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Mayor Blames "Slavery" As Chicago Wrestles With Deadly Crime Spree

Zero Rss
1 month 4 weeks ago
Mayor Blames "Slavery" As Chicago Wrestles With Deadly Crime Spree

The city of Chicago, long run by Democrats, has an infamous black crime problem.  Over the course of Father's Day weekend around 47 people were shot and 8 people killed, with a 105% increase in violent crime compared to 2025.  On "Juneteenth", a drive-by mass shooting in Princeton Park injured at least 12–14 people with over 100 shell casings recovered. 

The situation is so bad that many black commentators are starting to speak out, demanding to know why black Americans can't seem to stop killing each other.

Stephen A. Smith: "Every time we turn around, there's something going on in Chicago. And the vast majority of victims happen to be black. When we gon' speak about that? Same energy, y'all."pic.twitter.com/oeb0mKDLmN

Honestly I kinda like that common sense is making a comeback.…

— Defiant L’s (@DefiantLs) June 24, 2026

All the evidence, all the data, suggests that Father's Day weekend violence in the black community is so egregious exactly because there are almost no fathers.  In Chicago, 80% of all black births are to single mothers and 72% of black children live in single parent households, compared to a national average of 25% across all ethnic groups.  Approximately 70% of all juveniles facing incarceration come from single parent households.  

Coupled with an overall culture that idolizes violence and lacks basic impulse control learned from proper parenting, the source of the problem is clear.  Democrats, however, have a different theory. 

In a press conference addressing Chicago's national embarrassment, Democrat Mayor Brandon Johnson diverted the discussion into his own personal pet project on reparations.  He argues that the "history of slavery" in the US is the source of income inequality; insinuating that income inequality is the root cause of violent crime in the black community.  In other words, black-on-black crime is somehow all white people's fault.

40+ shot over the weekend in Chicago and Mayor Johnson is talking about … "slavery continuing to harm Chicago" pic.twitter.com/0qEQ2qyRGy

— End Wokeness (@EndWokeness) June 23, 2026

🚨 Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson is easily the dumbest mayor in America — and he still got elected by people even dumber than him.

Good grief. 🤦‍♀️

This clown isn’t even a basic history buff: praising Johnson while bashing Nixon?

Meanwhile, 40 shot and 8 killed in Chicago over… pic.twitter.com/xmPy2l3cro

— GRANDPA’s FREE ADVICE (@GOP_is_Gutless) June 23, 2026

The running theme among minority groups (and liberals in general) in the US is a complete lack of accountability for their own actions.  Because slavery or segregation existed in the past, people who have never experienced either of these things believe they have a scapegoat for all the problems within their culture.  It doesn't work that way.

The Chicago Mayor asserts that government handouts or reparations will solve the black crime issue, but the black community had much lower crime rates in the 1940s-1950s before welfare became ubiquitous and during segregation.  In the 1960s when segregation was ended and President Johnson introduced his "Great Society" programs, crime among blacks skyrocketed.  Clearly, something happened and it wasn't slavery or segregation. 

Mayor Johnson has refused to counter criminal activity, blocking motions to enforce curfews for minors who now engage in "teen takeovers" or flash mobs that hijack city streets and consistently end in looting, property damage and shootings.  City officials are asking the teens what they think should be done, and of course, they think less restrictions are the answer.

Chicago City Council just hosted "teens" for advice about "teen takeovers" and crime.

Their solution? Less restrictions. pic.twitter.com/o3zOUx7rC1

— End Wokeness (@EndWokeness) June 24, 2026

It is typical of progressive leaders and fatherless cultures to suggest more unfettered freedom is the magic salve to end crime among young people, when the opposite is what's called for.  Clearly black households in Chicago lack basic parenting restrictions that usually keep underdeveloped teen brains in check.  The only answer, then, is for the city to act as the parent, enforcing curfews and other measures until the deeper problem can be fixed.

🚨WHAT ON EARTH?!!!!

Hundreds of cars were vandalized in Chicago after police broke up a "teen takeover" and kids began fleeing by JUMPING ON CARS AND SMASHING WINDSHIELDS!!!

WHERE ARE THE PARENTS OF THESE KIDS???!!!!!!!

THIS HAS GOT TO STOP!!!!!! pic.twitter.com/n59199CtGL

— Matt Van Swol (@mattvanswol) May 25, 2026

Instead, progressive officials turn to irrational teens for advice on what to do while blaming "white supremacy" as the culprit behind everything wrong in their lives.  There is no fixing Chicago - Not without a radical change in leadership and some tough love for black communities.   

Tyler Durden Thu, 06/25/2026 - 16:40
Tyler Durden

Generational Crisis! Nearly A Third Of US Adults Under 35 Are Still Living With Their Parents

Zero Rss
1 month 4 weeks ago
Generational Crisis! Nearly A Third Of US Adults Under 35 Are Still Living With Their Parents

Authored by Michael Snyder via The Economic Collapse blog,

Americans that are over the age of 55 control approximately 73 percent of all wealth in the United States.

Americans that are age 55 or younger control just 27 percent of all wealth in the United States.

Never before in history has there been a generational divide of this magnitude.

One of the reasons why there is such a generational divide is because housing has become so insanely unaffordable. If you purchased a home 20 or 30 years ago, it has appreciated in value a great deal and you are sitting pretty. But many young adults today look at current housing prices and wonder how they will ever be able to buy a home.

During the pandemic, we witnessed a surge of young adults moving back in with their parents.

But once the pandemic was over, things were supposed to go back to normal.

Unfortunately, that never happened.

In fact, the percentage of young adults that are living with their parents is now higher than it was at any point during the pandemic…

A record 25.2 million adults under 35 lived with their parents in 2025, according to new research from Realtor.com®. That’s nearly 1 in 3 young adults and higher than even the pandemic-era count—but the more surprising finding is just how many of them were working.

“Roughly 70% of 25- to 34-year-olds living with parents are employed,” says Hannah Jones, senior economist at Realtor.com and author of the report. “That share held steady even as the overall co-residence rate has climbed—meaning the growth is coming from working adults, not people waiting to find jobs.”

The finding challenges one of the most persistent narratives about adults living at home today: that they’re simply languishing in a tepid job market and failing to launch.

We have tens of millions of young adults that cannot form their own households.

That is a major national crisis.

A lot of those young adults would love to move out and live on their own, but home prices are simply way too high…

The report said that the median prices for new and existing homes are both over $400,000 and that existing home prices have risen 54% since 2020 and are about 5-times the median income – a level well above the ratio of 3-times that prevailed in the 1990s.

Mortgage rates are over 6%, which makes the payment on a median-priced home $3,100 in the fourth quarter of 2025, up from $1,700 in early 2020. That has pushed the income needed to afford that payment to more than $120,000 – a significant increase from $66,000 in 2020.

In 1975, the median home price in the United States was under $40,000.

But now it is over $400,000.

That is how much the purchasing power of our money has declined.

And we are being warned that housing affordability is “unlikely to return to more favorable levels of the past”…

The affordability of the U.S. housing market may not improve significantly over time for would-be homebuyers, with a new report suggesting that they shouldn’t wait in the hopes of affordability measures returning to their pre-2022 levels.

Sarah Wolfe, a senior economist and strategist at Morgan Stanley, said in a report that while housing affordability could improve modestly over time, it is “unlikely to return to more favorable levels of the past, as the market adjusts to a higher-cost, tighter-supply environment.”

That is quite sobering.

I guess our young adults are just out of luck.

At this stage, it is being projected that the median home price in this country will hit a million dollars by 2050…

According to new projections from National Association of Realtors (NAR) chief economist Lawrence Yun, the national median home price is on track to hit $1 million by 2050 — just as millennials reach the traditional retirement age.

“Essentially, in about 25 years the national median home price will be a million dollars,” Yun said at a conference in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday. “It may be hard to envision that, but back in 1990, the national median price was $90,000.”

Many of those that are on the outside looking in may remain in that position permanently.

Meanwhile, the middle class continues to shrink as large employers eliminate good paying jobs all over the nation.

Today, we learned that U.S. factories are laying off workers at a frightening pace…

Job cuts at U.S. factories ran near their highest levels since the end of the global financial crisis in 2009 and the Covid-19 pandemic as worries grew over global demand and rising costs, S&P Global reported Tuesday.

Though the firm’s manufacturing index ran better than expected for June, it came largely from an inventory rebuild and despite sharp job cuts that were the most since 2009 — excluding the massive labor reductions at the onset of the Covid crisis in 2020.

And our most prominent tech companies continue to mercilessly slash payrolls.

For example, it is being reported that Oracle has given the axe to 21,000 highly paid workers over the past year…

Oracle shed 21,000 jobs, almost 13% of its workforce, in the past year, as tech giants carry out sweeping layoffs as a result of AI.

The company’s total workforce stands at 141,000 full-time employees as of May 2026, it said in its annual regulatory filing on Monday. That’s down from 162,000 employees at the same time the previous year. This represents an almost 13% cut in its total workforce.

Almost every big tech company that you can name has laid off workers within the past 12 months.

Once upon a time Electronic Arts was doing really well, but now they are conducting yet another round of job cuts…

Electronic Arts has undergone yet another round of layoffs, seemingly impacting its recruitment, customer support, trust and safety, and IT teams.

Kotaku has learned about these layoffs both from sources aware of the situation as well as 12 separate public postings from individuals impacted by the layoffs. The total number of impacted employees is unknown, but Kotaku has found online postings both from people formerly in several remote roles in the U.S. as well as a number of laid-off individuals from EA’s office in Hyderabad, India. Multiple individuals laid off from the Hyderabad office had been with the company for more than ten years.

We are witnessing a tsunami of tech layoffs that seems to have no end.

Those were supposed to be the “jobs of the future” for our young people.

But now many of our young people are being ruthlessly replaced by AI.

An entire generation of Americans is deeply struggling, and that isn’t going to change any time soon.

Michael’s new book entitled “10 Prophetic Events That Are Coming Next” is available in paperback and for the Kindle on Amazon.com, and you can subscribe to his Substack newsletter at michaeltsnyder.substack.com.

Tyler Durden Thu, 06/25/2026 - 16:20
Tyler Durden

Cargo Vessel Comes Under Apparent Iranian Attack Near Oman, Crude Jumps, After IRGC Warned It Controls Hormuz Strait

Zero Rss
1 month 4 weeks ago
Cargo Vessel Comes Under Apparent Iranian Attack Near Oman, Crude Jumps, After IRGC Warned It Controls Hormuz Strait Summary:
  • Iran tightens control over Hormuz: The IRGC says ships must obtain authorization to transit the strait or face enforcement action.
  • Shipping disruptions emerge after increased flows: A tanker near Oman was reportedly attacked, and several vessels turned back after Iranian warnings, sending oil prices higher.
  • Tehran seeks billions in transit fees: Iran wants to impose Hormuz passage charges that it says could generate up to $40 billion annually.
  • Rubio rejects the plan: The U.S. says Gulf states offer "zero support" for Iranian tolls and warns they would undermine freedom of navigation.
//--> //--> //--> Strait of Hormuz traffic returns to normal by July 15?
Yes 39% · No 62%
View full market & trade on Polymarket

*  *  *

Tanker Attacked Off Oman Amid US-Iran Divergence Over Terms of Hormuz Reopening, Crude Jumps

A tanker appears to have come under (likely) Iranian attack close to the coast of Oman on Thursday. It seems that Iran is seeking to impose control, and its red lines as its military issues the following message: "Coordination with the IRGC Navy for passage through the Strait of Hormuz via Channel 16 is mandatory, and violator vessels will be dealt with."

Below is the initial UKMTO alert:

UKMTO WARNING 074-26 - ATTACK

Click here to view the full warning.⤵️ https://t.co/0hDEAb7xO9#MaritimeSecurity #MarSec pic.twitter.com/HlPzQDLBja

— UKMTO Operations Centre (@UK_MTO) June 25, 2026

Crude jumps, also as Bloomberg reports that already "At least three ships, including two oil supertankers, appeared to turn around while attempting to cross the Strait of Hormuz using a route that hugs Oman’s coastline."

Bloomberg continues: "It wasn’t immediately clear why the vessels turned around, but two maritime intelligence companies published broadcasts that purported to be from the Iranian navy instructing ships not to cross. Not all ships have turned around and some continued along the Oman route, according to tracking data compiled by Bloomberg."

This comes after there's been some optimism this week after the signing of the US-Iran MoU, as tanker traffic has clearly picked up. However, Tehran’s Persian Gulf Strait Authority has been insistent that transit can't happen without express permission, and as Tehran seems to impose steep tolls under its protocol.

*  *  *

Iran Seeking Beijing Approval for Toll Scheme

Despite Rubio's warning while meeting with GCC allies in Bahrain, Iran is planning to move forward on charging hefty fees for vessels wishing to transit the Strait of Hormuz under its protocol, which is to be enforced by the IRGC. What's more is that it's seeking Beijing's approval and help.

Iran’s chief negotiator and Parliament Speaker, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, asserted during a prior visit to Oman this week: "Everyone needs to know that management of the strait will never return to the way it was before."

According to fresh reporting in The Wall Street Journal:

Iran is pushing to make billions of dollars from the Strait of Hormuz as the regime positions itself to manage the global oil artery it severed at the start of the war. 

The Islamic Republic estimates that charging for security, safety and environmental services in the strait would bring in $40 billion a year in revenue for states involved, according to officials familiar with the matter. The idea, if implemented, would bring Tehran cash flow and control that it didn’t command before the war. 

The regime is looking to models around the world, including the Dardanelles, the officials said, where Turkey charges ships a tax known as the gold franc for passage to and from the Aegean Sea through the international waterway.

Rubio has just complained that such a scheme would unleash "chaos" and would spread "like a contagion" to other global shipping chokepoints. He has asserted that Washington sees this as a red line and won't allow the precedent to be established.

On the China angle, crucially, "To get buy-in, Tehran is pitching the idea to the wider Middle East and as far afield as Beijing, according to Iranian officials. It wants its Persian Gulf neighbors to be part of the agreement and share the revenue," sources said.

Iran clearly feels itself in control of negotiations, and so is flexing its maximal demands, as it knows that Trump came to the table to avoid serious rupture in global oil as US strategic reserves have dwindled and Americans would revolve against his little "excursion" in Iran.

Tehran senses weakness? A softening in tone from the Trump administration: 

REPORTER: "You used to call them religious theocratic lunatics. Do you still believe that language applies to the leadership today?"

SEC. RUBIO: "Well, it's not that I believe it. It's the fact of the matter. I mean, the Iranian system is led by clerics, radical clerics. That's… pic.twitter.com/0FIGKdMlTq

— FOX & Friends (@foxandfriends) June 25, 2026 Rubio from Bahrain: 'Zero' Gulf Support from Gulf States for Tolls, Fees

Secretary of State Marco Rubio has made some fresh Thursday remarks in Manama, Bahrain after his meeting with Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) foreign ministers. "We had a very productive meeting," he acknowledged.

The US top diplomat emphasized that "zero support" from Gulf countries for tolls or fees on the Strait of Hormuz, in contradiction to Iran's official stance (and possibly in coordination with Oman, which has provoked US wrath).

Pool/file image

Oman has remained ambiguous on the issue in its latest statements, no doubt not wishing to not further inflame Washington sentiment against the longtime southern Arab Gulf ally.

Oman, via its state news agency, has reaffirmed that it is ready to help restore maritime security and that it backs the MoU signed between the US and Tehran, also in accord with decisions made at the high-level Vance meeting in Switzerland at the start of the week. Rubio's main argument seemed to be the very bad precedent that a toll system extracted by Iran (and the IRGC) would set, warning that Iranian tolls on ships through Hormuz would only spread to other waterways, risking "total chaos".

"International waterways do not belong to any nation state. This is a foundational principle in the world today, without which the world would be in total chaos," he said at the GCC meeting. He added: 

"If in fact we accepted that you can charge money to use an international waterway because it happens to be near your territorial space, well then this will spread throughout the world like a contagion."

He stressed the the Trump administration is committed to a peace deal, but not "at any price". He explained: "While we want a deal, we don’t want a deal at any price. We want a deal that’s good, we want a deal that’s real, we want a deal that’s verifiable, and we want a deal that’s adhered to."

"We want to ensure... that there is no part of this deal that’s undertaken that in any way undermines the security, the stability, or the prosperity of any of our partners in the Gulf region," he said.

🇺🇸 — VID: Marco Rubio today in Bahrain on Iran:

“You can call it a toll, you can call it a fee, whatever you want to call it—it's a game of semantics.

The reality of it is that no country on earth has a right to charge for the use of international waterways.

And that will… pic.twitter.com/k4xo4hY2TY

— Belaaz News (@TheBelaaz) June 25, 2026

Rubio's Gulf tour has included the UAE, Kuwait and Bahrain, where he's given assurances that any broader US-Iran peace deal would not abandon Gulf allies' interests. Another notable statement from Rubio is his statement that a reconstruction fund for Iran was not discussed with Gulf countries. But this also remains high at the top of Tehran's wish list.

IRGC: Noncompliant Ships 'Will Be Dealt With'

As for the latest from Iran, the country's elite Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has warned against any crossings of the Strait of Hormuz without authorization, threatening that ships not complying "will be dealt with" as it criticized a new route through the waterway established under the auspices of Gulf countries and with UN coordination.

Rubio calling Iranian leadership, ‘religious theocratic lunatic’ - while his boss is begging for a negotiated solution, these sorts of lunacy counterproductive. pic.twitter.com/8BVV2mjiVr

— Ashok Swain (@ashoswai) June 25, 2026

"The only authorized route for passage through the Strait of Hormuz is the route announced by the Islamic Republic of Iran,” the IRGC said Thursday.

So clearly despite the MoU framework still holding and producing a temporary peace, which has even seen more ships flowing through the waterway, major contradictory issues remain.

According to new video of communications on Marine VHF channel 16 (the international hailing/calling channel for ships) from @_MartinKelly_, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Navy (IRGC-N), also known as the 'Sepah Navy' has announced:

"Transiting the Strait of Hormuz is… pic.twitter.com/anngHDTDeo

— OSINTdefender (@sentdefender) June 25, 2026 More Developments

Some more of the latest via Al Jazeera:

  • The US will not accept that Hormuz belongs to any nation state, Rubio said while meeting with Bahraini leaders in Manama. He also said that the US wants a deal that doesn’t undermine security and prosperity for itself nor its allies.
  • Bahrain’s ⁠Foreign ⁠Minister Abdullatif bin Rashid Al ⁠Zayani welcomed Oman’s announcement of a corridor for the ‌safe passage of vessels through the Strait of Hormuz, as ⁠he chaired a GCC ⁠meeting during Rubio’s visit to the ‌country.
  • A Lebanese military source told Al Jazeera that Israeli forces remain deployed in all the areas they recently occupied, making the statement after the Reuters news agency cited a US State Department official stating that Israel had withdrawn from parts of the area.
  • There were reports of a drone strike in the front-line village of Kfar Tibnit on the outskirts of the city of Nabatieh in southern Lebanon, according to our correspondents on the ground.
  • Some ⁠57 ⁠ships carrying an estimated 1,100 seafarers have transited ⁠the Strait of Hormuz since June 23 ⁠under a UN evacuation plan launched this week, data from the ‌UN’s shipping agency showed.
Tyler Durden Thu, 06/25/2026 - 15:55
Tyler Durden

zero rss