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☆ Hawaii wildfires: ATF team with electrical engineer investigating cause of deadly blaze
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-18 | by ( Spencer Kimball | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Search and rescue crews look through the remains of a neighborhood on August 17, 2023 in Lahaina, Hawaii. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives is deploying a team that includes an electrical engineer to investigate the origins of the catastrophic Hawaii wildfires, as the local power company faces growing scrutiny over whether downed electric poles triggered the blaze. The team will assist Maui County fire officials in their investigation. The blaze is the deadliest wildfire in the U.S. in more than a century and the worst disaster in Hawaii state history. Hawaiian Electric is already facing four lawsuits from Maui residents alleging that the power company's lines played a role in the fires.

Organizations: Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, Explosives, ATF, Electric, National Weather Service Locations: Lahaina , Hawaii, Maui, Lahaina, U.S, Hawaii, Hurricane

☆ Supreme Court allows Biden ‘ghost gun’ regulations
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-08 | by ( Lawrence Hurley | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

WASHINGTON — A divided Supreme Court on Tuesday allowed the Biden administration to enforce regulations aimed at clamping down on so-called ghost guns — firearm-making kits available online that people can assemble at home. Plaintiffs also include gun rights groups and makers and sellers of ghost guns. Tuesday's ruling was not a final decision and the Supreme Court could still hear the case and issue a detailed decision on the merits. On July 28, Justice Samuel Alito temporarily put the Texas ruling on hold while the Supreme Court decided on what next steps to take. The ghost guns case, however, is on a separate legal question related to ATF's regulatory authority, not the right to bear arms.

Persons: WASHINGTON, Biden, John Roberts, Amy Coney Barrett, John Feinblatt, Reed O'Connor, Jennifer VanDerStok, Michael Andren, David Thompson, Tuesday's, Elizabeth Prelogar, Samuel Alito Organizations: Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, Explosives, of Alcohol, Gun Safety, Manufacturers, ATF, Gun Control, Circuit, Appeals, Supreme Locations: Glendale , California, Texas, New Orleans

[1/2] U.S. President Joe Biden holds up a ghost gun kit while announcing new measures by his administration to fight ghost gun crime at the White House in, Washington, U.S., April 11, 2022. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque/File PhotoAug 8 (Reuters) - The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday granted a request by President Joe Biden's administration to reinstate - at least for now - a federal regulation aimed at reining in privately made firearms called "ghost guns" that are difficult for law enforcement to trace. A Reuters/Ipsos poll completed on Tuesday found that 70% of Americans support requirements that ghost guns have serial numbers and be produced only by licensed manufacturers. There were about 20,000 suspected ghost guns reported in 2021 to the ATF as having been recovered by law enforcement in criminal investigations - a tenfold increase from 2016, according to White House statistics. Biden's administration on July 27 asked the justices to halt O'Connor's ruling that invalidated a Justice Department restriction on the sale of ghost gun kits while it appeals to the New Orleans-based 5th U.S.

Persons: Joe Biden, Kevin Lamarque, Joe Biden's, District Judge Reed O'Connor, John Roberts, Amy Coney Barrett, Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito, Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh, O'Connor, Sellers, Alito, Andrew Chung, Will Dunham Organizations: White, REUTERS, U.S, Supreme, District, Conservative, Control, Bureau, Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, Explosives, Gun Control, Justice, Coalition, Reuters, White House, Circuit, Appeals, Firearms Policy Coalition, Constitution, Thomson Locations: Washington , U.S, Fort Worth , Texas, New Orleans, Texas, United States, U.S, New York

☆ Supreme Court revives federal ghost gun restrictions; Roberts and Barrett join liberals
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-08 | by ( Ariane De Vogue | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

CNN —The Supreme Court on Tuesday agreed to freeze a lower court order that bars the government from regulating so-called ghost guns – untraceable homemade weapons – as firearms under federal law. Ghost guns are kits that a user can buy online to assemble a fully functional firearm. The rule does not prohibit the sale or possession of any ghost gun kit, nor does it block an individual from purchasing such a kit. A federal appeals court declined to put on hold two key challenged provisions of the regulation. A handful of retailers of ghost gun kits as well as a gun rights’ group also challenged the rule.

Persons: Biden, John Roberts, Amy Coney Barrett, Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito, Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh, Judge Reed O’Connor, Elizabeth Prelogar, ” Prelogar, ” David Thompson, O’Connor, ” O’Connor Organizations: CNN, Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, Explosives, United States, Court, Northern, Northern District of, Supreme, ” “, ATF, Control Locations: Northern District, Northern District of Texas, Texas

REUTERS/Bing Guan/File PhotoAug 1 (Reuters) - A U.S. regulation restricting ownership of gun accessories known as pistol braces is likely illegal, a federal appeals court ruled Tuesday, a victory for a gun rights group challenging the rule. Circuit Court of Appeals found that U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives finalized the rule in January without giving the public a meaningful chance to comment on it. The court did not immediately block enforcement of the rule, instead sending the case back to U.S. District Judge Reed O'Connor in Fort Worth, Texas. Pistol braces were first marketed in 2012 as a way of attaching a pistol to the shooter's forearm, stabilizing it and making it easier to use for disabled people. The disputed rule classifies some guns equipped with pistol braces as short-barrel rifles, based on several factors including their size and weight and the manufacturers' marketing materials.

Persons: Dimitri Karras, Bing Guan, District Judge Reed O'Connor, O'Connor, Joe Biden's, Cody Wisniewski, Jerry Smith, Don Willett, Stephen Higginson, Smith, Willett, Ronald Reagan, Donald Trump, Higginson, Barack Obama, ‘, Higginson ‘, ’, Brendan Pierson, David Gregorio, Gerry Doyle Organizations: Alcohol, Firearms, Tobacco, REUTERS, Circuit, Appeals, . Bureau, Explosives, District, Coalition, ATF, U.S . Department of Justice, Fifth, Congress, Republican, Democratic, Thomson Locations: Oceanside , California, U.S, New Orleans, Fort Worth , Texas, New York

The administration asked the justices to halt a Texas-based federal judge’s nationwide ruling that invalidated a Justice Department restriction on the sale of ghost gun kits while the administration appeals to the New Orleans-based 5th U.S. The rule clarified that ghost guns qualify as “firearms” under the federal Gun Control Act, requiring serial numbers and manufacturers be licensed. Several plaintiffs, including two gun owners and two gun rights advocacy groups challenged the rule in federal court in Texas. U.S. Judge Reed O’Connor on July 5 issued a nationwide order blocking the rule, finding that the administration exceeded its authority in adopting it. Reporting by Andrew Chung in New York and John Kruzel; Editing by Aurora EllisOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Joe Biden’s, Sellers, Judge Reed O’Connor, Andrew Chung, John Kruzel, Aurora Ellis Organizations: U.S, Supreme, Circuit, Appeals, Department, federal Gun Control, Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, Explosives, White House, Thomson Locations: Texas, New Orleans, Texas . U.S, ”, New York

☆ Mexico announces plan with US to boost firearm tracing
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

MEXICO CITY, July 26 (Reuters) - Mexico and the United States have agreed to step up oversight of arms trafficking with a system to electronically track firearms seized from criminal organizations, Mexican Security Minister Rosa Icela Rodriguez said on Wednesday. "The United States and Mexico have agreed to the electronic monitoring of all the firearms seized in our country from criminal organizations," Rodriguez told a press conference. Barcena said the plan aimed to keep track of where guns are found in Mexico to help inform seizure strategies. One of Mexico's main proposals to the U.S. was that it revoke licenses of gun stores that sell firearms to cartels, she said. According to U.S. gun-tracing bureau ATF, some 70% of traced firearms used to commit crimes and seized in Mexico come from the U.S.

Persons: Rosa Icela Rodriguez, Rodriguez, Alicia Barcena, Barcena, Raul Cortes, Adriana Barrera, Sarah Morland, Alistair Bell Organizations: MEXICO CITY, Mexican, U.S, Thomson Locations: MEXICO, Mexico, United States, Caribbean, U.S

☆ Farmington, New Mexico, shooting: At least 3 people killed and 2 officers wounded, police say
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-15 | by ( Jamiel Lynch | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +1 min

CNN —Multiple people were shot and at least three killed in a shooting in Farmington, New Mexico, police said in a Facebook post. Officers were involved in a shooting with a suspect, who was killed on scene, police said. A Farmington police officer and a New Mexico State Police officer were shot and are being treated for their injuries in the hospital. CNN has reached out to the city’s mayor and the New Mexico governor for comment. About 46,400 people live in Farmington, which is in northwestern New Mexico, just south of the Colorado state line.

ET]Police are searching for a second gunman in the shooting at an outlet mall in Allen, Texas, a suburb of Dallas, a law enforcement source tells CNN. There is a search for a “second gunman,” according to the law enforcement source, based on descriptions from witnesses, although the involvement of a second shooter is not confirmed. [Previous reporting]Authorities in a suburb of Dallas are responding to a reported shooting at an outlet mall, with ATF personnel on the scene at Allen Premium Outlets. Tony Wright, an Allen resident whose home backs up to the Allen Premium Outlets, said his family thought they heard construction before they realized it was gunshots. But he said once they saw people fleeing the outlet mall, the family locked the doors and hunkered down.

☆ ATF broke the law by paying agents millions in wrongful benefits, watchdog tells Biden
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-02 | by ( Dan Mangan | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives police officers are seen in Uvalde, Texas, May 25, 2022. The U.S. Office of Special Counsel, which disclosed the mismanagement, said it had alerted President Joe Biden and Congress of "substantial waste, mismanagement, and unlawful employment practices" involving high-level jobs at ATF. The Office of Special Counsel said that during a five-year period that officials investigated, 108 ATF employees who worked in non-law-enforcement jobs "were improperly provided Law Enforcement Availability Pay (LEAP) and enhanced retirement benefits." In its official response to OSC, ATF contested claims about the designation of some of the positions being misclassified. OPM later concluded that the ATF's leadership "demonstrated disregard for the rule of law and regulations" governing federal management policies and practices.

☆ Canada and U.S. agree to trace guns intercepted at border
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-28 | by ( Steve Scherer | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

"Canada and the United States have agreed to strengthen the bilateral cooperation to reduce gun violence," Mendicino said. The United States traces guns by requiring firearm dealers to record the serial numbers of the guns they sell and who purchased them. "Data and information sharing are powerful tools in the fight against gun violence," said U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland, who was also present. Previously, gun tracing in Canada has been inconsistent. Canada traced only 6-10% of guns involved in crimes, according to 2019 data from the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), a federal agency.

☆ A Missouri official called the ATF 'unconstitutional' but says it's not because the agency raided his brother's gun shop
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-19 | by ( Katie Balevic | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Ike Skelton's brother, Jim, had his gun shop raided by the ATF in 2021 and lost his federal firearms license. They cited Missouri's Second Amendment Preservation Act (SAPA), which penalizes authorities who enforce federal gun laws. Kevin L. Jamison, Jim Skelton's attorney, told Insider that his client did not receive "sufficient advice" before opening his shop. We're not restricting them from enforcing their unconstitutional law," Ike Skelton told Insider. The only thing that my brother's raid did was confirm everything I thought about the ATF," Ike Skelton told Insider.

☆ Interpol-led LatAm swoop seizes thousands of weapons, $5.7 bln in drugs
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

MEXICO CITY, April 18 (Reuters) - Interpol said on Tuesday its largest-ever fire arms swoop across Central and South America resulted in the seizure of thousands of illegal weapons and $5.7 billion worth of drugs after unprecedented cooperation by 15 countries. The operation found 8,263 illicit firearms and nearly 306,000 rounds of ammunition, as well as 203 tonnes of drugs and 372 tonnes of drug precursors. Eleven people were rescued in Paraguay when authorities dismantled a human trafficking ring, Interpol said. It said law enforcement had reported a spike in drug-related violence over the past year, fueled by trafficking of illegal firearms. The swoop saw participation from Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Panama, Paraguay, Peru and Uruguay.

☆ US must stem 'iron river' of guns flowing to Latin America, activists say
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-18 | by ( Sarah Morland | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

April 18 (Reuters) - U.S. guns, many of them exported legally, are flowing into Latin America in an "iron river" ending in the hands of drug cartels and abusive security forces, activists said Monday, calling for greater oversight from U.S. law and federal agencies. More than half of "crime guns" recovered and traced in Central America are sourced from the United States, according to U.S. gun control agency ATF. Burke called for rules preventing manufacturers from selling to dealers with lax distribution practices. Manufacturers should also stop selling armor-piercing weapons and guns that can easily be modified to shoot hundreds of bullets at a time, she said. U.S government figures show last year that income from legal firearm shipments to Latin America increased 8%, with most sales going to Brazil, Mexico, Guatemala and Colombia.

☆ The Missouri official refusing to comply with the ATF has past experience with the bureau. His brother's gun shop was previously raided by the feds.
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-12 | by ( Katie Balevic | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Ike Skelton's brother, Jim, had his gun shop raided by the ATF in 2021 and lost his federal firearms license. I can't just take their packet, slap it to my forehead and absorb it," Jim Skelton told KRCG-TV at the time. Kevin L. Jamison, Jim Skelton's attorney, told Insider that his client did not receive "sufficient advice" before opening his shop. We're not restricting them from enforcing their unconstitutional law," Ike Skelton told Insider. The only thing that my brother's raid did was confirm everything I thought about the ATF," Ike Skelton told Insider.

☆ Missouri officials refuse to work with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, saying all federal 'so-called' gun laws are unconstitutional
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-09 | by ( Katie Balevic | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Officials in Camden County, Missouri are refusing to cooperate with the ATF, according to local reports. Officials cited a since-struck-down state law that kept police from enforcing federal gun laws. Six top elected officials in Camden County signed a letter to the ATF saying as much, according to NPR affiliate KCUR 89.3. Last month, a federal judge struck down the 2021 law, which prohibited local police from enforcing federal gun laws, calling it "invalid, null, void, and of no effect." "Any and all federal firearms laws, so-called laws, in my opinion, and many others' opinion, are unconstitutional," Skelton told KCUR.

"Bump stocks allow a shooter to fire hundreds of bullets a minute by a single pull of the trigger. Like other machine guns, rifles modified with bump stocks are exceedingly dangerous." Bump stocks use a semiautomatic's recoil to allow it to slide back and forth while "bumping" the shooter's trigger finger, resulting in rapid fire. Cargill sued, challenging the ATF's rule in 2019, which required him to surrender his two bump stocks. Two days after that ruling, Biden signed into law the first major federal gun reform in three decades.

☆ Fact Check-Nashville school shooter was armed with two assault-style weapons
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-05 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

WEAPONS IDENTIFIEDHale was armed with three weapons and fatally shot six people at a private Christian school (here). WEAPONS USED IN NASHVILLE ARE ASSAULT-STYLEBoth the AR-15 pistol and the Kel-Tec Sub2000 carbine pistol would be considered assault-style weapons “based on definitions of assault weapons used by many states that ban them,” Webster said. On July 2022, the U.S. House of Representatives passed legislation banning assault-style weapons (here), (here). It says “all AR types,” specifically the AR-15, and the Kel-Tec Sub-2000, are among the firearms considered semiautomatic assault-style weapons. The suspect in the Nashville school shooting was armed with three firearms, two of which are considered assault-style weapons.

☆ India cuts windfall tax on crude oil to zero, diesel halved
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

NEW DELHI, April 4 (Reuters) - India cut its windfall tax on crude oil to zero from 3,500 rupees ($42.56) a tonne and halved the tax on diesel to 0.5 rupee per litre, a government notification said on Tuesday. The government adjusts the tax rates twice a month according to global crude oil price movements. The windfall tax on exports of aviation turbine fuel (ATF) and petrol, which had previously been cut to zero, were left unchanged, the notification said. The government intends to withdraw the windfall tax once global crude oil prices fall firmly below $70 a barrel, a top government official told Reuters last year. Brent crude oil prices slipped last month near $70 a barrel, a 15-month low, on fears of weakening demand but this week surged above $85 after the OPEC+ group's decision to curtail production.

☆ Staring down a possible indictment, Trump holds a rally in Waco. A Texas newspaper said the choice isn't a dog whistle but an 'air horn' to far-right groups.
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-25 | by ( Sarah Al-Arshani | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Thirty years ago, federal agents seized the Branch Davidians in Waco, Texas. Trump's scheduled rally in Waco falls in the middle of the anniversary of the months-long standoff. The New York Times reported that Trump's visit to Waco falls on the 30-year anniversary of the Branch Davidian siege. Although no indictment has been announced, Trump has continued to rally his supporters and make allusions to violence. Trump supporters like Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia and Matt Gaetz of Florida as well as conservative pundits like Dan Bongino have spoken out in support of Trump.

☆ Parkland parents forcibly removed, arrested at U.S. House hearing on gun control
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-23 | by ( Moira Warburton | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

WASHINGTON, March 23 (Reuters) - The parents of one of the 17 people killed in a 2018 mass shooting at a high school in Parkland, Florida, were forcibly removed on Thursday from a U.S. House of Representatives hearing on guns, videos showed. Manuel Oliver was pinned to the ground outside the hearing and arrested by Capitol Hill Police. His wife, Patricia Oliver, was also removed from the hearing by police. The Olivers' son, Joaquin, was 17 when he was killed by a mass shooter at Marjorie Stoneman Douglas High School. The incident led to a mass movement among youth and parents of gun violence victims to push for stricter gun laws in the United States.

☆ U.S. judge rules Missouri state gun law is unconstitutional
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-07 | by ( Sarah N. Lynch | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

WASHINGTON, March 7 (Reuters) - A U.S. federal judge ruled that a Missouri state law aimed at invalidating many federal gun regulations was unconstitutional, handing the U.S. Justice Department a victory on Tuesday in its bid to get the law tossed out. "SAPA’s practical effects are counterintuitive to its stated purpose," Wimes wrote. Spokespeople for Missouri Governor Michael Parson did not have an immediate comment on the ruling. The Justice Department has previously said that HB85, which was signed into law in June 2021, has harmed partnerships between the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) and state and local law enforcement. A Justice Department spokesperson did not have any immediate comment on the judge's ruling.

☆ Australian Olympian Bol has provisional doping ban lifted
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-14 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

MELBOURNE, Feb 14 (Reuters) - Australian athlete Peter Bol, who finished fourth in the 800 metres at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, has had his provisional doping suspension lifted after the 'B' sample of his test did not match his 'A' sample, Sport Integrity Australia (SIA) said. The middle distance runner had been suspended since Jan. 10 after testing positive for synthetic erythropoietin (EPO) in an out-of-competition urine test last October. read moreBol's 'A' sample had returned an "Adverse Analytical Finding" but his 'B' sample produced an "Atypical Finding" (ATF) for recombinant EPO, anti-doping watchdog SIA said on Tuesday. "Sport Integrity Australia will, as part of its investigation, proceed to consider whether any anti-doping rule violation/s have been committed," the anti-doping watchdog said. "I have never in my life purchased, possessed, administered, or used synthetic EPO or any other prohibited substance, and never will."

The states said in their lawsuit, however, that the rule in practice could affect anyone who uses a brace. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton filed a similar, separate lawsuit in federal court in Texas on Thursday. A group of veterans also filed a lawsuit challenging the rule in federal court in Texas earlier this month. Democratic President Joe Biden has championed tougher gun control measures, and last year signed a national gun safety law. Since then, several state gun control measures have been struck down by courts.

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