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Chantix’s suicide risks are higher compared to other smoking-cessation treatments, according to a new study appearing in the journal PLoS One. The drug aims to help individuals quit smoking. But the side effects of the drug may make it more dangerous than previously realized. Chantix, or varenicline, is reportedly 8 times more likely to be linked with suicidal behavior and other psychiatric side effects like depression compared with other nicotine replacement products....

Taser use on children has sparked growing dialogue around the country about police tazing policies. The Pueblo County Sheriff’s Department in Colorado is sticking to its taser policy, which allows taser use on children in “extreme situations.” Taylor said that when using a taser, discretion needs to be left to the officer and then the officer’s actions should be scrutinized. Currently, under the Pueblo County Sheriff Department’s policy, “use of the Taser on elderly persons and young children is discouraged, except in the most extreme situations....

It’s normally the first or second question that pops up after a car accident, right after “Is everyone OK?” Before you’re even exchanging insurance information, you’re wondering whether you need to alert the police or highway patrol so they can file an accident report. Maybe if you’ve just gotten a love tap at a stop sign you and the other driver (or your respective insurance companies) can sort out the details....

Talk about a prank fail – like, an epic fail. A California doctor is being sued by his coworker-slash-patient after he plastered her face with stickers in the shape of a mustache and tear drops (like prison tattoo teardrops, but yellow…) while she was under anesthesia. A nurse’s aide then took a photo. Unsolicited advice to Dr. Steven Yang and every other doctor: Don’t “punk” your patients. Ever. In the most unsurprising news ever, the anesthesiologist was sued by patient Veronica Valdez for allegedly violating her privacy....

A frat party lawsuit against the University of Idaho has been dismissed, but parents of a woman severely injured at the party have other legal options to pursue. Amanda Andaverde, then 19, suffered a traumatic brain injury and broken bones when she fell from an upper-story window at a fraternity house during a party in 2009, the Associated Press reports. The Sigma Alpha Epsilon frat house was off-campus and privately owned....

As we noted in our post on the Florida school board shooting which ended in the death of gunman Clay Duke, his despair over a family job loss and the economic stress he was under lead him to commit a desperate and criminal act. And Duke is not alone. Just days ago, the Mayor of Springfield, Illinois, Tim Davlin, apparently committed suicide rather than face the repercussions from possible accusations of mismanagement of an estate he was overseeing and a federal tax bill of over $90,000....

Oh, no they di’int. They split. The Romeo and Juliet of our generation split up. Who in the world could have seen this coming? Jake Pavelka and Vienna Girardi, a match made in reality TV hell, er, heaven, have gone their separate ways. They are asking for privacy at this difficult, difficult time. To avoid a mere re-hash of the extensive media coverage of the sad end to the romance of the century, (sorry, Duke and Duchess of Windsor) let us focus upon the truly important economic and legal aspect of this event....

Parents and pediatricians are seeing a rise in sports-related injuries in children. This is not just the high school football player, but kids as young as 7 and 8 who get hurt. There are some new laws in some states to address kids’ sports injuries from the playing field, but even better there are things parents and coaches can do to keep players from being injured. If your child is hurt and you even have to consider a personal injury lawsuit, in many ways, it is too late....

Being seated next to a crying child on an airplane can be frustrating, but no one is condoning the man who slapped the kid seated next to him on a Delta Air Lines flight. Joe Rickey Hundley, 60, of Idaho, was arrested and charged with simple assault after he allegedly used a racial slur when referring to a fussing child and slapped the child across the face. Then Hundley lost his job as an executive at AGC Aerospace and Defense....

We don’t often think of soldiers as a protected class – probably because the role of the soldier is to protect. But people who served in the military are protected from employment discrimination in American law, and there is in fact a strong statute, the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA) of 1994, that provides bases for liability that other protected classes do not have. USERRA for Employers USERRA applies to all private and public employers no matter what size....

If Mirlande Wilson is telling the truth, then the public should brace itself for yet another MegaMillions lawsuit. The self-proclaimed Maryland MegaMillions winner is already inviting controversy, having announced that she has no plans to share the jackpot with her McDonald’s co-workers. The alleged winning ticket, which she refused to show the New York Post, may have been purchased with lottery pool funds. Sound familiar? It should. Just last month, a New Jersey jury ordered a MegaMillions winner to share his jackpot with a group of co-workers....

You may have heard you get one free phone call when you’re arrested. You may not have heard how much phone calls from prison can cost after that, or how much cities, counties, and telecommunications companies are making off those calls. One fewer city, however, will be profiting from jail phone calls. New York City is making phone calls from its jails free. On Monday, Mayor Bill de Blasio signed a bill into law eliminate the charges, and eliminating about $5 million per year in city revenue from such calls....

If your small business has moved on from existing on your computer desktop, can no longer be contained at your desk, and is even testing the limits of a home office, you may be ready to move the show to an actual office space. It is a big leap that can ultimately help your business grow, but can also involve higher overhead costs. Below are considerations as you prepare to make the move....

Pennsylvania’s gay marriage ban has been struck down as unconstitutional by a federal judge who wrote that “it is time to discard [same-sex marriage bans] into the ash heap of history.” Judge John E. Jones III ruled Tuesday in a case filed by gay Pennsylvania couples in July, forcing the state to recognize gay marriage. According to USA Today, this ruling makes Pennsylvania “the last Northeast state to allow same-sex marriages....

San Francisco will soon be the first U.S. city to extend the right to free counsel to civil cases in a year-long pilot program, the San Francisco Examiner reports. A defendant’s right to counsel currently applies to criminal cases nationwide, thanks to a 1963 U.S. Supreme Court decision. It’s described when a criminal suspect is read his rights: “You have the right to an attorney. If you cannot afford an attorney, one will be appointed for you....

Snapchat settled with the FTC on Thursday over privacy complaints and allegations of misleading advertising. The app that has touted its video and picture messages as “ephemeral” now has to eat those words. As Ars Technica reports, it’s possible to save “snaps” both inside and outside the app, contrary to Snapchat’s claims that user messages and images would “disappear forever.” So what should Snapchat users know about this settlement? By the terms of its settlement with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), Snapchat needs to update its privacy practices and patch up some security issues....

Yet another chain restaurant has mistakenly served a toddler alcohol when the child’s parents had requested juice. On the heels of the Applebee’s toddler incident, it has come out that, on March 31st, Italian food chain Olive Garden served a 2-year-old Florida boy a cocktail instead of orange juice. Olive Garden serves what is known as a sangria cocktail–a mix of orange juice, pineapple juice and white wine. It’s pre-mixed and stored in containers....

MYTH: You have to be over the legal Blood Alcohol Content (BAC) limit in order to be charged with Driving Under the Influence. FACT: In most states, it’s illegal to drive a car while “impaired” by the effects of alcohol or drugs (including prescription drugs). This means that there must be enough alcohol or drugs in the driver’s body to prevent him from thinking clearly or driving safely. Many people get to this point before they are at the BAC limit, which is now ....

This Valentine’s Day, you may try to flirtext your way into a relationship. But whatever you do, just keep it legal! Wait – flirtexting? This new form of “flirting” is all the rage. In case you can’t tell, flirtexting is the combination of flirting and texting. It’s flirting by text message or social media, typically through the use of a handheld communications device. You wouldn’t normally think there could be legal issues with flirtexting, but as with anything, you never want to find yourself on the wrong side of the law....

The city and county at the center of New Mexico’s traffic stop “anal probe” scandal have reached a settlement with the victim. But this isn’t the end of the road for the victim’s lawsuit. David Eckert, who was 63 at the time of his arrest in 2013, was subjected to multiple anal cavity searches for concealed drugs following a routine traffic stop. No contraband was found. Eckert is now set to receive $1....