Ryan Farrick is a freelance writer and small business advertising consultant based out of mid-Michigan. Passionate about international politics and world affairs, he’s an avid traveler with a keen interest in the connections between South Asia and the United States. Ryan studied neuroscience and has spent the last several years working as an operations manager in transportation logistics.
The Trump administration plans to reallocate more than a quarter-billion dollars in funds from government programs to child detention centers. The plan, outlined in a letter from Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar, cuts refugee support programs by nearly $80 million. An additional $180 million, reports The Hill, will be taken out of healthcare
A federal appeals panel may revive a defamation suit filed by former vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin. The three-judge panel of the 2nd U.S. Court Circuit of Appeals in Manhattan seemed poised to rule in favor of Palin on Friday. Filed against the New York Times, the suit was scrapped last year after another court had
The Trump administration has publicly posted a proposal that’d bar legal immigrants from receiving green cards or citizenship if they’ve recently received welfare or other government assistance. Under the new rule, which POLITICO reports was posted on Saturday, immigrants can be denied ‘lawful permanent residency’ if they’ve availed certain public benefits—or if the Department of
A former Southwest Airlines employee is suing the regional carrier, saying his coworkers created a ‘whites-only’ breakroom at a Houston airport. The supposedly segregated breakroom—known by employees as the ‘W.B.’—had allegedly been around for years. Plaintiff Jamel Parker says the company knew about the room at William B. Hobby Airport and tolerated its existence. “Although
Nashville’s Metro Council approved a $130,000 civil rights settlement on Tuesday, ending a lawsuit that began with a 2011 arrest. Andrea Miller’s settlement with former Metro Nashville police officer Woodston Maddox brings one of the city’s largest civil rights settlements in recent history. The agreement awards Miller $50,000 in damages and reimburses ‘reasonable’ attorneys’ fees
Attorneys for the monthly magazine Prison Legal News have taken their First Amendment lawsuit to the Supreme Court, arguing that corrections officials are unfairly barring inmates from accessing the publication. The magazine filed a petition last week, asking the Supreme Court to hear its case against the Florida Department of Corrections. Florida, says Prison Legal
Ruling in on tips, a U.S. appeals court determined that restaurants must pay bartenders and waitstaff minimum wage when they’re doing work that’s not related to their primary positions. Exemptions to what would have been considered gratuity-based compensation include cleaning toilets and washing dishes. The decision, brought by an 11-judge panel of the 9th U.S.
Despite the Trump administration’s insistence on an immigrant-driven crime wave, the government has been arresting many migrants with no criminal record at all. NBC News reports that the phenomenon has been picking up its pace in the past year. Even as the president draws attentions to atrocities like the killing of 20-year old Iowan Mollie
Visa and MasterCard have agreed to pay close to $6.2 billion as part of the nation’s largest-ever antitrust settlement. The agreement, writes CNNMoney, concludes a 13-year old lawsuit brought against Visa, MasterCard and several commercial merchants. Plaintiffs, comprised largely of local retailers and chains, claimed the companies were foisting unfair ‘card swipe’ fees on businesses.
A Michigan judge said he’d expedite a lawsuit challenging the closure of Ojibway Correctional Facility in the state’s upper peninsula. According to the Detroit Free Press, Marenisco Township is suing the state Department of Corrections over its decision to close Ojibwe. Township Supervisor Richard Bouvette said the department didn’t pay proper mind to the devastating