Posts

What happens to newscasters who are past their prime? They don’t get old, they just lose their appeal. In this case, Dan Rather just lost his appeal of a court ruling dismissing his lawsuit by the New York State Court of Appeals. ABC News reports that the Dan Rather lawsuit appeal was shot down by New York State’s highest court this past Tuesday. What Was the Dan Rather Lawsuit About? According to Findlaw, the Dan Rather lawsuit centered around the infamous news anchor’s claims that there was a breach of fiduciary duty on the part of his employer CBS when CBS failed to provide the anchor enough air time....

Mortgage fraud is on the rise in the U.S., with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) receiving more than 46,000 “Suspicious Activity Reports” involving mortgage fraud in 2007 – compared to 35,617 reports in 2006, and 6,936 in 2003. The FBI’s 2007 Mortgage Fraud Report contains detailed information on data and trends related to mortgage fraud, which can include false appraisal scams, foreclosure rescue fraud, “builder-bailout” schemes, and identity thefts in which home equity credit lines are opened and drained....

The Federal Reserve Board has approved a plan that would protect consumers from the unfair billing practices of credit card companies and banks. Among the reform measures announced by the Fed on Friday, consumers would be protected from unexpected interest rate increases on pre-existing credit card balances, credit card companies would need to allow for 21 days between the mailing of statements and the payment due date, and institutions would be prohibited from using payment allocation methods that maximize interest accrual....

A new Philadelphia curfew is now in place - all because of violent flash mobs. The curfew is set at 10:00 p.m. for children under the age of 13, and midnight for those under the age of 18. Mayor Michael Nutter announced the curfews in response to a growing trend of flash mobs that use social media, such as Facebook or Twitter, to organize and gather - sometimes for violent purposes....

Kidnapping is a serious crime, usually classified as a felony in most states. Just ask Gloria Williams, who was arrested in January 2017 for kidnapping Kamiyah Mobley as a newborn. Instead of going through a trial for the kidnapping, Williams has decided to plead guilty to the crime she committed 20 years ago. What Exactly Happened? In 1998, Williams, posing as a nurse, walked into University Medical Center in Jacksonville, Florida and kidnapped Mobley....

Gary Coleman is out of jail, thanks to a longtime fan who reportedly posted $1,725 in bail for the former child star The fan, Jarrod Clarke of Utah, told Radar Online that he simply felt bad for Coleman and decided paying his bail was the least he could do. As previously reported by ABC News, Coleman was in jail after Utah police arrested the former child star on a previous warrant after they received a call about an incident at his house....

Tuesday was just terrible for Professor Gamal El-Zoghby. First his house caught fire – and then firefighters found his alleged stash of child pornography hidden in the ceiling. Firefighters discovered the child porn while battling a fire that engulfed El-Zoghby’s home in Eagleswood Twp., N.J., the Press of Atlantic City reports. The cause of the fire is under investigation. As crews worked to keep flames from spreading, they made a startling discovery: Pictures of child pornography began to fall from the ceiling....

A Johannes Mehserle protest lawsuit has been filed. The class action litigation has been filed against the Alameda County Sheriff’s Office and the Oakland Police Department. The class action was filed on behalf of about 150 protestors who claim their rights were violated by the law enforcement agencies. Johannes Mehserle is the ex-BART police officer who shot and killed Oscar Grant in 2009, reports KTVU-TV. Grant, 22, was unarmed at the time....

Los Angeles’ ban on living in vehicles was struck down by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Thursday, removing a tool used by the city to regulate homeless persons. The federal appellate court determined that the vague city ordinance was unconstitutional, calling it both “broad and cryptic,” reports the Los Angeles Times. This will be the second major victory for homeless persons in the 9th Circuit, following a 2012 case which struck down yet another anti-homeless practice in Los Angeles....

Authorities believe that Miley Cyrus may have been a victim of a “swatting” prank. Someone called 911 Wednesday night to report that Miley Cyrus was the victim of a home invasion. The caller said there was a kidnapping in progress at the singer/actress’ home and that one person was shot, ABC News reports. Los Angeles police and rescue crews responded to the call and established a perimeter around the home. They approached the house with weapons drawn....

Police officers’ use of chokeholds to subdue resisting suspects is coming under fire after a New York man suspected of illegally selling cigarettes died in a confrontation with NYPD officers. Video of the July 17 incident appears to show officers putting the man, 43-year-old Eric Garner, in a chokehold in order to take him to the ground, reports The New York Times – desptite chokeholds being forbidden by NYPD policy....

A new effort by federal law enforcement to combat prescription drug abuse may make it easier for consumers to get rid of their old meds. U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder announced Monday that in order to combat the “urgent and growing threat” that prescription drug addiction poses to the nation, a new Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) policy would allow hospitals and pharmacies to act as “drop-off sites” for unused prescription drugs....

Ever gotten into a pricing dispute? You know, when a retailer tries to charge you more than the listed price? Well, just because the computer contains the wrong price, it doesn’t mean you need to pay it. In almost every jurisdiction, you are entitled to pay the lowest advertised and/or marked price. To require you to pay anything more may violate advertising laws and can result in fines from state and local entities....

Convicted of murdering an off-duty police officer in 1989, the Georgia Board of Pardons and Paroles declined to grant Troy Davis clemency on Tuesday. The decision brings an end to two decades of appeals and at least four other scheduled execution dates. The controversy surrounding Davis’ pending execution has brought forth a number of questions about the clemency process and its purposes. Used to describe a variety of situations, exactly what is clemency?...

Nine youth football coaches in South Florida face felony charges related to a high-stakes gambling operation for little league football. The nine men charged with crimes allegedly engineered a bookmaking and gambling ring for games played by five to 15-year-olds, reports ESPN. Some of the suspects are ex-convicts with a history of criminal violations from drug charges to assault. The coaches have been charged with felony bookmaking, essentially organized gambling, and each could face up to five years in prison....

An ex-cop involved in the infamous “dirty DUI” scandal was sentenced to 15 months in prison on Wednesday, nearly three years after his 2011 arrest. Stephen Tanabe, 50, spoke contritely before a judge about his part in the scheme, the Contra Costa Times reports. Prosecutors say Tanabe received a Glock handgun in exchange for arresting men who were “baited” into driving drunk. Tanabe, who previously worked as a police officer in suburbs east of San Francisco, resigned from his job as a sheriff’s deputy after his arrest....

Green Hornet star Eddie Furlong was arrested and released on $75,000 bail for allegedly violating a court order to stay at least 100 yards away from his estranged wife Rachael Kneeland, People Magazine reports. The couple is in the middle of a hostile divorce that is replete with allegations of drug use and suicide threats by Eddie Furlong. Last Sept. 23, Rachael Kneeland claimed that Eddie Furlong “grabbed me, bruised me, pushed me … left messages saying he would hire people to come and beat me with chains and bats....

Tennessee’s law capping “pain and suffering” damages is unconstitutional, a state judge has ruled. Donald and Beverly Clark filed a lawsuit against Aimee Cain and AT&T for damages due to a car crash. The couple asked for $22.5 million in damages for pain and suffering, far exceeding the state’s cap for non-economic damages. AT&T filed a motion for partial summary judgment requesting that damages be limited to the $750,000 cap....

You may not like your lawyer, but does that really mean that you have a claim for ineffective assistance of counsel? What is “ineffective counsel” anyway, legally speaking? First off, there’s a difference between the legal terms ineffective assistance of counsel and legal malpractice. The two can go hand in hand, but a malpractice claim is one where a client sues his lawyer for falling below the standard of legal professionalism....

With her passport in hand, and husband in the joint, one would think that Ruth Madoff is taking a leisurely vacation in the Carribean or French Riviera. Wherever she is, the wife of convicted and imprisoned Ponzi schemer Bernard Madoff probably already knows that Madoff bankruptcy trustee Irving Picard just sued her, on behalf of investors, “to recapture at least $44,822,355 in funds that were transferred” from Madoff’s bankrupt company direclty to his wife, “or for her benefit”...