Posts

Almost 900 colleges are pushing students into using fee-heavy payment cards, according to a new study. Some universities even make it mandatory in order to receive financial aid. The report was conducted by the U.S. Public Interest Research Group Higher Education Fund. It found that all over the country, colleges are striking deals with banks to handle student financial aid. More than two out of five American college students attend schools that have such deals, the Associated Press reports....

A Pennsylvania woman who already faces drug and child porn charges can add Walmart shoplifting to her ever-growing list of problems. Pamela Marie Smallis has been charged with retail theft and conspiracy for allegedly stealing several Apple products from a Walmart near Pittsburgh. The 49-year-old woman and two co-defendants in their early 20s are accused of stealing nine iPads and 23 iPods from the store, reports the Observer-Reporter. Their alleged actions were caught on tape....

A federal judge has dismissed a defamation lawsuit brought against Bristol Palin. If you watch Palin’s reality show “Life’s a Tripp” on Lifetime, you may know Stephen Hawks as the man who heckled Palin on camera with crude remarks about her relationship with Levi Johnston and for calling Bristol’s mother Sarah Palin a “whore,” reports E! News. Palin fired back at Hawks with suggestions that he was gay – definitely not the most mature back-and-forth....

A Wisconsin cemetery worker who stole a guitar out of a casket could face up to 10 years in prison. Steven Conrad, 40, pled no contest to the theft last week. Conrad pilfered the expensive musical instrument, a Fender Telecaster valued at around $2,000, out of the grave of a man named Randall Jourdan. Jourdan had requested to be buried with his beloved instrument, which he called his “pride and joy....

Conan O’Brien is ready to say good night to late night television with NBC. The New York Times reports that Conan’s renegotiation of his two and a half year contract has ended with a buyout by NBC. Under the contract buyout, the two parties have agreed that NBC will pay him $32 million dollars and allow him to return to television after 8 months. The buyout also included a non-disparagement clause for both parties....

Federal prosecutors this week indicted 11 members of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (FLDS) for conspiracy to commit fraud and money laundering. They are accused of swindling millions of dollars from the government’s Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), which is intended to help low-income individuals and families buy food. The accused are part of a polygamous sect living in Utah and South Dakota. Those already arrested on the fraud charges pled not guilty....

If you haven’t heard of all the recent recalls of listeria infected products, such as spinach, frozen foods, hummus, and ice cream, you’ve been living under a rock, and need to take a second look in your refrigerator. However, if you’ve been unlucky enough to be infected with listeria, you’re probably wondering, how and who do I sue? Suing For Listeria Listeria can cause severe stomach cramps, diarrhea, fever, muscle ache, convulsions, miscarriages, or even death....

The best ideas have a ring of familiarity to them. That’s why the best films and television shows are packed with either present-day authenticity or nostalgic elements from the past. Then again, there’s a difference between, “Hey that looks familiar,” and “Hey that was my idea.” Most fans of the hit Netflix series “Stranger Things” marvel at the array of period-specific elements, from costumes to set design and beyond. Filmmaker Charlie Kessler, on the other hand, looked at “Stranger Things” and said, “Hey that was my idea....

A huge $25 million scam stretching from Chicago to Central Mexico involving the “cloning” of cars was broken up by the FBI, according to CNN. To anyone wondering what car cloning even is, it’s not a crazy lab experiment. The scam involves taking the major identifying features of a legally owned car and putting them on a similar stolen car. This would include the vehicle identification numbers (VINs) and license plates, and possibly identifying stickers too....

Kim Kardashian’s prenup leaves soon-to-be ex-husband Kris Humphries without any extra Kardashian bling in his bank account. Reports are that the prenuptial agreement keeps all of their property separate. The financially sound prenup shouldn’t be much of a surprise. After all, Kim’s father is an attorney. And, in Kim’s own words, she’s a “smart girl.” After all, TMZ reports that the Kardashian empire raked in around $65 million last year. Kris Humphries’ NBA salary seems paltry in comparison....

After the tragic death of a baby during a home delivery, a Baltimore midwife has pled guilty to criminal charges. Karen Carr has pled guilty in Alexandria, Virginia, to felony child endangerment and performing an invasive procedure without a license. The unnamed mother wished to deliver her baby at home, despite it being a breech birth and the fact that another midwife turned the case down, reports Slate. Prosecutor Krista Boucher said Carr’s responsibility arose from the facts of this case....

He owes the IRS over $14 million. He lost his castle to foreclosure. He’s clearly headed towards bankruptcy. And now he’s drunkenly taunting cops to arrest him in New Orleans Nicolas Cage, arrested by New Orleans police over the weekend and charged with domestic abuse, was disturbing the peace and by all accounts quite drunk over the weekend. And as if that wasn’t enough, he was bailed out by Dog the Bounty Hunter....

The United States Patent and Trademark Office made big news today when it issued an order canceling six trademarks held by the Washington Redskins. The Trademark Trial and Appeal Board ruling is just latest twist in the ongoing, multi-decade push by Native American groups and their allies to get the team to change a name that they consider offensive. So what does this ruling really mean for the Redskins? Let’s tackle five key questions about today’s Patent Office decision:...

The Super Bowl and Mardi Gras are right around the corner, so now may be the perfect time to talk about public intoxication and its legal caveats – for example, getting arrested for being drunk in public, even when you’re not drunk. That’s right, in certain jurisdictions, you can be charged with public intoxication even if you are not under the influence of alcohol or drugs. All it takes for a police officer to arrest you is if you simply appear drunk in a public place....

Saul Hudson, better known as heavy metal rock star Slash, has filed for divorce from his wife of almost nine years, Perla Ferrar. The former Guns N’ Roses guitarist has two young children with Ferrar, London and Cash. According to People, 45 year-old Slash filed the necessary paperwork in Los Angeles earlier this week, citing the ever-popular and equally ambiguous “irreconcilable differences” as the reason behind the celebrity divorce. The rock star and his wife wed in October 2001....

“Because the search of [plaintiff] Quon’s text messages was reasonable, petitioners did not violate respondents’ Fourth Amendment rights, and the Ninth Circuit erred by concluding otherwise.” The facts of the case can be summed up as follows: The Ontario police contracted with Arch Wireless for text pagers, with the understanding that there was a limit to the number of pages the officers could send per month. If they exceeded that number it would result in an additional fee....

Your airbag may be a ticking time bomb in your car. Takata, the world’s second largest supplier of airbags, has finally admitted that its airbags are defective. Here is what you need to know: The Defect Takata has announced that the propellant that makes the airbags inflate could degrade over time when exposed to high humidity and frequent changes in temperature. The propellant is prone to “overaggressive combustion.” The violent explosions when the airbags deploy can send shrapnel flying into the car’s passenger compartment....

The week’s supply of internet indignation has undoubtedly been aimed at the Texas judge beating video and its star, Hon. William Adams. The viral video shows the Aransas County family court judge as he whips the legs of his then 16-year-old daughter, Hillary Adams. While she yells for him to stop, he threatens to beat her into submission. An investigation has been opened, but some wonder whether the Texas judge will be prosecuted, and whether he will be able to keep his job....

The Utah Senate has voted to allow a firing squad to carry out executions if the drugs necessary for lethal injections are not available. The bill, which now heads to Gov. Gary Herbert’s desk, would make Utah the only state to permit a firing squad to perform an execution. Death Penalty Drugs Utah’s firing squad bill comes on the heels of multiple botched executions in Oklahoma and Arizona. Those states, among others, began experimenting with new drug combinations for lethal injections because of shortages of the drug traditionally used in executions....

The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) is waging a full-scale attack against the makers of adult magnet toys. This week, the CPSC filed an administrative complaint against Zen Magnets. This follows on the heels of their Buckyballs complaint last month. The CPSC wants the producers of these toys to remove the product from store shelves – even if it means putting the companies out of business. Their rationale is that while these toys are marketed to adults, many teens and young children have been getting a hold of them and playing with them....