Hancock & Kelley: Anti-war protests in St. Louis and legalizing sports betting in Missouri

It was another Sunday morning of sometimes heated but always civil political discussion on Hancock and Kelley for Sunday, May 5, 2024.

John Hancock Jr., a Republican strategist with the Bulldog Newsletter, was in place of his father, John Hancock, and Democratic consultant Michael Kelley discussed the following topics:

• Progressive Democrats in St. Louis, like Aldermanic President Megan Green and Congresswoman Cori Bush, are railing against police crackdowns on pro-Palestinian tent-camp protests at colleges in St. Louis and across the United States, as Democrat New York Mayor Eric Adams takes a strong stance in support of police in ending protests that have resorted to vandalism, violence, and antisemitism. Should President Joe Biden stand more firmly with Adams or continue to lean toward Green and Bush?

• Fredbird and Louie were among the Missouri professional sports team mascots dropping off signatures in Jefferson City to put legalized sports betting on the Missouri ballot in November. Initiative petition drives will likely put the issues of minimum wage and abortion rights on the ballot as well.

• Democrats in the Illinois legislature use their supermajority to propose, pass, and sign into law a change in the rules for the election of state lawmakers within 24 hours.

• Former President Donald Trump gets fined for violating the gag order in his criminal trial in New York, but soars in polls, including our exclusive poll from Emerson College and The Hill, showing Trump leading President Biden in all seven so-called “swing states” likely to decide the 2024 presidential election.

• Georgia Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene may be wearing out her welcome among fellow Republicans as she pushes to remove Speaker of the House Mike Johnson in the week ahead.

• Our Quote of the Week was from legendary Mizzou men’s basketball coach, Norm Stewart, who was inducted into the Hall of Famous Missourians at the state capitol.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX 2.