The FDA issued a Class 1 recall on needles manufactured by Huber. While the company is headquartered in Los Angeles, the needles involved in this recall were made in Japan. According to a press release by the FDA, the needles were used to access ports implanted under the skin of chronically ill patients for repeated access to veins for the withdrawal of blood and infusion of medication, nutritional solutions, blood products, and imaging solutions....
Countless messages are exchanged online every day, many of them are between strangers. While it’d be nice if everyone was always honest, the reality is the Web has become the new playground for con artists. And knowing how to spot an Internet hoax in your email will keep you from becoming another victim. Internet hucksters live all over the world. They construct scams that prey on people’s greed, sympathies, or naivety....
The Supreme Court today unanimously rejected a challenge to Texas legislative districting, upholding the constitutionality of a law that counts total population as opposed to eligible voters for purposes of district creation. The plaintiffs in Evenwel v. Abbot argued that a Texas law was unconstitutional because it violates the “one-person one-vote” principle. The court disagreed, holding, “As constitutional history, precedent, and practice demonstrate, a State or locality may draw its legislative districts based on total population....
In the age of the part-time gig and the side hustle, many people try to make extra income by renting out their homes through companies like Airbnb. But not everyone loves these endeavors. The hospitality industry often sees it as a threat and fights it in many cities. And community members aren’t always happy to have new neighbors coming and going every few weeks. In one Wisconsin neighborhood, property owners have been at war over the legality of one couple’s use of their home as a rental property....
Amanda Knox. You may have heard her name a few times in the last eight years. During that time, she was accused of murder, convicted, acquitted, convicted again, and, finally, acquitted one more time. Now that she has finally been exonerated, Knox may be seeking compensation for the four years she spent in prison during the ordeal. How much can she get? Wrongful Conviction Compensation in Italy Italy’s Constitution guarantees compensation for wrongful imprisonment damages that arise from judicial errors....
From the state that brought you decriminalized prostitution by minors, came a lawsuit to legalize prostitution for everyone. The Erotic Service Provider Legal, Education & Research Project (ESP) had sued the district attorneys of the City and County of San Francisco, Marin County, Alameda County, and Sonoma County, all the way up to the Attorney General of California, in hopes of invalidating California’s ban on prostitution. The lawsuit made several constitutional claims, including that the ban violates the Fourteenth Amendment’s substantive due process right to sexual privacy, and the freedom of association protected under the First or Fourteenth Amendments....
Almost a decade after the disappearance of Chandra Levy tore apart the lives of her family, and that of Congressman Gary Condit who was linked to the intern, a jury has delivered a guilty verdict for her murder. After more than three days of deliberation, a jury found Ingmar Guandique guilty on two counts of first-degree murder. Judge Gerald Fisher extended his sympathies to Susan Levy, the mother of the victim, before the verdict was read, reports CNN....
Beyoncé’s website production company, Parkwood, has been hit with a class action lawsuit claiming that Beyoncé.com’s interface is inaccessible to visually impaired users, and thus in violation of the Americans with Disability Act (ADA). Beyoncé.com is not your average website, since Beyoncé is not your average musician. The site features merchandise, videos, music, and many exclusive offerings that can’t be gotten anywhere else, including her last two visual albums, such as Lemonade....
Each February, America celebrates African-American History Month. This year’s theme is “The Quest for Black Citizenship in the Americas,” recognizing the importance of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) and its role in furthering equality and social justice. In light of this year’s theme, the Library of Congress reminds Americans that “a century ago, an interracial group of Americans joined together and formed the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP),” and that “the centennial of the NAACP is an occasion to highlight the problem of race and citizenship in American history, from the experiences of free Blacks in a land of slavery to the political aspirations of African Americans today....
On April 21, the Food Safety and Inspection Service of the USDA announced a beef recall. Beltex Corporation, a Fort Worth, Texas, company is recalling nearly 135,500 pounds of beef trim products that may be contaminated with E. coli O157:H7. The contamination was discovered by FSIS during a routine Food Safety Assessment performed at Beltex. According to the FSIS press release, the company’s methods for analyzing samples for E. coli in their beef products raised concerns about the safety of the product....
Tuesday’s Gardena High School shooting appears to have been an accident. Witnesses say the student did not touch the gun when it suddenly went off. According to reports, the gun was inside a backpack that went off when he dropped it on his desk. Two students were apparently hit by the same bullet, with one in critical condition at Los Angeles County Harbor-UCLA Medical Center. “He said, ‘I’m sorry,’ when the gun went off....
What’s the deal with vegetables? On Wednesday, the U.S. Court of Appeals for New York’s second circuit agreed with a lower court ruling, finding that the Jessica Seinfeld cookbook did not infringe on another author’s work. In 2007, Missy Chase Lapine filed her cookbook lawsuit against Jessica Seinfeld, claiming that her book “Deceptively Delicious: Simple Secrets To Get Your Kids Eating Good Food,” was a rip-off of her own work, “The Sneaky Chef: Simple Strategies for Hiding Healthy Foods in Kids’ Favorite Meals....
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s independent film about post-WWI black culture and the Harlem Renaissance will not be showcased at this year’s Sundance Film Festival. The film based on the basketball legend’s 2007 book “On the Shoulders of Giants: My Journey Through the Harlem Renaissance” was not completed in time to be considered for Sundance. The annual festival is the largest showcase of independent cinema. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is holding a New York sports film production company largely responsible for missing the deadline....
In the Boston bombing case, authorities have claimed that the public safety exception to Miranda allowed them to question Dzhokhar Tsarnaev without first reading him his Miranda rights. Tsarnaev’s questioning by the High Value Interrogation Group was conducted days before the 19-year-old suspect was read his Miranda rights on Monday, The Huffington Post reports. The public safety exception to the general rule of Miranda comes from the N.Y. v. Quarles case, and its use in the upcoming Tsanaev case may broaden its scope....
A Netflix phishing scam is making the rounds. The tech support scam begins when you’re logging in to Netflix. If you follow the instructions contained in the pop-up “security message,” you’ll interact with fake Microsoft tech support reps and wind up having your personal computer files stolen, Malwarebytes Unpacked reports. Here are three warning signs of the Netflix phishing scam: Pop-up message. When you try logging in to your Netflix account, a screen unexpectedly pops up saying that your username was suspended due to “unusual activity” on your account and you are told to contact “Member Services” in order to regain access....
In a decision that some predict will have a chilling effect, the 9th Circuit dealt a major blow to whistleblowers reporting violations of federal securities law last week, denying protection to those who take allegations of corporate misconduct to the press. Commentators are concerned that the ruling will lead fewer workers to report wrongdoing and inhibit the government’s ability to investigate misconduct. Like many regulatory schemes, the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, which deals with securities reporting and auditing, includes a whistleblower protection provision....
Consumers should be aware of two new recall notices recently issued by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. Retailer IKEA is recalling the GUNGGUNG child’s swing, while safety products maker Kidde is recalling its hard-wired smoke and combination smoke/carbon monoxide alarms. Both products are being recalled because of possible mechanical failures that could lead to injury or death. Here’s what consumers need to know: IKEA GUNGGUNG Child Swing Recall The GUNGGUNG swing is an indoor or outdoor swing for children ages 3 to 7, sold exclusively at IKEA stores and on the IKEA website....
Tis the season for Hollywood divorces. After only two years of marriage 26-year-old actress Scarlett Johansson and 34-year-old actor Ryan Reynolds have announced their divorce. The couple wed in a secret ceremony in Canada in 2008 and the reasons for their split seem to be a little less secret. The divorce is not as abrupt as it may appear. Reuters reports that the couple has actually been separated for close to six months before making the announcement that surprised many....
Conservative politicians and voters have long questioned Barack Obama’s eligibility for the presidency, claiming the two-term president was born outside the United States. (He was born in Hawaii.) Now the tables seem to have turned for GOP presidential candidate Ted Cruz, who was born in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. A Houston, Texas lawyer has filed a lawsuit in federal court, challenging Cruz’s status as a “natural born citizen” as required by the Constitution....
Japanese carmaker Toyota has added 57,000 more of its vehicles to the growing number of automobiles being recalled due to potentially defective Takata airbags. Toyota is recalling Vitz (known as the Yaris in some markets) subcompact cars and RAV4 crossover models made in 2002 and 2003, reports Reuters. The latest recall includes 40,000 vehicles in Japan and 6,000 in Europe, with the remaining vehicles spread throughout the globe, not including North America or the United States....
