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The mobile photo-sharing app Snapchat was hacked Wednesday, with millions of users’ personal information being posted publicly. The sensitive information was hosted on a site called SnapchatDB.info and contained the usernames and phone numbers of at least 4.6 million Snapchat accounts, reports TechCrunch. What is Snapchat doing to remedy the problem, and what can Snapchat users do? For the uninitiated, Snapchat allows users to send photos and videos to each other via mobile device; the messages vanish or are unviewable after a maximum of 10 seconds....

Marriage … it’s an institute you can’t disparage, unless, that is, you are a middle class American. In a surprising trend, those with more education are getting married more frequently and staying married longer. The State of Our Unions marriage study shows a clear trend, reports CNN. Right now, 44% of those with only high school diplomas have children without being married. That is more than three times the rate of having children outside of marriage than it was in the so-called wild 1970s....

The bleak economy has many states trying to figure out how to cut cost to improve their bottom line. To do it, many states have rolled out an a program to grant mostly low-risk criminal offenders early release. They have begun to release thousands of criminal offenders earlier than laws previously permitted. Overpopulation also has fueled the decision release low-risk offenders, shaving off time on their original sentences. Oregon now allows low-risk inmates to earn reductions of up to 30 percent off their original sentence instead of 20 percent....

The internet has gobbled up everything from our shopping to our social lives, to the point that even the most committed luddites have trouble staying offline. But as many of us know, going online can get you into serious legal trouble. Many of us just accept that internet use comes with some risk to our privacy, personal finances, and even psychological wellbeing. But here are some of the most recent developments in internet law, and some ways to minimize or eliminate those risks:...

For more than two months, a smoldering fire in wood pellet silos engulfed the South Texas town of Port Arthur. According to a new lawsuit filed by residents of a nearby neighborhood, the conditions during those two months were dire: “The smoke filled plaintiffs’ homes. The smoke saturated not only the homes, but also their cars, clothing and other personal belongings. Plaintiffs could not sleep due to smoke and its smell entering their bedrooms....

On June 18, convicted first-degree murderer Ronnie Lee Gardner will be strapped to a chair and shot four times. A fifth shooter will fire a blank. In this modern age, why would the state of Utah execute a person in such a manner? Because Gardner asked for it. “I would like the firing squad, please,” Gardner stated in April. The case has brought forward profound opinions from many angles about the firing squad method, and capital punishment in general....

It’s long been a sad reality that “business as usual” for many hourly and low-wage workers meant getting shorted on overtime pay, getting paid for fewer hours than actually worked, and being forced to work through breaks. However, an increasing number of workers have discovered a powerful tool for fighting back against being shortchanged by employers: a wage theft lawsuit. According to The New York Times, lawsuits seeking to recover wages illegally withheld from employees are increasingly paying off for employees of companies big and small....

Businesses that open their doors to the public also open themselves up to lawsuits. The law places a great deal of responsibility on stores, shops, and small business owners to provide a safe environment, as well as safe products, to their customers, and when a business fails to meet that responsibility, it could be liable for any injuries that occur. Here are three common types of business negligence, and when you can sue:...

As employers, there are many disciplinary actions you can take against employees. Employee suspension is one of those actions, but it’s not always easy to keep employee suspension legal. Disciplinary actions are usually the first step leading up to a dismissal or firing. But once an employer starts treading those waters, the employer needs to plan carefully. Wrongful dismissal lawsuits are a huge pain to a company and can be a huge drain to company as well....

Bono’s Pit Bar B Q, Wally’s Gyros & Subs, Captain D’s, Sheik The Restaurant, and Mr. Dragon Chinese Restaurant are just a few of the 40 Jacksonville, Florida-area establishments named in discrimination lawsuits by double-amputee Wanda Moore and her chiropractor/attorney Robert “The Law Doc” Gibson. The lawsuits claim the businesses are not in compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, alleging violations from non-compliant handicap parking spots and improper ramps to missing handrails in bathrooms and countertops that are too high....

No one is immune from mishaps, and entrepreneurs – especially those just starting a business – have their fair share of oversights, including legal mistakes. Unfortunately, those kinds of mistakes can have a big impact on your company down the line, as one young entrepreneur recently described on his blog. Businesses are heavily regulated by a variety of laws, and failing to keep your company in line can have long-term consequences....

Should pilots have to pass through the same security checks as other passengers? Passengers have already been upset enough about TSA screening and body scanners. Now pilots and flight attendants are calling for a “pat-down opt out day.” They are upset about being subjected to a privacy-invading new body scanner that may have unsafe radiation levels. The only other option is a new kind of pat down that has made many people uncomfortable....

As a rallying cry, “don’t touch my junk” doesn’t have quite the eloquence of “give me liberty or give me death,” but it is heading in that direction. The news has spread of a software programmer who was tossed out of the San Diego airport after he got into an altercation with a TSA screener about the new, more aggressive pat-down which is required for those who opt-out of the full body scan security check....

Some defamation cases just got more difficult for plaintiffs in New York. A state appeals court has overturned decades of precedent and ruled that calling someone gay is not slander per se. Prior rulings, the court wrote, were all “based on a false premise that it is shameful and disgraceful to be described as lesbian, gay or bisexual.” Such a conclusion is “inconsistent with current public policy,” particularly in light of New York’s anti-discrimination and marriage equality laws....

Your home is your castle but you’d rather it didn’t actually cost as much as one. So you’re wondering whether you can dispute your property taxes. Good news! You can. But beware mixed blessings: unless the assessment is erroneous, a successful reduction in your taxes will mean revealing flaws. Your property tax is based on relative value, meaning other homes in the area, and specifics, such as your home’s size, condition, features, defects, and more....

The freedom of speech is one of the most frequently cited constitutional rights online. Too frequently, it is cited to justify a person’s right to say something that others find offensive or upsetting. However, while most understand that there actually are limits to free speech, just as many are shocked to learn the freedom of speech doesn’t actually apply to any of the websites they are likely using. For starters, the First Amendment only protects people from the government restricting their speech unreasonably....

Imagine that you’re to blame for a car accident, and on top of all the stress and anxiety you’re feeling over what happened, you receive a bill in the mail for the services of emergency responders who were dispatched to the scene. It happened to some Florida drivers in a number of communities in the state, but the controversial practice will be banned beginning on July 1st, according to a report from Fox13-Tampa Bay....

Everyone seems to be asking for money to make their dreams come true, so why shouldn’t you? Your aunt is crowdfunding her feature film and your nephew’s collecting cash for an album. Now you are thinking you’d like to do the same, generating capital for your small business through one of the many crowdfunding apps in existence. Let’s take a look at some key characteristics of a successful crowdfunding project, some risks, and how it all compares to the traditional business loan....

Be careful what you sue for. Especially if you sue for defamation. California dentist Yvonne Wong sued Yelp.com and a patient’s parent who posted a negative review on Yelp.com. In Wong’s Yelp review case, first Yelp won a dismissal. Now the patient’s parent who wrote the review has won too. And Wong has to pay over $80,000 in attorney fees and costs to Yelp and the patient, reports mediapost.com. More and more people are turning to online reviews from sites like Yelp....

Gay marriage has been on the ballot in many states across the country, but yesterday Maine and Maryland became the latest states to approve it. The ballot measures in both states asked voters to affirmatively approve marriage for gay and lesbian couples. A similar measure appeared on ballots in Washington state, where votes were still being counted this morning. It now appears that gay marriage will be legal in at least two (if not all three) of the above-mentioned states....