The Oregonian – by Maxine Bernstein

A Utah-based company that manufactures commercial explosives pleaded guilty in federal court Friday to failing to report a large-scale ammonia discharge from its plant just outside St. Helens.

Dyno Nobel Inc., through its senior vice president, admitted to releasing more than six tons of anhydrous ammonia vapor into the air from its St. Helens-area facility over a three-day period starting on July 30, 2015.   Continue reading “Manufacturing plant near St. Helens emitted tons of hazardous ammonia without alerting authorities”

Florida Governor Rick Scott

Today, I am announcing a major action plan. I will be working with the legislature aggressively over the next two weeks to get it done.

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I’ve broken my action plan down into three sections. Gun laws, school safety, and mental health. We must get this done in the next two weeks.   Continue reading “Florida Governor announces new action plan on guns, school safety, and mental health”

Yahoo News

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — The nation’s largest privately-owned bank holding company and a major car rental chain said Thursday they will stop promotions aimed at National Rifle Association members.

The Nebraska-based First National Bank of Omaha will not renew its contract to issue the group’s NRA Visa Card, spokesman Kevin Langin said in a statement.

“Customer feedback has caused us to review our relationship with the NRA,” Langin said.  Continue reading “US bank halts NRA credit card, car rental firm ends discount”

The Hill

The Oregon legislature passed a bill Thursday banning anyone with a domestic violence conviction from owning a firearm, according to KOIN 6 local news station.

The state has banned those with domestic violence or stalking convictions from owning guns since 2015, but a loophole in the law allowed abusers who aren’t living with, married to or have children with the victim to have their guns, according to OregonLive.  Continue reading “Oregon legislature passes bill strengthening state’s gun laws”

USA Today

ALBANY, N.Y. — A collective approach to fighting gun violence could help states in the Northeast, governors said Thursday.

Democratic governors of Northeastern states announced they have formed a coalition, “States for Gun Safety” to work together in the battle against gun violence.

The governors of Connecticut, New Jersey, New York and Rhode Island said they would sign a memorandum of understanding to develop ways the states can jointly address the scourge of illegal guns and develop shared law-enforcement efforts.  Continue reading “Gun violence: Northeast governors form coalition to fight illegal guns”

The Oregonian – by Maxine Bernstein

Federal prosecutors next week will seek a nearly 31/2-year sentence for Oregon refuge occupier Ryan Payne, the longest prison term yet for a defendant convicted in the armed takeover of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge.

They described Payne as a central figure who helped orchestrate the armed occupation of the federal wildlife sanctuary, described by Assistant U.S. Attorney Geoffrey Barrow as “one of the most extensive criminal activities in Oregon history.”   Continue reading “Prosecutors to seek nearly 3 1/2-year sentence for refuge occupier Ryan Payne”

Miami Herald

One week after a mass shooter Nikolas Cruz murdered 17 people inside Marjory Stoneman Douglas High, Broward’s top cop on Thursday revealed a stunning series of failures by the sheriff’s department.

A school campus cop heard the gunfire, rushed to the building but never went inside – instead waiting outside for another four agonizing minutes as Cruz continued the slaughter.   Continue reading “Douglas school cop who ‘never went in’ during shooting has resigned”

In Florida:

NBC 2

Some local gun shops are reporting an increase in people buying AR-15 rifles.

The weapon, dubbed “America’s most popular rifle” by the NRA, has been used in many mass shootings like the one in Las Vegas and most recently at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla.  Continue reading “Local gun shops see spikes in AR-15 sales after school shooting”

Center for Immigration Studies – by Jessica M. Vaughan

The Trump administration has declared war on MS-13, the notoriously brutal gang based in El Salvador. A similar initiative launched by the Bush administration in 2005 stifled the gang’s activity after several years, but the gang has been able to rebuild itself here since 2012.

Center researchers reviewed more than 500 cases of MS-13 gang members arrested nationwide since 2012. We conclude that this resurgence represents a very serious threat to public safety in communities where MS-13 has rebuilt itself. The resurgence is directly connected to the illegal arrival and resettlement of more than 300,000 Central American youths and families that has continued unabated for six years, and to a de-prioritization of immigration enforcement in the interior of the country that occurred at the same time.   Continue reading “MS-13 Resurgence: Immigration Enforcement Needed to Take Back Our Streets”

Washington Examiner – by Anna Giaritelli

A Mexican man residing illegally in Milwaukee, Wis., pled guilty and agreed to self-deport after Justice Department officials discovered he stole more than $1 million from the government by filing a large number of bogus Additional Child Tax Credit claims, the Eastern District of Wisconsin’s office announced Tuesday.

Dimas Chavez-Pina pled guilty on Feb. 2 to theft of government money and aggravated identity theft for pilfering $1,058,827 from the U.S. Treasury between 2011 and 2014, the district’s U.S. attorney Gregory J. Haanstad said in a statement.   Continue reading “Illegal immigrant pleads guilty and vows to self-deport after stealing $1M through bogus Earned Income Tax Credit claims”

Fox News

A plot by a “disgruntled” student who was planning a mass shooting at a Southern California high school was thwarted after a security guard overheard a conversation, authorities said Tuesday.

The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department said in a news release a security guard at El Camino High School in Whittier, located east of Los Angeles, overheard the 17-year-old student threaten to open fire on the school Friday.  Continue reading “California school shooting plot thwarted, police say”

Yahoo News

The woman who cared for accused Florida shooter Nikolas Cruz and his brother filed court papers seeking control of their inheritance just one day after the massacre at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.

After their mother Lynda Cruz died from flu-related pneumonia last November, Cruz, 19, and his brother Zachary, 17, were put into the care of Roxanne Deschamps.

A source close to the family, who has not been named, told the New York Post Deschamps kicked Cruz out of her trailer after a fight over his gun collection. She also reportedly also took $2,900 from him before he moved out.   Continue reading “Nikolas Cruz’s Carer Wants Control of Florida Shooter’s $800K Inheritance”

Fox News

President Trump is signaling an openness to the idea of raising the minimum age for purchasing certain firearms in the wake of last week’s school shooting in Parkland, Fla., where a 19-year-old is accused of killing 17 teachers and students with an AR-15 rifle.

A White House source told Fox News that Trump is open to a number of measures to address mass shootings, including supporting a rise in the minimum age for owning certain firearms – a proposal that could face resistance from gun rights groups, like the National Rifle Association.   Continue reading “Trump considers raising purchase age for certain firearms, amid gun control talks”

ABC News

An hourslong standoff in Alabama ended with both the suspect and a police officer dead.

Mobile Police Chief Lawrence Battiste told news outlets early Wednesday that Officer Justin Billa was shot Tuesday night and succumbed to his injuries at a hospital.

Earlier Tuesday evening, officers responding to a report of a person hit had found Fonda Poellnitz dead. Police identified her ex-husband, Robert Hollie, as a person of interest and set up a perimeter around his Toulminville home. Battiste said officers called upon him to come out, but Hollie instead opened fire, striking Billa.   Continue reading “Alabama officer killed, suspect found dead after standoff”

NBC News

Billy Graham, the charismatic North Carolina pastor who took his evangelizing crusades around the country and the globe, died on Wednesday, according to officials of his organization.

He was 99 years old.

Graham served as a counselor or minister to a dozen U.S. presidents, and he preached to an estimated 200 million people in 185 countries around the world during his life. His message reached millions more as he maintained a near-constant presence on radio, television and the internet.   Continue reading “Billy Graham, ‘America’s pastor,’ dead at age 99”

Fox News

Revolutionary War reenactors are accustomed to not firing until they see the whites of their enemy’s eyes. But in California, they may soon need to learn not to fire at all.

Park officials in Elk Grove, just south of Sacramento, have forced a historical society to abruptly cancel a long-planned, two-day Revolutionary War reenactment, citing local anti-gun laws, the Elk Grove Citizen reported.

Instead of muskets, officials reportedly requested an alternative: wooden sticks.  Continue reading “Anti-gun laws force cancellation of Revolutionary War reenactment in California”

Fox 13

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) – With students from Stoneman Douglas High school present, the Florida state House voted down a motion to take up a bill that would ban assault rifles, effectively killing the measure for this session.

The vote comes less than a week after 17 people were fatally shot at the South Florida high school. The gun used was reportedly an assault-style rifle – an AR-15.

The motion failed by a 36-71 vote.   Continue reading “Florida legislators vote down assault rifle ban proposal”