A dad left his baby in a hot car while he went gambling at a casino, police say. Now, he’ll need a bit more than luck to beat a pair of criminal charges. Danny Ngo, 44, of Philadelphia, drove to the Parx Casino in Bensalem, Pennsylvania, with his 18-month-old son, and allegedly left the baby in his car while he went inside to play blackjack. It was nearly 90 degrees outside, and the temperature inside the car was much hotter, police say....
Things are heating up in Georgia, and that’s odd for early November. Unless, of course, it’s an election year. Highlighting a recent string of national headlines, U.S. District Court Judge Eleanor Ross declared that Georgia’s current voting procedures unconstitutionally disenfranchises certain voters, and therefore the state must change current processes to make it easier for people flagged under the state’s restrictive “exact match” law to vote. The “exact match” law flags registrations for any voters that have even the slightest discrepancy from proof of identity, such as dropped hyphens or erroneously spelled middle names....
It’s nearly Halloween. Kids and parents across the nation are gearing up for one of the most sugary holidays of the year. But many parents might be interested in some Halloween safety tips. So what should you know about trick-or-treat safety? Trick-or-Treat Safety Tip #1: Make sure their costume checks out. Before you let your kids embark on a trick-or-treating excursion check their costumes first. Costumes made with flimsy materials that drag on the floor can trip children and may lead to injuries....
The possible ban on toys in Happy Meals in the city of San Francisco is headed for a vote by the full Board of Supervisors. A committee has recommended that the Board vote on legislation that proposes to ban the toys in the iconic meal from McDonald’s and other fast food restaurants unless the sugar, sodium and fat amounts in the meals are limited and the meals include at least one half cup of fruits and of vegetables....
Under a bill passed Wednesday by the U.S. House of Representatives, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) will have greater power to regulate the safety of prescription medications, including more oversight of drugs that are already on the market. The Washington Post reports that “in the wake of the Vioxx withdrawal and subsequent problems with other drugs, lawmakers seized on the legislation to overhaul how the FDA handles the safety of the drugs it regulates....
Pink eye–remember when you first heard about it in elementary school? Then you asked your mom, and she said “When was the last time you washed your hands?” As it turns out, Mom had it right. Pink eye is contagious. To avoid pink eye, you can do two things right away: (1) avoid sharing towels and washcloths; and (2) wash your hands. Frequently. So what is pink eye, really? Isn’t it just a disease of kids?...
In the battle between wolves and caribou, who is king? A federal judge weighed in on that question Thursday, temporarily refusing to allow the state of Alaska to kill seven wolves on a national wildlife refuge. The state has asked for permission to use helicopters to shoot the wolves in the Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge, in order to protect the caribou. According to the state, the number of caribou are dwindling and the wolves are invading their calving grounds....
Justin Bieber has been caught speeding, again. Or at least, his car has. It looks like the popstar and his now rather infamous white Ferrari can’t stay out of trouble when it comes obeying speed limits. First, on Monday, Bieber was allegedly zipping through his gated community outside Los Angeles at freeway speeds (well over the posted 25 mph limit) and upset one of his neighbors, ex-NFL player Keyshawn Johnson – so much so that Johnson followed him home to confront his reckless driving....
California’s Supreme Court has upheld the dismissal of 18 criminal cases, and the reason might surprise you. The cases were not dismissed for lack of evidence, but for lack of judges. There were simply not enough judges in enough courtrooms to hear the cases in Riverside County, so the Southern California defendants, two charged with felonies and the rest with misdemeanors, each received a get out of court free card....
Fireworks plus alcohol can lead to a lot of strange July 4 arrests. After the July 4th celebrations, Orlando bike cops were clearing out downtown bars of revelers. As they were in the process of arresting one man, they were suddenly bombarded by a fireworks attack. The three bike cops had to dodge a series of flaming green projectiles aimed at them. The man they were trying to arrest also had to find safety, reports the Orlando Sentinel....
It’s against the law to force your child to strip on Skype. Obvious? Not so much. Anne Lussier of Attleboro, Mass. forced her 10-year-old daughter to engage in such conduct, and has since been charged with a bevy of crimes. She asserts that she was the victim of faux-photographer Joshua Dunfee. He promised the mom and daughter duo $20,000 and a trip to Florida to take part in a photo shoot....
The New Jersey Supreme Court has ruled that law enforcement cannot obtain cell phone tracking information from wireless providers without a warrant. In a unanimous decision issued Thursday, New Jersey’s highest court demanded that police have a search warrant to procure sensitive cell phone data that will allow law enforcement to track an individual, reports The New York Times. This decision is a slight change in tune from other federal rulings regarding cell phone data, but it might be a sign of a turning tide for privacy....
New York Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver has been indicted on five criminal counts involving millions of dollars in alleged bribes and kickbacks. The criminal complaint filed Wednesday in federal court accuses Silver, 70, of receiving more than $6 million from two law firms since 2002 through various schemes, reports the New York Daily News. The money allegedly includes more than $3 million in referral fees for directing clients involved in asbestos litigation to one of the law firms....
The Department of Agriculture Office of the Inspector General has released a new report saying the government agencies responsible for ensuring the meat consumers buy is free of contamination from are not doing a particularly good job. According to the report, disagreements between agencies and lack of general oversight are leading to meat contaminated with high levels of residue from metals, antibiotics and pesticides possibly finding their way onto dinner plates across the country....
Dating sites Match.com, eHarmony and Spark Networks are ramping up their efforts to ensure online dating safety. The three companies have reached an agreement with the California attorney general’s office, and will begin to check subscribers against public sex-offender registries. The agreement appears to be the result of a few high-profile incidents. Last year, a woman sued Match.com after she was raped by a man she met on the site. The man had previously been convicted of sexual battery, yet was still allowed to subscribe....
Picture this: a cross-dressing, booze-filled, cocaine-fueled sex party. If you combine all of these elements you get the Oscar de la Hoya sex lawsuit filed by New York model Angelica Marie Cecora. Cecora is claiming that the former boxing champ assaulted and falsely imprisoned her in March. She’s seeking damages over the rendezvous, which took place at the upscale Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Manhattan. She wants $5 million in damages. And odds are, the facts alleged in the case will be racy enough to make an entire jury panel blush....
Another Hollywood marriage has met its all but inevitable fate: Patricia Arquette, of the Hollywood Arquettes, and actor Thomas Jane are divorcing. Arquette is seeking custody of their daughter Harlow and hopes not to have to pay spousal support to Jane. They have been married since 2006. According to People, the reported elements of the Arquette / Jane dissolution are fairly basic. Arquette is asking for custody but will allow visitation to Jane....
In July of this year, a Minnesota police officer shot and killed Philando Castile, despite Mr. Castile presenting no threat to the safety of the officer. Although Mr. Castile did have a gun, the weapon was permitted, and Mr. Castile advised the officer of the weapon. Tragically, his last words were about how he was not reaching for his gun, but rather for the documents the officer was requesting. The Ramsey County Attorney’s Office announced this week that the officer would indeed be facing a second degree manslaughter charge, as well as two additional felony charges for dangerous discharge of a firearm....
In 2007, school administrators barred Avery Doninger from running for senior class secretary after it came to their attention that she had called school staff “douche bags” in a blog post made from her home computer. The 2nd Circuit ruled Monday that the school was within its rights, as current student free speech jurisprudence does not clearly establish that it violated Doninger’s First Amendment rights. Upset that a scheduling mix-up required the postponement of the school’s annual battle of the bands, Avery Doninger sent an email to the school’s parents and students asking them to complain to the principal and superintendant....
Southwest Airlines will pay a $7.5 million dollar penalty for aircraft maintenance lapses disclosed by the company in 2007, and the popular air carrier agreed to take a number of steps to enhance its safety practices, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) announced on Monday. The settlement stems from an initial $10.2 million penalty proposed against the Dallas-based air carrier, for operating 46 airplanes – amounting to 59,791 Southwest flights between June 2006 and March 2007 – without performing required safety checks for potential fatigue cracking in the aircraft’s fuselage, the FAA anounced....
