Weapons & Guns

After two mass shootings in the past month, it seems our elected leaders are finally doing something ... because a new bipartisan framework for gun reform has been reached.

20 U.S. senators announced they'd struck a deal for the bones of would-be legislation that they hope to draft up soon and present to the Senate floor for a vote -- consisting of 10 Dems and 10 Republicans, who've outlined key provisions they wanna address.

Here are the big takeaways of their proposed package ... stricter background checks and extra scrutiny for gun buyers under 21, more money for states to impose renewed red flag laws and additional funding for mental health treatment. Also, beefed up school security.

The background checks for those under 21 would include delving into their juvenile criminal records, if any, and health records. The red flag laws would give state-ran law enforcement the authority to temporarily strip guns from those that pose a risk to themselves or others. Unclear what the criteria for that might be, but based on the name ... anything that stands out as a red flag might presumably be used to step in and stop unusual behavior.

There's more ... their framework also seeks to close the "boyfriend loophole," meaning those who've been found to abuse their SOs can't get their hands on a gun. Plus, they're looking to crack down on straw gun purchasers as well as illegal unlicensed firearm dealers.

It's not everything President Biden has said he wants in new gun control reform, but it's a major first step -- and the fact that this many Republicans are on board means it has a real chance of passing the Senate without a filibuster, assuming they maintain their positions.

Among the four Senators who led the charge ... Chris Murphy (D), John Cornyn (R), Kyrsten Sinema (D) and Thom Tillis (R). The other Republicans include Romney, Portman, Toomey, Blunt, Graham, Cassidy, Collins and Burr. A handful of them are retiring this year.

Again, it's not the assault weapons ban many have been calling for ... but it's something for now. There's an even bigger committee in Congress working on more potential legislation.

The news comes after the Uvalde school shooting -- where 21 people were gunned down, 19 of whom were children -- and the Buffalo shooting ... where another young man went out of his way to target Black people. In both instances, an AR-15 style weapon was used.

Bill Maher is calling out Hollywood studios for being super woke on every issue except the most obvious one -- its own culture of gun violence and vengeance, and the role those images play in real-life mass shootings.

Bill got after the issue on Friday night's episode of his HBO show, "Real Time" ... pointing out Hollywood bends over backward to be politically correct, yet "when it comes to the unbridled romanticization of gun violence? Crickets."

Reacting to the recent mass shootings in Uvalde and Buffalo, and the growing cry for Congress to "do something" ... Maher said movie and TV studios also need to acknowledge some cold hard stats.

Such as the fact the average American kid views about 200,000 acts of violence on big and little screens before they turn 18 -- and the FBI says a "fascination with violence-filled entertainment" is a huge warning sign for potential school shooters.

Since Uvalde, Matthew McConaughey -- and others -- have implored politicians to do something about the access to firearms, assault weapons in particular. Maher says, of course, that's part of the problem too, and so is the film industry's fascination with showing gun violence.

He's keenly aware the left will think he's doing the work of right wing Republicans or even the NRA, but he addresses that squarely. He's also not calling for censorship of action/shoot 'em up films -- which he points out, in a pretty hilarious way, should actually be called vengeance films.

YNW Melly appears to have been the triggerman in the murders of his two friends ... at least according to a police detective who is set to testify at Melly's upcoming trial.

According to new legal docs, police detective Christopher Williams will be called by prosecutors as an expert witness, where he will tell the jury it was "more likely" Melly fired the fatal shots inside a car.

The detective, who says he has extensive training and expertise in reconstructing shootings, says his analysis shows it's a better bet Melly -- not co-defendant Cortlen Henry -- fired the fatal shots ... though he's not saying it with absolute certainty.

Remember ... when Melly and Henry were arrested and charged in the double murder of their friends, cops said their initial investigation determined Melly shot the men, and that he and Henry then staged the crime scene to look like a drive-by shooting.

Detective Williams says he reconstructed the shooting by looking at blood splatter and the angles of the bullet holes and gunshot wounds ... and it appears the shooter was seated in the backseat, behind the driver, and shot the victim from inside the car.

He also says the evidence shows the gun was fired no more than 8 inches from the victim's face.

Britney Spears' ex-husband Jason Alexander has made continuous attempts to connect with the singer in person, and showed up armed with a knife to her wedding ... according to cops.

The Ventura County Sheriff's Office has filed an emergency protective order against Jason Alexander after the man showed up uninvited to Britney's home Thursday. The doc reads, in part, "(He) has continually trespassed on her property. Alexander advised multiple times no welcomed."

Cops say Alexander was armed with a knife when he crashed the wedding and made his way inside Britney's L.A. home.

The order states Jason must stay at least 100 yards away from both Sam and Britney as well as her home.

Britney's attorney, Mathew Rosengart, tells TMZ, "I want to thank Sergeant Cyrus Zadeh, Detective Ken Michaelson, and the Ventura County Sheriff’s Office for their prompt and good work and look forward to working with law enforcement to ensure Alexander is aggressively prosecuted and hopefully convicted. This was an outrageous security breach, which I am livid about, but fortunately, Britney is safe and she was a beautiful and happy bride."

The armed man who showed up at Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh's house said he's having serious psychiatric issues, including thoughts of hurting people -- disturbing information he volunteered to police.

TMZ just obtained this 911 call from the Montgomery County Sheriff in Maryland. Nicholas Roske made the initial call, but hung up, and when the operator called him back, he said ... "I'm having thoughts. I've been having them for a long time. I'm from California. I came over here to act on them."

He then said he'd just flown there, took a taxi to Kavanaugh's home and admitted he had a gun with him ... which was unloaded and locked in a case inside his black suitcase.

Roske sounded extremely concerned about his own mental health, telling the operator he wasn't on drugs or alcohol, but said he needs "psychiatric help."

After copping to also having pepper spray and a knife in his luggage, he offers to step further away from the suitcase before police arrive. Roske said, "I want to be fully compliant. So, whatever they want me to do, I'll do."

After they arrested Roske, cops say he told them he was upset about the leaked Supreme Court opinion to overturn Roe v. Wade, as well as the mass shooting in Uvalde, TX. As it turns out, abortion rights protesters were also marching Wednesday outside Kavanaugh's house.

As we reported, the 26-year-old was booked for attempted murder. He told the operator he'd been hospitalized multiple times and has had suicidal thoughts, and that he'd located Justice Kavanaugh's home through an Internet search and cross-referencing a photo of the house.

Indianapolis Colts star linebacker Darius Leonard is stepping up in the midst of tragedy ... by donating $15K to help pay for the caskets of the Uvalde shooting victims.

Leonard and his wife Kayla made the generous donation through his foundation -- The Maniac Foundation -- to the owner of Soulshine, the Texas company that provided custom caskets for all the victims.

"Once I heard the terrible news about the Uvalde school shooting, I knew that I wanted to do something to help those suffering," Leonard said.

"I am pleased to announce that The Maniac Foundation has donated 15k to Soulshine who provided each victim of the shooting with a custom casket."

Soulshine owner Trey Ganem said when his team was asked to help with the caskets, he agreed without hesitation ... explaining he knew God would send an army to help them fulfill their mission.

21 innocent people, including 19 kids, were savagely murdered inside Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, TX on May 24.

The devastation from the senseless violence has reverberated throughout the sports world ... with many high-profile names from LeBron James to Warriors coach Steve Kerr making impassioned pleas to politicians to fix the issue.

In the wake of the Uvalde and Buffalo mass shootings, President Biden says it's on the American people to force Congress to ban assault weapons, and the best way to do that is at the voting booth.

The Prez flew to L.A. Wednesday an appeared on "Jimmy Kimmel Live," where he addressed America's gun violence issue. Remember, Jimmy delivered an impassioned monologue after the elementary school massacre ... so he asked Biden squarely, "Why haven't we done anything about this?"

POTUS said he'd sat for 4 hours with the victims' families in Texas, and spoke about the pain on their faces .. to which Kimmel said, "Shouldn't we demand that every Senator in the United States sit with those families?"

The President didn't disagree, but then implored all Americans to make gun violence and an assault weapons ban a "voting issue" ... meaning, only vote for candidates who support your view on the issue.

Kimmel asked why he wouldn't simply ban assault weapons by executive order, and Biden said he didn't want to abuse the Constitution ... as he says his predecessor did. Instead, he says Americans have the power to demand the change when they vote.

Of course, the flip side to that is we've heard that same battle cry after Columbine, Sandy Hook, Parkland and all the other school shootings.

For what it's worth, the House of Representatives did vote Thursday and pass the "Protecting Our Kids Act" ... a bundle of 8 gun control bills. However, it passed mainly on party lines with all the Democrats and only 5 Republicans voting in favor, and the reality is the 50-50 Senate most likely will not pass it.

The plan to introduce a Texas bill blocking children from attending drag shows is sparking debate -- but "RuPaul's Drag Race" star Alyssa Edwards says the move and the timing of it make her embarrassed of her home state.

Alyssa puts it plainly -- the new bill is frustrating, and will cause a setback for young kids. She says decisions like this should solely be left to a parent's discretion.

She's been calling out State Rep. Bryan Slaton -- who said he plans to introduce the bill -- for showing more interest in drag bars than figuring out how to keep school kids safer in the wake of the Uvalde shooting.

Representative Slaton says he's filing the potential legislation after recent footage went viral of kids attending a drag show in Dallas.

Just last year Alyssa appeared on the 16th season of "America's Got Talent" with members of her Beyond Belief Dance Company and made it to the semi-finals. Also, the Netflix docuseries "Dancing Queen" followed Alyssa and her dance students in Mesquite, Texas.

Family members of the victims of the Buffalo mass shooting are trying to make sure their loved one's deaths are not in vain -- they want Congress to do something, anything, about firearms and white supremacists.

We got Ben Crump and the families he represents Wednesday on Capitol Hill, where lawmakers are hearing testimony from survivors and loved ones of the recent mass shootings in Buffalo and Uvalde.

Michelle Spight, whose cousin Markus Morrison was one of the 10 killed in Buffalo, says she's tired of the rhetoric coming from Congress ... and she wants more done to combat white supremacy, because the gunman in their case followed that ideology.

Dominique Douglas, another of Markus' cousins, says if Congress members do nothing in the wake of multiple mass shootings, they should be voted out of office.

Crump says the bodies of the Buffalo 10 were so mangled by the shooter's assault rifle, they're the modern equivalent to Emmett Till ... and he's calling on lawmakers to put people over politics to enact gun reform before there's another public tragedy.

DDG may not be moonwalking in Calabasas for a while ... we've learned he got hauled off to jail for gun possession, but the arrest started with an alleged joyride.

Law enforcement sources tell us LAPD pulled over the 24-year-old rapper and YouTuber Monday for reckless driving. We're told he was cruising in a Lamborghini at the time.

Cops ended up searching the vehicle and say they found a gun, leading to his arrest for felony possession of a concealed weapon.

DDG -- who's dating singer/actress Halle Bailey -- is currently being held on $35,000 bond in Valley Jail. As of now, it's unclear if they'll ticket him for reckless driving or submit the incident with the gun charge.

We’ve reached out to DDG’s reps … we’ll let you know what we hear back.

Matthew McConaughey is serious about making a real change when it comes to guns in The United States ... meeting with politicians and speaking from The White House after a shooting that killed 19 elementary students in his hometown.

The actor joined the White House press briefing Tuesday, urging politicians on both sides to take action following the Uvalde shooting -- saying making a difference in the safety of our country is the best way to honor the lives lost.

McConaughey says he and his wife, Camila, spent a lot of time on the ground with the families of victims of the shooting -- sharing stories, tears and memories ... and now he is urging those in the highest office to make a change.

Matthew's words come following a short meeting with President Biden ... and a second day of meetings with lawmakers, as Congress mulls over new gun safety legislation this week.

Of course, his speech at the WH isn't the first time the actor has spoken out on this issue. He took to social media, pleading for gun reform just hours after the shooting.

Robb Elementary School teacher Arnulfo Reyes is mourning the deaths of every single student in his classroom, and is especially angry at police in Uvalde for standing by while they were massacred.

The 4th grade teacher, who was shot twice, is speaking out for the first time, recounting the horrifying moment the shooter entered his class. Arnulfo says his students heard gunfire and asked him what was happening ... he was unsure at first, but told the students to get under their desks and pretend they were sleeping -- just as they'd practiced in drills.

He told ABC News' Amy Rohrbach that's when he turned and saw the shooter ... the beginning of 77 minutes of carnage. When it was over all of Arnulfo's students were dead, in addition to 8 others and two of his fellow teachers.

Make no mistake, Arnulfo feels the police abandoned his students, and he spoke directly to them, saying ... "You have a bulletproof vest, I have nothing. You are supposed to protect and serve. There is no excuse for their actions, and I will never forgive them."

He tearfully added, "I feel so bad for the parents because they lost a child, but they lost one child. I lost 11 that day, all at one time."

He is now a man on a mission, vowing to be active in the national debate about gun control and demanding new legislation.

Sen. Ted Cruz is sticking to his guns, literally and figuratively, when it comes to potential gun reform in the wake of so many mass shootings -- insisting any solution should disarm bad guys, and not the good.

Cruz was at Reagan International Airport Monday, when we asked about the Uvalde massacre and what the Senate intended to do about the rash of mass shootings in America. The Senator from Texas quickly rattled off the Robb Elementary School casualties, and then dug in his heels against any bans on firearms.

Of course, in the wake of Uvalde and Buffalo, many have renewed calls for Congress to pass stricter gun control measures ... starting with banning assault rifles like the ones the shooters used in both tragedies.

Cruz, however, tells our photog most of his Texas constituents don't think that's the right way to decrease casualties in mass shooting incidents. Instead, he argues, we ought to focus on ways to get firearms out of the hands of those who never should've had them to begin with ... like the Uvalde shooter, for instance.

He says he's proposed legislation that would enforce stricter background checks on would-be gun seekers -- something that he seems eye-to-eye with Dems. He also wants new measures to beef up law enforcement at schools, a position Cruz and others have championed since the Sandy Hook massacre ... and, keep in mind, there was an armed guard in Uvalde too.

Fact is, several polls have shown the majority of Americans support common sense gun reform, including a ban on assault weapons -- but Sen. Cruz pushed back at any such notion, telling us Texans feel otherwise.

Dave Chappelle is giving back following his weekend performance in Buffalo, NY ... making what will be a sizeable donation to families of victims who were killed in that city's recent mass shooting.

Chappelle hit the stage Sunday at the Shea's Performing Arts Center, and we've confirmed he's giving all the money from his ticket sales back to the Buffalo community directly affected by the May 14 tragedy.

It's a 3,000-seat venue, so the final check Dave cuts for the families should be impressive. The decision to do the stand-up gig in Buffalo was last minute -- Dave announced it on Wednesday and the tickets sold out within an hour.

As we've reported, at least 10 people were killed, most of whom were Black ... after a man opened fire with a semi-automatic weapon at a Tops Friendly Market grocery store.

The 18-year-old gunman drove several hours across NY state to the predominately African-American neighborhood. He not only went live on social media during the attack, but beforehand he'd posted a manifesto declaring himself a white supremacist.

Another day, another mass shooting ... that is what our nation has become.

This time the horror played out in Philadelphia ... 3 people dead and at least 13 injured Saturday night after gunmen opened fire on a crowded street.

It happened just before midnight ... Police Inspector D.F. Pace said there were "several active shooters shooting into the crowd."

One of the cops got close to one of the shooters and fired at him ... it's unclear if the shooter was hit, and he apparently dropped the gun and fled the scene.

The shooters chose an area that is at the heart of the entertainment section of Philly ... and an area with lots of bars and restaurants. Hundreds of folks were doing what they routinely do on the weekend ... eat, party and enjoy the company of fellow Philadelphians when shots rang out.

Pace said 2 handguns were recovered, including one that had an extended magazine.

So far, no arrests.

Kids are now in the (illegal) business of carrying out armed robberies -- at least according to cops in Michigan, backed by surveillance video that seems to show the smoking gun.

A 12-year-old was arrested this week out in Hartford, MI after local authorities allege he carried out a gas station stickup job on Wednesday ... all while firing off a warning shot inside the establishment to make sure everyone knew he meant business.

The horrifying moment was caught on tape, and it's about as dramatic as it sounds. The boy casually approaches the gas station clerk with a bag in one hand, and a gun in the other.

He demands that she throw whatever dough was in their register into the sack, and when the woman asks if he's serious ... he aims up at the ceiling and pulls the trigger, letting one go and freaking the lady out. She quickly does what he wants and hands him the stash.

The preteen accepts it and walks out ... as if nothing had happened. It wasn't long though before he was picked up by the police and charged with multiple felony counts -- including armed robbery, assault with a dangerous weapon, and discharge of a firearm, among others.