US ban on switchblades is unconstitutional, appeals court rules

(Reuters) A U.S. law that bans the manufacturing of switchblades for sale or distribution across state lines violates the right to keep and bear arms under the U.S. Constitution’s Second Amendment, a federal appeals court ruled.

The New Orleans-based 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in a ruling late on Wednesday said a landmark 2022 U.S. Supreme Court decision requiring modern gun restrictions to be consistent with the nation’s history and tradition of arms regulation also applied to bladed weapons covered by the Federal Switchblade Act.

U.S. Circuit Judge Jennifer Walker Elrod wrote in the decision that Congress adopted that law in 1958 during a period of “hysteria” surrounding juvenile delinquency, with the goal of keeping such spring-release pocketknives out of the reach of teenagers. But Elrod said the ban was inconsistent with how the nation at its founding in the 18th century had regulated the use of such weapons.

“Knives have been used for defense throughout human history, including the American founding,” Elrod wrote.

Elrod said switchblades were no exception. Elrod said the U.S. Justice Department, in defending the law in the case, had failed to point to any historical statute similar to the federal ban on switchblades, weapons that she said constitute “arms” that people have a right under the Second Amendment to possess for self-defense.

The three 5th Circuit judges who issued the ruling all were appointed by Republican presidents.

The ruling marked a victory for the advocacy group Knife Rights, which along with five individuals and two firearms retailers had appealed a trial judge’s ruling rejecting a legal challenge to the law they brought in Texas.

Knife Rights said in a statement that the ruling recognized what it has argued for years.

“The Second Amendment protects knives, not just firearms, and that protection extends to commonly possessed automatically opening knives,” it said.

While the 5th Circuit struck down the core part of the Federal Switchblade Act, it concluded that the plaintiffs could not mount a challenge to a separate provision that restricts the manufacturing, sale and possession of the knives in U.S. territories and on tribal land.

While the department under Republican President Donald Trump has actively challenged numerous gun laws it says violate the Second Amendment, it defended the switchblade law, saying it “fits within the tradition of regulating dangerous and unusual weapons.”

Arizona university suspends fraternity after rape allegation

(Reuters) — The University of Arizona has suspended a fraternity after a female student alleged she was raped at its house by two men, the latest action taken by a major U.S. university against a Greek chapter over accusations of sexual assault.

The university suspended Sigma Phi Epsilon, which was already on probation for hazing new members, on Wednesday after the KOLD-TV station reported the allegations of a female student who said she was raped at the chapter’s fraternity house in Tucson. The university said it was investigating.

“It has been determined that your organization presents a substantial risk to members of the university community,” Whitney Mohr, associate dean of students, said in a letter to the fraternity.

The female student told police she was at the Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity house with friends and residents of the chapter around midnight on August 26 when she woke up in a dark room being sexually assaulted by two men, according to the September police report published by KOLD-TV.

Sigma Phi Epsilon’s national CEO Brian Warren said it took courage for the student to come forward, that she deserves a complete investigation, and that the fraternity does not tolerate sexual assault or sexual misconduct.

“The fraternity has suspended the membership of those involved while the investigation proceeds,” Warren said in a statement. “Any member found responsible will be expelled, and we will cooperate fully with law enforcement as it seeks accountability under the law.”

U.S. universities have come under growing pressure to crack down on misconduct following allegations of sexual assault by fraternity members at Cornell University.

Earlier this month, the University of Arizona suspended all fraternity activities during investigations into alleged hazing, physical assault and drug and alcohol violations.

US to tighten Ebola screening with new air passenger declarations

WASHINGTON — (Reuters) The U.S. government will increase measures aimed at preventing entry by people exposed to Ebola with a new requirement for U.S.-bound air travelers to attest they have not been in the Democratic Republic of Congo in the prior 21 days, according to a memo on Thursday seen by Reuters.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in May adopted rules barring airline passengers who have been in the DRC, the center of the 2026 outbreak,in the prior three weeks. The restrictions were extended to U.S. citizens in July.

The new CDC order takes effect November 3 and requires all U.S.-bound airline passengers to file digital or paper attestations.

The CDC is holding briefing calls with major U.S. and foreign airlines on Friday to detail how carriers should comply with the new requirements.

As part of the Ebola measures, the CDC since earlier this year has also barred foreign nationals from the U.S. if they have been in Uganda or South Sudan in the prior three weeks.