The arrival of hot weather once again has law enforcement and animal-welfare groups trying to take a bite out of one of summer’s most heartbreaking crimes: leaving a dog in a hot car. Leaving your dog locked up in your car, even just during a short shopping trip, can not only be fatal to your dog, but it can also get you arrested. How can you practice summer safety with your dogs or other animals, and what can happen if you don’t?...
A Nancy Grace Twitter threat has all the makings of a criminal drama: Jodi Arias, controversial Sheriff Joe Arpaio, and a creepy alleged stalker at the center of it all. David Lee Simpson, 48, of Bath, New York, is apparently in stalker infatuation love with Jodi Arias, and he’s not afraid to make death threats via Twitter to prove it. Many people have qualms with Nancy Grace’s (vindictive) reporting style on her cable TV show, but apparently Simpson really didn’t like her coverage of the Jodi Arias trial....
Last Tuesday, the U.S. government and a class of Native American plaintiffs settled a 19 year-old suit over land trust management for the sum of $3.4 billion dollars. The suit over the management of Indian land began in 1996, but is based on disputes over a system that began in 1887. The system responsible for the suit dates to the 19th century and began when the government divided Indian lands into parcels assigned to individual tribe members and then sold off the remaining lands....
Yesterday, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the dismissal of all claims by five plaintiffs who claimed to have been victims of the CIA’s Extraordinary Redition Program. Specifically, the men sued Jeppesen Dataplan, Inc., a subsidiary of Boeing Company which the plaintiffs allege provided flight planning and logistical support services to the aircraft and crew used to transport the plaintiffs to detention facilities in Afghanistan and Morocco. At these facilities and others, plaintiffs allege they were interrogated, tortured and detained for multiple years....
It’s hard being beautiful. Former Miss USA, Shannon Marketic is adding some new hardware to her collection of pageant crowns – handcuffs. Marketic was recently arrested in Denton, Texas for shoplifting from a local Target. Released on $500 bail, Marketic unsuccessfully swiped $87 worth of Oil of Olay skin care products and some baby items from the retail chain. In a statement to the Dallas Morning News, Marketic claimed that the items had rolled beneath her purse in her shopping basket without her knowledge....
The long-time feud between East and West Coast rap figures has been stirred up again. Hip-hop mogul Marion “Suge” Knight is suing Grammy Award-winning rapper Kanye West and the Shore Club in Miami. Knight, founder of Death Row Records has filed against Miami’s trendy Shore Club and West for failing to provide security necessary to keep out people with weapons, the Associated Press reports. According to the lawsuit Knight had $200,000 in medical bills from a gunshot that shattered his femur and is seeking total damages of more than $1 million....
The Supreme Court has dismissed an appeal on the constitutionality of California’s Proposition 8 that bans gay marriage, and instead dismissed the case on procedural grounds. The High Court paved the way for same-sex couples to resume marrying in California. The ruling effectively leaves intact a lower-court ruling that struck down the state’s voter-approved ban on gay marriage. Chief Justice John Roberts, writing for the 5-4 majority, said the private sponsors of Prop....
Police in Stamford, Connecticut shot and killed Travis the chimp, a former “animal actor” living with a local couple. The incident began when Travis mauled a woman visiting his owner, then attacked the police called in to contain him. Travis’ rampage and death have renewed calls for federal legislation to forbid interstate commerce in primates as pets. Hartford’s WSFB reports that Travis lived as a pet with his 70 year old owner, Sandra Herold....
It’s finally over. After more than fifty lawsuits in ten countries, four trials, seven years, jury verdicts that stretched into the billions, and one Supreme Court decision, Apple and Samsung have settled their patent dispute. The undisclosed settlement comes just weeks after Apple won a $539 award after a jury found that Samsung infringed on its design patents. While it is unclear how much Samsung will ultimately pay out for its patent infringement – or how much each company racked up in legal fees – it appears that the pitched battle Steve Jobs once referred to as “thermonuclear war” has now come to an end....
A federal agency’s ruling in Apple’s HTC patent lawsuit is being called a partial victory for Apple in the increasingly competitive smartphone market. The U.S. International Trade Commission ruled Monday that some user-friendly features available on several HTC smartphones are protected by an Apple patent, The New York Times reports. Apple’s patent covers touchscreen technology that allows a user to place a call by tapping a phone number embedded in an email or text message....
Roger Barnett, an Arizona rancher who claims he has turned over 12,000 illegal immigrants to the Border Patrol since 1998, has been sued by sixteen illegal immigrants he detained, allegedly at gunpoint, on his ranch. The Washington Times described the circumstances giving rise to the suit: The Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund (MALDEF) is representing plaintiffs in the lawsuit, which asks for $32 million in actual and punitive damages for civil rights violations, infliction of emotional distress, as well as other crimes....
Animated characters today can make facial expressions that are as subtle as those of a human actor. That’s because people do make those expressions and increasingly sophisticated technology is used to translate these into animation. Think of the films “Deadpool” and “Avengers: Age of Ultron.” Now, in a very convoluted lawsuit, the ownership of Mova, a facial animation program, is being challenged, according to the New York Times. The technology won a technical Academy Award last year and is at the center of a copyright and patent dispute that could lead to a court blocking distribution of movies that use it....
Four men charged with a 2009 New York bomb plot have been found guilty by a federal jury after eight days of deliberations. Reuters reports that the men were found guilty of placing explosives outside of New York synagogues and plotting to shoot down military aircraft. James Cromite, David Williams, Onta Williams, and Lague Payen all face a minimum of twenty five years in prison. The men were found guilty on seven of the eight charges levied against them....
The Nebraska Supreme Court rejected the abortion request of a 16-year-old girl in foster care, ruling the girl was not mature enough to make the decision herself. The case highlights some of the major concerns surrounding Nebraska’s abortion consent laws. In Nebraska, unemancipated minors and persons deemed incompetent must obtain written parental consent to receive an abortion. However, courts may waive this requirement – particularly for victims of abuse, incest or neglect – if the court determines the woman is mature....
The U.K.’s Premier League Football Assocation and other owners of copyrighted works were dealt an ‘offisides’ ruling by a federal judge in a class-action case against YouTube and Google. U.S. District Judge Louis Stanton handed two major ‘Goooooaaaallllllls!!!!!’ to the defendants. Here’s why. Arsenal, Manchester United, and Liverpool fans, take note! Second, the plaintiffs’ punitive damage claims. “As a matter of law,” Judge Stanton held, the Copyright Act doesn’t allow for the reocvery of punitive damages....
Lil Wayne is facing a tax lien to the tune of $12 million, stemming from years of unpaid taxes. Weezy allegedly failed to pay taxes for 2011 and 2012. For 2011 he owes a staggering $5.8 million. And for the following year, it’s even worse – more than $6.3 million, TMZ reports. So what exactly is a tax lien? Here’s the answer, along with a few other lessons we can learn from Lil Wayne’s tax lien:...
Employees in New York will be entitled to more advance notice of mass layoffs and plant closings, under a new law signed by Governor David A. Paterson and announced Tuesday by the state’s Labor Commissioner. Under New York’s Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act, companies with 50 or more workers must notify employees and the state’s Department of Labor at least 90 days before a mass layoff or plant closing....
Are you in Oregon right now? Do you notice that pungent scent in the air? It’s probably the scent of legal recreational marijuana. Last year, Oregonians voted to make recreational use of marijuana legal. Today, Oregon residents can legally light up recreationally for the first time! Oregon’s Measure 91 went into effect today. Here is what you need to know: Measure 91 applies to any adult over the age of 21 in Oregon....
An Aurora, Colorado church service ended in tragedy when the pastor’s mom was shot to death. An argument between two drivers had broken out in the parking lot of the Destiny Christian Center, NBC 9 News reports. The reason behind the dispute is unclear, but one of the drivers was chased out of his car and entered the church, police said. Pastor De Lono Straham’s mother, Josephine Echols, went outside to investigate the commotion and was shot....
An Arizona attorney, who is also a Phil Robertson super-fan, is filing a lawsuit against A&E for “chilling his right to hate homosexuals,” according to TMZ. The lawsuit is in response to the “Duck Dynasty” star’s recent suspension by A&E for making homophobic remarks during an interview. The lawyer, Chris Sevier, is the suit behind the suit. But people are rolling their eyes (and chuckling) at his claims for good reason....
