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Last year, the Obama administration highlighted the disparate rates at which white students and students of color were disciplined, and called on schools to reduce the racial disparity in school discipline. But some teachers and administrators were unhappy that schools themselves could face discipline if they failed to close the racial disciplinary gap. So should schools take race into account when they discipline students? Could the disparity in discipline show that they already are?...

If you are in the market to buy a new home, be sure that your home isn’t actually a “snake house.” Located in Idaho, a “snake house” turned one couple’s dream home into a living, breathing - and slithering - nightmare. Ben and Amber Sessions moved into the home thinking that it was a great deal. They originally paid less than $180,000 for the five-bedroom home. As it turns out, the picturesque home was actually located on sanctuary for garter snakes, ABC News reports....

Car modifications, if illegal, can get you unwanted attention from law enforcement. They can give police a valid excuse to pull you over, and vehicle owners can face citations and fines. Which illegal car modifications seem to rev up the most trouble? Sound and noise modifications. State laws spell out how loud your car stereo can be. Similar laws may prohibit excessively noisy exhaust systems and mufflers, even if the modified parts claim to be legal in all states (that likely refers to smog, not noise, the California Highway Patrol points out)....

As Black Friday and the holiday shopping season get underway, you’ll soon be reading about shopping-related injuries. While most of you may think about getting hurt or even killed in a stampede of shoppers, these types of injuries are relatively rare. Instead, you are far more likely to get hurt or injured in more conventional (and less newsworthy) ways. Here are the Top 5 ways that holiday shoppers get hurt in the battle for bargains:...

No parent wants a knock on the door from child protective services. Even if the allegations are false, the prospect of losing custody of a child can be terrifying. And most parents don’t know the ins and outs of CPS investigations, which only serves to heighten their anxiety. Here are a few of the most common legal questions regarding what happens when CPS is called, and a few places to turn for answers....

Not all businesses are accustomed to having transgender employees. Still, there are better and worse ways to treat your transgender staff. The best way is to respect their gender identity and treat them just like the rest of your employees. The worst way is to drag a transgender man into an office and force him to sign a document acknowledging that his “preference to act and dress as a male, despite having been born a female” violates your company’s policies....

A Texas state trooper killed two illegal immigrants by shooting at them from a helicopter. The police helicopter was giving chase to a pickup truck speeding through the desert along the Mexican border when the unidentified state trooper decided to shoot at the truck, reports The Associated Press. The state trooper said that he was trying to disable the vehicle that was suspected to be involved in drug smuggling. The police sharpshooter fired shots at the truck’s tires causing them to blow out....

Theranos, the once revolutionary laboratory testing company, may be facing a new secret lawsuit from their former partner Walgreens. In a filing on Tuesday, Walgreens asked the Federal District Court in Delaware to permit the company to file a lawsuit “under seal” against Theranos that is based on the contracts that the two companies held with each other. The motion filed by Walgreens explains that the two companies signed a non-disclosure agreement (NDA) relating to Theranos’s business and technology....

Here comes the bride and she’s all dressed in white. But wait! Where’s the photographer? If you spent many months planning a perfect wedding but something goes terribly wrong with the photographer, you do have recourse. Filing suit against your photographer won’t make the special day go as planned – too late for that – but you may claim breach of contract. Breach of Contract A contract is breached when the party or parties don’t provide the services promised or fail to deliver altogether....

An executive order is one way a U.S. president can make changes to the nation’s policies. But there are limits as to how far such orders can go. As history has shown, executive orders can be used in many different ways. Here’s a quick summary of what you need to know: For most national policy changes to occur, a bill must be approved by Congress and then signed into law by the president....

You’ve had your tubes tied, or your spouse had a vasectomy. So, “Congratulations, you’re pregnant!” is something you never expected to hear again. This exact thing happened to one Illinois mother. She didn’t want any more children because both she and her husband carried the gene for sickle cell disease. The woman went to her doctor for a tubal ligation on her left fallopian tube. Her right ovary had already been removed due to a prior medical complication, so tubal ligation of her right fallopian tube was unnecessary....

Minimum wage has been getting maximum attention. According to Reuters, a group of Chicago city officials have proposed raising the city’s minimum wage to $15 an hour, joining a laundry list of cities, states, and even the Federal government in taking a fresh look at their respective minimum wages. Where can you pull down the highest minimum wage? Wage Wars With its push to peg the city’s minimum wage at $15 an hour, Chicago is looking to keep stride with Seattle, whose city council will vote on that city’s proposed $15 minimum wage next week....

The blood thinner Xarelto, most popular among adults undergoing hip and knee replacement surgeries, can treat patients suffering from an irregular heart rhythm, hypertension, or other valvular heart conditions. And while Xarelto can prevent potentially deadly blood clots, it can also have some potentially dangerous side effects. And now thousands of lawsuits based on those side effects are being consolidated into one case for pretrial motions. Here’s what you need to know about the latest Xarelto lawsuits....

Receiving a subpoena either in person or in the mail can be nerve-wracking, but being subpoenaed for a deposition doesn’t have to be anxiety-inducing. To ease your stress, here are five tips to consider if you receive a deposition subpoena: A subpoena is nothing more than a legal request by either a court or a party to a lawsuit that a person appear in court or other legal proceeding. While many subpoenas are “served” (i....

While the appendix is often described as a useless, vestigial organ, the bacteria-filled sac has the potential to kill if it becomes inflamed and bursts. While it is common for doctors to diagnose appendicitis, which is the inflammation of the appendix, failing to diagnose it can potentially lead to medical malpractice liability. Additionally, when it becomes inflamed, surgery is required to remove it. Anytime surgery is required, there is potential for medical malpractice not just for surgeons, but also anesthesiologists....

Bachelorette parties are supposed to be a bride’s last fling before she gets her ring featuring drinking and dancing with best friends. Tragedy struck at a recent bachelorette party when the bride to be was playfully pushed in a pool. The bride was paralyzed after she fell into the shallow water head first. Rachel Friedman, 25, was left paralyzed after fracturing her C6 vertebra – an injury that her doctors think will prevent her from walking again....

You have a business idea and a plan. But before you begin forming your team and securing financing, you wonder… where does this business have the best chance of succeeding? Well, the results are in. And a city in the heart of the panhandle state gets top prize. Fortune Small Business released its ranking of top 50 metropolitan cities to start a small business and Oklahoma City leads the pack. Factors such as per capita income, hourly wages, workforce quality, taxes, and foreclosures were evaluated....

In the business world, “shrinkage” (loss of inventory due to theft) and “breakage” (stuff getting broken) can eat into revenue, especially in the restaurant business. Dishes get broken, customers leave without paying – what’s a business owner to do? It’s tempting to make employees pay for that. After all, they broke the dishes. They weren’t vigilant enough to catch the customers dining and dashing. It’s only fair to make them pay for their negligence, right?...

Although, the Supreme Court’s recent ruling made the Chicago’s ban on handguns unenforceable, the Chicago city council quickly enacted a whole new set of gun-control measures. Part of the rush is to get restrictions in place before a lower court can enter a final order to formally strike down the city’s gun ban, the Chicago Tribune reports. The new ordinance would require owners to register guns and receive safety training....

The New York Times reports that there is a proposed New Jersey gay marriage law working its way through the state’s legislature. The Senate Judiciary Committee voted yes on clearing a New Jersey gay marriage bill for a vote by the full state Senate this upcoming Monday. According to the New York Times, the approval for the gay marriage bill was the first time a legislative body has approved of a bill for same-sex marriage....