Free Republic

Raise the minimum wage in Seattle they said. It will help workers they said. Well, the city did increase the minimum wage from the previous rate of $9.47 to $15, which is to be phased in by 2018. It’s now at $11, and lo and behold it has hurt workers. A study found that workers would’ve already seen an increase in wages without the hike because of the increased economic activity and more would’ve been employed. Instead, hours were cut, fewer people worked, and all of this was [predictable]: The average hourly wage for workers affected by the increase jumped...

CNN)A flash flood emergency has been issued for portions of the Baltimore, Maryland, area, with the National Weather Service citing "severe" flooding and warning people to get to higher ground. "Move to higher ground now. This is an extremely dangerous and life-threatening situation," the weather service said in a warning issued at 10:40 p.m ET. "Do not attempt to travel unless you are fleeing an area subject to flooding or under an evacuation order."

Much of the media focus centering on the Republican and Democratic conventions dealt with the contrast between Donald Trump’s “dark vision” of America as opposed to Hillary Clinton’s cheerful, optimistic outlook. For proof of this, the Democrats chose to selectively highlight various statistics which show that, overall, crime rates in the United States remain lower now than they were during the historically high levels seen in the eighties and early nineties. That much is certainly true, but it’s equally accurate to point out that in certain places things have gotten considerably worse over the last several years, primarily in large,...

Police are on the scene of a downtown Austin shooting that’s left at least one person dead. According to Austin-Travis County EMS, multiple units are responding to the area of 208 East 6th St. Paramedics say there are several gunshot wound patients spread across the area and they are trying to locate all patients. At least one person has been killed. This is a developing story and KXAN will update as more information is released.

(CNN)One person was killed and four were injured early Sunday in two separate shootings in a crowded area of downtown Austin, Texas, police said. The first incident began at 2:17 a.m. local time when police received reports of gunshots, Austin Police Chief of Staff Brian Manley said in a news conference. He said a woman, believed to be in her 20s, was pronounced dead at the scene. Three victims -- all women in their 30s -- were taken to University Medical Center Brackenridge with gunshot wounds. One additional victim refused treatment. Police say that there was a disturbance on Sixth...

DETROIT (WXYZ) - Detroit Police are looking for a gunman who was caught on surveillance video firing shots outside of a strip club on the city's southwest side. This all happened during the early morning hours of July 5th at The Sting Gentlemen's club.

When local artist Natasha Marin spoke with Seattle Weekly last week about Reparations.me, her then-7-day-old website and Facebook page, she was clearly fraying around the edges—underfed, overworked, and ragged as hell.“I’ve had about 12 hours of sleep since Friday,” she said over the phone with a hoarse laugh, as a second phone buzzed and buzzed in the background. She responded to one last frantic message and attempted to close the “99 windows I have open” in order to pull together her thoughts. “I maybe have eaten, like, one real meal. I’m at that point of exhaustion now, if I see...

Chicago's per capita homicide rate climbed over the last decade, and the chances of an African-American being killed in the city spiked drastically, according to a new report. From 2005 to 2015, the city went from 17.3 homicides per 100,000 residents to a rate of about 18.8, according to a report from the Injury Prevention and Research Center at the Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago. But the report held particularly troubling news for African-Americans. The rate for blacks in Chicago jumped from 36.1 homicides per 100,000 residents in 2005 to 46.5 a decade later. Other studies have shown steep drops...

Pittsburgh Police Chief Cameron McLay will be one of the primetime speakers at Tuesday's Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia. He's expected to speak sometime between 8 p.m. and 9 p.m., after former U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder. McLay will be followed by actor Tony Goldwyn, who plays the president on the TV show 'Scandal.' According to a release by Mayor Bill Peduto's office, McLay will speak about Pittsburgh's efforts to adopt the best practices on community policing. Pittsburgh is one of six cities nationwide participating in the U.S. Department of Justice's National Initiative for Building Community Trust and Justice. Mayor...

Narcotics raids by Detroit Police have plummeted over the past three years, something the department said is due to an increased focus on major violators. There were 855 police raids in 2015, according to the city’s 2015 audit that was released in June. That is down from a high of 3,462 raids in 2012. Detroit Police spokesman Sgt. Michael Woody said the department has changed its focus over the last few years. He said there has been a restructuring involving the 80 officers who work in drug enforcement; they are now focused on what he called "major violators." Woody said...

When the Democrats come to the City of Brotherly Love to nominate Hillary Clinton for president and the talk turns to income inequality and the 1 percent, Exhibit A will be right outside their windows: Philadelphia itself. The nation’s fifth-largest city is rebounding, filling some Philadelphians with an unfamiliar sense of civic pride. And yet it struggles with the gap between rich and poor that Sen. Bernie Sanders decried during his campaign against Clinton, with 26 percent of residents living in poverty, the highest rate among the 10 biggest cities in the U.S. The July 25-28 convention creates an opportunity...

A reader has e-mailed Breitbart News an image showing a graffiti mural reading “KILL MORE COPS” along Interstate 5 in Los Angeles, a major commuting route in the San Fernando Valley just north of Burbank and Hollywood.

Say goodbye to the late-night fries and gravy. One of the last classic Brooklyn diners is biting the dust — and soon they’ll all die off due to the state’s minimum-wage increase and other factors, restaurateurs and economic experts predicted Friday. The owner of the four-decade-old, 24-hour greasy spoon, Del Rio Diner in Gravesend, said his place is closing down because he can’t afford to pay cooks $15 an hour, along with rising rents and expensive Health Department inspection fees. …

We were warned. Prior to the Republican National Convention, multiple mainstream media outlets warned about Ohio's dangerous gun laws that allow for the open carry of firearms. The head of the police union wanted Ohio Governor John Kasich to (unconstitutionally) suspend the state's gun laws. "We are sending a letter to Gov. Kasich requesting assistance from him. He could very easily do some kind of executive order or something -- I don't care if it's constitutional or not at this point," Stephen Loomis, president of Cleveland Police Patrolmen's Association, told CNN. "They can fight about it after the RNC...

Violent crime in Los Angeles increased by nearly 16 percent during the first half of this year compared with the same period a year ago, authorities said Friday. Statistics released Friday by the Los Angeles Police Department also showed an increase in property crimes by 3.8 percent, and a 6.3 percent hike in overall crime in the past 12 months. The number of homicides rose by 3.1 percent, from 130 to 134; and the number of shooting victims rose by 1.3 percent, from 537 to 544. The “year to date” figures covered the period from Jan. 1 through July 16....

CHICAGO (STMW) — Seven people were killed and at least 52 more were wounded in shootings across Chicago between Friday evening and Monday morning, according to Chicago Police.

As the convention’s deputy director of public and community affairs, my job is to make sure we’re not only promoting our host city, but also thoughtfully engaging with and contributing to the Cleveland community.... Through our Host Committee’s vendor guide, we’ve encouraged groups planning convention-related events to “go local” for the goods and services they need.... Many of our volunteer days are spent with community partners improving Clevelanders’ health and well-being. ... All of this important work is tied together by infrastructure improvements. ...

CLEVELAND, Ohio — Cleveland police are investigating seven shootings reported Friday evening and early Saturday. A 29-year-old woman died and a 2-year-old remains in intensive care after two separate drive-by shootings on the city's East Side on Friday, police said. And five people were shot outside the Agora Theatre and Ballroom early Saturday morning. Here's a roundup of the shootings provided by Cleveland police:

CLEVELAND, OH (WOIO) - Friday night was busy for Cleveland police, who were called to multiple locations for shootings on the city's east side. Officers report that five people were injured during a shooting at The Agora, a well-known music venue at 5400 Euclid Ave. Not too far from The Agora, at E. 55th and Payne Avenue, three other people were shot, including two men and one woman. Those are two of the six separate shootings that took place Friday night. One of them involved a woman who was fatally shot multiple times on E. 117th and Sellers. Three other...

While speaking with protesters Sunday night, Memphis Police Department Interim Director Mike Rallings called for a 30-day moratorium on killing. "If y'all want to show me something, show me 30 days," Rallings said. "Black Lives Matter" protesters shut down the Interstate 40 bridge for several hours. Nobody was arrested or injured during the protest. Rallings went to the I-40 bridge protest in person where he and other officers joined arm-in-arm with protesters to march off the bridge. "We ain't pepper prayed nobody; we ain't deployed gas. That's the way it should be. I just wanted--come off the bridge, let's come...