People try to sneak guns through security by hiding them in stuffed animals.
Caught Red Handed!
While most Americans are still busy trying to figure out the TSA's 3-1-1 Rule f
or liquid carry-ons, some people are trying to sneak things much more dangerous than a large shampoo bottle through airport security.
The TSA revealed in a recent blog post that it confiscated 1,543 firearms
in carry-on bags last year - 78% of those were loaded! Atlanta's
Hartsfield-Jackson topped the list with 95 firearms confiscated. TSA
found 80 at Dallas-Ft. Worth International.
(MORE: Could You Survive Getting Sucked Out of An Airplane?)
TSA says agents uncovered guns hidden in plants, stuffed animals and even a hollowed-out book.
Guns aren't the only things the TSA is finding. Click through the next few pages to see what other dangerous things people have tried to get past security in carry-ons and checked luggage.
Mortar Round
Agents found the Inert Mortar Round at El Paso International.
Black Powder, Detonation Cords & Timing Fuse
TSA discovered these inside a bag at a Colorado airport.
IED
Agents found the explosives with a block of SEMTEX-H in checked baggage at Georgia's Columbus Metropolitan Airport.
Spear Gun, Shells and More
This montage photo
from the TSA shows a spear gun found at Raleigh-Durham International, a
stun cane discovered in Cleveland, Shells from Newark, and a chainsaw
found at New York State's Elmira Corning Regional Airport.
Winter storm could leave six inches of snow before heading out to sea
Dusty Compton / Tuscaloosa News via AP
A vehicle that slid off Highway 86 near Carrollton, Ala. is seen Thursday.
Agence France Presse
Published: Jan 18, 2013, 8:19 AM EST
From our partners
People sunbathe and swim at Dee Why Beach on Friday, Jan. 18, 2013 in
Sydney, Australia. Sydney temperatures reached 114.4 degrees, breaking
the previous record of 113.5 set in 1939. (Photo by Brendon Thorne/Getty
Images)
Some sheriffs vow not to enforce Obama's gun plan; anti-violence groups praise measures
Jackson County Sheriff's OfficeDenny Peyman, sheriff of Jackson County, Ky., vows not to enforce gun-control measures he believes are
unconstitutional.
By Tracy Connor, Staff Writer, NBC News
Denny Peyman didn't watch President Barack Obama's gun-control announcement Wednesday.
But the Jackson County, Ky., sheriff said he already knows how the
proposals will affect the way he does his job: not one whit.
Peyman
is one of several sheriffs across the country who are vowing not to
enforce new firearms restrictions that could be imposed by Congress or
by executive order.
"Kentucky is a sovereign state," Peyman told
NBC News. "The federal government is coming in and saying, 'This is what
you're going to do.' We're not going to do it."
The White House's wish list includes an assault-weapons ban. Peyman said if it comes to pass, he won't be part of any crackdown.
"Let's say I know there's a thousand assault weapons in my county ...
I'm not going to be a witch hunter and go door to door checking," he
said.
"I just happen to see someone with one?" he added. "He's hunting? He's on his own property? I'm not going to do a thing to him."
Police
chiefs from around the country, who are appointed not elected, were on
hand in Washington to support the president’s announcement. But a number
of sheriffs, many of whom must run for office, were vocal in their
opposition.
In Minnesota, Pine County Sheriff Robin Cole told
constituents in a letter that he would "refuse" to carry out any federal
law that infringed on his interpretation of the Second Amendment. Two
Oregon sheriffs, Tim Meuller of Linn County and Jim Hensley of Crook
County, said the same in letters to Vice President Joe Biden.
NAGR Staff
Dudley
Brown of Rocky Mountain Gun Owners says sheriffs have been calling him
to say they won't be part of any federal gun crackdown.
Dudley
Brown, founder of Rocky Mountain Gun Owners, which considers the
National Rifle Association too weak on gun rights, said he has gotten
calls from other sheriffs around the country who say they won't
cooperate with the feds.
"We'll see how many of them have the courage to do it," he said.
Brown said he particularly wants to take aim at Obama's move to require background checks before all private sales of guns.
"This
is an attempt to catalog every gun owner in America. It's
registration," he said. "We don't believe he can do this. We know there
are U.S. senators who don't believe this is legal."
Obama's slate won praise, however, from an array of gun-control advocates and anti-violence organizations.
"We
applaud it," said Tom Yates, who co-founded Lower Merion United, a
group that formed after the Sandy Hook school massacre that sparked
Obama's response.
Yates said it was apparent that passing the
legislative component of the package would be a challenge, but he lauded
a "comprehensive approach" that includes stepped-up law enforcement of
existing laws, better education and mental health resources.
"If
you look at how much has been done over the past generation, this is the
most anyone could expect to happen," he said. "It's sad it took the
tragedy of Sandy Hook for it to happen."
Dr. Gary Slutkin of Cure
Violence, a nonprofit in Chicago, where more than 500 people were
murdered last year, said he was gratified by the White House's order
expanding research into violence and its plan to consult the health-care
community for solutions.
"We've got three independent evaluations that show you can drop
shootings and killings through the public health approach," Slutkin
said.
The research-focused parts of the plan won't generate the
same fiery debate as those that affect who can buy guns and ammunition
and what kind.
There was plenty of heated rhetoric on Twitter,
which was flooded with opposing views, many using the hashtag
#nowisthetime, a reference to Obama's catchphrase.
Courtesy Henry Washington
Pastor Henry Washington of Richmond, Calif., worries that Obama's gun-control proposals won't stop the killing in his community.
"How
is more red tape imposed on lawful citizenry going to save lives?
And
using child grief to vilify U.S. Reps is despicable," one critic
tweeted.
"Great job, Pres. Obama," a supporter posted. "There are way more for you than against you. Let's get it done."
In
Richmond, Calif., Pastor Henry Washington said he supported any move to
keep guns out of the hands of the young people he counsels, but he
worried it wouldn't happen fast enough or at all or attack the root of
the problem.
"By the time it touches the gun dealers, how many more lives will be cast out?" he said.
"Maybe
there will be a few less choppers -- that's what we call assault rifles
-- that they can get on the streets. But what do we do with the ones
already in hand?"
An
Oregon sheriff is vowing not to enforce new federal gun restrictions
and accusing the White House and lawmakers of "attempting to exploit the
death of innocent victims." KGW's Abby Gibb reports.
Stop gun violence, kids ask President Obama in handwritten letters
Susan Walsh / AP
President
Barack Obama, accompanied by Vice President Joe Biden, left, hugs
8-year-old letter writer Grant Fritz during a Wednesday news conference
on proposals to reduce gun violence. Obama and Biden were joined by law
enforcement officials, lawmakers and children who wrote the president
about gun violence following the shooting at an elementary school in
Newtown, Conn., last month.
By Meena Hart Duerson, TODAY
In
the wake of the school shooting that claimed the lives of 20 children
along with six adults in Newton, Conn. last month, some of the smallest
advocates for gun control got out their pencils to seek the president's
help.
A series of children's handwritten letters asking President Obama
to make changes in gun laws was released by the White House on
Wednesday, and their simple messages proved a heartbreaking reminder of
the tragedy that struck Sandy Hook Elementary.
Courtesy The White House
The letter written by Taejah, 10.
"I started getting a lot of letters from kids," Obama said. "These
are some pretty smart letters from some pretty smart young people."
Courtesy The White House
Julia, 11, sent this letter to the White House.
"Even though Im not scared for my safty [sic] Im scared for others.
I have 4 brothers and sisters and I know I would not be able to bear
the thought of losing any of them," wrote Julia Stokes, adding "my
opinion is that it should be very hard for people to buy guns...I beg
you to try very hard to make guns not allowed."
The letters came out ahead of a press conference by President Obama and Vice President Joe Biden introducing new policies on gun control. At the event, Obama addressed Julia Stokes' letter specifically, saying: “Julia, I will try very hard."
The president added: "But she’s right. The most important changes we can make depend on congressional action.”
Another child, Grant, wrote: "Please don't let people own machine
guns or other powerful guns like that. We should learn from what
happened at Sandy Hook. I feel really bad about what just happened."
Courtesy The White House
Grant, a third grader, sent this letter to President Obama.
Four of the children joined Obama at the press conference on Wednesday as he read portions of their letters aloud.
Obama called for an assault weapons ban and better
background checks for gun buyers. "This is our first task as a society:
keeping our children safe," he said. "Their voices should compel us to
change."
Meanwhile, the NRA released a controversial new ad slamming Obama on guns.
The ad spotlighted the president's daughters, asking "Are the
president's kids more important than yours?" and calling Obama "an
elitist hypocrite."
The White House called the ad "repugnant and cowardly."
RIP Dear Abby :(
The woman who founded the most popular advice column in the world has
died. Pauline Phillips, better known as "Dear Abby" passed away
yesterday at the age of 94, after a long battle with Alzheimer's
Disease. Her Dear Abby column was first printed in 1956 - and would
eventually grow to be read by 100-million people every day. The column
is now written by her daughter, Jeanne.
Pauline Phillips, known to millions as "Dear Abby," has died at the age of 94.
By Lauren Sullivan, TODAY
Pauline Phillips, the original “Dear Abby” advice columnist, died Wednesday at the age of 94 after a decade-long struggle with Alzheimer’s disease, NBC News has confirmed.
Phillips wrote the most widely syndicated column in the world — published in more than 1,200 newspapers and read by nearly 9 million people daily — under the pen name Abigail Van Buren for four decades.
In 1956, the 37-year-old housewife became a journalist, writing for the San Francisco Chronicle and, soon after, for newspapers across the country. Phillips gave advice to men and women alike, championing equal rights for women, minorities, mentally ill individuals and those suffering from disease in her column and beyond.
She continued giving advice through the publication of six books and a popular radio show, "The Dear Abby Show," which aired on the CBS Radio Network for 12 years.
Her daughter, Jeanne Phillips, co-wrote the column with her mother for more than a decade.
"I have lost my mother, my mentor and my best friend," she said in a statement. "My mother leaves very big high heels to fill with a legacy of compassion, commitment and positive social change. I will honor her memory every day by continuing this legacy."
John Gaps III / AP sing the pen names Ann Landers and Abigail Van Buren (Dear Abby) respectively, identical twins Eppie Lederer and Pauline Phillips competed for space in newspapers across the nation for almost 50 years. Lederer, right, died in 2002, the same year Phillips' daughter, Jeanne, took over Dear Abby. Phillips, left, died Wednesday.
Jeanne Phillips continues to write the column today, carrying on her mother’s legacy under the pen name Abigail Van Buren. Other popular advice columnists — like Slate’s Dear Prudence and The Rumpus’s Dear Sugar — have followed in the iconic journalist’s footprints.
Dr. Gilda Carle, TODAY.com's 30-Second Therapist, spoke of Pauline Phillips' impact on her own career. “I am indebted to her,” Carle said. “I would never have been able to do what I do without first being shown the way by 'Dear Abby.'”
Phillips continued writing her column even into her 70s, seeing hundreds of letters daily. "Age has nothing to do with it," she once said of her work. "It's only work if you would rather be doing something else."
She was born on July 4, 1918, in Sioux City, Iowa. Her twin sister, Esther "Eppie" Pauline Friedman Lederer, also was a popular advice columnist — under the pen name Ann Landers. She died in 2002 at age 83 of multiple myeloma.
Declan Haun / Time & Life Pictures via Getty I Twin sisters and advice columnists Ann Landers (Esther "Eppie" Lederer) and "Dear Abby" (Pauline Phillips, aka Abigail Van Buren) are shown in a photo from the late 1970s.
Phillips is survived by her husband of 73 years, Mort Phillips, her daughter, Jeanne, four grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.
Flowers were to be placed on Phillips’ “Dear Abby” star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 4:30 p.m. ET Thursday.
President
Barack Obama held the seventeenth solo news conference of his
presidency Monday, using it to reiterate his position that he will not
negotiate with House Republicans over raising the debt ceiling. "America
cannot afford another debate with this Congress about whether they
should pay bills they have already racked up," he said. "We are not a
deadbeat nation."
The fact that we are here today to debate raising
America's debt limit is a sign of leadership failure. It is a sign that
the U.S. Government can't pay its own bills. It is a sign that we now
depend on ongoing financial assistance from foreign countries to finance
our Government's reckless fiscal policies. … Increasing America's debt
weakens us domestically and internationally. Leadership means that ‘the
buck stops here. Instead, Washington is shifting the burden of bad
choices today onto the backs of our children and grandchildren. America
has a debt problem and a failure of leadership. Americans deserve
better.
~B. Obama
President Obama hammered Republicans for threatening to refuse to
pay America’s bills by raising the debt ceiling “if they don’t get 100%
of their way.”
Obama kicked off the final press conference of his first term by
outlining his second term agenda, including job growth, energy
independence, immigration and guns legislation, but quickly pivoted to
discuss the impending Congressional battle over raising the debt
ceiling, saying “we’ve got to stop lurching from crisis to crisis.”
“While I’m willing to compromise and find common ground over how to
reduce our deficit, America cannot afford another debate with this
Congress over how to pay the bills they’ve already racked up,” Obama
said. “To even entertain the idea of this happening, of America not
paying its bills, is irresponsible. It’s absurd.”
“This is about paying your bills.”
President Obama particularly criticized Republicans for entertaining
the idea of a government shutdown or default. “Even the threat of
default hurts our economy,” he said. The president said he was willing
to discuss ways to reduce debt, but pointed out that the November
election results showed that “the American people agreed with me that we
need to reduce our deficits in a balanced way.”
House Speaker John Boehner interprets the public differently. “The
American people do not support raising the debt ceiling without reducing
government spending at the same time. The consequences of failing to
increase the debt ceiling are real, but so too are the consequences of
allowing our spending problem to go unresolved,” he said in a statement.
The president signaled his own willingness to address deficits by
noting nearly $2.5 trillion in deficit reduction already found through
spending cuts, interest payments, and increased revenue. “We’ve made
progress. We are moving towards our ultimate goal of getting to a $4
trillion reduction,” he said. “We can’t finish the job of deficit
reduction through spending cuts alone… That’s not a recipe for growth.”
“To even entertain the idea of the United States not paying its bills is absurd.”
Obama suggested he’d be willing to take over the job of raising the
debt ceiling, if Congress won’t act. “If they want to put the
responsibility on me to raise the debt ceiling, I’m happy to do it,” he
said. “If they want to keep this responsibility then they need to get it
done.”
“They will not collect a ransom in exchange for not crashing the American economy.”
The president also addressed the ongoing debate over gun violence on
the one-month anniversary of the school shooting in Newtown, Ct. He
discussed a handful of proposals, including stronger background checks,
keeping high capacity magazines “out of the hands of folks that
shouldn’t have them,” and an assault weapons ban, but acknowledged all
those proposals would face political opposition. “Will all of them get
through this Congress? I don’t know. But what’s uppermost in my mind is
that I’m clear … about what will work.”
“If there is a step we can take that will save even one child from what happened in Newtown, we should take that step,” he said.
“Those who oppose any common sense gun control or gun safety measures
have a pretty effective way of ginning up fear on the part of gun
owners that some how the federal government’s about to take all your
guns away.” he said. “There’s probably an economic element to that. It’s
good for business.” But he insisted he had no plans to take guns from
those who legally possess them to protect themselves or hunt, saying
those gun owners “don’t have anything to worry about.”
“The issue here is not whether or not we believe in the second
amendment,” he explained. “The issue is: are there are some sensible
steps we can take to make sure that somebody like the individual in
Newtown can’t walk into a school and gun down a bunch of children in a
shockingly rapid fashion?”
“Surely we can do something about that.”
Armstrong tells Oprah, 'Yes,' he used PEDs
Disgraced former Tour de France king admits doping in interview
NBCSports.com news servicesupdated 3:33 p.m. ET Jan. 17, 2013
"Yes."
That
was Lance Armstrong's response to Oprah Winfrey's initial question in
her much-publicized interview with the former seven-time Tour de France
winner, aired on Thursday night, on whether he used
performance-enhancing drugs to aid his victories in all seven of the
prestigious races.
Armstrong said a "win at
all costs" mentality and "arrogance" were behind his cheating, and
accepted blame for his mistakes, saying he deserves the scrutiny he's
now come under in the wake of being stripped of his titles.
Armstrong
answered "yes" to separate questions about whether he used EPO, whether
he partook in blood transfusions, whether he took human-growth hormone
and whether he used performance-enhancing drugs in all seven of his Tour
de France victories. He answered "not in my opinion" when asked if he
felt his accomplishments were possible without the assistance of banned
substances.
Armstrong
did insist that he did not use performance-enhancing drugs beyond 2005,
and that his third-place finish in his 2009 comeback to the Tour de
France was clean.
Reflecting back on his
era of cycling dominance, Armstrong said that "the winning was almost
phoned in," and he did not feel bad about using banned drugs, and
furthermore did not feel that using banned drugs was cheating,
revelations that he now, in hindsight, finds "scary." In a moment of
contrition, Armstrong said that his longtime supporters "have every
right to feel betrayed," and that he'll spend the rest of his life
apologizing to make it up to them.
On the
topic of illegal testosterone use, Armstrong had a controversial excuse,
saying he used it because he was running low on his natural supply of
the hormone due to his battle with cancer.
Armstrong
insisted that there was no directive within his U.S. Postal Service
team requiring riders to conform with the doping program in which he and
other riders partook. That stands in contrast with statements from
former teammates, notably Christian Vande Velde, who says he was
threatened with being kicked off the team before partaking in the
program.
Armstrong also confessed to being
"a bully," and wanting to control the narrative, reacting negatively to
statements he didn't like. It's a pattern of behavior Armstrong said has
followed him his entire life, and one evident in Armstrong's frequent
denials of doping over the years before and since his retirement.
When
asked pointedly whether he required or expected teammates to dope for
the sake of achieving a certain level of team success, Armstrong
responded, "absolutely not."
Armstrong
flatly denied claims by former teammates Tyler Hamilton and Floyd Landis
that he tested positive for EPO at the 2001 Tour de Suisse and told
Hamtilton and Landis at the time that the positive test would not be
made known.
Armstrong called Landis'
decision to speak out about Armstrong's use of banned substances the
tipping point of his cover-up, along with his 2009 comeback, which
Armstrong claims did not sit well with his former teammate. Landis'
comments sparked a two-year investigation into Armstrong by the U.S.
Food and Drug Administration, which in-turn sparked the USADA
investigation that resulted in Armstrong's titles being stripped and him
being banned from elite competition last year. Armstrong said he
regrets coming back to cycling, telling Winfrey, "If I didn't come back
we wouldn't be sitting here."
Armstong
hesitated before responding, "No," when asked if Dr. Michele Ferrari was
at the head of the team's doping program, but also said he was reckless
to be involved with the Italian physician and cycling coach, who's been
issued a lifetime sports ban by the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency for
multiple anti-doping violations. Armstrong characterized the entire
period of his life as "reckless."
Armstrong
said a donation made to UCI, cycling's chief organizing body, was made
"because they asked me to," and not in an attempt to bribe officials to
hide positive test results.
Winfrey pressed
Armstrong on the topic of lawsuits filed against people who spoke out
against Armstrong, among them Emma O'Reilly, a former masseuse for the
U.S. Postal Service team. "It's a major flaw," Armstrong said of
lawsuits against O'Reilly and others who were speaking the truth.
"It's a
guy who expected to get whatever he wanted and control every outcome.
It's inexcusable."
Armstrong said he called
Betsy Andreu, wife of former teammate Frankie Andreu and frequent victim
of Armstrong's verbal abuse in recent years, and had a 40-minute phone
coversation in which he saught to apologize for his behavior. However,
Armstrong refused to discuss Andreu's 2006 claim of overhearing him
discuss his doping regimen with cancer doctors at an Indianapolis
hospital in 1996. He did, though, admit to insulting Andreu and O'Reilly
with words like "crazy" and "whore," among others.
The International Olympic Committee didn't wait to listen to Armstrong's interview to act.
The
IOC on Wednesday stripped Armstrong of his 2000 bronze medal, sending
him a letter asking him to return it, according to officials who spoke
on condition of anonymity because the decision had not been announced.
Livestrong,
the cancer charity Armstrong founded in 1997 and was forced to walk
away from last year, said in a statement it expected him to be
"completely truthful and forthcoming." A day earlier, World Anti-Doping
Agency director general David Howman said nothing short of a confession
under oath — "not talking to a talk-show host" — could prompt a
reconsideration of Armstrong's lifetime ban from sanctioned events. And
Frankie Andreu, a former teammate that Armstrong turned on, said the
disgraced cyclist had an obligation to tell all he knew and help clean
up the sport.
"I have no idea what the future holds other than me holding my kids," Armstrong said in the text.
Armstrong
has held conversations with officials from the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency,
including a reportedly contentious face-to-face meeting with USADA
chief executive Travis Tygart near the Denver airport. It was USADA's
1,000-page report last year, including testimony from nearly a dozen
former teammates, that portrayed Armstrong as the leader of a
sophisticated doping ring that propelled the U.S. Postal Service team to
title after title at the Tour de France. In addition to the lifetime
ban, Armstrong was stripped of all seven wins, lost nearly all of his
endorsements and was forced to cut ties with Livestrong.
According
to a person with knowledge of the situation, Armstrong has information
that might lead to his ban being reduced to eight years. That would make
him eligible to compete in elite triathlons, many of which are
sanctioned under world anti-doping rules, in 2020, when Armstrong will
be 49. He was a professional athlete in the three-discipline sport as a
teenager, and returned to competition after retiring from cycling in
2011.
That person also said the bar for
Armstrong's redemption is higher now than when the case was open, a time
during which he refused to speak to investigators. The person spoke on
condition of anonymity because he was discussing a confidential matter.
Armstrong,
who always prized loyalty on his racing teams, now faces some very
tough choices himself: whether to cooperate and name those who may have
aided, abetted or helped cover up the long-time use of PEDs.
Armstrong
left his hometown of Austin, where the interview was taped at a
downtown hotel, and is in Hawaii. He is named as a defendant in at least
two pending lawsuits, and possibly a third. The Justice Department
faces a Thursday deadline on whether to join a whistle-blower lawsuit
filed by former teammate Floyd Landis, who was stripped of the 2006 Tour
de France title for doping.
That suit
alleges Armstrong defrauded the U.S. government by repeatedly denying he
used performance-enhancing drugs. Armstrong could be required to return
substantial sponsorship fees and pay a hefty fine. The AP reported
earlier that Justice Department officials were likely to join the
lawsuit.
More than a third of Americans — and 64 percent of Republicans —
believe that President Barack Obama might be hiding something, according
to a new poll Thursday.
Thirty-six
percent of the surveyed voters think the president is possibly “hiding
important information about his background and early life,” the
Fairleigh Dickinson University Public Mind survey found.
Sixty-four percent of Republicans think the president isn’t coming
clean, 33 percent of independents agree, and 14 percent of Democrats say
so, too.
“This conspiracy theory is much more widely believed mostly because
it’s been discussed so often,” said Dan Cassino, a professor of
political science at Fairleigh Dickinson. “People tend to believe that
where there’s smoke, there’s fire — so the more smoke they see, the more
likely they are to believe that something is going on.”
The most common — and debunked — conspiracy theory about Obama is
that he wasn’t born in the U.S. and therefore isn’t eligible to be
president.
The poll also found that 63 percent of registered voters believe at
least one political conspiracy theory. Other popular conspiracy theories
include the notion that the government knew about the Sept. 11
terrorist attacks before they occurred (25 percent believe this to be
true) and the belief that Obama committed voter fraud in the 2012
election (19 percent buy that argument).
Higher levels of education and awareness of current events, however,
are linked to a reduction in belief in such theories, the study
reported.
Democrats and independents with more political knowledge were
found to be more likely to dismiss conspiracy theories, while
Republicans with more political knowledge were more likely to believe
the theories.
The poll was conducted with 814 registered American voters from Dec.
10-16, 2012 and has a margin of error of +/- 3.4 percentage points for
the full sample.
Gun stores running low on weapons as sales surge, owners say
Brian Blanco / Reuters Gun shop customers shop for weapons as they listen to live streaming video of an announcement about gun control by U.S. President Barack Obama at the Bullet Hole gun shop in Sarasota, Fla., on Wednesday.
By Matthew DeLuca and Bill Briggs, NBC News
The shooting at an elementary school in Newtown, Conn., last month touched off a wave of gun buying -- and President Barack Obama's gun-control speech this week appears to have done little to slow it down.
Documents obtained by NBC News from the state of Connecticut through a Freedom of Information Act request show a spike in gun sales in the hours and days after the deaths of 20 schoolchildren and six staffers at Sandy Hook Elementary.
Interviews with gun store owners in four states after Obama's speech show that passion among buyers has not decreased over the month since Newtown; if anything, Obama's speech appeared to set off a new frenzy of buying, with some stores running low on guns.
“We were just swamped in here as soon as he got off the news,” manager Bill Loane of Pasadena Pawn & Gun in Maryland said of the reaction to Obama’s gun proposals. “People were just pouring through the door.”
As the first news was breaking in Connecticut a month ago, buyers were having the same reaction. Between 11 a.m. and noon Dec. 14, firearms retailers in the state were busy performing 105 background checks – nearly double the amount logged in the same lunchtime hour a week earlier.
A total of 725 background checks were performed that day, up from 585 a week before. The trend continued in the days ahead, resulting in a 55 percent week-over-week increase in checks.
Across the country, background checks were also surging: 900,000 more background checks were reported in December 2012 than in the same month of 2011. In total, over 3.1 million more background checks were recorded in 2012 than in 2011.
And the trend appeared to continue this week.
“My phone's been ringing off the hook this morning,” Loane said. “I got here 9:30 and it’s been nonstop.”
He said his store used to sell five or six AR-15-style rifles a month before the shooting in Newtown. He sold 55 in December. He sold 12 to 14 handguns on Wednesday and a half-dozen rifles.
Customers have been coming into Fairground Trader in Massachusetts looking for “anything and everything” since the Newtown school shooting, said store owner Tom Downey. Most of his inventory is sold out now, but his phone keeps ringing.
“I had a lot of phone calls yesterday looking for stuff I don’t have,” Downey said. “I’d say that people are on the phone just dialing every gun shop around asking questions.”
Joe Raedle / Getty Images file A Bushmaster XM-15 .223-caliber rifle like this was used in the school massacre in Newtown, Conn. This style of rifle, modeled after the Colt AR-15, has been highly sought after since the attack, gun store owners say.
Sellers say they’ve had to turn away people looking to buy what has become a marquee item – the AR-15-style assault rifle.
The AR-15-style rifle, which is among the most popular firearm models in America, came to wider attention after Adam Lanza used one in Newtown. Fearing a ban, Loane said, his customers are paying unprecedented prices for the few guns still available.
“I just sold a lower model one the other day for $2,195 over the phone,” Loane said of a gun that a few months ago might have gone for about $1,200. “The guy had to have it. He didn’t even see the gun.”
David Stone said his Dong’s Sporting & Reloading Goods in Tulsa, Okla., was packed wall-to-wall all day on Wednesday. Stone said buyers barely paused during what he described as a “buying frenzy” to listen to the president speak over a local reporter’s iPhone.
“We’re having people call on the phone,” Stone said. “I’m the only store in Oklahoma from what customers are telling me that has AR-15s.”
Clive Courty said the racks at his GunFun Firearms store in Quincy, Ill., have been nearly fully cleared out over the last three weeks. He’s seen the largest surge in interest for “semi-auto, military-style looking” guns, he said.
“I’ve just got some basic rifles and shotguns and basically a handful of handguns, revolvers, a few semi-autos left,” Courty said. “Ammunition’s very low. I’ve got orders for just about everything, but don’t expect them.”
With distributors telling them they don’t know when supply will stabilize, some store owners say they may be in trouble if they don’t get more guns in stock soon.
“It’s a great thing for our business for the minute, but it’s really interrupted things,” Downey said. “It’s probably in the long term going to hurt me. If you don’t have anything to sell, the bills go on.”
President Obama promised to "put everything I've got" into passing a series of proposals intended to crack down on gun violence, as Republicans and the NRA are already signaling it will be an uphill battle for the administration. NBC's Peter Alexander reports.
Thursday, January 17, 2013
Credit Ashley Broadway
Ashley
Broadway, left, married her 15-year companion, Lt. Col. Heather Mack,
in November, but was later denied entry into a Fort Bragg spouses club.
Pentagon opts not to intervene in ban of lesbian by Fort Bragg spouses club
By Bill Briggs, NBC News contributor
The
Pentagon is endorsing a move by leaders at Fort Bragg to stay out of a
decision made by its on-base spouses club to refuse membership to the
lesbian spouse of a female Army lieutenant, a Department of Defense
spokesman said Wednesday.
The legal basis for the Pentagon’s
stance is a department-wide “instruction” drafted in 2008, three years
before the repeal of the military’s anti-gay “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell”
policy, said Nathan Christensen, a spokesman for the Pentagon. That directive ensures
that “non-federal entities” operating on U.S. military installations
don’t discriminate on the basis of “race, color, creed, sex, age,
disability, or national origin.” There is no mention of discrimination
based on sexual orientation.
NBC News reported Dec. 14
that Ashley Broadway, the newlywed wife of Lt. Col. Heather Mack, was
blocked from joining the spouses club at Fort Bragg, N.C., sparking
accusations from a national military spouses organization that Broadway
was being blackballed only because she is a lesbian.
The Army’s handling of that matter runs counter to a directive issued Jan. 9 by Marine Corps leaders who ordered that same-sex spouses be allowed to participate in spouses clubs at all Marine bases.
“The
Officer Spouses' Club at Ft. Bragg is in compliance with the DOD
instruction,” Christensen said. “When you look at the instruction there
are a few things it has to meet. As long as they meet those criteria,
they’re allowed to meet on the base.”
Broadway and Mack have been
together for 15 years, have a 2-year-old son together and Mack is
expected to deliver their second child this month. They married in
November — their first chance to hold a formal ceremony after the 2011 repeal
of “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell.” On Wednesday, Broadway said the Pentagon's
position only added fuel to a larger battle for equal rights being waged
within the U.S. military by other same-sex spouses.
“This is no longer about me joining this officers club. This is
about the Pentagon and the Department of Defense and the Department of
Army telling the country that it is OK to discriminate against gay and
lesbian service members and their families,” Broadway told NBC News.
Broadway, meanwhile, has been nominated for the
Fort Bragg Military Spouse of the Year award, a precursor to the Army
Military Spouse of the Year award and — perhaps, ultimately — the 2013
Armed Forces Insurance Military Spouse of the Year award, which
represents all branches. She is one of about 10 Bragg spouses nominated
for the award from that base. Online voting for the base-level award takes place Jan. 22.
Mack has received overwhelming support within her Army unit at Fort Bragg, Broadway said.
The
Pentagon's position on the Fort Bragg matter is legally viable despite
the repeal of “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell” because, Christensen said, the
Department of Defense still follows the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act
(DOMA). That law defined marriage as the legal union of one man and one
woman. Under DOMA, the federal government doesn’t recognize same-sex
marriages and doesn’t offer same-sex military spouses some benefits
given to heterosexual spouses.
Asked if the Marine Corps’ recent
directive banning the discrimination of same-sex spouses at its spouses
clubs conflicts with the Pentagon’s stance, Christensen responded: “The
DOD policy has not changed.”
But Mary Reding, a California
attorney and president of Military Spouse JD Network — the largest
association of military spouse attorneys — contends that the Pentagon's
legal hair-splitting contradicts the spirit of “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell.”
"While
the Army's position is defensible based on outdated internal policies,”
Reding said, "the current climate and the repeal of 'Don't Ask, Don't
Tell' would indicate a shift in acceptance that should be a catalyst for
an immediate review of discriminatory practices in all policy areas."
IF I HAD MY LIFE TO LIVE OVER - by Erma Bombeck
IN honour of women's history month and in memory of Erma Bombeck who lost her fight with cancer.
(written after she found out she was dying of cancer).
I would have gone to bed when I was sick instead of pretending the
earth would go into a holding pattern if I weren't there for the day. I would have burned the pink candle sculpted like a rose before it melted in storage. I would have talked less and listened more. I would have invited friends over to dinner even if the carpet was stained, or the sofa faded.
I would have eaten the popcorn in the 'good' living room and worried
much less about the dirt when someone wanted to light a fire in the
fireplace. I would have taken the time to listen to my grandfather ramble about his youth. I would have shared more of the responsibility carried by my husband. I would never have insisted the car windows be rolled up on a summer day because my hair had just been teased and sprayed. I would have sat on the lawn with my grass stains. I would have cried and laughed less while watching television and more while watching life. I would never have bought anything just because it was practical, wouldn't show soil, or was guaranteed to last a lifetime.
Instead of wishing away nine months of pregnancy, I'd have cherished
every moment and realized that the wonderment growing inside me was the
only chance in life to assist God in a miracle. When my kids kissed me impetuously, I would never have said, 'Later. Now go get washed up for dinner.' There would have been more 'I love you's' More 'I'm sorry's.'
But mostly, given another shot at life, I would seize every minute,
look at it, and really see it . . live it and never give it back. STOP SWEATING THE SMALL STUFF!!!
Don't worry about who doesn't like you, who has more, or who's doing
what. Instead, let's cherish the relationships we have with those who do
love us. All you are asked to do is keep this circulating, even if
it's to one more person, in memory of anyone you know who has been
struck by cancer.
A Candle Loses Nothing by Lighting Another Candle. Please Keep The Candle Going!
Crabby Old Man
(Beautiful Poem)
When an old man died in the geriatric ward of a nursing home
in North Platte , Nebraska , it was believed that he had nothing left of any value.
Later, when the nurses were going through his meager possessions, they found this poem.. Its quality and content so impressed the staff that copies were made and distributed to every nurse in the hospital. One nurse took her copy to Missouri .
The old man's sole bequest to posterity has since appeared in the Christmas edition of the News Magazine of the St. Louis Association for Mental Health. A slide presentation has also been made based on his simple, but eloquent, poem.
And this little old man, with nothing left to give to the world, is now the author of this 'anonymous' poem winging across the Internet..
What do you see nurses? . . . .. . What do you see? What are you thinking . . . . . When you're looking at me? A crabby old man . . . . . Not very wise, Uncertain of habit . . . . . With faraway eyes?
Who dribbles his food . . . . . And makes no reply. When you say in a loud voice . . . . . 'I do wish you'd try!' Who seems not to notice . . . . . The things that you do. And forever is losing . . . . . A sock or shoe?
Who, resisting or not . . . . .. Lets you do as you will, With bathing and feeding . . . . . The long day to fill? Is that what you're thinking? . . . . . Is that what you see? Then open your eyes, nurse . . . . . You're not looking at me.
I'll tell you who I am. . . . . . As I sit here so still, As I do at your bidding, . . . . . As I eat at your will. I'm a small child of Ten . .. . . . With a father and mother, Brothers and sisters . . . . . Who love one another.
A young boy of Sixteen . . . . With wings on his feet.. Dreaming that soon now . . . . . A lover he'll meet. A groom soon at Twenty . . . . . My heart gives a leap. Remembering, the vows . . . . .. That I promised to keep.
At Twenty-Five, now . . . . . I have young of my own. Who need me to guide . . . . . And a secure happy home. A man of Thirty . . . . . My young now grown fast, Bound to each other . . . . . With ties that should last.
At Forty, my young sons . . . . . Have grown and are gone, But my woman's beside me . . . . . To see I don't mourn. At Fifty, once more, babies play 'round my knee, Again, we know children . . . .. . My loved one and me.
Dark days are upon me . . . . . My wife is now dead. I look at the future . . . . . Shudder with dread. For my young are all rearing . . . . . Young of their own. And I think of the years . . . . . And the love that I've known.
I'm now an old man . . . . . And nature is cruel. Tis jest to make old age . . . .. . Look like a fool. The body, it crumbles . . . . . Grace and vigor, depart. There is now a stone . .. . . Where I once had a heart.
But inside this old carcass . . . . . A young guy still dwells, And now and again . . . . . My battered heart swells. I remember the joys . . . . . I remember the pain. And I'm loving and living . . . .. . Life over again.
I think of the years, all too few . . . . . Gone too fast. And accept the stark fact . . . . That nothing can last. So open your eyes, people . . . . . Open and see. Not a crabby old man . . . Look closer . . . See ME!!
