PHOENIX — Retired astronaut Mark Kelly, who became a prominent gun-control advocate after his wife, former U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, was shot in a failed assassination attempt, announced Tuesday he will run to finish John McCain's last term in the U.S. Senate. Kelly, 54, is a top Democratic recruit to take on...
Trump’s Safety Panel to Revoke School Discipline Rules
The Trump administration on Tuesday moved to roll back an Obama-era policy that was meant to curb racial disparities in school discipline but that critics say left schools afraid to take action against potentially dangerous students. The recommendation was among dozens issued in a new report by Trump's federal school...
Trump Administration Moves to Ban Bump Stocks
WASHINGTON — The Trump administration moved Tuesday to officially ban bump stocks, which allow semi-automatic weapons to fire rapidly like automatic firearms, and has made them illegal to possess beginning in late March. The devices will be banned under a federal law that prohibits machine guns, according to a senior...
In Plea Deal, Russian Woman Admits to Being a Secret Agent
WASHINGTON — A Russian gun-rights activist admitted Thursday that she was a secret agent for the Kremlin who tried to infiltrate conservative U.S. political groups as Donald Trump rose to power. Maria Butina, 30, agreed to plead guilty to a conspiracy charge as part of a deal with federal prosecutors....
Should You Need to Pass a Social Media Check to Get a Gun?
ALBANY, N.Y. — Should hateful tweets keep you from getting a gun? That's a question many have asked after suspects in several horrific mass shootings were found only later to have left social media hints of violence that went unheeded for years. Now a New York lawmaker has introduced a...
Democrats Vow Action on Gun Control After Calif. Shooting
WASHINGTON — Newly ascendant Democrats are promising congressional action on gun control amid a rash of mass shootings, including a late-night assault at a California bar that killed 12 people. Measures including expanded background checks and a ban on assault-style weapons are likely to reach the House floor when Democrats...
Schools Eye Facial Recognition Technology To Boost Security
LOCKPORT, N.Y. — The surveillance system that has kept watch on students entering Lockport schools for over a decade is getting a novel upgrade. Facial recognition technology soon will check each face against a database of expelled students, sex offenders and other possible troublemakers. It could be the start of...
Issues Matter, Not Pelosi, as TJ Cox Talks Congressional Run
Congressional candidate TJ Cox is focused on November. In the unique scenario that is the 21st district, Cox is the only Democrat running against incumbent Republican David Valadao. They are the only two listed on the ballot. No matter what voters decide in the June 5th primary, both men advance...
Want To Understand Gun Owners? Watch Their Videos.
It was an ordinary day in 2011, when I found myself watching a YouTube video of a gun owner making a semi-automatic rifle discharge bullets rapidly, as if it were an automatic weapon. My husband, a gun owner, watched firearms videos like this one. But I had never seen one....
Where Does Janz Stand in His Full-On Prosecution of Nunes?
Last fall, Andrew Janz would come home after a full day as a Fresno County prosecutor and start dialing the phone. Contributions are the lifeblood of any major political campaign and Janz needed them. To get the word out that he was running for Congress. To distance himself from other...