This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it will be Erik Sorensen's guest on Friday, February 3rd at 8:10 a.m., on WAUB 1590 AM/98.1 FM.  Streaming audio available here.

Federal official in Arizona to plead the fifth and not answer questions on 'furious' - The chief of the Criminal Division of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Arizona is refusing to testify before Congress regarding Operation Fast and Furious, the federal gun-running scandal that sent U.S. weapons to Mexico.  Patrick J. Cunningham informed the House Oversight Committee late Thursday through his attorney that he will use the Fifth Amendment protection.

Long Island Pharmacies Taking Action To Prevent Armed Robberies - Pharmacists on Long Island operating smaller independent shops are taking their personal safety to another level.  Without citing specific data, Nassau and Suffolk County officials say they've noticed a spike in the number of applications for gun permits.  Pharmacists cite last year's Father's Day massacre in a mom and pop pharmacy in Medford and this New Year's Eve attempted robbery at another independent pharmacy in Seaford, Long Island that claimed the life of an off-duty federal agent.

The strange birth of NY’s gun laws - Recent months have seen a former Marine from Indiana, a Tea Party activist from California and a nurse from Tennessee all arrested and charged in New York City for possession of firearms they had legal permits to carry back home. All were “nabbed” when they naively sought to check the weapon with security. These innocents fell afoul of the nation’s toughest gun laws. But few New Yorkers know how those laws came to be. The father of New York gun control was Democratic city pol “Big Tim “Sullivan — a state senator and Tammany Hall crook, a criminal overseer of the gangs of New York.

More women owning guns - Gun counters usually crowded with men, are now seeing a new trend across the country. More women are purchasing pistols, but it's not surprising many firearms departments.  Gander Mountain Firearms Sales Associate Nigel Lopez said, "I've seen more women interested in obtaining a pistol permit to carry concealed for personal protection. That's been the number one thing."

Holder to Face Lawmakers’ Questions on U.S. Gun Operation - U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder will testify about a federal gun operation before a House panel whose chairman accused the Justice Department of “shameful” conduct related to the matter.  Holder will appear Feb. 2 before the Oversight and Government Reform Committee to discuss the “Fast and Furious” program, which allowed illegal U.S. gun purchases in an effort to link the weapons to Mexican drug cartels, the panel said today.