skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Thursday, November 30, 2023

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

As climate change conference opens, one CA city takes action; Israel and Hamas extend Gaza truce by one day in a last-minute deal; WV could lose hundreds of millions in Medicaid funding.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

An expulsion vote looms for Rep. George Santos, the Ohio Supreme Court dismisses lawsuits against district maps and the Supreme Court hears a case which could cut the power of federal agencies.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Congress has iced the Farm Bill, but farmer advocates argue some portions are urgent, the Hoosier State is reaping big rewards from wind and solar, and opponents react to a road through Alaska's Brooks Range, long a dream destination for hunters and anglers.

The NRA, In the Red and In Crisis

play audio
Play

Monday, April 29, 2019   

CHARLESTON, W.Va. — The National Rifle Association's leadership is in turmoil, it's in serious financial trouble and is suing an important, long-time vendor for allegedly overcharging the organization.

The nation's leading gun-rights group has also been an important political force for decades. But its president, Oliver North, just announced he won't serve another term after an ugly public split with its long-time chief executive.

Anna Massoglia, a researcher with the Center for Responsive Politics, a political-spending watchdog, said its most recent tax returns show the NRA is badly in the red.

"We saw a $55 million decline in income since the prior year, and the NRA spending into an $18 million deficit - a deficit that they have for now the second straight year,” Massoglia said. “And so, we're seeing the NRA pretty consistently now spending more than they're actually taking in."

The NRA is suing the company that runs its troubled broadcast arm, NRATV. And an article in the New Yorker magazine alleged a culture of huge salaries and extravagant spending among NRA officers and vendors. A lawyer for the group said the article was written by paid staff of an "anti-gun magazine."

According to the article, executives at the company named in the lawsuit - public relations firm Ackerman McQueen - have all but run the NRA for their own benefit for decades. A lawyer for the firm also said the New Yorker article is entirely untrue.

Massoglia said she can't judge the merits of the lawsuit. But she said the NRA's tax documents show that a different vendor - a fundraising company - made millions off its work for the gun-rights group.

"They kept over half of the money they had fund-raised - they had made about $10 million and kept over $5 million of that,” she said. “And so, you are seeing a variety of different vendors potentially profiting off of the NRA."

Speeches and public statements at the annual NRA convention largely avoided the lawsuit. The group continues to take a combative stance against long-time foes in the gun-control movement and the political left. Its charitable status is under investigation in New York, and its board is expected to address the leadership issue this week.


get more stories like this via email

more stories
The Economic Policy Institute found the number of child labor law violations increased from 1,012 in 2015 to 3,876 in 2022. (Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

A bill in Congress with a Connecticut House sponsor aims to reduce child labor in the United States. Called the "Children Harmed in Life-Threatening …


Social Issues

play sound

As the opioid crisis continues, more New Hampshire grandparents are seeking financial help to raise their grandchildren. Already struggling with the …

Social Issues

play sound

As of Jan. 1, insulin will become a lot more affordable for many Nebraskans, and those who have come to rely on telehealth visits are more likely to …


Extremes of hot and cold weather have taken their toll on a concrete barrier along Binghamton's Riverwalk. Concrete crumbles between the stones of the wall in upstate New York. (Chet Wiker/Adobe Stock)

Environment

play sound

Some state and local lawmakers are on a long list calling on New York Gov. Kathy Hochul to require big oil companies to help offset the costs of …

Environment

play sound

Utilities and government agencies in the U.S. are carrying out plans to transition to cleaner electricity sources. To avoid being left behind…

More than 45,000 Washingtonians are diagnosed with diabetes each year, according to estimates. (Chinnapong/Adobe Stock)

Health and Wellness

play sound

November has been Diabetes Awareness Month - but heading into the holidays, people who are diabetic know they can't lose their focus on keeping it in …

Environment

play sound

Conservation groups are celebrating a long-fought battle to protect the dwindling population of wolverine in the Northwest and northern Rockies…

Environment

play sound

As world leaders gather in Dubai for the international conference on climate change, the City of Long Beach is acting on multiple fronts to help the …

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021