Is summer over yet? Doesn’t look like it, but that doesn’t mean we can’t start gearing up for fall. After all, many kids and young adults are already heading back to school, and many of the daypacks featured this week are tailor-made to transition seamlessly from the classroom or workplace to the trail or bike path. So there’s plenty of fun stuff to peruse, especially the new offerings from beloved backpack brands like Gregory and Cotopaxi. But there are also some interesting alpine-specific packs from Berghaus and the “dry out your wet phone” options from a brand named (you guessed…
CAIRO (AP) — Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels claimed responsibility for a series of deadly attacks this week, escalating the conflict between them and Saudi-backed Yemeni forces and raising fears of a wider regional conflagration. The attacks have killed dozens of civilians and troops and also targeted Saudi tankers in transit from Red Sea ports through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait out to the Gulf of Aden and the rest of the world. Though less significant than the Strait of Hormuz, around 12% of the world’s trade, including a fourth of global container traffic, once passed through Bab el-Mandeb, moving between Europe…
The Air National Guard is offering members a $7,500 bonus if they reenlist for three years. The “Summer Surge Incentive” comes as part of the Air Guard’s recruitment drive to hire 8,842 Airmen by the end of Fiscal Year 2026, which puts the heat on the service considering that the fiscal year ends on Sept. 30—providing potential candidates with roughly 50 days to make decisions. Payments will be made immediately, and there is no cap on the total number of available bonuses. Those interested must sign the three-year enlistment contract by that Sept. 30 deadline. “It is all part of…
Just hours after a 14-year-old boy shot and killed his grandparents before attacking teachers and classmates at his high school, Thailand’s prime minister is vowing to crack down on legal gun owners by prohibiting their ability to lawfully carry a firearm for self-defense. Politicians the world over often rush to “do something” in the wake of a tragedy, and Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul is no different. Three years ago Anutin, who was then the country’s Interior Minister, cracked down on legal gun owners by imposing a freeze on new licenses and prohibiting individuals younger than…
Enlisted Air Force ranks are categorized into three levels: airmen (pay grades E-1 through E-4), noncommissioned officers (E-5 and E-6), and senior noncommissioned officers (E-7 through E-9). Some personnel can enlist at an advanced rank if they have college credits or have participated in Junior ROTC. The highest advanced rank one can enlist with under these programs is airman first class (E-3). The Air Force offers accelerated promotion for service members who agree to enlist for six years. Under this program, enlistees who enter service as an airman basic (E-1) are promoted to airman (E-2) after basic training is finished,…
Within the Air Force, officer ranks follow a clear-cut structure, divided into three categories: company grade, field grade, and general officers. Company grade officers range from O-1 to O-3. Climbing the ranks, next are field grade officers, in the O-4 to O-6 range, taking the helm of mid-level command. Finally, at the top of the hierarchy are general officers, O-7 and above, who oversee strategy. Air Force Company Grade Officer Ranks Second Lieutenant (O-1) The rank of second lieutenant is shown through a single gold bar. Proper forms of address include “second lieutenant” or “lieutenant.” Commissioned airmen sometimes may skip…
Texas Attorney General and Republican Senate candidate Ken Paxton will have to take his fight over the “gun-free” state fair to the Texas Supreme Court after an appellate court upheld the ban on Thursday. Paxton, along with several individual plaintiffs, filed suit after the State Fair of Texas announced in 2024 that the lawful carrying of firearms would no longer be allowed. The move came after a shooting during the fair in 2023, one that was committed by someone who couldn’t legally carry a gun. The lawsuit contended that the State Fair of Texas and the…
The newly created Military Spouse Commission has opened an online form to allow those with vested interests in the commission to submit comments. President Donald Trump created the commission on Monday via an executive order to support the lives and experiences of spouses of those enlisted in service. The commission will provide recommendations to address themes including housing, employment, health care and childcare. There are more than 1 million military spouses in the U.S. They are affected by numerous issues including disproportionate levels of unemployment, according to Stars & Stripes. The publication reported that 20% of military spouses are unemployed,…
I really get sick of the claim that mass killings with a firearm only happen in the United States. That’s what the phrase “uniquely American” means when describing the phenomenon. To be fair, we do have more than most people, even if you account for population, but we are also a very different country than most. Thailand, however, seems to also be having a bit of a problem. Despite acting to tighten gun restrictions after previous massacres, it doesn’t look like it did a whole lot of good.Not today, at least, as six people are…
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The Civil Rights Coalition, which is the grassroots organization that managed to collect nearly 100,000 signatures to put Massachusetts’ latest gun laws before a vote of the people, has received $50,000 from former Massachusetts gunmaker Smith & Wesson in support of its effort to repeal Chapter 135. Smith & Wesson, of course, was headquarted in the state for more than a century before Massachusetts’ gun laws made it virtually impossible to continue to manufacture some of its most popular products. I think it’s great that the company is continuing to support the state’s gun owners,…
TOKYO (AP) — The head of the U.N.’s nuclear agency signaled Wednesday that Iranian nuclear enrichment sites would be visited by his inspectors, a key component in the interim U.S.-Iran deal to reach an end to the war. An Iranian diplomat instead insisted any such visit would only come after a final deal. The U.S. and Iran offered contradictory remarks Tuesday about whether those sites would be inspected. A week after the two countries signed an interim deal, leaders from the U.S. and Iran have repeatedly disagreed in public about what that document actually means. International Atomic Energy Agency head…
Every once in a while, the Marketplace gods smile on you. Andy and I stumbled across what might be one of the best Toyota FJ40 … Watch full video on YouTube
Watch full video on YouTube
On Tuesday, I wrote about the deadly attack in Montreal. Since I wrote that, we’ve learned more about what happened, and I swear, just the Not The Bee post on X about it was unhinged…and completely factual. Were it not for the loss of life, it would be hilarious. In that piece, I noted that I expected the calls for gun control to come.Part of me hoped that anti-gun hysterics would wait until all the facts came in, but I wasn’t about to hold my breath. What I knew in my bones was that, as…
As the Navy continues to move forward with plans to reopen its Red Hill well and reconnect it to its Oahu water system five years after it was contaminated with jet fuel, the service faces ongoing skepticism over its insistence the water will be safe to drink. The Navy released its environmental assessment for its planned Red Hill Water Treatment Facility this month with a “finding of no significant impact” for the project — or FONSI — issued May 26 by Rear Adm. B.J. Collins, commander of Navy Region Hawaii. The FONSI said that reconnecting the Red Hill water shaft…
Welcome back to the channel. Today we’re kicking off the full build series on my 1985 Toyota 4Runner SR5 — the Rock Lander. Watch full video on YouTube
Watch full video on YouTube
Watch full video on YouTube
This article was originally published by Lance D. Johnson at Natural News. The Iran war, a devastating 15-week conflict that ended with an electronic peace deal in June 2026, has already exacted a staggering financial toll on the United States. According to the Iran War Cost Tracker, the direct taxpayer burden stands at $113.3 billion, with Moody’s Analytics estimating total costs to taxpayers and consumers at $132 billion. Yet this figure may be only the beginning: Harvard economist Linda Bilmes projects long-term expenses, including veterans’ care, interest on debt, and broader economic ripple effects, could soar past $1 trillion. Direct…
A conservative congressman has included a provision in the U.S. House version of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) that calls on all services to expand waivers for military enlistees who test positive for tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the primary psychoactive component found in cannabis. An amendment included in the House’s NDAA draft proposed by Rep. Dave Joyce (R-Ohio) directs Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to submit a report outlining a plan to establish and disseminate a clear definition of the reenlistment waiver process. The report calls for a clarification of existing enlistment standards that allow waivers for individuals seeking to reenlist after…
