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California billy club ban struck down by court on Second Amendment grounds

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California billy club ban struck down by court on Second Amendment grounds

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A court in California has stricken down a state ban on billy clubs on Second Amendment grounds.

The lawsuit was brought by plaintiff Russell Fouts against California Attorney General Rob Bonta over the state law making it a crime to carry or even possess a billy club.

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“This case is about a California law that makes it a crime to simply possess or carry a billy. This case is not about whether California can prohibit or restrict the use or possession of a billy for unlawful purposes,” the verdict reads.

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Photo illustration shows a law enforcement officer carrying a billy club, also sometimes referred to as a police baton. (In Pictures Ltd./Corbis via Getty Images)

It continues, “Historically, the short wooden stick that police officers once carried on their beat was known as a billy or billy club. The term remains vague today and may encompass a metal baton, a little league bat, a wooden table leg, or a broken golf club shaft, all of which are weapons that could be used for self-defense but are less lethal than a firearm.”

The decision was passed down by Judge Roger Benitez in the Southern District of California.

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WOULD-BE BURGLARS ARMED WITH ‘BILLY CLUB’ PICK THE WRONG FARMER TO TRY TO ROB: ‘I WILL SHOOT’

The court ruled to strike down the ban based on the Second Amendment and its protection of citizens’ right to carry weapons, including those other than firearms.

“The Second Amendment protects a citizen’s right to defend one’s self with dangerous and lethal firearms,” the court stated. “But not everybody wants to carry a firearm for self-defense. Some prefer less-lethal weapons. A billy is a less-lethal weapon that may be used for self-defense.”

Police in Canada brandish billyclubs as they clash with protestors during a protest in Toronto, Ontario. ((Photo by Creative Touch Imaging Ltd./NurPhoto via Getty Images))

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The verdict continued, “One can easily imagine countless citizens carrying these weapons on daily walks and hikes to defend themselves against attacks by humans or animals. To give full life to the core right of self-defense, every law-abiding responsible individual citizen has a constitutionally protected right to keep and bear arms like the billy for lawful purposes.”

Billy clubs — also variously referred to as batons, billysticks, and truncheons — are short, lightweight clubs that have been used by security, law enforcement and private individuals as blunt weapons.

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West

Unsealed records in Idaho student murders detail victims’ injuries, final movements

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Unsealed records in Idaho student murders detail victims’ injuries, final movements

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Unsealed court records have provided a detailed forensic account of the November 2022 University of Idaho slayings, revealing specific injury counts and new analysis regarding the students’ final movements.

According to a supplemental expert disclosure reviewed by Fox News Digital, a bloodstain pattern analyst reviewed autopsy materials, crime scene photographs and laboratory testing to outline anticipated testimony for the trial.

According to the filing, Kaylee Goncalves sustained approximately 38 sharp-force wounds, Madison Mogen 28, Xana Kernodle 67 and Ethan Chapin 17. The filing did not include the full autopsy reports of each victim, but revealed the key autopsy findings.

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IDAHO MURDER VICTIMS’ FAMILIES EXPRESS OUTRAGE AFTER CRIME SCENE PHOTOS ACCIDENTALLY RELEASED

Madison Mogen, top left, smiles on the shoulders of her best friend, Kaylee Goncalves, as they pose with Ethan Chapin, Xana Kernodle and two other housemates in Goncalves’ final Instagram post, shared the day before the four students were stabbed to death. (@kayleegoncalves/Instagram)

According to the report, all four victims were found in their bedrooms, with no evidence they left their room at 1122 Kings Road after being attacked in the early morning hours of Nov. 13, 2022.

Goncalves and Mogen were discovered together in Mogen’s third-floor bedroom, lying in bed under a comforter.

Investigators found no blood on the bottoms of their feet, indicating neither woman stood after suffering fatal injuries.

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Chapin was found on the bed in Kernodle’s second-floor bedroom, partially covered by bedding, and he also showed no blood on the bottoms of his socks.

Kernodle, however, was found on the floor of her bedroom and was the only victim with evidence of movement after the attack. According to investigators, blood was present on the bottoms of her bare feet, showing she stepped in blood and moved around inside her room during the attack.

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Bryan Kohberger appears at the Ada County Courthouse, for his sentencing hearing, Wednesday, July 23, 2025, in Boise, Idaho, for brutally stabbing four University of Idaho students to death nearly three years ago.  (AP Photo/Kyle Green, Pool)

The details of the students’ slaying emerged after Bryan Kohberger was sentenced in the killings.

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In July 2025, Kohberger pleaded guilty to four counts of first-degree murder as part of a plea agreement that spared him the death penalty. He was sentenced to four consecutive life terms without the possibility of parole and is incarcerated at the Idaho Maximum Security Institution.

Idaho prosecutors released images of a 3D model of the house at 1122 King Road. (Latah County Prosecutors Office)

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The Idaho State Police did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.

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San Francisco, CA

Video: Mountain Lion Spotted in San Francisco

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Video: Mountain Lion Spotted in San Francisco


new video loaded: Mountain Lion Spotted in San Francisco

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Mountain Lion Spotted in San Francisco

Residents were shocked to see a young mountain lion roaming the streets of San Francisco this week. Local animal control agencies were able to capture and tranquilize it on Tuesday.

Swear to God, am I tripping? There’s a mountain lion. What is that? I can see it. Oh my God. What the. Dude!

Residents were shocked to see a young mountain lion roaming the streets of San Francisco this week. Local animal control agencies were able to capture and tranquilize it on Tuesday.

By Cynthia Silva

January 27, 2026



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Denver, CO

Denver air quality program hopes to expand its services to reach more people

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Denver air quality program hopes to expand its services to reach more people


Bad air quality has unfortunately become a familiar issue in Colorado. At a few points last year, Denver’s skyline was completely blanketed with smoke, whether from wildfires in the state or nearby areas, as well as other sources.

Back in 2019, Denver launched a program called Love My Air. In its simplest form, it rates air quality as good, moderate, or hazardous. It’s a tool that lets people in the Denver area look up air quality in real time and decide how they’ll spend time outdoors.

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Across the city, little boxes provide important information.

“We measure a couple of different pollutants you see up here,” said Ephraim Milton, a coordinator with the Love My Air program. “Ozone is a big one here in Colorado. PM2.5 is very common.”

Real-time information on air quality and how it affects different individuals is gathered through a network of 80 sensors, a combination of the program’s sensors and the state’s.

“It’s just very hyperlocal,” said Milton. “I mean, you go to the weather app and that, yeah, sure, that’ll tell you the general, you know, air quality for the area. But you go here to ours, and it’s definitely going to be more local.”

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The program has expanded over the years and is now in Jefferson and Adams Counties, with sensors across the state and even into Wisconsin. 

“They think they have six sensors in Milwaukee,” said Milton. “They’re really great partners.”

Inner City Health, a non-profit providing healthcare to underserved individuals, is a partner here in Denver.

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“The technology that they’re providing affords us the ability to inform our patients and the community at large [that] today may be a good day to go outside and exercise, and today may actually be of danger,” said Charles Gilford III, the non-profit’s CEO.  “Because we have folks who have asthma or COPD or different conditions that pose a risk to their safety and to their well-being.”

They have an interactive kiosk in their waiting room, but hope the program continues to evolve.

“To send a text message to our patient base and give them updates and say, ‘Hey, just as a heads up, we saw you the other day and today would be a good day to take that walk,” said Gilford. “What are the other iterations of this technology that folks can have? How can we make sure that in a society where everything is competing for our attention, we can just be that one little nudge to give people good information while they’re going about their lives, and not just in the clinic?”

This tool can also be useful in the event of a fire or nearby construction, for example. Love My Air hosts community workshops focused on education, in addition to their online resources, and the information is also used for policy and rulemaking across the state. They plan on adding multiple healthcare partners in 2026 and hope to continue expanding their reach.

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