With adventure tours that take you to pretty much every country that you can imagine, the days of impressing your friends with a safari vacation in Africa or visiting the Coliseum in Rome are over. Instead, average Joes are now starting to go to Antarctica, climb Mt. Everest, and rekindle their spirituality in Israel. Still, not every door is open. There are some countries that make it very difficult for Americans to enter....
Which states have the worst animal protection laws? The Animal Legal Defense Fund (ALDF) has ranked each state’s laws in terms of toughness, and once again Kentucky took the title of the worst state for animal rights. ALDF’s 2012 report took a look at state laws that protect animals from cruelty, sexual assault (yes, sexual assault), neglect, and other forms of abuse, reports The Huffington Post. Along with Kentucky, here’s a look at the five worst states in the country for animal abuse laws, and just what makes their laws so bad according to ALDF:...
Even though cyclists often receive the brunt of the injuries that occur during car-bicycle accidents, the fact is that a cyclist can actually be found primarily liable for his injuries–and the injuries of a motorist–should they end up in court. Why? Because, just like motorists, cyclists must obey traffic laws, and a failure to do so is strong evidence of negligence, and thus fault. As with all injuries, bicycle accident liability comes down to which party was negligent, and whether the parties contributed to their own injuries....
Five people are now in custody in connection with the gang rape and beating of a 15-year-old girl outside her Northern California high school campus after a homecoming dance. Police say she was allegedly attacked by a group of young men near benches located at the far end of the school yard. The San Francisco Chronicle reports, as many as two dozen people witnessed the rape or knew about the incident and did not report it....
Is that buffet food coming back out the wrong way? Did you slip and fall on the pool deck? Did the swaying of the boat cause a beer bottle to fall from the upper deck onto your head? If you’re injured while on a cruise, can you sue the cruise line? Negligence Slip and fall, drowning, and food poisoning and norovirus are all common injuries on a cruise ship. Most lawsuits against a cruise ship will likely claim negligence....
Can parents be held liable for child shootings? The incredibly tragic act of one child shooting another seems to be occurring far too often these days, unfortunately. Along with these sad acts occurring, there are usually an endless list of questions that beg to be answered. One of them is most definitely going to be about the parents of the child who committed the act: Can they be held liable for the shooting?...
It looks like a case of sticky fingers for Connecticut television traffic reporter Desiree Fontaine who was arrested on shoplifting charges. Desiree Fontaine, a 33-year-old traffic reporter is accused of shoplifting more than $100 worth of merchandise from a department store, The Hartford Courant reports. In general, shoplifting refers to the theft of merchandise from a store or place of business. Shoplifting is a type of larceny, which simply means taking the property of someone else without their permission, and with the intent to permanently deprive the owner of the property taken....
DNA recently helped identify the suspect in a string of serial killings in Milwaukee. However, a sample of the suspect’s DNA should have been on file since 2001. Though Milwaukee corrections officials have records indicating that they sent the sample to Wisconsin’s Department of Justice for inclusion in the state’s database, there is no record of it ever being received. As reported by the AP, Walter E. Ellis is now suspected of being Milwaukee’s “Northside Strangler” after his DNA has been connected to nine murders spanning two decades....
If you’re a small business, age discrimination is something that you should be sure to avoid. After all, wrongful termination or mistreatment of employees because of their age can result in lawsuits, as illustrated by a recent lawsuit filed by a New York teacher who was fired allegedly because of her age. Lillie Leon, 80, has taught in schools in New York for more than thirty years, but lost her job....
There are times when you or a loved one will need emergency medical treatment. This means that most Americans will need to know some basics about emergency room laws and your rights. The first thing you should know is that under federal law, most hospitals cannot deny you treatment even if you can’t pay. This law covers most medical facilities because it extends to all hospitals that participate in Medicare. This includes a vast majority of healthcare facilities....
The FDA is warning consumers to stop using 14 popular Hydroxycut weight loss products that have been recalled and linked to multiple reports of liver problems and at least one death. As reported in today’s FDA Warning on the Hydroxycut Product Recall, the agency has received 23 reports of serious health problems linked to the weight loss aids, including jaundice, elevated liver enzymes, and liver damage requiring transplant. The Hydroxycut products have been linked to one death caused by liver failure....
Families are encouraged to have an emergency plan when things go wrong, but they aren’t the only ones who need it. Small businesses can also benefit from a disaster plan. In the midst of a flood or severe storm that causes irreparable damage, it’s hard to think beyond “we’ve lost everything.” But if you’ve carefully planned out what do in a disaster, it doesn’t have to be that dire. Keeping track of the details is what makes the difference when you’re trying to rebuild....
On Tuesday, July 6, Governor Linda Lingle of Hawaii vetoed a state measure that would have provided same sex and unwed opposite sex couples the same rights as married heterosexual couples. Although the Governor’s personal feelings are in opposition to extending the rights of marriage to same sex couples, she told those awaiting her decision that she wanted to put the matter to the vote of the people. According to Time, the bill would have extended the same rights, benefits and responsibilities of spouses in a marriage to partners in a civil union....
Cyberloafing is the new word for procrastination and distraction at work. Surfing the web is the way we waste precious minutes of the day when we’re paid to labor. The practice reportedly costs national businesses tens of billions of dollars annually. Understandably, companies are interested in programs that can curb their workers’ enthusiasm for the web’s many temptations without impinging on the online activities necessary to the business. There are different ways to approach the problem and to block employee access and track activities....
The Americans With Disabilities Act mandates that employers provide reasonable accommodations for disabled employees, and offers guidance on what conditions qualify as disabilities: physical or mental impairments that substantially limit a “major life activity.” It’s fair to say that alcoholism can substantially limit major life activities if not addressed properly, and alcoholics, so long as they are “qualified to perform the essential functions of the job,” are covered under ADA protections....
AP reports that a woman who claims that she was raped back in 2005 while she was working for the company KBR Inc. (which was a subsidiary of Halliburton Co. at the time) settled her case for nearly $3 million dollars this week after winning an arbitration award over the alleged rape. The woman claimed that she was raped by a State Department employee while she was working for KBR Inc....
Most students are back to school by now and looking to get their academic year started off on the right foot. But some early stumbles could have students already facing disciplinary decisions and punishment at school. While sitting in a corner, writing repetitive sentences, and detention are still the norm in many schools, some are punishing kids in some pretty shocking ways. You might be surprised to learn about the huge disparity in punishments depending on a child’s race; that, until recently, Florida schoolchildren were fashioning the paddles used to spank them, or that your child might be cuffed and threatened with a taser and jailtime by a fake cop toting a real gun....
Most discrimination suits based on federal employment law require that an Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) complaint be filed first. For those who feel they have suffered discrimination in the workplace, filing a charge of discrimination with the EEOC is essential to successfully litigating a discrimination claim. So where do you even begin? Here’s a general overview on how to properly file an EEOC workplace discrimination complaint: The EEOC doesn’t handle every type of employment case, but its online assessment tool can tell you if it is the proper place for your complaint....
Res judicata. Reciprocal negative easement. Rule against perpetuities. What do these terms have in common, beyond being words you most likely haven’t heard in casual conversation lately? They’re are all examples of legalese, the specialized language of law used by lawyers, judges and those in the legal field. Each week, as part of our continuing series Legalese From A to Z, we work through some of the important bits of legalese, letter by letter....
Miley Cyrus’ tongue slide has slid into a personal injury lawsuit. Alas, it’s not the pop star’s real tongue. The lawsuit involves a giant slide modeled after Miley’s tongue that the performer slides down to the stage as part of her “Bangerz” tour. So basically, she sticks out her real tongue as she rides down a massive plastic rendition of her tongue sticking out. Très meta! A construction worker claims the tongue slide is a dangerously slippery slope....
