Free Republic

Virginians who can lawfully possess firearms do not need concealed-weapons permits to keep loaded handguns within reach in vehicles, according to Attorney General Kenneth T. Cuccinelli II. The official advisory opinion does not codify anything new — that job would be the General Assembly’s — but clarifies what some had seen as a potentially nebulous recent change to state gun law. Before 2010, absent certain exceptions, the law that prohibited carrying a concealed weapon without a permit also barred transporting a handgun “in a concealed manner” in a vehicle. This included guns that were stored in glove compartments or center...

SAN ANTONIO -- Police say a car burglary on the city's northwest side was foiled by an alert homeowner with a gun. The homeowner was woken around 1:55 a.m. Thursday by two men busting the side window of the Cadillac Escalade parked outside his home in the 6300 block of Stable Farm, San Antonio police said. One of the suspects allegedly signaled to the homeowner that he had a gun. However, police said the homeowner really did have a gun and fired a single shot through his bedroom window one of the men attempting to steal the Cadillac. Both suspects...

This horrifying footage serves as a reminder of the deadly potential of one of the world's fastest sports cars. Three people died when a Ferrari 599 GTO ploughed into the side of a taxi while speeding across a city centre junction in Singapore.

BANJIEHE, China -- A Chinese farmer has invented a wind-powered, electric car that he says could save his country from the pollution caused by its rapidly growing car market. An hour from downtown Beijing, the dusty village of Banjiehe looks an unlikely place to produce scientific innovation. Its rows of brick, utilitarian houses are surrounded by cornfields and fruit trees. But in a small tractor workshop, 55-year-old farmer Tang Zhenping has invented the prototype of a car that he believes could revolutionize China's auto industry. Tang's model -- built in just three months for around US$1,600 -- is electric

The Yuma Police Department confirms two people who were shot Friday night have died. It happened at 10:20 p.m. on the 2600 block of Donna Avenue. According to YPD Jason Snelling, 27, and Glenn Curry, 26, were shot and killed after a confrontation with another man. YPD has now released the identity of the shooter as Daniel Dillman, 23. The initial information suggests that Dillman's life had been threatened by Snelling and Curry immediately before the shooting. Curry was armed with a knife which had been utilized to break out windows on the vehicle that Dillman was seated in at...

A 16-year-old male has been arrested after a gang of black youths armed with rocks violently beat a white couple in an unprovoked attack. Reporters Marjon Rostami and Dave Forster were waiting at a red light at the intersection of Brambleton Avenue and Church Street in Norfolk, Virginia, on April 14 when they were set upon by the 30-strong mob. But the couple's ordeal was not reported by their employer, the Virginian-Pilot, for two weeks, sparking outrage among some readers who claim the newspaper buried the story for political reasons. The arrested teen, whose name has not being released because...

That’s what Kentucky statutes provide, and today the Kentucky Supreme Court applied this rule in Mitchell v. University of Kentucky (Ky. Apr. 26, 2012). There was something of a complication because the defendant was a university, and state law provides universities with generally broad authority to restrict weapons on their property. But the court concluded that the statutory provisions allowing employees to lawfully store guns in their cars is an exception from that broad university power. Michael Mitchell’s wrongful firing lawsuit against the university can therefore go forward. The relevant Kentucky statutory provisions, by the way, are these: § 527.020(4)...

HOBBS, N.M. (KRQE) - Nathan Velasquez admitted to Hobbs police he shot an unarmed man but said he had good reason: the man was trying to steal his car and endangered his life. Hobbs dispatch received an emergency call just after 8 p.m. Monday from Cristobal Carrizoza night who said he'd been shot in the chest. "When police got here they found Cristobal Carrizoza suffering from a gunshot wound to his chest, and the individual Velasquez, who we later learned had done the shooting," Hobbs Officer Mike Stone said. Velasquez, 20, told police he went to get into his car...

Detroit - Remember “sticker shock”? After several years of heavily discounting their products in a desperate bid to keep assembly lines rolling, automakers are finding themselves back in the driver’s seat again – pushing prices to record levels. And it’s “not a blip,” warns one senior analyst, who expects the trend to continue for several years. The good news for shoppers is that trade-ins are also yielding better prices – and while that new car, truck or crossover may command more money than ever before it’s also likely to include significantly more features and markedly better fuel economy than

SANFORD, Fla. — Sanford police said shots were fired into an empty police cruiser on Tuesday morning in the neighborhood where George Zimmerman used to live and where Trayvon Martin was shot and killed. That news comes after sources told WFTV that Zimmerman could be arrested or turn himself in to police sometime this week. Sanford police told WFTV shots were fired at a police cruiser on Retreat View Circle in the Twin Lakes subdivision. A witness said she heard six gunshots ring out. No one was in the cruiser at the time, according to police. The vehicle was taken...

MOBILE, Ala. (WALA) - Mobile police say a robbery suspect got an unexpected surprise when his intended victim started shooting at him. It happened around 12:45 a.m. Tuesday on Chinquapin Street in Mobile. When it was all over, the suspect was the one who ended up in the hospital. A holster was still on the hood of the victim's car hours after the shooting. One neighbor, who didn't want to be identified, said he was in bed when he heard gunfire. "I can't say what time it was, but I heard about six or seven gunshots go off. You know...

The Plainfield Police Department responded to Putnam Road early Saturday morning after a vehicle struck a house. The 18-year-old driver, Allysa Clark, was traveling northbound on Putnam Road, with a 17-year-old passenger, when her vehicle crossed a railroad track and began to slide. Clark could not control the vehicle and it slid across the roadway and struck a house on Putnam Road.

Yesterday, Senate Bill 3002, the NRA-initiated Safe Commute Act, passed in the Senate Judiciary Committee by a 6 to 1 vote, with two members voting to "pass" on the bill. Senate Bill 2992, the Firearm Discrimination Prevention Bill intended to bolster the ultimate implementation of SB 3002, passed in the Senate Commerce Committee by a vote of 6 to 3. Both of these important bills will soon be sent to the Senate floor for a vote. SB 3002 prevents employers, other property owners and government entities from prohibiting Tennesseans from storing their legally possessed firearms out of sight in their...

A man was taken to the hospital Friday morning after the car he was driving left a road in Vancouver and landed in a residential swimming pool. "I looked out the window and was on the phone with 9-1-1 already and said 'there's a car in our pool,'" said Susan Goodwin, who lives in the house with the pool. Members of Clark County Fire District 6 said the driver, Eric Brown, 23, of Battle Ground, was found by firefighters walking on a road near the scene of the crash. Firefighters said shortly after 4 a.m. they got a call about...

Nissan Motor Company announced the return of the Datsun brand after 30 years, with plans to introduce a low-cost car in several emerging markets in 2014. In a nod to the growing importance of developing markets, Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn made the announcement Tuesday in Indonesia, one of three markets the new car line will debut.

ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. - A 40-year-old man was shot to death Sunday after an argument that started in the parking lot of a library on Ponce de Leon Boulevard in St. Augustine, police said. Outside the St. Johns County Public Library, David Blythe, 40, and his girlfriend got into an argument, detectives said. They said he hopped into his car and did reverse doughnuts in the parking lot. Police said he then jumped out of the car and ran down the road on U.S. Highway 1. Detectives said Blythe tried to hop in another pickup truck, filled with a beach-bound...

LITTLE ROCK, AR – The shooting death of a constable at a Pine Bluff gas station in January was determined to be justified by the Jefferson County prosecuting attorney. In his findings released Thursday, Prosecuting Attorney S. Kyle Hunter said that Edward Blundell and Constable Tommy Holcomb engaged in a verbal altercation outside of their cars at a Speedway convenience store. Hunter says Blundell made Holcomb aware that he had a gun, and got back into his car and closed the door. That is when Holcomb went up to the car with a gun in his hand. While at the...

LADSON, SC -- The Charleston County Coroner's office said 31-year-old Artremain Grant died of a single gunshot wound on Ladson Road at Hwy 78 Wednesday morning. Officials said, the shooter fired through the glass of his car, striking Grant, who died in the road. The man then drove a short distance and called 911 around 4 a.m. to report the shooting. According to Major Jim Brady, with the Charleston County Sheriff's Office, the man who opened fire claimed he felt threatened when the man pulled up behind him in another car at the intersection, got out, and tried opening his...

SAN ANTONIO- Police have taken four people in for questioning after a shooting on the West Side early Monday. Police say a man at the Bell Tower Apartments on Oak Hill near Culebra saw four people trying to steal his car just after 4:00 a.m. Monday. He reportedly grabbed his gun and fired three times, hitting one suspect in the arm. An officer happened to be driving by at the time, heard the shots, and saw a silver car leave the complex. Officers followed the suspects' car and caught up to it at another apartment complex. Police took three people...

Video at link.

Envia has figured out how “to improve energy density at the anode and cathode and store more lithium.” In short, he claims to have doubled energy density and halved the cost of lithium-ion batteries. And he says that his breakthrough isn’t theoretical—packs are already built on an automotive scale and are being tested by automakers around the world. It’s impossible to verify all that, and Kapadia won’t tell me which automakers he’s working with, though GM is presumably one of them. Specifically, Envia says it has reached an energy density of 400-watt-hours per kilogram in auto-grade lithium-ion cells, and achieved...

Traffic jam: 2012 presidential campaigns test drive car ads in search for votersBy Geneva Sands - 03/10/12 01:35 PM ET Mitt Romney’s presidential campaign has taken a cue from Detroit in trying to win over voters through the all-American love affair with the car. Romney has released at least ten campaign videos that feature cars, including three that show the former Massachusetts governor behind the wheel. He’s not alone, either. President Obama’s campaign showcased classic and modern cars in an ad last month that touted Obama’s support of the auto industry, one of the White House’s chief talking points for...

SAN ANTONIO -- Police arrested a driver they say pulled a gun and started shooting after he was involving in an accident on Interstate 37 Downtown. Police received a call about a rollover crash and someone firing a weapon on Interstate 37 near Commerce Street around 7:00 a.m. Wednesday. Witnesses said they saw a green car that was traveling south on Interstate 37 go across the median and roll down an embankment. According to an officer at the scene, another motorist saw the accident and stopped to try to help. The officer said the driver of the green car then...

On Feb. 18 around 7 p.m. a man was in his truck with his girlfriend when they saw a man trying to get into a Honda at the intersection of S. 152nd St. and 8th Ave S. in Burien. The man in the truck locked his doors and tried to drive around the suspect, but the suspect jumped into the back of his truck, started pounding on the roof and rear window while yelling, “Faster, faster!” When the victim turned around he saw the man had a gun pointed directly at him so he started speeding away and hitting the...

With the auto industry pining for a battery breakthrough to lower electric vehicle costs, Envia Systems has some interesting performance data to share. The five-year-old company today is expected to disclose technical details of its batteries which executives say could lead to cutting EV battery pack prices in half in three or four years. Envia Systems' batteries are being evaluated by a number of automakers, including its largest investor General Motors, according to CEO Atul Kapadia. Read more: http://news.cnet.com/8301-11386_3-57384864-76/startup-envia-battery-promises-to-slash-ev-costs/#ixzz1ncFoCgDL

Waffle and Tirzah are two cats that really know how to make a dramatic entrance into a crowded room. Heads turned. Jaws dropped. Conversations stopped, except for one woman who said, "Oh my God! Oh my God!" Waffle, a black-and-white tuxedo cat, arrived at the Steel City Kitties cat show behind the wheel of a purple child-sized battery-operated car. His sister Tirzah, a tortoiseshell-and-white cat, lounged regally atop a fluffy white cushion in a two-wheeled cart pulled by the little car.

Santorum-sponsored car unveiled at DaytonaBy Jamie Klatell - 02/25/12 01:48 PM ET Rick Santorum's presidential campaign is sponsoring the number 26 car for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway on Sunday. The cars driver, Tony Raines, is considered a heavy underdog in the race. "NASCAR and the Daytona 500 are about as American as you can get, and it's great to have my campaign represented by one of these incredible machines," Santorum said in a release. "The race weekend is a wonderful tradition that we're excited to be a part of as we spread our...

RICHMOND – Employees would be able to keep guns in the vehicles in the parking lots of local government buildings as long as they are locked up under a measure passed Monday by the Senate Courts of Justice Committee. The bill sponsored by Del. Brenda Pogge, R-James City County, was moved to the Senate floor on a 9-6 party line vote. The proposal passed the full House of Delegates earlier this month. Schools, jails, juvenile detention are exempted from the measure, which prohibits localities from barring employees keeping firearms in a locked container in their vehicles in publicly-owned parking lots....

February 18, 2012 (SUPERIOR, Wisc.) -- Superior police have shot and killed a male who they say raised his gun as officers tried to investigate him for an attempted car theft.

When Rick Melartin of Bellaire, Texas heard his neighbor calling for help Monday morning, he sprang into action. Melartin's neighbor had just been robbed at gunpoint as he was getting into his car. The robber got distracted and the victim grabbed his gun and screamed. Melartin called 911 and came outside with his pistol. The robber took off without his gun and headed for an 89-year-old neighbor's backyard. "She's a very, very dear friend of mine," Melartin said. "She's 89-years-old and I love her to death. I figured when he turned around and proceeded to go through to the gates...

What's the value of a car used by Barack Obama? Apparently not $1 million. An eBay auction for a gray 2005 Chrysler 300C leased by Obama before he became president closed late Wednesday with no bids meeting that minimum asking price, after which the listing agent hinted that $1 million might have been too much to expect.

MOBILE, Ala. (WALA) - The tables were turned on a suspected would-be robber early Monday morning. It was after 4 a.m. when Eddie Richardson pulled up in front of his house on Center Street. But before he could get out of his car, he said two armed men were at his window with guns drawn. "What they said when they walked to the car; they said, 'Give it up,'" Richardson said. The robbers surprised Mr. Richardson, but he had a surprise of his own for them. "I took my pistol out, and I shot his (expletive)," Richardson said. One of...

AUGUSTA — Lawmakers on Monday began reviewing a bill that would allow state employees to leave guns locked in their cars as long as they have a concealed weapons permit. The bill is designed to amend a hotly debated bill passed last year. That bill, LD 35, allowed private workers to keeps guns stowed in their vehicle. This proposal, LD 1603, sponsored by Rep. Dale Crafts, R-Lisbon Falls, would broaden the law to include state employees. The current proposal was introduced as an emergency bill. While it focuses on state employees, most of the testimony in front of the Legislature's...

Long before Al Gore "created" the Internet, gun owners were busy perfecting grassroots networking. Today, gun owners have an almost unlimited number of ways to spread information crucial to our community. And, while the Internet is certainly an indispensible tool for protecting our rights, an unfortunate side effect has been the fast and easy spread of rumors. The latest of these, appearing on Internet message boards and in emails, warns of a growing trend of gangsters marking the license plates or wheels of vehicles parked at shooting clubs, gun stores, ranges and gun shows. According to the rumor, the thieves...

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) - One person died and another was hurt in a shooting Tuesday evening on the city's near northwest side. Police say the shooting happened around 9:15 p.m. in the 1800 block of East Riverside Drive and left 26-year-old Kenneth Reed dead. When officers arrived they found Reed suffering from an apparent gunshot wound to his chest and another man suffering from a gunshot wound to his foot. Investigators believe Reed may have been attempting to either rob or carjack the alleged victim. Detectives say a fight broke out between the two and several shots were fired. Both Reed...

UPDATE: The would-be robber shot and killed on Saturday had rotated in and out of Rockdale County jail for nearly a decade on charges ranging from simple battery to posession and selling of drugs. Yuhanna Williams, 30, of Covington was booked into the jail at least eight times since August 2001 when he was 21-years-old. Some of the charges he faced were disorderly conduct, simple battery, probation violation, public indecency, DUI, and possession of marijuana and posession with the intent to distribute at a school. -------------------------------------- (Dec. 13, 2010, 11:56 a.m.) Investigators have released the name of the man shot...

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — A Grand Jury found on Tuesday that the accused murderer of Nikolas Carnute was acting in self-defense. The Wellington Avenue shooting of the 23-year-old Carnute on December 4, 2011 resulted in the arrest of Kurt Hudson, 25, of Pittsfield. Hudson fled to South Carolina, where he was apprehended a few days later. According to District Attorney David Capeless, after two days of testimony, the Grand Jury found that Carnute drew a gun on Hudson while Hudson sat in the driver's seat of a parked car. Hudson fired two shots out of the car window as he backed...

BLACKLICK, Ohio -- A man who was shot to death after breaking into a car sparked a grand jury hearing. On October 9, 2011, a Blacklick man confronted 28-year-old Sean Stiffler who was breaking into a neighbors car on Bollengen Road on the city's far east side. The case begs the question: when can you claim self defense? 911 caller: "He went into his pocket and drew a gun on me. I thought he had a gun and my life was in danger." A Franklin County grand jury looked at the facts from the shooting and decided Wednesday not to...

HAMMOND | An 18-year-old Dyer man shot twice at a man who posed as a police officer Thursday night in the 600 block of 177th Street, police said. The Dyer man pulled his car over about 8:30 p.m. when a man driving a dark Chevy Tahoe or GMC Yukon appeared to be making a traffic stop. The SUV with Indiana license plates had activated red and blue windshield and grille lights and strobe lights in its headlights, according to a police report. A Hispanic male, wearing a six-point star on a chain around his neck, blue cargo pants with a...

Kampala - Ugandan and US military officials are confident the end is nigh for the brutal Lord's Resistance Army (LRA), a group that has been avoiding head-on battles for over a quarter of a century while leaving carnage in its wake. The two countries have teamed up to tackle the LRA, a rebel movement that originated in Uganda during the country's civil war in the 1980s. After suffering defeats in Uganda in recent years, remaining LRA forces have moved into the poor and often dysfunctional Central African Republic (CAR), still carrying out attacks that often employ a scorched earth policy,...

Prosecutors on Friday withdrew charges of aggravated assault and reckless endangerment filed after a road rage incident that ended in gunfire in Ligonier Township. In October, Patrick James Pirl, 39, of Ligonier began tailgating Charles P. Gallo, 63, also of Ligonier, on Route 30, according to a police affidavit. Gallo told police that Pirl eventually followed him onto Route 381, where Pirl pulled in front of him, turned around and started heading directly at Gallo's vehicle. Gallo said he pulled out his Glock semi-automatic pistol and fired twice at Pirl, with one bullet grazing his shoulder, police said. The felony...

Montgomery Police say a homeowner in the Vaughn Meadows subdivision shot a suspected intruder after an attempted vehicle break-in. It happened at 3:45 Tuesday morning in the 3100 block of Corwin Drive. Police say the homeowner spotted an intruder trying to break into his vehicles parked in the driveway. They say he confronted the suspect with a gun, got into a fight with the suspect and in the scuffle, the suspect was shot in the leg and the homeowner injured his knee. Neighbors say they feel uneasy about the crime. "You feel like your privacy has been invaded and you...

AUGUSTA -- Guns, and whether they can be stored in your vehicle at work, will once again be debated by lawmakers in the upcoming session. Rep. Dale Crafts, R-Lisbon, is seeking to modify a controversial bill signed into law in June that allows those with a concealed firearm permit to store a gun in their vehicle at work, as long as the vehicle is locked and the firearm is not visible. Crafts has submitted new legislation, L.D. 1603, to extend the same right to state workers as those who work in the private sector. The bill drew intense debate in...

Drug Enforcement Administration agents have raided an Oklahoma car dealership that the government suspects may be one of about 30 such businesses in the U.S. involved in funding the terrorist group Hezbollah. DEA agents say the car lot of Ace Auto Leasing in Tulsa is part of a huge network that is selling cars and drugs -- and then using the money to support terrorism against the U.S., myfoxphoenix.com reports. During Friday's raid, agents could be seen carryout out filing cabinets and other items. They also questioned employees and took inventory. "They're making big time money and it's going right...

Man in Elmer Fudd hat "borrows" officer's carStory Updated: Dec 13, 2011 at 11:00 AM MST MISSOULA, Mont. (AP) — A Missoula police officer who stopped at a downtown bar to interview a witness to a fight came back outside to find he was without transportation. Sgt. Bob Bouchee says witnesses reported a man wearing pajama bottoms and an Elmer Fudd-type hat with fur drove off in the car late Friday. The Dodge Charger was found, undamaged, near the Elks Lodge about four blocks away.

NEWARK — An out-of-control SUV was launched several feet into the air last night and plunged into the second floor of a Newark home, leaving structural damage but no injuries, officials said.

Volt Named 2011’s Collectible Car of Future Years from now General Motors Co.’s Chevrolet Volt extended-range hybrid sedan will be the most desirable North American-made model from the 2011 model year, according to the Friends of the National Automotive History Collection in Detroit. The group names a future collectible each year. Past winners, which have all been domestic brand cars, include the Chevy Camaro (2010), Ford Flex (2009), Dodge Challenger (2008), Dodge Viper SRT10 (2007), Pontiac Solstice (2006), Ford Mustang (2005) and Chrysler 300 (2004). The honor was first bestowed on the Buick Riviera and Oldsmobile Aurora in 1995. The...

I have often heard the antis bleating that “we register cars, why not guns”, and it might surprise people to know that I’m perfectly willing to go the “license and register guns just like cars” route. Under this plan, gun safety and handling courses will be available to all students 15 and over in the public schools, and kids will be encouraged to take Carriers’ Ed. Also, when they turn 15 they will be eligible for their learner’s carry permit which will allow them to carry concealed as long as they are under the supervision of a licensed adult. Parents...

When GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney came to Michigan and said he was opposed to the auto bailout, the Associated Press reported: “GM and Chrysler are again making money and adding thousands of jobs in Michigan, which continues to struggle with an 11.1 percent unemployment rate, the nation's third highest.” But have GM and Chrysler really added thousands of jobs in Michigan? That could be a stretch, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. From September 2010 through September 2011, Michigan added a net 65,300 jobs, according to the most recent BLS figures. “That’s a very positive sign about...

Since FR has alot of smart and knowledgable people, I thought I pose this question in hopes of getting a few answers. I have a 1996 Chevy S10 4X4 (automatic tran) with the Vortec 4.3L engine. Yesterday I went away on an all day trip that's 1.5hrs each way and the only thing I noticed a couple while cruising the highway was it felt like the truck jerked a couple times but I wasn't really sure. Well, I got home last night, parked my truck, and went inside for the night. Well, woke up this morning to go grab a...