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Last week, the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the decision of the lower court, stating that they properly denied the preliminary injunction requested by the plaintiffs in the case of Defense Distributed v. Department of State. This is the case involving the infamous Liberator, a 3D printable hand gun that cannot be detected in a metal detector. The design schematics have already been distributed over the internet and downloaded countless times....

Colorado prosecutors have rejected James Holmes’ proposed plea bargain and will seek the death penalty against the accused movie theater shooter. Holmes, 25, allegedly shot and killed 12 people in a movie theater in Aurora, Colorado, in July. Holmes’ legal team had offered to plead guilty to the crime in exchange for life imprisonment, reports The New York Times. But after consulting with the victims and their relatives, prosecutors rejected the proposed plea deal and announced they will seek the death penalty....

Delta Air Lines hacked e-mails of airline passenger rights advocate Kathleen ‘Kate’ Hanni, USA Today reporter Gary Stoller, and freelance travel writer and reporter Susan Stellin, according to an affidavit in a new lawsuit filed today by Hanni, the founder of Coalition for An Airline Passengers’ Bill of Rights a/k/a Flyersrights.org. Why was Delta accused of hacking into e-mails, and who is the source of the information about the alleged hacks – a potential criminal offense?...

Video surfaced this weekend depicting the arrest of Officer Fausto Lopez, a Miami cop speeding down the Florida Turnpike on October 11. Lopez was spotted going 120 mph by an officer with the Florida Highway Patrol. He ignored all requests telling him to pull over, instead leading the patrolwoman on a 7-minute, 12-mile chase. The chase ended with him being pulled out of his car at gunpoint. Turns out he was running late to an off-duty security job....

The federal government, in the form of the SEC, is becoming more interested in the regulation of municipal bonds. On August 19, it was reported that New Jersey became the first state the SEC has charged with securities fraud for its failure to disclose to bond buyers it had underfunded its state pensions. New Jersey has agreed to settle the case. According to Reuters, this is the first time the SEC has charged a state with violations of federal securities statutes....

Freedom fighters often pay for their struggles with prison time, and this is certainly true for the crew that occupied the Malheur wildlife refuge in Oregon last month in a standoff against the federal government. The Oregon militia members were protesting the imprisonment of two men prosecuted for fires on national parklands. Now they too face prosecution. The felony charge they face is conspiracy to impede federal officers from discharging official duties through the use of force, intimidation, or threats....

After the 9/11 attacks in 2001, Congress passed the USA Patriot Act giving the government wide power to conduct surveillance in search of terrorist suspects. However, some of those powers ended Sunday night after the bill lapsed without an extension. Here’s what you need to know: Lapsed Provisions Don’t panic. All the powers granted by the Patriot Act have not ended. Only three programs have lapsed. The most recognizable provision is Section 215....

Michigan teenager Renisha McBride was shot and killed by a homeowner after she came to his porch seeking help for her injuries after a car crash. The yet-unidentified homeowner told police he thought 19-year-old McBride was “trying to break into his home and the shotgun fired accidentally,” CBS News reports. McBride died on the man’s porch from a lethal shotgun blast to the face. Will criminal charges be filed against McBride’s killer?...

Two Toyota Prius recalls have been announced: one that affects about 670,000 cars in the U.S., and another that affects about 2 million Prius and Carolla models worldwide. The issue is the same in both recalls. Toyota says the steering intermediate extension shafts in all the recalled vehicles will need to be inspected, and that in about half the cars the electric water pumps will also have to be replaced, reports the Los Angeles Times....

Ford and Volvo combined to receive 16 of the 72 “Top Safety Pick” Awards for 2009, announced today by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS). The award is given to vehicles that do the best job of protecting drivers and passengers in a variety of crash tests. According to an IIHS News Release announcing the “Top Safety Pick” winners, the 72 awards for 2009 “is more than double the number of 2008 recipients and more than 3 times the number of 2007 winners....

In today’s busy world, we often overlook a few things, especially if they are not in plain sight. One of those frustrating and costly things is recurring fees for auto-renewal services and recurring purchases. And sometimes those fees could be more than we bargained for, such as “free trial” offers where you get one free month and then a $59/month fee charged automatically to your credit card. Sound familiar? Perhaps the fees were in small print that wasn’t caught....

As Alicia Florrick’s campaign for state’s attorney starts picking up speed, last night’s episode, entitled “Old Spice,” finds her having to confront her spirituality, or lack thereof. While Alicia attempts to find a more palatable way to frame her previously stated atheistic views, this episode focuses on the long-simmering mutual admiration between newly returned Elsbeth Tascioni and Assistant U.S. Attorney Josh Perroti, played by the suitably smarmy Kyle MacLachlan. Episode Recap (Spoiler Alert!...

Yesterday, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) announced a recall by Maclaren U.S.A. Inc., of about 1 million of it’s strollers, due to fingertip laceration or amputation hazards to children while their parents are folding or unfolding the stroller. The CPSC states that the company has received as many as 15 reports of children placing their fingers in the hinge mechanism, resulting in up to 12 fingertip amputations in the U....

A 12-year-old boy is under arrest for a school shooting hoax in Minnesota. Police in New Prague received a 911 call Wednesday morning that there was a shooter in a school building armed with an AK-47, the Associated Press reports. The call prompted the district to lock down several buildings at the middle school, high school, and other campuses. However, authorities quickly determined that it was a hoax, and identified a 12-year-old boy as the prankster....

As Amy and Samy Bouzaglo would say, Amy’s Baking Company has legal “haters.” In anticipation of a grand reopening, the Bouzaglos were planning to host a press conference. But the conference was canceled when Gordon Ramsay’s “Kitchen Nightmares” production company, Upper Ground Enterprises, sent the notorious reality stars a cease and desist letter. In the letter, obtained by the Phoenix Business Journal, attorneys for Ramsay’s company threatened a lawsuit for liquidated damages against the infamous couple....

A major baby monitor recall is underway, so if you have an infant, take heed. Two infants have already died and their deaths have been linked to the Summer Infant baby monitors. Nearly 2 million video baby monitors made by Summer Infant Inc., have been recalled due to a serious risk of strangulation. According to the Consumer Product Safety Commission, the electrical cords present a danger to an infant if it is placed close to their crib....

Sometimes, the only choice a family member or friend of someone suffering a mental health emergency may have is to call 911. Unfortunately, encounters between police and those suffering from mental illness have resulted in the injury or death of the person suffering the crisis. In a case from earlier this year, a California woman was shot and killed by police after her family called 911 to report she hadn’t taken her medication and was acting out, according to The Daily Journal....

Police officers do not generally get involved in evictions. Sheriffs do, however. There are limited situations in which sheriffs will participate in the process of removing a tenant but only when enforcing a court order. Although eviction rules and procedures vary from state to state, generally a landlord must first succeed in an unlawful detainer suit before any official authority will work to remove tenants. To get a general idea of how you involve sheriffs in the eviction process, let’s look at a procedure in California as an example....

Radio personality Casey Kasem passed away Sunday, leaving behind a media legacy and some eye-opening lessons regarding end-of-life/estate planning. Kasem, who was also the voice of Shaggy from “Scooby Doo” for over four decades, spent his final years in a battle over his health and his estate, with his second wife and adult children on opposite sides, reports Reuters. As we say goodbye to the beloved “American Top 40” host, here are five estate planning lessons we may take away from Kasem’s life and death:...

Yesterday the House Financial Services Committee approved legislation that would create the much anticipated Consumer Financial Protection Agency (CFPA). Though the process is far from over, as it looks now, the CFPA would bring financial products from payday loans to credit cards to mortgages under one federal regulator. It would not, however, have power over auto financing by auto dealers. As reported by the AP, the CFPA legislation passed an important hurdle, but much debate remains before it becomes a reality....