Ibn Hunter, 25, is one person that Atlantic City could do without. Hunter was arrested after he starred in a vicious video posted on YouTube where he taunts and then knocks out a 45-year-old homeless woman. The videotape below is disgusting and all the more disturbing by the utter lack of reaction of people around them.
Alabama Judge Marvin Wiggins is under fire this week after he offered to trade blood donations for judicial fines or fees while threatening those without money or blood donation receipts with arrest. The Southern Poverty Law Center filed an ethics complaint The SPLC obtained audio tapes, including people complaining that they felt forced to give blood by Wiggins.
Continue reading “Alabama Judge Under Fire For Blood-for-Fines Trade”
LAX worker Ronaldo Owens is demanding $5 million from actress Halle Berry and her actor husband, Olivier Martinez. That is pretty steep even for an alleged assault by Martinez. After Rodney King received only $3.8 million for being beaten by multiple officers with batons. The $5 million assault? Martinez knocked over Owens with a child safety seat.
Everett Middle School in San Francisco’s Mission District is teaching its students a thing or two about democracy . . . or the lack of it. Parents were informed by Principal Lena Van Haren (left) that the winners of the recent student elections would not be announced (or possibly honored) after the election failed to produce a sufficiently diverse selection. The school is composed of 80 percent students of color and 20 percent white students. The students however appeared to pick their representatives based on their individual qualifications rather than their race and that was a problem for Van Haren who told parents that the results were “concerning to me because as principal I want to make sure all voices are heard from all backgrounds.”
Michael Santiago, 25, is under arrest for felony child endangerment after his 6-year-old son accidentally shot and killed his 3-year-old brother. Santiago kept the .32-caliber Smith & Wesson revolver fully loaded on top of the refrigerator.
Massachusetts attorney Karen J. Andrade, 51, may be an example of the over-use of social media. Southampton police say that Andrade had thae standard lawyer links like LinkedIn but also links as “Rose,” a prostitute. Andrade, who was suspended from practice in 2014, is accused of running a escort business out of her home.
Continue reading “Massachusetts Lawyer Accused Of Being Prostitute”
This afternoon, Judge Rosemary Collyer issued her ruling on the motion by the Administration to forego a ruling on the merits in the United States House of Representatives v. Burwell, a challenge brought by the House to unilateral action taken by the Administration under the Affordable Care Act (ACA). After losing its motion to dismiss the case on standing grounds, the Administration sought (over the objections of the House) to remove the case to the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia without ruling on the merits of the case. Judge Collyer denied the motion and set the case for final briefing and ultimately a final ruling.
Continue reading “FEDERAL COURT DENIES ADMINISTRATION MOTION AND SETS ACA CASE FOR FINAL RULING”
There is an interesting story coming out of CBS this week where the network has refused to air advertisements for Truth by Sony Pictures Classics. The problem is that the film starring Cate Blanchett and Robert Redford places CBS in a negative light in exploring the network controversy over airing the 2004 news story on former President George W. Bush’s military service record. The story was discredited and CBS fired producer Mary Mapes. Anchor Dan Rather later retired from CBS. [For full disclosure, I worked for CBS as an on-air analyst with Rather and thought very highly of him in our work on the Bush v. Gore coverage].
There is a bizarre case out of Alaska where hiker Kathleen Turley (no relation despite our shared name and mutual love for hiking) was found liable for springing traps John Forrest’s near a hiking path. The Juneau native insisted that she encountered the traps when it caught a bald eagle that she rescued from the trap. She tripped other traps to protect fellow hikers and her dog. However, the court found that that was no defense and that, under Alaskan law, she is liable.
As we head to Halloween, there is a chilling case out of Ohio where Chillicothe police say that Donnie Cochenour Jr., 27, got a seasonal break (at least temporarily) on detecting his alleged murder of Rebecca J. Cade, 31. Cade’s body was left hanging on a fence and was mistaken by neighbors as a Halloween decoration.
Continue reading “Ohio Body Mistaken for Halloween Decoration and Left Hanging On Fence”
We have been discussing the race to the bottom in airlines in the treatment of passengers from endless special charges to the elimination of every possible convenience or comfort. As I fly back to Washington this morning, I thought I would share the latest vision of the industry to stuff more people into planes by stacking them like kindling. It would seem that airlines may have to change their standard warning about luggage shifting in overhead bins to alert passengers to the danger of failing passengers who shifted during flights.
We recently followed the controversy over the shooting of “Cecil the Lion” by an American dentist Walter Palmer from Minnesota. What was most striking was the complete disconnect in how such kills are seen by hunters versus the public at large, as shown by the subsequent controversy of a Idaho hunter taunting animal advocates. A new such controversy has emerged after a German hunter celebrated the killing of one of the largest elephant ever seen In Zimbabwe at the Gonarezhou National Park. The magnificent animal was estimated to be 40 and 60 years old with tusks that almost touch the ground and weigh 120lb. Again, the difference in how this killing is viewed is fascinating. Hunters celebrated the kill while many in the public were appalled that this hunter would pay tens of thousands of dollars to travel to Africa and shot such a beautiful and inspiring animal.
Continue reading “Killing Of Huge Elephant In Zimbabwe Reignites Controversy Over Trophy Hunters”
I leave this morning for home after a wonderful stay at Oklahoma City. As I have written before, I have a particular affection for this beautiful city and its citizens. Indeed, I have been saddened of late with the continued mismanagement of my home city of Chicago where politicians have run the economy into the ground through waste, runaway pension plans, and excessive taxation. The contrast with Oklahoma City is striking. This has always been exceptionally well-run. The city is continuing a long investment and downtown improvement plan which has transformed the city with new parks, buildings, and recreational areas. This has been done without incurring a huge debt by carefully balancing new revenue with new construction. The Olympic-level rowing facility near downtown is an example of the creative planning by the city — a beautiful addition to the riverfront that is making the city a global presence in the sport. The BIDs or business improvement districts have been fueled by an intense civic pride at Oklahoma City that is evident everywhere you turn. Where Chicago is an example of the failure of a political system, Oklahoma City is a model of how a city can marshal its resources, particularly its people, to improve the city.
While I loved spending a few days back home in Chicago this week, it was depressing to see how decades of mismanagement of the city and the State continue to take a toll on citizens and businesses. The latest absurdity is the announcement by the Illinois lottery that anyone who wins more than $600 will simply get an IOU for their winnings due to a lack of cash. Yet, the state is still encouraging citizens to play the lottery.
I have the pleasure of speaking today as part of Oklahoma City Town Hall speaking series. I will be speaking on the Supreme Court and upcoming cases this term. The event is held at St. Luke’s Christian Life Center.