Posts

On February 16, the Food Safety and Inspection Service of the USDA announced it is expanding, for the second time, the salami recall originally announced January 23, 2010. The recall is being expanded due to a new positive test result for salmonella. The company, Daniele International Inc., an establishment with operations in Pascoag and Mapleville, R.I., is expanding the recall due to discovery of salmonella in an unopened salami product tested by FSIS....

As state and federal consumer protection departments know, the holiday season is ripe for scams. Nothing is sacred when it comes to scammers, and they don’t mind taking advantage of people who are trying to do nice things over the holidays. From online and in-store shopping to shipping, there’s a lot to be mindful of when sharing financial information. Here are five of the most common scams to watch out for this holiday season....

Let’s say you’ve been found guilty of a crime, and received probation rather than jail time. Now you have to figure out how to get along with your probation officer. Failure isn’t an option, since if you don’t meet the terms of probation you’ll be hauled back into court. You’re going to have to find a way to make friends, or if that’s not possible, at least get through however long it takes....

Jim Morrison had quite a few good quotes. He once said, “When you make your peace with authority, you become authority.” I wonder whether that means that he would have preferred not to be posthumously pardoned by Florida Governor Charlie Crist after all these years. Morrison was convicted in 1970 of public profanity and indecent exposure and sentenced to six months in jail and a $500 fine. In 1969, Morrison allegedly taunted a crowd in Miami with verbal sexual come-ons, pulled down his pants and simulated oral sex to a crowd of thousands....

After sitting in jail for ten years, Kathleen Hilton is finally set to stand trial for murder and arson in Massachusetts. She is alleged to have set fire to the apartment where here son’s ex-girlfriend and their two children lived. In addition to issues regarding the length of time to get to trial, her case raises a question faced by many grandparents: what are grandparents’ rights in child custody and visitation disputes?...

Unrest in Libya could mean increased prices at the pump. Oil prices have already hit $100 a barrel as protesters fight with Libya’s Moammar Gadhafi-backed forces. The $100 mark was the highest price point that oil has hit since Oct. 2, 2008, the Associated Press reports. Gas prices are already on the rise this year, and the dispute in Libya has people wondering if we could see prices of $5 per gallon at the pump....

Here’s something to add to your list of things not to do: No. 1 Strip naked in front of the students in the college course you’re teaching. No. 2 After you’re arrested, answer the front door of your apartment to talk to the local news. A dejected Raymond Devaughn Taylor, 57, briefly spoke with a reporter, telling him that the matter was, “between him and the class.” The day before, his Georgia business college students were shocked and confused when he undressed himself during their class at Kennesaw State University....

National Consumer Protection Week (NCPW) is March 2 - 8, 2008, highlighting consumer protection and consumer education efforts around the country. The theme for this year’s NCPW is “Financial Literacy: A Sound Investment,” encouraging consumers to master the financial facts of life and build a firm financial foundation. FindLaw for the Public’s National Consumer Protection Week page offers resources on National Consumer Protection Week, tips on managing your finances, and information on protecting your rights as a consumer....

O.J. Simpson won’t be getting a another trial after his latest loss in court. In the most recent development for Simpson, who was most famously known for having stood trial for the killing of his ex-wife, a judge has now denied Simpson’s bid for a new trial, the Los Angeles Times reports. Simpson, 66, was convicted in 2008 of kidnapping, armed robbery, and other charges stemming from an incident at a Vegas hotel room in 2007....

Before U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor presided over the Times Square ball drop on New Year’s Eve, she temporarily blocked Obamacare’s contraceptive mandate from being enforced on two religious non-profits. The Colorado- and Maryland-based Little Sisters of the Poor and Illinois-based Christian Brothers Services were granted a temporary injunction, preventing Obamacare’s contraceptive mandate (which would have gone into effect on New Year’s Day) from applying to these non-profits, reports Reuters....

A federal judge announced Monday that Ohio must recognize legally performed out-of-state gay marriages, but his order will not immediately go into effect. Judge Timothy Black of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio determined that Ohio’s refusal to recognize out-of-state gay marriages was “unconstitutional and unenforceable,” reports The Columbus Dispatch. The ruling avoided dealing directly with Ohio’s ban on performing in-state gay marriages. With Black’s ruling stayed pending appeal, what can we learn from this federal decision on gay marriage in Ohio?...

The U.S. Departments of State and Homeland Security have announced that, through September 30, 2007, U.S. citizens traveling to Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean, and Bermuda who have applied for – but not yet received – passports will temporarily be allowed to enter and depart from the U.S. by air, provided they have government-issued photo identification and official proof (from the Department of State) that they have applied for a passport. According to the State Department, “the federal government is making this accommodation for air travel due to longer than expected processing times for passport applications in the face of record-breaking demand....

Guilt does strange things to people. A man near Phoenix, Arizona, admitted to stabbing his wife and son to death, saying he feared he may have contracted the AIDS virus from prostitutes and then transmitted it to his wife. Eugene Maraventano faces two counts of first-degree murder, the Phoenix New Times reports. The bizarre facts raise questions about the mental state required for first-degree murder. Eugene Maraventano told a detective that he stabbed his wife with a 14-inch kitchen knife while she was asleep, the New Times reports....

Grace Kelly’s grandson, Monaco Prince Pierre Casiraghi, suffered a broken jaw in a New York City bar brawl that allegedly began as an argument over supermodels. The fight broke out about 2:20 a.m. Saturday, and ended with former Manhattan club owner Adam Hock, 47, hauled off to jail, the New York Daily News reports. But what led up to the fight is in dispute. Hock, a former Rutgers football star who once owned the Hawaiian Tropic Zone in Times Square, claims the 24-year-old Prince and his posse started it all by harassing some supermodels at Hock’s table....

Distributor UJ Trading, of Houston, Texas, has announced a toy helicopter recall. UJ Trading has recalled about 18,500 Danbar Knight Hawk Toy Helicopters. This model was previously recalled in January 2010, reports Toyxplosion.com. The affected remote control toy helicopter has a tendency to overheat when the battery is charging. This overheating poses a fire hazard. The battery compartment of the toy, mounted just below the rotors at the top of the helicopter cockpit, can overheat when plugged into the wall to recharge, says UJ Trading....

This afternoon the U.S. Senate passed The Fair Minimum Wage Act of 2007 by a vote of 94 - 3. This legislation would increase the federal minimum wage from the current $5.15 per hour to $7.25 per hour in three steps over two years. This legislation also includes additional provisions including tax benefits for small businesses. This bill will now be need to be reconciled with a different minimum wage bill that the U....

Vanilla Ice, nee Robert Van Winkle, was arrested in Florida and charged with burglary and grand theft after police found items allegedly stolen from a foreclosed home at Van Winkle’s residence. The burgled home was adjacent to a house the ex-rapper was renovating as part of his television show for DIY Network called “The Vanilla Ice Project.” According to police in Lantana, Florida, an investigation into possible squatting found that several items including furniture, a pool heater, bicycles and pieces of art were taken from the home of a recently deceased man....

There are times when a person’s immigration status will be relevant in a court of law. Say, if a person is accused of falsifying documents to hide that status. It could also come up if a witness is receiving some immigration benefit in exchange for or in order to facilitate their testimony. In an on-the-job personal injury case? Immigration status is not so relevant. So said the Washington Supreme Court back in 2010, when it granted an injured worker a new trial on the grounds the jury in his first may have been prejudiced by knowledge that the man had overstayed his visa....

You’ve probably heard stories about this before: police forcing someone to undergo a strip search following a minor traffic violation or even for littering, as allegedly happened in Texas recently. While strip searches and cavity searches can be extremely invasive, humiliating, and embarrassing, these searches are sometimes necessary, and allowed under the law. So just when can the police force you to undergo a strip search? So if a police officer reasonably believes that you may be hiding drugs, weapons, or any other illegal object under your clothes, the officer may be able to order you to undergo a strip search....

What did Michael Jackson see when he looked at the man in the mirror? Did he feel bad? Remember the time, in 2004, when the King of Pop was indicted for multiple counts of child molestation and intoxicating a minor to seduce him? A jury found him not guilty after a trial in 2005, but this week Radar Online is reporting what investigators found at Jackson’s Neverland ranch all that time ago....