After a report earlier this week about the US Postal Service’s massive ammunition purchase, more eyebrows are being raised over a Department of Homeland Security procurement for tens of thousands of sniper cartridges.

Specifically, the government solicitation seeks to purchase 141,160 rounds of “Hornady .308 Winchester 168gr A-MAX TAP Ammunition.” One law enforcement supplier describes the cartridge as “a traditional match grade bullet with the performance advantages of a polymer tip. This bullet demonstrates an increase in penetration and retained weight . . . [and] demonstrates controlled and impressive soft tissue expansion.”

Another retailer claims this .308 cartridge is “the best 308 tactical ammo made . . . This load features a 168 grain bullet with a ballistic tip type bullet. TAP (Tactical Application Police) is made for law enforcement use and is loaded to the tightest specs for supreme accuracy and reliability. You will not get better ammo than TAP.”

Of course, some international conventions ban this type of bullet in small arms, given the catastrophic injuries potentially created by non-ball ammo. But that’s apparently not stopping Washington’s DHS.

Although these type of purchases may have been made in the past, the real question that needs to be asked is, “Why are the feds – outside of military units – apparently training sniper teams”? Broader questions might be, “Why are the feds engaged in law enforcement in any significant context outside of border security? What constitutionally enumerated power are they relying on to authorize their sniper teams?”

Please contact your congressional members HERE so that they will demand answers from DHS for why that agency finds it necessary to purchase ammunition designed for long-range, sniper applications.

Here’s a copy of the actual solicitation:

Photo Credit: NOAABy Barbara Hollingsworth.

Superior hasn’t completely frozen over in two decades.

But an expert on Great Lakes ice says there’s a “very high likelihood” that the three-quadrillion-gallon lake will soon be totally covered with ice thanks to this winter’s record-breaking cold.

The ice cover on the largest freshwater lake in the world hit a 20-year record of 91 percent on Feb. 5, 1994.

Jay Austin, associate professor at the Large Lakes Observatory in Duluth, Minn., told CNSNews.com that he expects that record will be broken this winter when the most northern of the Great Lakes becomes totally shrouded in ice.

The thickness of the ice on Lake Superior “varies tremendously,” from a very thin sheet in some areas near the coast to several feet thick in other spots, Austin says. The National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) reports that the mean thickness of the lake ice is 26 cm, or a little over 10 inches.

Read more from this story HERE.

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Photo Credit: AccuWeather Historic Ice Storm Unfolds in South; Lengthy Power Outages Possible

By Brian Lada.

With a major winter storm unfolding over the South, snow and ice will severely impact travelers and residents from Texas to the Carolinas through midweek.

The event could be the worst ice storm for parts of the South in more than 10 years.

One batch of snow, sleet, rain and freezing rain affected the South Monday into Tuesday.

Nearly 650 flights have been canceled at Atlanta International Airport alone as of Tuesday afternoon.

Another batch of snow and ice will hit many of the same areas spanning Tuesday night into Wednesday night, including parts of Texas, Arkansas, northern Louisiana and central and northern Mississippi.

Read more from this story HERE.