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A lot of people are raising eyebrows at Linda Evangelista’s child support request from her 4-year-old son’s father, French billionaire Francois Henri-Pinault. The model asked a Manhattan Family Court judge last week to grant her a monthly award of $46,000 dollars, which her lawyers said will pay for an around-the-clock nanny, two gun-toting drivers, extracurricular activities, and the child’s schooling. Of course, there are also the essentials, like pricy clothing, and vacations....

New York became the first state to pass an “all crimes DNA” law last week, greatly expanding the collection of DNA from convicted criminals. Under the new NY DNA law, individuals convicted of both felonies and misdemeanors must submit a DNA sample that will then be entered into the state database. The law also expands defendant access to DNA testing both before and after trial. Taken together, the law’s provisions are expected to help close unsolved cases, exonerate the wrongfully convicted, and eliminate innocent suspects....

Pennsylvania’s voter ID law can take effect this November, a judge ruled Wednesday. But opponents of the politically divisive law vowed to appeal. Republican lawmakers in Pennsylvania, a key battleground state in November’s presidential election, initially pushed for the voter ID law as a way to prevent election fraud, the Associated Press reports. Every Democratic lawmaker voted against it. But in court, the voter fraud concern was barely discussed, and it wasn’t the reason for the judge’s decision....

We hear the phrase “pressing charges” a lot in movies and on TV. After a while, you kind of get the feeling you know what it means. But many people have the false impressing that anyone can press charges. Individuals do not press charges, nor do police. In the context of the criminal law, only a municipal, state, or federal attorney can decide to charge someone with a crime and file a charging document....

If police smell a marijuana odor, and hear movement or a flushing toilet, they can break down your door. And if police, after smelling and hearing, conduct a warrantless search, Kentucky courts following U.S. Supreme Court precedent will now refuse to suppress the evidence found, reports the Associated Press. The Kentucky Supreme Court had ruled that marijuana and pills seized after police smelled burning marijuana, then broke down the door to an apartment, had been seized in violation of the Fourth Amendment....

Want to be a safely distracted driver? Listen to Coldplay. That’s what the results of a recent driving experiment has shown. Interestingly, these crooners from across the Pond make for some relaxed drivers. According to the creator of the driving app MotorMate, Coldplay’s “The Scientist” makes the list of “ultimate safe driving songs.” Distracted driving is a huge problem and doesn’t only encompass texting while driving. While it’s not illegal to listen to music while driving, distracting music can still lead to car accidents....

As part of his strategy for economic recovery, today President Obama unveiled his plan to help stem the explosion in home foreclosures. Dubbed the “Homeowner Affordability and Stability Plan,” it aims to prevent millions of US homeowners from losing their homes by providing refinancing, encouraging lenders to modify mortgages, allowing court ordered mortgage modifications in bankruptcy, and by providing $200 in additional capital to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. As reported in the New York Times, Obama’s plan targets two groups of homeowners: 1) owner-occupants current on mortgages but unable to find refinancing to a lower rate; and 2) owner-occupants unable to keep up and in danger of foreclosure....

A congressional committee issued a subpoena today for a former Toyota in-house lawyer to testify and bring any supporting materials he has “relating to Toyota motor vehicle safety” as well as “Toyota’s handling of alleged motor vehicle defects” and lawsuits concerning such alleged Toyota defects." The subpoena (see below) was issued by the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform for Dimitrios Biller seeking to learn what the former Toyota attorney new about the carmaker’s handling of lawsuits and litigation alleging safety defects and problems with Toyotas....

After the tragic events of the Asiana Flight 214 crash, a United Airlines employee and his fiancee have been arrested for allegedly stealing luggage that had piled up in the chaos. Sean Crudup and Raychas Thomas are charged with grand theft and commercial burglary by the San Mateo County District Attorney, who claims that surveillance video inside San Francisco International Airport (SFO) caught the couple stealing luggage, reports CNN. You might think that you can only commit burglary when you’re in someone’s home, but Crudup and Thomas are charged with commercial burglary for allegedly stealing luggage from a holding area at SFO....

Sometimes the victims of lethal force by the police are not men, but man’s best friend. In an undated video uploaded to YouTube, Leon Rosby is shown being arrested by officers in Hawthorne, California, only to have his pet Rottweiler shot by police when it appears to come to its owner’s rescue, reports The Huffington Post. Officers can use lethal force on humans when they fear for their safety or the safety of others, but what about dogs and other pets?...

Famed American gum company Wrigley will settle a false advertising lawsuit over its Eclipse gum. The W.M. Wrigley Jr. corporation has agreed to pay a settlement of as much as $7 million and change how it markets and labels the Eclipse chewing gum. Plaintiffs in the class action lawsuit over the gum said claims about the natural germ-killing ingredients in the gum were misleading. Wrigley is a subsidiary of Mars, Inc....

Looks like their “aha moment” has finally arrived. Mutual of Omaha insurance company and Oprah Winfrey’s Harpo Productions have settled a trademark dispute over the popular phrase, according to the Associated Press. When Oprah caught wind of this, her Harpo Productions company sent a letter to Omaha insurance stop using “aha moment” as a part of its advertising campaign. Winfrey’s representatives argue the phrase was synonymous with Winfrey and her show and is one of her trademarks....

As creator of reality television series “The Bachelor” and producer of horror movie “Texas Chainsaw Massacre,” Mike Fleiss has a pretty solid track record. Lately, however, Fleiss has apparently been focusing his efforts on a more personal project. Fleiss was charged with disturbing the peace this week after being involved in an ongoing dispute with his neighbors, reports TMZ. In true Hollywood style, Fleiss’ neighbors are also celebrities: former “Baywatch” actor David Charvet and his wife Brooke Burke-Charvet, former host of “Dancing With the Stars....

Ever since Joaquin ‘El Chapo’ Guzman’s extradition to the United States, he has been confined to an 80-square-foot cell in Brooklyn’s Metropolitan Correctional Complex for 23 hours a day, given just one hour of exercise in a room with a single treadmill and stationary bicycle. And that solitude has taken its toll, according to Guzman’s attorney, Eduardo Balarezo. Balarezo wrote a detailed letter to United States District Judge Brian M. Cogan, describing the conditions of his client’s confinement and the effects on his mental state....

It appears as though Leisha Hailey is the newest celebrity to be tossed from a Southwest Airlines flight. The musician and L Word actress was apparently kissing her girlfriend when approached by a flight attendant. A discussion ensued and the pair was asked to leave the plane. Hailey then took to Twitter, asking fans to boycott Southwest. She believes she was kicked off the flight for being gay. She was then escorted off the plane....

Film studio Lionsgate has filed a federal lawsuit against “John Does 1-10” following the online leak of an advanced copy of “Expendables 3,” due out later this month. High-quality copies of the film available at several torrent-sharing websites have all been linked back to the same original file. The company first discovered the pirated digital copy on July 24th, reports The Hollywood Reporter. Since then, the file has been downloaded more than a million times....

It’s Amanda Bynes’ 28th birthday today, and so far, it seems like her fans’ legal wishes have come true: She hasn’t made any headlines today for a run-in with the law. While Bynes has certainly faced a fair share of legal troubles in recent years, it seems like the actress is doing much better now. She’s apparently a student at the Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising in Southern California, according to E!...

We all know that drinking games and intoxication can lead to arguments or fights. Unfortunately, a deadly mix of beer pong and stabbing can also lead to murder. After a beer pong argument, William Walker, 21, of Cherry Hill, New Jersey, was killed by a fellow party-goer. Walker was a volunteer firefighter. He had also worked as a medic in Atlantic City, and had dreams of becoming a professional firefighter, reports the Philadelphia Inquirer....

It seems that 2010 has been the year of recalls. Perhaps BMW felt that once just wasn’t enough. Just hours after an ABC News investigation highlighted problems with a defective fuel pump, BMW has issued a recall. This current BMW recall is a voluntary recall of 130,000 vehicles. The recall involves problems with the fuel pump in vehicles that feature the High Precision Injection, twin-turbo inline six-cylinder engines and direct fuel injection systems....

Some former Boeing employees may soon finally receive the benefits of a 10-year long class action lawsuit. Talk about perseverance. Boeing and the Society of Professional Engineering Employees in Aerospace (SPEEA) have agreed on a settlement 10 years after the suit was filled. Boeing will pay $90 million to cover pension and retiree health benefits to former Boeing Co. employees. In 2005, Boeing sold its Wichita commercial aircraft division to Onex Corp....