More People Use a Gun in Self-Defense Each Year Than Die in Car Accidents

How is it that so many kids raised on "Harry Potter", "The Hunger Games", "Star Wars", and all the Marvel action figure movies manage to miss a critical point of the stories? The lesson being: If you want to prevail over evil villains, you must have the proper tools to fight back. Millions of people protect themselves and their families with guns every day in the United States.

US budget deficit totals $74.9 billion in June

The federal government recorded a $74.9 billion deficit in June, a month when the government often runs a surplus, as corporate taxes dropped sharply compared to a year ago. The Treasury Department reported Thursday that the June deficit pushed the imbalance so far this year to $607.1 billion, 16.1 percent higher than the same period a year ago.

Will Tesla Be ‘Tripp’ed’ Up By A Whistleblower?

The Tesla whistleblower scandal intensified Wednesday with reports that Martin Tripp's counsel, Meissner and Associates, had filed a claim on his behalf with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Other news outlets have done an excellent job of reporting on Tripp's accusations, but my focus is on the potential downside for Tesla shares from an SEC investigation.

Administration slashes grants to help Americans get Affordable Care Act coverage

The Trump administration is eliminating most of the funding for grass-roots groups that help Americans get Affordable Care Act insurance and will for the first time urge the groups to promote health plans that bypass the law's consumer protections and required benefits. The reduction - the second round of cuts that began last summer - will shrink the federal money devoted to the groups, known as navigators, from $36.8 million to $10 million for the enrollment period that starts in November.

Prosecutor accuses Skelos of ‘shakedown’

A former New York state Senate leader and his son got business executives to arrange no-show jobs for the son in a brazen "family shakedown" that corrupted the senator's office, a federal prosecutor said Tuesday at the retrial of the pair on bribery and extortion charges. Assistant U.S. Attorney Thomas McKay called the once-powerful Long Island Republican and his son, Adam, "partners in crime" who strong-armed the businesses into funneling hundreds of thousands of dollars to the son for various fake projects.

Top U.S. Senate Democrat vows to fight Trump’s Supreme Court pick

Supreme Court nominee Judge Brett Kavanaugh is seen in the East Room of the White House in Washington, U.S., July 9, 2018. REUTERS/Jim Bourg WASHINGTON - The top U.S. Senate Democrat on Tuesday vowed an all-out fight against President Donald Trump's Supreme Court nominee as Judge Brett Kavanaugh headed to Capitol Hill seeking support, with Democrats aiming to seize on the confirmation battle ahead of the November midterm election.

Trump’s Kavanaugh : ‘presidents should be shielded from incitement’

Trump's Court pick came out for law that would shield sitting presidents from prosecution or investigation - saying a presidential indictment would 'cripple' the federal government President Donald Trump 's nominee for the Supreme Court has concluded that the presidency is such a unique and challenging job that the White House occupant should be shielded from indictment, prosecution, or interrogation while in office. Trump, who has inveighed repeatedly against the 'witch hunt' of special counsel Robert Mueller's probe, selected Judge Brett Kavanaugh to fill the seat of retiring Justice Anthony Kennedy.

Elizabeth Warren s claim onnumber of medical bankruptciesgreatly overstated, study shows

Health-care-related bankruptcies, touted as a key justification for passing Obamacare in 2010, are not nearly as prevalent as reform proponents such as Sen. Elizabeth Warren have claimed, researchers say. Findings of an exhaustive report published in the American Economic Review this year have sparked a lively debate as the Trump administration rolls back key portions of the health care law.

2nd Circuit Reverses Order on Cravath to Produce Documents for Foreign Litigation

Cravath, Swaine & Moore will not have to hand over documents related to its client, the energy company Royal Dutch Shell, as part of discovery, reversing a decision by U.S. District Judge Alvin Hellerstein of the Southern District of New York that would have handed over the documents to a group of Nigerian plaintiffs suing over human rights abuses. The panel-composed of Circuit Judges Dennis Jacobs, JosA Cabranes and Richard Wesley-found that an order forcing Cravath to turn over their client's documents in a suit the lower court found it lacked jurisdiction was an abuse of the district court's discretion.

Judge denies US claim on 2 of 3 California immigration laws Source: AP

A judge on Monday dismissed the federal government's claim that U.S. law trumps two California laws intended to protect immigrants who are in the country illegally, affirming his ruling last week that California was within its rights to pass two of its three so-called sanctuary laws. U.S. District Judge John Mendez rejected the U.S. government's argument on two of the laws that the U.S. Constitution gives the federal government pre-eminent power over states to regulate immigration.

Brett Kavanaugh no stranger to D.C. legal, political circles Source: Cox Media Group

As President Donald Trump on Monday night selected federal appeals court judge Brett Kavanaugh for a vacancy on the U.S. Supreme Court, Mr. Trump not only tapped a judge considered to have a strong conservative credentials, but also one whose roots run deep in Washington, D.C., in both the political and legal arena. "Judge Kavanaugh has impeccable credentials, unsurpassed qualifications and a proven commitment to equal justice under law," the President said in the East Room of the White House.

New York Gov. Cuomo signs reproductive rights executive order ahead of Trump’s Supreme Court pick

Ahead of the planned announcement of President Trump's Supreme Court nomination, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed an executive order to protect abortion and contraceptive coverage in the state. Since Justice Anthony Kennedy announced his retirement, giving Trump the ability to select his second Supreme Court justice in his first term as president, Democrats have publicly expressed concern that the nation's highest court, with the addition of a conservative judge, could overturn Roe v.

Manslaughter trial beginning again

By the time Richard Tom's conviction of vehicular manslaughter in a crash on Woodside Road that left an 8-year-old girl dead was overturned for the second time in 2015, more than eight years had passed since the tragic night. Originally convicted of the felony charge by a jury in 2008, Tom's status as criminally responsible for killing Sydney Ng has wavered on the question of whether he proved himself guilty by not asking about the welfare of the other car's occupants after the crash Feb. 19, 2007.

New EPA chief Andrew Wheeler has a fondness for right-wing media and climate-denier blogs

Scott Pruitt, ousted administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency , had cozy relationships with right-wing media outlets and combative relationships with the mainstream press. Andrew Wheeler, who's stepped in as acting administrator, has also shown a fondness for right-wing media and signs of disdain toward some mainstream media.

Pruitt’s ethical disaster ends; EPA’s environmental disaster still threatens

It took months of revelation after damning revelation for President Donald Trump to finally remove Scott Pruitt from the top job at the Environmental Protection Agency. Pruitt last week joined the ranks of former Trump administration officials forced to resign in disgrace, raising questions about why Trump hired them in the first place.

A ‘Supreme’ show: Trump savors big reveal for court choice

In this Jan. 31, 2017, file photo, President Donald Trump speaks in the East Room of the White House in Washington, to announce Judge Neil Gorsuch, standing with his wife Louise, as his nominee for the Supreme Court. A family separation crisis of his making continues at the border.

Polluting diesel trucks win last-minute reprieve from EPA

In the final hours of Scott Pruitt's tenure as administrator, the Environmental Protection Agency moved to effectively grant a loophole that will allow a major increase in the manufacturing of a diesel freight truck that produces as much as 55 times the air pollution as trucks that have modern emissions controls. The move by the EPA came after intense lobbying by a small set of manufacturers that sell glider trucks, which use old engines built before new technologies significantly reduced emissions of particulates and nitrogen oxide that are blamed for asthma, lung cancer and other ailments.