Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s decision to release thousands of pages of private emails does not end a dispute in Illinois about public access to such emails from him and other officials when they deal with government business. Emanuel announced late Wednesday that he had settled a lawsuit by a government watchdog group over emails from his personal accounts, but it allows him and his personal lawyer to decide which emails are public records and which are not.
Category: Law
Wisconsin panel OKs investigation into John Doe leaks
The Wisconsin Assembly has authorized Attorney General Brad Schimel to investigate how evidence collected during a secret investigation into Republican Gov. Scott Walker’s campaign was leaked to a newspaper. The Guardian US in September published hundreds of sealed documents from the so-called John Doe investigation, which was shut down by conservative state Supreme Court justices in 2015.
U.S. says Arkansas schools’ ouster of 3 over HIV tests illegal
The Pea Ridge School District violated the Americans with Disabilities Act in 2013 by excluding some students until they were tested for the human immunodeficiency virus, according to a letter from the U.S. Department of Justice. The district removed three students, all foster children, from its schools on the basis of documents it had received about the HIV status of a family member of those students, according to the letter dated Dec. 13 from Rebecca Bond, chief of the disability rights section of the department’s civil-rights division.
Obamacare 2017 enrollment hits record, despite Trumpa s threat to repeal
Although President-elect Donald Trump has vowed to repeal Obamacare next month, a record number of people have signed up for coverage for 2017. Nearly 6.4 million Americans have selected Obamacare policies through the federal exchange for coverage starting Jan. 1, federal officials announced Wednesday.
Supreme Court to Review Forum Shopping in Patent Infringement Litigation | Brooks Kushman
In a development that may signal a major change in patent litigation practice, the U.S. Supreme Court has granted certiorari to hear a challenge to the rules governing where patent owners can file infringement actions against corporate defendants. TC Heartland LLC v.
Texas Makes New Move to Cut Off Planned Parenthood Read Story Associated Press
Pro-choice activists hold signs in front of the U.S. Supreme Court on Jan. 22, 2014 on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. Alex Wong / Getty Images It’s a move that federal judges have blocked in other Republican-controlled states, which are now waiting to see if President-elect Donald Trump will strip the organization of taxpayer money. Planned Parenthood responded by vowing to ask a court to stop Texas from defunding clinics in January.
Trump team kinda sorta working on conflict of interest problem – by proposing a ‘half-blind’ trust
Donald Trump has won the presidency after narrowly carrying a few states to put him above 270 electoral votes.But according… Senate Republicans refused to give President Obama’s pick to replace Supreme Court Justice Scalia even the courtesy of a… Is there such a thing as a “half-blind” trust? No. No, there is not.
Lawsuit for Investors in Shares of Ally Financial Inc (NYSE:ALLY)…
An investor in shares of Ally Financial Inc filed a lawsuit in Michigan over alleged Securities Laws violations by Ally Financial Inc in connection the company’s April 11, 2014 initial public offering. Investors who purchased shares of Ally Financial Inc have certain options and should contact the Shareholders Foundation at mail@shareholdersfoundation.com or call 858-779-1554.
Changes on Tap: What’s Next for Law Changes in the Craft Beverage Industry?
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12/20/2016
The warrant connected to the FBI search that Hillary Clinton says cost her the election shouldn’t have been granted, three legal experts who reviewed the document released on Tuesday told The Huffington Post. FBI Director James Comey shook up the presidential race 11 days before the election by telling Congress the agency had discovered new evidence in its previously closed investigation into the email habits of Clinton, who was significantly ahead in the polls at the time.
Mass. probation hiring scandal convictions overturned
A federal appeals court on Monday overturned the convictions of three former Probation Department officials, ruling that the government “overstepped its bounds in using federal criminal statutes to police the hiring practices of these Massachusetts state officials.” Former Probation Commissioner John O’Brien and former deputy commissioners Elizabeth Tavares and William Burke were convicted in 2014 for their roles in a patronage scheme in which they “abused the hiring process… in exchange for favorable budget treatment from the state Legislature and increased control over the Probation Department,” three U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit judges wrote in their opinion.
President Obama hands out 78 pardons and 153 shortened sentences
President Barack Obama has pardoned 78 people and shortened the sentence of 153 others convicted of federal crimes, the greatest number of individual clemencies in a single day by any president, the White House said Monday. Obama has been granting commutations at rapid-fire pace in his final months in office, but he has focused primarily on shortening sentences of those convicted of drug offenses rather than giving pardons.
House Republicans shut down investigation into Flint water crisis, blame EPA instead
As President Obama signed a bill Friday authorizing $170 million to address lead in the drinking water in Flint , Michigan, Republicans in the House quietly closed a nearly yearlong investigation into the disaster before receiving crucial information from Republican Gov. Rick Snyder. Utah Republican Jason Chaffetz, chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, sent a pair of letters late Friday afternoon offering no new information and essentially summarizing what was already revealed about the crisis during several high-profile hearings earlier this year to announce the end of his investigation.
Trump action on health care could cost Planned Parenthood
One of President-elect Donald Trump’s first, and defining, acts next year could come on Republican legislation to cut off taxpayer money from Planned Parenthood. Trump sent mixed signals during the campaign about the 100-year-old organization which provides birth control, abortions and various women’s health services.
Hospitals face uncertain prognosis with Affordable Care Act up in the air
In this March 23, 2010, file photo, President Barack Obama signs the health care bill in the East Room of the White House in Washington. The Affordable Care Act hasn’t been a make-or-break proposition for the finances of health systems, but it has driven a wide variety of changes at Minnesota’s 146 hospitals.
FDA Increases Transparency of Adverse Event Data for Cosmetics and Foods
On December 6th, FDA announced that it is publicly releasing data received by the Agency’s Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition about adverse events related to cosmetics and foods, including both conventional foods and dietary supplements. Adverse events can be any negative reaction to a product, such as a serious illness or allergic reactions, or other complaints like packaging problems, that are received through FDA’s voluntary adverse event reporting systems for these classes of regulated products .
Nation-Now 47 mins ago 11:29 p.m.Don’t call it soy milk, Vermont congressman says
Rep. Peter Welch, D-Vt., is asking the Food and Drug Administration to enforce the definition of “milk” – as in, a beverage that comes from cows – and require non-dairy drinks that currently market themselves as “milk” to find another name. Welch argues that plant-based products using the name “milk” are freeloading off milk ads paid for by dairy farmers, such as the “Got Milk?” campaign.
Trump administration orders EPA contract and media blackout
The Trump administration has instituted a media blackout at the Environmental Protection Agency and barred staff from awarding any new contracts or grants, part of a broader communications clampdown within the executive branch. The prohibitions came to light Tuesday as the agency moved to delay implementation of at least 30 environmental rules finalized in the closing months of President Barack Obama’s term, a potential first step to seeking to kill the regulations.
New executive orders make law and order a key priority
In this July 7, 2016 file photo, Dallas police respond after shots were fired during a protest over recent fatal shootings by police in Louisiana and Minnesota, in Dallas.