Hunter Biden’s gun case terminated following presidential pardon
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(WILMINGTON, Del.) — Two days after President Joe Biden issued a blanket pardon to his son Hunter Biden, the younger Biden’s federal gun case in Delaware was terminated Tuesday by the judge overseeing the case.
“In the absence of binding precedent” for a case that had yet to reach sentencing, “all proceedings in this case are hereby terminated,” U.S. District Judge Maryellen Noreika wrote in a brief docket entry Tuesday.
In a court filing Monday, prosecutors had urged Noreika to terminate the case instead of dismissing the indictment, in order to allow the record of the case to continue to exist.
Prosecutors in special counsel David Weiss’ office, who brought both the gun case and separate tax-related charges against Hunter Biden, on Monday made a similar filing to the federal judge overseeing Hunter Biden’s tax case in California.
President Biden on Sunday issued a blanket pardoned to his son, who earlier this year was convicted on federal gun charges and pleaded guilty to tax-related charges, and was scheduled to be sentenced in both cases later this month.
(WASHINGTON) — A federal appeals court on Thursday struck down a longstanding federal ban that prevented the sale of handguns to Americans between the ages of 18 and 20 — a landmark gun control regulation in place since 1968.
The conservative Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals ruled that the federal law banning handgun sales to teens is inconsistent with the nation’s historical tradition and violates the Second Amendment.
The decision cited the Supreme Court’s 2022 opinion by Clarence Thomas in New York State Rifle and Pistol Association v. Bruen, which significantly expanded gun rights and threatens to rollback other gun safety laws nationwide.
“Ultimately, the text of the Second Amendment includes eighteen-to-twenty-year-old individuals among ‘the people’ whose right to keep and bear arms is protected,” the court wrote in its opinion statement.
The statement went on, “The federal government has presented scant evidence that eighteen-to-twenty-year-olds’ firearm rights during the founding-era were restricted in a similar manner to the contemporary federal handgun purchase ban, and its 19th century evidence ‘cannot provide much insight into the meaning of the Second Amendment when it contradicts earlier evidence.'”
The immediate nationwide impact of the ruling is unclear. The case is almost certainly bound for the Supreme Court.
Handguns have been the most commonly used weapons in murders and mass shootings for decades in the United States, according to government data analyzed by The Violence Project.
Last term, the Supreme Court upheld a longstanding federal law prohibiting the possession of firearms by people under domestic violence restraining orders.
In the next few weeks, it will consider whether gun manufacturers can be held liable for violent crimes perpetrated by criminals who easily get the weapons.
(NEW YORK) — Last year, 2024, was the warmest year on record for the planet, easily breaking the previous record set just a year earlier.
Scientists say the unfolding El Niño event superimposed on long-term global warming is a primary driver of this huge spike in global surface temperatures since mid-2023. But the magnitude of the increase shocked many experts, leaving them somewhat puzzled about what else could be behind the remarkable temperature.
NASA’s newest Earth-observing satellite, PACE (Plankton, Aerosol, Cloud, ocean Ecosystem), is expected to provide new data to help scientists understand how changing levels of different atmospheric aerosols impact Earth’s energy balance.
New research published in Environmental Research Letters investigated some of the factors contributing to the spike in global temperature. Researchers focused specifically on the things that impact the amount of energy entering and leaving the Earth, known as the planet’s energy balance.
Their findings show that atmospheric aerosol levels could be partly to blame for an energy imbalance that’s causing our accelerating warming rate.
This new data joins a growing list of research that points to atmospheric aerosols as a potentially significant contributor to our record-breaking surface temperatures. It also underscores the importance of better understanding how various atmospheric aerosols behave and interact with each other.
Atmospheric aerosols are tiny particles that can reflect sunlight back into space and reduce global temperatures. However, their concentrations have greatly diminished due to international efforts to reduce air pollution in recent decades. Now, more sunlight reaches the Earth’s surface, creating a heating effect.
For decades, we’ve been removing aerosols from our air without fully realizing the potential cascading effects of these actions.
To help solve this puzzle, climate scientists are eagerly awaiting the first batch of operational data from NASA’s PACE, launched nearly a year ago.
According to NASA, the PACE satellite can map atmospheric aerosols and differentiate how they absorb light and heat, characterizing them as “light” or “dark” in nature. Climate scientists say this will help them understand how changing levels of different atmospheric aerosols impact the planet’s energy balance and global temperature trends.
While satellite data has been publicly available since April, the satellite isn’t fully operational yet, according to NASA. That’s because the data is still undergoing verification and quality control, deeming it unusable in climate models and academic research. However, that will likely change later this year, as the data is currently undergoing its final validation stage.
ABC News’ Matthew Glasser contributed to this report.
(NEW YORK) — An arctic front and snow squalls will impact the Northeast and Midwest on Thursday.
In Erie, Pennsylvania, a blizzard warning is in effect until 1 a.m. EST on Saturday.
Snow accumulations of 10 to 18 inches are expected north of Interstate 90 (I-90) and 12 to 20 inches south of I-90. In addition, wind gusts are up to 60 mph north of I-90 and 50 mph south of I-90.
According to the National Weather Service warning for the city of Erie and Erie County, whiteout conditions are expected which will make visibility difficult and travel potentially life- threatening. The hazardous conditions will impact commutes and lead to power outages and downed trees across the region.
The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation and Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission strongly encourage drivers to heed all travel restrictions and delay unnecessary travel.
Furthermore, the Erie School District announced on their website that school will be closed Thursday, Dec. 5 and Friday, Dec. 6, with no virtual instruction those days.
The arctic front and snow squalls have hit the Midwest and the Northeast this week. Snow squalls are quick and intense bursts of snow and wind, sometimes accompanied by lightning which last 30 minutes to an hour.
Along the I-95 corridor, strong winds are forecast in Washington, D.C., Philadelphia and New York City, where winds could gust up to 50 mph. Winds like that could delay flights at major airports on Thursday.
Cold wind chills are expected to reach the East Coast by Friday morning, with single digits and teens for most, even coastal areas. The cold air is expected to reach just outside of New Orleans, where the wind chill could be as low as 27 degrees.
Heavy snow is also hitting the northern Plains and the Great Lakes with whiteout conditions from the Dakotas to Michigan. At least 18 states from Wisconsin down to the Carolinas and north to Maine are under wind and snow alerts.
On the West Coast, warm temperatures reached a record high in the San Francisco Bay area, when Oakland hit 70 degrees yesterday. Unseasonably warm weather will continue out west throughout the weekend with near 80 degrees from California to Arizona.