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This week the Food and Drug Administration announced that it has approved the first ever marijuana-based pharmaceutical drug. And while the newly approved drug may not be as alluring as legalized marijuana to the public, it represents a big step forward for the medical marijuana industry. For the maker of the approved drug however, the approval comes with a caveat, the drug cannot actually be marketed because of the current federal drug laws and the prohibition on marijuana....

Years of unprovoked attacks on homeless people have prompted some states and Congress to consider passing hate crime legislation that includes the homeless. As reported by the New York Times, this October, Maryland will become the first state to include its homeless population in protections provided by laws against hate crimes. The Times reports that California, Florida, Ohio, South Carolina and Texas are considering doing the same thing. The District of Columbia recently passed a similar measure, and a federal bill was introduced in Congress last week....

It’s never a good idea to try to cheat the law. When going through a divorce, property division begins by determining the assets of the splitting couple then divvying up those assets. Hiding property is, as you might expect, a regular fear and feature of the divorce process. Stocks, bonds, bank accounts, and 401(k)s can be tracked down by your ex’s lawyers. As can (more easily) the house, the car, and the dog....

A controversial Newtown shooting claim, a precursor to a proposed lawsuit, has been withdrawn amid widespread criticism. Last week, Connecticut lawyer Irving Pinsky requested permission to sue the state for $100 million. Pinsky represented a 6-year-old survivor of the shootings who allegedly suffered a variety of injuries, mostly psychological, after hearing the shootings over the school’s intercom system. While Pinsky said the lawsuit was more about increasing school safety than collecting monetary damages, he got plenty of criticism, reports CNN....

A man framed for murder by an NYPD detective has settled a complaint with the City of New York for $6.4 million. David Ranta, 58, spent 23 years in prison for a murder he didn’t commit based on the machinations of a rogue detective, Louis Scarcella, The New York Times reports. Although Ranta can’t get back his 23 years, he may still have a legal bone to pick with those who put him away....

Mississippi flooding has come again–historic, unprecedented, with all Nature’s fury. In a rolling catastrophe like this, first comes the water, then come the rescues. Then the insurance claims. By any measure, the situation along the Mississippi is grave and about to get worse. Water is cresting at or above flood levels. At Natchez, Miss., for instance, Mississippi flooding reached a record 58.3 feet, and is expected to crest at 64 feet....

For many travelers, Airbnb has replaced hotels and motels when searching for a place to stay. And for many homeowners and apartment renters, the platform has provided a little extra income. But for municipalities, many of whom regulate short-term rentals both for consumer protection and tax collection, Airbnb’s business has been frustratingly impenetrable. Finally, the Big Apple is going to get access to Airbnb’s books. The New York City Council recently passed a new law requiring Airbnb and similar lodging platforms to share data on their users....

Generally speaking, the criminal justice system tries to fashion punishments to deter future criminals, who would look at past punishments and think, “You know, this just isn’t worth it.” For example, is trying to rob this bank worth 25 years in prison? Probably not. In a similar vein, a jury in Charlottesville, Virginia set the worth of punching a white supremacist at $1. Jeffrey Winder was found guilty of misdemeanor assault for striking “Unite the Right” organizer Jason Kessler during counter-protests last year, but he’s facing far less than the maximum possible penalty....

Pool hopping, the latest foolish teen trend, is pretty self-explanatory: You hop from pool to pool, usually at night. It involves sneaking into multiple private or public swimming pools at night or during off-hours. It might sound fun, but is it legal? And if someone gets hurt, who can potentially be held liable? For starters, “pool hopping” in someone else’s pool without permission is not legal. In fact, two teens who went “pool hopping” in Massachusetts are facing trespassing charges, reports Boston’s WBZ-TV....

In what appears to have been an ill-fated effort to save a marriage, 37-year-old Helen Sun handcuffed herself to her husband Robert Drawbaugh to try and talk things out with him. The Connecticut Post described the scripted-for-a-movie-like incident, which occurred after Drawbaugh returned from Los Angeles to Fairfield, Conn., to try and reconcile with Sun: Unfortunately for her, Drawbaugh had other ideas for what he wanted to do with his day, but when he “tried to escape, police said Sun began biting him on the forehead, the arms and chest....

Road kill was found in a Chinese restaurant in Kentucky prompting health inspectors to shut down the popular restaurant. Workers at the Red Flower Chinese Restaurant were seen wheeling in a box with a deer tail, foot, and leg dangling out of it, reports CBS. In full view of patrons, the box left a blood trail right into the kitchen and workers followed to mop it up. Some customers immediately called the health department....

Whether the famous words come from Donald Trump’s mouth, or a different boss, “You’re Fired” is always an unwelcome phrase to hear. Losing a job is challenging both emotionally and financially. But there are certain steps an employee should consider if a job comes to an end. Here are the top things to do when losing your job: Finalize Things at Work: At the top of the list of things to consider when losing your job should be to finish things at your job....

Walmart, the world’s largest retailer, is asking the Supreme Court to block a gender discrimination suit that could have close to 1.5 million current and former female employees as parties to the class action. A 6-5 decision by a lower court gave the green light for what would be the largest class action against a private company in U.S. history, reports Business Week. Attorney for the plaintiffs, Brad Seilgman says, “This ruling upholding the class in this case is well within the mainstream that courts at all levels have recognized for decades....

You may hear about them in the papers or on TV, but the truth is that medical malpractice cases are not merely lawsuits based on the fact that a patient was somehow injured by a healthcare provider. Medical malpractice is a form of negligence, meaning that only those injuries caused by a doctor’s negligent actions can legally form the basis of such a lawsuit. However, as is explained below, proof of negligence doesn’t always guarantee a successful claim....

A Glaring Omission? According to a CNN story, U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder today suggested it is necessary to “address a rising tide of criminal activity fueled by bias and bigotry” by passing federal hate crimes legislation. The bill, known as the Matthew Shepard Hate Crimes Prevention Act would expand “federal protection against hate crimes to cover disability, gender and sexual orientation”. Still, in trying to convince opponents to support the bill, Attorney General Holder specifically noted “that any federal hate crimes law would be used only to prosecute violent acts based on bias, as opposed to the prosecution of speech based on controversial racial or religious beliefs....

The British are not coming but they may be going, or Brexiting if you will, quitting the European Union. The referendum is being voted on today and if they don’t remain, this will impact business internationally, including here in the US. But there are a lot of factors that influence the economy, and isolating which precise event caused what outcomes is impossible. In fact, that is why the British are voting on exiting the European Union despite reports that partnership has led to prosperity and that Brexit could be a headache....

Many companies that do business in some dangerous parts of the world have kidnapping insurance to protect their executives and employees. But now that so much of our commerce and data is online, the whole world becomes dangerous and our companies become vulnerable to ransomware attacks. So if hackers “kidnap” your network or your company or customer data and try to ransom it back to you, can kidnapping insurance help?...

Can you file for divorce while you’re out of state, or even out of the country? This question comes up from time to time in our Marriage and Divorce forum on FindLaw Answers. If you’re considering divorce, it’s best to know what your options are, including where you should file your initial paperwork. The issue can get complicated. For example, what if one spouse has moved to a different state during the separation?...

We are all content creators now, even if we do not consider ourselves creative, and Lobster has just announced a way that you too can monetize your Facebook photos. The new integration between the tech companies will allow users on the social media site to license their posted photos on a per use or subscription basis. It sounds exciting for amateur photographers and may be the basis for the next Internet sensation – the Justin Bieber of photography – some kid who shoots amazing images with his phone....

In the state of Kentucky, a mentally incompetent person cannot access the legal system except through their legal guardian. For 88-year-old Elmer Riehle, that means that in order to get a divorce, his wife, who is also his legal guardian, would have to file the divorce paperwork on his behalf. Talk about awkward. His wife does not want a divorce and wants to be able to protect Riehle from himself and from squandering the family’s finances....