MILESFORTIS – Page 161

Residents shoot back at home intruders during robbery attempt in Seattle

SEATTLE — Seattle police say the victims of a home-invasion robbery turned the table on the suspects during an exchange of gunfire Monday morning.

According to police, the robbery happened around 3:30 a.m. near 5500 23rd Ave South in the Beacon Hill neighborhood.

“The suspects were met by the residents who were armed and exchanged gunfire. The suspects were gone by time officers arrived and were not located,” Seattle police wrote in a watch log.

Approximately 15 minutes after the home invasion robbery was reported, a person with multiple gunshot wounds was dropped off at Swedish First Hill hospital. The victim was taken to Harborview Medical Center in stable condition and did not provide information to police about how they were shot.

Seattle police told KOMO News on Tuesday that it has not been determined if the person who was shot was connected to the home-invasion robbery.

Alan Arkin, Oscar-Winning Little Miss Sunshine Actor, Dead at 89.

Alan Arkin, the Academy Award and Tony Award-winning actor, has died at 89.

His death was confirmed to PEOPLE exclusively by his sons Adam, Matthew and Anthony, who jointly offered a statement on the family’s behalf: “Our father was a uniquely talented force of nature, both as an artist and a man. A loving husband, father, grand and great grandfather, he was adored and will be deeply missed.”

I don’t agree that President Trump’s use of DoD funds to build a wall was wrong. The Constitution makes clear in Article 4 § 4 the requirement to protect the states from invasion, and if hoards of illegal aliens coming into the country doesn’t qualify, I don’t know what would.

On CNN of all places…………

Why the Supreme Court got it right on student loans

Ilya Somin is a professor of law at George Mason University, the Simon Chair in Constitutional Studies at the Cato Institute and the author of “Free to Move: Foot Voting, Migration and Political Freedom.”

In a lawsuit brought by six state governments, the Supreme Court on Friday ruled that President Joe Biden’s massive $430 billion student loan forgiveness plan is illegal because it was never authorized by Congress, and the Constitution gives Congress – not the president – the power to determine how federal funds are spent. The court made the right decision: If the administration had won, Biden and future presidents would have been empowered to use vague statutes to usurp Congress’ constitutional control over the federal budget. Moreover, because of the context for this case, it also would have allowed the president to abuse emergency powers for partisan ends.

The administration’s loan forgiveness plan, announced in August 2022, would have canceled up to $20,000 for those with Pell Grants (federal grants for low-income students) or up to $10,000 in other federal student-loan debt for single borrowers with incomes under $125,000 per year and under $250,000 for married couples or heads of households. The legal rationale for the plan is based on a provision of the 2003 HEROES Act, a law that was enacted in large part to help people affected by the War on Terror, particularly members of the armed forces who might have trouble repaying loans while deployed abroad.

But the Biden administration was relying on a provision of the act that gives the secretary of education authority to “waive or modify” federal student loan requirements in order to ensure that recipients of financial assistance who have been affected by a national emergency “are not placed in a worse position financially in relation to that financial assistance” because they were affected by the emergency. The administration claimed beneficiaries of the loan-forgiveness plan qualified because they have been negatively affected financially as a result of the Covid-19 national emergency declared by then-President Donald Trump in March 2020.

The Supreme Court on Friday rightly ruled that the HEROES Act’s language comes nowhere near authorizing such a massive loan forgiveness plan. As Chief Justice John Roberts explained in the majority opinion, “The authority to ‘modify’ statutes and regulations allows the Secretary to make modest adjustments and additions to existing provisions, not transform them.” The word “waive” also doesn’t give the government the power to forgive loans on a massive scale, because, as Roberts noted, the government conceded that the term “waiver” as used in the HEROES Act cannot refer to waiving loan repayments.

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Fifth Circuit panel appears skeptical of ATF pistol brace rule

This has been one of the busiest weeks in recent memory in terms of court hearings on Second Amendment issues. Not only did we have the Seventh Circuit’s oral arguments on a possible injunction against Illinois’ ban on so-called assault weapons and “large capacity” magazines and the Ninth Circuit’s hearing on California’s AB 2571, but another Ninth Circuit panel heard oral arguments in a challenge to the state’s ban on open carry on Thursday, and a three-judge panel on the Fifth Circuit also heard from both sides in a Thursday hearing to determine whether a temporary injunction halting enforcement of the ATF’s new rule on pistol braces should be left in place and possibly expanded to cover more than just the named plaintiffs in the case.

Advocates for the rule point to deadly mass shootings while arguing that the braces make concealable handguns more deadly. Opponents of the rule say the devices make handguns safer to use by making them more stable, comfortable to fire and accurate — an argument noted in questions from appellate panel judges Don Willett and Stephen Higginson at Thursday’s hearing.

“All that to me seems synonymous with safer. Do you disagree with that?” Willett asked administration attorney Sean Janda.

Janda argued that regulating the braces is consistent with longstanding federal law outlawing sawed-off shotguns or other short-barreled non-handgun-type firearms.

“That particular combination, Congress has determined, is dangerous,” Janda said.

Well no, Congress has made no such determination about pistol braces. That’s one of the main arguments of the lawsuit; that the ATF has abrogated authority left to Congress in imposing the new rule, which not only reverses more than a decade of previous guidance from the agency but in essence establishes a brand new gun control law created by an executive branch agency, not the legislative branch.

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SCOTUS accepts case dealing with gun ban for those subject to domestic violence restraining order

In its last conference before heading out for summer recess, the Supreme Court granted cert to U.S. v. Rahimi on Friday; setting up a fight over the scope of the Court’s history, text, and tradition test spelled out in last year’s Bruen decision.

As we’ve written about here previously, the case involves the federal prosecution of Zachey Rahimi, who’s accused of illegally possessing a firearm in violation of a domestic violence restraining order. Rahimi (or rather, his public defenders) challenged those charges after the Supreme Court issued its decision in Bruen last year, arguing that the modern day prohibition on firearms possession for those subject to the civil restraining order falls outside the historical scope of gun control laws and earlier this year the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals agreed with that proposition. Continue reading “”

Looking Forward to the U.S. Supreme Court Standing Behind Its Bruen Ruling

“A year ago today, the Supreme Court ruled to strip away the rights of a governor to protect her people from concealed carry weapons. We refused to go backwards,” tweeted New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) on June 23.

This tweet—and other statements from Gov. Hochul—is an admission she is obstructing a U.S. Supreme Court ruling.

In New York State Rifle & Pistol Association, Inc. v. Bruen, an NRA-backed case, the U.S. Supreme Court affirmed that the Second Amendment protects the right of law-abiding citizens to carry a firearm for personal protection when it struck the “proper cause” requirement in New York’s Sullivan Law.

In doing so, the Supreme Court clearly declared that the government cannot trample on our Second Amendment rights through “abusive” permitting schemes.

Nevertheless, people barely had time to read the Bruen decision before Gov. Hochul and the New York state legislature blatantly stepped all over the ruling with the inappropriately named Concealed Carry Improvement Act.

Although the Concealed Carry Improvement Act doesn’t require citizens demonstrate they have a proper cause to carry firearms, it banned carry almost everywhere with unconstitutional “sensitive-place” restrictions. Also, citizens applying to the state for their constitutional right to bear arms must first take a 16-hour training class, including a two-hour live-fire session. Then they must have an in-person interview with a licensing officer where they must disclose several types of personal information, including all of their social-media accounts. The officer then reviews that information to determine if the applicant has “good moral character,” which is even more subjective than the unconstitutional “proper cause” standard. The licensing officer then has up to six months—unless they want more time, which they will be granted indefinitely—to pore through the applicant’s information to determine if that individual is “eligible” for a license.

When Gov. Hochul was asked where people could carry under the gun-control law, she said “probably some streets.”

As a result, the NRA sued.

The state’s Concealed Carry Improvement Act “replaces one unconstitutional, discretionary law with another unconstitutional, discretionary law,” the NRA lawsuit says. “The [law] contains a slew of burdensome and discriminatory requirements for obtaining a Handgun Carry License—violating the First, Second, Fourth, and Fourteenth Amendments—and an additional slew of restrictions on where and how Handgun Carry License holders may exercise their right to carry arms outside the home.”

Gov. Hochul’s tweet also admits something else. By saying that, in Bruen, the “Supreme Court ruled to strip away the rights of a governor to protect her people from concealed carry weapons,” Gov. Hochul is blaming guns for crimes. She can’t really believe that guns are acting on their own to commit crimes. She likely knows that people (in this case, criminals) commit crimes. So her job is then to protect law-abiding people from violent criminals, not to disarm good citizens who merely want to protect themselves. Given that simple logic, she should next realize that a lot of criminal law (state and federal) gives law enforcement and prosecutors a lot of tools to arrest and put away felons and other prohibited persons who are carrying firearms. It then seems logical that she should focus state resources on the actual problem.

After all, it seems fair to assume that Gov. Hochul is capable of understanding the basic idea that criminals commit crimes and therefore, to prevent more crimes, the state needs to find and prosecute criminals.

The fact that Gov. Hochul has decided to disingenuously virtue signal about crime—by literally blaming good citizens for the actions of criminals—should be clearly said in New York state’s newspapers and on its local news broadcasts. But it isn’t. Too many in the media are also playing this “blame-freedom, not criminals” political game. And this is a shame, as good policy can only come from open and honest debate.

For this reason, the NRA’s court challenge to this unconstitutional law is doubly important.

Illinois assault weapons ban goes to 7th Circuit Court of Appeals

CHICAGO (WLS) — Gun control was on the docket in a federal courtroom in Chicago Thursday.

Illinois assault weapons ban went before the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals. The popularity of the weapons the law proposes to ban could play a crucial role in the decision.

Assault-style rifles like the popular AR-15 remain hanging on gun store walls while the fate of the state ban hangs in the balance.

Thursday a three-member panel hear arguments from attorneys involved in six consolidated lawsuits challenging the ban. Deputy Solicitor General Sarah Hunger argued for the state and said of the AR-15, “These are not in common use for self-defense.” They are instead, she said, “offensive and militaristic.”

Supporters of the state’s assault weapons ban, including a survivor of the Highland Park parade shooting, rallied outside the courthouse.

“Gun violence and mass shootings affect entire communities,” said Ashbey Beasley, Highland Park shooting survivor.

Erin murphy, representing many gun groups, argued, “Our history and tradition is one of protecting weapons that are in common use today.”

Americans own an estimated 24 million AR-15s.

In response, Judge Diane Wood noted, “It’s unusual to have a popularity contest determine what is constitutional.”

“It ought not to be just a popularity contest in time, right,” said Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul.

But plaintiffs, including the owner of Naperville’s Law Weapons and Supply store, said the ban was about penalizing many law abiding gun owners for the heinous crimes of a few, and this fight is far from over.

“It’s illegal, and it’s hurting us, you know, and I’m tired and we’re gonna fight ’til the end,” said Robert Bevis, owner of Law Weapons and Supply. “Right now, we believe, we’re confident we’re gonna win here at the appellate court, and if we don’t we’re gonna take it to the Supreme Court.”

What is unclear at this point is how soon the Court of Appeals will issue a ruling. Judge Easterbook said this is an extremely difficult problem and the court was going to take it under advisement.

COURT’S IN SESSION
WE’RE LEARNING THERE IS JUSTICE FOR THE 2A

Attorneys specializing in Second Amendment cases are a busy bunch these days, sometimes filing lawsuits challenging new gun laws even before the ink is dry.

For those who have been waiting for the right to keep and bear arms to get a fair shake, it appears that time is finally arriving. As this column was being written, various gun rights organizations were in court all over the place, including Illinois, New Jersey, Maryland, New York, Texas and California. The bulk of these cases are in federal court since they all have Second Amendment components.

For example, the Second Amendment Foundation, which has become something of a spear point over the past few years, now has more than 50 active cases, with more on the way.

While anti-gun lawmakers have been scrambling to push through as many restrictive gun laws as possible this year, SAF, the National Rifle Association, National Shooting Sports Foundation, Firearms Policy Coalition and Gun Owners of America have been moving just as fast to block implementation of those laws in the courts.

Oregon is a prime example, where four federal lawsuits were filed following last November’s passage of a very restrictive gun control initiative — Measure 114 — by a razor thin margin.

In neighboring California, there are several legal actions in progress, including one filed recently by SAF, the Firearms Policy Coalition, North County Shooting Center, San Diego County Gun Owners PAC, California Gun Rights Foundation, PWGG LLP, and private citizens John Phillips, Alisha Curtin, Dakota Adelphia, Michael Schwartz, Darin Prince and Claire Richards.

This legal action is known as Richards v. Bonta, and it strikes right at the heart of the textbook example of arbitrary gun control, California’s 10-day waiting period on firearm purchases.

What’s With The Number 10?
I’ll guess with you on this one: Why is 10 the right number for anything? It’s typically the maximum number of cartridges the gun control crowd thinks belong in a pistol or rifle magazine. It’s also the number of days they think people should wait in order to exercise a constitutionally-protected, fundamental right.

SAF Executive Director Adam Kraut had an interesting observation about this. In a prepared statement, he offered, “Where this really gets silly is when the waiting period restriction even applies to a gun buyer who already owns other firearms. Not to mention, those who are looking to acquire a firearm for protection immediately do not have the luxury of waiting ten days. Long story short, the state’s ten-day waiting period must be declared unconstitutional and enjoined, which is the purpose of our lawsuit. We’re asking the court for injunctive and declaratory relief.”

Nobody can explain why the number 10 is popular with gun control
zealots who want to limit magazine capacity to 10 cartridges. Dave’s
Ruger MKIV magazines hold that number, but he didn’t have to wait
10 days to take it home from the retailer!

A practicing attorney, Kraut’s got a point. Someone who already owns firearms doesn’t need a new one to cause trouble if that’s his or her intent. And looking back at history, one sees plenty of examples where waiting 10 days didn’t prevent anything. Elliot Rodger, for example, spent months preparing for his rampage in Isla Vista. He bought three different handguns, enduring three separate California waiting periods, and when he finally did erupt in May 2014, he used only California compliant 10-round magazines.

Washington Gov. Jay Inslee signed legislation some weeks ago also establishing a 10-day waiting period. Nobody knows why “10” is the magic number.

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Rare Win: ATF Fails to Revoke NJ Gun Dealer’s Federal License

By Lee Williams

SAF Investigative Journalism Project

Special to Liberty Park Press

Ira Levin could not be happier. He can continue to operate his gun shop, Legend Firearms, which is located in Monroe, New Jersey.

Levin has owned and operated the small gun shop since 2009, which is no small feat given the Garden State’s blatant antipathy toward guns and gun dealers.

Levin has sold more than 21,000 firearms and has been inspected dozens of times by both New Jersey State Police and ATF. They have never found a deficiency, at least not until Joe Biden declared war on gun dealers.

During an inspection in October 2022, an ATF Industry Operations Investigator, or IOI, found several deficiencies. A few customers wrote “USA” on the 4473 because they mistakenly thought the form asked for their country rather than their county. Levin’s staff did not catch the errors.

In addition, one of Levin’s part-time employees transferred firearms to three customers more than 30 days after they had signed the 4473. The ATF inspector said Levin’s employee should have had the customers fill out new 4473s before they took possession of the guns, because the form expires after 30 days. To be clear, all the customers passed background checks. None were prohibited persons.

Levin believed ATF would issue a warning or maybe a small fine for the clerical errors, until he received a letter stating that the ATF intended to revoke his federal firearm license. The revocation letter was signed by John Curtis, an industry operations director at ATF’s New York City Field Office.

Levin immediately tried to contest the revocation during a preliminary video call with Curtis and other ATF officials, which he hoped could save his license. They told him he could appeal their decision at an administrative hearing. Levin asked who would preside over the hearing and was told it would be Curtis.

“Curtis signed the revocation letter and now he is going to run the hearing. How is that right?” Levin told the Second Amendment Foundation’s Investigative Journalism Project last year. “Shouldn’t the person making the decision be objective?”

Levin was adamant that his revocation was part of a national trend orchestrated by the White House. Joe Biden first announced his zero-tolerance policy in June 2021. Part of his scheme included five criteria, which he claimed defined a rogue dealer: transferring a firearm to a prohibited person, failing to run a required background check, falsifying records, failing to respond to an ATF tracing request or refusing to allow ATF to conduct an inspection.

Levin violated none of these rules. However, the ATF is routinely revoking licenses for even the most minor of errors — errors not on Biden’s five-point list.

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Good intentions will always be pleaded for every assumption of authority.
There are men in all ages who mean to govern well, but they mean to govern. They promise to be good masters, but they mean to be masters.
-Daniel Webster.

June 30

1688 – The ‘Immortal Seven’ issue the Invitation to William, Prince of Orange, which would culminate in the British Glorious Revolution. The letter informed William that if he were to land in England with a small army, the signatories, 6 Earls, the Bishop of London, and their allies would rise up and support him. The next year, The English Bill of Rights would become law, which was part of the basis from where our current Bill Of Rights came from, a hundred years later.

1794 – During the Northwest Indian War – the ‘northwest’ then being the Ohio region – a greatly superior force of the indian tribes of the Western Confederacy under Shawnee War Chief Blue Jacket attack Fort Recovery, in modern Ohio, inflicting heavy casualties but still failing to take the fort and retreat after 2 days fighting.

1805 – The earlier act of Congress, dividing part of the Indiana Territory and establishing the Michigan Territory, takes effect

1859 – French acrobat Charles Blondin crosses Niagara Falls on a tightrope.

1864 – President Lincoln grants Yosemite Valley to California for “public use, resort and recreation”. Apparently a guy named Sam got all riled up about it.

1882 – Charles Guiteau is executed by hanging in Washington, D.C. for the assassination of President Garfield, nearly a year after shooting him.

1905 – Albert Einstein sends the article On the Electrodynamics of Moving Bodies, in which he introduces special relativity, for publication in the Annalen der Physik.

1908 – The Tunguska Event, the largest impact event on Earth in human recorded history by a celestial object, results in a massive explosion over Eastern Siberia.

1921 – President Harding appoints former President Taft as Chief Justice of the United States.

1922 – In Washington D.C., U.S. Secretary of State Charles Evans Hughes and Dominican Ambassador Francisco J. Peynado sign the Hughes–Peynado agreement, which ends U.S. occupation of the Dominican Republic.

1934 – The Night of the Long Knives, Adolf Hitler’s violent purge of his political rivals in Germany, takes place.

1936 – Emperor Haile Selassie of Abyssinia appeals for aid to the League of Nations against Italy’s invasion of his country.

1937 – The world’s first emergency telephone number, 999, is introduced in London.

1944 – The Battle of Cherbourg ends with the fall of the peninsula and its port to American forces.

1956 – Trans World Airlines Flight 2, a Lockheed L-1049 Super Constellation, and United Airlines Flight 718, a Douglas DC-7, collide above the Grand Canyon in Arizona and crash, killing all 128 passengers and crew on board both airliners.

1971 – Ad Astra Per Aspera – The crew of Soyuz 11, Georgy Dobrovolsky, Vladislav Volkov, and Viktor Patsayev are killed in orbit when their air supply escapes through a faulty valve during reentry preparations.

1985 – 39 American hostages from the hijacked TWA Flight 847 are freed in Beirut after being held for 17 days.

1986 – In the case of Bowers v. Hardwick, the Supreme Court rules that states can outlaw homosexual acts between consenting adults.

1990 – Der Deutschen Einheit – East Germany and West Germany merge after 45 years of being politically separated at the end of World War II.

2013 – 19 of the 20 members of the Granite Mountain Hotshots team of the Prescott Arizona Fire Department are killed while attempting to control a wildfire near Yarnell, Arizona.

2019 – President Trump becomes the first sitting US President to visit North Korea

2021 – The ‘Tiger Fire’ caused by a dry lightning strike in the Prescott National Forest, ignites near Black Canyon City, Arizona, and goes on to burn 16,278 acres of land before being fully contained on July 30.

Castle Rock v Gonzalez DeShaney v Winnebago
Supreme Court cases holding that there is no ‘duty to protect’.

Parkland shooting verdict: School security officer Scot Peterson acquitted over failure to confront gunman
Scot Peterson had been charged with neglect of a child and culpable negligence in the attack at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, which killed 17.

A Florida jury on Thursday cleared a former school security officer who was charged over his failure to confront a gunman who massacred 17 people at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in 2018, in an emotional trial that left bitter feelings on both sides.

Scot Peterson, who was a Broward County sheriff’s deputy and worked as a resource officer at the school in Parkland, was charged in 2019 with seven counts of neglect of a child, three counts of culpable negligence and one count of perjury.

He was found not guilty on all counts. As the first acquittals were announced, an emotional Peterson put his head down on the defense table and openly wept.

The charges carried a maximum potential sentence of 96½ years in state prison, the Broward County State Attorney’s Office said.

Seventeen students, teachers and staff members were killed Feb. 14, 2018, and 17 more were injured.

Peterson, 60, was the only other person at the school with a gun when the shooter opened fire. He was forced to retire after the shooting.

“We got our life back after 4 ½ years … and being able to put the truth out of what happened,” Peterson told reporters outside court. “It’s been an emotional roller coaster for so long.”

In a lengthy post-verdict statement, Broward County State Attorney Harold Pryor was unapologetic about his office’s decision to prosecute Peterson even though no convictions were won.

“For the first time in our nation’s history, prosecutors in this case have tried to hold an armed school resource officer responsible for not doing his job. We did so because we think it’s important not only to our community, but to the country as a whole,” Pryor said.

He addressed anyone who has “tried to make this political.”

“It is not political to expect someone to do their job,” Pryor said in the statement. “Especially when it’s the vital job of being a school resource officer — an armed law enforcement officer with special duties and responsibilities to the children and staff members they are contracted to protect.”

Peterson was arrested in Broward County after a 15-month investigation found he “refused to investigate the source of the gunshots, retreated during the active shooting while victims were being shot and directed other law enforcement who arrived on scene to remain 500 feet away from the building,” according to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.

Pryor thanked jurors for their service but did not stop hammering Peterson.

“Scot Peterson’s inaction and the misinformation he provided to law enforcement officers had a dire impact on the children and adults who died or were injured on the third floor of the 1200 Building,” Pryor said in his statement. “He stood by, leaving an unrestricted killer to spend 4 minutes and 15 seconds wandering the halls at leisure — firing close to 70 rounds and killing or injuring ten of the 34 children and educators who bore the brunt of the massacre.”

Outside court Thursday, Peterson maintained only one person was to be blamed for the deaths of 17 people more than five years ago.

“Don’t anybody ever forget this was a massacre on Feb. 14,” he said. The “only to person to blame was that monster.”

Peterson grouped himself with the other police officers and sheriff’s deputies who flooded the scene shortly after shots were fired and said law enforcement offers were not at fault.

“We did the best we could with the information we had,” he said. “And God knows we wish we had more.”

A former student pleaded guilty to 17 counts of murder and 17 counts of attempted murder. Last year, a jury spared him the death penalty, recommending that he be sentenced to life in prison without parole.

In an interview with NBC’s “TODAY” show about three months after the shooting, Peterson, a 33-year law enforcement veteran, apologized to the families of the 17 victims.

“I’m sorry,” he said through tears.

He said at the time it wasn’t fear that kept him from rushing into the school as the gunman stalked the halls with an AR-15. He cited chaos, miscommunication and his assumption that the shots were being fired outside by a sniper.

“I didn’t get it right,” Peterson said. “But it wasn’t because of some, ‘Oh, I don’t want to go into that building. Oh, I don’t want to face somebody in there.’ It wasn’t like that at all.”

Peterson’s lawyer hailed the verdicts as a win for law enforcement.

“We are extremely pleased with the outcome today. But understand something: This is not just a victory for Scot. It’s a victory for every law enforcement officer in this country who does the best they can every single day,” Mark Eiglarsh said. “How dare prosecutors try to second-guess the actions of honorable, decent police officers.”

Even with across-the-board acquittals, Tony Montalto, the father of victim Gina Montalto, refused to believe Peterson was not criminally at fault.

“His inaction contributed to the pain of our entire community, and we don’t understand how this jury looked at the evidence that was presented and found him hot guilty,” he told reporters outside court.

~~Slugs~~ Slices for Thugs.
And make sure your primary defensive gun actually works

Burglary Suspect Stabbed with Sword After Attacking Homeowner with Pitchfork

On Sunday, a male suspect was stabbed by a samurai sword when he burglarized a residence in the North Beacon Hill neighborhood.

Police responded to a residential burglary in the 2100 block of Beacon Avenue South around 1:30 p.m. Officers located and detained two men one with a sword with visible minor injuries and another with a stab wound to his torso.

During the investigation, officers discovered a man had entered the victims’ residence while they were gone. The 71-year-old male victim noticed items were misplaced and a kitchen window had been shattered once he re-entered his home.

As he walked further into his home, he found a man standing in his living room. A struggle quickly ensued between the two men. At one point, the suspect held the victim to the floor as he attempted to stab him with a pitchfork. The victim was able to escape and retreat to his bedroom where he retrieved a firearm. The suspect followed him and wrestled with him as he tried to take the gun.

The victim attempted to shoot the suspect, but the firearm jammed. When the firearm malfunctioned, the victim picked up his samurai sword and stabbed the suspect. The 61-year-old female victim witnessed the physical altercation in the bedroom and tried to pull the suspect off the male victim. After the stabbing, the suspect ran outside to a nearby residence where he was later detained by officers.

Police provided medical care until Seattle Fire arrived and took over medical treatment to those injured. The male victim sustained non-life-threatening injuries to his face and torso from the altercation. The 61-year-old male suspect was transported to Harborview Medical Center for further medical attention for his non-life-threatening stab wound.

The suspect was arrested for burglary and will be booked into King County Jail after being medically cleared.

The end of Islam in Córdoba

Thanks to the efforts of King Ferdinand III of Castile — aka, Saint Ferdinand — today in history, on June 29, 1236, Córdoba, which after the eighth century Muslim conquest of Spain, had become one of the most important “abodes of Islam,” to quote a disgruntled Muslim chronicler, “passed into the hands of the accursed Christians — may Allah destroy them all!”

Six months earlier, in December of 1235, a daring band of Christians, led by a few knights, stormed and took a portion of Córdoba’s eastern quarter. Word reached King Ferdinand in January of 1236, even as he was in mourning over the recent death of his thirty-year-old wife from childbirth complications.

Through their envoy, the Spaniards “implored him to help them because they were placed in most grave peril.” Against the Muslim “multitude of Córdoba, they were very few” and “separated from the Moors only by a certain wall running almost through the middle of the city.” Though at a standstill, time, the envoy made clear, was not on the Christians’ side.

The king, who for years had been spearheading the Reconquista — the Christian attempt to liberate Spain from Islam — was heavily moved by such a heroic feat; and “the grief for the loss” of his wife “did not long suspend his warlike preparations.” On the same evening that the envoy arrived, Ferdinand’s advisors strongly warned him against setting out immediately, during winter; they cited impassable roads due to snow, rain and floods, and possible ambushes from the “innumerable multitude of people in Córdoba” — to say nothing of Ibn Hud, the de facto king of al-Andalus, who was even then headed to relieve the Muslim city.

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E-Q-U-A-L Justice under Law.

BREAKING: Supreme Court Rejects Race-Based College Admissions

In a major 6-3 decision, the United States Supreme Court has struck down race-based admissions at two universities, declaring it a violation of the equal protection clause.

The conservative justices, led by Chief Justice John Roberts, made up the majority. Justice Sonya Sotomayor wrote the dissent in the Harvard case and was joined by Justices Elena Kagan and Ketanji Brown Jackson. Jackson wrote the dissent in the University of North Carolina case, joined by Sotomayor and Kagan.

In the majority opinion, Roberts writes that the court has “permitted race-based admissions only within the confines of narrow restrictions. University programs must comply with strict scrutiny, they may never use race as a stereotype or negative, and — at some point — they must end.”

He also wrote that “however well-intentioned and implemented in good faith,” the admissions programs at Harvard and UNC “fail each of these criteria.”

SCOTUS holds that race-based college admissions policy violates equal protection.

6-3, by CJ Roberts. https://t.co/qzRnWx8ndK pic.twitter.com/dfXsJqVnIw

— Gabriel Malor (@gabrielmalor) June 29, 2023