Mexican drug kingpin Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman was in jail in Mexico. And then he wasn’t. And then he was again. And then he wasn’t. And then he talked to Sean Penn, and now he’s back in a federal prison in Mexico. But that might not be where he’ll stay. U.S. Department of Justice officials are planning to extradite El Chapo to Brooklyn, New York to face 21 criminal charges including drug trafficking, money laundering, and murder....
George Zimmerman’s judge will not step down because the motion seeking to disqualify him is “legally insufficient,” the judge wrote in his order. Judge Kenneth Lester Jr. on Wednesday denied a motion by Zimmerman’s defense team that sought to disqualify the judge because of alleged bias, Reuters reports. The motion accused Judge Lester of making “gratuitous, disparaging remarks,” among other alleged misdeeds, when he set Zimmerman’s bail at $1 million in July....
Responding to a lawsuit by “Blurred Lines” singer Robin Thicke, Marvin Gaye’s family is suing Thicke for allegedly stealing two of the deceased singer’s songs. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the Gaye family’s suit asserts that Robin Thicke has a “Marvin Gaye fixation” that extends to more songs in the pop star’s repertoire. How will Thicke and the Gayes’ suits shake out? This whole conflict began in August when Thicke and his producers – perhaps feeling anxious about “Blurred Lines’” legality – filed suit in a California court against the Gaye family....
With more consumers perusing product and service reviews before deciding on a purchase, the importance of spotting fake reviews has increased. As marketers lay more and more astroturf (fake grass roots support), some tips can help spot those reviews that are more advertisements than actual reviews. We’ve discussed the phenomenon previously, but those who’ve been busted for cranking out fake reviews only represent the tip of the iceberg. To help sort real reviews from those trying to hawk their own goods, AOL put together a list of tips to help travelers avoid bogus hotel reviews....
A state law ending Arizona same-sex health benefits for partners of government employees suffered a loss at the hands of the 9th Circuit on Tuesday when the court upheld a preliminary injunction blocking its enforcement. Concluding that Proposition 102 violates both the principles of equal protection and due process under the 14th Amendment, the court quoted the seminal equal protection and gay rights case Lawrence v. Texas, stating that “some objectives, such as ‘a bare … desire to harm a politically unpopular group,’ are not legitimate state interests....
The Bank of America overdraft lawsuit has come to a tentative end, with a federal judge granting preliminary approval of a $410 million settlement between the bank and 1 million of its account holders. Though Bank of America is the only defendant thus far to settle the overdraft lawsuit, the publicity and scrutiny that the suit has brought to overdraft fees has resulted in important regulation and a heightened level of consumer protection....
Pregnant women often complain that strangers will touch their bellies. In some cases, it may be illegal. To be clear, there is currently no law in Pennsylvania which explicitly outlines a criminal offense for unconsented pregnant-belly touching. However, a Cumberland County man apparently did face potential harassment charges for touching a stranger’s pregnant belly, according to news reports. A Pennsylvania attorney (who was not involved with the case) told CNN that a woman had successfully filed charges against the alleged belly-toucher under Pennsylvania’s harassment laws....
If you live in Atlanta, you’ve probably noticed a lot more carjacking stories on the evening news. AAA Insurance has noticed, and is warning residents about two popular carjacking techniques. “A person goes over to fill their car up and when they leave their vehicle open someone comes over on that side,” AAA spokesperson Garrett Townsend told Atlanta’s CBS46. Atlantans should also be on the lookout for the “squat and scoop,” where perpetrators stage a fender bender and strike when a driver gets out to check the damage....
Organic beef. It’s natural, juicy, delicious, expensive, and may come laced with E. coli. Beef, it’s what’s for dinner. Federal officials have announced the recall of 34,373 pounds of organic ground beef and hamburger patties produced by First Class Foods Inc. E. coli is no joke, it is a bacterium that is potentially deadly and can cause bloody diarrhea, dehydration, kidney failure and even death, the Los Angeles Times reports. Infants, seniors and those with weakened immune systems at most at risk for food-borne illnesses like E....
Contractors who are renovating old homes and buildings where children may be exposed to lead paint will face tighter workplace restrictions under new standards announced Monday by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The new rules – which will take effect in April 2010 and are designed to prohibit practices that create harmful lead dust and debris – apply to contractors who are renovating or repairing residences, child-care facilities, and schools that were built before 1978....
In the latest news smearing proverbial pine tar all over the face of baseball’s dignity, the New York Daily News and FOX Sports are reporting that former New York Mets star Roberto Alomar has been sued for $15 million for having “unprotected sex with his ex-girlfriend while he had full blown AIDS”. Ilya Dall, of Queens, claims she “lived with the ex-Met for three years and watched in horror as his health worsened....
Last week, it was reported that the lawsuit filed by Tomi Lahren against TheBlaze and Glen Beck has settled. While there is no disclosure as to any dollar figures, or whether there was even a payout at all, Lahren did walk away with something rather significant: her Facebook profile page which was allegedly being held hostage by TheBlaze. Lahren had filed suit as a result of being removed from Beck’s program....
‘Tis the season for gifts. And, for those without adequate disposable income or with a penchant for criminality, ’tis also the season for shoplifting. Desperation, debt, decadence, and downright desire can all lead a person to shoplift during the holiday season, so here’s your roundup of holiday shoplifting stories: One heartless heister got a head start on the holidays, when he allegedly took two trucks from a New Jersey police station’s Toys for Tots bin....
A judge has sided with Dr. Conrad Murray and decided to allow the celebrity physician to keep his California state medical license. Dr. Conrad Murray was the personal physician charged with involuntary manslaughter in the King of Pop’s death. Superior Court Judge Michael Pastor refused to ban the doctor from practicing in the state and ruled that he did not have the authority to revoke the doctor’s medical license, the Associated Press reports....
Police in Ferguson, Missouri, have released an incident report from prior to Michael Brown’s shooting, one that details an alleged robbery that preceded the unarmed teen’s killing by police. Ferguson police identified the officer who shot and killed Brown as Officer Darren Wilson. The incident report claims that Brown had stolen a box of cigars prior to being lethally shot. According to The Washington Post, the report does not “provide any additional information regarding the confrontation or why Brown was ultimately shot and killed....
A federal government report on the home mortgage market in 2006 shows that minority loan applicants faced higher charges and interest rates than did white applicants. In its annual Home Mortgage Disclosure Act Report, the Federal Reserve found that in 2006, “American Indians, blacks, and Hispanic whites had higher denial rates than non-Hispanic whites; blacks had the highest rates; and Hispanic whites had rates between those for blacks and those for non-Hispanic whites....
Online shoppers are being warned about a new scam involving fake order confirmation emails. The emails in question ask consumers to confirm the purchase of online order or shipment of a package from a big name online retailer, reports Krebs on Security, timed to trick consumers who may have purchased holiday gifts online. Unfortunately, as with most email phishing scams, clicking the links or downloading the attachments included in a malicious email may give consumers an unwanted gift of their own: malware, viruses, and potentially compromised personal information....
The case, Birchfield v. North Dakota, examines three different refusal cases in state courts. Let’s consider the decision and some dissenting opinions. Compromise Decision Three defendants were stopped by police for driving under the influence, asked to take a test, and refused. Two were asked for blood and one was asked for breath. In a 5-3 ruling, the high court noted that blood tests are significantly more intrusive than breathalyzers and reversed the conviction for the two men who refused a blood draw but not for the man who refused to blow for a breathalyzer....
USA Today reports that the risks of a certain group of drugs called bisphosponates was highlighted in two studies. Bisphosponates, which is used to treat patients with osteopenia and osteoporosis, is a popular group of drugs. The risks of prolonged use of the drugs ironically, is that it may cause a patient’s bone to fracture. There have been reports that patients using these medications have fractured their femur bone doing low impact activities such as taking a walk....
Silicon Valley entrepreneur Sean Parker’s wedding managed to ring up a jaw-dropping $2.5 million penalty, reports The Atlantic. In true apathetic billionaire fashion, when California regulators told Parker – a co-founder of Napster and the first president of Facebook – that he didn’t have the permits to build a magical fantasy-land world in a Redwood forest, he ignored them and went ahead with it. The end result? A “grotesque ceremonial mound” and “a redwood-damaging, erosion-spilling indulgence,” reports ValleyWag....
