The Bizarre Regulatory Idolatry of the Patent Lobby

With patent reform likely back on the docket for 2017 once Congress finishes with bigger ticket items like Obamacare repeal, you can count on hearing a lot of easily debunked nonsense from various confused "conservatives" about the patent system. Predictably, many will try to frame any reform of that system as an attack on patents themselves, which they will claim is really cover for an assault on property rights generally.

Yes, there are lottery winners who receive Medicaid

One of the more talked about provisions in the House Republican bill to replace Obamacare is one that would bar high-dollar lottery winners from receiving Medicaid. 6 of 66 pages in the House GOP's Obamacare replacement bill are about how to exclude high-dollar lottery winners from Medicaid.

NAACP head: Sessions pledges to enforce civil rights laws

NAACP President Cornell William Brooks speaks outside the Justice Department in Washington, Friday, March 3, 2017, following a meeting with Attorney General Jeff Sessions. Brooks said he met with Sessions over concerns that recent policy changes "signal a threatening decline" in the Justice Department's commitment to civil rights.

Officials: Man threatened Jewish centers to frame, harass ex

Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney, center, member of Congress's bipartisan task force combating anti-Semitism, speaks with a reporter after holding a press conference to address bomb treats against Jewish organizations and vandalism at Jewish cemeteries, Friday March 3, 2017, at the Park East Synagogue in New York.

Police: Woman killed husband after…

TARENTUM, Pa. -- Police in Pennsylvania say a woman fatally shot her husband after arguing about a casserole she burned, then took a photo of the body, texted it to a friend and showered before calling 911.

Police: Woman killed husband after…

TARENTUM, Pa. -- Police in Pennsylvania say a woman fatally shot her husband after arguing about a casserole she burned, then took a photo of the body, texted it to a friend and showered before calling 911.

The Bizarre Plot To Blow Up Target Stores To Tank Company Stock

Mark Barnett's explosive idea to manipulate the price of Target's stock fizzled out before it could be realized, authorities in Florida say. Prosecutors accuse the 48-year-old from Ocala of plotting to plant multiple improvised explosive bombs - disguised in food packages - on shelves in Target stores along the east coast of the United States.

Exclusive: Grotesque, Unbelievable, Bizarre, Unprecedented – New twist in McCabe saga revealed

Shocking new failures by Tusla are revealed in an internal review of the Child and Family Agency's handling of false child sex abuse allegations against Garda whistleblower Maurice McCabe, the Sunday Independent has learned. Shocking new failures by Tusla are revealed in an internal review of the Child and Family Agency's handling of false child sex abuse allegations against Garda whistleblower Maurice McCabe, the Sunday Independent has learned.

Exclusive: Grotesque, Unbelievable, Bizarre, Unprecedented – New twist in McCabe saga revealed

Shocking new failures by Tusla are revealed in an internal review of the Child and Family Agency's handling of false child sex abuse allegations against Garda whistleblower Maurice McCabe, the Sunday Independent has learned. Shocking new failures by Tusla are revealed in an internal review of the Child and Family Agency's handling of false child sex abuse allegations against Garda whistleblower Maurice McCabe, the Sunday Independent has learned.

The Curious Case of Luther StrangeBy Patricia Murphy

If you thought Jeff Sessions ' path to become Donald Trump 's Attorney General was dramatic, you haven't been paying attention to politics in Sessions' home state of Alabama, where Republican Gov. Robert Bentley is facing impeachment charges related to a sex scandal, the House Speaker just went to jail for corruption, and a former Democratic governor was released federal prison yesterday on different corruption changes. Rising mostly above the chaos has been Attorney General Luther Strange, a two-term Republican who, at 6'9, is known to most in the state as "Big Luther."

State Senator Combines Words ‘Loofa’ And…

A Pennsylvania lawmaker called President Donald Trump a "fascist, loofa-faced, shit-gibbon" on Twitter Tuesday because Trump reportedly joked he would "destroy" the career of a Texas state senator for introducing legislation on civil asset forfeiture. Hey @realDonaldTrump I oppose civil asset forfeiture too! Why don't you try to destroy my career you fascist, loofa-faced, shit-gibbon! Daylin Leach, a state senator representing a large portion of the area right outside of Philadelphia, also wrote the same message on Facebook, while linking to a Politico piece about Trump's meeting with several sheriffs in Texas.

State Senator Combines Words ‘Loofa’ And…

A Pennsylvania lawmaker called President Donald Trump a "fascist, loofa-faced, shit-gibbon" on Twitter Tuesday because Trump reportedly joked he would "destroy" the career of a Texas state senator for introducing legislation on civil asset forfeiture. Hey @realDonaldTrump I oppose civil asset forfeiture too! Why don't you try to destroy my career you fascist, loofa-faced, shit-gibbon! Daylin Leach, a state senator representing a large portion of the area right outside of Philadelphia, also wrote the same message on Facebook, while linking to a Politico piece about Trump's meeting with several sheriffs in Texas.

Baby Announcement Bomb Gets Future Father Charged With Crime

... law requiring a person to be permitted before detonating an explosive is "silly." Nonetheless, it's the law. Legally Weird delves into the world of strange legal happenings, odd laws and legal curiosities of all types . Have a comment or tip? Write ...

Courtney Plante Admits to Role in Bizarre Murder Try Against Former Teacher

Update: Courtney Plante has taken a plea agreement in regard to attempted-murder allegations against her and significant other Sean Overstreet dating back to January 2016, when she was nineteen and he was 37. The deal trims time off Plante's possible sentence but doesn't let her off the hook for a crime against a former teacher of hers that was as violent as it was bizarre. According to the original arrest affidavit, Overstreet stabbed Michael Brown multiple times while Plante allegedly encouraged him via comments such as, " Go get him, Sean ."

Mars investigating Skittles said to be intended for cattle

A mysterious Skittles spill on a rural highway in Wisconsin is taking another twist, with Mars Inc. saying it doesn't know why the discarded candy might have been headed to become cattle feed. The case began when a Wisconsin sheriff posted on Facebook this week that "hundreds of thousands of Skittles" had been found spilled on a highway.

Small businesses hope to see Obama-backed rules scrapped

In this Jan. 13, 2017, photo, Vince Pappas, owner of Stone Steel Corporation, poses for a photo in his warehouse in Baltimore. Small businesses can expect some high-profile Obama administration regulations to be scrapped after Donald Trump takes office, with rules affecting overtime, sick leave and the environment among those likely to be scrapped.

Police: Beating on video began after friendly encounter

This booking photo provided by the Chicago Police Department shows Brittany Covington of Chicago. Covington is one of four people charged Thursday, Jan. 5, 2017, with aggravated kidnapping and taking part in a hate crime after allegedly beating and taunting a man in a video broadcast live on Facebook.

Quarter Thief Gets Sentence Halved by Appellate Court

... 176 quarters should "require the taxpayers to pay close to 1,000,000 quarters to imprison him for 12 years." Legally Weird delves into the world of strange legal happenings, odd laws and legal curiosities of all types . Have a comment or tip? Write ...

Court date set for woman at center of bizarre SWAT in Clairemont Mesa

A Clairemont Mesa woman accused of firing a shot through her neighbors' front door after they complained about loud shouting coming from her apartment pleaded not guilty Tuesday to assault with a semiautomatic firearm and other charges. Deputy District Attorney Michael Reilly said police responded to an apartment complex in the 6300 block of Beadnell Way after midnight on Dec. 29 and told Lefler to quiet down, then left.

Cops: Veteran Politician Groped Victim, 103

DECEMBER 29--A veteran Pennsylvania politician is facing indecent assault charges for repeatedly molesting a 103-year-old woman confined to a nursing home, On three occasions this month, William Spingler, 75, allegedly groped the breasts of the victim, who resides at the Wayne Nursing Home in Delaware County. As alleged in a criminal complaint , Spingler was first seen groping the mentally disabled victim on December 15. A nursing home employee told cops that she spotted Spingler touching the woman's right breast and moving his hand "around her chest area in a manner that could not be misconstrued with anything else but inappropriate touching."