Special counsel in Hunter Biden case responds to president’s accusations
Special Counsel David Weiss, who investigated President Joe Biden’s son Hunter, issued his final report Monday, Jan. 13. In the 280-page report, Weiss criticized the president for making “gratuitous and wrong” accusations that politics tainted his years-long case.
Weiss pointed to Joe Biden’s words when pardoning Hunter, claiming Hunter was the victim of an “unfair” prosecution and a “miscarriage of justice.”
He said while other presidents have pardoned family members in the past, none have “taken the occasion as an opportunity to malign the public services at the Department of Justice based solely on false accusations.”
Weiss said he ignored political opinions during his investigation and that his decisions were “based on the facts and the law and nothing else.”
Alex Jones-aligned company offers $7 million for Infowars after failed auction
A company doubled its offer to purchase Alex Jones’ Infowars platform, which is at the center of several defamation lawsuits after a federal judge blocked a previous auction. First United American Companies, a firm tied to Jones, now wants to pay more than $7 million for it.
The new offer comes after the parent company of satirical news site The Onion outbid First United American in November. However, a judge rejected that deal, citing a lack of transparency and concerns that the sale did not generate enough money.
Jones’ financial troubles stem from defamation lawsuits filed by the families of the victims who died in the 2012 mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School. Jones made false claims that the tragedy in Connecticut was a hoax to push a gun control agenda. As a result, a judge ordered Jones to pay $1.5 billion in damages. It forced him to put up Infowars as collateral to help settle the judgments.
The trustee handling Jones’ bankruptcy case announced Monday, Jan. 13, that First United American made the new offer despite no formal request for a rebid following the failed auction.
The Onion’s parent company, Global Tetrahedron, previously bid nearly $2 million to purchase Infowars and make it a parody site. In contrast, First United American initially offered $3.5 million in cash, with the intention of letting Jones continue Infowars.
The trustee is expecting a new offer from Global Tetrahedron.
Most of the Infowars sale proceeds will go toward paying off defamation damages for the families of Sandy Hook victims. Any remaining funds will be distributed among Jones’ other creditors.
Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act reintroduced in House of Representatives
One Democrat and 120 Republicans introduced the Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act in the House of Representatives on Wednesday, Jan. 8. The bill would allow anyone with a state-issued concealed carry license to conceal a handgun in any other state, and it would also allow residents in constitutional carry states to possess a firearm in other states.
“Our Second Amendment right does not disappear when we cross invisible state lines, and this commonsense legislation guarantees that,” Rep. Richard Hudson, R-N.C., said in a statement. “The Constitutional Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act will protect law-abiding citizens’ rights to conceal carry and travel freely between states without worrying about conflicting state codes or onerous civil suits.”
Lawmakers have introduced the bill several times since 2017. However, the bill has never been signed into law. While it will likely pass the House, it’s unlikely to get approved in the Senate, where it needs 60 votes.
President-elect Donald Trump committed to signing a reciprocity law during the campaign.
“I will protect the right of self-defense everywhere it is under siege and I will sign concealed carry reciprocity,” Trump said in February 2023. “Your Second Amendment does not end at the state line.”
Gun rights groups celebrated the bill’s reintroduction. Gun Owners of America said if the bill is passed, it would be the greatest legislative victory for the gun rights movement in a century.
“[The] bill not only protects people that have permits from their own state to be able to carry in other states, there’s 29 permitless carry states, [the] bill also protects them to carry permitless carry around the country,” said Erich Pratt, Gun Owners of America senior vice president. “That is huge because that totally fits within the 2nd amendment, ‘shall not be infringed.’”
Gun control groups oppose the legislation. Every Town for Gun Safety said reciprocity would “gut” state standards.
“CCR would force each state to recognize the concealed carry standards from every other state, even those that have dramatically weaker standards—and those that don’t require any permit at all,” the organization stated.
For instance, some states require training to get a concealed carry permit, others do not. Not all training programs are the same, some are online, while others are in-person and involve firing the weapon.
If the bill is approved, it would only apply to handguns. It explicitly states machine guns or other destructive devices are not included.
Police report details Missouri school shooter’s mental health issues
It has been two years since then-19-year-old Orlando Harris killed two people at Central Visual and Performing Arts High School (CVPA) in St. Louis, Missouri, in October 2022. Now, police have released their investigative report, revealing Harris’s mental health struggles and the student’s anti-LGBTQ+ motive.
According to the report, in the year and a half prior to the shooting, Harris contemplated suicide multiple times and attempted the act at least twice — first in August 2021 and again between April and June 2022. He was hospitalized several times for his struggles with mental health and regularly saw a therapist. However, he ended his therapy sessions in the summer of 2022.
“After he was released from the hospital, Orlando H. advised Ward that he was not going back to the hospital and stopped contact with the therapist,” the report states.
Harris’ mother, Tanya Ward, told investigators that a package from “various gun and ammunition places” addressed to her son arrived at their home just weeks before the shooting on Oct. 15, 2022. The packages contained a body armor vest, magazine holsters, and magazines. Ward checked his bedroom and found a rifle in an old TV box.
Ward then called police, and crisis intervention officers responded to the house.
“The family contacted the police department to obtain assistance because they were concerned about Orlando H.’s mental illness and felt he should not be in possession of any firearms,” the report states.
Officers told Ward they could not legally confiscate the gun. Orlando told his mother he worked hard to save up for the gun but appeased her and the family by agreeing to put the gun and tactical gear in a storage facility.
The report includes an interview with Harris’ psychiatrist, who saw him twice in August 2022. His doctor described Orlando as having skewed expectations of himself and “thought he was a failure at everything.” She noted that Orlando had lost interest in hobbies, such as gaming, in 2021.
Ward also said he had attended CVPA, where the first two years were normal, but he quickly lost interest in the middle of the pandemic. He graduated from the school in 2021 and was slated to attend college that fall, but his family and friends reported that he was depressed.
Then, on Oct. 24, 2022, Orlando entered his former school and declared, “All of you are going to die.” A 15-year-old student and a health and physical education teacher were killed in the shooting, and several other people were shot and wounded. Officers eventually shot and killed Orlando.
Missouri has no “red flag laws” in place that allow for the temporary removal of firearms from individuals deemed to pose a risk to themselves or others.
Harris, Trump look for votes in battlegrounds with 2 weeks to go
With exactly two weeks to go until Election Day, both candidates for president are blitzing the battleground states. And we’ve learned how long student loan repayments for about eight million Americans will remain on hold. These stories and more highlight your Unbiased Updates for Tuesday, Oct. 22, 2024.
Harris, Trump look for more votes in battlegrounds with 2 weeks to go
With two weeks to go until Election Day, the presidential candidates are crisscrossing the country trying to pick up any undecided voters that remain.
.@Liz_Cheney: Vice President Harris is going to defend our Constitution. We're not always gonna agree, but I know Vice President Harris will always do what she believes is right for this country. She has a sincere heart, and that's why I'm honored to support her pic.twitter.com/lcFD6MGDSF
“So, I think that we are facing a choice in this election; it’s not about party, it’s about right and wrong,” Cheney said. “And I certainly have many Republicans who will say to me, ‘I can’t be public.’ They do worry about a whole range of things including violence, but they’ll do the right thing.”
In Wisconsin, Harris described her opponent former President Donald Trump as “unstable,” referencing comments made by former Trump cabinet members.
“I think it’s very important that we acknowledge — and I have said publicly that Donald Trump is an unserious man,” Harris said, “and the consequences of him ever being President of United States again are brutally serious. Brutally serious.”
Former President Trump visited North Carolina on Monday where he surveyed the damage created by Hurricane Helene and continued his criticism of the Biden administration’s relief efforts.
“The power of nature, nothing you can do about it, but you got to get a little bit better crew and to do a better job than has been done by the White House,” Trump said. “It’s been not good. Not good. I’m here today in western North Carolina to express a simple message to the incredible people of the state: I’m with you and the American people are with you all the way. We’re going to continue to be with you. We’ll see what happens with the election. And we’re, on January 20th, you’re going to have, I think, a new crew coming in to do it properly and help you in a proper manner.”
Trump made two more stops while in North Carolina Monday, holding a rally and speaking at a faith leaders’ event.
On Tuesday, Oct. 22, former President Trump will continue campaigning in North Carolina with a rally in Greensboro, and Vice President Harris will sit down for an interview with NBC News in Washington, D.C.
Blinken in Israel to revive Gaza cease-fire talks after Sinwar death
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is in Israel once again — his 11th visit to the region since war broke out between Israel and Hamas a little more than a year ago.
On my way to Israel and other stops in the Middle East for intensive discussions about the importance of ending the war in Gaza, returning the hostages to their families, and alleviating the suffering of the Palestinian people. pic.twitter.com/lIaRUo7Ea2
This visit is the first stop on a wider tour of the Middle East in which Blinken is expected to revive talks for a cease-fire in Gaza in the wake of the death of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar.
Blinken’s weeklong trip comes as the Middle East braces for Israel’s response to an Iranian missile attack on Tel Aviv earlier this month.
Teen arrested after 2 adults, 3 children killed in shooting at Washington home
Officials with the King County Sheriff’s Office said another teenager who had been injured went to a Seattle hospital. They said that teenager and the teen in custody both live at the home where the shooting happened, but did not know the relationships between those teens and the five people killed.
“I just don’t know the relationships, so I’m going to withhold confirming any relationships, but it does appear to be that this is a family incident,” Deputy Mike Mellis told reporters Monday. “Clearly, a domestic violence incident that involves not only a young man — who’s now in significant trouble — and it involves firearms. Young men and firearms.”
Reports say he has chronic myeloid leukemia, a form of bone marrow cancer, and he’s undergoing treatment at Rikers Island prison in New York where he’s serving a 16-year sentence.
This is just the latest health issue Weinstein has faced behind bars. Last month, he had emergency heart surgery to alleviate a significant amount of fluid in his lungs and heart, and he was hospitalized in July with COVID-19 and double pneumonia.
Student loan payments pause extended for 8 million SAVE plan borrowers
Eight million Americans will be able to continue holding off paying back their student loans for at least another six months, the Department of Education confirmed on Monday.
The Education Department said save enrollees will be placed in an interest-free general forbearance for at least six months pending the outcome of legal challenges to the plan.
Cheapest World Series tickets costing at least $1,000 on secondary market
The Los Angeles Dodgers and New York Yankees have each punched their ticket to the World Series and now if you want a ticket, you’ll need at least $1,000. According to SeatGeek, the cheapest single seat for the Game 1 in LA on Friday, Oct. 25, will cost $1,034.
For Game 2 on Saturday, Oct. 26, also at Dodger Stadium, the least expensive ticket is $1,209.
Games 3 and 4 on Monday and Tuesday, Oct. 28 and 29, head back to the East Coast, with the cheapest tickets for Yankees Stadium costing $1,385 and $1,110, respectively. A possible Game 5 is showing the same as Game 4.
And “if necessary,” Games 6 and 7 would be back in LA, with the cheapest tickets going for around $1,300 or more.
As for the good seats behind home plate at Dodger Stadium, those tickets are going for $1,500 or more.
New Mexico governor ends controversial gun ban in public parks
New Mexico Democratic Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham announced Wednesday, Oct. 16, that her controversial public health order banning guns at public parks and playgrounds has ended and will not be renewed. She signed the order in September 2023 after an 11-year-old boy was shot at Isotopes Park, a minor league baseball stadium in Albuquerque.
According to the governor’s office, New Mexico has made significant strides in reducing gun violence, including collecting more than 1,700 guns through a buy-back program, doubling arrests for violent or gun-related crimes, and increasing public awareness of juveniles being detained for gun possession.
Gov. Grisham stated that the work to reduce violence is not finished, saying, “This is no time to slow down — we must accelerate our efforts to protect our families. The legislature must also prioritize budget requests from our law enforcement agencies, who need more resources to continue their fight against crime.”
Gun rights advocates filed several lawsuits over the order, claiming it blocked citizens of their Second Amendment right to carry in public for self-defense.
US Supreme Court to decide if Mexico can sue gun manufacturers
The U.S. Supreme Court is set to hear a case brought by Mexico against major American gun manufacturers amid claims that these companies are indirectly responsible for escalating violence fueled by drug cartels. The lawsuit alleged that the manufacturers failed to enforce proper safeguards, allowing firearms to be trafficked into Mexico, where they contribute to deadly crimes.
Smith & Wesson recently attempted to have the suit thrown out, prompting the high court to hear the case.
At the center of the lawsuit is the accusation that gun manufacturers designed weapons favored by cartels and granted criminals easy access to high-powered firearms.
Mexico argued that this negligence exacerbated cartel violence, resulting in numerous civilian and law enforcement casualties.
The gun companies assert that they are protected under U.S. law by the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act, which shields manufacturers from liability when their products are used in criminal activities.
They maintain that they sell firearms legally and cannot be held responsible for the consequences that occur after the sale.
Lower courts permitted Mexico’s lawsuit to proceed, but the Supreme Court’s ruling will determine whether the case can advance. If the court rules in favor of Mexico, it could pave the way for additional international lawsuits against U.S. gun manufacturers, potentially reshaping the firearms industry.
According to the lawsuit, over $250 million worth of firearms are trafficked into Mexico annually. The upcoming hearing is expected to attract significant attention from both gun control advocates and Second Amendment defenders, with the outcome likely to establish a new legal precedent for holding gun manufacturers accountable for their products abroad.
Lawmakers want YouTube to enforce its own policy regarding teens and guns
A group of 16 congressional Democrats wrote a letter to YouTube’s CEO, urging him to better enforce the company’s own policy regarding content with guns. The lawmakers want YouTube to make it harder for children and teens to find the content, which the company bans for users under 18.
“We hope that this will not only cause YouTube to very quickly correct any lack of enforcement, but will also be a message to other social media and digital media sites that they must enforce their own policies,” Rep. Dan Goldman, D-N.Y., told the outlet.
It is easy to find videos on YoutTube that show viewers how guns are assembled, used and manufactured. The videos can be found by both adults and teens.
Screen shot, taken by an adult, of a YouTube video that shows someone firing a homemade weapon with a suppressor.
YouTube policy includes an age restriction for videos that show homemade and automatic weapons being fired, and content with accessories that convert guns into automatic weapons, high-capacity magazines and suppressors.
The letter cited research from the Tech Transparency Project in which a 14-year-old made a new Gmail account and corresponding YoutTube account.
When the user searched the term “glock” the results included a video titled “Glock with the switch.” The switch device allows the weapon to fire like a machine gun. The pistol in the video also appeared to have a high-capacity magazine, which is age-restricted according to YouTube policy.
Screen shot of search by the 14-year-old in Tech Transparency Project’s research.
When the 14-year-old user kept searching other terms related to glock, they got even more videos showing the gun being fired after it was converted into an automatic weapon.
“TTP quickly discovered deficiencies in YouTube’s implementation of its new age restrictions, particularly with YouTube Shorts,” the report stated.
YouTube did not comment on the Tech Transparency Project research. Straight Arrow News will update this story if the company responds to the new letter from lawmakers.
How new Biden order could make active shooter drills less traumatic for kids
With the jury still out on the effectiveness of active shooter drills in American schools, President Joe Biden is taking action to at least make them less traumatic. He’s signing an executive order on Thursday, Sept. 26, to study how these drills may traumatize students and educators in an effort to “maximize effectiveness” and minimize any harm.
Active shooter or “lockdown drills” have been commonplace in schools throughout the United States ever since the Columbine massacre in 1999. Some tactics used in the drills include actors dressed as gunmen and fake blood. However, Everytown found in a 2020 report that active shooter drills often traumatize students with little evidence that they save lives.
Some school districts are already getting rid of graphic school shooting depictions. New York, home to the nation’s largest school district, banned the use of realistic active shooter drills in July. The new rules for this school year mean schools can no longer use actors, props, and violent depictions. Schools are now required to use “trauma informed” and “age appropriate” procedures.
New York’s move and President Biden’s order come as parents, doctors, and even lawmakers have said graphically detailed mock scenes do not actually prepare kids for actual shootings, instead they argue that they create a culture of fear and anxiety.
Biden’s directive also involves establishing a new task force to look into the dangers of so-called “machine-gun-conversion-devices,” which can turn a semiautomatic pistol into a fully automatic gun.
The task force will also examine the growing number of 3D-printed guns that are harder to track than conventional guns because barcodes are reportedly easier to remove from the firearms. The findings will have to be reported back to the president in 90 days.
The White House’s announcement comes on the heels of a mass shooting at a nightclub in Birmingham, Alabama, on Saturday, Sept. 21, in which four people were killed and 17 others were injured.
They believe it was a paid “hit” on one specific person, with everyone else caught in the crossfire. Witnesses said multiple suspects pulled up in a car, got out and fired dozens of gunshots, then quickly took off.
Birmingham’s mayor said this is not the first time this year the city has seen gun violence like this. During a news conference Sunday, Sept. 22, he called it a “solvable problem.”
“We don’t have any interest in this whole debate about second amendment rights,” said Mayor Randall Woodfin. “We don’t have any interest in people who want to protect their homes, militia or whatever else you want to say. There’s a certain element in this city, there’s a certain element in this community who are too comfortable running around with semi-automatic weapons, automatic weapons, conversion switches and everything else, whose only intent, hell bent intent, is to harm people, shoot people, kill people.”
Investigators say they do believe the person who was targeted is among the people who died.
