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You want to light up your life, not end up blind or in a fire, so be careful if you’ve got IKEA lamps or propane gas, as some of these items were just recalled. Last week IKEA recalled two types of lamps that caused 11 injuries internationally, while 118 million gallons of propane gas were recalled in the US, reports the Associated Press. Let’s look at the details. IKEA Lamps Who hasn’t struggled putting something together from this home furnishing giant, known for its simple design?...

Florida prosecutors are again seeking a gag order in George Zimmerman’s murder case, reports the Orlando Sentinel. It’s the second time prosecutors have sought a gag order against Zimmerman’s attorney, Mark O’Mara, prompting many to wonder just what is a gag order? In general, a gag order is a court order to gag or bind an unruly defendant (or his attorney) from interrupting the trial or court process. Oftentimes, in high-profile cases like the Zimmerman trial, a court will issue a gag order against attorneys to not discuss the case with the media....

Just when you thought consuming pink slime was the worst thing about eating American beef, mad cow disease suddenly decides to stage a comeback. Following an investigation of a cow that died suddenly in California, the USDA has announced the bovine’s death was caused by mad cow disease. The discovery marks the first U.S. case of mad cow disease since 2006, the Seattle Post Intelligencer reports. So what does this revelation mean to consumers and what can mad cow disease do to you?...

You may have heard that RadioShack is going belly up. It filed for bankruptcy earlier this year after agreeing to sell over 2,000 stores to Standard General, a hedge fund. However, the stores and merchandise aren’t the only things going up for sale. Your name, address, email, and personal shopping habits are also going on the auction block. Technically, the personal information of over 100 million customers has already been bought by Standard General during the bankruptcy auction, but the bankruptcy court must first approve the sale....

At least 19 people were shot at a parade on Mother’s Day in New Orleans when gunmen opened fire on revelers. Two children were grazed during the hail of bullets, but luckily there were no fatalities, reports NBC News. As Louisiana authorities search for suspects in the Mother’s Day shooting, Louisiana laws are poised to deal with these armed attackers. Although the gunmen thankfully did not manage to kill anyone, they are likely to be charged with attempted murder....

A Texas teen who fell asleep with her cell phone under her pillow woke up to something a little more jarring than a late-night text message. The teen’s Samsung Galaxy S4 phone caught fire, igniting her pillow, bedding and mattress, reports Dallas/Fort Worth’s KDFW-TV. The girl escaped unharmed, but her phone was completely melted by the fire. The story was a shocker to everyone, it seems – except the phone’s manufacturer, Samsung....

When you buy a car, the dealer checks your credit report. When you apply for a home loan, the bank checks your credit report. When you apply for a job, even your employer may check your credit report. So why don’t you check your credit report? Bankrate.com recently did a survey and found that about 35 percent of American adults never checked their credit report. Why It’s Important Your credit report is the main indicator of your credit worthiness to lenders....

True to his campaign promises, President Donald Trump signed an executive order in January threatening to without federal grants from “sanctuary jurisdictions.” Such cities and states, which limit cooperation with the federal government in immigration matters, would be ineligible for certain federal funds unless they agreed to abide by immigration orders and enforcement. But by April a federal judge in California had enjoined the feds from enforcing the order, and upheld that injunction last month, even after Attorney General Jeff Sessions issued a memo intended to clarify the order....

Immigrant advocacy groups have sued the federal government for a failure to provide legal representation for immigrant children facing deportation. The class-action lawsuit (attached below) alleges the government is violating due process by having children navigate the complex immigration legal system alone. The suit comes as the Obama administration scrambles resources to meet a surge of unaccompanied minors arriving at the nation’s southwest border. The complaint seeks to require agencies to provide children with legal representation at deportation hearings....

Despite his polite wording, the 9th Circuit’s Chief Judge Kozinski put the smackdown on the Winklevoss twins and their hopefully final Facebook appeal. After settling claims against Facebook alleging that Mark Zuckerburg had stolen their idea for a social network, the Winklevoss twins tried to renege on the agreement, claiming that it was acquired by fraud. Upholding the agreement, Judge Kozinski implies that the twins should have hired better attorneys....

On February 4, the CPSC announced that it reached an agreement with Schylling Associates Inc., of Rowley, Mass., in which the company has agreed to pay a $200,000 civil penalty. This settlement resolves the allegations by CPSC staff that the company imported toys for sale in this country that violated the federal limits on lead paint. The original lead paint ban when into effect in 1978, and prohibited toys and other children’s articles from having more than 600 part per million (ppm), by weight, in paints or surface coatings....

Opponents of the death penalty are trying a new legal technique in order to try to block executions. A London civil rights group known as Reprieve is suing a British company to try to stop them from exporting sodium thiopental. The three-drug cocktail used in U.S. lethal injections contains sodium thiopental. Right now, the U.S. is facing a shortage of the drug which has caused a number of states to stop or slow the pace of executions....

Consumers who have signed up for the National Do Not Call Registry (and anyone who has had a peaceful dinner interrupted by a ringing phone and a once-in-a-lifetime offer) can take solace in the announcement of two small victories in the seemingly unending war against annoying and unlawful telemarketers. A federal lawsuit filed Wednesday accuses Dish Network (formerly EchoStar) of calling numerous consumers who have placed their phone numbers on the National Do Not Call Registry, and of using “robocalls” – which deliver prerecorded telemarketing messages when consumers answer their phones – in violation of the the Telemarketing Sales Rule, according to a Press Release from the Federal Trade Commission (FTC)....

Drunk driving charges all start somewhere, and it’s usually the time the police officer pulls you over. There’s the conversation, maybe some questions about your alcohol consumption, and a few roadside tests before a possible arrest and DUI charge. But let’s back up – cops can’t pull you over for no reason, right? And if officers had no reasonable suspicion to stop you, that could mean that everything that happens after you’re pulled over is inadmissible in court....

Three convicted murderers are arguing on appeal that they were too drunk to be legally convicted for their DUI-related crimes. Martin Heidgen, Taliyah Taylor, and Franklin McPherson were convicted of murder in three separate cases in New York. But each one claims that prosecutors failed to prove they acted with “depraved indifference to human life.” This question of criminal law is now before New York’s highest court. The Associated Press reports that the three defendants were responsible for deaths in 2005, 2006, and 2007....

The FDA is cracking down on weight-loss remedies containing the HCG hormone, saying there’s no proof the placental protein helps people lose weight. The so-called remedies, coupled with restrictive diets, can be dangerous when used as directed, the Food and Drug Administration warns. The agency has asked seven companies to take their HCG weight-loss products off the market, the Associated Press reports. The companies have 15 days to come up with a plan to do that....

Guest post by Jennifer K. Halford, Esq. The right to marry is a fundamental right. And Hawaii’s requirement that couples obtain a permit to marry on its beaches does not violate that right , the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled. The Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resource (DLNR) began requiring permits for commercial weddings in August 2008. Applicants are required to pay 10 cents for each square foot of beach requested up to $20....

Identity theft charges can encompass a wide range of criminal activity, such as hijacking someone else’s Facebook page or using someone’s personal financial information to fraudulently obtain a loan. Equally as wide-ranging are the potential consequences of being caught. For example, a California teen who hacked into another teen’s Facebook account and added crude sexual remarks was convicted under the state’s identity theft statute and sentenced to juvenile detention and probation....

“Ms. Heard’s false allegations against Mr. Depp have been conclusively refuted by two separate responding police officers, a litany of neutral third-party witnesses and 87 newly obtained surveillance camera videos … Ms. Heard’s domestic violence allegations against Mr. Depp were false, as is her portrayal of herself in her “Sexual Violence” op-ed as a domestic violence victim and her portrayal of Mr. Depp as a domestic violence perpetrator and ‘monster.’”...

The DEA agent who shot himself during a gun safety demonstration to Orlando kids had his lawsuit dismissed, according to the Smoking Gun. In the lawsuit, DEA agent Lee Paige claims that the leaked DEA agent video showing him shooting himself in the leg amounted to a violation of his privacy rights. The DEA agent video shows Lee Paige holding a gun and saying, “I am the only one in the room professional enough, that I know of, to carry this Glock 40....