A Marine Corps F-35B Lightning II crashed Friday morning at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar in San Diego, sending black smoke above the base and igniting a brush fire near the flight line. The pilot ejected before impact and reached a local hospital in stable condition with non-life-threatening injuries. The aircraft went down at approximately 10 a.m. south of Miramar Road near Mitscher Way, according to Times of San Diego. The Marine Corps classified the incident as a Class A mishap but has not announced a cause, identified the pilot or disclosed what the aircraft was doing before the crash…
The Defense Enrollment Eligibility Reporting System, DEERS, is the database that quietly underpins nearly every benefit a military family uses day to day: Tricare coverage, commissary and exchange access, base facility access, and the ID card that gets checked at every gate. It’s also one of the easiest things to let lapse without noticing, because the consequences don’t usually show up until you’re standing at a pharmacy counter or a Tricare claim gets denied. What Actually Expires — And What Doesn’t Two different things can go out of date, and they’re not quite the same problem. The physical ID card…
The days of choosing substance over style are far behind us. Once upon a time, you could only get a pair of good hiking boots in brown or dark brown. The outdoor industry has expanded massively since those days, and now there are loads of fun (and beautiful) designs for gear that’s also functional and reliable. We’re highlighting several new collaborations this week that do exactly that, including gorgeous new binoculars inspired by bird species, backpacks with a Wes Anderson aesthetic, running and swim gear co-designed by Olympic athletes, and tons more. Find the latest and greatest of the outdoor…
For the first time in U.S. history, a parent has been convicted of murder for their role in their child’s violence. Colin Gray, the father of the student who shot and killed four people and injured seven others at Apalachee High School in Georgia in 2024, was sentenced to 15 years behind bars on Thursday. Gray purchased the rifle that was used in the shooting for his son as a gift even after an earlier police investigation into his son for allegedly threatening a school shooting as well as his documented history of mental health…
One of the most consistently underused benefits available to service members and their families is also one of the simplest to access: free, confidential, nonmedical counseling through Military OneSource, up to 12 sessions per issue, with no referral, no diagnosis and no reporting back to anyone’s chain of command. What It Actually Covers Military OneSource counseling is designed to be short-term and solution-focused, aimed at the everyday pressures of military life rather than clinical mental health treatment. That includes relationship and marital communication problems, parenting challenges, grief and loss, stress management, deployment and reintegration adjustment, anxiety, self-esteem, loneliness and working…
Skinny sport ropes feel great until they don’t. When I go sport climbing these days, I usually want a skinny cord. I want one that is easy to clip and feeds lightning fast out of my belayer’s GRIGRI, so I waste no time on hard redpoint attempts. But I’ve started to realize those thin ropes often wear down pretty quickly. They get soft spots from too many big whippers, turn fuzzy from running through draws, or end up with core shots after a hard season of projecting. Enter the Petzl Arial 9.5 ($280-350). This rope feeds nicely, but it comes…
The Department of Veterans Affairs approved $1.2 billion in facility infrastructure improvements during the third quarter of fiscal year 2026, the agency announced July 20, bringing total obligated spending from its record $4.8 billion, nonrecurring maintenance budget to $2.3 billion for the year so far. The fiscal 2026 non-recurring maintenance, or NRM, budget is the largest in the VA’s history. The funds go toward significant maintenance, replacements and upgrades at VA medical facilities nationwide, intended to maintain and improve both operational capability and health care delivery. Where the Money Is Going Of the $1.2 billion approved in the third quarter,…
Support us! GearJunkie may earn a small commission from affiliate links in this article. Learn More Backcountry: Up to 40% Off (Photo/prAna) You can find nearly everything you might need for outdoor adventures at Backcountry. And you’ll find major deals on that gear during Backcountry’s Summer Sale. Get up to 40% off a variety of apparel, shoes, tents, and more. I’m partial to suggesting prAna’s Stretch Zion Pants. With many sizes and colors on sale for 30% off, it’s a solid choice for pants that will last a very long time. I’ve had my pair for over 10 years, and…
Buying and leasing both have their advantages, but the cheaper option depends on how long you plan to keep the vehicle, how much you drive, and whether you’re expecting a PCS, deployment, or other life changes. Before you sign on the dotted line, here’s what military families should consider. How Does Leasing Work? Leasing a vehicle is similar to renting it as you pay a monthly fee for the ability to use the car for a certain amount of time, which is typically two to three years. During that time, your lease agreement will dictate how you can use the…
Leading PC gaming platform Steam gets an update that adds brand-new features that its users have been requesting for a long time. Credit: via Valve Originally published by Game Rant A brand-new update to Steam has added new features for gifting games, fulfilling a long-standing request from the userbase. This is just the latest in recent changes to Steam’s game gifting options in recent months. Previously, Steam announced it would be discontinuing physical Steam gift cards. Though fans may still be able to find some in stores, once they run out of stock, they will no longer be produced and sold.…
It can happen in an instant: You trip over a tree root, a rock you think is stable begins to move, or you slip on a steep downhill. In a flash, you’re on the ground, and you’ve wound up with a sprained ankle. This injury happens to hikers everywhere all the time, but for visitors to one national park, it’s especially pervasive. In Acadia National Park, trail and weather conditions frequently combine to produce the perfect storm for “Acadia Ankle”: broken, sprained, or otherwise hurt ankles. Here’s why it happens, and what visitors can do to stay safe. What the…
Homicides in the United States are the lowest they’ve been since at least 1960, and according to some researchers the murder rate may actually be the lowest in 150 years. That should be cause for celebration, yet when former congresswoman Gabby Giffords addressed anti-violence activists at the Giffords-sponsored Community Violence Intervention Conference in Los Angeles, CA this week, the gun control activist made it sound like the United States was in the grips of a crime wave. “We are at a crossroads. We can let the shooting continue, or we can act,” said Giffords, who survived…
Nintendo Switch 2 may soon add one of the most acclaimed horror games of the past decade, as a dedicated version of SOMA has begun appearing on the platform’s official digital storefronts. The Nintendo Switch 2 has been on a spree of enhanced ports from third-party publishers since launch, with a sizable lineup of horror games hitting the console recently. Although SOMA may be over a decade old, it fits comfortably into the Switch 2’s growing selection of horror games. The console’s current library has seen an influx of respected titles in the genre, ranging from action-heavy survival horror games…
British Columbia, the pioneer of modern mountain bike parks, is home to its newest gravity-fed destination: RED Mountain Bike Park. And the multimillion-dollar park is turning heads. In a preview, professional rider and YouTuber Mark Matthews called Obsidius, RED’s premier expert track, “A-Line on steroids.” It’s a reference to Whistler Mountain Bike Park’s legendary downhill flow trail with massive, machine-sculpted jumps. That was before RED debuted the final segment. Upper Obsidius — the most difficult, technical section — opened on Saturday, July 18, marking the completion. The park’s creation was led by professional skier and lifelong Rosslander Dane Tudor, a trail builder…
It’s hard to believe that lefty Minnesota is a preemption state, but it is. The state that elected Tim Walz as governor still has preemption on the books, though we know the Democrats would like to repeal it. They really want to, and it’s always possible they’ll finally get enough numbers in the state Senate to make that happen. But they haven’t yet, and that’s important.Saint Paul tried to prepare for this eventuality by passing a number of local gun control laws. However, unlike some other preemption violations, these were written so that they won’t…
Oh the humanity that is, well, anything from Rezvani. In case you’re just tuning in, California-based Rezvani loves to take SUVs and convert them into vehicles you might see in a post-apocalyptic Call of Duty game. They even have crazy names, too, like Tank, Vengeance, and the Fortress pickup truck based on the F-150 Raptor R. They are chunky, silly, and built to crash through walls like the Kool-Aid man. But not all Rezvani vehicles are ginormous “tactical” units. The company’s latest offering has the look of those big brutes, though it’s not something you’d want to drive through a…
The Connecticut Attorney General’s office has hundreds of employees and dozens of attorneys on the payroll, but Attorney General William Tong is looking for some outside counsel willing to work for free on “investigations, potential litigation and legislative proposals concerning gun violence prevention matters and firearms industry accountability.” In a Request for Proposal released on July 17, Tong’s office outlined the broad scope of the legal matters the pro bono attorneys might be working on. They include:a) Representing, assisting, advising, and providing legal counsel to the OAG with investigations and litigation related gun violence prevention matters…
When workers at the Pentagon quietly removed “Department of Defense” plaques and replaced them with new bronze signs reading “Department of War,” the reaction was immediate. Photos of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth installing a 60-pound “Department of War” plaque spread across social media within hours. Supporters praised the symbolism. Critics argued it sent the wrong signal to allies and adversaries. But behind the headlines, the change raises a deeper question: How much power does a name really have? And when it comes to America’s most important military institution, does renaming the Department of Defense actually matter? This story is about…
There is something very alarming happening in the United States right now. Yes, more terrifying than a pandemic being sold as the next Black Death when it was really more of a particularly nasty flu, based on my experience with it. What I’m talking about is the rise of actual socialism in the US. In particular, the “Democratic Socialist” types such as Graham Platner, Bernie Sanders, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, and now with many others poised to win primaries for reliably blue seats. And I’m not the only one who is concerned.Over at the National Shooting Sports…
WASHINGTON (AP) — The House on Thursday narrowly passed a resolution to halt U.S. military action in Iran, sending a warning to President Donald Trump for the second time as the war has escalated and the future of the conflict is increasingly uncertain. The 214-208 vote requiring congressional approval for the war comes as the Senate is expected to consider a similar resolution later Thursday morning. Though the votes forced by Democrats are largely symbolic, they are meant as a strong signal to the Republican president that his support on Capitol Hill is chipping away as the war drags on…
I’m always amused when I see anti-gun activists claim to be moderate and only in favor of a few “common sense measures,” when the gun control lobby is busy pushing laws that criminalize basic aspects of our right to keep and bear arms. Khary Penebaker, who’s been involved with Everytown and Moms Demand Action, tried using this approach on X, and things did not go well for him. Dear responsible gun owners: the laws we are asking for would not touch you. Background checks, safe storage, red flags. If your rifle is locked and your record…
