide on the key metrics to track (the organization's) progress."
According to The Wrap, NBC does not have far to go in meeting its mission when it comes to gender. The outlet reported:
Nearly half of the news division's 3,000 employees are women, Conde said in a video message accompanying a memo to staff, while 26.5% are people of color—among them, 8% are Black, 8% are Hispanic, 8% are Asian, 2% are multiracial and less than 1% are Native American.
An article from U.S. News and World Report from 2017 reported that "men and women of color make up 19 percent of the population each."
Conde said in his letter to employees that "over the past several weeks we have covered a country reckoning with systemic inequality and the painful consequences of a long history of racial injustice."
He added, "as a news organization we have a unique responsibility to reflect the country and all of the communities we serve."


theblaze--2020-07-08--California couple who vandalized Black Lives Matter mural charged with a hate crime

A viral video showed the couple in the act

A couple captured on cellphone video painting over a Black Lives Matter street mural installation has been charged with a hate crime over the incident.
Black Lives Matter supporters recorded a woman using a roller paint brush to paint over the art and her male partner in a very heated viral video. The incident happened in Martinez, California, on the Fourth of July.
Man confronts suspects caught on camera defacing Black Lives Matter mural in California www.youtube.com
"There is no oppression, there is no racism," says the man. "It's a leftist lie."
On Tuesday Contra Costa County District Attorney Diana Becton announced in a statement that the couple had been charged with a hate crime.
"Today, the Contra Costa County District Attorney's Office charged Nichole Anderson (42-years old Martinez resident) and David Nelson (53-years-old Martinez resident) with three misdemeanor counts, including a hate crime, for their alleged actions on Saturday, July 4, when defendant Anderson covered up a Black Lives Matter mural with black paint," read the statement.
Becton points out in the statement that the temporary mural was approved by the City of Martinez, and had been painted just hours prior to the vandalism.
If found guilty, the couple could face up to a year in county jail.
Here's a local news report about the reaction to the incident:


theblaze--2020-07-08--Woman finds human head on Florida roadside during morning jog

Police have not yet identified the deceased

A Florida woman on her typical daily run in St. Petersburg made a grisly discovery on Tuesday morning: a decomposing human head.
What are the details?
The St. Petersburg Police Department reported that at around 7:00 a.m., they received a call from a jogger who found "human remains" that turned out to be someone's head near the intersection of 38th Avenue South and 31st Street South.
Homicide detectives are now investigating.
The deceased person's identity is not yet known because the remains had decomposed to the point that authorities could not immediately determine the individual's gender or race. The remains were sent to the medical examiner's office, according to the Miami Herald.
Police spokeswoman Yolanda Fernandez told WFOR-TV that investigators do not believe the victim died at the scene.
Fernandez told WTVT-TV of the runner, "She did not jog here yesterday, but she did Sunday, and it was not here on Sunday. So we're asking anyone from the public who may have seen it yesterday or seen something suspicious to let us know."