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George Zimmerman is under arrest, charged with second degree murder in the shooting death of Trayvon Martin, a Florida special prosecutor announced Wednesday. Zimmerman, 28, who’s been in hiding since news of Martin’s killing gained worldwide attention, turned himself in on an arrest warrant, called a capias, Special Prosecutor Angela Corey said at a news conference. “I can tell you we did not come to this decision lightly,” Corey said in remarks broadcast live on TV and online....

Two girls accused of stabbing a friend because of a belief in “Slender Man” have been found competent to stand trial. Anissa Weier, 13, and Morgan Geyser, 13, allegedly attempted a sort of ritualistic murder to please “Slender Man” – a fictional, shadowy figure that began as an Internet meme. According to ABC News, the victim, a then 12-year-old friend of Weier and Geyser, was stabbed 19 times with a large kitchen knife last May, but thankfully survived....

The Glacier Park murder suspect accused of pushing her husband off a cliff is set to appear in federal court today to face second degree murder charges. The newlywed couple allegedly argued while hiking at Glacier National Park in July – an altercation that ended with Cody Johnson, 25, falling “face first” off a cliff to his death. His wife Jordan Linn Graham, 22, was taken into custody, reports CNN....

Despite what shows like “Boston Legal” and “Law & Order” might lead you to believe, most trials are rather mundane. So it isn’t everyday that you hear words like “mutiny,” and “revolt,” in reference to a jury trial. But that’s just what happened in Missoula County, Montana. The Wall Street Journal called it “not-yet-a-jury nullification.” Before the Montana marijuana trial, potential jurors told Judge Dusty Deschamps and Deputy Missoula County Attorney Andrew Paul that they would not convict anybody for having a small amount of marijuana....

Justice has spoken. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, that is. Why do we even care? Because it’s apparently the first time he’s spoken during oral arguments in court in nearly seven years. Seven years of silence. So what prompted him to speak, and what were his magic words? Unfortunately, in all of the commotion, the only words that ended up on the record were: Let’s provide some context here. The case involved the right to a speedy trial....

The Supreme Court for the state of New Jersey, in an opinion released last week, just changed the way judges in the state will sentence most juvenile offenders. The opinion, which actually decided two criminal conviction sentencing appeals, centered on whether a juvenile should be sentenced to life without parole for a non-homicide related crime. Agreeing With the US Supreme Court Following the rational of a 2012 US Supreme Court decision basically prohibiting (as unconstitutional) life sentences for juveniles that hadn’t killed anyone, the high court in NJ ruled in favor of two violent criminals, who were both sentenced to “functional” life terms at the age of 17....

A 2010 oil spill in the Kalamazoo River area has prompted the company responsible to propose forking over $6.8 million in settlement funds. Enbridge, a Calgary-based energy company, has offered to pay to settle a class-action lawsuit by those who lived within 1,000 feet of the affected river, offering more to those who live closest to the spill area. The Battle Creek Enquirer reports that Enbridge has already settled with dozens of other plaintiffs, although four more spill-related cases are set for trial next year....

A Kansas airman accused of knowingly exposing his sexual partners to HIV is facing review by the nation’s highest military court. The Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces is set to determine Tuesday whether David Gutierrez was properly punished for aggravated assault and for violating an order to notify partners of his HIV status and use condoms. As The Associated Press reports, Gutierrez argues that since HIV is now treatable and exposure risk from heterosexual intercourse is low, aggravated assault wasn’t an appropriate charge....

The lawsuit over a $24 million loan filed by Art Capital Group against acclaimed photographer Annie Leibovitz has been settled, according to a statement from spokespeople ACG and Leibovitz. But answers regarding the exact terms of the settlement remain unclear. Illingworth also told FindLaw that he “can’t answer” whether any of Leibovitz’s properties are being sold as part of the settlement agreement. E-mail messages and a phone call to Leibovitz’s spokesman Matthew Hiltzik were not returned....

We could easily rename Celebrity Justice “Bad Ideas.” Speaking of stupidity, check out MTV Star Abram Boise, 28, who was arrested for urinating on a Toyota in public this weekend, then allegedly proceeded to urinate on the floor and defecate in his hands and smear it on his cell, Sgt. Gammel said, TMZ reports. “He wrote his name in feces on the wall.” Boise was arrested in Massachusetts on two counts of defacing property and one count of indecent exposure....

Consumer advocates everywhere are cheering because the CPSC will now have a product safety database with consumer complaint reports available to the public, Reuters reports. It will allow consumers the chance to know about harmful or potentially harmful products before they get recalled. Slated to launch on March 11, the online product safety database by the CPSC will contain reports of unsafe or potentially unsafe products by consumers, according to the Sacramento Bee....

The New York Post reports the DMV’s facial recognition technology has led to 4,000 arrests and ID’d a total of 21,000 cases of identity theft or fraud. Hey, You Look Familiar The facial recognition program looks for the same faces applying for driver’s licenses under different names. Yes, in rare instances, the software can uncover identical twins put up for adoption and raised in different parts of the state. But more often than not, as the Post reports, the tech is tracking identity thieves:...

Move over Vin Diesel, one New Yorker is really living his life one quarter-mile at a time – that is, until his record-breaking street racing landed him in police custody on Thursday. Christopher Adam Tang – nicknamed “Speed Racer,” according to New York’s WABC-TV – did his eponymous cartoon hero proud by circumnavigating Manhattan in 24 minutes and 7 seconds, setting speed records and breaking several traffic laws. Tang, 30, has no Racer X to taunt him, but it may be a while before he’s behind the wheel again....

As we saw earlier this month with the Epsilon data breach, security breaches are common these days, and hackers are becoming bolder. In fact, the recent PlayStation Network breach is said not only to be the first time a gaming network has ever been compromised, but it also has been pegged by experts as the second largest network security breach in history. According to an April 26 statement Sony posted on its website, the company became aware of the PlayStation Network breach on April 19, causing it to disband access on April 20....

Obviously, possessing illegal drugs anywhere can get you into trouble. But all states and even the federal government have increased penalties for possession in so-called drug-free zones like schools. So when do these laws apply, what do they look like, and what are the possible penalties for bringing drugs to school? As part of the War on Drugs, Congress has passed several laws increasing the mandatory minimum sentence for possessing drugs on or near schools....

California’s laws on teacher tenure, layoffs and dismissals deprive students of their constitutional right to an education, a Los Angeles Superior Court judge ruled Tuesday. The ruling is a serious defeat for teachers’ unions that overturns several California laws that govern the way teachers are hired and fired. “There is … no dispute that there are a significant number of grossly ineffective teachers currently active in California classrooms,” Judge Rolf M....

When are police legally allowed to impound your vehicle? One scenario seems obvious: Cops can impound a car when it is either evidence or the instrument of a crime. But sometimes, police may also be allowed to seize a car if it’s simply a danger to public safety. Getting your car back from a police impound lot can be expensive and legally frustrating, so here’s an overview of when police can legitimately impound your car:...

Former wrestler Hulk Hogan was brought to tears by a jury verdict last week. It was a victory for him, as Hogan was the plaintiff in an invasion of privacy case against Gawker media. The website Gawker.com published a video of Hogan sleeping with a former friend’s wife and the star sued for invasion of privacy. A Florida jury agreed completely with Hogan’s complaint that the sex tape was not news and awarded him $115 million....

Reality TV star “Honey Boo Boo” can legally be in the same home as a convicted child molester, even though the man allegedly molested her older sister more than a decade ago. Mark McDaniel, the new beau of “Here Comes Honey Boo Boo” matriarch Mama June (aka June Shannon), was released from prison in March after serving 10 years for aggravated child molestation. According to Radar Online, McDaniel was arrested for forcing sexual contact on Anna Marie Shannon, the then 8-year-old daughter of Mama June, and was the subject of several molestation charges before accepting a plea deal....

Ananda Marchildon, the 2008 winner of Holland’s Next Top Model, is not fat. In fact, she’s so not fat, a Dutch court has declared it so. The 25-year-old model has been awarded $85,000 in a lawsuit filed against Elite Model Management. The agency dropped her as a client for being too fat. Her hips measured about 36.2 inches when she won, but handlers wanted her to measure in at only 35....