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On this day in history, Nov. 17, 1871, National Rifle Association founded by Civil War veteran Union officers

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Former Union officers, who had led the costly battlefield effort to free 4 million Americans from bondage, chartered the National Rifle Association (NRA) in New York City on this day in history, Nov. 17, 1871.

Civil War veterans Col. William C. Church and Gen. George Wingate created the organization after they were “dismayed by the lack of marksmanship shown by their troops,” states the NRA in its online history. 

The association was determined to “promote and encourage rifle shooting on a scientific basis,” Church wrote in a contemporary magazine editorial, the NRA reports.

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Ambrose Burnside was the first president of the fledging organization. 

General Burnside led federal troops in many of the early encounters of the Civil War. He served as governor of Rhode Island after the war, from 1866 to 1869. 

Following his stint as NRA president (1871-72), Burnside served as a U.S. senator from Rhode Island from 1875 to 1881. 

Portrait of Ambrose Everett Burnside (1824-1881), American Army officer for whom sideburns are named. A top Union general in the Civil War, he was a governor and U.S. senator from Rhode Island, as well as first president of the National Rifle Association. Undated photograph by William Brady.

Portrait of Ambrose Everett Burnside (1824-1881), American Army officer for whom sideburns are named. A top Union general in the Civil War, he was a governor and U.S. senator from Rhode Island, as well as first president of the National Rifle Association. Undated photograph by William Brady.
(Photographer William Brady/Getty Images)

Several other Union officers shaped the NRA during their stints as president of the organization in its earliest years. 

Among them: General Alexander Shaler, who earned the Medal of Honor for heroics at the Second Battle of Fredericksburg; General Winfield Scott Hancock, whose troops repelled Pickett’s Charge in the dramatic final encounter of the Battle of Gettysburg; and the Union’s greatest officer, Ulysses S. Grant, who led the NRA in 1883 and 1884 after serving two terms as president of the United States.

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Approximately 5.5 million Americans from all walks of life and political persuasions are members of the National Rifle Association today.

The organization’s very first efforts included building a rifle range to promote marksmanship. The NRA’s original 1872 range on Long Island, New York, was moved to New Jersey in 1892. 

The Minnesota State Trap Shooting Championship expects 7,900 student competitors from 340 high schools in 2023.

The first National Rifle Matches were held at a new and larger range in Camp Perry, Ohio, in 1907. 

The matches are still held at Camp Perry today, attracting nearly 6,000 competitive shooters each year.

Students from the Osage High School trap team compete in a trapshooting match at the Mitchell County Trap Range on May 5, 2018, in Osage, Iowa. Last year over 3,500 students participated in the Iowa State High School Trap Championships held in Cedar Falls.

Students from the Osage High School trap team compete in a trapshooting match at the Mitchell County Trap Range on May 5, 2018, in Osage, Iowa. Last year over 3,500 students participated in the Iowa State High School Trap Championships held in Cedar Falls.
(Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)

“The NRA’s interest in promoting the shooting sports among America’s youth began in 1903, when NRA Secretary Albert S. Jones urged the establishment of rifle clubs at all major colleges, universities and military academies,” the association writes of its history. 

Rifle and shooting clubs are still an active part of high school and university life in many parts of the country.

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The Minnesota State High School Trap Shooting Championship expects 7,900 student competitors from 340 high schools to compete in its 2023 competition; it’s dubbed “the world’s largest shooting sport event.”

Gun ownership was widely accepted as a part of life throughout most of the nation’s history. But in recent decades, attitudes toward firearms changed dramatically. 

The Second Amendment of the U.S. Constitution states that "the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed."

The Second Amendment of the U.S. Constitution states that “the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.”
(iStock)

The Second Amendment has become the target of ever-increasing efforts to undermine the authority of the U.S. Constitution and to deny Americans their “right to keep and bear arms.” 

The organization itself has become a high-profile scapegoat for wider social ills, including issues such as mental health.

“Dissolving the NRA could impinge  … on the free speech and assembly rights of its millions of members.” — Judge Joel Cohen

In 2020, New York attorney general Letitia James filed a lawsuit in an effort to break up the NRA. Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Joel Cohen tossed that claim in 2022. 

“Dissolving the NRA could impinge, at least indirectly, on the free speech and assembly rights of its millions of members,” the judge stated.

Pennsylvania Lt. Gov. John Fetterman (now senator-elect Fetterman) called NRA members “the lunatic fringe of gun ownership” in an April 2022 speech. 

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The San Francisco Board of Supervisors called the NRA a “domestic terrorist organization” in a 2019 resolution — which the NRA derided as a “ludicrous stunt” by a city that coddles criminals at the expense of law-abiding citizens.

The NRA responded to challenges such as these in recent decades by becoming increasingly involved in legal, lobbying and legislative activity.

A thin blue line flag, signaling support for law enforcement, is displayed above the sign for the National Rifle Association (NRA) outside its headquarters in Fairfax, Virginia, on May 31, 2022.

A thin blue line flag, signaling support for law enforcement, is displayed above the sign for the National Rifle Association (NRA) outside its headquarters in Fairfax, Virginia, on May 31, 2022.
(STEFANI REYNOLDS/AFP via Getty Images)

The association created the Institute for Legislative Action in 1975 to provide legal and political defense of the Second Amendment.

Gun safety and marksmanship remain the core of the NRA’s mission, the organization says.

“In civilian training, the NRA continues to be the leader in firearms education. Over 125,000 certified instructors now train about 1 million gun owners a year,” the NRA states online.

“For 150 years, millions of Americans from all walks of life, races, colors and creeds have been proud members of the National Rifle Association of America,” NRA CEO Wayne LaPierre told Fox News in an exclusive interview last year for the organization’s 150th anniversary celebration.  

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“From presidents of the United States, military heroes, those with household names to rank and file Americans like us, all have entrusted the NRA to be the guardians of their Second Amendment, their self-defense and hunting rights, and indeed their freedom as Americans.” 

Source: https://www.foxnews.com/lifestyle/this-day-history-nov-17-1871-national-rifle-association-founded-civil-war-veteran-union-officers

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Ohio firefighters find 118-year-old time capsule buried in fire station: Here’s what was inside

A team of firefighters has uncovered treasure hidden in their fire department that’s nearly 12 decades old.

Captain Ryan Redmon and a group of six firefighters from the City of Marion Ohio Fire Department were on a mission to retrieve an old department cornerstone from a retired fire station that was about to be demolished, but they ended up finding something truly unexpected.

The Marion Fire Department (MFD) has recently been researching the history of their department, going back to 1848, by digging up some information — both figuratively and literally, Captain Redmon told Fox News Digital.

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On May 25, Redmon and the firefighters went down to the old Marion Fire Department Station No. 2, which was built in 1905, to excavate their department’s cornerstone for preservation purposes before the building was scheduled to be torn down.

MFD cornerstone 2

Captain Ryan Redmon and a team of six firefighters from the Marion Fire Department in Marion, Ohio, discovered a hidden time capsule dating back to 1905. Firefighter Andrew Niles is pictured above removing a brick. (City of Marion Ohio Fire Department)

After spending nearly 30 minutes on the excavation, Redmon and his men quickly realized the cornerstone was deeper into the building than anticipated, so they called in professionals to complete the removal.

As Redmon and his team were about to leave, they pulled out one last brick and saw a copper box fall out of the sandstone, Redmon shared.

Redmon and the other firefighters on the scene took it back to the station excited to show everyone their new discovery.

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“Obviously, everybody wanted us to open it right away, and we wanted to, trust me. It was killing us to see what was in there,” Redmon commented.

copper time capsule

The 118-year-old time capsule was hidden near the cornerstone of the retired fire station building that was set to be demolished. (City of Marion Ohio Fire Department)

The MFD has been working on the written history of their department, but nothing in their prior research led them to believe there would be a time capsule hidden in the 1905 fire station.

“We’ve done so much history work around the station and I feel like we’ve got a pretty good grasp on our past and where we’ve been, and [to] discover something like [this], there’s no written record of it,” Redmon stated.

“We scoured newspapers, we scoured old records [and] there was never any mention of a time capsule in there, so it was very exciting,” he added.

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The time capsule was placed near the cornerstone of the old MFD station on July 20, 1905, according to a letter found in the capsule written by the fire chief at the time, Redmon added.

men opening time capsule

Chief Chuck Deem (left) looks on as Captain Redmon (center) and Andrew Niles (far right) pry open the time capsule during a public ceremony on May 31.   (City of Marion Ohio Fire Department)

“Firemen aren’t exactly known for being gentle, delicate creatures with things,” Redmon joked. “So we took it to the historical society in town.”

The copper box had been soldered shut on the edge and wasn’t easy to pry open, according to Redmon.

On May 31, the MFD invited the residents of Marion to be a part of a public opening of the time capsule.

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Inside the 118-year-old copper box were dozens of well-preserved memorabilia referencing the department including: nine MFD badges from the “turn of the century,” an invitation to the 1878 “Northwestern Ohio Volunteer Fireman’s Association Fireman’s Games” (which is still held today), four newspapers from July 1905 and so much more, according to the City of Marion Ohio Fire Department Facebook page.

Redmon took note of the differences between the “turn of the century era” badges that had been found in the time capsule, detailing the difference in style and size.

“There has been talk about trying to back to that style now that we know that’s our history and that’s kind of where we came from. In the future, maybe we can go back to that,” Redmon commented.

One of Redmon’s favorite discoveries in the box was the letter from Chief McFarland, the department’s fire chief for almost 40 years, he added.

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“He has kind of got his touch on everything. To have an actual letter from him was very [exciting].”

Ohio time capsule split FINAL

Redmon is looking forward to making a new time capsule for the new fire station which will include an item from the newly found 1905 capsule. (City of Marion Ohio Fire Department)

Redmon gave a lot of credit to Andrew Niles, a firefighter on his team, who has been heading up the department’s historical research and was the one to open the time capsule.

One of the biggest takeaways for Redmon is knowing that he now has a tangible place in the history of the MFD.

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“I was becoming a part of history because I was involved in this opening and this finding,” he shared.

The MFD is planning on taking an item from the 1905 time capsule, most likely one of the badges, and placing it in a new time capsule that will be buried in the construction of the new fire station, Redmon added.

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The hope is that another 118 years will pass by before the new capsule is opened and someone will be able to discover a 236-year-old badge, paying homage to the history and legacy of the Marion Fire Department, Redmon said.

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On this day in history, June 7, 1942, Battle of Midway ends in decisive US victory

On this day in history, June 7, 1942, the Battle of Midway — regarded as one of the most decisive U.S. victories in its war against Japan — came to an end.  

The Battle of Midway was an Allied naval victory and a major turning point in World War II. 

The battle was fought between Japanese and American carrier forces near the Midway Atoll, a territory of the United States in the central Pacific, from June 4-7, 1942.

On June 4, 1942, the Battle of Midway began. 

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Midway Island is a fairly isolated atoll, so named because it is midway between North America and Asia in the North Pacific Ocean, according to National Geographic.

Midway’s importance grew for commercial and military planners, says the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). 

Battle of Midway

In this June 4, 1942, file photo provided by the U.S. Navy, the USS Astoria (CA-34) steams by USS Yorktown (CV-5), shortly after the carrier had been hit by three Japanese bombs in the Battle of Midway.  (William G. Roy/U.S. Navy via AP, File)

In the 1930s, Midway became a stopover for Pan American Airways’ “flying clippers” — seaplanes crossing the ocean on their five-day transpacific passage, the same source indicates.

Midway was an incredibly strategic location, multiple sources say. 

“The Imperial Japanese Navy planned to use it to secure their sphere of influence in the Pacific theater of the war,” according to National Geographic. 

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“The Japanese had not lost a naval battle in more than 50 years, and had nearly destroyed the American fleet just six months earlier in a surprise attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.” 

The American success at Midway was a major victory over the Imperial Japanese Navy. 

Pearl Harbor is about 1,300 miles east of Midway, says the same source.

In preparation, American military and intelligence forces worked together to defeat the Japanese. 

Battle of Midway Island

The Battle of Midway Island, which resulted in a major victory for the U.S. fleet. The USS aircraft carrier ‘Yorktown’ received a direct hit from a Japanese plane, which got through despite the heavy barrage put up by American destroyers.  (Keystone/Getty Images)

Code breakers were able to decipher Japanese naval code, allowing American leaders to anticipate Japanese maneuvers, notes National Geographic. 

Because of this, the U.S. Navy was then able to launch a surprise attack on the larger Japanese fleet in the area and the Battle of Midway turned the tide of the war, says the same source. 

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The American success at Midway was a major victory over the Imperial Japanese Navy as all four Japanese carriers — Akagi, Hiryu, Kaga and Soryu — had participated in the attack on Pearl Harbor, says the National WWII Museum.

The Battle of Midway is often referred to as the turning point of the war in the Pacific.

“Sinking those Japanese carriers represented a resounding defeat over the enemy fleet which had wrought such destruction only six months before,” the same source says.

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The Imperial Japanese Navy would not be capable of overcoming the loss of four carriers and over 100 trained pilots — and with the loss at Midway, the Japanese offensive in the Pacific was overturned and the United States began offensive action in the Pacific, says the National WWII Museum.

The Battle of Midway is widely considered the most decisive U.S. victory of that period.

It is often referred to as the turning point of the war in the Pacific.

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Midway Atoll has since been designated as a National Memorial to the Battle of Midway, says the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

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Invisible AI’s ‘intelligent agent’ cameras can see what autoworkers and machines are doing wrong

Tesla CEO Elon Musk often refers to the automobile factory as “the machine that builds the machine,” but there are plenty of human workers involved in even the most highly automated plants.

They remain a key part of the exceedingly complex process that is automobile assembly but need to operate as efficiently as their mechanical counterparts to keep cars and trucks coming off the line with a combination of quality and speed.

Weeding out issues and making sure everything is running smoothly has traditionally meant sending quality control personnel up and down the lines to get eyes on the action. But now there’s a way to automate that job with better results than ever before.

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Palo Alto-based Invisible AI was founded by veterans of the autonomous car industry who saw an alternative for the artificial intelligence-driven machine vision technology they were working on that could come to market long before the mass acceptance of self-driving cars.

invisible ai

Invisible AI’s cameras have two terabytes of storage, enough to capture two months of data. (Invisible AI)

The company designed a network of cameras that can monitor an assembly line in real time and spot even the smallest things going wrong.

“Productivity, safety and quality are always top of mind in manufacturing, especially auto,” Invisible AI CEO Eric Danzinger told Fox News Digital.

The self-contained units are equipped with stereoscopic vision and onboard processing that allows them to be easily set up in a factory without having to tap into the facility’s own networks.

Invisible AI workers

The cameras use stereoscopic vision that can monitor how workers are moving. (Invisible AI)

“Our AI is not just about watching one workstation but about getting that view across the line about where you’re hitting production bottlenecks, where you’re seeing deviations from how the work is supposed to be done and where you’re seeing issues like bad reaches that can cause physical issues for your workers,” Danzinger said.

The cameras don’t need to be programmed with the assembly process. They only have to scan a single, correct cycle, and then the system can determine if anything deviates from it later.

“Our AI system analyzes the video, from raw pixels, to understand the pattern of work that’s happening and then compares those patterns so we can tell if someone is following a standard,” Danzinger explained. “All of that is being done by an intelligent agent in the cameras so a person doesn’t have to.

“If you have 100 cameras on one section of an assembly, you are actually seeing in 3D the living, breathing line.”

invisible ai paint gif

The system can tell if a worker’s movements are deviating from the ideal process. (Invisible AI)

Pricing varies by application, but Danzinger said the cost is far less than bringing in a consulting team or trying to accomplish the same work manually, which really can’t be done given the scope of what the system is capable of. 

Since they’re self-contained, installing all the cameras can be done in a couple of days between shifts.

“Our system has become the place you can go to help frontline employees understand the work being done,” Danzinger said.

“There are a million things happening. People are sick, bad parts are coming from suppliers, machines are broken down. … To be able to know what’s going on, what’s the most crucial component to fix, how do I meet my numbers? That’s the most important thing.”

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Invisible AI has collected a roster of a dozen automotive parts suppliers and four original equipment manufactures as clients, including Toyota, which uses the system at a factory in Indiana.

Toyota declined to provide comment for this report, but Senior Engineer Jihad Abdul-Rahim said when the project was announced last year that “Invisible AI is not only helping us find opportunities for improvement on the assembly lines, but we’re also constantly finding new use cases for their technology, such as ergonomics analysis to proactively prevent injuries.”

Invisible AI dashboard

Users can use an app to get an overview or check the status at a specific point in the assembly process. (Invisible AI)

Danzinger said details about its other customers and how they are using the system is confidential and that Invisible AI can’t provide details on their behalf.

As far as privacy is concerned, the system doesn’t have facial recognition technology, and it can blur faces captured on video. But the point of it is to offer direct feedback, so it is not an entirely anonymized analytical tool.

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“Most of what we see is helping workers have a voice and raise their hand to say, ‘This is broken. We need help fixing it,’ and actually getting a response,” Danzinger said.

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