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Since the early 1990s, gambling laws have been in a constant state of flux, leaving poker players scratching their heads. Legislation at both the state and federal level highly regulates the activity. But under current law, is it legal to bet on a poker game? An element of “chance” is required for a game to violate a state anti-gambling statute. Under the “dominant factor test,” which many states follow, a game violates a state’s anti-gambling law when there’s more chance than skill involved....

A former San Diego high school student recently won a $1.25 million dollar jury verdict as a result of her lawsuit against her former school resulting from being forced to pee in a bucket in a supply closet. The lawsuit alleged that the embarrassing incident, which was caused by a faculty member, led to extreme bullying, eventually causing the student to suffer PTSD, attempt suicide, and incur other damages. The large jury verdict came after the school rejected the initial settlement demand of only $25,000....

Teenagers are just dying to take advantage of their independence, and for some teens that means moving in with a boyfriend or girlfriend. The problem for that oh-so-ready-to-be-grown-up teen is that mom and dad generally aren’t so keen on the idea of an underage shack-up. What’s an independent-minded teen to do? Or perhaps more importantly, what can parents do to prevent this scenario? Assuming the teenager is still under 18, there are some things you can do as a parent in this situation....

In a move that would be laughable if it wasn’t so sad and damaging, Michigan Governor Rick Snyder tried to beat the U.S. Supreme Court’s impending same-sex marriage ruling by quickly signing three bills into law that would allow adoption agencies to discriminate against LGBT people. The probably unconstitutional laws permit faith-based adoption agencies to discriminate against potential adoptive parents if they are gay. State Sponsored Discrimination Gov. Snyder’s statement that Michigan is “focused on ensuring that as many children are adopted to as many loving families as possible regardless of their makeup” stands in stark contrast to the new laws, which cover taxpayer funded adoption agencies....

Military divorces are up again this year. AP reports that despite the Pentagon’s efforts to prevent the military spouse divorce rate from rising, it went from 3.4% last year to 3.6% this year. The rate of military divorces has been creeping up over the past nine years as Americans have been fighting wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. The percentage of divorces is in a stark contrast to the rate of divorce in the military back in 2001....

the Nobel Peace prize has been awarded annually since 1901 nominations are due 8 months before winners are announced, on February 1st of each year. selection is made by an independent committee, made of elected members. nominations for the Nobel Peace Prize can be submitted by former laureates, members of national assemblies and governments, current and former members of the selection committee and their staffs, certain university professors and academics, leaders of peace research and foreign affairs institutes, members of international courts of laws....

Obamacare’s employer mandate went into effect January 1, and there are a few things that employers should know. The mandate was supposed to go into effect last year, but it was delayed for a year to allow businesses to implement the necessary changes. So what were those changes exactly? Here are five things employers should know about the Obamacare employer mandate: As you may have guessed, some employers aren’t exactly tickled pink about implementing this new federal law....

Pepper spray is widely used for self-defense and it’s legal to carry it in all 50 states. But some places do have prohibitions on the stuff, specifying the amount of spray one can hold or the power of the blast or the age at which sprays can be obtained, and other limitations. While pepper spray can make a handy tool for self-defense, it is used as a weapon, too, so that means it can be used against you....

One of the pitfalls of the current economic climate is that people who have retired are looking to return to work. Unfortunately, choosing to return to the workforce isn’t as easy as it sounds. Besides the fact that it’s difficult for older, more-experienced workers to retain jobs, many of them have to consider the intersection of work and Social Security retirement benefits. Work and Social Security are not mutually exclusive. If a person receives Social Security retirement benefits, she can still actively work....

Move over Merck, Americans are about to have a new drug company to worry about. According to CNN, late last week the Senate Finance Committee released a 334 page report, two years in the making, taking both the FDA and GlaxoSmithKline to task for what it found to be an unacceptable risk of heart attack linked to use of the drug Avandia, a medication used to treat diabetes. According to CNN, the Senate’s report finds that the FDA “overrode or downplayed” staff concerns over the links between the drug and increased occurrences of myocardial ischemia (blocked blood flow and oxygen to the heart) or myocardial infarction (heart attack) in patients taking the drug....

Customers leave behind items all the time. It’s how the “finder” handles it that can make headlines. From the Las Vegas cabbie who returned a passenger’s $300,000 in gambling winnings to a teen server who gave back a family’s $1,600 Christmas vacation money, nothing gives you the warm and fuzzies quite like honesty, especially around the holidays. Stories like this remind business owners that a solid lost and found policy can save a customer’s day....

Small business toymakers are having a hard time with new safety legislation that requires extensive testing of toys. Congress passed the laws after a rash of tainted toys manufactured by large toy companies in China forced recalls of over 45 million toys. The law passed is called the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act. It was passed in August 2008 and sets out mandatory safety standards for products used by children under the age of 12, such as levels of lead in toys....

A woman who was seriously injured and falsely accused of drunken driving after a sheriff’s deputy crashed into her car has filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against the deputy, the sheriff, and three other members of the Milwaukee County Sheriff’s Department. Tanya Weyker’s lawsuit alleges that even after authorities obtained video footage from a nearby surveillance camera that showed the sheriff’s deputy was at fault, the department continued to push for criminal charges against Weyker, reports the Journal Sentinel....

Lucinda Williams is not happy. After outfitting her 7-year-old daughter with Jolly Rancher hair, she sent her off to Chicago’s Overton Elementary for its scheduled picture day. Unfortunately, the girl’s computer teacher was amused by the look, taking a photo to share with her Facebook friends. They made fun of the girl, and the teacher is now being sued. Lucinda Williams is a hairdresser, so when her second grader asked her to recreate a hairstyle from a magazine for picture day, she didn’t hesitate–even though it required her to attach Jolly Ranchers to the ends of the girl’s braids....

Lawyers love to haggle over definitions, and insurance companies love to get out of paying out policies. So imagine the conversations brewing over the Oreo-NotPetya lawsuit. Mondelez’s policy included coverage for all risks of physical loss or damage to property, including “physical loss or damage to electronic data, programs, or software, including loss or damage caused by the malicious introduction of a machine code or instruction.” Ransomeware definitely falls into this definition, so one might think the case was closed....

Dr. David Dao was one of four passengers on a United Airlines flight that was recently forced to give up his seat for UA employees. The airline claims that the flight was overbooked and it needed four passengers to give up seats for employees that needed to be at the plane’s destination for work. After Dr. Dao boarded, while in his seat, he was asked to exit the plane. When he refused, stating that he had patients to see the next day, police were called, and he was forcibly removed from his seat, and literally dragged down the plane’s aisle and off the plane....

Earlier today the Supreme Court ruled that the Colorado Civil Rights Commission violated baker Jack Phillips’ First Amendment rights to the free exercise of religion when it found he discriminated against a same-sex couple who requested a cake for their wedding. Phillips, owner of Masterpiece Cakeshop, refused to bake the couple a cake, and the commission ruled that he violated the state’s anti-discrimination laws. The Court overturned that decision, but stopped short of saying that wedding vendors and other business owners have a right to refuse service to same-sex couples....

When people get married, they are entering into a legal agreement with their spouse that involves so much more than just property and assets. But when people divorce, their property and assets must be divided. How the property gets divided is generally governed by state law. However, spouses can contract around state laws using marital property agreements. Marital property agreements are frequently the driving force behind prenuptial or postnuptial agreements. However, they can also be entered into between spouses at any time....

We all know that recreational drug use at work is not acceptable. But just because employers won’t tolerate being high while on the clock, doesn’t mean that all employees abide by the rules. That certainly wasn’t the case for Cat Marnell, the former Beauty and Health Editor at xoJane. She left the company rather than get clean. Marnell was open about her drug use, but most employees don’t publicize that information in a forum their boss can see....

In most states, after you receive a DUI but before your court date, you are occasionally allowed to drive for about 30 days after the arrest, pending trial. Sometimes, in extreme cases, such as felony DUI, a temporary license won’t be issued. But for the most part, you are innocent until proven guilty. But not in Nevada. Starting October 1, the state changed its DUI laws, requiring an interlock device after arrest....