Posts

The public will not see a workout video featuring singer Jessica Simpson on store shelves as she has won an arbitration case to keep the fitness video from being marketed. Singer Jessica Simpson won the arbitration ruling which bars Speedfit, LLC and its owner, Alex Astilean, from using Simpson’s name and likeness to promote the 2005 video. The video was shot in August 2005 during a day three stint, the same month that Simpson appeared as Daisy Duke in the movie “The Dukes of Hazzard....

The FDA will begin asking doctors to watch out for “bad ads” or misleading advertisements as part of the agency’s efforts to police the pharmaceutical industry’s multi-billion-dollar advertising machine. The new effort, dubbed The Bad Ad Program, is a new plan designed to ensure integrity in the pharmaceutical industry. Under the new plan, doctors will be asked report data on ads to the FDA. Drug companies are required to present a fair and balanced picture of a drug’s benefits, risks, positives and negatives....

“Octomom” Nadya Suleman has filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy and now says she’s willing to do soft-core porn, ABC News reports. The mother of 14 claims she owes from $500,000 to $1 million to creditors. Some of them include Verizon Wireless, Kaiser Permanente, and the owner of her home. She has less than $50,000 in assets, according to court documents. While filing bankruptcy can discharge much of her debt, hopefully Octomom knows the process isn’t as easy as it seems on television....

Former “Teen Mom” Farrah Abraham pleaded guilty to her DUI charge, but she won’t be going to jail. The reality TV-turned-porn star pleaded guilty in an Omaha, Nebraska, court to driving under the influence stemming from her March 19 arrest, reports E! News. Abraham’s attorneys struck a plea deal with prosecutors, but Abraham must follow a number of probation conditions. As part of the plea agreement, the judge sentenced Abraham to six months probation, ordered her to attend an alcohol education class, and to pay a $500 fine....

A legal skirmish over Amish buggies has resulted in jail time. A group of around 10 Amish men were sentenced this week after they refused to pay fines. They had decided not to place orange reflective triangles on their Amish buggies. The Kentucky men are a part of a conservative group known as the Swartzentruber. Members group live modestly. They don’t have electricity or plumbing. The orange reflective triangles were simply too flashy....

A warning for cell phone subscribers using AT&T: Hackers attempted – and failed – to reach out and touch some of your personal data. The “organized” hacking attempt affected less than 1 percent of AT&T’s cellular customers, a spokesman told The Washington Post. AT&T is the nation’s second-largest mobile carrier with 100 million subscribers. Affected customers were notified by email Monday. AT&T said customer data was not accessed, but warned users they may still be at increased risk for email or text-based scams....

Because of the Brady gun law, which went into effect 20 years ago this week, background checks are typically necessary for a civilian to purchase a firearm from a licensed dealer. Although some states will have different procedures with regard to gun background checks, the NICS system is the standard in all states and is often administered by the FBI. What does an NICS background check entail? While “NCIS” is a thrilling TV program about crimes in the Navy, NICS stands for the National Instant Criminal Background Check System – the standard for background checks under the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act....

The world’s largest soft drink manufacturers are making some changes – and it’s not completely by choice. Coca-Cola and Pepsi will change the way they make the caramel coloring used in their California-sold signature products. The move is an attempt to avoid a state law requiring cancer warning labels. The Coke-cancer connection has long been part of the public debate, but last year the state took it one step further. California added 4-methylimidazole to its list of known carcinogens....

Celebrity criminal cases seem to be more in the public consciousness than ever. One question that frequently arises in the context of celebrity cases: do celebrities get a better deal that everyone else when they plead guilty? There are countless other celebrity cases that cause the public to raise their collective eyebrows. Charlie Sheen. Paris Hilton. Lindsay Lohan. So is this evidence of preferential treatment for celebrities? Not necessarily. The thing about a trial is that it comes with a lot of uncertainty for all the parties involved....

The shooting at Texas A&M on Monday was a terrible incident but police at least know the motive of the shooter. Thomas Alton Caffall III opened fire on Constable Brian Bachmann and several other police officers when they came to give him an eviction notice. The exchange of gunfire killed three people, including the shooter, and injured another four. Even though officers were there to evict him that doesn’t mean Caffall had done anything wrong yet, besides whatever prompted the eviction....

Under product liability laws, companies generally have a duty to protect consumers from potential dangers. That’s why when a company discovers that there’s a defect in one of their products, it issues a recall. While any type of product can be recalled for defects, it seems that the most common recalls involve food and cars. Ford is recalling some of its cars because over time, the defect in the bolts “could lead to the wheel coming loose from the steering column....

She may officially be George Soros’ ex-girlfriend, but 28-year-old Brazilian soap star Adriana Ferreyr isn’t ready to let go of the financial perks associated with the relationship. In a lawsuit filed in Manhattan Supreme Court, Ferreyr claims that twice during her five year romance with the 80-year-old billionaire businessman and liberal financier, he promised to buy her a New York City apartment. Who thinks he has whisper similar things to other young ladies around the world?...

In 1980 John Favara, backyard neighbor of then Gambino crime family captain John Gotti, disappeared after tragically running over Gotti’s son Frank. Since then a mystery has shrouded Favara’s fate. The AP reports that in court documents filed in a racketeering case against alleged mob hitman Charles Carneglia, the government alleges that Favara was killed on Gotti’s order and that Carneglia disposed of his body in a vat of acid....

You can’t please everyone all the time. Groupon has recently had to learn that lesson, after being slammed for a Super Bowl commercial, criticized for customer issues with their Groupon coupons and sued in federal court for allegedly violating Illinois law by offering illegal expiration dates, NBC Chicago reports. Customers have told stories of bait-and-switch in some cases when they have tried to redeem a coupon from Groupon. One man questioned his Groupon rights after he said that when he took his wife out for sushi with a Groupon, they were immediately asked “are you using the Groupon tonight?...

The Illinois death penalty is on the way out. The new law takes effect on July 1, making Illinois the fourth state in only the last two years to end the death penalty, Reuters reports. New York, New Jersey and New Mexico all ended the practice recently. Once the Illnois ban goes into effect, that will make 16 states without the option of capital punishment and 34 states as well as federal law allowing it....

Back in those halcyon days of 2011, when Insane Clown Posse was riding high off their idiot savant “Miracles” music video and their Detroit Music Award for Distinguished Achievement, the Federal Bureau of Investigation saw fit to add the rap duo’s fans to its National Gang Threat Assessment. Being lumped in with the likes of the Bloods, Crips, and Aryan Brotherhood angered self-described Juggalos and ICP sued the FBI. Last year, a federal judge tossed their suit, saying the gang member designation, alone, was not a violation of Juggalos rights....

A Georgia man has been arrested for allegedly sparking a gas station explosion by flicking a cigarette lighter while pumping gas. Surveillance video shows Austin Dawkins, 37, of Clarkesville, flicking a lighter and then bringing his hand down to the nozzle, CNN reports. The video then shows a vapor fuel explosion: Flames erupted from the nozzle and hit Dawkins’ 30-year-old wife Jessica. She ended up suffering second- and third-degree burns on her legs, arms, head, and back....

It’s winter and the sniffles are upon us all. You’re sneezing and coughing and need relief, so you reach for your cough syrup. Stop – don’t take a swig if it’s Master Herb’s Licorice Coughing Liquid. California’s Master Herbs, Inc. has recalled all lots of Licorice Coughing Liquid cough syrup in 1000 milliliter bottles because it has undeclared morphine on the label. Unknowingly ingesting morphine can reportedly lead to life-threatening respiratory depression and even death....

O.J. Simpson is back in court this week for a habeas hearing, after which a judge may decide whether Simpson’s rights were infringed upon during his most recent trial and conviction. Simpson alleges that he needs a new trial because his lawyer, Yale Galanter, had known about plans to steal Simpson’s sports memorabilia from two dealers and had offered poor advice at trial, reports the Associated Press. As O.J. comes before a judge again, most of America should know the basics of a habeas hearing....

The federal government might have just found some much needed health care money. Drug maker Pfizer has agreed to pay $2.3 billion in fines to settle criminal and civil charges surrounding its promotion of the drug Bextra. The felony to which Pfizer pled guilty as part of the settlement was violation of the Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act by marketing the drug with the intent to deceive and mislead. Like many recent drug marketing cases to make the headlines, the Bextra case involved “off-label” marketing....