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Sony Corporation has announced a recall of 535,000 Vaio laptop computers due to issues with over-heating. Instances of Vaios over-heating and damaging their casings have been reported. No reports of injuries from burns have been made, but according to the computer maker, it is a concern. PCWorld reports that the problems have affected some units of the VPCF11 and VPCCW2 series of notebook PCs. According to a blog post by Mike Lucas, senior vice president of Vaio for Sony, the heating issues are “due to a potential malfunction of the internal temperature management system....

In an odd stride for equal rights between the genders, and one that is sure to please the “dadvocates” out there, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that laws conferring citizenship to children cannot favor mothers over fathers. The decision does not apply to custody matters, but solely to issues involving the citizenship of a child born outside the borders of the U.S.A. to a parent that is a naturalized U.S. citizen....

Wild Thing rapper Tone-Loc was arrested for a DUI on Dec. 13, but this is no ordinary rapper gone wild case. Tone-Loc asserts that he was not overindulging in the funky cold Medina before he was pulled over by police, 411mania.com reports. Tone-Loc claims that he was not driving drunk; he was having a seizure. Tone-Loc was pulled over by the LAPD at approximately 3:00 a.m. because of his erratic driving....

Ex-“Desperate Housewives” star Nicollette Sheridan had a majority of jurors on her side — but not enough to avoid a mistrial in her wrongful-termination lawsuit, jurors told The Hollywood Reporter. Eight of 12 jurors sided with Sheridan in her suit, which sought $5.7 million in back pay from the ABC television network. That’s just one juror short of the nine that are required for a verdict in a civil lawsuit....

A civil trial is happening in Manhattan over Fosamax, a drug used by women with thinning bones. Judith Graves, 67, has sued drug giant Merck, claiming its drug Fosamax caused “debilitating jawbone deterioration,” which required Graves to have five major operations, one of which required her to replace her jaw with bone from her arm. Merck, manufacturer of Fosamax, contends that Fosamax is not the cause of Graves’ medical issues. The pharmaceutical company is no stranger to lawsuits....

Over 286,000 pounds of meat and chicken products have been voluntarily recalled by a New York food company, after testing revealed possible Listeria monocytogenes contamination. The recalled products – including fresh chicken salads, frozen burritos, and wrap sandwiches – were produced and distributed nationwide to food service and retail stores by Gourmet Boutique, L.L.C., a company based in Jamaica, Queens in New York City. See a complete list of recalled products in a press release from the U....

In the clash of the California Constitution and a San Francisco affirmative action program, the constitution prevails … for now. The California Supreme Court, in a 6-1 decision, recently held up the state’s affirmative action ban in public programs. At issue in this case was whether a San Francisco ordinance, designed to aid minorities and female-owned businesses in the public contracting process, was counter to Proposition 209 – a law that prohibits race and sex-based discrimination or preferences in government contracting, employment, and education....

In what amounts to the largest shareholder settlement since the mortgage meltdown in 2007, Countrywide has agreed to pay $624 million to former shareholders for the company’s failure to disclose essential information relating to the company’s dealings with subprime mortgages. Countrywide (which was purchased by Bank of America Corporation in 2008) hopes the settlement will put an end to several securities class action suits currently against the company on this issue....

Do you fly Delta? Because if you do, then you may soon be the target of a “new” email scam. Wait, we take it back, it’s apparently not even new. But the scam and others like it tries to reel in consumers who think they’re just responding to a normal email from a company like Delta. The email can take many forms, but what it’s doing is phishing. That means it’s trying to get access to your personal information....

You’ve wanted to drive fast since you were a kid. And all those Fast and Furious movies didn’t do much to assuage your lead foot. The only problem is all these nitpicky speed limit laws and all those pesky police officers happy to enforce them. If you’ve gotten pulled over pushing your car to the limit, you may have some questions. Lucky for you, we’ve got all your speeding ticket answers....

So, you’ve been caught with weed, meth or crack, and don’t know how to talk your way out of this one. They didn’t catch you taking the drug, or dealing it. They just caught you with it. It’s called drug possession, and it’s a crime. But as with any crime, there are some potential defenses that you may be able to raise. The possession of illicit drugs is illegal under both federal and state laws....

During disasters and other emergencies, the nation’s wireless carriers will transmit alerts, warnings and other critical information to cell phones and other mobile devices of consumers, under an order adopted Wednesday by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). Under the new plan – which is part of the Warning, Alert and Response Network Act (WARN Act) and could be in place by 2010 – consumers would receive “Presidential Alerts,” “Imminent Threat Alerts,” and “Child Abduction Emergency/AMBER Alerts....

A federal judge this week granted a request from trade regulators, halting a merger between office supply giants Staples and Office Depot to prevent a monopoly. This is the second time that the Federal Trade Commission has blocked consolidation of these two companies and the office suppliers announced that they will not appeal the ruling. The blocked merger is likely to save hundreds of jobs for Staples workers in Boca Raton, Florida, reports the Florida Sun Sentinel....

Guns N’ Roses front man Axl Rose is facing a $1.8 million lawsuit in unpaid fees. The breach of contract lawsuit brought by Front Line Management, claims the rocker owes commission from recent performances across Asia, Canada and South America, the Associated Press reports. The performances abroad grossed nearly $12.5 million. Front Line Management was founded by Irving Azoff. He is also the executive chairman of Live Nation, which has represented the Eagles and Joe Walsh....

Honda is recalling over 428,000 vehicles because they could roll away if improperly parked. The Honda recall is necessary due to a defect in the ignition/parking mechanism. The vehicle recalls include Accords, Civics and Elements from 2003 to 2004, in the United States and Canada and Acura 1.7ELs in Canada only. The Honda recall was issued because the ignition interlock lever could malfunction, the device is designed to keep drivers from taking their key out of the ignition before the vehicle is put in park....

Well, maybe you personally didn’t win an Oscar on Sunday night, but plenty of people did. And as it turns out, there are some limits on what you can do with that shiny gold figurine. As The Hollywood Reporter noted in December, even though the Oscar statuette belongs to you, there are some contractual limits on what you can do with it and to whom, if anyone, you can sell it....

A New Jersey federal court judge has signed off on the creation of a $24 million fund to settle legal claims arising from contaminated pet food that sickened thousands of dogs and cats in the U.S. in 2007. The settlement agreement stems from events that began in March 2007, when U.S. health officials started receiving reports of dogs and cats becoming sick after consuming pet food produced by Menu Foods, Ltd....

Committed to watching trends (legal and otherwise) that affect the lives of consumers, FindLaw.com has recently announced a survey asking young borrowers how they have fared in the current credit and loan market. Considering the tight hold on credit still exhibited by most lenders, not surprisingly the answer is often, not too well. Cited by Consumer Reports Money Blog, the FindLaw survey reflects the fact that those who have had little opportunity to build up much of a credit history are having a difficult time getting loans as well as credit cards....

Federal health agencies have announced a new initiative aimed at improving patient safety and better ensuring the quality of medication and medical devices. The Sentinel Initiative - A National Strategy for Monitoring Medical Product Safety is described as “a national electronic safety system capable of tracking the performance of a drug or medical product, beginning with the earliest stages of clinical research through its effects on millions of Americans who use it to treat or to recover from an illness or condition....

There may be a new swine flu virus circulating across the nation. The CDC has reported that since August twelve people have been sickened with the influenza A H3N2 virus. The patients were located in Indiana, Iowa, Maine, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia. Eleven of the twelve reported cases were in children. The latest cases involved two children who were in the same day care in West Virginia. So far, all diagnosed patients have recovered....