A bill aimed at stopping credit card companies from tracking firearm purchases is headed to the U.S. Senate after clearing the House with bipartisan support. The Protecting Privacy in Purchases Act (H.R. 1181) passed the House on July 14 by a 221-201 vote. According to the NRA Institute for Legislative Action (NRA-ILA), the bill would prohibit payment networks from using special merchant category codes (MCCs) to identify purchases of firearms, ammunition, or other constitutionally protected items. The House passed the Protecting Privacy in Purchases Act, a gun purchase privacy bill. Supporters argue the measure is about protecting the privacy of…

Becoming an established luxury manufacturer takes more than just churning out some posh sedans with sumptuous seats, as a given brand needs to build an overall image that makes people think that they will look the business behind the wheel. That’s why the likes of Hyundai and Toyota developed their own bespoke luxury brands, since the motherships were too closely associated with affordability. Chrysler had established this reputation in the early to mid-20th century, though things had taken a turn in the latter stages of the century. In the late 1990s though, the marque was looking to make a comeback,…

Support us! GearJunkie may earn a small commission from affiliate links in this article. Learn More Forward-facing sonar has changed how a lot of anglers fish, and Garmin just gave its LiveScope lineup a substantial overhaul. The new LiveScope 2 ($2,000) and LiveScope 2 HD ($2,200) systems debuted ahead of ICAST 2026 with better image quality, wider coverage, and a much simpler installation. Both systems now connect directly to a compatible Garmin display and power source, eliminating the separate black box required by previous generations. For anyone who has rigged a boat with LiveScope, that hardware change alone is a…

The decline in violent crime across the United States is something that most of us are cheering, but for the gun control lobby it’s hardly cause for celebration. This is a movement predicated on the false premise that more guns leads to more crime, after all, and while there are still more than 1,000,000 gun sales taking place each month, homicides are dropping to rates not seen in a century or more.  Presumably, at some point these declines will slow down and head in the wrong direction, and if the gun control lobby can’t point…

A Las Vegas mother says she did what she believed she had to do after two strangers ended up in her backyard and appeared to be trying to break into her home. According to News 3 Las Vegas, the incident happened around 9:20 p.m. last Monday in the 3900 block of Steinbeck Drive after two men fled a nearby vehicle crash and ran into a residential neighborhood. The first sign of trouble came from the homeowner’s 17-year-old daughter, Kaliyah Smith, who heard noises coming from the backyard. “I heard knocking on my wall because there’s a sliding door right there,”…

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — Mike Waltz, the U.S. envoy to the United Nations, said Monday that the U.S. government would soon move to stop violent gangs in Haiti from making money off social media posts. Gang leaders in the troubled Caribbean country are prolific users of social media and have celebrated killings, issued threats and posted musings on various sites. Younger gang members also post music videos and wave cash they’ve earned in an effort to recruit children in the impoverished nation. Waltz called the practice “incredibly disturbing” and warned the U.S. would “shut that down” in the…

The United States’ air defenses are struggling to defend against attacks from Iran. The Pentagon reported that Tehran’s retaliatory strikes on a military base in Jordan killed two American service members, as air defenses failed to keep up. The US is becoming increasingly concerned that the Iranian military is improving its efficacy at penetrating its air defenses in the Middle East. Several media outlets have reported, citing anonymous officials, that air defenses appear to be struggling to keep up. This comes on the heels of a deadly missile and drone strike on a military base in Jordan on Friday, which…

I grew up backpacking with my very outdoorsy parents, but once they hit their 50s, they drew a line in the sand. They were happy to go on hiking adventures, but refused to sleep on the ground, which is entirely fair. Their backs and hips hurt, and they were over the idea of schlepping around 30-plus–pound packs. And it’s not just folks in their older years who want to skip camping. There are plenty of people of all ages who love the outdoors, but, for whatever reason, don’t want to sleep in a tent. Unfortunately, that rules out participating in…

The National Rifle Association will back Democrats, contrary to popular opinion. If they’re pro-gun, they’ll get the backing of the nation’s oldest civil rights organization. That’s all that should matter to them, after all. But the problem is that some people will say and do anything to get an endorsement, especially if it helps them get into office, and while guilt by association is a bad thing, in general, there is something to be said for judging a person by the company they keep. Just being in the room isn’t enough, but when you actively…

Gun rights advocates picked up one of their biggest courtroom wins in years Friday after a federal appeals court ruled that New Jersey’s ban on Modern Sporting Rifles (MSRs) and standard-capacity magazines violates the Second Amendment. The decision from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit could have major implications well beyond New Jersey. It arrives just months before the U.S. Supreme Court is set to hear two high-profile challenges to so-called “assault weapon” bans out of Connecticut and Illinois. The case, Association of New Jersey Rifle and Pistol Clubs v. New Jersey Attorney General, centered on whether…

The Department of Veterans Affairs announced July 15 that it is proposing to significantly reduce the paperwork burden for veterans applying for disability compensation and for surviving family members applying for Dependency and Indemnity Compensation. If adopted, the changes would represent the most substantial simplification of the VA benefits application process in recent memory. The proposals, published in the Federal Register in June, target two of the most-used forms in the VA benefits system. VA Form 21-526EZ, the application for disability compensation benefits, would be cut from 15 pages to five pages. VA estimates that completing the streamlined form would…

When it comes to performance apparel, polyester has long dominated the market. It’s cheap, durable, and dries quickly. But it’s also a synthetic clothing made from petroleum. It sheds microplastics, requires millions of barrels of oil to keep up with global demand, and won’t biodegrade. And I have a more personal reason for wanting to avoid it: I’ve developed a nasty skin allergy to the dyes used in most synthetic clothing. That’s a big problem for someone who loves being active outside, as most performance apparel includes at least some polyester, nylon, or other synthetic fibers. During my search for…