An en banc ruling by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in favor of beverage companies seeking to get an injunction on the ordinance passed in 2015 by the City and County of San Francisco (CCSF), requiring 20 percent of a soda label to show a black-box warning that reads: “WARNING: Drinking beverages with added sugar(s) contributes to obesity, diabetes, and tooth decay. This is a message from the City and County of San Francisco....
The U.S. Supreme Court is set to decide whether cell phones can be searched upon arrest, potentially ending a pivotal legal disagreement in federal and state courts. Two cases are before the High Court today: one in which a cell phone searche following arrest was upheld, and one in which a warrantless cell phone searches was deemed improper. Opponents of these warrantless cell phone searches argue there is no danger to officer safety or risk of losing evidence when a cell phone is seized, so officers should simply obtain a warrant to search them, reports The Associated Press....
Director Terry Gilliam is being sued over a mural in his new movie “Zero Theorem” that street artists claim he lifted from a real-life mural in Argentina. In a suit filed in federal court in Illinois on Wednesday, a group of street artists (two from Argentina and one from Canada) claim that Gilliam’s newest film infringes on a copyright they hold on the “Castillo” mural in Buenos Aires, Argentina’s capital. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the plaintiffs claim that a mural covering the protagonist’s living quarters in “Zero Theorem” is a rip-off of their well known work....
If you’re like many Americans, you may be carrying a considerable amount of credit card debt. And the current economic climate is serving as a kind of wake-up call for many consumers, with credit card companies increasing minimum required monthly payment amounts, and offers for balance transfers at lower-interest rates drying up. So the timing couldn’t be better to take the first step out from under your credit card debt, by making a monthly budget....
Getting a DUI in a foreign country is bad news – just ask “Star Trek” actor Chris Pine, who had to pay more than $400 in fines and court costs after a drunken-driving arrest in New Zealand, Reuters reports. Although it’s unclear how Pine’s out-of-country DUI will affect him back in the United States, generally speaking, a foreign DUI can still have an impact after you return to your home country....
You probably felt pretty good checking the organ donor box on your driver’s license application. And the thought of donating your body to science seemed a noble endeavor. After all, you’re not going to be using it anymore – it might as well go to someone in need. At the same time, you’re not able to keep an eye on where your body or organs go after you die. And a new Reuters investigative report claims that cadavers and body parts are being sold in a quasi-black market that’s free from regulation or oversight, where so-called “body brokers” can thrive....
Self-proclaimed superhero Phoenix Jones was arrested for assault in Seattle on Sunday. As the costumed leader of the Rain City Superhero Movement, he has resolved to fight Seattle crime one incident at a time. Unfortunately, it appears as though this particular incident was actually an early-morning dance party–not a violent fight. Jones’ mistake caused him to pepper-spray the unsuspecting victims, leading to charges of fourth-degree assault. Responding officers spoke to the victims, who explained that they had just left a nearby club, reports the Seattle Times....
A recent appellate decision in California is causing a minor stir throughout the mental health treatment community, particularly for those involved in the treatment of sexual addiction or compulsion. A certified drug and alcohol counselor and two licensed marriage and family therapists in California sought a court declaration protecting the privacy rights of their patients’ therapy sessions. All three plaintiffs work with patients that struggle with sexual addiction/compulsion. As a result of a change in California law in 2015, the three are now required to report to law enforcement when their patients disclose having viewed child pornography online....
Can you turn around at a DUI checkpoint? Most drivers have probably encountered a DUI checkpoint, where police randomly check drivers who pass through for possible intoxication. For drivers who may have had one or two drinks, DUI checkpoints can – or perhaps should – cause anxiety; the blood alcohol concentration required for a DUI charge can often be less than what many people would consider “drunk.” But what can these drivers, or other drivers who may wish to avoid contact with law enforcement, do when they see an upcoming DUI checkpoint?...
The Iowa Legislature received a bit of help from the Catholic Conference this week in its push to increase the state’s regulation of payday loans. Although there are currently laws on the books regulating these types of loans, according to the Iowa Division of Banking, borrowers who use payday loans average as many as 12 loans, making the state the nation’s leader in the number of loans per consumer. The two areas of the payday loan industry that are not currently regulated in Iowa are interest rates, and the number of loans permitted to be given to a single borrower....
Chicago’s indecent exposure ordinance is quite specific, including a ban on the display of “any portion of the breast at or below the upper edge of the areola thereof of any female person” in public. Sonoku Tagami is not a fan of the law, and decided to celebrated “GoTopless Day 2014” by walking the streets of Chicago naked from the waist up, wearing only body paint on her breasts. Tagami was ticketed for public indecency and challenged the charge all the way to the U....
A Charleston jury found self-avowed white supremacist Dylann Roof guilty on 33 counts of federal hate crimes in the massacre of nine black church parishioners in the city last year. It took less than two hours for the twelve jurors to agree on guilty verdicts for each criminal charge, and they must now move on to the penalty phase of Roof’s trial. At stake is whether Roof will be put to death for the slayings or spend the rest of his life in prison, and he has requested to represent himself....
The Los Angeles Times reports that a draft guidance statement from the FDA read, “The development of resistance to this important class of drugs, and the resulting loss of their effectiveness as antimicrobial therapies, poses a serious public health threat.” The agency called on meat producers to consult more closely with veterinarians about when to use drugs and which compounds to employ. As straightforward and strong as this statement sounds, it pleased no one....
Lawmakers in New York’s Suffolk County passed what would be the first ban on bisphenol-A (BPA) from baby bottles in the US. While Canada has have a similar ban for over a year, and a growing number of US localities may follow, up to now a heavily criticized FDA has found no problem with current levels of BPA exposure. According to the National Toxicology Program (NTP), BPA is a chemical produced in large quantities for polycarbonate plastics and epoxy resins....
Last week, three men escaped from an Orange County jail, sawing through metal grates and using bed linens as ropes, according to the Associated Press. The dramatic escape was said to be led by one man with a military background, Hossein Nayeri, who served in the US Marines. Nayeri’s descent into hell – from soldier to wanted fugitive – was short and hard. And his story, while far from over, is fascinating and terrifying for this reason....
Long time CBS radio reporter Howard Arenstein arrested. That’s the latest headline coming out of the nation’s capital. Howard Arenstein was arrested for growing marijuana, according to the Huffington Post. Howard Arenstein is an award-winning journalist and long-time resident of Washington D.C. The 60 year-old Arenstein and his 57 year-old wife, Orly Azoulay, were arrested early Sunday after police were tipped off that the couple was growing marijuana plants in their Georgetown backyard....
A California iPhone owner has filing a class action lawsuit against Apple over the smartphones cracked glass screen. Donald LeBuhn claims the glass on the Apple iPhone 4 is defective, in that the glass housing can break in the course of “reasonable use,” the Los Angeles Times reports. According to the lawsuit, LeBuhn’s daughter dropped his phone from a height of 3 feet, which allegedly caused the glass to crack the screen which completely shattered....
Hip-Hop recording artist, Meek Mill, also known as pop diva Nicky Minaj’s beau, posted on Instagram about his probation violation. He was convicted for a gun charge in 2009 and has been incarcerated for violations since. He is in court now, according to TMZ. pleading for his freedom and invoking Nicky Minaj’s name, saying she will not marry a criminal or a bum. The story got started with the rapper’s own social media musings....
Certainly one of the most talked about non-couple of the year is Mel Gibson and his former flame and baby mother Oksana Grigorieva. The couple had daughter Lucia shortly before their very dramatic split and it has been a war of words, texts and public interviews ever since. So will Mel Gibson lose his daughter? If Oksana Grigorieva has her way he will. Looking to limit Gibson’s contact with Lucia to monitored visitation, the Russian singer will certainly be using all of the public disputes the couple has had as fodder for her cause....
Just in time for Thanksgiving, a Minnesota meat company has issued a recall for 1,200 pounds of ground beef after testing revealed possible E. coli contamination. Ranchers Legacy Meat Company issued the recall when a routine inspection by the USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service discovered the contamination, reports WISC-TV. The recall includes all meat products that were produced on November 19, the same day as the product that tested positive for E....
