The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has ruled that Rastafarian baggage screener Josue Brissot was discriminated against when the Transportation Security Ageny (TSA) threatened to fire him in 2005 if he didn’t cut his dreadlocks. Bissot wears his hair long for religious reasons. He claims that he was assured his dreadlocks weren’t a problem when he was hired by the Transporation Security Administration in 2002. Read the rest of this entry »
Compulsive Gambler Blames Casino For Luring Her
November 10th, 2009 by Dana Altman
The Supreme Court in Indiana is hearing an appeal in a case involving a compulsive gambler who in one night lost $125,000 advanced to her by the casino. On March 18, 2006, Jenny Kephart went to Ceasars Riverboat Casino, now the Horseshoe Southern Indiana casino, where she lost $125,000 in credit provided by Caesars at a blackjack table. Kephart admits that she’s a pathological gambler. She claims that the casino knew of her addiction and wealth and was preyed upon. Read the rest of this entry »
NSA to Build $1.6 Billion Storage Facility to House Personal Surveillance Data
November 3rd, 2009 by Dana Altman
The National Security Agency is planning to build a $1.6 billion storage facility in Utah to warehouse personal data. The giant facility will contain more than 1 million square feet of data center space. Construction is scheduled to begin in June 2010 and be completed by March 2013. The new facility is estimated to require as much electricity as all of Salt Lake City. All forms of electronic data will be stored at the center, such as intercepted phone calls, e-mail messages, Internet searches and other communications intercepted by the agency. Read the rest of this entry »
H1N1 Virus Declared a National Emergency
October 27th, 2009 by Dana Altman
In order to make it easier for medical facilities to provide treatment, President Obama has declared the 2009 H1N1 virus pandemic a national emergency. The move allows more freedom for off-site, alternate care facilities to be established and a waiver of standard requirements for Medicare, Medicaid and other federal health insurance programs on a case-by-case basis.
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Feds Announce Policy Not to Prosecute Medical Marijuana Users
October 20th, 2009 by Dana Altman
Under new legal guidelines issued by the Obama administration, federal drug agents won’t target pot-smoking patients or their sanctioned suppliers in states that allow medical marijuana. ”It will not be a priority to use federal resources to prosecute patients with serious illnesses or their caregivers who are complying with state laws on medical marijuana, but we will not tolerate drug traffickers who hide behind claims of compliance with state law to mask activities that are clearly illegal,” Attorney General Eric Holder said in a statement.
Pet Care Tax Deduction Proposed
October 20th, 2009 by Dana Altman
A Michigan legislator has proposed a bill to allow up to a $3,500 tax deduction for pet care. Rep. Thaddeus McCotter says that the bill is needed to prevent pet owners from being forced to give up their pets due to their inability to afford pet care costs in hard economic times. Read the rest of this entry »
Brooke Astor’s Son Anthony Marshall Convicted of Fraud, Conspiracy, Grand Larceny
October 13th, 2009 by Dana Altman
The son of Brooke Astor, Anthony Marshall, has been convicted of bilking his mother out of millions of dollars. Brooke Astor, a well-known philanthropist and member of New York high society, died in 2007 at the age of 105. Her son was accused of tricking her into changing her will, diverting money to himself and his wife Charlene, rather than to the charities she had intended to benefit. Astor, who sufffered from Alzheimer’s, had an estate was worth a reported $200 million and had given millions to institutions such as the New York Public Library, Carnegie Hall and other causes. Read the rest of this entry »

