Washington’s King County, which includes Seattle, is drowning in a significant backlog of eviction cases, leaving thousands of landlords and tenants in limbo for more than six months in some cases.

Prior to the pandemic, evictions took 6-7 weeks if a tenant needed the boot. Now, an “unlawful detainer” eviction case in Seattle or surrounding areas won’t be heard until 2025.

“There’s a pretty enormous backlog,” said Edmund Witter from the King County Bar’s Pro Bono Services, Fox13 reports. “If you’re a landlord trying to evict someone, it could take months to get a hearing date. That’s the big issue.”

According to King County Councilman Regan Dunn, the last year has been particularly bad – with an estimated 2,200 to 6,500 unresolved cases, and roughly 600 new eviction requests each month.

“Why we’re seeing a lot of evictions right now is that there was a decent safety net over the last couple of years due to COVID,” said Witter – who added that his office is overloaded and has a list of 1,500 renters who need representation.

“We see tenants with $2,000 to $3,000 rent increases,” Witter said. “The cost of living is too high, and people cannot afford housing. They’re getting crushed underneath it, and that’s why we’re seeing record numbers of evictions.”

Meanwhile, judges told Fox13 that the expiration of pandemic-era eviction moratoriums and the depletion of federal aid created a perfect storm.

According to Councilman Dunn, people are exploiting the situation.

“There are serial squatters who know the rules and don’t care,” he said. “They’ve found ways to stay in their units longer because of new legal protections.”

It’s not just people at the margin… In March, a squatter made headlines for refusing to move out of a $2 million house in upscale Bellevue, despite a household income of $408,000 per year as a medical consultant. The landlord claims the renter, Sang Kim, owes him around $80,000 in legal filings as well.

Wild Saturday afternoon in Bellevue. Serial squatter Sang Kim came outside and confronted some of the protesters supporting landlord Jasakaran Singh. He also whacked my camera as I tried to ask him some questions. Otherwise, Singh’s wife is now calling out politicians by name and… https://t.co/BD00wzI7Qh pic.twitter.com/hOaV1ZqDHF

— Jonathan Choe (@choeshow) March 31, 2024

Landlords are fed up and have organized outside the home.

Dunn has proposed spending $1.3 million to increase the number of court staff in order to speed up the process.

“We can’t do any of that if there aren’t enough bodies to process these cases,” he said.

Witter, the squatter attorney, disagrees, saying of Dunn’s plan; “This does not address the actual issue of why people are being evicted in record numbers. He’s just saying we need to speed up making people homeless faster.”

Authored by Zachary Stieber via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

A federal judge wrongly stopped a Jan. 6, 2021, defendant from striking a potential juror who admitted he could not view the defendant as presumptively innocent, a U.S. appeals court has found.

U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta [an Obama appointee] denied a request from lawyers for Thomas Webster, who was later convicted on multiple counts, to strike a potential juror known as 1156 who had expressed support for President Joe Biden and said that support would put Mr. Webster at a disadvantage.

The potential juror also said he did not see the trial as “a 0-0 game to start” and, when asked by the judge if he could honor the presumption of innocence, said, “I honestly don’t think so.”

“The district court should have struck at least potential juror 1156 for cause,” U.S. Circuit Judge Patricia Millett, writing for a unanimous panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, said in the May 28 ruling.

“A district court should never allow a juror to sit after he admits he cannot presume the defendant innocent. Full stop,” Judge Millett added later.

Lawyers for Mr. Webster said in a brief to the circuit court that while the potential juror did not end up being part of the jury, the man should have been struck by Judge Mehta. They also highlighted how the judge did not strike another prospective juror, who said that she was “more aligned” with government attorneys than Mr. Webster’s lawyers. They also raised concerns about how the judge then instructed counsel not to question subsequent jurors as to whether their views gave the defendant a disadvantage.

“The court’s further instruction to counsel put a chilling effect on the afternoon session of voir dire,” the lawyers said. “Counsel was limited from using words that jurors may understand better than the legal jargon of presumption of innocence to get at real concerns of bias.”

The appeal said Judge Mehta also should have granted a motion to change venue given results from a survey of Washington residents, that the judge committed an error when providing instructions to the jury, and that his approval of a sentencing enhancement for wearing body armor should be overturned.

After explaining how Judge Mehta wrongly did not strike potential juror 1156, the circuit court panel denied the entire appeal.

“That single error in a lengthy voir dire process does not indict the process itself given the absence of any prejudice tied to the jurors who actually decided Webster’s case,” Judge Millett wrote.

The panel said that Mr. Webster did not provide enough news articles to show the jury pool was prejudiced against him. even after noting that one quoted a person on social media as calling him an “eye gouger.”

“Without more, such routine and objective press coverage of a criminal prosecution does not trench upon the defendant’s right to a fair trial,” Judge Millett said.

A survey of 400 Washington voters found that some respondents were prepared to find people involved in the Jan. 6 breach guilty, without hearing evidence. But nearly half of respondents said they did not know how they would vote if named to a jury, that their vote depended on other factors, or refused to speculate how they would vote in such an instance, the circuit court noted in ruling against the change of venue arguments.

As for the instructions to the jury, Mr. Webster said the judge erred in telling jurors that one can violate federal law prohibiting assaulting, resisting, opposing, impeding, intimidating, or interfering with federal officers only if the person made physical contact with the victim.

The judge may have made a mistake, but “any such mistake would have helped, rather than hurt, Webster by making it harder for the jury to convict him,” the panel said. “Webster, after all, does not dispute that the jury was properly instructed on and found each of the necessary elements for his offense. So removing any surplus elements from the jury instructions would only have made it easier for the jury to convict. The jury still found Webster committed every true element of the crime.”

The sentencing enhancement for wearing body armor was correct, Judge Willett said, because Mr. Webster was wearing body armor when he pushed a Metropolitan Police Department officer on Capitol grounds.

“Webster used body armor while committing his assault. He put it on that morning, in part, for protection. He wore it throughout the day, including as he attacked [the officer]. Given those facts, the district court correctly applied the enhancement,” she said, citing guidelines that say harsher sentences can be imposed if a person is convicted of a crime of violence and “used the body armor with respect to that offense.”

The court also said Mr. Webster’s sentence, 10 years, was appropriate given his actions.

Judges Mehta and Millett were appointed by former President Barack Obama. Judge Millett was joined by Circuit Judges  Gregory Katsas and Neomi Rao, both appointed by former President Donald Trump.

Israel is warning that its military operation in Gaza will continue through at least the end of the year, in an assessment which is sure to shock and anger the growing chorus of international critics and countries.

Israel’s national security adviser and top Netanyahu aide Tzachi Hanegbi stated Wednesday: “We are now in the fifth month of 2024, which means we expect another seven months of fighting to deepen our achievements and achieve our goal of destroying the military and governmental capabilities of Hamas and Islamic Jihad.”

The same official stressed that the war cabinet had defined 2024 as “a year of combat” in the wake of the Oct.7 terror attack by Hamas and Islamic Jihad.

Israeli officials have long signaled that the big Rafah incursion is expected to be the last major offensive of the conflict, but since then Hamas has reappeared in places in northern and central Gaza where it had previously been defeated.

Hanegbi’s fresh assessment strongly suggests that Rafah will not be the end, despite Prime Minister Netanyahu having previously portrayed Rafah as the “last bastion” of the fight. But the Israeli leader has also vowed that Israeli forces won’t stop until Hamas is fully eradicated.

This is proving easier said than done – as the combat conditions throughout Gaza are akin to the grinding urban fighting US Marines faced in Fallujah or Mosul – and probably worse.

When the United States has faced an insurgency, in Iraq or Afghanistan for example, it led to many years of fighting and a seemingly endless unstable occupation.

There’s also the difficult reality of the tunnels. By some estimates, all combined there is a vast system of literally hundreds of miles of tunnels running under the Gaza Strip. Hamas militants have become experts as utilizing the tunnels to employ rapid hit and run guerilla tactics.

Given that often ambushes against the Israel Defense Forces are conducted in small teams, typically of 3 or 5 Hamas fighters, the group is often able to inflict damage while mitigating the number and rate of its losses.

AJ: Officially reported figures from each side…

There continue to be thousands of Hamas militants in the tunnels, settled in and ready to conduct a long insurgency, and amid a dense civilian population. For this reason, some analysts see Israel in a bit of a lose-lose situation. Hamas can hide out, strike convoys, and bleed Israeli forces slowly.

Meanwhile the rising civilian death toll will continue to put immense political pressure on the Netanyahu government. The ‘cost’ in blood and treasure will also drive bigger and more consequential protests domestically, which have already been running hot in places like Tel Aviv and in front of the Knesset.

Authored by Win Ko Ko Aung via BitcoinMagazine.com,

In a world where “talent is everywhere, opportunity is not,” the existing fiat monetary system perpetuates the divide between those with access and resources those without. Even in democratic societies, which have their own flaws, people generally enjoy stable currencies, freedom, and rule of law. These features create an environment rich with opportunities, where a person’s start in life doesn’t have to dictate where they end up.

Bitcoin advocate and bestselling author Lyn Alden is a prime example of overcoming obstacles and taking advantage of the opportunities afforded by democratic societies. Despite experiencing homelessness for several years, she worked her way up to become a well-known figure in financial circles. Her story is not unique; many refugees fleeing war and persecution have found ways to adapt, innovate, and thrive in new lands, contributing significantly to their adopted communities.

WhatsApp co-founder Jan Koum, for example, grew up without electricity in Ukraine, and after immigrating to America he spent several years cleaning grocery stores before finally achieving success. PayPal co-founder Max Levchin has tweeted about how he found success in America after escaping persecution in Russia. “My family and I, and thousands of Soviet Jews like us, came to the US as refugees in ’91, running from a regime that persecuted us because of who we were,”. Another amazing immigrant success story is that of Mai Lee Chang, who was born in a Thai refugee camp to Vietnamese parents and only knew one English word — “restroom” — when she started school in the U.S. Chang overcame numerous obstacles and is now an engineer contributing to NASA’s journey to Mars.

However, the situation is vastly different under authoritarian regimes, where a person’s potential is often predetermined by their birth circumstances. Typically, in such places if you’re not born into a family with connections to corrupt officials—in other words, if you’re not a rich kid—your ability to innovate and your entrepreneurial spirit will be systematically suppressed. Under these regimes, the fiat system isn’t based on merit, but rather rigged in favor of such ‘crony kids.’ In other words, the systems are based on nepotism, family connections, and corruption.

In the past, when there was neither the internet nor smartphones available, the average individual living in such hostile environments simply accepted the harsh reality of being destined to serve dictators and their family members. Today, however, Bitcoin is emerging as more than just a technology; it serves as a gateway to financial empowerment without compromising moral values. It offers a powerful tool for breaking through many of the concrete barriers erected by oppressive governments.

The experience of Swan Htet Aung (Swan), an AI entrepreneur from Myanmar (formerly known as Burma), demonstrates how Bitcoin can provide a lifeline to individuals facing the harsh reality of starting from scratch without money or family connections. After founding his AI company in 2016, Swan’s startup grew quickly, and by 2020 it was generating annual revenue of over $300,000.

Highlighting the importance of Bitcoin in preserving financial health, Swan recalled a pivotal moment after the coup in February 2021. Four days after the military takeover, he withdrew his company’s cash and converted it to Bitcoin and USDT. He made this decision just a couple of weeks before banks in Myanmar began limiting withdrawals for individuals and businesses, allowing him to take control of his company’s assets. Unfortunately, his choice to keep the remaining USD assets in the banks caused him to lose a significant portion of the company’s financial assets when the Myanmar’s junta enacted an extreme new monetary policy designed to conserve USD for its war machine. The policy, issued by Myanmar’s Central Bank on April 3rd 2022, resulted in the forceful conversion of Swan’s USD reserves into Myanmar’s rapidly depreciating local currency (the Myanmar Kyat) without his consent at 30% below the market rate.

The new policy mandated that “Residents within the country must repatriate foreign currency earnings obtained from abroad to Myanmar. These earnings are to be sold and exchanged for Myanmar Kyat within one working day through banks holding Authorized Dealer (AD) licenses by opening a foreign currency account in Myanmar.”

People living in countries with more fair and just legal systems might find it difficult to comprehend such oppressive financial policies. However, Myanmar actually has a history of centralized financial institutions wielding power to suppress its citizens. A notorious example happened in 1987 when the government suddenly demonetized 25, 35, and 75 Kyat notes, effectively erasing 80% of the currency circulating in the economy overnight.

More recently, after Myanmar’s violent military coup in 2021, the Burmese military used tactics such as freezing the bank accounts of activists, journalists, and supporters of the anti-coup movement, further demonstrating the junta’s tactic of oppressing people via the fiat financial system. Unfortunately, such abusive policies are often effective in places such as Myanmar, where people are preoccupied with ensuring their physical survival, securing food for their table, and keeping a roof over their heads – leaving them with little energy or no interest to challenge or fight against injustices.

Before 2010, Myanmar had a lower mobile phone ownership rate than North Korea, and dictator Than Shwe’s regime discouraged internet use by spreading propaganda that the internet was merely a place for adult videos. By 2016, however, the landscape had changed dramatically, as social media, affordable smartphones, and cheap SIM cards had become widely accessible to the majority of the country’s population.

Initially, Myanmar entrepreneur Swan came to the U.S. at age 32 for the GenAI event hosted by AWS in San Francisco to learn and gain new experiences, intending to return to Myanmar. However, while he was in transit, the Burmese military activated a forced conscription law, drastically changing his life trajectory. This law, combined with the financial instability caused by the Central Bank’s actions, widespread socio-economic injustice, and the country’s hyper-surveillance system, prompted Swan to decide to stay longer in the U.S. He now hopes to obtain an O1-Visa to continue his work and rebuild his dream in an environment where there are more opportunities to innovate and develop. While the U.S. has its own inequalities and domestic issues, many foreigners still view it as the best destination to pursue their dreams, believing that hard work and innovation can lead to success.

In a conversation for this article, Swan recounted the early days of his startup in Yangon, Myanmar’s largest city. Along with two friends, Swan launched an AI software company in 2016, a period of time when Myanmar was undergoing significant reforms and gradually increasing its participation in the global community after over half a century of isolation.

“Human labor is cheaper in Myanmar than subscribing to software,” Swan said.

“It makes sense for business owners to hire staff at a salary of $100 a month and assign them multiple tasks, whether they’re inside or outside the scope of the job, unlike a chatbot for customer service.”

While AI job displacement is rising in the developed world, in developing countries sweatshop conditions and cheap labor costs will always outcompete AI, at least in places where electricity is limited and there’s zero democracy (of course, low wages and sweatshop working conditions also raise a host of ethical problems that must be addressed).

Swan then shared the early struggles of his startup, “We spent pretty much all of 2016 just developing the product because we didn’t get a single customer. I had a side job and lived with my parents in a rented apartment while the other two co-founders left to pursue other full-time opportunities.”

Swan, who speaks Burmese and English fluently, mentioned that he faced social constraints while raising funds, primarily because Myanmar is an emerging market. Additionally, there was an underlying social barrier: he had never worked abroad and held a degree from a university in Yangon. Unlike the privileged ‘crony kids’, Swan lacked a privileged background, so his start-up struggled to find investors despite generating annual revenues of $300,000 in 2020 and signing deals with over 1,000 business partners, including multinational corporations like Samsung, Unilever, Carlsberg, NIVEA, and many more.

If a protocol-based fundraising system like Bitcoin was available for entrepreneurs in the developing world, talented individuals like Swan could scale up their startups regardless of their socio-economic status or whether they have a prestigious degree.

Bitcoin may be seen as an investment asset class in the developed world or misunderstood as an environmentally damaging technology, but it represents a lifeline, money, and access to the global capital market for talented individuals in developing countries who are trapped in an unfair monetary system which primarily benefits privileged ‘crony kids.’ These talented individuals don’t have the luxury of engaging in the unfinished global debate about Bitcoin. Rather, they are desperately trying to break free from the cycle of economic oppression. Thankfully, under the Bitcoin standard individuals can access opportunities and financial freedom, ultimately contributing to a more equal and prosperous global community.

Range anxiety with electric vehicles becomes less of a problem when switching to hybrids – a plan almost all of the auto industry is now embracing after finding out the economics of pure BEVs are a prohibitive nightmare. 

For example this week Bloomberg reported that BYD had unveiled a new “hybrid powertrain capable of traveling more than 2,000 kilometers (1,250 miles) without recharging or refueling”. 

The technology will be featured in two sedans priced below 100,000 yuan ($13,800) and capable of covering distances comparable to Singapore to Bangkok or New York to Miami on a single charge and tank of gas. This advancement marks a significant stride in fuel efficiency since BYD introduced its first hybrids in 2008.

The Shenzhen-based automaker, known for aggressive pricing strategies that have impacted its profitability, dominates the Chinese hybrid market, holding a 50% market share, Bloomberg writes.

In response to consumer range concerns and environmental considerations, automakers globally are innovating, as demonstrated by Toyota’s recent unveiling of a versatile new internal combustion engine.

BYD, which ceased production of solely fossil-fuel vehicles in early 2022, is expanding its hybrid exports, particularly to markets with limited charging infrastructure. The new upgrades, initially available in China, are expected to be exported soon.

Recall just days ago we wrote that Volkswagen was stepping back from BEVs into hybrids. And back in April we noted that Ford was “re-timing” its efforts to go all electric and back in February we wrote that GM was shifting to plug-in hybrids, too. 

CEO Mary Barra said on an earnings call back in February: “Let me be clear, GM remains committed to eliminating tailpipe emissions from our light-duty vehicles by 2035, but, in the interim, deploying plug-in technology in strategic segments will deliver some of the environment or environmental benefits of EVs as the nation continues to build this charging infrastructure.”

We also noted at the beginning of the year that BYD had surpassed Tesla in fully electric vehicle deliveries for the first time. 

The company said it produced more than 3 million new energy vehicles for the year and it marks the second year that BYD has beat out Tesla in total production. BYD produced 1.6 million battery only vehicles, just slightly behind Tesla, and 1.4 million hybrids. 

Via Middle East Eye

Saudi textbooks have removed the name “Palestine” from most maps where it previously appeared, a study by an Israeli think-tank said. The study, conducted by the NGO Impact-se, tracks changes in Saudi school textbooks over the past five years, as reflected in the 2023-24 academic year. 

It reviews 371 textbooks published between 2019 and 2024, and highlights content removed, altered or that which remained unchanged. A social studies textbook for grade 12 defining Zionism as a racist movement was no longer taught from 2023, while another textbook still taught has removed the chapter about the Palestinian cause, the study revealed.

According to the study, the social studies textbooks for grades five and nine consistently don’t name Palestine or Israel on maps, which is an omission from the 2022 versions which only named Palestine on the map. 

“Most maps removed the names of all countries not bordering Saudi Arabia, including Palestine, and in some cases all country names were removed,” the report said.

Likewise, two maps in a geography textbook for grades 10-12, which previously named Palestine, now do not display the names of any country bordering Saudi Arabia. The same omission took place in social studies textbooks for grades six and seven.

Islamic studies and geography textbooks for grades 10-12 also removed maps that previously displayed historic Palestine instead of Israel. 

A reference to Israel as “the Zionist entity” in the 2021 social studies textbook for grades 10-12 was removed in the 2022 edition, and the entire textbook that included a lesson on Arab and Saudi support for the Palestinian cause was discontinued in 2023.

Less hostile tone

The report also documented some alterations in textbooks that now refer to Israel in a less hostile tone.

For example, the 2022 version of a high school social studies textbook replaced references to Israel as “the Zionist enemy” with “the Israeli occupation army”. The same textbook edited “the Israeli enemy” to “the Israeli occupation”, and “the Zionists” to “the Israelis”, or “the Israeli occupation army”.

Saudi Arabia has not formally recognized Israel since its creation in 1948, but there has been persistent speculation that the kingdom would normalise relations with the state as its Gulf neighbors Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates have in recent years.

These rumors, however, were disrupted following the October 7 Hamas-led attack on Israel and the subsequent Israeli war on Gaza that has killed a reported more than 36,000 Palestinians.

Saudi Arabia has been a strong opponent and critic of Israel’s onslaught. The Saudi foreign ministry said in February that no normalization would take place without a ceasefire and progress toward Palestinian statehood.

We don’t think it’ll be long before nuclear power once again has a renaissance, as we’ve written about extensively. But for now, the world’s largest nuclear power plant, the Kashiwazaki Kariwa Nuclear Power Plant in Japan, is sitting idle even as the world’s energy needs continue to grow. 

Bloomberg reported this week that the Kashiwazaki Kariwa Nuclear Power Plant, recognized by Guinness World Records for its potential 8.2 gigawatt output, stands idle despite once being central to Japan’s goal of deriving 50% of its energy from nuclear power by 2030.

The facility, known as KK, shut down its seven reactors following the 2011 Fukushima disaster, which led to a national reevaluation of nuclear energy. Amidst current economic strategies targeting industries like semiconductor manufacturing and AI, debates are intensifying over whether KK and its operator, Tokyo Electric Power Co., should be given another opportunity.

Globally, nuclear power is witnessing a resurgence, as we have been covering here on Zero Hedge. In the U.S., AI-Jesus Sam Altman just had his small modular reactor company, Oklo, listed on NYSE. Around the world in places like France and Poland, the small modular reactor model could be what ushers nuclear back in, with some countries planning for adoption by 2030.

The International Atomic Energy Agency projects that nuclear power capacity could increase by 24% by 2030 and by 140% by 2050 from 2022 levels. Countries like China and India are expanding their nuclear programs, while even Saudi Arabia is exploring nuclear options with the U.S., reflecting a broader recommitment to nuclear energy as a vital resource.

Rafael Mariano Grossi, director general of the IAEA, said in March: “It’s very important for Japan to be able to count on Kashiwazaki Kariwa again. How many countries have that idle capacity? Many countries wish they just had it.”

Restarting or building new nuclear reactors in Japan is politically challenging. Nuclear power provides steady, carbon-free electricity, unlike the variable output from wind and solar. However, these facilities take over a decade to construct and produce long-lasting hazardous waste.

In 2017, two reactors at the KK plant were approved to restart by Japan’s nuclear regulator, but a firm restart date has not been set due to lacking local government approval. The issue may be addressed in the upcoming regional assembly meeting in Niigata prefecture, where KK is located, Bloomberg noted. 

Again, the restart will likely only occur when the obvious benefits outweigh the memories of past disaster at Fukushima. 

This occurs as Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s administration reviews Japan’s energy policy, a routine evaluation involving various stakeholders, which could reshape the country’s nuclear energy goals amid criticisms of insufficient clean energy initiatives.

Amidst global energy uncertainties, highlighted by events in Ukraine and the Middle East, Japan’s heavy reliance on imported energy for 70% of its electricity needs is problematic, especially with 21 nuclear reactors currently idle.

Tepco President Tomoaki Kobayakawa concluded, telling reporters in April: “We need to secure a stable electricity source for our customers — it’s important to have some source that’s not dependent on overseas fuel imports.”

AFP journalists report that riots broke out overnight between police and a group of 200 angry protesters outside the Israeli embassy in Mexico. The demonstrators, participating in a protest called “Urgent Action for Rafah,” were denouncing the Israeli military operation in the southern Gazan city of Rafah. The unrest followed an Israeli strike on a displacement camp near Rafah that killed 45 people earlier in the week. 

Some protesters covered their faces and threw stones at riot police who blocked their path to the diplomatic complex in the city’s Lomas de Chapultepec neighborhood.

Around 200 people joined the “Urgent Action for Rafah” demonstration, about 30 of whom started to break down barriers preventing them from reaching the Israeli mission.

Police officers deployed tear gas and threw back the stones hurled at them by protesters.-AFP 

According to The Jewish Chronicle, “Rioters on Tuesday set fire to the Israeli Embassy,” adding, “The riot came after Mexico filed a declaration of intervention in South Africa’s “genocide” case against Israel at the International Court of Justice.” 

There has been no official confirmation of fire damage to the embassy.

Here’s what happened last night:

BREAKING NEWS: Protesters have just set fire to the Israeli embassy in Mexico City. pic.twitter.com/pDtB990mjn

— Karim Wafa-Al Hussaini (@DrKarimWafa) May 29, 2024

A violent pro-Hamas demonstration involving hundreds of people outside the Israeli embassy in Mexico City, overnight. The aggressors tried to break through fences, threw grenades of various kinds and Molotov cocktails, and attempted to set the embassy on fire.

At least six… pic.twitter.com/OlOjmwgmYC

— 𝑐ℎ𝑖𝑙𝑙𝑖𝑛𝑜𝑖𝑠 (@chiIIum) May 29, 2024

In protest against Israel’s genocide in Gaza, Mexican protesters escalate outside the Israeli embassy in Mexico City, starting a fire, trying to break through the fence, and throwing Molotov cocktails. pic.twitter.com/YvaKRjkm8a

— The Cradle (@TheCradleMedia) May 29, 2024

Carnage in Mexico as rioters set fire to the Israeli Embassy in Mexico City and hurl stones and bricks at police during an ‘Action for Rafah’ event. pic.twitter.com/aVY7bJhntx

— Oli London (@OliLondonTV) May 29, 2024

There were reports that rioters tried to storm the embassy. 

Appalling scenes in Mexico!

Rioters set fire to the Israeli Embassy in Mexico City and 200 activists, while throwing stones, tried to storm the building. 6 injured.
pic.twitter.com/1QFtXccv1g

— Emily Schrader – אמילי שריידר امیلی شریدر (@emilykschrader) May 29, 2024

There are no reports on who funded “Urgent Action for Rafah.”

However, in the US, non-profits linked to the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), which is designated as a Foreign Terrorist Organization by the US, have been fueling protests at colleges and universities. These organizations have also facilitated protests to disrupt critical infrastructure such as airport terminals, bridges, and highways.

If the momentum continues into summer, then the risks of a ‘BLM 2.0-style’ movement could plunge the US into social turmoil ahead of the elections.  

By Ye Xie, Bloomberg markets live reporter and strategist

China’s stock rally has lost a bit of momentum. But Goldman Sachs, one of the most vocal bulls, says the pullback creates buying opportunities.

The CSI 300 benchmark has retreated about 3% since reaching a seven-month high on May 20, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index has declined about 4%.

It seems the Chinese market is running out of good news. While Beijing announced its most forceful attempt yet to rescue the nation’s beleaguered property market, the funding support has so far been deemed insufficient. The earnings season didn’t provide anything to suggest a robust profit recovery is underway. And the US government’s new tariffs on Chinese imports didn’t help sentiment either.

For Goldman Sachs strategists, the retreat isn’t particularly surprising after double-digit gains since February’s lows. They pointed out that the MSCI China Index almost inevitably declines at least 5% in about 20 trading days after reaching a technical bull market, which is defined as a 20% rally from the bottom.

It occurred in 22 out of 23 such episodes over the past two decades. But in about half of those cases, the market resumed the rally, gaining an additional 31% on average over the following three months, according to strategist Kinger Lau and his colleagues.

What’s more, the strategists said investors’ positioning in China’s equity market remains near historical lows, leaving room for them to add holdings.

In addition, while the government’s latest move to support the housing market isn’t forceful, it nonetheless signaled that that the prolonged property sector weakness has likely breached policymakers’ pain threshold, the strategists wrote. They summarized their market view as such:

The pullback hasn’t changed our core views/thesis on China equity, if anything, it provides a better entry point for investors to capitalize China’s rising portfolio value (i.e. diversification benefits), downside policy put underwritten by the government, and upside optionality on capital market reforms.

Authored by Brett Patrick via RealClear Wire,

Florida’s status as a pivotal swing state is well-established, with its razor-thin margins often determining the outcomes of presidential elections. Central to this political battleground are over 1.1 million Puerto Rican voters who have historically leaned Democratic. Yet, recent trends indicate these voters may flip this year – cementing the Sunshine State as a Republican stronghold.

Florida’s Puerto Rican community has steadily increased in size and political significance. In the aftermath of Hurricane Maria in 2017, 300,000 Puerto Rican refugees migrated to Florida, particularly to the central regions of the state, such as the Orlando metropolitan area. Florida Democrats have relied on a high turnout of this crucial demographic, and the influx of Puerto Ricans has only fortified this Democratic coalition in Central Florida and statewide. These voters have been pivotal in counterbalancing the Republican stronghold in the state among other Latino ethnicities – including Cuban Americans – in South Florida.

Republican politicians in the state recognize the importance of the Puerto Rican vote in Florida politics. Ron DeSantis traveled to Puerto Rico to garner Puerto Rican support for his 2018 gubernatorial campaign. Then-Gov. Rick Scott, now a U.S. senator, made multiple trips to Puerto Rico to discuss the island’s recovery and worked to ease Puerto Ricans’ transition to Florida. Scott’s actions became extremely popular among the community. During his 2018 campaign for Senate, Rick Scott received about 29% of Florida’s Boricua voters, a small but pivotal performance in a race decided by only 10,033 votes.

Former Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, a Cuban American Republican from Miami, acknowledged the importance of winning the Puerto Rican vote and Central Florida’s role in statewide elections. “My party, the Republican Party, cannot win Florida without winning Central Florida. And we can no longer win Central Florida without carrying a high enough percentage of this Puerto Rican ‘diaspora’ vote,” Ros-Lehtinen told the Orlando-Sentinel in November 2022. “Central Florida has been decisive for every Republican presidential candidate since 1992 … As Central Florida goes, so goes the road to the White House.”

Years later, Republican efforts finally appear to be paying off. During the 2022 midterms, the Puerto Rican community largely supported Republicans. Boricuas supported Gov. Ron DeSantis in his bid for a second term, marking a significant 20% increase from his first gubernatorial run in 2018. Osceola County, home to Orlando and many Puerto Ricans in Florida, is rapidly becoming Florida’s newest bellwether county. The successful outreach efforts by the state’s Republican Party, focusing on issues such as economic opportunities and elected officials’ openness to Puerto Rican statehood, have played a crucial role in this realignment.

Donald Trump’s relationship with the Puerto Rican community is complicated, however, and diverges from Florida Republicans more generally.

The electorate’s general distaste for Trump is primarily attributed to his relationship with the island during his presidency. Many Puerto Ricans criticized the Trump administration’s handling of the aftermath of Hurricane Maria as slow and inadequate, even neglectful by comparison with the administration’s response to natural disasters on the mainland. This perception was reinforced by his controversial actions, including his infamous tossing of paper towels to hurricane survivors during a visit to Puerto Rico, which many saw as out of touch. His opposition to Puerto Rican statehood likely exacerbated this sentiment. In the 2020 election, after many Puerto Ricans had resettled in Florida, Trump earned a mere 31% of Florida’s Puerto Rican voters.

However, with the 2024 presidential campaign on the horizon, Boricuas are shifting and opening up to Donald Trump.

Trump’s 2024 campaign has already jumped on this opportunity. Danielle Alvarez, a Cuban American spokeswoman for his campaign, asserts that Biden’s policies are failing the Puerto Rican community. “Boricuas won’t forget that Crooked Joe shipped Puerto Rico’s pharmaceutical industry to China and President Trump fought to bring it back,” Alvarez suggests. “Biden is a disaster for all Americans, especially La Isla Del Encanto.”

Trump is reportedly considering Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida as his running mate. Rubio, a Cuban-American and former opponent of Trump’s during the 2016 primaries, could boost Trump in the Sunshine State. Rubio’s decisive reelection victory in 2022, where he secured 54% of Puerto Ricans, highlights his broad appeal in this Latino community. By contemplating Rubio as his running mate, Trump is not only positioning himself to tap into Rubio’s appeal within the Latino electorate but also incorporate Puerto Ricans into the Republican fold and establish Florida as a red state.

Trump’s recent gains in Puerto Rico’s Republican primary could also signal his growing influence within the Puerto Rican electorate. During the 2016 primaries, Sen. Rubio won the territory with over 70% of the vote, and Trump barely cracked double digits. In the 2024 Puerto Rico Republican presidential primary, however, Trump swept all 23 of the territory’s delegates.

Florida Republicans, many of whom have yearned for the days of Puerto Ricans becoming Republicans, must act on this opportunity and welcome them into the fold. The party should fully embrace this community and work together to transform Florida into a Republican stronghold in November.

Brett Patrick is a Young Voices contributor studying political science at Binghamton University. He is a member of the university’s honors program. His political commentary has appeared in the Washington Examiner and The DC Journal.