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There are many couples who want to have a child, but can’t have one of their own. There are also many children who are waiting to be adopted. Seems like there’s a simple solution, but it’s not always that easy for couples who want a child to actually adopt one. Take for example Fatma Marouf and Bryne Esplin. The couple has sued several federal entities and the Conference of Catholic Bishops because they claim that they were denied because they’re in a same-sex relationship....

Supply and demand. It’s a delicate economic balance that is supposed to resolve itself in a free market. But when the market is restricted, it’s easy to wind up with vexing results. For example, take New Mexico’s pot shortage under its medical marijuana program. Only 11 growers are approved by the state to produce pot for 2,000 registered medical marijuana program patients. Once growers crops are ready, they often sell out within 24 hours....

Anecdotal evidence suggests that there’s been a definite shift in the workplace and workplace attitudes with young workers. Generation Y (people aged 19 to 30) have grew up in the age of the Internet attention span and reality television star. As a result, many Gen Y-ers have a different expectation of what work means and what a workplace should be like. Employers are now forced to deal with a host of new issues that their predecessors did not face....

Many older adults rely on walkers and canes to help them get around and remain active, but a new study shows that these devices are also causing falls and emergency room visits for thousands of older Americans every year. Every day from 2001 to 2006, an average of 129 older adults (age 65 and over) were treated in emergency rooms nationwide for injuries from falls that involved the use of walkers and canes, according to researchers with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)....

Seeking to donate blood for a $40 fee, Chicago resident Aaron Pace was shocked earlier this month when Gary, Indiana-based Bio-Blood Components rejected his donation on the grounds that he “appears to be a homosexual.” While Pace admits that his voice is noticeably effeminate, he is not gay. Humiliated and embarrassed, he now plans to sue the company for sexual orientation discrimination. As a response to the onset of the HIV/AIDS crisis, since 1983, the FDA has prohibited blood donations from men who have had at least one sexual encounter with another man since 1977....

An 84-year-old Manhattan man is suing the NYPD for $5 million over an alleged jaywalking incident gone terribly awry. Kang Chun Wong, who was suspected of jaywalking, was allegedly ambushed by a swarm of NYPD officers, knocked unconscious on the street, and handcuffed in a hospital emergency room, New York’s WCBS-TV reports. Wong is now suing the police department for $5 million over the gruesome arrest. Wong, a retired restaurateur, was reportedly crossing the street on a green light, but it turned red while he was still in the intersection....

Your legal rights don’t expire when you die. Wrongful death lawsuits allow surviving family members to sue train operators for these damages and to hold them accountable. So what’s Amtrak’s liability for train accident deaths? Well, it’s clear but complicated. Trains, planes, and automobiles are what lawyers call common carriers. A common carrier is anything that transports people or goods for a fee owes passengers a higher duty of care in ensuring their safety....

Perhaps the Miranda warnings need a little update. New York City might’ve made phone calls from its jails free, but you’ll want to watch what you say when you’re on the line. The state’s highest court ruled last week that not only can those calls from jail be recorded, but evidence gleaned from those conversations can be used by prosecutors in court. That the calls were recorded should not have come as a surprise to Emmanuel Diaz, who had been arrested and charged with multiple counts of burglary and robbery, and was awaiting trial on Rikers Island....

A bill named for Chelsea King, a slain San Diego County teenager passed the California Assembly Public Safety Committee. The bill proposes stricter sex offender laws. Chelsea’s Law won approval, clearing its first legislative committee and calls for some child molesters to be on lifetime parole with electronic monitoring, the Associated Press reports. The provisions of the bill would include: Life in prison without parole for forcible sex crimes against children under 18 with aggravating circumstances Registered sex offenders would be subject to misdemeanor charges and possible parole revocation if found without permission from authorities in a park where children regularly gather....

Maybe you just don’t like the habit, or don’t want your office to smell like cigarettes. Or maybe you’re more worried about the healthcare costs or extra sick days. Whatever your reasoning, you might be thinking of joining the many companies that are now refusing to hire smokers. But are these bans legal? You might want to consult your state statutes to find out. Right to Light Up For the most part, the rights of non-smokers trump the rights of smokers at work....

2016 has been a year to forget for Chipotle. From criminal charges stemming from multiple E. coli outbreaks to illegal Twitter policies, the popular burrito chain has been making the news for all the wrong reasons. And when it rains, it pours. Almost 10,000 current and former Chipotle employees are now suing the company, claiming they were forced to work unpaid hours off the clock. So here’s our latest in the ongoing series: Don’t Do What Chipotle Did....

Other than a day off, and maybe the barbecue, the best thing about July 4th is the fireworks. While most of us are happy to see a good show, a few amateurs want to wow our friends, family, and anyone within a quarter-mile with our pyrotechnic skill. But the pros are pros for a reason – normally because they have the experience and safety training (to say nothing of the permits and legal fireworks) to handle munitions-grade incendiary devices without blowing themselves or anyone else up....

Women who are pregnant or trying to get pregnant are warned by The Food and Drug Administration that the oral prescription drug Diflucan (also known as fluconazole), which is used to treat yeast infections, has been linked to increased risk of miscarriages. The warning is based on findings from a Danish study. But the agency is evaluating the study for now and says the increased risk is only a possibility. It has not reached conclusions....

You can’t run a company worth billions without facing some major lawsuits. It’s inevitable. Most consumers have heard of Groupon, which is website that offers deals to local businesses. So another Groupon expiration date lawsuit has been filed, this time in federal court in Washington, D.C. This class action was filed on behalf of a man who bought a one-month gym membership on Groupon that allegedly expired within two months, before he was able to redeem it....

Hospitals, and the medical professionals they employ, are supposed to be the places and people we can turn to for care, cure, and comfort. Sadly, in doesn’t always work out that way. Hospitals can make mistakes and their employees can abuse their power to take advantage of vulnerable patients. That’s what happened according to one woman’s lawsuit against Baptist Memorial Hospital in Oxford, Mississippi. A Jane Doe claims a paramedic sexually assaulted her in the back of an ambulance while she was suffering from a drug overdose and being transported to the hospital....

According to a new mobile shopping survey by Skava, many customers haven’t had a great time making purchases on their phones – and they’re not alone. The vast majority of mobile shoppers – 88 percent – said they were not happy with their mobile shopping experience. One-third of those unsatisfied shoppers then took their business to a competitor’s site, reports Forbes. Fortunately, small businesses can save the (digital) day. Here are a few of the common gripes and tips for making mobile shopping a happier experience:...

Death is taboo in the Navajo community; if you think it, it will happen. This belief has left many Navajo men and women without choice near the end of their lives. When Dr. Timothy Domer started a home-based health care program in the Navajo community near Fort Defiance, Arizona, it came to his attention that none (not a single one) of his patients had an advance health care directive or durable power of attorney, according to the New York Times....

Not even a month into its implementation, reports claim that the Durbin Amendment’s $0.21 debit card fee cap is saving merchants millions of dollars. But what if those savings are largely attributable to a limited number of businesses? Corporations with dozens of locations and millions in daily volume? Or small businesses that trade primarily in higher-priced services and goods? With the way banks have responded to the new cap, this may end up becoming reality....

A black school teacher accused of cutting in line at Walmart pleaded guilty to disturbing the peace and resisting arrest, both misdemeanors. Ellis, 24, insisted that her guilty plea was a victory, the St. Louis Dispatch reports. But the plea deal was the same one that prosecutors had offered before the racially tinged trial began last week. Under the agreement, if Ellis stays out of trouble for a year, the charges will be sealed and the arrest won’t be on her permanent record....

Hash oil is a popular, and legal in some states, marijuana derivative consumed to help users chill out. Turns out some of the processes for extracting hash oil aren’t so cool. Higher Level Concentrates in Astoria, Oregon was using an “open” extraction system, whereby hash oil is extracted from the marijuana using an extraction tube and liquefied petroleum gas to extract THC from the cannabis plant material. This is all well and good until “invisible LP gas vapors will escape and can quickly fill an enclosed area,” and “an explosive mix of LP gas vapors and air formed, ignited, and caused an immediate and violent explosion and flash fire....