Supreme Court limits dual charges in overlapping gun statutes

WASHINGTON (TNND) — The U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday clarified how federal gun statutes apply when a single act potentially violates two overlapping provisions, holding that prosecutors may not secure separate convictions under both statutes when one act triggers identical criminal elements.

The decision in Barrett v. United States (No. 24-5774) reversed part of a lower court’s judgment and sharply restricts the government’s ability to secure cumulative punishments for a single criminal act involving guns.

Background of the Case

The case stems from the prosecution of Dwayne Barrett, who was convicted in federal district court of robbery and related gun offenses.

According to court documents, Barrett committed a series of robberies between August 2011 and January 2012. During one, Barrett’s confederate shot and killed Gamar Dafalla.

The Department of Justice (DOJ) previously said Barrett, as well as a co-defendant, were convicted in March 2013 of murder, robberies, and gun charges after a two-week jury

During the commission of the underlying crime, Barrett carried and used a gun, conduct that prosecutors charged under two separate provisions of federal law, including one that makes it a crime to use or carry a gun during and in relation to a crime of violence or drug trafficking, as well as other that escalates the penalty where a person causes death while committing an offense, potentially exposing a defendant to life imprisonment or even the death penalty.

At trial and on appeal, the government argued that Barrett could be convicted under both statutes for the same act, essentially treating the gun use that caused Dafalla’s death as a basis for two separate convictions.

 

Fort Worth homeowner fatally shot man trying to enter locked garage, police say

A man who lives at an east Fort Worth house confronted a burglar early Monday and shot the intruder to death in response to an aggressive approach, police said.

The shooter heard and saw the burglar, Fabian Abernathy, trying to enter a locked garage on the shooter’s property in the 3400 block of Avenue L, according to Fort Worth police. The homeowner encountered Abernathy about 6 a.m. and told him to leave.

The homeowner fired multiple rounds at Abernathy, shooting him at least once in the torso, police said. Abernathy, who was 47, walked or ran from the house, collapsed and died on the sidewalk at the intersection of Avenue L and Bishop Street.

The shooter called 911 to report the encounter and summon medical personnel. He remained at the house and is cooperating with an investigation, police said. Police have not arrested the shooter.

SightBringer

When global maritime flows evacuate without formal blockade, it confirms operators now price in kinetic action as near-term probable.
This is where capital, cargo, and risk converge to front-run escalation. It is not theory. It is energy in motion.

Five core implications lock:

1. Imminent precision strike window is real
No one abandons Hormuz lightly. This is the world’s most sensitive oil chokepoint. For this many ships to reposition confirms intelligence loops are flashing red. Strategic planners are now assuming the next 48–72 hours are live.

2. Insurance and compliance engines have flipped
Behind the scenes, maritime insurers, underwriters, and compliance desks are triggering “elevated threat protocols.” That only happens when confirmed threat matrices pass the tripwire. This is sovereign-level coordination, not Twitter drama.

3. Liquidity evaporation effect begins now
This freezes energy flow reflexivity. As risk heightens and flows thin, oil spikes, safe havens pump, leverage unwinds, and Bitcoin rises as censorship-exempt capital refuge. The entire global system starts rerouting around the Iranian footprint.

4. This is not a one-off evacuation
This matches the embassy exits, the regime capital flight, the BTC bid, the media dissonance, the STRATCOM drills, and the political chaos signals. Every layer of the system is now behaving as if a sovereign collision is no longer avoidable.

5. The West just blinked and moved out of the way
This withdrawal creates a vacuum. No Western commercial presence. No diplomatic bodies. No major press corps embedded. That means one thing: space has been cleared for direct, asymmetric, or proxy strike action without global human shield friction.

This is the last step before something burns. The ships leaving are physical confirmation that the global nervous system has already made its move. Everyone close to the blast radius has already fled.

That is never random.

Rep. Eric Burlison: ‘Real Freedom Means Less Government Interference,’ End the ATF

Rep. Eric Burlison (R) is beginning 2026 right where he spent 2025, namely, pushing for the end of the ATF’s registration schemes and for the abolition of the agency itself.

He used a post on January 11, 2026, to remind Americans that the $200 tax on suppressors was done away via the language of the One Big Beautiful Bill, yet the ATF continues registering the devices. In so doing, the agency creates “busywork” that slows the transfer of a suppressor, “holding gun owners hostage with delays and excuses.”

Burlison pointed out that the zeroing of the $200 federal has resulted in a “surge” in suppressor purchases, which has translated into a backlog at the ATF as the agency finds itself overwhelmed with the registration workload: “…the ATF wasn’t ready for the surge in registrations and crashed their system. Unacceptable! Now they’re still demanding paperwork for no reason. Time to end this pointless registry entirely…”

He wrote, “I sent a letter demanding fixes, but the real solution is abolishing the ATF altogether. We don’t need unelected bureaucrats infringing on our rights. Congress must act to dismantle this relic and restore liberty!”

No more Dilberts

Pro-Trump pundit and ‘Dilbert’ creator Scott Adams dead at 68

Cartoonist, author, and political commentator Scott Adams died Tuesday after a battle with prostate cancer. He was 68.

His ex-wife and caregiver, Shelly, made the announcement on Adams’ livestream Tuesday morning.

“Unfortunately, this isn’t good news,” Shelly said. “Of course, he waited ’til just before the show started, but he’s not with us anymore.”

Shelly read aloud a “final message” that Adams “wanted to say” on the livestream.

“If you’re reading this, things did not go well for me,” the message began. “I have a few things to say before I go. My body fell before my brain. I am of sound mind as i write this January 1, 2026.”