Yet again, another "Karen" video has gone viral, this time coming out of Torrance, California. The incident began when a young Asian woman filming her exercise routine quietly said “Jesus” after being unnecessarily bumped into by a middle-aged white woman. The white woman, now dubbed “Staircase Karen,” quickly became enraged, threatening the younger woman and going off on a racist tirade.

“Next time you talk to me like that, you're gonna get your ass kicked by my family, they're gonna fuck you up!” she exclaimed. After making this threat she then demanded her to “Go back to whatever fucking Asian country you belong,” adding “You bitch! This is not your place, this is not your home, we don't want you here!” 

“Staircase Karen” then challenged the woman to post the incident on social media, saying "I hope you do because every fucking person will beat the crap out of you from here on out.” Undeterred by this threat, the video has now gone viral on twitter, with some declaring her “Karen of the Year.” 

While twitter users have gotten a good laugh out of the incident, law enforcement and public officials are taking the event much more seriously. Torrance Mayor Patrick Furey launched a police investigation in the name of “public safety,” stating that this type of racist behavior will not be tolerated. 

Following the murder of George Floyd at the hands of the police, Minneapolis mayor Jacob Frey has been receiving a ton of scrutiny. For instance, President Donald Trump has criticized him for not being tougher on rioters, while others have made note that he hasn’t committed to defunding the police. Frey received his most hefty dose of vitriol over the weekend when he refused to commit to defunding the police when asked about it by protesters. The large Minneapolis crowd began to boo him which forced Frey to walk off in shame.

50 Cent found out about the clip and in all of his infinite wisdom, he jumped on Instagram and made fun of the mayor. In the caption, 50 belittled the mayor saying “That’s the Mayor, Damn they did him dirty. I know he went home and cried like a baby.”

Perhaps the public humiliation was a good thing as yesterday, Minneapolis city council members pledged to dismantle the police force and replace it with community-led public safety. This is a monumental step forward in the United States and it will be interesting to see how it ends up working out.

As for 50, well, we’re sure there are plenty of mayors he will be able to clown on in the not so distant future.

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio says serious reform to the budget for the NYPD is coming. The Mayor announced a plan to shift funding to youth initiatives, Sunday.

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“The details will be worked out in the budget process in the weeks ahead. But I want people to understand that we are committed to shifting resources to ensure that the focus is on our young people,” de Blasio said.

De Blasio also added that law 50-A, which concerns the disciplinary records of law enforcement, will be history: “Let’s make 50-A as we knew it a thing of the past, so we can have transparency in the disciplinary process to give the public confidence.”

“I want it to be abundantly clear to all New Yorkers. These are first steps to what will be 18 months of making intense change in this city. The work of this task force is crucial. This is a transformative moment,” he added.

De Blasio’s announcement comes after ample public pressure to reduce the budget of police departments across the county. NYC City Council Speaker Corey Johnson explained why this needs to be done earlier this week: “Given the scale of the financial crisis we face and the urgent need for the city to transform our criminal justice system, we know the budget will include meaningful cuts to the NYPD budget. I am working with my colleagues to determine how we can reduce the budget and reallocate those dollars to instead invest in our communities. But this is not just about budget cuts. We also need structural change and transformational reform in the police department, while investing in communities as much as possible during this unprecedented budget crunch.”

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Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey refused to support the defunding of police during a public appearance, Saturday, and was met with a sea of boos from the audience.

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"I do have to take responsibility here. I've been coming to grips with my own brokenness in this situation, my own failures, my own shortcomings," he told the crowd. "And I know there needs to be deep-seated, structural reform in terms of how the department operates. The systemic racist system needs to be revamped. The police union needs to be put in its place."

Attempting to weed out platitudes from actions, a protester prompted Frey with a question: "Will you commit to defunding the Minneapolis Police Department?" she asked. "We don't want people with guns toting around in our community shooting us down. It is a yes or a no. Will you defund the Minneapolis Police Department? It's important we hear this, 'cause if y'all don't know, he's up for re-election next year. And if he says 'no,' guess what the fuck we're going to do next year?" 

Frey wouldn't commit to defunding: "I do not support the full abolition at the police department," he said, as he was met with boos.

Check out video of the incident below.

New York City will begin the first phase of its reopening process Monday, June 8. Mayor Bill de Blasio confirmed the date proposed by Governor Andrew Cuomo earlier this week.

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“[These businesses] were chosen because you can create physical separation,” said Mayor de Blasio. “That’s a lot of employees coming back to work … we want to emphasize safety throughout. We say ‘restart’ — we do not mean rushing back to something we used to think of as normal. We do not mean flicking a switch and suddenly everything is where it was again. We have to make sure this virus is in check. We’ve come a long way, not going to blow it now.”

Gov. Cuomo said he planned to have the city open on June 8th, last week, contradicting de Blasio, who said a date had not been determined at that time.

“It is reopening to a new normal. It’s a safer normal. Reopening doesn’t mean going back to the past,” Cuomo explained. “People will be wearing masks. It’s just a new way of interacting, which we have to do.”

De Blasio says that New York City will be giving out 2 million free masks to employees returning to work during phase 1.

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George Floyd was murdered by police in Minneapolis last week and in the aftermath of his death, there have been protests all across the United States. These protests have mostly been peaceful although on occasion there have been some riots and even the occasional looted store. Regardless of the methods of protest, it is clear that the people want justice and they want to see a concrete end to police brutality all across the nation.

Today, there was a memorial service for Floyd in Minneapolis and Mayor Jacob Frey was there to pay his respects. In an emotional moment, Frey approached Floyd’s casket and knelt to say a prayer. While doing so, Frey stopped and began to sob as he was overcome with emotion during the moment.

There was a large gathering of people for the service including celebrities like T.I., Kevin Hart, and even Ludacris. Floyd’s death has touched a lot of people and it is a stark reminder of the inequality in this country. Not to mention, Floyd was seen as a leader in his community and many wanted to pay their respects to a man who was unjustly taken way too soon.

Hopefully, the protests all across the country lead to some real change.

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Mayor of Los Angeles, Eric Garcetti, announced his plans along with city officials to make a substantial cut of $100 million-$150 million to the LAPD’s budget in order to reinvest these funds into “Black communities and communities of color.” During a press conference on Wednesday (June 3rd) evening, Mayor Garcetti insisted that, amid the nationwide protests against police brutality and racial injustice in the wake of George Floyd’s murder, this was an “urgent moment” and  “an inflection point” for the city of Los Angeles. However, he is “committed to making this moment not just a moment.”

“It is time to move our rhetoric towards action to end racism in our city,” he continued. “Prejudice can never be part of police work…It takes bravery to save lives, too.” He then revealed that, contrary to his prior plans, the city would no longer be increasing the police budget from $1.189 billion to the proposed amount of $1.8 billion; instead, he will be cutting between $100 million-$150 million from the LAPD’s budget and a total of $250 million from the city’s overall budget, to be used instead to “reinvest in black communities and communities of color.” He specifically outlined an investment in education, health, and jobs within the city’s Black communities. “We need to make sure that black Americans see an end to the days of murder in broad daylight and of traffic stops simply because of the color of their skin,” he said.

Ella Jones just became the first black person and first woman to be elected mayor in Ferguson, the city whose protests almost six years ago solidified the Black Lives Matter movement following the police killing of Mike Brown. On Tuesday (June 2nd), Jones made history as the first black woman to become mayor of the Missouri city in its 126-year history. 

"The common goal is the people," Jones, who's lived in Ferguson for more than 40 years, told Missouri resident, Jason Rosenbaum, about her new position. "It's 'We the people.' I tell people all the time, if you go look in the budget, the first thing you see is the organizational chart. When you look at the organizational chart in the budget, at the top of that chart it says 'citizens.' And then from the top, the elected officials. The elected officials appoint and hire a city manager and a city clerk. If the people are not in charge of what they're doing, then you're gonna have chaos. We have had enough chaos."

As you'll recall, on August 9, 2014, 18-year-old Michael Brown Jr. was shot dead by former police officer, Darren Wilson, in Ferguson. The tragedy sparked immense outrage, leading to protests in Ferguson that lasted weeks as well as the official public recognition of the Black Lives Matter movement. Wilson was never charged for his crime.

However, Jones wants better for her city and the people who live in it, and she plans to use her new position to include Ferguson residents in this positive change. "I am going to be very transparent," she said during an interview with KSDK News. "As a matter of fact, after my first 90 days in office, I've already started putting a task force together so that we can do a town hall and the people of Ferguson will know the state of their city. It's very important that the people be informed of what's going on. They can be a part of the government." According to The New York Times, Jones won 54% of the vote, beating out her opponent, Heather Robinett. Jones succeeds James Knowles III, who has been mayor of the city for the past nine years since 2011. Check out some of the reactions to this incredible news on Twitter.

Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti says all COVID-19 testing sites in the city will be closed during protests over the death of George Floyd. 

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Garcetti says the decision has been made as a result of “safety worries across the city.”

“We need to make sure, especially in communities that have less power, that we are able to make sure people don’t disproportionately die because of the color of their skin,” the mayor said, Saturday. “We can’t do that when the city breaks down.”

“Other parts of the city I believe in, and I believe that we can step back from the situation that we see at Fairfax. If we see other ones, have quick responses to make sure we’re not going to stand for the burning of police cars,” Garcetti said. “We’re not going to stand for people who destroy shop windows. Those very few people who want the fight. Whether you’re a protester, a police officer, or someone watching on TV, none of us should stand for that,” Garcetti continued. “All of us should condemn it, and all of us should support making sure that those people are brought to justice, too. There’s a much bigger call for justice that we need, and that is the one that we should keep our eyes focused on, not lighting up a police car as a way of making a point.” 

Garcetti also enacted a curfew on the downtown section of Los Angeles, Saturday.

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Protests have erupted all across the country in light of the murder of George Floyd and countless other people of color at the hands of the police. These protests have gotten violent although the escalation always seems to be induced by the cops and not the actus protesters themselves. In New York City, this is especially true as the police are constantly being caught on video getting rough with the people who are peacefully protesting.

According to reporter Lisa Evers, New York City Mayor Bill De Blasio has now revealed that the city will be doing an independent investigation into the way the police are treating protesters, although this review will also go both ways. It seems as though New York also wants to look at how protesters have been treating the police.

As of right now, it remains to be seen how these protests will continue to play out. Yesterday was the fifth night of protesting and the government doesn’t seem all that interested in restoring people’s faith. Simply put, people are angry and until some tangible change is created, these protests could go on for quite some time.

Stay tuned for all of the updates as we will be sure to bring them to you.