San Diego, CA
Servicemembers can request to carry personal firearms on military bases, Hegseth announces
Uniformed servicemembers can request to carry their personal firearms on military installations, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said in a video posted to social media Thursday, sparking mixed reaction from veterans in a community that’s at the center of the mental health conversation and knows weapons better than anyone else.
“The War Department’s uniformed service members are trained at the highest and unwavering standards,” Hegseth said. “These warfighters, entrusted with the safety of our nation, are no less entitled to exercise their God given right to keep and bear arms than any other American.”
“Our warfighters defend the right of others to carry. They should be able to carry themselves,” he continued, signing a memo on camera that he said would direct installation commanders to allow requests “with the presumption that it is necessary for personal protection.”
Previously, privately owned firearms had to be kept off base or in some places, approved for storage in the armory.
Representatives for San Diego bases – including Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, Marine Corps Air Station Miramar, Marine Corps Recruit Depot San Diego and Naval Air Station North Island – pointed inquiries on how those requests would be processed and how the new policy would be implemented to the Pentagon, which has released few details beyond Hegseth’s announcement.
A release from the department said the memo makes the undersecretary of war for intelligence and security responsible for updating the manual that lays out physical security measures and will authorize officials to review those requests.
“If a request is for some reason denied, the reason for that denial will be in writing and will explain — in detail — the basis for that direction,” Hegseth said.
He pointed to incidents on bases, including a deadly shooting last August at Fort Stewart in Georgia, and another at a New Mexico Air Force base last month, as motivation in part for the policy change.
“In these instances, minutes are a lifetime, and our servicemembers have the courage and training to make those precious short minutes count,” Hegseth said.
The change inspired mixed reaction from veterans, much like the national gun debate in a microcosm: some believed it would offer more protection while others worried shootings and suicides would rise.
“I believe this is a step in the right direction for safety,” said Marine Corps veteran Lance Gilson, who spent more than six years at Camp Pendleton.
“There were a lot of times where I thought about, you know what, if something happened right here, right now, is the military police going to be able to respond quick enough?” he said.
“It is my job to protect not only myself, but the others around me and ones who can’t protect themselves,” Gilson continued. “On military bases, it’s not just military personnel. You have civilians, families that live there. And if you’re not able to respond to them in time, you know, that to me is a concerning feeling — knowing that I can respond but I don’t have the tools necessary to be able to effectively respond in that timely manner.”
“I will definitely be more on edge,” said Navy veteran Ryan McCullough, who owned a handgun before he enlisted, storing it with his parents for his five years on base. He said he never felt he needed his personal weapon and was comforted by the fact that no one else had one. “You start hearing stories about soldiers having weapons at boot camp and turning on their own people. You’re like, ‘Oh, there’s a reason why they disarm these people on the base.’”
“I’m not just, you know, a purple hair, left-wing, somebody from California that … wants more gun control,” he said. “There were guards 24-7, right, making the rounds. There was people within your battalion checking on you. So I felt more safe there than I had ever felt before, which is surprising because I thought, ‘Okay, at home, I feel the most safe with my weapon.’”
And after a Navy buddy committed suicide with a firearm a few years ago, McCullough said he worries about more weapons on base, cautioning civilians who may cheer the change.
“It’s different for that person to own a weapon than it is for somebody who just got trained to kill and has lots of things going on and lots more stresses than you,” McCullough said.
“That does concern me, but I do hope that there’s going to be a vetted process whenever they do go through it,” Gilson said of the suicide risk. “Especially mental health check-up, and I think that the leaders will be able to gauge that pretty well, especially at the junior level. And I think that will help mitigate any further suicides, and I pray.”
San Diego, CA
Gibraltar ushers in a new era as British territory’s border fence with Spain is removed
MADRID (AP) — Thousands of people who travel every day between the southern tip of Spain and the British territory of Gibraltar will no longer have to cross a physical border, beginning on Wednesday.
The official opening at midnight on Tuesday, after a border fence was removed, allows a new freedom of movement under a historic treaty between the European Union and the United Kingdom. It came after years of post-Brexit wrangling.
The contested British Overseas Territory of 38,000 people is perched at the southern end of the Iberian Peninsula, in a strategic location mere miles from Morocco where the Atlantic Ocean meets the Mediterranean Sea.
Soon after midnight, crowds crossed freely between Spain’s La Línea de Concepción and Gibraltar in both directions. Many wore Spanish soccer jerseys after Spain’s victory against France in the World Cup semifinal on Tuesday, adding to the celebratory mood.
“What you feel here is the brotherhood between the two people,” Gibraltar’s Chief Minister Fabian Picardo told Spanish broadcaster RTVE.
A deal that took years to realize
When Britain left the EU in 2020, the relationship between Gibraltar and the bloc had been left unresolved.
Previous talks on a deal to ensure people and goods could keep flowing across the border had made halting progress. In 2025, the EU and U.K. announced an agreement on those issues, with the two sides and Gibraltar’s government signing a treaty Tuesday that eases border crossings.
The U.K.’s Foreign Office Minister Stephen Doughty said Tuesday that the agreement secured Gibraltar’s long-term economic future and interests.
Maroš Šefčovič, the EU’s trade representative, praised the agreement, too.
“It has taken four years of patient, complex negotiation, but the outcome speaks for itself,” Šefčovič said. “It is a very special feeling to see a fence come down.”
Without a deal, Gibraltar could have a faced a hard land border with full passport checks, posing economic risks for the territory deeply dependent on some 15,000 Spaniards — almost half Gibraltar’s workforce — who cross the frontier every day for work.
Mendez Segura, 51, crossed into Gibraltar from Spain on Wednesday for work, unused to the newfound freedom of movement.
“I’ve been crossing over and working in Gibraltar all my life with my identity card,” the home care worker said. “I know you’ll be able to cross without it, but it’s just what I’m used to.”
Leisure visits by people crossing both sides of the border would have been affected, too.
“People who are visiting family in Spain, or whose Spanish family is visiting them in Gibraltar. Children who are going to football matches and extracurricular activities, either in Spain or in Gibraltar. They will be able to do that without having to worry about frontier queues,” Picardo told The Associated Press in an interview.
The deal in effect brings the territory into the EU’s Schengen free travel area. At Gibraltar’s airport and port, entry and exit checks will be conducted by both U.K. and Spanish border officials. The arrangement is similar to what’s in place at Eurostar train stations in London and Paris, where both British and French officials check passports.
Gibraltar was ceded to Britain in 1713, but Spain has maintained its sovereignty claim ever since. Relations between the two countries on the issue of Gibraltar have had their ups and downs over the centuries. The treaty that removed the border fence does not resolve the territory’s contested status.
In Britain’s 2016 Brexit referendum, 96% of voters in the Rock, as the territory is popularly known in English, supported remaining in the EU.
Travelers to Gibraltar from countries outside the Schengen Area, including the U.K., will have to contend with the EU Entry-Exit System, or EES, which was rolled out in Europe in April and replaced passport stamps with biometric data collected through photographs and digital fingerprints.
Facial recognition cameras at the Rock
With the border fence gone, Gibraltar officials have set up live facial recognition cameras at entry points and throughout the territory.
Chief Minister Picardo said the territory will have many more CCTV cameras and that it has increased its police presence as well as resources for customs and Coast Guard agencies.
“The fortress has become a digital fortress now,” Picardo said.
The mariachi band broke into song as soon as the Tijuana Municipal Little League team stepped back onto its home field Monday afternoon. Cheers and applause erupted for the team, which over the weekend earned the coveted spot to represent Mexico in the Little League Baseball World Series.
The team of 11- and 12-year-olds won the Mexico region tournament title on Saturday by defeating the Matamoros Little League team 8-2 in Tamaulipas. They ended the tournament with a 7-1 record.
“We are very proud of what you have done and what you are about to embark on, because this is just the beginning,” said Darío Venegas, president of the Tijuana Municipal Children’s and Youth Baseball League, before handing out rings to commemorate the team’s regional crown.
This marks the third time that the Tijuana Municipal team has advanced to the tournament in Williamsport, Pa., following appearances in 2013 and 2023. Francisco Fimbres has been the manager for all three trips, and he hopes that the third time could be the charm.
“I feel blessed with these players,” he said. “(They) make me believe that we can get that championship.”
But the proud coach acknowledged that there’s still work to be done and that he has learned from the last two tournaments. In 2013, Mexico lost to Japan in the international championship and finished third. In 2023, they fell to Curaçao in the international semifinals.
During his speech at the Jorge Campillo baseball field in Tijuana on Monday, Fimbres urged players and parents to enjoy the moment, as he said it’s a once-in-a-lifetime experience.
He described this year’s group of players as “una generación campeona,” or a “winning generation,” whom he has followed since they were 8 years old. “These kids have too much baseball in them,” he said. “They’re growing up and learning a lot, which will be great for their development.”
In 2023, an interaction between Fimbres and one of his players went viral. During the second inning, with the bases loaded, he noticed that his pitcher was nervous. He went to the mound to encourage him and remind him to have fun and not be afraid of making mistakes. “What if he hits a home run? Exactly, nothing happens,” he told him. “You’re a good pitcher. You’re better.” For many, this moment captured the spirit of the Little League competition.
This time will be special for Fimbres. He shared that this might be his last stint with the Tijuana Municipal team.
Pitcher and outfielder Jean Paul Lavenant said that he felt happy for “Pancho,” as he fondly calls his coach, and hoped to get the title for him.
Lavenant named Major League players Jonathan Aranda of the Tampa Bay Rays and Alejandro Kirk of the Toronto Blue Jays as his inspirations. Both players came from the Tijuana Municipal league.
The players said they have their minds set on bringing home the championship. “Nothing is impossible,” said pitcher and infielder Emiliano Kerber.
Coach Marcelo Santamaría, who was part of the 2023 coaching team, said he hopes this opportunity leaves a lasting impression on the players. “It’s every young baseball player’s dream to participate in this tournament,” he noted.
That’s what they emphasized to the players throughout their journey to earn a spot in Williamsport. Tijuana Municipal will kick off its Little League World Series run on Aug. 20 against the Australian region.
“Would you rather experience it on TV or in person?” pitcher and outfielder Esteban Bautista recalled his coaches asking them before the Mexico region championship game.
In person, it will be.
The Killer Tomatoes are loose in San Diego, and they’re ready to get sauced.
Attack of the Killer Tomatoes is taking over Good Night John Boy (401 G Street) in the Gaslamp on Saturday, July 25 from 7pm-11pm for the official Attack of the Killer Tomatoes: Organic Intelligence after party, celebrating the wild new chapter in the cult classic franchise that first got its start in San Diego back in 1978.
Fans can party alongside cast and crew with meet and greets, “killer” cosplay, exclusive giveaways, DJs, and dancing. There will also be specialty themed cocktails and bites available for purchase, because fighting off killer produce apparently works up an appetite.
Tickets will be available here, though they’re not yet available. We’ll update once we know more.
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