Posts

Last week, New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo announced Abbott Laboratories and French drugmaker Fournier have agreed to pay $22.5 million to settle a case alleging the companies attempted to block the development of a generic alternative to their popular drug Tricor. Tricor was developed to help patients lower their “bad cholesterol” and raise “good cholesterol” to reduce the risk of heart attacks and strokes. The drugmakers will pay shares of the settlement to New York, 22 other states and the District of Columbia, according to a news release by the Attorney General’s office....

As with the other strollers recalled, the stroller’s hinge mechanism poses a fingertip amputation and laceration hazard to the child when the consumer is unfolding/opening the stroller. The company has received one report of a child breaking a finger in the hinge mechanism. The recalled Cybex strollers were sold at department and juvenile product stores nationwide between August 2009 and November 2009, for between $140 and $260. The CPSC asks consumers to stop using the strollers immediately and contact Regal Lager to receive a free hinge cover retrofit kit....

A 206-year-old Louisiana law that punishes prostitutes who engage in anal or oral sex by forcing them to register as sex offenders has come under fire in a federal lawsuit. When every other state defines a sex offender, prostitute is not among the usual explanations. Louisiana, however, has decided that engaging in anal or oral sex is a crime against nature, and thus anyone who engages in either activity in exchange for money is a sex offender, required by law to register....

A Utah man is wondering why a Salt Lake City police officer shot and killed his dog during a search for a missing boy. Sean Kendall, 27, was understandably frustrated when he received a call that his dog, a Weinaraner named Geist, was shot in the head by an SLCPD officer. Kendall recorded his first interaction with police, and was informed that his dog was shot because an officer felt “threatened....

Snapchat has agreed to increase privacy protections in its settlement with the FTC, following charges that users’ photos and videos don’t actually “disappear” as advertised. The app maker will not be fined by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), but it will have to lay off its claims about privacy and confidentiality of its users’ data, reports The Washington Post. Snapchat will also be required to implement a new comprehensive privacy program....

Monthly Social Security and Supplemental Security Income benefits will increase 5.8 percent beginning in 2009, and maximum annual incomes that will be subject to Social Security taxes will also increase, the Social Security Administration (SSA) announced Thursday. The 5.8 percent increase will enhance the monthly Social Security benefits of more than 55 million Americans, and is the largest benefits boost since 1982, according to the SSA. The SSA also announced that “maximum amount of earnings subject to the Social Security tax (taxable maximum) will increase to $106,800 from $102,000....

Last Monday, the United States Supreme Court declined to hear an appeal by four former Guantánamo detainees from a lower court decision dismissing their case. The appellants, all British citizens, had claimed violations of human rights from torture as well as violations of religious rights at the hands of U.S. military officials while they were Guantánamo Bay prisoners. The Court of Appeals dismissed their case, and this decision by the Supreme Court lets that decision stand....

A U.S. federal district court in Texas found this to be exactly the situation as it threw out the Lone Star state’s new district maps drawn ahead of the November 6 presidential elections, reports Reuters. State lawmakers apparently attempted to silence the black and Hispanic vote, as evidenced by the Texas redistricting map case. The court found that these new maps not only had the effect of reducing the influence of black and Hispanic votes, but that Texas state lawmakers also had the nefarious intent of discriminating against such minorities, writes Reuters....

The FDA has ordered DNA testing company 23andMe to stop selling its home DNA testing kits, alleging that the company made baseless claims about diagnosing disease. 23andMe’s popular DNA testing kit, previously available through its website for as low as $99, is advertised as providing information about an individual’s “genetic health risks.” But the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) claims the kits are “being sold illegally to diagnose diseases” and have not been given proper FDA approval for a medical device, reports NBC News....

Actor James Woods has been sued because of a tweet he posted misidentifying an Ohio woman, Portia Boulger, as an Illinois Nazi and Trump supporter. As a result of the misidentification, the plaintiff, Ms. Boulger, became the victim of extreme harassment, both online and off, including threats to her personal safety. Despite her requesting a retraction and apology through an attorney, James Woods exacerbated the situation and allegedly made further untruthful statements about Ms....

Anyone who has ever been to high school has probably witnessed something that vaguely resembles a hate crime. After all, teens will tease and bully each other for almost anything, from the color of their sweaters to the color of their skin. But when does a stupid joke cross the line and become a hate crime? Just about every state has its own statute defining hate crimes. But there are some common elements to these laws....

In a Cartoon Network lawsuit, a North Dakota advertising agency alleges copyright infringement by the creators of a show called “Annoying Orange.” Ad agency H2M says “Annoying Orange” creators Dane Boedigheimer and Spencer Grove stole the image and likeness of a talking orange character from a copyrighted H2M character called “The Talking Orange.” This begs the question: Orange they glad their talking orange idea caught on? Apparently not. H2M’s “Talking Orange” is featured in a commercial created for the North Dakota Department of Transportation....

Cleveland will pay Tamir Rice’s family $6 million to settle a wrongful death lawsuit after Rice was shot and killed by a police officer in 2014. It represents the city’s largest settlement in a police-related lawsuit, but the city admitted no wrongdoing in the 12-year-old’s shooting, which occurred while he was playing with a toy gun in a park. The settlement is on par with other police misconduct claims nationwide, and was a long time coming for the Rice family....

Leading consumer rights non-profits have asked Congress to ensure that auto financing by car dealers will come under the oversight of the yet to be created Consumer Financial Protection Agency. As we’ve discussed previously, the Consumer Financial Protection Agency (CFPA) being debated would serve as an agency to protect consumers from dangerous financial products. It’s proponents describe it as an agency which could protect consumers from dangerous and deceptive practices regarding financial products like credit cards and mortgages, much as the current Consumer Product Safety Commission helps protect us from dangerous consumer products like lead painted toys and household chemicals....

Cruise ships are often a focal point of criminal activity, with unsuspecting passengers often turning into unwitting victims. This concept doesn’t need to be explained to a 31-year-old Holland America passenger who was allegedly beaten and raped by a cruise ship attendant on Valentine’s Day, Reuters reports. Holland America claims this incident is the first in its 140-year history, but is this sort of crime that uncommon on cruise ships?...

Hosam Maher Husein Smadi (inset), a 19-year-old Jordanian man previously charged with plotting to blow up a Dallas office building, was indicted by a federal grand jury yesterday for attempting to use a weapon of mass destruction (WMD), and bomb a public parking garage. According to the criminal complaint initially filed in the case, FBI agents had a virtual introduction to Smadi on the Web via “an online group of extremists....

Ever wonder whether those energy drinks that everyone seems to be guzzling are safe or healthy? What about when it comes to children? According to a new commentary published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, parents should be concerned about potential harms associated with energy drinks. That’s because energy drinks and health concerns seem to go together like peanut butter and sticky fingers. The authors say that energy drinks are especially popular among adolescent males, the Washington Post reports....

George Zimmerman has sued NBC for editing a 911 tape to make him sound like a racist. Zimmerman’s lawsuit states: “NBC News saw the death of Trayvon Martin not as a tragedy but as an opportunity to increase ratings, and so set about to create the myth that George Zimmerman was a racist and predatory villain.” He is suing for defamation and intentional infliction of emotional distress, and seeks unspecified damages as well as a trial by jury....

Most people regard used car salesmen with the same determined skepticism as a three-card Monte dealer on the street – sure that there is some sleight of hand occurring to pull as much money out of their pocket as possible. And perhaps with good reason: John Oliver just exposed the seedy side of auto lending and the predatory tactics used car dealerships will use to screw over car buyers. Well, add one more scam to the list....

MTV may need to keep some of their reality stars on a shorter leash. Teen Mom 2 star Jenelle Evans was arrested on Tuesday for harassing her old roommate Hannah Inman. Evans’ attorney said the TV star was taken into custody for making threatening phone calls to Inman. Needless to say, this is not Evans’ first time behind bars. Authorities arrested Evans as she left a hospital, according to MSNBC. She had been sick with mono and strep throat....