Background checks required to buy firearms have spiked to record numbers in the past month, fueled by a run on guns from Americans worried about their safety during the coronavirus crisis. According to figures from the FBI, 3.7 million background checks were done in March — the most for a...
New Zealanders Hand in 50,000 Guns After Assault Weapon Ban
WELLINGTON, New Zealand — New Zealand authorities said Saturday their country will be a safer place after owners handed in more than 50,000 guns during a buyback program following a ban on assault weapons. But critics say the process was flawed and many owners have illegally stashed their firearms. The...
California Lawmakers Eye Bills on Vaccines, Guns, Housing
SACRAMENTO — California state lawmakers have just two weeks remaining in their session to sort through hundreds of bills, some addressing volatile topics such as vaccinating children and shootings by police. The session that began in January will end Sept. 13 after lawmakers pile bills on the desk of freshman...
Man With Long Drug-Trafficking Rap Sheet Indicted in Fresno
A man who received 15 convictions linked to drug trafficking in Tulare County 16 years ago was indicted Thursday on weapons charges by a federal grand jury in Fresno. Jose Toscano-Ruelas, 43, a foreign national, was charged in U.S. District Court with being a felon in possession of a fireman,...
Release Approved for Coast Guard Officer Accused of Terror
GREENBELT, Md. — A Coast Guard lieutenant accused of being a domestic terrorist is entitled to be released from custody before his trial on firearms and drug charges, a federal magistrate said Thursday. U.S. Magistrate Judge Charles Day noted that 50-year-old Christopher Hasson hasn't been charged with any terrorism related...
Parents Arrested in California After Children Found in Cages
ALTURAS — Authorities in Northern California say the parents of two boys found inside cages bolted to a bedroom wall have been arrested for child endangerment. Modoc County Sheriff Tex Dowdy said Tuesday deputies arrested 25-year-old Ramon Zendejas and his girlfriend, 25-year-old Mercadies Williams on Friday after deputies found the...
Walters: California Politicians Disrespect Our Rights
The Constitution’s very specific list of inviolable human rights sets the United States apart from almost every other nation on Earth. Unfortunately, California’s Democratic politicians tend to ignore the Constitution’s Bill of Rights in their zealous efforts to impose “progressive” dogma on their constituents. Periodically, therefore, federal judges must remind...
APNewsBreak: Border Agents Using Firearms at a Lower Rate
WASHINGTON — Firearms use by U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers and agents is declining, and less-lethal force is also down, according to data obtained Tuesday by The Associated Press. The decrease comes as fewer people are crossing the border illegally and after the agency overhauled how force should be...