Posts

Many men may wish death on him, but fans of 50 Cent will be happy to hear that the hip-hop star has settled his bankruptcy case. It’s good news for the rapper personally and those who appreciate his music, as we’ll probably soon be hearing from him a whole lot. Curtis Jackson, as the entertainer is known in court, has to come up with $390,000 a month to meet his obligations under the terms of the settlement, so expect to see him performing and promoting products to make the money....

American Idol producers have some explaining to do. While judge favorite Pia Toscano was being kicked off, the show’s ushers were kicking 19-year-old Ashley Kauffman and her two friends into the back row. The reason? She was too fat, and they weren’t dressed well enough. Ashley Kauffman, a college sophomore, was given free front row tickets along with five of her friends for last Tuesday’s American Idol taping. When they arrived, she was not only insulted by a woman telling her that she was “too big, too heavy to be in front,” but was told by a male usher re-seating her in the back that it made sense that she wasn’t with her “skinny” friends, reports the Daily Mail....

Attorney General Eric Holder wants states to reconsider their “Stand Your Ground” laws after public outcry over the acquittal of George Zimmerman in the killing of Trayvon Martin. Speaking before the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) in Orlando on Tuesday, Holder called for the nation to “question laws that senselessly expand the concept self-defense and sow dangerous conflict in our neighborhoods,” reports Reuters. Although the Attorney General has limited powers when it comes to state laws, a surge of public opinion may lead to states changing the “Stand Your Ground” provisions in their self-defense laws....

Bedbugs. The very word can make any person feel itchy, and now it might start sending chills down your spine too. Researchers in Canada have recently found bedbugs that had methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, commonly known as MRSA. MRSA is a type of staph bacteria that is resistant to many antibiotics. Symptoms of MRSA include skin abscesses. The illness can also spread into the blood, causing life-threatening illnesses. There is no need to panic yet, however....

Law enforcement is allowed to collect evidence of a crime, but within certain limits. The Fourth Amendment’s prohibition on unreasonable searches and seizures sets these limits generally, but it’s not very specific. For instance, if a suspect in a domestic dispute changes moods and gets fidgety, do police officers have a right to take him to the hospital, strap him down, and forcibly catheterize him in order to obtain a urine sample?...

Three companies have been ordered to stop making car warranty expiration warning “robocalls” and have seen their assets frozen, after the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) filed a lawsuit over the calls last week. Temporary restraining orders were issued against Voice Touch, Inc., Network Foundations, LLC, and Transcontinental Warranty, Inc., by U.S. District Judge John F. Grady in Illinois late last week. The orders came shortly after the FTC filed a federal lawsuit accusing the companies of “operating a massive telemarketing scheme that used random, pre-recorded phone calls to deceive consumers into thinking that their vehicle’s warranty is about to expire....

Actor Charlie Sheen revealed that he is HIV-positive after spending more than $10 million to keep the disease a secret, he told the Today Show’s Matt Lauer. He said that his diagnosis was a turning point in his life and that he had only trusted the secret to a few people before today, according to the show’s website. Sheen told Lauer that he has known about his diagnosis for four years but spoke out to break free from the prison of extortion....

U.S. safety regulators are saying that its “likely” that more than 13 deaths have been caused by the GM cars recalled earlier this year for an ignition switch defect. In its recall of the vehicles, which includes models from Chevrolet, Saturn, and Pontiac, GM had reported that there were 13 deaths and 31 crashes associated with the defective ignition switches, which can cause vehicles to lose electronic power while driving....

New information about Seal Beach shooting suspect Scott Dekraai has some wondering whether he will get off scot-free. Court records indicate that Dekraai has suffered from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder since 2007. Medical documentation also suggests that contact with his ex-wife is incredibly stressful and unhealthy. On Tuesday, the couple’s bitter custody battle involving their 8-year-old son resulted in a restraining order. Is this enough of a trigger to successfully launch a PTSD defense?...

Oh no he didn’t. According to celebrity news reports, Tony Parker’s “other woman,” was the wife of former Spurs teammate Brent Barry, Erin Barry. Parker’s wife, Eva Longoria filed for divorce after reports came out that Parker was texting (or sexting) with another woman. Adding even more fuel to the story is news that Brent Barry, who now works as an NBATV analyst just filed for divorce on October 29, 2010....

A new type of phishing scam is circulating via email that’s targeting schools and universities. The scammers’ malicious game is likely to leave their victims beyond confused when they find out scammers did their taxes! Basically, the scam works like this: Scammers send HR departments emails attempting to get large batches of employee social security numbers alongside corresponding W-2 forms. Once the scammers have those, they go ahead and file a person’s tax return in order to steal the tax refund....

Identity theft is still on the rise, and the fastest growing category of reports involves tax fraud. In fact, tax fraud accounted for 43.4% of ID theft cases in 2012, according to the Federal Trade Commission. Last year also saw the highest number of ID theft cases ever reported: more than 369,000 incidents. That means a lot of people were dealing with tax fraud issues last year that weren’t their fault....

Will we soon elect the next Senator from Wal-Mart? That is the fear of many after the Supreme Court handed down a game changing decision in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission today. The ruling was called a doctrinal, political and practical “earthquake” by the New York Times. In the inevitable 5-4 split, the Supreme Court overturned most limits on campaign spending by corporations. Whether it is considered a victory for the first amendment or a disaster for democracy of near biblical proportions, the decision that overturned two Supreme Court precedents and gutted the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002 (more often known as the McCain-Feingold law), will change how voters see campaigns, political ads, even candidates....

Four police officers shot and killed a man in Oakland who approached them with a fake gun last week, SF Gate reports. The officers’ body cameras were not on, as they were doing paperwork rather than detaining anyone. The police said they were shocked to discover the gun was a replica. The shooting is being investigated by Oakland’s homicide unit and internal affairs division, as well as the Alameda County District Attorney’s Office....

Jared Lee Loughner has been sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. Loughner, 24, had earlier pleaded guilty to shooting and killing six people and wounding 12 others including former Arizona Rep. Gabrielle Giffords in January 2011. Prior to receiving his sentence, Loughner listened to victims describe how his shooting rampage at a Tucson supermarket affected their lives. Giffords’ husband Mark Kelly explained that “every day is a continuous struggle” for the former congresswoman, reports the Los Angeles Times....

Apparently Kendrick Lamar didn’t do much on “I do this.” The rap star is being sued for use of a 1975 song in work he produced before he was huge. Mattie Music Group, the company that claims ownership of Bill Withers’ original “Don’t You Want to Stay,” says Lamar did not get permission to use the song. Legal documents filed by the company say Kendrick’s 2009 track is a total copy of the original, according to TMZ, and it “consists of nothing more than new rap and hip hop lyrics set to the pre-existing music....

On October 8th, the Nunes Company, Inc. (of Salinas, California) initiated a voluntary recall of green leaf lettuce distributed under the Foxy brand, according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The recall was initiated due to E.coli contamination of irrigation water in the lettuce fields. There have been no human illnesses linked to this lettuce recall. On October 10, Nunes Company President Tom Nunes announced that testing of the water by an independent lab came back negative for the most harmful strain of E....

Cold case is a term used to describe a criminal investigation that has not been solved, and is no longer being investigated. Although a recent discovery in North Carolina may not fall under the definition, it is certainly adding a new meaning to the phrase. A North Carolina woman has been arrested after her longtime boyfriend’s body was found in a freezer. 41 year-old Wendy Green was the live-in girlfriend of David Reuben Green, Jr....

If you are of a certain age, then you know that every school dance must end with one song. It’s slow and long and now-iconic and it’s the subject of a copyright trial in federal court in California. The “Stairway to Heaven” copyright case has qualities similar to the famous song at its center insofar as it’s convoluted. But resolution may not be too far away, reports Courthouse News Service. This week the case is being tried more than four decades after the song was released....

Failing to honor $15 vouchers may cost Harrah’s Casino $8 million for misleading advertising. The Harrah’s Casinos class action was brought by some birthday club members that were “tricked” by a promotion. A very happy belated birthday may be on the way for 80,000 members of Harrah’s Total Rewards club. The club members that were part of the Harrah’s Casinos class action are set to receive a $100 in the mail....