ACLU Oregon Defends Alt-Right's First Amendment Protections

Playing hard to get: The G7 Summit is basically the VIP section in the international affairs club for world leaders but the US was the party pooper of the crowd. At the event, the heads of state for Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the UK all confirmed their commitment to the Paris Agreement to curb carbon emissions.

President Trump has falsely pitted labor against the environmental movement, and his team has been wishy-washy about whether the US would exit the climate change agreement altogether. At the Summit, Trump didn't renew the country's role in the pact but he hasn't a given a firm a no either. The other leaders are happy it's not a flat-out rejection and are hopeful that with more time Trump will come to his senses.

Defense of free speech: The Oregon chapter of the ACLU has put Portland's Mayor, Ted Wheeler, between a rock and a hard place. Wheeler reached out to the feds to shut down a free-speech rally by alt-right demonstrators to avoid a potentially violent situation. Wheeler's decision is also in response to a deadly hate crime, where an alt-right sympathizer murdered two people on a public train.

While the alt-right is known for its white supremacist and anti-LGBT values, the ACLU is standing up for their first amendment rights. It's a tricky position because we obviously don't want to listen to racist homophobes talk about how they are oppressed, but allowing the government to silence dissent is not a good look and a direct attack on the first amendment.

Check out some more video from VICE:

Your climate change wake-up call: A researcher from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology found a link between sleep and high temperatures, which is that the hotter it is the harder it is to sleep. Our bodies cool down when we rest, and a lower body temperature tells the brain it's time to shut down. Through data collected by the Center for Disease Control, scientists found that increases in temperature results in extra nights of insufficient sleep. The study also revealed that people who couldn't afford to run the A/C at night fared worse in sleep quality, which means this phenomenon affects poor people way more than the rich.

This trend is expected to increase the way that the US is contributing to climate change, but you can make a difference. Climate change is linked to fossil fuel emissions, but clean renewable energy doesn't have the same effect. Here's how you can get in contact with your local leaders and tell them you're ready for 100 percent renewable energy. Act now, your sleep depends on it.

Thumbs Up Kentucky: A coal company in Kentucky is doing the unthinkable—switching to renewable energy. Last week, the Berkeley Energy Group announced that it would be building a solar farm to bring back jobs to out of commission coal miners. The coal industry is becoming obsolete with stricter environmental regulations and competition from cheaper sources like natural gas and renewables like solar and wind. Trump has promised to bring jobs back to coal country but his words ring as hollow as a mined-out coal shaft. The real work seems to be in clean energy, which is growing 12 times as fast as the rest of the US economy.

From the mouths of babes: Eighth graders from South Orange Middle School in New Jersey couldn't give a fuck about meeting Paul Ryan. The students were on a field trip to DC when the Speaker of the House sought a photo with the group. Half of the kids, about 100 in total, said no thank you to the photo-op while their classmates cheesed alongside the Speaker of the House. One of the pint-sized objectors said, "I can't take a picture with someone who supports a budget that would destroy public education and would leave 23 million people without healthcare." Word.

States clap back over pot clamp down: Attorney General Jeff Session has quickly become known as the national buzzkill for his hyperactive assault on criminalizing weed. Sessions wants to increase penalties for weed users and dealers and has basically redeclared the war on drugs. However, states are fighting back and offering protection from federal meddling. May 16 and 17 were also Cannabis Industry Lobby days where consumers and activists brought their concerns to the capital to protect the bud that they love.

Take notes Pence: Former veep Joe Biden officiated the wedding of a former staffer, Henry Munoz, and his partner, Kyle Ferrari. The couple tied the knot over the weekend and it just so happened to be the second time Biden has presided over a same-sex marriage ceremony. It's a nostalgic throwback to a time when the office of the vice president didn't use religion as a way to discriminate against minorities—we're looking at you, Mike Pence.