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August, 2009

Computer Hacker Agrees to Plea Deal

Added: 2009-08-31 13:32:07

Miami—According to court documents filed earlier this week, a computer hacker who perpetrated one of the largest cases of identity theft in United States history will plead guilty and serve time for his crimes. Facing charges of conspiracy, wire fraud and aggravated identity theft, in New York ...

R&B Singer Gets Probation for Assaulting Girlfriend

Added: 2009-08-28 13:35:11

Los Angeles—Earlier this week, R&B singer Chris Brown received five years' probation as well as six months' community labor in an assault case. In June, Brown pled guilty to felony assault in the beating of his then-girlfriend, pop star Rihanna. Brown, 20, was arrested in February 2009 after bru...

Former Sheriff, Fifth-Grade Teacher Sentenced in Drug Conspiracy

Added: 2009-08-27 13:44:25

McAllen, Texas—Among the eleven people who were sentenced this week for their involvement in a drug trafficking conspiracy were an elementary school teacher and a former sheriff. Former Starr County Sheriff Reymundo “Rey” Guerra to 64 months in federal prison, as well as four years of superv...

Cuomo to Prosecute Harassing Debt Collection Group

Added: 2009-08-26 13:46:49

New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo is fighting to protect consumers from harassing phone calls from debt collection agencies. In 2006, Michelle Minton received a call from a debt collector stating that she would be arrested if she didn't pay her $4400 debt that day. The caller went on to threa...

New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson Reported to be Cleared in Federal Investigation

Added: 2009-08-25 13:50:29

SANTA FE—An investigation by federal officials into a possible pay-to-play scheme organized by New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson will not result in criminal charges, according to a source. The source, who wanted to remain nameless because the results of the investigation haven't officially bee...

Michael Vick Returns to Playing Field, Court

Added: 2009-08-24 13:51:47

Earlier this week, Michael Vick returned to the football field for the first time since he was sent to jail in November 2007. He also returned to the courtroom. Vick, 29, has faced financial troubles stemming from his arrest in the wake of his involvement in an extensive and unlawful interstate d...

Pop Star's Death Ruled A Homicide By LA County Coroner

Added: 2009-08-21 13:55:26

Two months after the death of pop star Michael Jackson at age 50, the Los Angeles County coroner's office has ruled that it was a homicide. The ruling increases the possibility that charges will be filed against the doctor who was with Jackson at the time of his death, and who allegedly administere...

Baseball's Black List Obtained Illegally

Added: 2009-08-20 13:56:47

LOS ANGELES—The toothpaste is out of the tube, and it can't be put back in. But a federal court has ruled that the seizure of a list of 104 Major League Baseball players who failed a drug test in 2003 was illegal. In a decision that could have a far-reaching effect on police searches in the dig...

Sports Betting Bill Becomes Law in Delaware

Added: 2009-08-19 13:58:24

Delaware may become the first state east of the Mississippi to take wagers on pro football and other contests, due to a sports betting bill recently signed into law by Delaware Governor Jack Markell. Before the bill actually turns into law, however, it's expected that there will be court battles t...

Poker Players Unable to Cash in Their Chips

Added: 2009-08-18 13:59:55

A number of online poker players recently got a nasty surprise. When they went to cash checks that had been made out to them for reimbursement for their poker Website winnings, the checks were no good. This is because the Department of Justice had seized more than $30 million in assets related to ...

Reporters Get Twelve Year Terms in North Korea

Added: 2009-08-17 14:01:04

Two United States journalists, who were detained in North Korea while covering the plight of defectors living along the China-North Korea border, have been sentenced to labor prison for 12 years, said the country's state-run media on Monday. Laura Ling and Euna Lee were sentenced by the Central Co...

LAPD Detective Named in 80s-Era Homicide

Added: 2009-08-14 14:02:17

Los Angeles—A cold case murder has recently been linked to a veteran LAPD detective. Stephanie Lazarus is accused of having bitten, beaten and shot her ex-boyfriend's wife in 1986, after breaking into the woman's condominium. At the time, she had been working for the Los Angeles Police Departmen...

Nevada Supreme Court Sides with Vegas on City Hall

Added: 2009-08-13 14:03:19

LAS VEGAS, Nevada—Thursday, the Nevada Supreme Court ruled that two union-backed measures targeting Las Vegas' redevelopment plans should not appear on the June 2nd municipal ballot. One of the proposals would have repealed the city's redevelopment plan for downtown. The other would require cit...

Two Men Convicted of Torturing, Killing French Students

Added: 2009-08-12 14:04:35

LONDON, England—On Thursday, two British men were convicted for torturing and killing two French students in London last June, said London's Metropolitan Police. Nigel Farmer, 34, and Daniel “Dano” Sonnex, 23, were also found guilty of false imprisonment, burglary, and arson. The bodies...

Woman Sues Cap'n Crunch Because 'Crunchberries' Are Not Fruit

Added: 2009-08-11 14:05:45

A woman who bought Cap'N'Crunch Crunchberries cereal sued because she was disappointed when she found out that the supposed “crunchberries” were not actual fruit. The plaintiff, Janine Sugawara, says shes bought the Cap'N'Crunch with crunchberries because she thought crunchberries were real fr...

Reclusive Author J.D. Salinger Files Suit To Stop “Rip-off” Novel

Added: 2009-08-10 14:06:40

Lawyers for J.D. Salinger, the reclusive author who wrote the classic American novel “The Catcher in the Rye,” have filed a suit in federal court to stop the publication, sale and distribution of a would-be sequel. The book, “60 Years Later: Coming Through the Rye,” is written by a man who...

Madonna's Adoption Appeal Begins in Malawi

Added: 2009-08-07 14:07:43

The 50-year-old singer Madonna went to Malawi's highest court on Monday in an effort to adopt a 3-year-old girl. A man claiming to be the young girl's father would like custody of his child. Madonna filed a petition to adopt Chifundo James, whose first name translate to mean “mercy” in Chichew...

Starbucks Violated Labor Laws, Says NLRB

Added: 2009-08-06 14:08:37

Minneapolis, MN—The National Labor Relations Board has recently determined that coffee giant Starbucks has violated labor laws in some stores in the Minneapolis area. Starbucks worker Erik Forman filed 16 charges against the company on behalf of members of the Starbucks Workers Union. Forman, w...

Judge Rules Guantanamo Legal Documents Must Be Public

Added: 2009-08-05 14:09:15

A federal judge ordered the United States to make unclassified versions of its allegations and evidence public. These documents justify the continued imprisonment of more than 100 detainees being held at the Guantanamo Bay detention center. The Justice Department had been filing unclassified ve...

Mayor Sues Over Military Jet Noise

Added: 2009-08-04 14:11:31

VALPARAISO, FL—The mayor of a small town near Pensacola is bucking his former employer, and the government, by suing the Defense Department. At issue is the noise pollution caused by F-35 fighter jets which will be arriving at Eglin Air Force Base. Okaloosa County, where Valparaiso is located, i...

Vigilante Justice, Self-Defense in Pharmacy Robbery Case

Added: 2009-08-04 14:10:44

Oklahoma City—Pharmacist Jerome Ersland was at work at the Reliable Discount Pharmacy when two masked teenagers entered, brandished a gun and attempted to rob the store. What happened next has sparked a firestorm of controversy around the nation. Ersland first shot one of the intruders in the he...

Human Rights Lawyers in China Face Growing Threats

Added: 2009-08-04 14:10:07

A new report conducted and released by Amnesty International announced that China has tightened its crackdown on human-rights activists, particularly lawyers. In the report, it said that there has been a disregard of national laws, citing at least four cases this year where lawyers were threated...

Historic Tobacco-Related Legislation Passed

Added: 2009-08-03 14:12:57

The House of Representatives approved a bill that will give the government regulatory authority of over tobacco products as well as the marketing and sales of tobacco products. The new law, which was authored in part by the nation's largest tobacco company, Philip Morris, will provide a number of...

State Department Retiree, Wife Charged with Spying for Cuba

Added: 2009-08-03 14:12:19

Following a three-year investigation a former State Department worker and his wife have been arrested and charged with several counts related to espionage. Walter Kendall Myers, 72, and his wife Gwendolyn Steingraber Myers, 71, allegedly passed state secrets to Cuba for years. The couple, who were...

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