Senate Democrat leadership steers away from gun control issues

In advance of debate on tax reform and the federal budget, Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer is asking fellow Democrats to stay aloof from debate over gun control despite efforts by gun control advocates that the party needs to take action in the wake of the Las Vegas massacre. This comes despite urging from gun control groups for Democrats to take a stand in favor of controls on gun purchases, such as expanded background checks and bans on silencers.

Markey, Senate Dems dig in against GOP Arctic drilling push

Seven U.S. Senate Democrats, including Sen. Edward Markey, plan to call Tuesday for Republicans to remove language from a budget resolution allowing for drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. League of Conservation Voters Senior Vice President Tiernan Sittenfeld earlier this month said GOP budget proposals "include a huge giveaway to oil and gas companies by paving the way for drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, home to the Gwich'in people and iconic wildlife."

NRCS Announces EQIP Program Signup Deadline October 20, 2017

NATURAL RESOURCES CONSERVATION SERVICE , Huron, S.D. October 5, 2017 - U.S. Department of Agriculture officials announce October 20, 2017 as the batching date for applications for the popular Environmental Quality Incentives Program administered by the USDA's Natural Resources Conservation Service . Landowners seeking to address natural resource concerns on their property are encouraged to apply for participation in the USDA's EQIP.

USDA’s NRCS to invest $250 million to protect wetlands

This year, USDA's Natural Resources Conservation Service plans to invest $250 million in technical and financial assistance to help private landowners, tribes, land trusts and other groups protect critical wetlands, agricultural lands and grasslands. The Agricultural Conservation Easement Program focuses on restoring and protecting wetlands as well as conserving productive agricultural lands and grasslands.

NRA opposes full ban on ‘bump stocks’ used by Vegas gunman

The National Rifle Association is opposing a ban on "bump stocks" like the device used by the Las Vegas gunman to turn semi-automatic weapons into rapid-fire guns, stressing its support for more limited regulations. The powerful lobby last week surprised many gun control advocates by embracing possible restrictions on the bump stock devices in the wake of the shootings that killed more than 50 people and injured 500, prompting bipartisan support in Congress for regulating or banning bump stocks.

Sunday shows preview: Action on bump stocks intensifies after Vegas shooting

The debate over bump stocks on guns heated up in Washington and across the country this week, after a gunman used the device to open fire on thousands of concert goers on the Las Vegas strip last Sunday, killing 58 people and leaving hundreds of other injured. A bump stock is a device that can be used to simulate automatic gunfire with a semi-automatic weapon, by harnessing a semi-automatic rifle's recoil to increase its rate of fire.

WOW! Home-Surveillance Video Shows Stephen Paddock Practice Shooting Before Massacre

On Thursday Tony Hernandez Armenta, an employee at Mandalay Bay Hotel in Las Vegas, posted a room receipt that shows killer Stephen Paddock was with a guest at the hotel four days before the massacre. Source: @FBI is coercing employees @MandalayBay to admit they didn't see things they did see https://t.co/4B9kiX7RQJ The gunman who killed 58 people here Sunday appears to have gone out to the desert to practice shooting two days before the massacre, according to a law-enforcement official familiar with the investigation.

Palmetto Politics: All of South Carolina’s Republicans in Washington took gun lobby money last year

The National Rifle Association and other gun rights groups spent millions of dollars on the 2016 elections - primarily to elect President Donald Trump and six Republican senators in battleground states. Largely because South Carolina is controlled by Republicans who rarely face competitive races, and because gun control efforts largely are stymied even at the Statehouse level, the gun lobby sees little need to heavily invest in South Carolina elections.