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It seems military sexual assaults are greatly increasing throughout our nation’s armed forces, according to unsettling new reports from Washington. Defense officials intimate that the 50 percent increase in sexual assault reports between 2011-12 and 2012-13 is a reflection of victims’ increasing willingness to come forward in the past year, reports The Associated Press. What does this mean for safety and privacy in our military? Reports of sexual assaults in the armed forces have become increasingly common in the past few years....

Over the weekend, a group of over 40 teens jumped the turnstiles at an Oakland, California, public transit station, boarded a commuter train, robbed seven individuals and left two people injured before leaving the train and station. It’s possible that as many as 60 teens were involved. Witnesses described the situation as quickly shifting from what seemed like boisterous horseplay to confusion and violence as the large group of teens boarded and ransacked the train....

The name “The Real Housewives” is becoming an increasingly deceiving adjective for the popular show that chronicles the lives of wealthy women in Atlanta, Orange County, New York, New Jersey, Washington D.C., and Beverly Hills. Case in point, OC housewife Vicki Gunvalson files for divorce. So doesn’t that mean she isn’t really a housewife anymore? There are others in similar single positions on every version of the show. Good thing the show is more about the women and their lavish lifestyles than it is about the actual act of being a housewife....

Yesterday the UCLA campus was terrorized by the shooting of an engineering professor by a disgruntled former student who claimed his teacher and adviser stole his computer code. Mainak Sarkar, the gunman, killed himself and Professor William Klug. Today police found a “kill list” in the shooter’s Minnesota home with two names, Professor Klug of UCLA and a woman, found dead later in Minnesota, reports the Los Angeles Times. California lawmakers are already referring to this incident as another reason to pass gun control laws in the state....

Rap Superstar Lil’ Wayne’s days of freedom are winding down and he now faces jail time. Lil’ Wayne is scheduled to go to jail in February in his New York gun case, just days after his next album comes out, the Associated Press reports. His plea deal calls for a year in jail. His charges could have carried a 3 1/2 year minimum sentence if he contested the charges and was convicted....

A small amount of relief might have come to those who survived and to the families of the victims of the horrible fire that destroyed The Station, a West Warwick, R.I., night club in 2003 with the settlement approved by a federal judge on January 7. Senior U.S. District Court Judge Ronald Lagueux called the settlement, stemming from the combined suits brought after the fire, a “win-win-win,” for all involved....

“Pretty Wild” reality star Alexis Neiers turned herself into authorities for her alleged role in the celebrity “Bling Ring” case. Alexis Neiers, 18, pleaded no contest to first-degree residential burglary last month in the “Bling Ring” case and was sentenced to 180 days in jail, the Los Angeles Times reports. The Hollywood Hills burglars, mostly 18 and 19 year-olds, are known as the “Bling Ring.” The case garnered much media attention because of the celebrity victims....

The movie “Erin Brockovich” chronicled how the Hollywood heroine helped residents of Hinkley, California sue PG&E over the presence of hexavalent chromium in the town’s drinking water. Ultimately winning $333 million in damages and an injunction to clean the town’s drinking water, Erin Brochovich brought national attention to the toxin and the importance of safe drinking water. Now, hexavalent chromium, a cancer-causing toxin, has been discovered in 31 cities’ tap water....

FarmVille creator Zynga has a particularly tough row to hoe this week. On Monday, the Wall Street Journal released the results of its investigation regarding the release of Facebook User IDs by Facebook and social media app makers like Zynga. As discussed in a post on this blog, controversy surrounds this practice of allowing third party firms access to this information, who then may go on to sell it to other companies....

Every year families and friends gather on Thanksgiving to gorge themselves on turkey and various carbohydrates (maybe an occasional Brussels sprout) and sometimes, consuming a good deal of alcohol. Each year the President also selects and pardons turkeys from their roasted or fried fates, but you can’t count on a presidential pardon for if you’re caught driving drunk on Thursday night. Don’t be a turkey, follow these five ways to avoid a Thanksgiving DUI:...

A jury of six women has been chosen for the trial of George Zimmerman, who’s charged with second-degree murder in the shooting of Trayvon Martin. So what happens next? The group was narrowed from an initial jury pool of 211 people. Thursday’s final announcement of the six jurors was the culmination of a long process of winnowing out biased and ineligible candidates, reports USA Today. Now that these six jurors are seated, here are six questions and answers that may illuminate their future role in Zimmerman’s trial:...

Adopting a dog is a big responsibility and one not to be undertaken lightly. You have to walk Fido, feed and love the creature, as well as make sure the dog visits the veterinarian as needed. But what happens if you adopt a dog and discover that this is not what you thought you wanted, or if you’re suddenly offered a new job that will keep you on the road all the time?...

With drunk driving waning and drugged driving on the rise, it has become necessary for police to turn to some new technology to see if a driver is impaired. Blood tests can take too long and breath tests don’t work for drugs. Or do they? There is new research suggesting that a breath test may be able to detect the presence of drugs like amphetamines, methamphetamines, marijuana, cocaine, and even heroin....

John Travolta’s accusers may not be done with the “Pulp Fiction” star just yet. Headline-seeking attorney Gloria Allred has confirmed that she’s been hired and there may be a new legal action filed against the actor. This plaintiff (known only as John Doe #2) fired his previous attorney, Okorie Okorocha, CNN reports. Both he and the other plaintiff (John Doe #1) have retained Allred. John Doe #1 was also previously represented by Okorocha....

A federal appeals court ruled against the U.S. government today in its ongoing investigation and criminal prosecution of Major League Baseball players accused of illegally using steroids. Affirming lower court orders quashing subpoenas that sought information about confidential drug tests performed on MLB players, Ninth Circuit Chief Judge Alex Kozinski slammed the government for getting names of baseball players who agreed to confidential drug testing, only to have their names seized in a list that federal agents seized on a computer hard drive, but lacked probable cause to obtain under the search warrant....

The Department of Justice issued two reports Wednesday: one finding that police in Ferguson, Missouri, engaged in a pattern of conduct that routinely violated residents’ civil rights, and another detailing the fatal police shooting of Ferguson resident Michael Brown. Citing the results of the Michael Brown investigation, the DOJ declined to file federal civil rights charges against former Ferguson Police Officer Darren Wilson, who shot and killed Brown after an altercation in August....

On Halloween, Washington state residents got a scary message from their health department. An E. coli outbreak there has been linked to Chipotle restaurants. The chain had shut down more than 40 locations in Washington and Oregon over the week. “The restaurants under investigation are linked to 19 cases of E. coli illnesses in Washington,” the Washington Department of Health announced in a statement issued on Saturday. Three more cases were reported from Oregon, also associated with the restaurant chain....

Johnson & Johnson is under fire after a recent FDA report highlighted multiple serious concerns about the conditions at one of their drug factories. The 17-page report released by the FDA slammed the conditions at a Johnson & Johnson factory that produced Tylenol, Motrin, Benadryl and more over-the-counter drugs. The inspection noted serious lapses in security and quality control. The FDA is currently considering action, including the possibility of filing criminal charges....

How much attention do Americans pay to the results of political polls? Do they trust the accuracy of the polls? And do the poll results influence how they vote? A new national survey conducted by FindLaw.com sheds some new light on what Americans think about political opinion polls. Survey results show that, while Americans trust the results of political polls, they aren’t necessarily swayed by them. While sixty-eight percent of Americans believe that political polling is at least somewhat accurate, four in 10 Americans pay little or no attention to opinion polls on the popularity of presidential candidates, and more than eight in 10 say polls do not influence their vote....

The Senate Banking Committee has approved the finance reform bill proposed by the Obama administration, passed by the House and now headed to the full Senate for approval. Unlike the health care bill, which under the special reconciliation process needed only 51 votes to pass, the finance bill needs a full 60 members’ votes for passage. According to the Los Angeles Times, the bill contains the most “sweeping” financial reforms proposed since the Great Depression....