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Gun Survey Data Surprises Activists, Bolsters Defensive Gun Use

Gun control activists wanted better numbers, and the latest survey handed them something far more uncomfortable. New findings from Georgetown professor William English’s updated National Firearms Survey deepen the case that defensive gun use is more common than critics admit, that so-called “assault weapons” are widely owned, and that gun ownership is spreading across a broader slice of America.

That is exactly why the new results sting. The 2021 version of the survey already rattled the anti-gun crowd by showing large numbers of Americans owning AR-15-style rifles, high-capacity magazines and firearms for self-defense, but critics insisted the data was flawed and overstated the reality.

Instead of folding, English tightened up the design and ran the survey again in 2026. The updated version did not rescue the gun control argument. It made the picture sharper, and for activists, a lot worse.

One of the biggest takeaways is that ownership of AR-15-style rifles is not some fringe habit. The new survey estimates that 26.4 million American adults now own an AR-15 or a similar semiautomatic rifle with a pistol grip, which undercuts the familiar claim that these firearms are rare or outside ordinary lawful use.

High-capacity magazines show the same pattern. The latest data estimates 44.5 million Americans currently own one, and gun owners are now slightly more likely to own one than not. That is a big problem for activists who still rely on the phrase “weapons of war” as if repetition can erase common ownership.

The findings on defensive gun use may be even more awkward for the anti-gun side. English’s original survey estimated that adults use firearms for protection about 1.67 million times a year, and critics mocked that number as unbelievable.

The redesigned survey pushed the estimate higher, not lower. It now places annual defensive gun use at about 2.2 million incidents, with some of the increase tied to reported protection against animal attacks, which makes the real-world picture look even more grounded in lived experience.

That matters because the debate over gun rights often gets flattened into slogans. People who carry and people who keep firearms for protection are not talking about fantasy scenarios, but about the daily reality of crime, danger and the right to respond when trouble shows up fast.

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The Ukraine Money Pit — Estonia’s €70 Million Scandal

Estonia’s Defence Minister Hanno Pevkur has resigned after a €70 million ammunition deal intended to supply Ukraine blew up into a procurement scandal. Estonia agreed to purchase artillery shells from Datasel, an Italian-registered company owned by India’s Neco Defense Munitions, despite the companies having no established history of selling artillery shells. Millions were paid in advance, deliveries ran into problems, Estonia terminated the contracts, and the dispute has now gone to arbitration. This is what happens when government declares everything an emergency and suddenly the normal rules surrounding public money become inconvenient.

Pevkur says he did not negotiate the contracts and had not even read them. His explanation was rather revealing: “The defence minister does not conduct contract negotiations. The defence minister does not count socks and ammunition.” He said his responsibility was making the fundamental political decision to support Ukraine. He nevertheless resigned because the National Audit Office’s findings raised the question of political responsibility. At least somebody in government still remembers what that phrase means.

The scandal goes directly to the problem with Europe’s entire approach to Ukraine. The politicians declare that Ukraine must be supported at any cost, and once you use those words, cost ceases to matter. Due diligence becomes something bureaucrats complain takes too long. Money must be spent immediately because politicians tell everyone that Europe itself will fall if another artillery shell does not reach Ukraine yesterday.

Estonian officials have essentially admitted that extraordinary risks were accepted because of the urgency surrounding Ukraine. One official told reporters that they knew these procurements involved “greater risks than usual” but believed those risks were justified by what was at stake. There is the entire problem in one sentence. When government decides that the political objective is important enough to justify greater financial risk, taxpayers become the insurance policy when something goes wrong.

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Report: MI Democrat Candidate William Lawrence Deleted Posts in Favor of Open Borders and Abolishing Police, the Senate, & Traditional Families

The Democrat nominee for Michigan’s 7th Congressional District reportedly deleted social media posts where he espoused the abolition of prisons, attacked moderate Democrats, and argued against the nuclear family.

U.S. House candidate William Lawrence took down hundreds of posts supporting leftist causes that included getting rid of police and pushing for a “fundamental overhaul” of the Constitution, CNN reported Friday, noting the posts were from the time when he was a progressive organizer.

The article continued:

Other deleted posts show Lawrence writing “f**k” the nuclear-family home and calling it an “isolating, individualistic, violent way of organizing society,” envisioning “a world of free and open migration,” and calling to “Abolish the Senate.”

Lawrence even wrote a song inspired by moderate Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin’s resistance to Democrats’ climate agenda: “Our generation says f**k you for everything,” Lawrence wrote in lyrics he posted in December 2021. “Hurry up and die so that we can get started.”

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Two Suspects Arrested After Famous Musician and His Family Are Murdered in Mexico

Two suspects were arrested for the murder of rock band keyboardist Jonathan Meléndez and several others, including his wife and child, according to a social media post from Mexico’s President Claudia Sheinbaum.

“In a joint operation by Fiscalía General de Justicia del Estado de México, Secretaría de Seguridad y Protección Ciudadana, and Policía Ciudad de México, two men were arrested on suspicion of being responsible for the homicide of four people,” the Facebook post, translated from Spanish, read.

“Among the victims is a pregnant woman and a minor. The incidents occurred yesterday in Atizapán de Zaragoza, State of Mexico,” the message continued.

“Investigations established that one of the arrested individuals was a partner of one of the victims. He allegedly took advantage of that trust to break into the residence.
“The coordination between the authorities of the State of Mexico, Mexico City, and the Government of Mexico allowed for the location and arrest of both suspects in less than 12 hours.

“In the face of a crime of this magnitude, the authorities acted immediately and in a coordinated manner,” the statement concluded. “The two suspects are already in custody and will be turned over to justice.”


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Philippines Issues Arrest Warrant for VP Sara Duterte for Threatening to Kill President Again

A Philippine trial court on Friday issued an arrest warrant for Vice President Sara Duterte, in connection with charges against her for threatening the life of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and others.

Duterte faces three counts of issuing “grave threats” against the president, his wife Liza Araneta-Marcos, and his cousin Martin Romualdez, who was speaker of the Philippine House at the time she made the threats in November 2024.

Vice-President Duterte, the daughter of former president Rodrigo Duterte, came into office in June 2022 as the running mate of another political scion, the son of former president Ferdinand Marcos. They took their oaths of office together as political allies whose landslide election victories would help to heal deep political divisions in the country.

Their political narrative was also one of redemption for controversial parents, as the elder Ferdinand Marcos was a notorious dictator, while Rodrigo Duterte faces allegations of crimes against humanity for his brutal war on drugs.

The Marcos-Duterte alliance broke down rather quickly amid bitter disagreements over major issues, including relations with China and the United States. President Marcos is pro-American, while Duterte leans strongly toward China. They also disagreed over constitutional reforms, peace talks with communist rebels, and independence for the island of Mindanao, the home turf of the Duterte dynasty.

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This Red State Is Betting It Can Abolish Its Income Tax

The data center debate isn’t going so well for the builders, as Americans far and wide seriously oppose the construction of new data centers near where they live. One state, however, thinks it can incentivize residents. 

Virginia Gov. Patrick Morrisey (R) has unveiled seven principles aligned with 2025 legislation to reduce and eventually eliminate state income tax. Under the plan, West Virginia would set aside 50% of its revenue from approved hyperscale data center projects towards the elimination of the state personal income tax – though let’s be clear: the poor, rural residents they’ll be building the DCs next to don’t pay income tax – so no benefit to them. Middle class voters (and up), however, will have all sorts of reasons to support the move. 

“Today, as the world stands on the cusp of a new digital and economic frontier, West Virginia is stepping forward once again to lead, not by repeating the mistakes of other states, but by implementing a proactive, 20-year development strategy on our terms,” Morrisey said in a statement obtained by Fox News. 

The second listed “principle” in Morrisey’s plan says all West Virginians should benefit from data center projects approved through Charleston’s “High Impact Data Center Designation (HIDC)” process and the revenue they generate. The process was established under a separate 2025 state law.

Morrisey’s plan includes “direct tax relief for citizens,” with none of the HIDC revenue entering the state general fund.

“By law, 50 percent of project revenue is dedicated directly to reducing and ultimately eliminating the State Personal Income Tax,” reads the plan. 

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Trump DOJ Charges FIVE for Illegal Voting in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Wisconsin — Including Two Illegal Aliens from Mexico in Key Swing States

The Trump Justice Department announced Friday that five individuals living in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Wisconsin have been charged in connection with alleged illegal voting or fraudulent voter registration during the 2022 and 2024 elections.

The defendants include two illegal aliens, two other foreign nationals, and one American citizen accused of helping his noncitizen wife unlawfully register and vote.

But Democrats and their media allies keep telling Americans that noncitizen voting is merely a “conspiracy theory.”

The latest federal charges tell a very different story.

Attorney General Todd Blanche declared, “Election fraud is a serious crime, and it is the duty of the Department of Justice to treat it as such.”

According to the Justice Department:

Middle District of Pennsylvania

Thomas Holtzman, 68, and his wife Marisol Guzman, 50, both of Carlisle, Pennsylvania, were indicted by a federal grand jury on charges related to Guzman illegally voting as an alien in the 2024 election. Guzman was charged with voting as an alien. Holtzman, a U.S. citizen, was charged with false statement of citizenship in order to vote and aiding and abetting and fraudulent registration and aiding and abetting.

Katya Rodriguez, 30, an illegal alien from Mexico living in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, was indicted by a federal grand jury on charges related to illegally voting as an alien in the 2024 election. Specifically, Rodriguez was charged with false statement of citizenship in order to vote, fraudulent registration, and voting as an alien.

If convicted, Holtzman faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison, a term of supervised release, and a fine. Guzman faces a maximum penalty of one year in prison, a term of supervised release, and a fine. Rodriguez faces a maximum penalty of 11 years in prison, a term of supervised release, and a fine. Any sentence would be imposed by a judge after consideration of the applicable federal sentencing statutes and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines.

HSI investigated the cases. Assistant U.S. Attorney Scott Ford for the Middle District of Pennsylvania is prosecuting the cases.

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Trump ambassador vows NATO-like reforms to UN after terror scandal: ‘Clean this place up’

President Donald Trump’s ambassador to the United Nations is vowing to force a massive reform at the global agency, pledging to slim it down through privatization and create more accountability in the wake of revelations that one of its relief agencies in Gaza funded employees who participated in the 2023 terrorist attack in Israel.

“The charge from the president is to clean this place up and get it working for the American people,” U.N. Ambassador Mike Waltz said Thursday night in a wide-ranging interview on the Just the News, No Noise television show that focused on ending abuses and fraud in American foreign aid.

“What President Trump has done with NATO, we’re looking to do to the United Nations,” he added.

Waltz sharply criticized the Biden administration for turning a blind eye to fraud across America’s multibillion foreign aid system and specifically for re-funding the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) despite evidence of close ties to the terror group Hamas.

Trump ended funding for UNRWA after taking office in 2025, and the USAID inspector general revealed last month that more than 100 workers funded by UNRWA have been identified as having participated in the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas atrocities in Israel.

Waltz said those revelations are a wakeup call for the world that the U.N. is not serving its charter, and the Trump administration has already forced significant changes in recent months.

“We forced them to take their first budget cut ever in their 80-year history. They are going to fire 3,000 U.N. bureaucrats out of the headquarters building in New York. We’re going to get more of our aid dollars,” he said. “…And then there’s 90,000 U.N. peacekeepers around the world. We’ve cut 25% of them. So we put the U.N. on a diet.”

Waltz said the next round of reforms that the U.S. will force as the largest contributor to the U.N. will be modeled after Trump’s effort to make European allies pick up a greater share of the NATO burden.

“The American people are generous people when it comes to tsunamis or earthquakes, like we just had in Venezuela, or other types of famine. But we need to know that it’s not filtering through a bloated bureaucracy; that it’s actually getting to people in need,” he said. “We’re making it leaner and more focused.”

“I think people rightly ask why we’re even involved at all. I say two things. Number one, you need one place in the world where everyone can talk, and if we just walk out, I don’t want to see the U.N. in Beijing or Brussels or somewhere else, we need to get in there and fight and win for American interests,” Waltz added. “And then number two, there’s a burden sharing component to it. I don’t want to see U.S. troops in places like Gaza or, you know, dealing with the gangs in Haiti when the U.N. is willing to go in there and we can push that agenda. I think that’s something that’s in line with the president’s America First foreign policy.”

Waltz succinctly summarized Trump’s policy toward the U.N.

“So, diplomacy first, words before bullets, and burden sharing are two of the reasons we’re still trying to keep this place up. But ultimately, that’s the charge from President Trump: Help it realize its potential, and the U.N. should be helping him craft these peace deals around the world,” he said.

House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer agreed during the show on Thursday that the U.S. should continue to cut funding for the U.N., particularly as it relates to USAID funding, which has already seen cuts under the Trump administration.

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EXPOSED: Former Senior USCIS Officer and Associate Arrested in Alleged Cash-for-Immigration-Benefits Scheme — Applications Approved Without Interviews or Background Checks

A former senior immigration official and his associate have been arrested for allegedly turning America’s immigration system into their own personal cash machine.

The Justice Department announced Friday that Lukman Owolabi Ganiyu, a former Senior Immigration Services Officer with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), and Adeniyi Akeem Somoye were arrested on federal charges tied to an alleged multi-year corruption scheme.

Federal agents arrested both men on September 2 following a criminal complaint filed on August 31.

The pair is charged with conspiracy to receive illegal gratuities by a public official.

According to prosecutors, Ganiyu allegedly used his powerful position inside USCIS to approve immigration applications in exchange for money from December 2019 through March 2026.

This was allegedly an inside job at the agency responsible for determining who receives green cards—and who ultimately becomes an American citizen.

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Authoritarianism Rises as Government Fear Losing Power

All Republics eventually turn against their citizens when they begin to see their power slipping away through their fingers. Today in Europe, free speech has vanished. In the US, you see “See Something, Say Something.” Looking at history, we see this same pattern. Perhaps the most famous example was the Venetian Republic, which eventually destroyed its own power.

The practice of encouraging citizens to report others was instituted by Maximinus I (236-248AD) who tore Rome apart declaring all wealth belonged to the state and paid rewards to people who reported others. Once he turned everyone against each other, there was no going back. The economy began to implode as trust and unity evaporated. The wealthy began to hoard their wealth instead of investing and lending it out. Capitalism requires wealth disparity for then the wealthy put their money to use in venture type arrangements that even took place in ancient Athens, which was the birth of insurance underwriting voyages for trade. Maximinus I destroyed that unity and venture capital virtually ceased to exist after him.

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