Topic: Tear Gas

Health experts warned that the use of tear gas during protests could increase COVID-19 transmission by causing people to cough and sneeze. In Miami Beach, reopening plans were postponed due to civil unrest. Political commentators suggested that the combination of a pandemic and racial division provided an opportunity for Russian adversaries to sow further discord in the United States.

Reports from healthcare workers and vaccinated individuals suggest a link between COVID-19 inoculations and abnormal menstrual cycles, including heavy bleeding and preterm labor. In a counter-narrative, journalist Amy Goodman reported on a study suggesting that exposure to police tear gas during protests in Portland, Oregon, might be the actual cause of these reproductive health issues. The conflicting reports highlight a lack of consensus in the medical community regarding these specific side effects.

NBC Nightly News is highlighted for reporting that protesters are "choosing social justice over social distancing." Health officials warn that massive crowds and the use of tear gas—which causes coughing—could create "super-spreader" events. The hosts point out the hypocrisy of individuals who were previously afraid to leave their homes but are now packed into dense protest crowds.

Violence in Hong Kong escalated as police stormed a subway station in the Yuen Long neighborhood to arrest protesters. The unrest followed an earlier attack on protesters by a mob believed to be members of organized crime gangs. There is growing international concern that the People's Liberation Army may intervene if the chaos continues to intensify.

The Trump administration defended the use of OC pepper spray by Border Patrol agents against migrants attempting to cross the U.S. border from Tijuana. Ronald Colburn, president of the Border Patrol Foundation, characterized the spray as a natural deterrent that is safe enough to eat. The hosts note that similar enforcement tactics occurred during the Obama administration but received different media treatment.

Protests and riots erupted in Charlotte, North Carolina, following a police shooting of a Black American man. Cable news networks including CNN, MSNBC, and Fox News provided live street-level coverage of the escalating civil unrest. Reports from the scene detailed the police use of tear gas, concussion grenades, and flash bangs to disperse crowds as agitators clashed with law enforcement.

Opposition members in Kosovo's parliament released tear gas to disrupt a deal granting greater autonomy to ethnic Serbian enclaves. Assistant Secretary of State Victoria Nuland's recent visits to Kosovo, Serbia, and Macedonia are analyzed in the context of regional instability and potential energy pipeline interests.

The UK Home Office is testing a new "chemical gun" known as the Discriminate Irritant Projectile for riot control. The device fires CS gas or pepper spray from a distance of 100 feet, leading to comparisons with the chemical weapons currently being debated in international conflicts.

Reports of renewed rioting in Siliana, Tunisia, are analyzed. The hosts find it suspicious that a local protester interviewed on the scene was able to specifically identify that the police were using a type of tear gas canister "that even the Israelis don't use," suggesting the presence of professional activists or mercenaries.

A Syrian defector claims the regime has already used "light chemical weapons" against its people, which the hosts equate to tear gas or pepper spray. They compare this to the use of pepper spray by US police against students at UC Davis, arguing that by the media's own definition, the US government uses chemical weapons on its own citizens.

Despite ongoing violence and reports of police brutality in Bahrain, the Formula One Grand Prix proceeded. The hosts read from an independent commission report detailing the use of shotguns, tear gas, and hooded security forces against protesters, contrasting the lack of international intervention in Bahrain with the situation in Syria.

Protests in Cairo following a deadly football riot are analyzed for signs of media staging. Footage of injured protesters being transported on motorbikes is criticized as theatrical. The use of American-made tear gas canisters by the Egyptian military is highlighted as a point of contention for the protesters.

A British reporter for Russia Today (RT) was filmed attempting to report from the front lines of anti-austerity riots in Greece. The footage shows the reporter struggling with poor audio, being pushed by protesters who did not want to be filmed, and eventually running directly into a cloud of tear gas. The segment concludes with the reporter physically incapacitated by the gas while bystanders offer assistance.