Political debates about the U.S. border wall usually center on immigration policy and national security. But the construction can also have major impacts on the environment. A new wall expansion planned by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) would result in construction within two Arizona wilderness areas: Cabeza Prieta National Wildlife Refuge and Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument. White House officials said the projects are necessary to “take control of the border.” But the plans have sparked backlash from conservation and parks advocacy groups concerned about negative impacts to wildlife on these federally protected lands. They question why it’s necessary…

I like sales tax holidays. Here in Georgia, we have a sales tax holiday for school supplies just before the start of the school year, and the list of “school supplies” includes things like computers, so it’s a good time to upgrade your technology. We’ve also got one for the sale of guns, ammo, and accessories. It’s pretty cool. Our neighbors in Alabama are considering one, too.Not everyone is thrilled with it, of course. The usual suspects don’t like it one bit, but the proposal is also being attacked from the gun rights side, and…

When speaking about the Strait of Hormuz and its closure to United States and Israeli vessels, U.S. President Donald Trump claimed Iran gave him a “present.” “They’re going to make a deal. They did something [Monday] that was amazing, actually. They gave us a present,” Trump said. Trump said he could not disclose what the gift was, but said it was “oil and gas-related” and was connected to the Strait of Hormuz. Simulation: Extended Strait of Hormuz Closure Could Affect $1.2 Trillion in Global Trade “The present arrived today, and it was a very big present worth a tremendous amount…

My tent was on the snow, and the temperature had been hovering in the single digits for the past few hours. I had a 0-degree bag and was wondering if I’d need another layer to get through the night, at least comfortably. But I wasn’t worried about the cold coming up from the ground. This was my third single-digit night out with EXPED’s new Ultra 6.5R sleeping pad, and I knew what kind of insulation it offered. If you do any cold-weather camping, you know that some lightweight backpacking-oriented inflatable sleeping pads with a “heat-reflective” layer to boost the R-value…

As Tom reported earlier today, Everytown has a new “report” out focusing on straw purchases that insinuates employees of Academy Sporting Goods have willfully turned blind eyes to individuals who are helping to traffic firearms. I won’t repeat all of Tom’s criticisms of the report here, but it’s at least worth noting that apparently none of the Academy employees who sold any of the 250 or so firearms that were apparently trafficked over a three year period have been charged with anything.  That is not the case, however, for an 80-year-old New Hampshire man who…

If you have any information about the vandals who defaced a Native American petroglyph site near Moab, Utah, the Grand County Sheriff’s Office (GCSO) wants to hear from you. On March 22, the GCSO posted to Facebook seeking information that would help them track down the people responsible for etching into a Native American cultural heritage site northeast of town. The petroglyph site is near Tusher Tunnel, northwest of town, which is known to contain extensive ancient rock art. “It appears a Baja race team may have defaced the site by advertising contact information directly on the rock wall,” GCSO…

As Cam noted on Tuesday, a Louisiana lawmaker pulled a campus carry bill, claiming that none of the students who asked for it would be able to testify before the legislature. While the measure had some problems, including allowing campus carry up until the classroom door, for some bizarre reason, the explanation for pulling it didn’t seem to fit. Cam wrote:Even if those students who’d originally requested the legislation be filed couldn’t testify in person, they could always have submitted written testimony, and my guess is that state and national Second Amendment organizations would have…

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz has said that hundreds of thousands of people will be barred from returning to their homes in Southern Lebanon as Israel occupies the country. The occupation will continue until the Hezbollah threat is removed. Katz’s announcement comes just one day after another cabinet member, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, called for the annexation of southern Lebanon up to the Litani River. Israel began a military operation against Hezbollah in early March after the Lebanese-based militants launched waves of strikes against the Jewish state, in retaliation for the killing of Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei in a…

Shenandoah National Park is known for its pristine mountain views. But last year, it was the site of an intense incident of domestic violence. The trial for the attacker ended this month, when a federal jury convicted a man of attacking his then-girlfriend at a campground within the Virginia park. The man was convicted on two assault charges, each of which carries a maximum sentence of 10 years, a spokesperson for the U.S. Department of Justice told GearJunkie. Sentencing is scheduled for July 20. What Happened According to a press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District…

Hawaii has some of the most restrictive gun laws in the nation, but thanks to attorneys like Alan Beck, gun owners and Second Amendment advocates have been able to chip away at these restrictions through litigation.  Beck recently took on Hawaii’s “vampire rule” barring concealed carry by default on all private property at the Supreme Court in Wolford v. Lopez, and this week he argued against some of the state’s absurd laws surrounding the purchase of firearms before an en banc panel of Ninth Circuit judges. A three-judge panel previously ruled in Yukutake v. Lopez that the…

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