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Following the calls for reform of banks gorging on overdraft fees, two of the nation’s largest banks have announced some changes to make their overdraft policies more consumer friendly. Bank of America and Chase announced changes that address some, but not all concerns. Whether Congress will follow through with new rules for all banks, and what those rules would be, remains to be seen. We’ve recently discussed possible Congressional action to address the overdraft fees being charged by banks, which have brought banks increasingly enormous revenues from perhaps their most vulnerable account holders....

Convicted cop killer Harry Mitts awaits an execution date in Ohio. Mitts shot and killed an African-American man in 1994, after shouting a racist tirade at the man. In the ensuing shootout, Mitts shot three police officers, wounding two and killing one. An Ohio jury convicted Mitts on two counts of aggravated murder and two counts of attempted murder in 1994. After receiving standard Ohio jury instructions, the jury sentenced Mitts to death, reports Courthouse News....

The Internet is not like Paradise City, where the grass is green and the girls are pretty. It can be a mean space, and aging online is difficult for celebrities especially. People who were once adored understandably don’t like it when they are mocked. That’s what’s happening to Axl Rose, the Guns n’ Roses lead, and he told Google to make it stop. But the best way to guarantee a person will be the laughingstock of the web is to complain that it’s not fair that people are poking fun and to demand that unflattering images be taken down....

The Baltimore medical examiner ruled the death of Freddie Gray while in police custody a homicide. And an investigation by the state’s attorney’s office has led to charges against six Baltimore police officers. Baltimore’s lead prosecutor Marilyn J. Mosby announced the charges this morning, ranging from second-degree murder and involuntary manslaughter to assault and official misconduct. The investigation also ruled Gray’s arrest was illegal in the first place, and warrants have been issued for all six officers....

Using a stolen credit card is a serious crime that carries serious penalties. Even if the card was not stolen, per se, but rather found on the sidewalk, using the card is still illegal in all 50 states. Unlike using stolen or found cash, using a stolen credit card involves an act of fraud on top of theft, on top of the underlying theft of the card potentially. Like most criminal statutes, the laws prohibiting using a stolen credit card vary from state to state....

A Florida judge recused herself Wednesday from the George Zimmerman case because of a potential conflict of interest. A new judge has been assigned to take over. Judge Jessica Recksiedler is set to be replaced by Judge Kenneth Lester Jr., the Orlando Sentinel reports. Recksiedler stepped aside after disclosing her potential conflict, and after Zimmerman’s attorney made a formal request for her recusal. So what was Judge Recksiedler’s potential conflict? And what is the process to get a judge removed from a case in general?...

The star of reality TV show “Cake Boss” was arrested on charges of driving while intoxicated in Manhattan on Thursday morning. Buddy Valastro was allegedly observed swerving through traffic in his yellow Chevrolet Corvette when he was stopped for suspected drunken driving, reports WNBC-TV. Police say that Valastro showed physical signs of intoxication and failed a subsequent breathalyzer test of his blood alcohol concentration. Valastro’s arrest isn’t the first run-in with the law by a cast member of the TLC reality series....

Judges typically set bail – the amount a defendant must pay to be released from custody pending trial – during the first court appearance following an arrest. So what factors go into setting bail? A judge typically has a few options in setting bail: He or she can stick to the standard bail amount, raise or lower the standard bail, deny bail altogether, waive bail and grant release on the defendant’s “own recognizance,” and/or set special conditions for release....

Americans wrongly burdened with a false DUI arrest don’t have to suffer in silence. There are legal options to get your name cleared and your record set straight. This was the case with a Florida man who sued a state trooper after two Breathalyzers and a blood test indicated he was not intoxicated while driving, reports Sarasota’s WWSB-TV. In another recent case, an Arizona man is also taking steps toward a lawsuit after a false DUI arrest....

In the aftermath of recent tornado outbreaks, the Better Business Bureau is warning consumers about a different kind of storm chaser: scam artists who take advantage of tornado victims. “It is not uncommon for out-of-town storm chasers to solicit business after storms like the ones we had last week,” said Carrie Hurt, CEO of the Council of Better Business Bureaus. “Storm chasers may not have proper licensure for your area, and may offer quick fixes or make big promises to which they won’t deliver....

The consequences for an underage driver getting a DUI can be severe. But can parents get in trouble if an underage child gets a DUI? While most people are solely responsible for their criminal actions, there may be cases where parents are on the hook (criminally, civilly, or both) for a child’s underage DUI. Criminal Liability Generally, there are very limited situations where parents will be held criminally liable for a child’s criminal actions....

During a routine traffic stop on Sunday, police in Pueblo, Co. confiscated 220 pounds of cocaine from a rental car belonging to California residents Mark Bailey and Lisa Calderon. Worth $10 million, the cocaine, which was headed to Iowa, was packed into four duffle bags stored in the trunk. A drug-sniffing dog alerted officers to its presence. When police found the couple, they determined that Bailey was driving with a suspended license, and, according to Reuters, when questioned, Calderon was visibly nervous....

Bryan Singer, the terminated director of the two-time Golden Globe winner Bohemian Rhapsody, has been publicly accused of sexual assault and misconduct in a recent article published in The Atlantic. The article claims that Singer sexually assaulted three males, two of whom were underaged and one not sure of his age at the time of the incident. Singer categorically denies these allegations, and claims that one of the authors of The Atlantic article has a weird obsession for him, and is also homophobic....

Ford Motor Co. and Mazda Motor Corp. announced massive recalls affecting almost 5 million vehicles this week. The recalls were due to separate issues with door latches and hatches on ten different models of vehicles built over the last three years. Here’s what you need to know about the affected vehicles and how to comply with the recall. Ford is recalling some 2.4 million cars, SUVs, and vans in the U....

A 74-year-old grandmother was arrested for abuse for allegedly spraying a mixture of cleaning solution on her 18-year-old disabled granddaughter. Eloise Bowman, of Gainesville, Fla., was charged with misdemeanor battery and felony abuse of the disabled without great harm, reports The Gainesville Sun. The elderly suspect experienced chest pain shortly after the incident. She was taken to a hospital for evaluation, and then taken straight to jail. Police say Bowman forced the girl out of the home, and then sprayed the teen in the face with the cleaning solution mixture....

The Batmobile is one of the most recognizable cars in the world. The fins, the gadgets, the weaponry: all singular to the Caped Crusader, and all very inviting to copycats. But those looking to steal the Batmobile’s signature look better beware. The 9th Circuit has ruled that Batman’s costar car is sufficiently distinctive to warrant copyright protections. Where Does He Get Those Wonderful Toys? Mark Towle was making his own. The California mechanic had been recreating and selling Batmobile replicas for $90,000 a pop....

Detroit’s former mayor, Kwame Kilpatrick, was released from jail this morning after his 99-day stint, the AP reported. The mayor did time for obstruction of justice and assault offenses arising out of a text-messaging sex scandal involving Kilpatrick and Christine Beatty, who was his Chief of Staff at the time. Text messages, at times sexually explicit, between Christine Beatty and Kilpatrick essentially “contradicted testimony that they gave during a 2007 whistle-blowers’ trial when they denied having a romantic relationship,” and also showed they “lied about their roles in the firing of a police official....

You can’t always get what you want – or who you want to represent you in a criminal trial. Such is the case for Miguel Hernandez Jr., an Illinois gang member accused of killing 5-year-old Eric Galarza during a drive-by shooting. Hernandez hired criminal defense attorney Liam Dixon. But Dixon represented the boy’s father, Eric Galarza Sr., 10 years ago in a different gang-related shooting. He may have also been the intended target....

Musical artist Ludacris has been battling over custody of his three-year-old daughter with baby mama Tamika Fuller since early 2015. The battle has been anything but cordial. This week, however, the battle went from nasty to interesting with the judge’s most recent ruling in favor of Ludacris. The judge presiding over the custody battle ruled that Ludacris, who was awarded full custody last year, has final say over what pictures of their daughter that Fuller can post on social media....

Maybe you’ve flipped someone the middle finger in your life. Maybe not. Denver’s Shane Boor gave a cop the finger recently. How did the authorities respond to his conduct? A criminal harassment charge. But, the charges have been dropped by the state trooper’s superiors, as giving the middle finger to police is not exactly a crime. According to many experts, it’s actually constitutionally-protected free speech. So, why did Boor even give the trooper the finger?...