Exhausted cities face another challenge: a surge in violence.

via apnews:

NEW YORK (AP) — Still reeling from the coronavirus pandemic and street protests over the police killing of George Floyd, exhausted cities around the nation are facing yet another challenge: a surge in shootings that has left dozens dead, including young children.

The spike defies easy explanation, experts say, pointing to the toxic mix of issues facing America in 2020: an unemployment rate not seen in a generation, a pandemic that has killed more than 130,000 people, stay-at-home orders, rising anger over police brutality, intense stress, even the weather.

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● Work begins on massive Black Lives Matter mural outside Trump Tower. “A stretch of Fifth Avenue between East 56th and 57th streets was closed to traffic as city Department of Transportation workers began measuring and stenciling the giant yellow letters onto the pavement with spray paint and tape just after 8 a.m. The Mayor Bill de Blasio-sanctioned mural will then be painted by local artists starting at 11 a.m., with Hizzoner expected to show up later….A maintenance worker from Staten Island who would only give his first name, Kevin, ripped the mural as ‘legalized graffiti by de Blasio.’ ‘American lives matter,’ the 63-year-old said. ‘It’s a shame. This is my taxes. I pay $200 to $400 a week in taxes for this? It’s legalized graffiti and a lot of politics.’ ‘It’s an insult to our president,’ Kevin added.”

h/t ED