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Even if you aren’t normally a modern-day Julia Child in the kitchen, on Thanksgiving most people make an extra effort – which means you’re potentially leaving yourself open to some kitchen dangers as well. The turkey deep fryer is a great example of a kitchen tool that requires some extra safety precautions. But there are other once-a-year tools that could cause a lot of harm if you’re not careful. During your holiday cooking, take a minute to check out the safety features and instructions for these and other kitchen tools so you can enjoy your meal without a trip to the hospital:...

Imagine you’re sitting at home and you hear a thunderous knock on the door. If you’re not expecting any visitors and own a gun, you may reach for it. In fact, that’s what Florida man Andrew Lee Scott did when police came a knocking. The police were searching for an attempted murder suspect. So you can bet they were expecting the worst. So when Scott opened the door with his weapon in hand, a police deputy shot him dead....

Cornell University’s Sigma Alpha Epsilon chapter was found guilty of hazing, while three frat members were cleared in the alcohol-related death of a pledge in 2011. The conviction means the family of George Desdunes, 19, of Brooklyn, N.Y., will see – at most – $12,000 from the local fraternity chapter for the criminal conviction, The Ithaca Journal reports. But the family has also filed a civil lawsuit. In a hazing ritual gone wrong, SAE fraternity pledges kidnapped Desdunes from his home, bound his hands and feet with zip ties and duct tape, and then forced him to drink alcohol until he passed out, according to The New York Times....

In a reminder that state statutes can be woefully behind the times when it comes to technology and crime, a Georgia appeals court overturned a man’s conviction for surreptitiously taking cell phone video underneath a woman’s skirt without her consent. The practice, known as “upskirting,” is disgusting, odious, and morally reprehensible, but, as the court in this case pointed out, not technically illegal under some current state statutes. So how was the man convicted in the first place?...

Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump is not exactly the conciliatory type, and he seems to like getting people riled up. But today Trump tried to woo conservatives by releasing a list of Supreme Court nominees that is, reports CNN, widely pleasing to people in the Republican Party. The list contains the names of 11 conservative judges who could ostensibly replace the deceased Justice Antonin Scalia, both physically and in spirit. Trump’s move is viewed as an effort to relieve conservative fears that Trump will not be a reliable Republican representative....

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has announced a Proposal to strengthen federal air quality standards for ground-level ozone (the main component of smog) for the first time in 10 years. According to the EPA Press Release, “[o]zone can harm people’s lungs and EPA is particularly concerned about individuals with asthma or other lung diseases, as well as those who spend a lot of time outside, such as children. Ozone exposure can aggravate asthma, resulting in increased medication use and emergency room visits, and it can increase susceptibility to respiratory infections....

A generic Adderall shortage, a drug used to treat attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), has left patients either going from drugstore to drugstore or opting for more expensive name brands. Patients who are on ADHD medication say they need the drugs to help them function. Drugs like Adderall helps patients concentrate and perform daily activities. In many locales, the generic drug is still available, though it is becoming increasingly more difficult to find, reports ABC News....

Didn’t like the socks you got for Christmas? You’re not alone. Some 20% of Americans plan on returning at least one gift this holiday season. With so many gift returns, retailers are tightening their return policies. Here are some tips for a hassle free gift return season: Return as you received: Stores don’t want damaged goods so if you think you may be returning an item, don’t take it for a trial run before deciding....

Pedestrians wearing headphones may be at risk, according to a new U.S. study. Headphones and accidents apparently go hand-in-hand. The number of injuries sustained by pedestrians wearing headphones has tripled since 2004. The most common cause of injury was by train. The majority of the surveyed accidents took place in cities – only 12% occurred in rural areas. The accidents were severe – some 70% of them were fatal. The reason behind the increased safety risk seems to be a pedestrian’s awareness....

Despite how rare it actually is that a criminal conviction will be based upon a fingerprint, thanks to the popularity of televised cop dramas, some would-be criminals go to extreme lengths to avoid fingerprint detection. Over the last few decades, numerous stories have emerged of criminals literally cutting and burning off their fingerprints. Shockingly, even plastic surgeons are being asked to help alter fingerprints. Technically there is no law against a person altering or changing their fingerprints....

Hitting your children is a sensitive moral topic for many parents, but it is worth discussing whether it is even legal. There is no federal law generally governing how parents must conduct themselves with regard to their children, which leaves most of the legal guidance on striking your kids with the states. So is it legal to hit your kids? Spanking Pundits and parents have argued for decades over whether spanking is child abuse....

A new film titled, ‘‘How I Married Jennifer Lopez,’’ may not be coming to a theater near you. J. Lo is suing her ex-husband Ojani Noa to stop him from shopping around a movie. It allegedly includes video footage showing J. Lo in revealing lack of clothing, and in sexual situations, especially in the hotel room footage from … [their] honeymoon." Lopez filed papers against Noa who she was married to for less than a year back in 1997, claiming it violates terms of the couple’s divorce agreement....

In August, Merck & Co. Inc. will begin paying settlement claims to those injured by Vioxx, the once-popular pain medication that was pulled from the marketplace in 2004 because of links to increased risk of cardiovascular problems in patients. 97 percent of those eligible have chosen to participate in the settlement, Merck announced last Thursday, and threshholds necessary to trigger funding of the claims have been met. In all, Merck reports that it expects to pay $4....

It’s been a tough summer for Morrissey. After first being mobbed on stage by fans at a show, then cancelling a planned tour due to illness, the singer has now been sued by a man who claims he was fired as Morrissey’s bodyguard after refusing an request by the singer’s manager to do away with the administrator of a Morrissey fan site, reports Rolling Stone. What did Morrissey have to say in response to these allegations?...

The Pennsylvania Superior Court has reversed Monsignor William Lynn’s conviction. Lynn was the first Catholic priest in the United States to be sent to prison for covering up sex abuse claims. But on Thursday, an appeals court reversed the conviction, finding that the state’s child endangerment statute did not apply to him. Monsignor William Lynn served as the secretary for clergy for the Archdiocese of Philadelphia from 1992 to 2004 and was in charge of handling child sex abuse complaints....

Concerns over OnStar privacy and tracking seem to have quickly fizzled out. The company, which uses GPS to track subscriber vehicles, had planned to change its Terms and Conditions on December 1. Built-in devices would continue to transmit information after cancellation unless drivers opted out. The system would still collect location, speed, seat belt use, air bag deployment and odometer readings. This data could then be sold to third parties....

The case of the murdering porn stars is a modern day, twisted morality tale, overflowing with bad guys, and with even the victim caught in the mire. Variously described as a lingerie shop owner, a model, a porn star and a prostitute, murder suspect Amanda Logue and her gay-porn star-DJ-boyfriend, Jason Andrews, are behind bars and awaiting trial. The couple is charged in the bludgeoning and stabbing death of tattoo artist Dennis “Scooter” Abrahamsen....

The San Francisco criminal courts recently tossed out approximately 66,000 arrest warrants issued by local judges for defendants who failed to appear in court on quality of life crimes over the last 5 years. Generally, minor crimes such as urinating on a sidewalk, or being drunk in public, are characterized as quality of life crimes and punished by fines rather than jail. However, San Francisco’s justices have seen that the local homeless population, who cannot afford the fines, overwhelmingly commit these quality of life crimes....

Life is full of annoying unavoidable things. Traffic lights, long lines, and worst of all, rude people. Everyone has to deal with an angry or unpleasant person at some point. But when does their smack talk become defamation? It’s understandably a nebulous concept to most people. The general reaction when one becomes the target of disparaging remarks typically isn’t, “Man, I’m going to sue.” Rather, it’s usually more along the lines of, “What a jerk....

The U.S. Supreme Court laid down the law on warrantless cell-phone searches today, giving mobile users slightly more privacy when arrested. The High Court unanimously held that warrantless cell-phone searches upon arrest are generally not permitted, recognizing how important our phones have become in our everyday lives. As USA Today reports, Chief Justice John Roberts opined that cell phones are so integral to daily life that Martians “might conclude they were an important feature of human anatomy....