If you drive a scooter or moped, you’ve probably felt the fear of sitting in the blind spot of a huge pickup or seeing a semi gaining speed in your tiny side-view mirror. And yet, you still drive it because that little hog gets 70 miles to the gallon. But even if you love your scooter, it’s hard to avoid the fact that you’re more exposed and vulnerable (harder to see), and that an accident could leave you with serious injuries....
For the last five years, South Dakota abortion law has been at the center of the national reproductive health debate. Lawmakers have continuously passed laws banning most abortions, even when state residents disagreed with their choices. Well, the state just got even more strict. Governor Dennis Daugaard has signed into law a bill that requires women to attend a “pregnancy help center” and then wait an additional 72 hours prior to having an abortion....
If you have old, unpaid debts, you may be safe from a lawsuit to collect debt if the debt collector waited too long to file a lawsuit. Every state has enacted its own statute of limitations, requiring any lawsuit be filed in court within a set time frame. But the rules vary widely depending on the type of debt you have and where you live. In the vast majority of states, the statute of limitations period on credit card debts is between three and 10 years; in some states, the period is longer, according to the U....
CNN and TIME are reporting that U.S. District Judge Emmet Sullivan has ordered the conviction of former Alaska Senator Ted Stevens to be set aside. Now scrutiny is turning to prosecutors in the case, as the judge also ordered an investigation into their conduct. Stevens had been convicted of lying about gifts he received from wealthy friends, but it turns out that the evidence and witnesses in the case were not handled properly, to say the least....
Tennessee lawmakers want teenagers to just say no to premarital sex – along with “gateway sexual activity” that may be interpreted to include hugs and hand-holding, critics claim. The Volunteer State’s House and Senate have approved a bill that would revamp the state’s sex-education curriculum, The Tennessean reports. The proposed curriculum would focus on abstinence, and would prohibit teachers from promoting “any gateway sexual activity.” But the bill, as passed, doesn’t spell out exactly what acts are considered to be “gateway sexual activity....
Good news for small businesses means good news for business, in general. CNBC reports that U.S. small businesses loans increased in the month of September. According to data released by PayNet, the increase in small business borrowing came sooner than expected. The Thomson Reuters/PayNet index measures the overall volume of financing to U.S. small businesses to determine the 16% jump from last year. PayNet president William Phelan tells CNBC that the small business loan jump “doesn’t point to anything but a robust recovery....
Car accident fraud is a real thing. In fact, Los Angeles County recently received a $6.9 million grant to crack down on staged car crashes, as the county has been dubbed the fraudulent accident capital of California, Los Angeles’ KPCC-FM reports. It goes even beyond just staging a car accident. The grant money will be used toward combating car insurance fraud rings, which often include fake victims, unscrupulous doctors who will diagnose fake injuries, and even unethical lawyers who will file fake claims....
The lawmakers who were working so very hard to protect religious rights in Indiana probably weren’t considering the possibility of a Church of Cannabis when they passed the state’s Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA). When Indiana’s RFRA goes into effect on July 1, the Church of Cannabis will have its first service. Church founder, Bill Levin, relies on RFRA and the First Amendment to assert his right to smoke marijuana, in direct violation of the state’s law, as part of his religion....
The family of a man killed by a construction crane has reached a $17 million settlement with a Philadelphia steam plant owner. Adam Nowak Sr., a 45-year-old father of five, was struck and killed by a 300-pound iron hook which fell from an industrial crane at Veolia Energy’s Schuylkill Steam Plant in 2011, Philadelphia’s WCAU-TV reports. The wrongful death settlement is being called the largest ever in Philadelphia’s trial court system....
“Don’t Tase me bro!” It was one of the top quotes of 2007. Andrew Meyer, a student at the University of Florida, shouted it moments before being hit with a Taser and arrested for allegedly inciting a riot, resisting an officer and disturbing the peace. Meyer had been in the process of trying to ask uncomfortable questions to Senator John Kerry at a Constitution Day forum. The incident brought to light mounting questions over the use of Tasers and whether they are safe and appropriate....
Everyone knows that popcorn kernels can get stuck in your teeth but Wayne Watson learned the hard way that exposure to artificial butter can lead to popcorn lung. A jury verdict in his favor will hopefully alert customers to the potential negative health effects of butter flavoring. Watson developed respiratory problems in 2007. Doctors diagnosed him with ‘popcorn lung,’ a disease that is more commonly seen in popcorn plant workers, according to TIME....
As reality TV shows featuring small businesses become increasingly popular, other entrepreneurs may be wondering how they can get a piece of the reality TV pie. However, a better question may be how to deal with some of the legal issues that often accompany a business owner’s 15 (or more) minutes of fame. Before you sign up to be the next “Pawn Stars” or “Duck Dynasty,” or even just to be featured in a commercial TV segment, consider these tips about protecting yourself and your business once you’re in the limelight:...
Sometimes, it can be irritating when a product or piece of information is given a gender slant. But on occasion, there are a few things that are quite useful to female of the species: a good education, a reliable car, an occasional manicure. What follows are five suggestions that might be most useful to the home-owning portion of our readers who just happen to be women. As you no doubt know, when finalizing your mortgage loan, a lender requires the homeowner to purchase a minimum amount of hazard insurance which will become part of the standard homeowner’s insurance policy....
As spectacular as fall can be, for some it’s merely a countdown to winter: short days, long nights, little sunlight, and a lot of cold. Sufferers from seasonal affective disorder (SAD) are especially dreading the coming months, when difficulty waking up, lack of energy, and dietary symptoms make winter anything but a wonderland. Obviously these symptoms can affect how we work, and sometimes whether we can work at all. But does that mean you can get disability benefits for seasonal affective disorder?...
Although there are several laws protecting employees from the bad actions of their employers, only a few states actually have laws against workplace bullying. To make matters worse, the laws are rather limited in what they actually protect. However, regardless of the weak legislation, there are steps employees can take to prevent and fight workplace bullying using the laws already on the books. Although bullying can take many forms, if you are being physically abused, or even intimidated, involving law enforcement is advisable....
The perception that celebrities receive a different kind of justice than the rest of the world is probably shared by many. So why should Chris Brown’s reported plea deal, where he gets no jail time on a felony assault charge, be any surprise? Well, perhaps some people expected that maybe, just maybe, the alleged “beating, choking and biting” of young pop star diva Rihanna might be enough to garner him at least a brief taste of the jail life....
In what looks to become a slippery slope, a Wisconsin 4th District Court of Appeals gave the green light for a man to sue his unborn child’s mother’s insurance company for wrongful death, after the woman’s negligent driving played a part in a car accident. Following the accident, the mother gave birth to a stillborn fetus. Shannon Tesar, the father of the fetus, is seeking damages from the mother’s insurance company based on the death of his unborn child, reports the Associated Press....
Divorce is painful for everyone, even the rich and famous. Well, no kidding. Maybe it is even more painful for the rich and famous because the nastiness that accompanies so many marital break-ups goes very, very public. If everyone from the HuffingtonPost to BlackSportsOnline is reporting on your divorce hearing, you know you have problems beyond that of the common man. Or woman. As noted on the aforementioned online press outlets, Miami Heat star Dwyane Wade received an order from the court on June 26, finalizing his contentious divorce from high school sweetheart, Siohvaughn Wade....
E-cigarettes are selling like inhalable hotcakes since their approval in the United States, but these “safe” cigarettes still face challenges from state and federal laws. These nicotine-vapor devices are currently regulated similar to other tobacco products, but there are some hot legal differences. Here are five legal issues affecting e-cigarettes: The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) tried to get e-cigarettes regulated as “medical devices,” which would have placed the FDA in control of where they could be sold....
The key to an effective workforce is often a happy workforce. But how do you know if your workforce is happy? Many companies are surveying their employees to gauge happiness, satisfaction, and engagement. But these surveys are not without their pitfalls, legal and otherwise. Here are a few things to keep in mind to make sure your employee surveys are effective and legal. Stay Focused Any employee survey should be narrowly tailored to find exactly what you’re looking for....
