Posts

Katherine Jackson’s custody battle over Michael Jackson’s kids is apparently resolved, as the late King of Pop’s mother has agreed to share guardianship, CNN reports. Katherine Jackson, 82, will share custody of the children with her grandson T.J. Jackson, 34, the son of Michael’s famous brother Tito, the grandmother’s lawyer said. A judge granted T.J. Jackson temporary guardianship earlier this week after Katherine was reported missing. The new proposed custody agreement is designed to relieve the grandmother of some of the “day-to-day tedium” that being a guardian entails, her lawyer said....

Khalid Sheikh Mohammed (‘KSM’), the reputed al Qaeda plotter of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, will be put on trial in federal court in Manhattan, one site of the Sept. 11th attacks, U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder announced this morning. Four other Guantanamo Bay detainees – Walid Muhammed Salih Mubarak Bin Attash, Ramzi Bin Al Shibh, Ali Abdul-Aziz Ali, and Mustafa Ahmed Al Hawsawi – will also be tried in the U....

In a statement suspiciously timed to coincide with the media coverage of Apple’s new product launch, Snapchat quietly announced Tuesday that it’s settled a lawsuit filed against the company by one of its founders. Although the terms of the settlement weren’t disclosed, Snapchat was recently valued at $10 billion following a round of venture capital fundraising, reports Forbes, making it likely that the settlement of the lawsuit by ousted co-founder Reggie Brown didn’t come cheap....

Details about a Sylvester Stallone settlement from nearly three decades ago are just now coming to light. It involves Stallone’s half-sister and allegations of abuse. Toni-Ann Filiti accused Stallone of abusing her in the 1980s, the New York Post reports. Stallone denied, and continues to deny, all of the allegations. Admitting no fault, Stallone in 1987 agreed to a settlement with Filiti, in which the “Rocky” and “Rambo” star agreed to a massive payout....

Not every appeal to the Supreme Court gets heard. In fact, you need four of the nine Justices to agree to grant what is known as certiorari before a case can move forward to arguments. And because the Court doesn’t normally elaborate on the reasons for declining to hear appeals, such decisions are ripe for interpretation. Take the recent refusal to hear appeals from two lower court decisions regarding Planned Parenthood....

Car theft is common, but a Jeep-Chrysler dealership in La Porte, Ind. has an uncommon tale to tell. Early last weekend, an unknown suspect used a crane to steal a car from the dealer’s lot. Security footage depicts a flatbed truck with an attached crane pulling onto the premises. The crane then grabs a 2008 Jeep Wrangler by its roof, smashing windows and probably destroying the hardtop. The thief then drove away with the $25,000 car....

A TV special on the U.S. Supreme Court will premier this week on PBS television stations nationwide. This program is entitled “The Supreme Court” and is produced by Thirteen/WNET New York. The series will air over two weeks – on January 31, 2007 and February 7, 2007 at 9 pm EST. To learn more: Official website of The Supreme Court TV Series on PBS TV station finder - Information on the channel and time you can watch this program in your area....

Hey Batman, meet the tax man. Val Kilmer, star of “Batman Forever” and “Top Gun,” owes half a million dollars in federal taxes. The IRS has now placed a lien on his property, including his New Mexico ranch which is currently on the market. The IRS placed a tax lien on the Santa Fe property because he allegedly failed to pay his 2008 income taxes. The 5,300-acre property was listed for sale for $33 million in 2009....

Walmart Stores Inc. has been sued by temporary workers in a Chicago federal court on charges of minimum wage and overtime violations. In the proposed class action, temporary workers, who have worked for the retail giant since early 2009, claim that Walmart and its temporary agencies required temp workers to begin work early, stay late to complete work, work through lunches or breaks and participate in trainings without compensation. All of these activities resulted in wage and overtime violations....

“The Good Wife” is back after Alicia’s stunning – but expected – departure from Lockhart & Gardner. The latest episode highlights issues surrounding former client obligations and manufacturing defects. Prepare to be gun shy with this rundown of “The Next Day”: “The Next Day” starts as many one-night stands do, with multiple characters waking up disoriented in their beds. Will wakes up to a scantily clad woman, Diane wakes up to anxiety and disappointment, and Alicia wakes up… late....

Today is Star Wars Day, so while we say May the Force (and the Fourth) Be With You, we also thought it would be fun to take a look at Darth Vader’s rap sheet. In the interested of space (pun mostly intended) and taste, we’re confining our window to Episodes IV, V and VI, the unquestioned core of Star Wars canon: “Star Wars,” “The Empire Strikes Back,” and “Return of the Jedi....

Use of the popular AIDS drugs Ziagen and Videx appears to dramatically increase the risk of heart attack, according to a study published in the UK medical journal The Lancet. The study finds that nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NRTIs) such as Ziagen (abacavir) and the antiretroviral drug Videx (didanosine) – both commonly used as part of AIDS treatment regimens – were found to be linked to an increased risk of myocardial infarction (heart attack)....

‘Tis the season for gifts and Grinches. Email scammers are guessing that you, and millions of your fellow citizens, will be shopping online this holiday season, and have found another way to try to fool you out of your money. According to the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection (DATCP), scammers are sending out emails, disguised as shipping confirmations, to try to sneak malware into your computer. According to Wisconsin DATCP, be wary of emails that inform you of problems with deliveries or that request account information....

Earlier this year, Bruce Jenner allegedly caused a chain reaction car crash that damaged several cars and killed one woman. While reports on what happened vary, Jenner, driving on Pacific Coast Highway, allegedly hit the back of a Prius which then hit the Lexus in front of it. The Lexus swerved into oncoming traffic where it hit a Hummer head on. The driver of the Lexus, Kim Howe, was killed. At the time of the accident, there was some suspicion that Jenner may have been texting while driving or speeding....

You may be too old to worry about overdoing it on Halloween candy, but Halloween may have an ever scarier trick in store for adults: an arrest for driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs. Halloween parties and other festivities offer plenty of opportunities for celebrants to get themselves into downright spooky legal predicaments. And with potential criminal penalties for DUI arrests including jail time, costly fines, and a driver’s license suspension, avoiding a DUI is certainly in your best interest....

Another diet pill lost its battle for approval with the Food and Drug Administration this week. The FDA denied approval for the diet drug Qnexa, developed by Vivus, located in Mountain View, California. Overall, this is the third diet drug to receive a major setback from the FDA. Last week, the agency rejected the drug Lorcaserin for causing tumors in lab rats. As noted in a prior post, earlier in October, the drug Meridia was taken off the market....

Last month’s proposed $25 billion mortgage settlement is one step closer to becoming official. Federal representatives have asked a judge to approve the settlement, which involves 49 states, Bank of America, Wells Fargo, JPMorgan Chase, Citigroup and Ally Financial. Approximately $20 billion will go to borrowers facing foreclosure. Most of the funds will be used to reduce principal and refinance loans. The remaining $5 billion will be dispersed by state governments to Americans who lost their homes to improper foreclosures between 2008 and 2011....

A Miami man who chased a thief and stabbed him to death cannot be prosecuted because of Florida’s “Stand Your Ground” law, a judge said in a written opinion released Wednesday. Greyston Garcia, 25, “was well within his rights” when he chased a man accused of stealing his car radio and stabbed the man to death, the judge ruled. The Miami policeman who supervised the case was stunned. “How can it be Stand Your Ground?...

In a story almost too sadly cliche, a famous producer has been accused of sexually assaulting a beautiful young girl. Harvey Weinstein, movie mogul and co-founder of Miramax, is accused of groping a 22-year-old model. Weinstein and the model first met at the red-carpet premiere of Weinstein’s New York Spring Spectacular at Radio City Music Hall. The two made plans for the model to come to Weinstein’s office the next day for an audition....

The Human Rights Clinic at the University of Texas School of Law released a report last week detailing the deaths of 14 inmates in the last eight years due to “[t]he extreme, suffocating heat in Texas prisons.” The report, entitled “Reckless Indifference: Deadly Heat in Texas Prisons,” concluded “[i]nmates and guards at TDCJ prisons are regularly subjected to extremely high temperatures and humidity levels resulting from Texas summertime conditions and the lack of air conditioning and adequate ventilation in TDCJ facilities....