Two Texas high school students were killed this week in Mexico’s violent drug war. El Paso, Texas and Ciudad Juarez, Mexico are essentially one large city, separated only by the Rio Grande. Many residents–of both cities–cross the border daily for school and work, invariably linking the two border towns together. Carlos Mario Gonzalez Bermudez and Juan Carlos Echeverri did this five days a week during the school year. Despite being U....
The U.S . can lawfully kill an American citizen overseas if it determines the target is a “senior, operational leader” of al-Qaeda or an associated group and poses an imminent threat to the country, according to a Justice Department document published by NBC News. The document defines “imminent threat” expansively, saying it does not have to be based on intelligence about a specific attack since such actions are being “continually” planned by al-Qaeda....
The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to hear arguments from plaintiffs in four states on the question of whether the Constitution requires a state to allow or recognize gay marriage. The Court announced today that it was granting petitions appealing a circuit court ruling upholding gay marriage bans in four states: Tennessee, Kentucky, Ohio, and Michigan. That decision by the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals late last year ended a streak of legal victories for gay marriage advocates....
An alleged victim of sexual assault at the University of North Carolina (UNC) could face expulsion for speaking out about the crime. Landen Gambill, a sophomore at UNC, reported being raped by a student last year. She claims that her alleged attacker is still on campus, and she has spoken out about the assault and the school’s handling of her case. As a result, the student says she is now charged with violating the school’s honor code and creating a hostile environment for her attacker and could face expulsion, reports Yahoo!...
New York City news anchor Greg Kelly, son of NYC Police Commissioner Ray Kelly, has been cleared of rape charges. Now some are clamoring for prosecutors to charge his accuser. But the accuser – identified as Maria Di Toro, a 29-year-old paralegal – will not be charged with making a false rape claim, a district attorney spokeswoman told the New York Daily News. The spokeswoman did not elaborate. Even without criminal charges, Maria Di Toro could still face a civil lawsuit....
A wrongful termination suit against Los Angeles Lakers super star Kobe Bryant and wife Vanessa, has been dropped. The couple has reached a settlement after his former housekeeper dropped a wrongful termination lawsuit, the Los Angeles Times reports. Kobe Bryant and wife Vanessa countersued their ex-housekeeper Maria Jimenez for allegedly breaking a confidentiality agreement and talking to the media about her work with the family. However, recently both parties have dismissed their respective complaints against each other, according to Times....
Today the Department of Justice released a study reporting that 3.4 million Americans fell victim to stalkers in a one year span from 2005 to 2006. The report sheds light on the great number of stalking victims, characteristics of how they were stalked, and whether involvement of law enforcement proved effective. Key findings in the report included: About half of stalking victims experienced at least one unwanted contact per week; 11% of victims said they had been stalked for 5 years or more; Women were at far greater risk than men for stalking victimization; however, women and men were equally likely to experience harassment; Nearly 75% of stalking victims knew the offender in some capacity; Male and female stalking victims were equally likely to report it to the police; Divorced or separated individuals were at highest risk of being stalked; Approximately 25% of stalking victims reported some type of cyberstalking (83% of which reported stalking via e-mail, and 35% stalking via instant messaging); and More than half of stalking victims lost 5 or more days of work for fear of safety or to deal with legal attempts to remedy the situation....
The MTV reality show “Jersey Shore” faces another lawsuit. Of course, it’s no surprise that this lawsuit also involves a fight between cast members and outsiders. And surprise, surprise. Guess who’s involved in this fight, too? You guessed it, Ronnie Ortiz-Magro. MTV is named in a lawsuit, along with 495 Productions, Viacom and cast member Ronnie Ortiz-Magro. According to TMZ, Ronnie and Sammie “Sweetheart” Giancola allegedly exchanged some rough words with a couple on the Seaside Heights boardwalk....
Confidential informants (“CIs”) often provide law enforcement and prosecutors with valuable evidence that can lead to arrests and even convictions of criminal suspects. However, very few CIs have a clean criminal record, and many of them are “flipped” by law enforcement to avoid harsher punishment for their own crimes. So how can a court find a CI’s testimony to be credible? This factor is formally called “veracity,” and is used by courts to determine if a CI has a reputation for telling the truth....
Internet users have been keeping tabs on the tragic events in Boston, and so have hackers and spammers. If you’ve received unsolicited emails about the Boston bombing in the last couple days, odds are that you’ve been the target of a malware attack or charity scam. Here are some ways to identify these threats and protect yourself. The Malware Threat Within hours of the Boston Marathon bombings, scammers were hard at work, reports TechNewsDaily....
The first dope dominoes that fell in Colorado and Oregon may start toppling more state prohibitions on marijuana. California, which last put recreational weed on the ballot back in 2010, will give it another go this November, as will four other states; and three more will put medical marijuana to a vote this fall as well. Along with Congressional pressure on the DEA to reclassify marijuana, these waves are all part of a national sea change on the use, both medicinal and recreational, of pot to treat everything from cancer treatment nausea and post traumatic stress to a bad day at the office....
California’s so-called “Yes Means Yes” bill was signed into law Sunday by Gov. Jerry Brown. What does this law, the first of its kind in the nation, require? The bill requires both public and private colleges that receive state funds for student aid adopt the policies and protocols outlined in the bill. In addition to the new consent standard, the bill also mandates prevention and outreach programs for sexual assault, stalking, domestic violence, and date violence, reports the Los Angeles Times....
Former Rand Paul volunteer Tim Profitt is facing potential charges in court after an alleged stomping assault of a MoveOn.org supporter caught on video tape. Kentucky police are considering charges against at least two additional Rand Paul supporters seen on tape taking Lauren Valle to the ground before she was stomped on the head. Of course after an ugly incident like this is caught on tape, Tim Profitt believes someone is owed an apology – him....
David Beckham Threesome With Prostitutes. That was the headline splashed all over US Magazine, the oh-so-popular weekly source for all things celebrity. The problem is that Beckham says that racy allegations are untrue and the soccer star is now suing US Magazine over the prostitute story. The article essentially claimed that Beckham had a threesome with some high-paid escorts in 2007. The article also quotes a 26 year-old prostitute claiming to have slept with Beckham on multiple occasions....
With a narrow exception, Delaware’s Sports Lottery violates federal law, a federal appeals court ruled today. Although it allowed multi-game (a/k/a parlay), high-stakes wagers on NFL games, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit ruled (see below) that “betting on all [other] major professional and college sports” violates a federal law. Why? Because Delaware’s law allowing for a sports lottery where players could gamble on all professional and college teams violated a federal prohibition against individual and over/under point-spread bets....
How does a military court-martial work? As U.S. Army Private Bradley Manning has been found guilty of espionage and other charges by a military court for his role in the WikiLeaks case, many may be wondering this. The military justice system is somewhat similar to the civilian justice system. As seen in movies like “A Few Good Men,” there are prosecuting and defense attorneys, a judge, and perhaps even a jury....
Snickers do sometimes satisfy but if you’re traveling abroad you may want to opt for a candy bar that is not made by Mars. The company this week announced an international recall spanning 55 countries after a customer in Germany found a piece of plastic in a Snickers bar. The company traced the plastic back to a factory in the Netherlands “where it was determined that the piece came from a protective cover used in the manufacturing process,” reports The Guardian....
A ground beef recall is affecting more than 60,000 pounds of meat. The beef was supplied by National Beef Packaging Company, and has been sold by Winn-Dixie Stores, Publix Super Markets, and Kroger Co. The recall was issued after testing at a Department of Agriculture facility revealed E. coli bacteria, reports WebMD. The E. coli was linked back to National Beef Packaging Company as the sole source of the contamination, according to WebMD....
Maybe it doesn’t seem so bad, just a signature on a piece of paper. But it is bad. In fact, forging a prescription is a crime. Some states have statutes specifically aimed at punishing the precise offense. And some just consider it plain old forgery. Either way, around the nation, it is illegal to falsify a prescription for drugs. A prescription is a certified note that indicates the decision to give drugs to an individual is supported by a doctor’s license and predicated on education, examination, and continuing accreditation....
One of the top stories of the weekend: the growing calls for regulation of Privacy on Facebook. Last week, Facebook rolled out an update and implemented some new features. As the Electronic Frontier Foundation reports, The EFF has a list of steps you can take in order to fully opt-out of Facebook’s new Instant Personalization feature. However, this latest controversy has re-ignited the debate over protecting privacy online – specifically privacy when using social media....
