Whether it’s cloyingly sweet Manischewitz or a can of Bud Light, is it legal for teens to drink with their parents? The morality of it is certainly a controversial question. Some parents think it’s an effective way to teach kids how to drink responsibly, while others firmly believe it’s a path to alcoholism. Morality aside, the legality of furnishing a drink or two to a minor depends on the circumstances....
Can the FBI read your email? If you are former CIA Director David Petraeus, the answer is apparently “yes.” But critics are asking whether the FBI’s actions in Petraeus’ case were legal. As you may have heard, Petraeus was allegedly involved in an extramarital affair with his married biographer, Paula Broadwell. The affair that took down the nation’s spy chief was reportedly brought to light when the FBI discovered a series of intimate emails between the two, reports Yahoo!...
In a tragic story, an Albuquerque teen was shot at a party and his friend called 911. The girl who called became exasperated by the dispatcher’s repetitive questions. The dispatcher responded to the girl’s exasperation by saying, “Ok, you know what, ma’am? You can deal with [this] yourself. I’m not going to deal with this, ok.” The dispatcher then hung up on her, and her friend was pronounced dead at a hospital....
With more men seeking treatment for low testosterone, so-called low-T treatments are leading to an increasing number of lawsuits from those who claim they suffered adverse health effects. Though many men claim that the positive effects of low-T therapy outweigh the risks, Reuters reports that a public advocacy group is petitioning the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to put a “black box warning” on the drugs – the agency’s most serious warning – based on growing evidence that the drugs can increase the risks of heart attacks and other cardiac dangers....
Like Dolly Parton, many employees feel they must pour themselves a cup of courage to endure the 9 to 5 grind. But some employers are trying to make the work atmosphere more pleasant for the sake of productivity, moral and fun. A number of creative and affordable tips exist for employers to keep workers happy, AllBusiness reports. But while thinking outside-of-the-box might be brilliant, it’s important to stay legal. Here are five tips to employers for keeping worker-bees content while staying within legal boundaries:...
Under new FTC debt settlement rules which went into effect this week, debt settlement companies will be restricted from making promises which they cannot keep. According to the Federal Trade Commission, debt collection companies have been promising customers that they can cut their debts in half. However, the companies are not warning customers that they will incur fees, that the time it takes to satisfy the debt is often years and how the settlement will impact their credit....
Sleep apnea can be dangerous, especially in small children, and surgery is sometimes an effective way to fix the problem. But for Pennsylvania’s 6-year-old Keonte Graham the surgery didn’t really fix his problems. Graham was just 11 months old when he was diagnosed with sleep apnea. Dr. Andrew Shapiro recommended surgery to correct the problem and Graham’s parents agreed. The road to recovery was a parent’s worst nightmare. Graham had breathing problems following surgery and stayed in the recovery room for five hours after the procedure finished according to PennLive....
As of yesterday, June 24, the same old song was playing on the floor of Congress. Yet again, hundreds of thousands of out of work Americans wait with bated breath to see if Congress can, yet again, find a compromise and extend jobless benefits, yet again. The Republicans and one aisle-crossing Democrat, Sen. Ben Nelson, (D-Neb) managed to filibuster the procedural bill on Thursday. According to The New York Times, Senate Majority Leader, Harry Reid (D-Nev) was noticeably angered, but moved on to other business as there was no way around the procedural road block at that time....
Pool accidents are unfortunately common in the United States. Home owners and pool owners worried about liability from pool accidents should become informed about some of the swimming pool laws that regulate the use and ownership of pools, and of tips of how to prevent such tragic accidents from happening in the first place. According to the CPSC, around 300 children under the age of 5 die every year as a result of drowning - and more than 2,000 are sent to the hospital....
No matter how successful your family business currently is, it is hard to maintain that success over several generations. So many family businesses fade over time due to family feuds, fights about money, financial hard times, and a lack of consistency with business operations. In fact, Inc. calls this the rule of thirds. Only a third of family businesses make it to the second generation, a third of that makes it to the third generation, and so on....
Do you have a tattoo policy at work? While many workplaces don’t care so much about employee appearances, others are so stringent that they’ll even implement a no-tattoo policy. The U.S. Army, for example, is set to enforce new rules prohibiting tattoos on soldiers’ necks, forearms, and lower legs. The Army will also require soldiers to get racist and sexist tattoos removed, Stars and Stripes reports. However, your small business is not the same as the Army....
The Los Angeles coroner has ruled that the death of a child who fell from a third-level luxury suite at the Staples Center was an accident. According to the autopsy, Lucas Anthony Tang, 2, died of multiple injuries from the fatal fall, but no foul play was found, according to the Los Angeles Times. According to David Lara of the city building department, the luxury box barriers do comply with California building codes....
The nation’s housing crisis has hit another member of Congress. Utah Sen. Mike Lee was forced to sell his home in a short sale, resulting in a $400,000 loss, The Salt Lake Tribune reports. “It’s not fun,” Lee told the Tribune. “But you do what you have to do when income doesn’t match your outlays. You have to pare your outlays down.” Lee’s wife and three children are now living in a rental home in Alpine, Utah, where they used to live in a “dream home” Lee bought for $1....
Have you noticed that inventory has been unusually low? Are your sales uncharacteristically lower than usual despite normal traffic and inventory turnover? Do you suspect employee theft or customer theft? Whether its $5 or $50,000 that has gone missing, theft by an employee or a customer is a problem that should not be ignored. What do you do if you notice theft at your business? Employee Theft Did you know that employee theft makes up 35 percent of business thefts?...
Ride-sharing services like Uber, Lyft, and others have made getting around town much easier – just a few taps on your smartphone and you’ve got door-to-door service. And, for the most part, these services are as safe as taxis or driving yourself. But what happens in the rare cases of an accident? If you’re injured in a crash with an Uber driver or while riding in Uber or Lyft, who’s responsible?...
A federal appeals court in Philadelphia upheld a lower court’s decision regarding “whether there is a federal constitutional right to deposit money or obtain a corporate surety bond to ensure a criminal defendant’s future appearance in court as an equal alternative to non-monetary conditions of pretrial release. Our answer is no.” This may sound confusing. It may also sound like a bad thing. However, according to civil rights advocates, it’s an important decision for those who may not have the finances to pay for bail with cash....
The “Large and Dangerous Rocket Ships” festival in California’s Mojave Desert sounds like a fun time. It sounds exciting. But if you’re looking to avoid injury, it doesn’t really sound safe. There’s the ‘dangerous’ right there in the title. There’s the fact that it’s dedicated to “high-powered amateur rockets.” Both of these might be a tip-off that it’s probably not an injury-free event. Kairee Goodin got burned by the amateur rockets and now she’s suing the festival for the lack of safety....
Are you watching the third wave of coffee and thinking you need to get in on this business? Third wave coffee simply indicates high quality java production. It’s an effort to elevate coffee to more sophisticated territory, treating it like wine and other artisanal items rather than a commodity like corn, and third wave coffee shops are popping up everywhere, each with their unique approach to beans and brewing. But before you decide to surf the third wave, here are five legal tips on opening a business....
If you’re considering filing for bankruptcy, you may have to face quite a few tough decisions. One of the easy ones, however, should be deciding whether or not to hire a bankruptcy attorney. While it’s certainly possible to handle your own bankruptcy, you may be biting off more than you can chew. How so? Here are five things a bankruptcy attorney can do that you probably can’t: Making a mistake in a bankruptcy case can cause major problems at a time when you can least afford them....
Twelve people were injured in a Chicago train crash Thursday morning when an Amtrak train and Metra commuter train carrying 1,500 people collided near Union Station. As with a number of train crashes in recent years, you can expect a thorough investigation into the cause of the crash. The two trains collided where two tracks converge, but were so slow-moving that few people were harmed. Even with blown out train windows, most passengers were able to follow emergency lights and self-evacuate, reports The Chicago Sun-Times....
