Bipartisan group in Senate aims to strengthen background check system for guns

In the wake of the recent mass shooting in Sutherland Springs, Texas, a bipartisan group of senators introduced a bill Thursday meant to strengthen the existing background check system for firearms. The Fix NICS Act, which refers to the National Instant Criminal Background Check System, would set up incentives and penalties for state and federal agencies to boost their compliance with existing requirements that they report criminal history records to the system, helping ensure it stays up to date.

King County Council chairman accuses Trump administration of…

Attorrney General Jeff Sessions was quoted in a Justice Department news release Wednesday as letters went out to 29 jurisdictions - including Seattle and King County - threatening to pull criminal-justice grants. The Trump administration's latest threat against sanctuary jurisdictions gets a sharp retort from Seattle and King County.

How slamming campaign finance laws helped Greg Gianforte become a congressman

In May, on the eve of Greg Gianforte's special congressional election, the Montana politician " body-slammed " inquiring news reporter Ben Jacobs and began " punching " him, according to Jacobs and other witnesses. Medics treated the battered journalist, and the county sheriff cited Gianforte for misdemeanor assault.

Defenses in Bundy standoff trial focus on government conduct

This undated, combination file photo provided by the Multnomah County, Ore., Sheriff's Office shows, from left; Nevada rancher Cliven Bundy and his sons Ammon Bundy and Ryan Bundy and co-defendant Ryan Payne. Ryan Bundy, who is serving as his own lawyer, was ordered released Monday, Nov. 13, 2017 to a halfway house for the men's trial stemming from a 2014 armed standoff against government agents in a public lands cattle grazing dispute.

Ed Rogers: Republicans better avoid ‘lock-her-up’ trap, focus on real governance

The Washington Post reported Monday that Attorney General Jeff Sessions is considering the appointment of a second special counsel to investigate "a host of Republican concerns." As a Republican, I hope Sessions doesn't have to do this.

Hate crimes in the United States increased last year

FBI personnel walk along a road as the investigation of the mass shooting continues in Sutherland Springs, Texas, Nov. 6, 2017. More hate crimes were carried out in the United States last year, with an uptick in incidents motivated by bias against Jews, Muslims and LGBT people, among others, according to new FBI data released Monday.

You Can Be Fined For Wearing A Political T-Shirt To The Polls. SCOTUS Could Change That.

In 2010, Andrew Cilek walked into his Minneapolis polling place wearing a T-shirt with a tea party logo that said "Don't Tread On Me." Cilek, now the executive director of a conservative group called the Minnesota Voters' Alliance, also wore a button promoting the election watchdog group Election Integrity Watch.

Bill would require states to honor other states’ permits for concealed guns

THE ISSUE: Federal legislation would allow people with concealed-carry permits issued from their home states to carry a concealed handgun when visiting a different state. THE IMPACT: Attorneys general in 17 states, including Massachusetts, oppose the bill and say it would undermine local laws.

Late prosecutor dropped from hazing case

The parents of hazing victim Horacio Tomas "Atio" Castillo III have decided to exclude one of the respondents in the hazing case who was found already deceased. Lawyer Lino Kapunan, one of the lawyers of the Atio's parents, has manifested before the Department of Justice to remove the name of late Cavite chief prosecutor Emmanuel Velasco as a respondent in the case.

7 Problems With the GOP’s ‘If True, Roy Moore Should Step Aside’ Stance

When allegations of sexual misconduct about Alabama Senate candidate Roy Moore surfaced, many Republican lawmakers offered a variation on this line: If the story is true, he should step aside. "If there is any shred of truth to the allegations against Roy Moore, he should step aside immediately," said Arizona Sen. Jeff Flake.

State appeal tossed in teen killer’s case

The Arkansas Supreme Court dismissed an appeal by state attorneys on Thursday who had argued that a Crittenden County circuit judge erred in instructing a jury about what type of sentences the nation's highest court allows for juveniles. The case came as the Arkansas Supreme Court is set to hear the appeal of a different case that is a constitutional challenge to Act 539 of 2017, which bars life-without-parole sentences for youths.

Mother questions why 14-year-old son fatally shot by officer

Family members of a 14-year-old boy fatally shot by a sheriff's deputy on a northern Wisconsin reservation questioned on Thursday why the teen, who they describe as loving and kind, was gunned down. Holly Gauthier said authorities have provided few details about the death of her son, 14-year-old Jason Pero, an 8th grader who died on the Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa's reservation Wednesday.

Another mass shooting, another locked phone

When Susan Landau decided to write "Listening In: Cybersecurity in an Insecure Age," it was at a time when encryption was on many people's minds. After a shooter in San Bernardino, Calif., killed 14 people, investigators were unable to get into his iPhone.

LAWYER: Did Comey Obstruct Justice Using Invented Loophole To Protect Hillary From Prosecution?

In an op-ed Wednesday, Fox News legal analyst Gregg Jarrett lays out a scenario where by former FBI director James Comey may have obstructed justice by 'protecting Hillary Clinton from prosecution.' According to Sen. Chuck Grassley, Comey edited his original statements in which he called Clinton's handling of classified information an act of "gross negligence" to "extremely careless."

Pentagon has known of crime reporting lapses for 20 years

The Pentagon has known for at least two decades about failures to give military criminal history information to the FBI, including the type of information the Air Force didn't report about the Texas church gunman who had assaulted his wife and stepson while an airman. The Air Force lapse in the Devin P. Kelley case, which is now under review by the Pentagon's inspector general, made it possible for him to buy guns before his attack Sunday at a church in Sutherland Springs, Texas.