Standoff with lone gunman prompts enquiries from veterans, housewives, teens and hunting enthusiasts. ‘We’re referring all calls to Northrop Grumman, whose Remotec division manufactures the devices’ said a DPD spokesman. ‘The most common questions are’: Can it be used for trick-or-treating? Can I control it with my iphone? What colors does it come in? Will it take down an alligator at 50 feet? Is it covered by the Second Amendment? Can I trade my 2014 Camry against it? Does Chuck Norris have one? Remotec was not available for comment, though a local resident said the...

Following recent sit-ins by Democrats in Congress – and decades of bad blood between the NRA and Liberals – a lasting agreement may finally be close. A last-minute deal in Washington has cleared the way for gun shops and arms dealers to sell automatic weapons or ammunition to the public – but not both. Crucially, the deal has the backing of the all-powerful National Rifle Association (NRA).  Its leader Wayne LaPierre struck an unusually conciliatory tone on the steps of the Capitol Building. ‘This agreement represents perhaps the most painful compromise in the NRA’s...

A previously-unknown group – ‘Train Spotters Up In Arms’ – has staged a violent demo at the Cheyenne HQ of railroad operator Union Pacific. The demonstrators exchanged gunfire with police for over three hours, demanding that the World’s largest steam engine (currently under restoration) be renamed. ‘It’s wrong in so many ways’ said TSUIA spokesperson Melinda J. ‘It’s sexist, sizeist, homophobic, phallo-centric and probably racist too’. ‘Actually’ she continued ‘the locomotive is painted black – so that just...

City’s radical plan to reduce its year-round crime wave – by having it all on one day. One day next Summer, the famous Las Vegas Strip will echo not to the sound of tourists, casino attractions and live bands – but screeching tires and automatic gunfire. ‘We’re rolling the dice on this one’ admitted LVMPD Sheriff Joseph Lombardo.  ‘It’s a new innovation for Vegas, and indeed for any city, but we feel that with proper policing and co-operation between law enforcement, the public and the criminal community it will pay long-term dividends in making our city...

With record droughts continuing in the USA’s Western States, planners are having to consider radical solutions to safeguard future water and energy supplies. Lake Mead (created in the 1930s when Hoover Dam was built) is at its lowest level since first being filled.  The distinctine ‘bathtub ring’ around the lake grows by about 10 feet per year. The US Bureau of Reclamation has responsibility for the Dam, and is reported to be in near-crisis talks with the States of Nevada and Arizona, as well as the Federal Government. One extreme option – which is nevertheless gaining...