Levittown Pets Newly Up For Adoption: Soul, Sonic, Lioness & More

Pet News

Want to add a new member to your family and give back to the Levittown community at the same time? Then you should consider adopting a dog, cat or other animal from a local shelter or organization. Despite the coronavirus pandemic, many local animals are still looking for their forever homes and shelters still working to place pets with families.

Across Pennsylvania, there are thousands of dogs, cats and other animals of all ages, sizes and breeds without a home — and many are located near you. In the search for a lovable new family pet, consider starting at a local facility like Rescue Purrfect, where Shadow the cat is waiting patiently. If you aren't sure if you have time to take care of a pet year round, many shelters also offer opportunities to foster pets until they are placed in permanent homes.

If you need some help in your search, Patch and Petfinder have you covered. We put together a list each week of all the pets recently put up for adoption in your area. If you're a cat person, meet Soul, a Tabby up for adoption. Or if dogs are more your thing, there are several great dogs available, too. Click on any listing for more information, or to start the adoption process.

Editor’s note: This list was automatically generated using data compiled by Petfinder. Please report any errors or other feedback to content@patch.com.

Soul

  • Name: Soul

  • Species: Cat

  • Location: Rescue Purrfect, 1 Declaration Drive, Bensalem, PA

  • Age, Size, Sex, Breed: Adult, Medium, Male, Tabby

  • Good With: Dogs and cats

  • Description: "Soul has soul, he is a great cat, easy going, loving, super nice..." Learn more

Sonic

  • Name: Sonic

  • Species: Cat

  • Location: Rescue Purrfect, 1 Declaration Drive, Bensalem, PA

  • Age, Size, Sex, Breed: Baby, Medium, Male, Tabby

  • Good With: Kids, dogs and cats

  • Description: "Sonic is an all around well rounded kitten who is very content and happy all the time." Learn more

Lioness

  • Name: Lioness

  • Species: Cat

  • Location: Rescue Purrfect, 1 Declaration Drive, Bensalem, PA

  • Age, Size, Sex, Breed: Baby, Medium, Female, Domestic Short Hair

  • Good With: Dogs and cats

  • Description: "Not the best photo of this cutie but she is very busy and would not stay still for her photo..." Learn more

Braveheart

  • Name: Braveheart

  • Species: Cat

  • Location: Rescue Purrfect, 1 Declaration Drive, Bensalem, PA

  • Age, Size, Sex, Breed: Baby, Medium, Male, Domestic Short Hair

  • Good With: Dogs and cats

  • Description: "Braveheart is a fun loving kitten, Great for any family." Learn more

Shadow

  • Name: Shadow

  • Species: Cat

  • Location: Rescue Purrfect, 1 Declaration Drive, Bensalem, PA

  • Age, Size, Sex, Breed: Young, Medium, Male, Tabby

  • Good With: Dogs and cats

  • Description: "Shadow was found living in a ground hog hole with his brother and mom! He’s adorable, precious, and would make..." Learn more

Abigail

  • Name: Abigail

  • Species: Cat

  • Location: Rescue Purrfect, 1 Declaration Drive, Bensalem, PA

  • Age, Size, Sex, Breed: Adult, Large, Female, Domestic Short Hair

  • Good With: Cats

  • Description: "Abigail is looking for her furever home! This sweet girl is shy, but LOVES to be your buddy?? We’re hoping..." Learn more

Jackie

  • Name: Jackie

  • Species: Cat

  • Location: Rescue Purrfect, 1 Declaration Drive, Bensalem, PA

  • Age, Size, Sex, Breed: Adult, Large, Female, Tabby

  • Good With: Cats

  • Description: "Jackie was left at a park and is doing well at the rescue, she will never have to worry about..." Learn more

Chubbs

  • Name: Chubbs

  • Species: Cat

  • Location: Rescue Purrfect, 1 Declaration Drive, Bensalem, PA

  • Age, Size, Sex, Breed: Adult, Large, Male, Munchkin

  • Good With: Dogs and cats

  • Description: "Chubbs was rescued from a man who had a drug problem. Chubbs is very chubby with the shortest of legs...." Learn more

Beans

  • Name: Beans

  • Species: Cat

  • Location: Rescue Purrfect, 1 Declaration Drive, Bensalem, PA

  • Age, Size, Sex, Breed: Young, Medium, Male, Domestic Short Hair

  • Good With: Cats

  • Description: "Poor Beans was dumped at a park which we manage while it was snowing, His lousy owner is now being..." Learn more

Max

  • Name: Max

  • Species: Dog

  • Location: American Bulldog Rescue, Newtown, PA

  • Age, Size, Sex, Breed: Adult, Extra Large, Male, American Bulldog

  • Description: "Age:5Weight: 125Location: New Britain, CTNicknames: Maximus, Lil' Bit, BubbaGood with other dogs?: Dog selective.In his..." Learn more

Naomi

  • Name: Naomi

  • Species: Dog

  • Location: American Bulldog Rescue, Newtown, PA

  • Age, Size, Sex, Breed: Adult, Medium, Female, American Bulldog

  • Good With: Dogs

  • Description: "Age: 4Weight: approx 70 lbsLocation: Baltimore, MDNicknames: Nay Nay, Penelope PrimroseGood with other dogs?: Yes.She..." Learn more

Halloumi

  • Name: Halloumi

  • Species: Dog

  • Location: American Bulldog Rescue, Newtown, PA

  • Age, Size, Sex, Breed: Adult, Extra Large, Female, Boerboel

  • Good With: Dogs

  • Description: "Age:3-5Weight: 130Location: Newtown, PANicknames: LoomieGood with other dogs?: Yes.She just doesn't care. We will be..." Learn more

Happy Girl

  • Name: Happy Girl

  • Species: Dog

  • Location: American Bulldog Rescue, Newtown, PA

  • Age, Size, Sex, Breed: Young, Large, Female, American Bulldog Pit Bull Terrier Mix

  • Good With: Dogs

  • Description: "Happy is a courtesy post. Please contact Janine: jbos1810@gmail.comAge:3-4Weight: 75Location: Newtown PANicknames:Good with other dogs?:..." Learn more

Prunella

  • Name: Prunella

  • Species: Dog

  • Location: American Bulldog Rescue, Newtown, PA

  • Age, Size, Sex, Breed: Young, Extra Large, Female, Neapolitan Mastiff

  • Good With: Dogs

  • Description: "Age:1-3Weight: 120Location: Newtown, PANicknames: Prunee, Wilda, NellieGood with other dogs?: Yes.Comes on strong and a..." Learn more

Xara

  • Name: Xara

  • Species: Dog

  • Location: Wet Nose Rescue, Feasterville, PA

  • Age, Size, Sex, Breed: Adult, Medium, Female, Neapolitan Mastiff Husky Mix

  • Good With: Kids and dogs

  • Description: "Meet Xara, she is about a year and a half old and is a German Shepherd/Husky mix. Xara is up..." Learn more

Tommy

  • Name: Tommy

  • Species: Cat

  • Location: Burlington County Animal Alliance, Willingboro, NJ

  • Age, Size, Sex, Breed: Baby, Small, Male, Domestic Medium Hair

  • Good With: Dogs and cats

  • Description: "Tommy is a handsome dude, and curious and doesnt mind dogs! well, most dogs." Learn more

Jasper

  • Name: Jasper

  • Species: Dog

  • Location: Burlington County Animal Alliance, Willingboro, NJ

  • Age, Size, Sex, Breed: Young, Small, Male, Dachshund Chihuahua Mix

  • Good With: Kids and dogs

  • Description: "Meet Jasper. He is a 4 year old dachshund mix who weighs 25 lbs. He is a sweet happy boy..." Learn more

Spice

  • Name: Spice

  • Species: Cat

  • Location: Burlington County Animal Alliance, Willingboro, NJ

  • Age, Size, Sex, Breed: Baby, Small, Male, Domestic Short Hair

  • Good With: Kids and cats

  • Description: "Spice is a playful boy who loves to play with his sister Shadow and his human siblings too!" Learn more

Shadow

  • Name: Shadow

  • Species: Cat

  • Location: Burlington County Animal Alliance, Willingboro, NJ

  • Age, Size, Sex, Breed: Baby, Small, Female, Domestic Short Hair

  • Good With: Kids and cats

  • Description: "Shadow is friendly playful and good with children. She likes to play with her brother Spice and be loved by..." Learn more

Gatsby

  • Name: Gatsby

  • Species: Cat

  • Location: Burlington County Animal Alliance, Willingboro, NJ

  • Age, Size, Sex, Breed: Baby, Medium, Male, Domestic Long Hair Tabby Mix

  • Description: "Gatsby is a sweet kitten looking for his forever home. He loves to play with her littermate, Garbo and he..." Learn more

Dax

  • Name: Dax

  • Species: Cat

  • Location: Burlington County Animal Alliance, Willingboro, NJ

  • Age, Size, Sex, Breed: Baby, Small, Male, Domestic Long Hair

  • Good With: Cats

  • Description: "Dax is a long haired love. He's a darling who loves to observe and watch his siblings play - and..." Learn more

Garbo

  • Name: Garbo

  • Species: Cat

  • Location: Burlington County Animal Alliance, Willingboro, NJ

  • Age, Size, Sex, Breed: Baby, Medium, Female, Domestic Long Hair Tabby Mix

  • Description: "Garbo is a sweet and gentle kitten looking for her forever home. She loves to play with her littermate, Gatsby." Learn more

Sierra

  • Name: Sierra

  • Species: Dog

  • Location: Burlington County Animal Alliance, Willingboro, NJ

  • Age, Size, Sex, Breed: Baby, Medium, Female, Wire Fox Terrier

  • Good With: Kids, dogs and cats

  • Description: "My name is Sierra and I am a southern Belle. My Mom is a Wirehaired Terrier mix and we never..." Learn more

Bubba needs help

  • Name: Bubba needs help

  • Species: Dog

  • Location: Burlington County Animal Alliance, Willingboro, NJ

  • Age, Size, Sex, Breed: Baby, Medium, Male, Pit Bull Terrier

  • Learn more

Laverne

  • Name: Laverne

  • Species: Dog

  • Location: Burlington County Animal Alliance, Willingboro, NJ

  • Age, Size, Sex, Breed: Baby, Medium, Female, English Bulldog American Bulldog Mix

  • Good With: Kids, dogs and cats

  • Learn more

Manny

  • Name: Manny

  • Species: Cat

  • Location: Trenton Cats Rescue, Trenton, NJ

  • Age, Size, Sex, Breed: Young, Medium, Male, Domestic Short Hair

  • Good With: Kids and cats

  • Description: "Manny (short for Manhattan) is about 6 months old and was found as a stray with his brothers Brooklyn and..." Learn more

Mimi (mother of alcohol kittens)

  • Name: Mimi (mother of alcohol kittens)

  • Species: Cat

  • Location: Trenton Cats Rescue, Trenton, NJ

  • Age, Size, Sex, Breed: Adult, Medium, Female, Domestic Short Hair

  • Description: "mama Mimi had an unexpected litter of 6 kittens and was surrended with her babies to TCR. she was a..." Learn more

Promise

  • Name: Promise

  • Species: Cat

  • Location: Trenton Cats Rescue, Trenton, NJ

  • Age, Size, Sex, Breed: Young, Medium, Female, Domestic Short Hair

  • Description: "Pretty Promise needs a new home. She was found as a kitten in the fall of 2019. She was loved..." Learn more

Walter

  • Name: Walter

  • Species: Dog

  • Location: Trenton Animals Rock, Trenton, NJ

  • Age, Size, Sex, Breed: Young, Medium, Male, American Staffordshire Terrier

  • Description: "Walter is an approximately 2 year old love! He is skinny and needs a family who will work on getting..." Learn more

Princess

  • Name: Princess

  • Species: Dog

  • Location: Trenton Animals Rock, Trenton, NJ

  • Age, Size, Sex, Breed: Young, Medium, Female, American Staffordshire Terrier

  • Description: "Princess is an approximately 3 year old pittie who loves to love on humans!FOLLOW THESE INSTRUCTIONS TO BE CONSIDERED:..." Learn more

Train

  • Name: Train

  • Species: Dog

  • Location: Trenton Animals Rock, Trenton, NJ

  • Age, Size, Sex, Breed: Young, Large, Male, Mastiff

  • Good With: Dogs

  • Description: "Train is looking for a family that will give him all the things a handsome, loveable, young, active dog wants!..." Learn more

CHRISTOFURR

  • Name: CHRISTOFURR

  • Species: Cat

  • Location: Susans Cats And Kittens, Churchville, PA

  • Age, Size, Sex, Breed: Adult, Medium, Male, Domestic Short Hair

  • Good With: Cats

  • Description: "CHRISTOFURR is a super sweet, happy guy who is good with other cats. He is about 5 years old and..." Learn more

JENNY

  • Name: JENNY

  • Species: Cat

  • Location: Susans Cats And Kittens, Churchville, PA

  • Age, Size, Sex, Breed: Baby, Small, Female, Tabby Tuxedo Mix

  • Good With: Cats

  • Description: "JENNY is a gorgeous and precious 9 month old spayed female who is super sweet. She is tiny--she only weighs..." Learn more

NIKKI

  • Name: NIKKI

  • Species: Cat

  • Location: Susans Cats And Kittens, Churchville, PA

  • Age, Size, Sex, Breed: Young, Medium, Female, Calico Domestic Short Hair Mix

  • Good With: Cats

  • Description: "NIKKI is VERY sweet. She looks a little ragged in her photos because she was out in the cold, trying..." Learn more

QUINN

  • Name: QUINN

  • Species: Cat

  • Location: Susans Cats And Kittens, Churchville, PA

  • Age, Size, Sex, Breed: Young, Medium, Male, Tabby Tuxedo Mix

  • Good With: Cats

  • Description: "QUINN was already neutered when we saved him from a dangerous part of the city, where he had been cruelly..." Learn more

CUPCAKE

  • Name: CUPCAKE

  • Species: Cat

  • Location: Susans Cats And Kittens, Churchville, PA

  • Age, Size, Sex, Breed: Young, Medium, Female, Maine Coon Domestic Long Hair Mix

  • Good With: Cats

  • Description: "It is hard to tell from this photo, but CUPCAKE is an absolutely stunning longhaired girl. She is one year..." Learn more

KARA

  • Name: KARA

  • Species: Cat

  • Location: Susans Cats And Kittens, Churchville, PA

  • Age, Size, Sex, Breed: Young, Medium, Female, Dilute Calico Domestic Short Hair Mix

  • Good With: Kids and cats

  • Description: "KARA is very lucky to be alive. She weighed only 4 lbs. when she was found dehydrated, starved, and beaten...." Learn more

APPLEJACK

  • Name: APPLEJACK

  • Species: Cat

  • Location: Susans Cats And Kittens, Churchville, PA

  • Age, Size, Sex, Breed: Young, Medium, Male, Maine Coon Tabby Mix

  • Good With: Cats

  • Description: "APPLEJACK is a super sweet one year old ginger boy who was found sitting on an outside step all day...." Learn more

BINGO

  • Name: BINGO

  • Species: Cat

  • Location: Susans Cats And Kittens, Churchville, PA

  • Age, Size, Sex, Breed: Adult, Medium, Male, Domestic Short Hair

  • Good With: Cats

  • Description: "Poor BINGO. His people moved away and left him behind. Can you imagine how he felt? He is the sweetest..." Learn more

Miss Kittens

  • Name: Miss Kittens

  • Species: Cat

  • Location: Burlington County Animal Shelter, 35 Academy Drive, Mount Holly, NJ

  • Age, Size, Sex, Breed: Senior, Medium, Female, Domestic Short Hair

  • Learn more

Nina

  • Name: Nina

  • Species: Dog

  • Location: Burlington County Animal Shelter, 35 Academy Drive, Mount Holly, NJ

  • Age, Size, Sex, Breed: Senior, Large, Female, Pit Bull Terrier

  • Learn more

Max

  • Name: Max

  • Species: Cat

  • Location: Burlington County Animal Shelter, 35 Academy Drive, Mount Holly, NJ

  • Age, Size, Sex, Breed: Adult, Medium, Male, Domestic Short Hair

  • Description: "If you're a fan of chunky kitties, check out Max! This handsome boy with the pretty green eyes arrived with..." Learn more

Astute

  • Name: Astute

  • Species: Cat

  • Location: Burlington County Animal Shelter, 35 Academy Drive, Mount Holly, NJ

  • Age, Size, Sex, Breed: Senior, Small, Female, Domestic Short Hair

  • Description: "Astute (from Latin) is a formal and flattering adjective for someone with a good head on their shoulders. Well we..." Learn more

Tai

  • Name: Tai

  • Species: Dog

  • Location: Burlington County Animal Shelter, 35 Academy Drive, Mount Holly, NJ

  • Age, Size, Sex, Breed: Senior, Large, Male, Labrador Retriever Cattle Dog Mix

  • Description: "Tai is a sweet, mellow, guy; an 11 year-old Heinz 57 mix of Blue Heeler, Carolina Dog, & Cattle Dog...." Learn more

Bootsy

  • Name: Bootsy

  • Species: Cat

  • Location: Burlington County Animal Shelter, 35 Academy Drive, Mount Holly, NJ

  • Age, Size, Sex, Breed: Adult, Small, Female, Domestic Short Hair

  • Description: "Beautiful Bootsy is a petite black and white lady who is very sweet and likes petting and attention. She misses..." Learn more

Queen

  • Name: Queen

  • Species: Dog

  • Location: Burlington County Animal Shelter, 35 Academy Drive, Mount Holly, NJ

  • Age, Size, Sex, Breed: Young, Large, Female, Pit Bull Terrier Mixed Breed Mix

  • Learn more

Bella

  • Name: Bella

  • Species: Cat

  • Location: Burlington County Animal Shelter, 35 Academy Drive, Mount Holly, NJ

  • Age, Size, Sex, Breed: Adult, Small, Female, Domestic Short Hair

  • Description: "Meet the beautiful Bella! Bella is a pretty orange tabby with white paws who is searching for a quiet home..." Learn more

Wiggles

  • Name: Wiggles

  • Species: Cat

  • Location: Burlington County Animal Shelter, 35 Academy Drive, Mount Holly, NJ

  • Age, Size, Sex, Breed: Adult, Small, Male, Domestic Short Hair

  • Description: "Wiggles is a unique looking young boy who is said to be built like a pug! He is a sweet..." Learn more

Mack

  • Name: Mack

  • Species: Cat

  • Location: Burlington County Animal Shelter, 35 Academy Drive, Mount Holly, NJ

  • Age, Size, Sex, Breed: Adult, Small, Male, Domestic Short Hair

  • Learn more

Freddie

  • Name: Freddie

  • Species: Cat

  • Location: Burlington County Animal Shelter, 35 Academy Drive, Mount Holly, NJ

  • Age, Size, Sex, Breed: Young, Small, Male, Domestic Short Hair

  • Description: "There's a face that is hard to resist! Meet Freddie, a handsome and friendly tabby of just 2 years. He..." Learn more

Briana

  • Name: Briana

  • Species: Cat

  • Location: Burlington County Animal Shelter, 35 Academy Drive, Mount Holly, NJ

  • Age, Size, Sex, Breed: Young, Medium, Female, Domestic Short Hair

  • Description: "Briana is a small little cat who has a large heart that is looking for a family to love. Briana..." Learn more

Chloe Girl

  • Name: Chloe Girl

  • Species: Dog

  • Location: Burlington County Animal Shelter, 35 Academy Drive, Mount Holly, NJ

  • Age, Size, Sex, Breed: Adult, Large, Female, American Bulldog Mixed Breed Mix

  • Description: "Chloe Girl is a sweetheart. She is a shy girl, who loves people, so she may need some time to..." Learn more

Sugar

  • Name: Sugar

  • Species: Cat

  • Location: Burlington County Animal Shelter, 35 Academy Drive, Mount Holly, NJ

  • Age, Size, Sex, Breed: Adult, Small, Female, Domestic Short Hair

  • Description: "Sugar is a lovely 7 year old who is as sweet as her name. She is friendly, flirty and just..." Learn more

Bangles

  • Name: Bangles

  • Species: Cat

  • Location: Burlington County Animal Shelter, 35 Academy Drive, Mount Holly, NJ

  • Age, Size, Sex, Breed: Adult, Small, Female, Domestic Short Hair

  • Description: "Bangles is a stunning calico/tabby who is sweet, friendly and a loving lap cat! Bangles has lived with other cats..." Learn more

Uno

  • Name: Uno

  • Species: Cat

  • Location: Burlington County Animal Shelter, 35 Academy Drive, Mount Holly, NJ

  • Age, Size, Sex, Breed: Adult, Small, Female, Domestic Short Hair

  • Description: "Meet Uno! Uno arrived at the shelter with her 5 adorable kittens. Now that her babies are all grown up..." Learn more

This article originally appeared on the Levittown Patch

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    A woman identified as having taken part in the storming of the US Capitol is accused of stealing a laptop belonging to top Democrat Nancy Pelosi which she hoped to sell to a Russian spy agency, according to the FBI. There is no indication Riley June Williams, a 22-year-old careworker from Pennsylvania, took a laptop from Ms Pelosi's office. The FBI, which is working off a tip, said in the court record the "matter remains under investigation." The complaint, filed late Sunday in US District Court in Washington, sought the arrest of Williams on grounds including "violent entry and disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds." Relying on several photos and videos of the chaotic January 6 riot, an FBI agent said Williams was seen near the office of Ms Pelosi, US House Speaker. A witness, identified in the court document only as W1 but who claimed to be "the former romantic partner of Riley June Williams," alleged that Williams planned to send the laptop to a friend in Russia to sell it to the SVR foreign intelligence agency. That sale "fell through for unknown reasons, and Williams still has the computer device or destroyed it," the affidavit says.

  • U.S. and China clash at WHO over scientific mission in Wuhan

    The United States called on China on Monday to allow an expert team from the World Health Organization (WHO) to interview "care givers, former patients and lab workers" in the central city of Wuhan, drawing a rebuke from Beijing. The team of WHO-led independent experts trying to determine the origins of the new coronavirus arrived on Jan. 14 in Wuhan where they are holding teleconferences with Chinese counterparts during a two-week quarantine before starting work on the ground. The United States, which has accused China of hiding the extent of its initial outbreak, has called for a "transparent" WHO-led investigation and criticised the terms of the visit, under which Chinese experts have done the first phase of research.

  • Israel may be starting to show 'herd effects' of Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine, expert suggests

    Israel has vaccinated at least 25 percent of its population against the coronavirus so far, which leads the world and makes it "the country to watch for herd effects from" the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine, says infectious disease expert David Fishman. Recently, the case rate in Israel appears to have declined sharply, and while there could be a few reasons for that, it's possible the vaccination effort is beginning to play a role.> Israel's reproduction number appears to have declined rather sharply in recent days, with around 25% of the country vaccinated, and some additional percentage having at least partial immunity via prior infection. pic.twitter.com/sVyCYYd9dj> > — David Fisman (@DFisman) January 17, 2021One study from Clalit that was published last week reports that 14 days after receiving the first Pfizer-BioNTech shot, infection rates among 200,000 Israelis older than 60 fell 33 percent among those vaccinated compared to 200,000 from the same demographic who hadn't received a jab.At first glance, Fishman writes, that might seem disappointing since clinical trials suggested the vaccine was more than 90 percent effective. But he actually believes the 33 percent figure is "auspicious." Because vaccinated and non-vaccinated people are mingling, there could be "herd effects of immunization." In other words, when inoculated people interact with people who haven't had their shot, the latter individual may still be protected because the other person is. On a larger scale, that would drive down the number of infections among non-vaccinated people, thus shrinking the gap between the two groups' infection rates.> Estimated vaccine efficacy is a function of relative risk of infection in the vaccinated...when there is indirect protection via herd effects, we expect efficacy estimates to decrease because the risk among unvaccinated individuals declines.> > — David Fisman (@DFisman) January 17, 2021More data needs to come in, and Fishman thinks "we'll know more" this week, but he's cautiously optimistic about how things are going.More stories from theweek.com 5 more scathing cartoons about Trump's 2nd impeachment Statehood for D.C. and Puerto Rico only needs 50 votes What the Constitution really says about removal from office

  • Pence tried to contact Capitol officer Eugene Goodman to thank him

    The officer who may have saved the life of Vice President Mike Pence could now be giving him the side-eye. The cop hailed as a hero for leading a crowd of insurrectionists away from the Senate floor and potentially saving hundreds of lawmakers’ lives has, perhaps, left the vice president on read. Vice President Mike Pence has reportedly reached out to thank Capitol Police Officer Eugene Goodman for his heroism on Jan. 6, but they have yet to connect.

  • Trump Signs Executive Order Expanding Prosecutors’ Access to Concealed Carry Permits

    President Trump signed an executive order on Monday expanding access to personal firearms for federal law enforcement officials. The order is one of the last of Trump’s presidency, with Joe Biden set to be sworn into office on Wednesday. The purpose of the order is to remove “undue obstacles” for law enforcement officers and prosecutors to obtain concealed carry licenses, as well as to expand protections for prosecutors and judges. “It shall be the policy of the United States to remove any undue obstacle preventing current or retired Federal law enforcement officers from carrying a concealed firearm,” the order states. The order also directs the U.S. Attorney General to “propose a regulation…to provide that the special deputation as a Deputy United States Marshall shall be granted upon request to any Federal prosecutor” who faces risk of harm as a result of his or her work. The special deputation would grant a prosecutor the right to concealed carry of a firearm. It is unclear if the incoming Biden administration will work to carry out the order. Biden announced earlier this month that he will nominate Merrick Garland, the prosecutor who headed the investigation against Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh, to the position of attorney general. Biden himself is preparing several executive orders for the first days of his presidency, in an attempt to reverse several Trump administration policies. Among other issues, Biden will rejoin the Paris Climate Accords and end Trump’s immigration restrictions on some Muslim-majority nations.

  • Woman Still Missing After Hike in Yosemite National Park, Officials Ask for Help

    Yosemite National Park officials are asking the public’s help for any information regarding a 41-year-old Asian woman who went missing after going on a day hike to the Upper Yosemite Fall last week. The woman was identified as "Alice" Yu Xie, a Chinese national living in the United States, according to a post shared by the park on Saturday. “If you were on the trail to the top of Yosemite Falls on January 14 or 15, 2021, even if you did not see this individual, or have any information regarding this individual, please call 209/372-0216 during business hours, or Yosemite Emergency Communications Center at 209/379-1992 after hours,” the park said.

  • Uganda accuses U.S. of subversion after envoy tries to visit Wine's house

    Uganda's government spokesman accused the United States on Tuesday of trying to subvert last week's presidential elections after the U.S. ambassador attempted to visit an opposition leader being held under house arrest. The military surrounded the home of popstar-turned-legislator Bobi Wine, whose real name is Robert Kyagulanyi, shortly after he cast his ballot in Thursday's presidential elections. Incumbent Yoweri Museveni, 76, who has been in power since 1986, was declared winner of the poll with 59% of the vote against Wine's 35%.

  • Guns selling out as people panic-buy weapons ahead of Biden inauguration

    ‘I really can’t keep the ARs on the wall’ gun store manager says as enthusiasts stock up over fears new administration will enact gun-control laws

  • Yellen urges Congress to do more to fight pandemic recession

    Treasury Secretary nominee Janet Yellen is calling on Congress to do more to fight a deep pandemic-induced recession, saying the threats of a longer and even worse downturn are too great to cut back on support now. “Without further action, we risk a longer, more painful recession now — and long-term scarring of the economy later,” Yellen said in testimony prepared for her confirmation hearing Tuesday before the Senate Finance Committee. Yellen, who will be the first female treasury secretary in the nation's history, is expected to have little trouble winning approval in a Senate that will be narrowly controlled by Democrats once two Democratic senators from Georgia are seated.

  • Beirut blast chemicals possibly linked to Syrian businessmen: report, company filings

    The company that bought the ammonium nitrate which exploded in Beirut last August had possible links to two Syrian businessmen under U.S. sanctions for ties to President Bashar al-Assad, according to a report by a Lebanese journalist and London company filings. Savaro Ltd, the trading firm which procured the chemicals in 2013, shared a London address with companies linked to George Haswani and Imad Khoury, according to the report by documentary film-maker Firas Hatoum, which aired on Lebanon's al-Jadeed TV station this week. Haswani, Khoury and his brother Mudalal Khoury have all been sanctioned by Washington for supporting Assad's war effort.

  • Off the rails: Trump mainlines election conspiracies as Oval Office descends into madness

    Beginning on election night 2020 and continuing through his final days in office, Donald Trump unraveled and dragged America with him, to the point that his followers sacked the U.S. Capitol with two weeks left in his term. This Axios series takes you inside the collapse of a president. Episode 3: The conspiracy goes too far. Trump's outside lawyers plot to seize voting machines and spin theories about communists, spies and computer software.President Trump was sitting in the Oval Office one day in late November when a call came in from lawyer Sidney Powell. "Ugh, Sidney," he told the staff in the room before he picked up. "She's getting a little crazy, isn't she? She's really gotta tone it down. No one believes this stuff. It's just too much."Be smart: sign up FREE for the most influential newsletter in America.He put the call on speakerphone for the benefit of his audience. Powell was raving about a national security crisis involving the Iranians flipping votes in battleground states. Trump pressed mute and laughed mockingly."So what are we gonna do about it, Sidney?" Trump would say every few seconds, whipping Powell more and more into a frenzy. He was having fun with it. "She really is crazy, huh?" he said, again with his finger on the mute button.It was clear that Trump recognized how unhinged his outside legal advisers were. But he was becoming increasingly desperate about losing to Joe Biden, and Powell and her crew were willing to keep feeding the grand lie that the election could be overturned. They were selling Trump a seductive but delusional vision: a clear and achievable path to victory. The only catch: He'd have to stop listening to his government and campaign staffs, to cross the Rubicon and view them as liars, quitters and traitors.Trump's new gang of advisers shared some common traits. They were sycophants who craved an audience with the president. They were hardcore conspiracy theorists. The other striking commonality within this crew was that all of them had, at one point in their lives, done impressive, professional, mainstream work.Rudy Giuliani once was "America's Mayor," hailed for his handling of 9/11. Powell was a successful attorney who defended Enron. Michael Flynn was a decorated three-star general whom Obama fired and then Trump brought back as his national security adviser, before firing him and ultimately pardoning him. Lin Wood was a nationally known defamation lawyer. Patrick Byrne made a small fortune launching the internet retailer Overstock.com.One exception was Jenna Ellis. She had a thin legal resume, and had in the 2016 campaign season used adjectives like "idiot," "boorish," "arrogant," "bully," and "disgusting" to characterize Trump and his behavior. But during Trump's presidency, she pushed her way into his inner circle, powered by levels of televised obsequiousness remarkable even for Trumpworld.Powell and Wood distinguished themselves with their extremism. Even Giuliani began distancing himself, telling anyone who'd listen that Powell didn't represent the president. But Trump promoted Powell as part of his team, and even though he had privately admitted to aides that he thought she was "crazy," he still wanted to hear what she had to say."Sometimes you need a little crazy," Trump told one official.While Trump's campaign team — experienced attorneys such as Justin Clark and Matt Morgan — were scrutinizing issues such as signature verification and access to room monitoring for vote counting, Powell was appealing to Trump's personal mantra to "Think Big!"She presented the president with a sweeping, multinational conspiracy of foreign interference at a scale never seen before in American history. The fact that she had no evidence that could hold up in court was a minor detail.Powell and Flynn told Trump he couldn't trust his team. That appealed to a paranoid mentality that always lurked beneath his surface: The FBI was corrupt. His CIA was working against him, and his intelligence community was, too. Why else weren't they showing him the evidence that China, Venezuela, Iran and various other communists had stolen his election win?To help him bypass these obstacles, they'd need Trump to give them top-level security clearances so they could get to the bottom of the "stolen" election. Trump liked this idea. Why not make Powell a special counsel in charge of election fraud? Why not give her and Flynn the clearances?Trump's professional staff had learned over time that they had to pick their moments to fight back. On the question of Powell, chief of staff Mark Meadows and White House counsel Pat Cipollone were of one mind: No way was she getting a top secret clearance.Powell and Flynn sent Trump advisers documents they said contained the evidence of this far-reaching conspiracy. To the White House staff, it was gibberish — the rantings of a QAnon devotee. But these documents — perhaps the most deranged materials to reach a modern U.S. president — found their way to the West Wing.According to documents obtained by Axios, Powell and her crew advised Trump that a foreign conspiracy to steal the election involved a coordinated cyberwarfare attack from China, Russia, Iran, Iraq and North Korea.In arguments in front of Trump in the Oval Office, White House officials pushed back aggressively.What Powell was claiming to have uncovered would have been the greatest foreign attack in American history. Yet the U.S. intelligence community had seen no evidence of it.But Powell had an answer for that too: The reason Trump hadn't heard about this from his intelligence officials was because they were actively subverting him and hiding crucial information from him.His dog whistle to QAnon conspiracy theorists — a curiosity prompted once he learned they "love Trump" — dated back to at least the summer. On July 1, 2020, Trump met with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, Sen. Todd Young of Indiana and top political aides in the Oval Office for an update on Senate races. Trump was holding a printed slide deck showing the latest key data points, like polling and cash on hand, for the closely watched Colorado Senate race between Republican Cory Gardner and Democrat John Hickenlooper.Trump looked at the deck and immediately said, "How about that primary last night?" QAnon-enthusiast Lauren Boebert had won the Republican primary for Colorado's 3rd Congressional District. Consensus in the room was that Boebert's victory was a stunner. The president then addressed McConnell. "You know she’s a believer in that QAnon," he said. "Are you familiar with that, Mitch?" McConnell sat there stone-faced. He didn't move a muscle."You know, people say they're into all kinds of bad things and say all kinds of terrible things about them," Trump added. "But, you know, my understanding is they basically are just people who want good government."The room fell silent. Nobody knew how to respond. Then all of a sudden Meadows burst out laughing. "I have heard them described a lot of ways, but never quite like that," he said. The meeting participants broke down laughing. "In terror, quite candidly," said a source in the room.Powell filled the Trumpian Venn diagram between conspiracy theorists and sycophants. She offered the comforting deceptions that Trump was craving in his desperate post-election days and that the people on his team who had actual experience in election law refused to serve him.In the false and baseless theory she crafted, America's enemies had used two CIA programs — a foreign surveillance program called the "Hammer" and a cyberwarfare weapon called "Scorecard" — to steal U.S. elections. Her evidence was based on claims from a California computer programmer with a long track record of hawking fantastic-sounding technology. Powell and Flynn claimed that the CIA had been using these programs nefariously since 2009. Documents her team shared with Trump advisers falsely claimed that top Obama administration intelligence officials John Brennan and Jim Clapper — both enemies of Trump's — had illegally commandeered Hammer to advance Obama's supposed ambition of turning America into a communist client state. They further claimed that Brennan and Clapper had taken the program's source code with them when they left office. China had now mysteriously acquired Hammer, Powell argued.They described this as an act of war during in an Oval Office appearance on Dec. 18. No response should be considered too bold, they said. Trump needed to use the full force of the U.S. government to seize Dominion voting machines and catch the "traitors."That an American president was even entertaining any of this, raised questions about the state of his mind and his capacity to fulfill his duties.The evening before that meeting, Giuliani had phoned his old friend, Ken Cuccinelli, second in command at the Department of Homeland Security, asking him whether DHS could seize voting machines. "No," Cuccinelli told Giuliani, politely but firmly. His department did not have that legal authority.By this point, Trump was mainlining conspiracies. Many of his longest-serving advisers had all but given up trying to reason with him.His son-in-law, Jared Kushner, billed once by Newsweek as the most influential presidential relative since Bobby Kennedy, receded from the discussions when it came to countering the crazies. Once Giuliani took over, Kushner subsided from view, trying to cut last minute deals in the Middle East and burnish his foreign policy legacy. This frustrated some of his colleagues. Serious intervention was required on the domestic front.Whether Trump himself was still in charge, or had ceded decision-making to the bottom feeders, was at least an open question.🎧 Listen to Jonathan Swan on Axios' new investigative podcast series, called "How it happened: Trump's last stand."About this series: Our reporting is based on interviews with current and former White House, campaign, government and congressional officials as well as eyewitnesses and people close to the president. Sources have been granted anonymity to share sensitive observations or details they would not be authorized to disclose. President Trump and other officials to whom quotes and actions have been attributed by others were provided the opportunity to confirm, deny or respond to reporting elements prior to publication. "Off the rails" is reported by White House reporter Jonathan Swan, with reporting and research assistance by Zach Basu. It was edited by Margaret Talev and Mike Allen. Illustrations by Sarah Grillo, Aïda Amer and Eniola Odetunde.Support safe, smart, sane journalism. Sign up for Axios Newsletters here.

  • Irish Setter puppy mauls deer in Richmond Park with owner fined £600

    A beauty firm executive has been ordered to pay £600 costs after his Irish Setter puppy mauled a deer in Richmond Park leading bystanders to form a human shield around the wounded animal. Franck Hiribarne was training his pet Alfie in the royal park in south-west London when the gun dog gave chase to the deer forcing it to run onto the road where it was struck by a car. Footage shared on social media showed Alfie circling the injured deer before biting and dragging in front of bystanders who responded by attempting to protect the animal by forming a human shield around it.