NJ: Plainfield man is shot, killed: "Authorities are investigating the death of a Plainfield man apparently shot several times this morning. Investigators aren't sure what the circumstances were of the midnight incident. The man, 25-year-old Robert Pierre Louis, was pronounced dead at the scene, located on the 800- block of Fourth Street, according to Union County Prosecutor Theodore Romankow. It appears he was shot by the resident of a home he was outside of, but the person, whose name was not released, has not been charged, Romankow said."


KY: Widow shoots intruder: "A 63-year-old widow shot and killed an intruder who was wearing only boxer shorts when he accosted her in her 16th Street home early Monday, police said. Lt. Tom Collins, Newport’s acting police chief, said the incident was a tragedy for both the woman, Phyllis Maloney, and for the man who was fatally shot, Jordan R. Risheberger, 21, of Florence. Detectives do not expect to file charges against Maloney because the investigation shows she was defending herself in her own home. Risheberger had been attending a party near Maloney’s home, Collins said, and authorities were investigating whether Risheberger may have been under the influence of drugs or alcohol. It will take several weeks before blood-test results will be ready."


TX: Homeowner is acquitted in student's shooting: "After four years and two murder trials, homeowner Ray Lemes was acquitted by a jury Monday night of criminal wrongdoing for gunning down a college student on the asphalt of his cul-de-sac. The parents of Angelo State University student Tracy Glass, who was 19 when he was shot five times in the early morning of Aug. 4, 2007, declined to comment as they left the courthouse an hour later. According to Lemes’ attorneys, he was a terrified homeowner intent on keeping his wife from getting raped after chasing an aggressive intruder out of his house in the middle of the night. Brothers Joe James and Michael Sawyer, attorneys who represented Lemes, suggested that Glass had targeted their client’s household after looking over the fence of his sister’s adjoining house the day before and seeing Lemes’ wife, Katherine Lemes, doing yardwork alone."


Are .50 BMG upper conversions going to be reclassified as firearms?: "For some time, I’ve been hearing rumblings from sources in the firearms industry that your branch is going to classify .50 BMG upper conversions for AR-15 rifles as firearms, a departure from the past practice established by your office of considering them parts. I have since been informed this was confirmed by your office in a telephone conversation with a national firearms publication. Because this could have such profound and far-reaching effects, not only within the firearms industry, but also among private owners who have been in compliance with currently written regulations, I’m seeking to document if this is true." [I gather that the assembly referred to enables a special .50 cal. round to be used in the weapon, usually for long range target shooting]