Welp, it's happening in my city too.
>Tonight what started out as a peaceful vigil at Peninsula Park to honor the memory of George Floyd, a Black man killed by police in Minneapolis, has turned into a downtown melee in which the Multnomah County Justice Center (1021 SW 4th) has been broken into, and set ablaze. Our Alex Zielinski is on the scene.

>While keeping a low profile throughout the evening, the Portland Police were quick to arrive at the scene dressed in tactical gear, and issuing warnings.

>Police are now using pepper spray and tear gas in an effort to break up the protest. The Portland Police Bureau (PPB) is also reporting that there have been three shootings related to tonight's protests, though details about the shootings are scant.
https://www.portlandmercury.com/blogtown/2020/05/29/28485411/a-peaceful-vigil-turns-violent-with-multnomah-county-justice-center-in-flames

Ngl, though. I kind of want to go down there and see for myself.

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/27/climate/lawsuit-fuel-economy-climate.html

Led by California, nearly two dozen states sued the Trump administration on Wednesday over its reversal of fuel-efficiency standards for cars and trucks, arguing that the move is based on erroneous science, and endangers public health.

The lawsuit escalates a standoff between President Trump, who has moved to undo a long list of environmental regulations since taking office, and a coalition of Democratic states, which have gone to court to stop him.

President Trump’s attempt to weaken future fuel economy standards — undoing what would have been the single biggest effort by the United States to fight the climate crisis — has been especially contentious and messy. Mr. Trump has called the rollback the crowning deregulatory achievement of his tenure, a move that he has said will save lives, lift the economy and help the auto industry.

Yet the auto industry itself has been split over the measure, which would weaken a 2012 standard that would have required automakers to improve the average fuel economy of cars and trucks to about 54 miles per gallon by 2025. The new standards set forth by the Trump administration only require automakers to improve their average fleetwide fuel economy to 40 miles per gallon.
...

Fighting misinformation and conspiracy theories about the novel coronavirus has almost been as hard as battling the pandemic itself.

A conspiracy theory that Gates is planning to use a future COVID-19 vaccine to implant microchips in billions of people in order to monitor their movements has gained supporters particularly among Fox News viewers and Republicans, the survey found.

The representative survey of 1,640 US adults by YouGov for Yahoo News found that half of respondent Americans who say Fox News is their primary television news source believe the conspiracy theory. It's the largest group responding this way, followed by self-described Republicans and "Voted for Donald Trump in 2016" -- 44% of both those groups said they believed the conspiracy theory was true. 26% of respondent Republicans said it was false, and 31% said they weren't sure.

https://www.cnet.com/news/over-40-of-republicans-think-bill-gates-will-use-covid-19-vaccine-to-implant-tracking-microchips-survey-says/

A majority of Fox News viewers (53%), along with nearly half of Trump voters (49%) and Republicans (44%), think hydroxychloroquine is an effective treatment against COVID-19 — even though study after study has not proved that to be true. In fact, a new study of 96,000 hospitalized coronavirus patients on six continents found that those who received the drug had a significantly higher risk of death compared with those who did not.

Far fewer Trump voters, say that hydroxychloroquine is ineffective (just 17%) or that they are not sure (34%)
The poll also found that a plurality of Trump voters (41%) say they would take hydroxychloroquine if it were available to them. Only 4% of Clinton voters say the same; 80% say they would not take the drug.

https://news.yahoo.com/new-yahoo-news-you-gov-poll-shows-coronavirus-conspiracy-theories-spreading-on-the-right-may-hamper-vaccine-efforts-152843610.html

Entire article at:
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-52773555
May 22, 2022

Biden: Black voters considering Trump 'ain't black'

Democratic White House candidate Joe Biden has said in an interview African Americans "ain't black" if they vote for President Donald Trump over him.

The controversial exchange happened as radio host Charlamagne Tha God pressed the former vice-president on Friday about his outreach to black voters.

Mr Biden later expressed regret for the comment, insisting he had never taken African American support for granted.

Loyal support from black voters has been vital to Mr Biden's candidacy.

cont.

No entrance with a mask.

A local tavern in Elgin has banned its customers from coming in covered up.

The statement posted outside the tavern reads, “Due to our concern for our citizens, if they feel the need to wear a mask, then they should probably stay home until it’s safe.”

“I think that’s a risk. I think that’s foolish,” said Elgin local, Ross Owens. “They’re taking chances they don’t need to take, especially if they’re in public service.”

According to a 2018 census, the City of Elgin has a little over 10,000 residents. Since the start of the coronavirus pandemic, the city has reported that 52 of those residents have tested positive for COVID-19.

On Elgin’s Main Street is where we find a popular tavern banning masks.

“It is more of a push back — the snitches, and the contact tracers out there,” said Kevin Smith, Co-Owner of the Liberty Tree Tavern. “This is still a rural county.”

Kevin Smith says he’s still following social distancing guidelines as set in place by the Center for Disease Control.

Since the Liberty Tree Tavern shut down, Charles Chamberlain has been eagerly waiting for it to open back up. He says he’s not fazed by the tavern’s posting.

“I’m a stage 4 cancer survivor. It’s just a choice. He just put that up there to let people know if they aren’t feeling good, then they maybe shouldn’t come,” said Charles Chamberlain. “Everybody is keeping safe distances, they aren’t bunching up.”

Along Main Street you’ll find other businesses requiring masks, while others are asking you wear them at your own discretion.

https://www.kxan.com/news/local/elgin-bar-owner-bans-customers-from-wearing-masks-inside/

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/30/world/asia/hong-kong-trump-china.html

I need your help.

help me save my tree.

this tree was planted by my dad the day I was born. Please let Con Edison know that they cannot tear down this tree. @conedison 61-24 bell Blvd
Bayside Queens NY 11364 please help me save my tree. pic.twitter.com/XXkYjBiY9O

— Ron Jeremy (@RealRonJeremy) May 16, 2020

He’s on a mission to save some old wood.

Porn star Ron Jeremy got up close and personal with a new love Saturday — but not the kind you’d think.

The XXX-star tweeted a photo of himself spooning with a rock hard timber, his arms reaching behind to grasp the tree, pleading for “help.”

“This tree was planted by my dad the day I was born. Please let Con Edison know that they cannot tear down this tree,” Jeremy wrote, tagging @conedison.

The actor, known in the industry for his own prodigious trunk, gave the address as 61-24 Bell Blvd. in Bayside.

Nicknamed “The Hedgehog,” Jeremy was born in 1953 in Queens and claims to have starred in more than 1,600 porn flicks including “Put it in Reverse, Part 3,” in which he does the deed with 14 different ladies — consecutively.

https://nypost.com/2020/05/16/porn-actor-ron-jeremy-makes-plea-to-save-queens-tree/

https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2020/may/29/angry-mob-storms-cnn-headquarters-as-protests-roil/

An angry mob outraged at the death of George Floyd stormed CNN’s world headquarters Friday night in Atlanta, vandalizing the building’s facade, breaking windows, and tossing a firecracker or smoke bomb at officers blocking the entrance.

Video posted by CNN personalities and others showed demonstrators in a large, rowdy crowd jumping on police cars outside the CNN Center, which was defaced with graffiti, setting fires, and throwing rocks and bottles.

Police reacted by deploying tear gas and making some arrests, as shown on video.

“That is the CNN world headquarters,” said CNN host Chris Cuomo. “Police had been outside, and then as the crowds advanced on CNN, and they were on top of the CNN logo and spray-painting things on it, and they started to light cars on fire and become increasingly violent, we had the police move inside CNN and then the windows of CNN were broken. And so you had a big point of ingress.”

The crowd was one of many that gathered at major cities across the nation to protest the death of Mr. Floyd, 46, who died Monday in Minneapolis after an officer kneeled on his neck during an arrest for using a phony $20 bill at a grocery store.

What you’re seeing live on CNN is vandalism in the lobby of CNN Center in Atlanta. So disturbing to see,” tweeted CNN “Reliable Sources” host Brian Stelter. “FYI: Our control rooms and newsroom employees are several floors and locked doors away. The coverage continues, no matter what.”