The Supreme Court generally doesn’t like to see appellate courts split on any given issue, since it can result in federal law being enforced in some parts of the country while being put on hold in other states. Still, SCOTUS left a circuit court split in place when it denied cert to five cases dealing with the right to acquire and the right to carry firearms by adults under the age of 21 at its final conference of last term.  The Fifth Circuit, for instance, has held that 18-to-20-year olds have the right to purchase…

A Kentucky jury has awarded what the plaintiffs say is the largest verdict ever entered against a seller of firearms in U.S. history, ordering online ghost-gun retailer Husky Armory LLC and its parent company, Up North Media LLC, to pay $104.2 million to the family of an 18-year-old who died by suicide after purchasing a gun-building kit. The verdict stems from a lawsuit filed by the estate of Henry Willis, who purchased a Polymer80-style build kit from Husky Armory in July 2023. According to court filings, Willis was 18 years old when he ordered the kit. Less than a month…

OtherSide Entertainment is ending support for Thick as Thieves, Warren Spector’s most recent stealth immersive sim, after only two months of service. While no new content will be launched, the developer has shared an update on the future of Thick as Thieves’ playability. Initially announced during The Game Awards 2024, Thick as Thieves is a multiplayer heist game developed by OtherSide Entertainment and published by Megabit Publishing. The game also had the close participation of renowned game designer Warren Spector, known for creating some of the best immersive sims of all time, like Deus Ex, System Shock, and Thief. Many…

The global price per barrel of oil is approaching $100 per barrel again, as war rages in the Middle East. While renewed hostilities between the United States and Iran have again brought traffic through the Strait of Hormuz to a near halt, Houthi rebels have begun attacking tankers in the Red Sea, driving prices even higher. The American consumer is already strapped during these difficult inflationary economic times, and yet the war mongering by US rulers continues. A naval blockade against Saudi Arabia in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, at the mouth of the Persian Gulf, is also presenting an economic…

Ripton is known for a cheeky approach to denim. Founder Elliot Wilkinson-Ray is an avid mountain biker who worked in the outdoor apparel industry for a number of years prior to launching the company and was bored by the general similarity of all the products. When riding, he often used stretchy jeans that he cut into shorts, and in 2019, he decided to make performance denim “jorts” a thing. Ripton has since been a performance denim innovator, launching MTB pants, overalls, an insulated poncho, jackets, and vests, all made of the fabric. But for the most part, it stayed bike-oriented.…

Permit-to-purchase laws strike me as dumb on so many levels. For one thing, criminals are never going to get a permit first. They don’t stop straw buys from happening, as we’ve seen in every permit-to-purchase state. They don’t do anything except create burdens for law-abiding gun owners…and violate their right to keep and bear arms. It’s even more ridiculous when you mandate training prior to getting said permit.But when it’s about crime, I can at least see the so-called logic at work. Not about the training, obviously—though a case could be made that such training…

There was a time when “defund the police” was considered one of the most controversial ideas in American politics. Now, at least among some on the political left, the conversation appears to be moving even further. Forget defunding police. Why not abolish prisons altogether? That question found its way into the national spotlight a few weeks ago after New York City mayor Zohran Mamdani was asked about his endorsement of Darializa Avila Chevalier, the Democratic nominee for New York’s 15th Congressional District. Chevalier has advocated abolishing prisons, and ABC’s Jonathan Karl wanted to know whether Mamdani was comfortable supporting someone…

Many action games are power fantasies that let players step into the shoes of beings who can accomplish feats beyond imagination, some of which are downright scary. While it might not always be the main selling point, these games shine in their ability to empower, and a brilliant way to show that is by having AI enemies react out of pure fear. They might scream, beg for mercy, run away, or act irrationally; either way, the outcome is the same. They are scared of you. To be most effective, this mechanic needs to be triggered by the player’s direct actions…

When you’ve spent hours swinging a Pulaski or hauling chainsaws through the forests of the North Cascades, quality sleep isn’t a luxury. While leading backcountry trail work hitches requires packing light, running a front-country crew demands a different strategy. In those setups, weight doesn’t matter, but quality sleep does. Over a full summer of testing, bouncing between extended work hitches and casual weekends, the REI Co-op Westward Dreamer Self-Inflating Bed became my go-to basecamp setup. At 4 inches thick, it provides the restorative sleep needed for working hard outdoors, and at $199, it’s affordable enough to snag on even a…

It’s been nearly four years since gun control activists were able to put a permit-to-purchase law and “large capacity” magazine ban in place in Oregon, but Measure 114 has been tied up in court ever since.  Since then, voters haven’t had any firearm-related referendums on their ballot. This year, though, a group of animal rights activists introduced Initiative 28, which would (among other things) remove the exemption for hunting, fishing, and trapping from the state’s animal cruelty laws. The backers of I28 proudly state on their website that “any practice that involves the intentional injury…

A new report from the Crime Prevention Research Center argues that America’s murder problem is far more geographically concentrated than many people realize. According to researcher John Lott Jr., more than half of all murders recorded in 2024 occurred in just 63 counties nationwide. At the same time, more than half of all U.S. counties didn’t record a single murder. The report is based primarily on the FBI’s 2024 Supplementary Homicide Report, with Florida data supplemented using the Florida Department of Law Enforcement’s incident-based reporting system because of incomplete FBI submissions from that state. Murder remains heavily concentrated The numbers…

BEIRUT (AP) — The United Nations’ human rights chief said Monday that Israel must end its occupation of large areas of southern Lebanon and halt the demolition of homes, days before Lebanese and Israeli officials are set to hold another round of direct talks. Volker Türk spoke to The Associated Press as he wrapped up a visit to Lebanon, his second in just over a year. He met with government officials, civil society representatives and Lebanese people displaced by the war between Israel and the Hezbollah militant group. The visit came about a week before Lebanese and Israeli officials are…