This week: riots in London, AAA ratings, college hoops

This week riots broke out in London and across England, America lost its AAA rating, and the Governor created a Virginia-centric college basketball tournament. Here’s your week in review.

August 12, 2011; 1:45 PM • by Ross Catrow

Friday

The experience that Richmond has come to expect from First Fridays continues to change (degrade?). This time, everything went swimmingly until around 9.15pm, fifteen minutes after the official end of the event–then things got a little wild. After taking the weekend to think about it, organizers are considering changing the date and even canceling September’s event.

After all that posturing and theatre around the debt ceiling, the dang S&P downgraded our (well America’s) rating from AAA to AA+. I’m convinced that no one actually understand what this means, how to fix it, or even if it needs fixing.

Downgrading our politics; The Economist

Saturday

The shooting of alleged drug dealer and gang member Mark Duggan by police sparked a week of riots in England. Buildings were burned, stores were looted, and hundreds of people were arrested.

Sunday

Thirty members of Navy Seal Team 6 were killed when a Chinook helicopter crashed in Afghanistan. Seal Team 6 carried out the raid of Osama Bin Laden’s compound in Pakistan (a thrilling account of that raid is available here, and a criticism of the thrilling account here).

Worst US loss of life in Afghan war as helicopter crash kills 38

Tuesday

Governor McDonald announced that he was creating the Governor’s Holiday Hoops Classic, a “basketball double header that will match four of the state’s top programs a year.” The Rams will take on the Hokies in 2013.