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An Arizona man may receive his dead husband’s benefits after a federal court ruled that his spouse’s death certificate could be changed to reflect their same-sex married status. Fred McQuire, 69, lost his partner George Martinez after 45 years, after the two got married in California this summer, reports The Arizona Republic. Arizona’s ban on same-sex marriage prevented McQuire from getting his deceased husband’s Social Security and veteran’s benefits, but on Friday a federal judge ruled in McQuire’s favor....

Arkansas has adopted what is by far the nation’s most restrictive ban on abortion — at 12 weeks of pregnancy, when a fetal heartbeat can typically be detected by abdominal ultrasound. The law, the most pointed challenge yet to Roe v. Wade, was passed by the newly Republican-controlled legislature over the veto of Gov. Mike Beebe. Beebe called the law “blatantly unconstitutional.” The law contradicts the limit established by Supreme Court decisions, which give women a right to an abortion until the fetus is viable outside the womb, usually around 24 weeks into pregnancy....

Johnson & Johnson has announced that one lot of its Aveeno Baby Calming Comfort lotion is being recalled. The baby lotion recall comes after fears that the product contained too much bacteria. A test run by the Food and Drug Administration sparked the company’s move. The test indicated a sample “exceeded specifications for common bacteria,” according to Reuters. The bacteria in question are called coagulase-negative staphylococci. It’s naturally-occurring and can be found in a person’s skin or scalp....

A 10-year-old boy has been charged with the murder of his mother, Deborah McVay, 46. The boy, whose name has not been released due to his age, allegedly shot and killed his mother with a single shot to the head from a .22 caliber rifle he received as a Christmas present. Deborah McVay was found by police lying face down on her living room floor, Reuters reports. McVay lived near Cleveland, Ohio....

Kimberly Williams-Paisley and Brad Paisley fell victim to a twisted “dying daughter” hoax that has been making the rounds in Hollywood. The hoax involved a woman who claimed her young daughter was dying of neuroblastoma, a severe type of childhood cancer. But did the woman behind the hoax actually commit a crime? “Carrie” and “Claire” The twisted tale began when Williams-Paisley allegedly received an email from a woman, “Carrie,” who claimed that her 8-year-old daughter, “Claire,” wanted her mom to contact the “Nashville” actress to let her know how much she loved a song from the show, reports ABC’s “Nightline....

Actor Fred Willard was arrested at a seedy Hollywood adult movie theater called the Tiki Theater for lewd conduct, Fox News reports. It’s not clear what type of lewd conduct Willard was allegedly engaged in at the time of his arrest, but XXX movies with titles like “Step Dad No. 2” were reportedly playing at the theater. You probably won’t want to create a mental picture. Perhaps someone should tell the 72-year-old actor about the Internet, where one can watch limitless amounts of XXX movies and engage in all sorts of legal lewd conduct in the privacy of one’s own home....

In June of 2014, Harrison Ford, playing the role of Han Solo while filming ‘Star Wars: The Force Awakens,’ had his leg crushed by the hydraulic door of the Millennium Falcon on set. Last week, the UK’s Health and Safety Executive’s charges for workplace safety violations against Disney’s production company concluded with the production company receiving a $2 million fine. The fine comes after the production company had pleaded guilty to two of the four charges brought against them for workplace safety violations....

According to press releases from the Office of the Texas Attorney General and from the U.S. Embassy in Haiti, reports of a scam targeting Haitians attempting to bring family members from Haiti to the U.S. have emerged. The U.S. Embassy in Haiti reports on its website that the scammers are posing as workers for the U.S. Consulate. The scammers contact persons who might wish to move family members from Haiti and request advance payment of fees using a wire transfer service such as Western Union, SogeXpress or CAM....

The Kelsey Grammer divorce may be getting messy. To the tune of $50 million. That is the amount that actor Kelsey Grammer may be paying his ex-wife and reality television star Camille Grammer. The couple, married for 13 years, will be divorcing in California (a community property state) without a prenuptial agreement. The $50 million represents half of the $100 million the couple amassed during their marriage, according to The Los Angeles Times....

A portion of Arizona’s controversial anti illegal-immigrant law has been blocked and held as void by the 9th Circuit, finding that the language of the law was too vague to enforce. The federal appellate court upheld a lower court’s injunction stopping the enforcement of part of Arizona’s SB 1070, which made it a criminal offense to “harbor or transport” illegal immigrants. What part of this Arizona law was too vague to enforce?...

Driving drunk is a crime. Driving drunk while watching porn? Greedily committing a crime? In an episode of “Seinfeld,” George Costanza once attempted what he called the trifecta: secretly watching portable television and eating a sandwich while simultaneously enjoying an intimate encounter with his then girlfriend. Naturally things didn’t work out for George and the relationship imploded, which led to the following conversation at Monk’s Cafe: Compared to “Seinfeld,” the actions of Indiana man Gregory Green might seem rather tame....

A mother in Arizona was charged with child abuse after she left her two young children in a locked car while she went to a job interview. Shanesha Taylor, 35, claims that she’s homeless, needed a job, and couldn’t find anyone to watch her children when she went for the job interview in March, according to Phoenix’s KSAZ-TV. While some have criticized Taylor for her actions, thousands more are sympathetic to her plight....

Morrissey received some extra special attention from airport security when flying out of San Francisco this week. According to a post by fan site True to You, the lyrical legend claimed that an unncesseary TSA search rose to the level of sexual assault. A spokesperson for the TSA denies that Morrissey’s encounter was anything out of the ordinary. Morrissey is no stranger to physical affection by the public. His live performances are never complete until fans rush the stage for a hug....

Five years ago, a jury convicted Ingmar Guandique for the murder of Chandra Levy. It now appears that a new jury will re-hear the case. Federal prosecutors have dropped their opposition to Gaundique’s defense attorneys’ requests for a new trial, paving the way for the case to return to court. Now the judge who presided over the first trial will decide if there will be a second. Tainted Testimony Guandique’s lawyers have been challenging his conviction based on what they believe is corrupted testimony from Armando Morales, Gaundique’s former cellmate....

There are more than 1 million children in about 58,000 licensed child care facilities in California. The need to assist parents with better information on the safety and quality of these services was highlighted this week in a report issued by the California Legislative Analyst’s Office entitled Developing Safety and Quality Ratings for Child Care: Issues and Options (PDF, HTML). The report outlines a number of different options for improving this information, including providing ratings of child care providers....

Recently, a Florida sheriff’s department led an undercover human trafficking sting operation, in Polk County, hoping to arrest those who engage in prostitution as well as rescue victims of human trafficking. The sting, named “Operation Not So Silent Night,” resulted in 114 arrests, as well as the discovery of 4 victims of human trafficking. The sting operation ran from December 8th through the 13th, and targeted both the sides of the problem....

A California teen will now be charged with murder for the death of a bicyclist, partly because he allegedly boasted about speeding on Twitter. Cody Hall, 18, of Pleasanton, was initially charged with vehicular manslaughter when he struck and killed a bicyclist. But because of his troubling tweets and his driving record, prosecutors decided to up the ante and upgrade his charge to second-degree murder. But what exactly warrants second-degree murder?...

Twitter has settled with the Federal Trade Commission after it was accused of deceiving consumers regarding their privacy settings. The FTC argued that Twitter deceived consumers and failed to properly protect their personal information. The FTC complaint cited “serious lapses” during 2009 in the company’s ability to restrict unauthorized users from accessing the private data of Twitter users. A total of 55 accounts were hacked and illegally accessed during breaches in January and April 2009....

Nearly every local news station is always ready, willing, and able to help law enforcement locate a “person of interest” for a criminal investigation. After all, crime reporting, particularly unsolved mysteries, makes for good television and even better ratings. But what is a “person of interest” anyway? The phrase is intentionally vague, but the common understanding is that it refers to a suspected criminal, especially when it is used in the context of a criminal investigation....

An Illinois woman is suing LaSalle County over a DUI strip search. Jail surveillance cameras recorded the entire incident as four deputies – three men and a woman – forcibly stripped 33-year-old Dana Holmes and left her in a jail cell, taking her clothes with them. Holmes was arrested for drunken driving with a blood-alcohol level nearly three times the legal limit in May. But did Holmes’ alleged DUI give deputies legal justification to pull her to the ground, carry her into a cell, forcibly strip her and walk out with her clothes?...