Delaware
Delaware legislators trying to rewrite state's gun code – 47abc
Delaware recently passed Permit-to-Purchase legislation through its House and Senate, with the bill only awaiting Governor John Carney’s to be acted into law. This came as a win for gun control advocates, as the bill will lengthen the process of acquiring a handgun with more paperwork and background checks. But now, Delaware legislators are taking a step back in order to address the big-picture problem with the state’s gun laws.
Delaware’s gun code stands as an outlier among the other 49 states. State Representative Jeff Spiegleman summarized it by saying “anything that fires anything” is technically considered a firearm in the state’s current language.
Rep. Spiegleman is the primary sponsor of House Bill 357. It seeks to redefine what the state considers a firearm. He said that enforcing the current broad definition can lead to unintended consequences: “What it really means is that we have a real chance of accidentally sending someone to jail for something that common sense says they didn’t do, but the law says they did.”
It’s this tension between common sense and technical language that is at the heart of the bill. Delaware State Sportmen’s Association (DSSA) President Jeff Hague has been in favor of updating the code for nearly a decade. He was appointed by Speaker of the House Valerie Longhurst to the task force that met a number of times over the past year, with the goal of crafting legislation that would refine what Delaware code considers a firearm. Hague said, “As ridiculous as it may sound, even the air cannons they use for Punkin Chunkin would be considered a firearm under the definition.”
HB 357 creates a category separate from firearms labeled “projectile weapons” that would include things like crossbows, air bows, and even nail guns. All of these are objects that can be used as a weapon, but everyone agrees they should not be legally referred to as guns.
Hague drew parallels connecting projectile weapons to deadly weapons in how the law considers them: “It’s much like ‘deadly weapon’. Deadly weapon says ‘includes the following:’ but it’s not an exhaustive list. It’s essentially any weapon that can be used that causes someone’s death. It serves as a guideline [saying] these types of objects can be used and are considered dangerous and it’s illegal to use them in a criminal manner. Doesn’t mean you can’t possess them.”
Rep. Spiegleman said, “We crafted a best-practices approach to this that makes sure: if you rob a liquor store with one of these implements, it’s the equivalent of a firearms violation. But it’s not a firearm.”
The bill currently awaits the House Judiciary Committee.
Delaware
State Police Arrest Newark Woman for Assaulting Troopers During Theft Investigation – Delaware State Police – State of Delaware
The Delaware State Police arrested 21-year-old Shaniya Clark, of Newark, Delaware, after she assaulted two troopers during a theft investigation Friday evening in Bear.
On February 6, 2026, at approximately 6:00 p.m., troopers responded to the Christiana Mall, located at 132 Christiana Mall in Newark, for a reported theft. Responding troopers learned a woman stole a victim’s cell phone from a kiosk inside the mall. The victim electronically tracked their phone to a shopping center in the 1100 block of Pulaski Highway, in Bear. Troopers obtained a description of the suspect and responded to the shopping center.
After searching the area, troopers located the suspect, later identified as Clark, inside one of the stores. When troopers attempted to take Clark into custody, she physically resisted arrest, causing notable injuries to two troopers and damaging Delaware State Police property. Clark was ultimately arrested and taken to Troop 2. The injured troopers were taken to a local hospital where they were treated and released. Investigators found the cell phone and returned it to the victim.
Clark was charged with the below listed offenses, arraigned by Justice of the Peace Court 2, and committed to the Delores J. Baylor Women’s Correctional Institution on a $5,900 cash bond.
- Assault Second Degree Injure a Law Enforcement Officer (Felony) – 2 counts
- Resisting Arrest with Force or Violence or Struggles with a Peace Officer Causing Injury (Felony)
- Theft Under $1,500
- Criminal Mischief Under $1,000 – 2 counts
Disclaimer: Any individual charged in this release is presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
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Delaware
Delaware jobless claims increased last week, following national trend
Laid off? Here are financial tips to consider
Many times employees are caught off guard when layoffs happen, but these tips could help you if you’re in that situation.
USA TODAY
Initial filings for unemployment benefits in Delaware rose last week compared with the week prior, the U.S. Department of Labor said Feb. 5.
New jobless claims, a proxy for layoffs, increased to 458 in the week ending Jan. 31, up from 327 the week before, the Labor Department said.
U.S. unemployment claims rose to 231,000 last week, up 22,000 claims from 209,000 the week prior on a seasonally adjusted basis.
Mississippi saw the largest percentage increase in weekly claims, with claims jumping by 75.4%. Nebraska, meanwhile, saw the largest percentage drop in new claims, with claims dropping by 70.7%.
USA TODAY Co. is publishing localized versions of this story on its news sites across the country, generated with data from the U.S. Department of Labor’s weekly unemployment insurance claims report.
Delaware
Delaware Valley wrestling powers past Hopewell Valley
HOPEWELL TWP. — The powerhouse Delaware Valley High School wrestling team appears to be right where it wants to be in pursuit of a fourth Group 1 state championship in five years.
Ranked fourth in The Trentonian’s Public School state rankings, Delaware Valley upped its record to 17-0 on Friday night when it beat Hopewell Valley, 61-12, in the so-called “Dawg Brawl in the Valley.”
The fact DelVal won easily was, of course, no surprise. What was a positive was the way it got the job done, particularly from 175 through 215 against three of Hopewell Valley’s better wrestlers.
“I felt really good about how we wrestled tonight,” said Delaware Valley coach Andy Fitz after his team handed Hopewell just its second loss of the year. “We were (recently) off the mats for a week, but we are really rolling again. We want to be our best in February and March. We wrestled very well against a well-coached team tonight. I was really happy with some of those results in the upper weights.”
Hopewell Valley held its own in the early going when Luca Schiavon had a nice 5-2 win at 120, Parker Humphrey prevailed, 4-3, at 126 and Dylan Hersh pinned at 138.
The problem for Hopewell was DelVal is stacked in the middle and four straight pins quickly gave the Hunterdon County team a 39-12 lead.
One of the best bouts of the night followed at 175 where Hopewell Valley’s Ethan Barker hit a Peterson Roll and led Olivier Paul, 7-6, after one period. From there, however, Paul wisely elected to wrestle mostly on his feet and the result was takedown clinic en route to a 20-10 major.
Hopewell Valley 190-pounder Scott Mangan has a record of 23-2, but he proved to be no match on this night for Matthew Sencher. The result was a Sencher pin in 1:31 with a cradle as the lead ballooned to 49-12.
DelVal’s Luke Cyphert then hammered home another victory when he pinned Gavin Barker in 2:52 at 215 pounds. This left Gavin Barker at 15-6 on the season afterolder brother Ethan Barker earlier fell to 21-3.
When Luken Alberdi pinned at heavyweight, it meant DelVal was able to record nine pins on the night.
With the regular season rapidly winding down, it’s reaching the point where DelVal’s focus will center on the sectionals, which get underway on the Monday of Feb. 16. DelVal’s biggest challenge in Group 1 could very well come from Manville (25-0) in its own Central Jersey section.
“We do a lot of with Manville during the summer and we are as familiar with each other’s opposing lineups as we are with our own,” said Fitz. “We also actually do a lot with Hopewell Valley too. Manville is a very well coached program. It should be a fun night (in the expected sectional final).”DelVal certainly looks ready.”
Delaware Valley 61, Hopewell Valley 12
f106: Vincent Rainey (DVR) over Said Jan Rahmani (HVH) (Dec 9-3)113: Jaxon Bingert (DVR) over (HVH) (For.)120: Luca Schiavon (HVH) over Tristan Fawthrop (DVR) (Dec 5-2)126: Parker Humphrey (HVH) over Tanner Donaruma (DVR) (Dec 4-3)132: Julian Bednar (DVR) over Dylan Somma (HVH) (Fall 2:42)138: Dylan Hersh (HVH) over Jacob Maddalena (DVR) (Fall 3:58)144: Tye Falkenstein (DVR) over Jace Kalina (HVH) (Fall 1:25)150: Michael Hasson (DVR) over Louis Decibus (HVH) (Fall 1:28)157: Hunter Taffera (DVR) over Max Pollara (HVH) (Fall 3:32)165: Kieran Sutter (DVR) over Ben Franco (HVH) (Fall 1:12)175: Olivier Paul (DVR) over Ethan Barker (HVH) (MD 20-10)190: Matthew Sencher (DVR) over Scott Mangan (HVH) (Fall 1:31)215: Luke Cyphert (DVR) over Gavin Barker (HVH) (Fall 2:52)285: Luken Alberdi (DVR) over Ken Pineda (HVH) (Fall 0:54)
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