In a shocking turn of events, an 18-year-old high school girl’s father reported his daughter to the authorities after discovering a detailed plan to commit a mass school shooting. Not only was a detailed plan discovered, a shotgun as well as other materials needed to make dangerous explosives were found. Upon learning of the threat, the high-schooler was immediately pulled out of class and admitted into a psychiatric hospital for evaluation....
A fight between county and city officials may end in the repeal of Topeka’s domestic violence laws. Budget cuts have caused the Shawnee County District Attorney’s office to announce that it will no longer prosecute misdemeanors, including domestic violence. The city attorney’s office also insists that Topeka does not have the resources to prosecute these crimes. In an attempt to force the county to relent, the Topeka City Council is now considering repealing its domestic battery laws....
Are TSA body scanners constitutional? In a long-awaited decision by the D.C. Circuit, the court affirmatively ruled last week that the controversial technology does not run afoul of the Fourth Amendment’s prohibition against unreasonable searches. However, it did find that the Transportation Safety Administration wrongly failed to consider the public’s opinion of the new technology, ordering it to issue a notice of rulemaking, and accept public comments. Suing the Department of Homeland Security on behalf of citizens, the Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) argued that the full-body scanners are overly invasive, and thus are unreasonable searches under the Fourth Amendment....
Amid controversies over sexual harassment, data security, and an ousted CEO, Uber scored one legal victory last week. The Second Court of Appeals for the Southern District of New York ruled that clicking Uber’s “Register” button means consenting to a forced arbitration clause in its terms of service, meaning that customer disputes must be resolved in arbitration, rather than in court. Spencer Meyer had sued the company over its “surge” pricing feature, but may not be able to get the case in front of a jury....
On February 7th, Caitlyn Jenner was driving a black Cadillac SUV on the Pacific Coast Highway in Malibu when she collided with Kimberly Howe’s Lexus from behind, sending the car into oncoming traffic where it was hit by another SUV. Howe died at the scene. Police have now completed their investigation into the crash and will turn their findings over to the district attorney next week. But the question remains: will she be charged with a crime?...
Empty political gesture by a governor on his way out the door? Or an attempt to right a wrong that has been a long time coming? You be the judge. Lame duck Florida Governor Charlie Crist is setting out to pardon Jim Morrison. Some will recall that the rock icon and lead singer of the Doors was convicted of profanity and indecent exposure in 1970 for “exposing” himself at a Doors concert at Miami’s Dinner Key Auditorium in 1969....
Newsflash for all parents out there: Real Housewives may set a bad example for your kids. It seems that since many episodes of reality TV programs display bullying at its finest, some kids might accidentally learn life lessons on how to be unkind to others. A recent survey of teenage girls by the Girl Scouts Research Institute underscored this conclusion. What exactly did the survey find? Some of the survey findings are below, with reality TV viewers versus non-viewers’ results:...
Actor James Woods just needed to hear an apology from Kent Hospital in Rhode Island where his brother, Michael Woods, died of a heart attack in an ER. NBC reports that actor James Woods settled a lawsuit for wrongful death on behalf of his brother Michael Woods’ family. AP reports that James Woods claims that when Michael Woods came into the hospital with a sore throat and vomiting, the hospital was negligent and that the negligence resulted in his brother’s death....
As Mr. Bond himself would tell you, ’there are some things that just aren’t done. Such as, drinking Dom Perignon ‘53 above the temperature of 38 degrees.’ And Mr. Bond would likely agree that selling a complete James Bond movie box set that was not actually complete is probably worse than Dom Perignon with ice. A recent class action lawsuit, filed by one woman who was upset that her complete James Bond movie box failed to include two classics, seeks to right the wrong that James himself would insist be righted....
A newlywed bride accused of pushing her husband off a cliff last summer asked the court to withdraw her guilty plea. 22-year-old Jordan Graham was to be sentenced this week for the murder of 25-year-old Cody Johnson along a trail in Glacier National Park, Reuters reports. But now, it’s unclear if the sentencing will proceed as scheduled. In December, Graham pleaded guilty to second-degree murder. Prosecutors claimed Graham deliberately shoved Johnson, her husband of eight days, off a cliff during an argument while hiking a steep trail at Glacier, then lied to investigators and tried to cover up the crime, reports Reuters....
California voters suffered a setback in the fight to make the state safer from gun violence. The ban on high capacity magazines, approved last year by a majority of voters, has been blocked by a federal judge pending the outcome of the case. The new law, which was slated to take effect this weekend, would have required owners of high capacity magazines to risk fines and criminal penalties just for possessing the ammunition magazines that fit 10 or more bullets....
Those shiny new floors you installed from Lumber Liquidators look great. After all, they’re high laminate. But these high laminate floors also have high levels of formaldehyde, linked to an increased risk of cancer. They worsen breathing problems in those with asthma and other respiratory difficulties, and can cause eye, nose, and lung irritation in anyone, reports Chicago’s Daily Herald. These are the results of tests by the US Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) on laminate flooring made in China between 2012 and 2014, and sold at Lumber Liquidators nationally....
Drug addiction can be tragic, and can take a personal toll on addicts and their families. And when the addiction spills over into the criminal realm, it can impact their communities as well. According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, almost a quarter of prisoners incarcerated on property and drug crimes say they committed their current offense to obtain money for drugs. Here are some of the most common crimes drug addicts commit, aside from the general, addiction-funding property crimes:...
The last thing you want to do if you are applying for citizenship is get a DUI. Even if you’re in the country legally on a visa or green card, immigration officials may deport you or downgrade your status on the basis of a criminal conviction, especially for a felony. Here’s what you need to know about a how a DUI conviction could affect your immigration status. DUI and Deportation If you are a foreign national, a DUI might not necessarily lead to deportation....
This week federal agencies filed a complaint against Native American Enterprises, a food supplier for schools and the military, after its products tested positive for Listeria contamination. The complaint comes after several warnings and is led by the Consumer Protect Branch of the US Department of Justice, according to Food Safety News. Native American Enterprises (NAE) makes refried beans and sauces and ready-to-eat taco meat products. The company is based in Wichita Kansas and owned by William and Scott McGreevy who are both reportedly members of the Lower Brule Sioux Tribe reportedly....
A possible flash mob robbery in Germantown, Maryland, took place over the weekend. About 3 dozen youngsters, caught on videotape, entered a 7-Eleven convenience store early Saturday morning, reports NBC Washington. The participants in the robbery were brazen. Despite the fact that surveillance tapes were rolling, many were smiling and laughing while grabbing store merchandise, according to NBC Washington. The robbers took candy, sodas, ice cream, and various other items. Police are looking into whether social media had a role in the robbery, which looks suspiciously like a “flash mob....
Is it illegal to make moonshine? In most cases it is, but that hasn’t dampened (or diluted) the spirits of hooch makers across the country. In the last three years, law-enforcement agencies in Virginia have cracked down on moonshine distribution and production in the state, a multi-million dollar racket, reports ABC News. With millions of dollars at stake in this traditional industry, making moonshine can potentially make you a lot of money....
The jury in the trial of James Holmes found him guilty on all charges. Holmes had admitted to the shooting, but claimed insanity at the time of the crime. The jury was tasked with deciding whether Holmes knew the nature of his crime or could distinguish between right and wrong at the time he committed the act. There was also the Irresistible Impulse Test: whether, even if Holmes could tell right from wrong, he was under such duress from mental disease that he had lost the free will to choose between the two....
Pop singer Justin Bieber has been granted U.S. citizenship, silencing the hundreds of thousands of Americans who petitioned the White House to have him deported. The Biebs will still have to worry about paparazzi and future DUI court dates, but after a private concert and an impromptu ceremony this morning, the hashtag #DeportBieber is officially #2000andLate. How did the Canadian singer, who’s already sung his way into Americans’ hearts, officially become an American citizen?...
A New Jersey appeals court decision may open the door to a class action lawsuit against Merck & Co. by former Vioxx patients who are currently in good health, but who want the drug company to pay their medical monitoring costs. The Appellate Division of the Superior Court of New Jersey decision overturned a lower court’s dismissal of the plaintiffs’ claims, saying that those claims were “prematurely terminated” Vioxx was withdrawn from the marketplace in September 2004, due in large part to concerns over links between the painkiller and increased risk of heart attack and stroke....
