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A Bank of America settlement agreement for unlawful gender bias is going to cost the bank one pretty penny: $39 million, to be exact. The settlement brings to a close a class action lawsuit brought by women who worked as financial advisers in the bank’s Merrill Lynch brokerage division. The plaintiffs claimed Merrill Lynch, which was purchased by Bank of America in 2009, discriminated against women in compensation and business opportunities, reports Reuters....

Fans of tuna fish – sometime called chicken of the sea – may want to consider temporarily switching to just plain old chicken for sandwiches and salads, as two national canned tuna producers have issued a recall on tens of thousands of cans. At the very least check the brands for Bumble Bee and Chicken of the Sea tuna cans, as this small measure could save you a big headache … or rather, stomachache....

Today, during President Barrack Obama’s last week in office, he commuted the sentence of Chelsea Manning, the former US Army intelligence analyst that leaked classified information to Wikileaks in 2010. Manning, who was not scheduled to be released until 2045, will now be released on May 17, 2017. The 35-year sentence was an extreme result, particularly given that Manning was agreeable to a plea bargain and confessed to her actions....

Abortion has always been a controversial topic, and much of the pro-life/pro-choice debate has taken place in public forums like marches, demonstrations, and other protests. And some pro-life advocates have taken their message straight to medical clinics and facilities, much to the chagrin of women’s health care providers. In response, some states, counties, and municipalities have passed “buffer zone” or “bubble zone” ordinances, prohibiting protests and leafletting near clinics that provide abortion services....

Assault charges against Chris Brown and his bodyguard in connection to a fight in Washington D.C. over the weekend have been reduced. Rapper and entertainer Brown, was held alongside his bodyguard for 36 hours in a Washington jail but then released without bail on Monday afternoon, CNN reports. The alleged fight, according to a police incident report, occurred when Isaac Parker, 20, tried to hop into a photo which Brown and a female fan were posing for....

With millions of Americans decorating their homes in celebration of the holiday season, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) is urging families to keep safety in mind when stringing holiday lights, decorating Christmas trees, lighting candles, and using fireplaces in their homes. Check out a CPSC Press Release and Full PDF Brochure from the CPSC, for in-depth safety tips on holiday decorations. CPSC estimates that every year there are more than 14,000 candle-related fires, 200 fires caused by dried-out Christmas trees, and about 10,000 people treated in hospital emergency rooms as a result of falls, cuts, shocks and burns related to holiday decorating....

The Internal Revenue Service announced an agreement with two tax professional associations to assist taxpayers impacted by Hurricanes Katrina, Rita and Wilma. Volunteers at IRS’ Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) and Tax Counseling for the Elderly (TCE) sites are now able to refer hurricane-affected taxpayers needing help with relatively complex tax issues to participating members of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) or the American Association of Attorney-Certified Public Accountants (AAA-CPA) for free return preparation assistance....

A federal judge has barred members of the U.S. women’s national soccer team from striking or being locked out in the lead-up to this summer’s Olympics. Women’s team members have been clashing with the U.S. Soccer Federation over fair wages and an expired collective bargaining agreement (CBA). In finding that certain clauses of that CBA were still in effect, Judge Sharon Johnson Coleman of the U.S. District Court in Illinois “barred the players from authorizing, encouraging, or engaging in any strike, work stoppage, slowdown or other concerted interference with the activities of the Federation....

Is a lifetime driving ban an appropriate sentence? Rhode Islanders are asking this question in light of a sentence handed down to 17-year-old Lyle Topa last week. The teen was racing in October and slammed into a tree, injuring himself and three others. He was driving on a suspended license at the time and had just left a party where he and his friends had been drinking. When asked about the lifetime ban, Judge William Guglietta explained that it was time to get serious about teen drivers who have become a real danger on the road....

Would you rob a bank for health care? James Verone did. Verone walked into the RBC Bank in North Carolina last week. When he arrived, he gave the teller a note that said he was robbing the bank - and to please give him $1. Unemployed and uninsured, Verone is 59 years old. He has a growth on his chest, two ruptured disks and a problem with his left foot, reports the Los Angeles Times....

A tragic and likely preventable prison murder in Washington is raising questions as to why an unarmed prison officer would be around a dangerous serial rapist. Byron Scherf, who is suspected in the strangling death of Jayme Biendl, is a convicted serial rapist who once poured gasoline on a woman and set her on fire. Scherf allegedly strangled 34-year-old Jayme Biendl with a microphone cord in the process of an attempted escape from the Seattle-area prison, the Associated Press reports....

A new Toyota recall is set to steer more than half a million car owners to their local dealers for maintenance. The company announced Wednesday a voluntary recall for certain Toyota and Lexus vehicles with six-cylinder engines. The problem lies in the crankshaft pulley, which may become misaligned and trigger a warning light. If the problem isn’t fixed, drivers may find it a lot harder to steer. More than 70 reports of the problem have arisen since 2007, but there have been no accidents or injuries to date, Toyota says....

An Uber driver who allegedly went on a deadly shooting spree in Kalamazoo, Michigan Saturday night will be arraigned on criminal charges today. Prosecutors believe Jason Brian Dalton killed six people and wounded two others in a series of random attacks, some of which may have been committed in between paid fares. Dalton will likely face murder, assault, and firearms charges, and the details of his deadly night are horrifying....

“Love & Hip Hop: Atlanta” star Stevie J has been arrested for allegedly failing to pay more than $1 million in child support for his two kids in New York. Stevie J, whom the courts know as Steven Jordan, was arrested Monday for neglecting to pay over a decade’s worth of child support, reports The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Jordan stopped paying in 2001, but the authorities kept counting until the bill reached $1,107,412....

Tara Reid filed a misappropriation suit against SYFY Media Productions and Asylum Entertainment for using her likeness on Sharknado-branded beer bottles and slot machines without her permission. Reid appeared in all six Sharknado films as lead character, April Wexler. These films were broadcast on the SYFY television network, dating back to 2013. Reid is suing for $100 million, primarily in punitive damages, which she describes as “an amount sufficiently large to set a public example of deterrence....

There have been 11 bomb threats made against Walmart stores in Missouri and Kansas in the past several days. In none of the cases was a bomb actually discovered. But the Walmart bomb threats have led to evacuations and mass panic in the wake of the Colorado shootings. Police are investigating the incidents and say they have a telephone number from where the threats were made, reports ABC. Police believe that the 11 bomb threats may all be connected....

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled against the National Football League in a case where the NFL claimed it was entitled to broad antitrust exemption. The Supreme Court ruled 9-0 against the NFL. Tulane University sports law professor Gabriel Feldman called the ruling a “a sweeping defeat for the league” effecting “all commercial deals.” The decision is a only a partial victory for American Needle Inc., an Illinois company that brought an NFL antitrust challenge under the Sherman Act to the league’s exclusive marketing agreement with Reebok for hats....

Nature’s lawyers won a victory for marine life last week. The Natural Resources Defense Counsel and other activists had challenged a U.S. Navy sonar detection program that places loudspeakers in the ocean, creating walls of sound that travel hundreds of miles and have been found to harm marine mammals. The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals agreed with the ocean’s advocates, saying that the Navy did not do enough to protect marine life....

On Wednesday, May 26, a jury in Connecticut returned an $8 million dollar verdict in favor of plaintiff Barbara Izzarelli against tobacco giant R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. Her attorney says this is the first such verdict in New England. Izzarelli was a smoker for 25 years and developed cancer of the larynx. At this time, the judge still has possible punitive damages to consider and that could bring the verdict up to as much as $24 million....

Would you accept a breast exam in a bar from a woman named Dr. Berlyn Aussieahshowna? Don’t answer that. (The New York Daily News already took my line about Dr. Feelgood, so that’s the best I’ve got.) Kristina Ross, 37, is in custody on $100,000 bond in Boise, Idaho on two felony counts of practicing medicine without a license. The maximum penalty for each count is five years in prison and a $10,000 fine....