Gov Christie pardons Pennsylvania mom who brought her permitted concealed handgun into New Jersey

Shaneen Allen's life isn't going to be the same.  This mother of two was arrested in October 2013 for having her loaded .380 handgun in her car.  When she was pulled over by the police she immediately informed the officer that she had a gun.  Worse she had hollow point bullets, bullets that are illegal in New Jersey.  But bullets that make a lot of sense for a small woman who wants to make sure that she is able to stop a large man who attacks her.  I can only image the costs that have been imposed on her over 2.5 years.  From Fox News:

. . . Christie, a potential 2016 presidential candidate, initially said he would let the case play out in the state's judicial system. He said recently he would consider changing the state's gun laws, but that the Democratic legislature has no appetite for that and instead he would do what was in his purview, such as pardons . . . .

The case drew national attention, in part because the same Atlantic County prosecutor and judge who signed off on pre-trial intervention for former NFL star Ray Rice, who knocked his then-fiancee out in an Atlantic City hotel elevator last year, denied the opportunity to Allen. 

At least the pardon will end her legal problems. 

Newest Fox News piece: "French Alps crash shows psychiatrists cannot be last line of defense"

My newest piece at Fox News starts this way:

There has been a lot of second-guessing about Andreas Lubitz, the Germanwings co-pilot who deliberately crashed his plane into the French Alps, killing himself and 149 others. If only Lufthansa had regular mental evaluations of pilots, if only people at the airline knew what obvious signs to look for, this tragedy could have been avoided. 

But psychiatrists know that isn’t true. It isn’t just fellow workers who fail to pick up the supposed subtle hints that indicate that someone might be a danger to themselves or others. “We have no indication what could have led the co-pilot to commit this terrible act,” said Carsten Spohr, Lufthansa’s chief executive. 

Psychiatrists themselves have a very poor record. Identifying mental illness is a long way from thinking that the person poses a danger. Look at the inability of psychiatrists to identify mass shooters. It’s very common for mass killers to be seeing psychiatrists before their attacks, including Elliot Rodger (Santa Barbara), Ivan Lopez (the most recent Fort Hood shooter), Adam Lanza (Sandy Hook elementary school), James Holmes (Aurora, Colo., movie theater), and Seung-Hui Cho (Virginia Tech). 

Rodger had already been receiving top-quality mental-health counseling for years. Indeed, one of his psychiatrists, Dr. Charles Sophy, is nationally known and medical director for the LA County Department of Children and Family Services. . . . .

The rest of the piece is available here.

Faced with unyielding US regulation, Amazon moves to Canada to tests delivery drones

From the UK Guardian:

Amazon is testing its drone delivery service at a secret site in Canada, following repeated warnings by the e-commerce giant that it would go outside the US to bypass what it sees as the US federal government’s lethargic approach to the new technology. 

The largest internet retailer in the world is keeping the location of its new test site closely guarded. What can be revealed is that the company’s formidable team of roboticists, software engineers, aeronautics experts and pioneers in remote sensing – including a former Nasa astronaut and the designer of the wingtip of the Boeing 787 – are now operating in British Columbia. 

The end goal is to utilise what Amazon sees as a slice of virgin airspace – above 200ft, where most buildings end, and below 500ft, where general aviation begins. Into that aerial slice the company plans to pour highly autonomous drones of less than 55lbs, flying through corridors 10 miles or longer at 50mph and carrying payloads of up to 5lbs that account for 86% of all the company’s packages. 

Amazon has acquired a plot of open land lined by oak trees and firs, where it is conducting frequent experimental flights with the full blessing of the Canadian government. As if to underline the significance of the move, the test site is barely 2,000ft from the US border, which was clearly visible from where the Guardian stood on a recent visit. . . .

Judge Napolitano: What Hillary Clinton did was "10 times what David Petraus was assured of doing"

Judge Napolitano does a great job explaining the legal issues facing Hillary Clinton over her emails.

Permit holder defends himself against an armed robber, robber wanted the new Air Jordans the victim had just bought

From WCPO-TV Channel 9 in Cincinnati about a defensive gun use in Dayton, Ohio:

A 16-year-old Middletown High School football player wanted to buy the new Air Jordans on sale Saturday morning at the Dayton Mall. 

But Jawaad Jabbar got there too late and the shoes were gone. . . . 

So Jabbar went outside to the sidewalk and pulled a gun on a man who had just bought the shoes, Phares said. Only, the man had a gun, too. 

"The person who he tried to take the shoes from had a valid carry concealed weapon permit through Ohio, and when he was threatened with a firearm he drew his firearm and discharged it into the juvenile, who then died as a result of a single gunshot wound," Phares said. . . . 

Police caught the other teens. They are in detention in Montgomery County awaiting charges. 

They could face murder charges if it is determined that they had prior knowledge or were a party to the robbery.

Obama administration is making it very difficult to get the most basic data out of the federal government

From the Washington Post:

Stacey Singer, a health reporter for the Palm Beach Post in Florida, was perusing a medical journal in 2012 when she came across something startling: a federal epidemiologist’s report about a tuberculosis outbreak in the Jacksonville area. Singer promptly began pursuing the story. 

But when she started seeking official comment about the little-reported outbreak, the doors began closing. County health officials referred her to the state health department. State officials referred her to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Even though the CDC’s own expert had written the investigative report, the agency’s press office declined to let Singer speak with him. A spokesman told her it was a local matter and sent her back to the state office in Tallahassee. 

Through public records requests, Singer eventually was able to piece together the story of a contagion that had caused 13 deaths and 99 illnesses — the worst the CDC had found in 20 years. . . .