Veterans Day
Today we pause to honor those who answered the call—those who came home forever changed, and those who never made it back.
We remember the empty chairs at family tables, the folded flags, the quiet strength of those who carried burdens the rest of us will never fully know. Their sacrifice is the price of the freedoms we often take for granted.
And to those who still stand the watch—far from home, far from the ones they love, keeping the rest of us safe while we sleep—we tip our hats with the deepest gratitude. You are the reason we are free.
Thank you. We will not forget.
BREAKING NEWS: Senate Republicans re-elected John Thune as the Minority Leader. The vote was held behind closed doors.
Republican voters should demand to know exactly who their senators voted for.
They put the same people in charge who nearly destroyed the Republican Party in the midterm elections.
Any Republican senator who supported Thune should face primary opposition in 2028.
@elonmusk@stevenmarkryan Jealousy of the fortunes amassed by industrialists such as Rockefeller, Carnegie, Vanderbilt, and Morgan helped drive the progressive income tax and the 16th Amendment. What was sold as a measure that would mainly “soak the rich” soon expanded far beyond that original pitch.
A federal judge in Denver decided Colorado's new gun-permit law stays in place while the lawsuit against it goes on. The gun owners suing asked the judge to pause the law. He said no — at least for now.
Here's what the law means in plain English: since August 1, to buy certain semiautomatic rifles and shotguns in Colorado, you first need a permission card from your county sheriff, then you take an in-person safety class and pass a test with at least 90%.
Why he said no: the challengers hadn't shown they're likely to win. Courts disagree on whether the Second Amendment covers these guns, and the Supreme Court will probably take it up this term. He also called it 'shall-issue' — the sheriff must issue the card if you qualify.
The other side: the gun owners say the classes cost $200 to $400 and the whole process is a maze. Their lawyers say the judge got it wrong and they're weighing next steps. The case isn't over — the judge still has to rule on whether to throw it out entirely.
By the state's numbers, the system is moving: as of Sept. 1, 3,574 people had applied, 1,125 got their cards from 39 county sheriffs, and 502 finished the class. Nobody has failed the test yet.
A man from Lancaster, Pennsylvania who couldn't legally buy a gun got 5 to 10 years in state prison for getting his girlfriend to buy one for him. Colin Frank King, 28, pleaded guilty Oct. 19.
Here's the short version of what a straw purchase is: someone who can legally buy a gun buys it for someone who can't. King had a 2019 felony conviction, so he was barred from buying or owning one himself.
Prosecutors say it happened in December 2021 at a gun shop in West Lampeter Township, Pennsylvania. Store video showed King pointing out the handgun he wanted, then handing his girlfriend cash and his own debit card to pay for it.
On the background-check form, she first said she was not the actual buyer. After a clerk told her she couldn't legally buy a gun for someone else, she changed her answer to say she was the buyer — and initialed the change.
He was arrested in January 2022, and the gun was seized. Photos later posted on social media showed him holding it. His girlfriend, Jerelly Inette Alvarez, 32, is accused of making the purchase — her case is still pending
After last week's election sweep in Texas, Democrats are set to take the governor's office and the state House — the first time in decades — when the legislature meets January 12, 2027. Two gun bills are already filed.
The first, House Bill 218, filed by Rep. Ann Johnson of Houston, Texas, would bring 'red flag' orders to Texas. A family member or police officer could ask a judge to take someone's guns if they say the person is an immediate danger because of mental illness.
Here's the part drawing fire: a judge could issue the order without telling the gun owner first and without a hearing. The owner would have 24 hours to hand over their guns. A hearing comes within 14 days — and after it, a judge could ban them from guns for a year, renewable.
This would reverse a law from about a year ago, signed by Gov. Greg Abbott, that banned most red-flag orders in Texas and blocked local governments from taking federal money to enforce them.
Texas Gun Rights president Chris McNutt calls the red-flag bill a statewide gun-confiscation program — guns taken with no crime, no hearing, and no warning, on an allegation alone. He says his group will fight it at every step.
The second bill, House Bill 173, filed by Rep. Joe Moody of El Paso, Texas, would bar selling or giving certain semiautomatic rifles to anyone under 21 — rifles that take detachable magazines and fire calibers bigger than .22. Breaking it would be a state jail felony.
A 26-year-old in Providence, Rhode Island is facing gun charges after police say they found seven firearms in his home — several of them within reach of a child who was living there.
Eric Aponte, 26, was arrested November 3 after police investigated him over claims he had multiple guns and was illegally selling marijuana.
Officers then searched his home with a court warrant.Inside, police say they seized seven guns, including an AR-15-style rifle and a Micro Draco — a compact AK-style pistol — plus gun accessories. They also found packages of suspected marijuana, a digital scale, and packaging materials.
The most serious part: police say several of the guns were accessible to a child in the home. The child was turned over to a family member, and Rhode Island's child welfare agency was notified.He's charged with carrying a pistol without a license, five counts of possessing high-capacity magazines, and three counts of unsafe storage of a firearm. More charges could follow from the marijuana — police sent that part to their Narcotics Bureau.
A 16-year-old in Riverview, Florida was arrested Monday after a deputy found a gun in his backpack at Spoto High School. A loaded magazine with eight rounds was in there too.
How they knew to look: an anonymous tip came in through a hotline, saying the student had been breaking into cars, stealing guns, and bringing weapons onto school grounds. The school resource deputy searched his backpack when he arrived around 8:20 a.m.
The gun was found in a zipper pocket of the backpack. Police say it had been reported stolen in Pasco County, Florida back in March 2025.
He's facing three charges: having a weapon on school property, grand theft of a firearm, and being a minor in possession of a firearm. He's 16, so the sheriff's office isn't naming him.
Hillsborough County, Florida Sheriff Chad Chronister credited the tipster and the deputy's quick response, saying the gun was intercepted before anyone was hurt: 'Weapons have no place on our school campuses
A hunter in Minnesota is seriously hurt after a rifle went off while he and another hunter were getting ready to hunt Sunday in a field north of Ortonville. The shot hit the man's left foot.
The two were sitting in a side-by-side utility vehicle when the rifle discharged, according to the Big Stone County, Minnesota Sheriff's Office. The other hunter was the one handling the rifle at the time.
He was first driven to Ortonville Area Health Services in a private vehicle, then flown by air ambulance to Sanford Hospital in Sioux Falls, South Dakota because of how serious the injury was.
Investigators are still working out exactly what happened — including whether a mechanical problem with the rifle played a part. The victim's name hasn't been released.