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The First Circuit has ruled that part of the Defense of Marriage Act, which denies federal benefits to same-sex married couples, is unconstitutional and cannot be enforced. But a court-ordered injunction is on hold, as the three-judge panel of the First Circuit anticipates “that Supreme Court review of DOMA is highly likely.” In the case before the First Circuit Court of Appeals, seven same-sex married couples and three surviving same-sex spouses in Massachusetts challenged Section 3 of DOMA, a federal law that defines “marriage” as “only a legal union between one man and one woman....

The US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and Department of Agriculture (USDA) have launched a website – www.foodsafety.gov – designed to help consumers stay up to date of food safety issues and recalls. The website’s main appeal is that it brings together information from scattered government agencies responsible for overseeing our food supply and reacting to food safety issues. Consumers will be able to go to one place for information from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the Center for Disease Control (CDC), along with the Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS), which as part of the USDA oversees the safety of meat, poultry, and egg products....

There is a massive hotel price fixing scheme between hotels and online travel agencies, claims a class action lawsuit. When you shop for cheap hotel deals, you’re likely to shop rates at one of the major travel websites like Expedia, Travelocity, or Priceline. When you visit one of these sites, you likely operate under the assumption that you’re looking at independently negotiated deals. However, that may not be the case. A budding class action lawsuit alleges that hotels and these online travel agencies were in cahoots in fixing the prices for the rooms....

In some jurisdictions, first-time or less-serious DUI offenses may be eligible for DUI diversion programs. How do these programs work? In a typical DUI diversion program, the defendant is required to meet certain specified conditions, like completing classes or performing community service. Once the conditions are met, the prosecutor or judge typically dismisses the DUI charge. DUI diversion programs are offered because prosecutors and courts realize that sometimes a DUI is a mistake....

Equipped with beer goggles, high school students strolled around a recent event participating in a variety of activities–trying to catch balls, rolling over, and driving a golf cart. Harlem High School in Georgia was teaching its students what it feels like to drive drunk. The impetus? With the nearness of graduation and prom, DUI incidents are sure to increase. The school was hoping to give students a sober taste of the dangers associated with driving under the influence....

Toyota announced a hybrid SUV recall on Wednesday in order to correct a problem that impacts the affected vehicles’ gasoline-electric power systems, causing them to lose power or stop running completely. The recall covers the Highlander Hybrid and Lexus Rx400h models sold in the United States during 2006 and 2007. No other models are affected. The recall is tied to inadequate transistor soldering on the Intelligent Power Module (IPM) control boards, which the Detroit Free Press reports can lead to wire damage in high-load driving conditions that generate extreme heat....

Jamming someone’s communications sounds like something straight out of science fiction. But with advancements in cellular and Wi-Fi technology, it’s quickly becoming science fact. Before you go out trying to shut down your neighbor’s cell service, though, you should understand that, according to the Federal Communications Commission, jamming cell phones and GPS equipment is against the law. So what are the legal restrictions and how are they enforced? Under the Communications Act of 1934, FCC rules, and the federal criminal code, “the operation, marketing, or sale of any type of jamming equipment” is illegal....

Late night talk show host Jimmy Fallon likes to be bossed around by women. Or so says a lawsuit filed by Paul Tarascio, a former stage manager on NBC’s Late Night with Jimmy Fallon. The Jimmy Fallon lawsuit, filed in a Manhattan court, accuses the star of gender bias in the workplace. Tarascio claims he, along with other male staffers, were demoted and replaced with less qualified women. It also quotes director David Diomedi as saying, “Jimmy just prefers to take direction from a woman....

Federal Judge Jed S. Rakoff rejected an SEC settlement with Citigroup on Monday. The decision may have ramifications beyond the current case. Citigroup was charged with negligence for selling customers funds known as Class V Funding III. The mortgage securities fund was populated by securities chosen by Citigroup, though the bank told investors they were picked by an independent third party. The bank then bet against their own fund, predicting that it would lose value....

Justin Bieber may not be landing on any best-dressed lists, but it seems he may have snagged a spot on a Homeland Security watch list, according to a new report. The troubled 19-year-old pop star was flagged by U.S. Customs officials on Friday when he landed in New Jersey in a private plane that arrived from Canada, the website TMZ reports. But was the extra scrutiny due to Bieber’s being on a government watch list, as the website claims?...

Phishing scams are getting harder and harder to spot. Gone are the days you could merely look for poor grammar or spelling errors. Evidently scammers have found software to correct those! Now, you will have to look even harder. But Google, or rather one of Alphabet’s companies, Jigsaw, is here to help you with that. Phishing is a scam where fraudsters use emails or texts to lure you to deceitful websites aimed to get your personal and financial information....

A Mississippi mom is under arrest for allegedly offering to sell her baby to a woman she met via Craigslist. Authorities say Bobbie Jo Stojic, 23, of Bay St. Louis, tried to sell her 4-month-old son for $5,000 in a text message to a lady who responded to a Craigslist ad. The ad was for baby clothes, not for an actual baby. Unfortunately for Stojic, Mississippi has enacted a law against selling babies, leaving us to wonder how often this sort of thing happens…...

Raising kids can be a very stressful enterprise, and while some women respond by taking a “Cathy”-esque break with chocolates and chardonnay, some become notorious criminals. Get ready to call your mom and thank her after you read about these 10 notorious criminal moms: Susan Smith. This South Carolina mom claimed that she was carjacked with her two children in the back seat in 1994, when in fact she had driven the car into a lake with her toddlers strapped in....

In a shocking display of judicial corruption, the AP reports that two senior juvenile court judges in a Pennsylvania county have been charged in a kickback scheme which may have resulted in hundreds of juveniles being wrongfully sent to detention centers for minor offenses. The judges, who were recently removed from the bench by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, are actually scheduled to plead guilty to fraud on Thursday with their agreements calling for “sentences of more than seven years behind bars....

Last week was a big one for Rachel Oberlin, one of Charlie Sheen’s girlfriends and a porn star who goes by the stage name Bree Olson. The woman interchangeably known as Rachel Oberlin and Bree Olson (this blogger refuses to call her a goddess), was arrested in February after she crashed her Lexus into a light pole. The Fort Wayne local told an officer that, after leaving a local club, she had slipped on a patch of ice, reports CBS....

Emotional distress is a legal term many people know from daytime court shows and network dramas. It’s a word that has become ingrained into our society, but at the same time how it works is very misunderstood. Especially when it comes to suing for it. Turn on any episode of “Judge Judy” and you’ll likely see litigants claiming emotional distress as part of their damages. It doesn’t matter what their injuries are, they always request it....

The Food Safety and Inspection Service of the USDA announced on June 17 that in conjunction with the Campbell Soup Supply Company, it would be recalling nearly 15,000,000 pounds of “Spaghetti Os with Meatballs.” The reason for the Spaghetti Os recall is the possibility that they were underprocessed. There have been no reports of illness or injury at this time. According to the FSIS press release on the recall, the problem was discovered during a routine inspection of the Campbell Soup Company warehouse....

2015 seemed like the year of the white collar criminal. From crooks on Wall Street to cooked wagons to cyber-wagering, the past year gave us our fair share of villains in business suits. But who are the most notorious white collar criminals out there today? And what does their tomorrow look like? This entry may need an asterisk, since daily fantasy websites still maintain that they’re doing nothing illegal. But seven states disagree, and have outlawed daily fantasy betting based on their state gambling statutes....

The Katie Holmes/Tom Cruise divorce is moving forward, as both actors lawyer up ahead of what could be a dramatic court saga. One of the first issues will likely be: Where will the divorce case take place? As a couple, TomKat lived at a home in Los Angeles County, the Los Angeles Times reports. But Katie Holmes filed for divorce in New York last week, when Tom Cruise was busy at a film shoot in Iceland, according to The Hollywood Reporter....

Did toxic mold kill Brittany Murphy? Her mother thinks so, which is why she’s now suing the attorneys that represented Brittany in a suit against the builders of the home in which she died. Sharon Murphy claims they should have told her about a possible wrongful death suit when the lawsuit settled in January 2011. The law firm of Steiner & Libo also “should have known that Brittany and Simon had died [as] the result of complications associated with the [home]....