Petition to FAA Calls for Seat-Shrinkage Pushback
sent a petition containing the names of over 30,000 flyers to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) chief Michael Huerta calling for set limits for airline seating.
Staff
Louisiana, Missouri Exemplify America’s Public Defender Funding Crisis
Neither a state-level funding crisis, nor the restriction of public defender services are issues reserved for Louisiana and Missouri alone. Like Missouri, Florida’s Supreme Court ruled in 2013 that the state’s public defenders’ offices can apply to refuse appointments based on overwhelming caseloads. At the time, Miami’s public defenders were averaging about 400 felony cases apiece, including up to 50 cases set for trial per week. Lawmakers in Tennessee are considering a bill to repeal a law in place since 1992 that mandates that public defenders receive a 75 percent match of every dollar of increased funding for prosecutors in the state.
Judge Approves Settlement in Silicon Valley Wage Class-Action Case
The lawsuit depicts Jobs as the mastermind behind the agreement. One email cited by the plaintiffs from 2007 involves Jobs writing to Schmidt about poaching, saying “I would be very pleased if your recruiting department would stop doing this.” Schmidt forwarded the request down the chain of command, writing “I believe we have a policy of no recruiting from Apple and this is a direct inbound request. Can you get this stopped and let me know why this is happening? I will need to send a response back to Apple quickly so please let me know as soon as you can.”
Alleged Cover-up Could Blow Roof off of Asbestos Litigation
The appeals ruling involved a class-action suit filed by relatives of alleged asbestos victims who accused BASF and Cahill of a systematic cover-up involving the destruction of key documents involving Engelhard asbestos litigation. Although the case in itself is not injury related, evidence of a cover-up could revive many previously litigated cases and cases in which plaintiffs settled for less than they would have had they attained access to factual information.
Sincerely Nuts Recalls Macadamia Products due to Salmonella Scare
According to the FDA, Persons infected with the salmonella organism “often experience fever, diarrhea (which may be bloody), nausea, vomiting and abdominal pain” that in rare circumstances, “can result in the organism getting into the bloodstream and producing more severe illnesses such as arterial infections (i.e., infected aneurysms), endocarditis and arthritis.”
Virginia to Conduct New Testing of ET-Plus Guardrails
The tests come as several critics dispute the validity of eight road tests that the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) claims that the ET-Plus passed in March. The ET-Plus guardrail is designed to act as a shock absorber when a vehicle collides with it, but many believe that the guardrail can buckle and splinter instead, spearing the vehicle and possibly drivers with jagged pieces of metal piercing through the door or window. Currently, there are over 200,000 ET-Plus guardrails installed throughout the U.S. highway system.
Judge Berman Overrules NFL’s Suspension of Tom Brady
The NFL has already announced that they will appeal the ruling; however it means that Brady will be permitted to start the first game of the NFL season, which begins next week. Depending on the success of the NFL’s appeal, it is still possible that Brady will have to serve the suspension at a later time.
Appeals Court Rules for Novartis against Amgen in Biosimilar Cancer Treatment Suit
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit granted a major victory for Novartis AG, the world’s pharmaceutical market leader. The court’s three-judge panel ruled 2-1 on Wednesday, declining a petition to renew a six-month injunction filed by competitor Amgen involving the marketing of a biosimilar drug comparable to Amgen’s breakthrough cancer treatment Neupogen
California Joins Solitary Confinement Prison Reform Trend
As per terms of the agreement, those who have been in solitary due to gang-affiliations will have to undergo a two-year program that allows for some privileges before entering the general population. The agreement also calls for restructuring of the SHU facilities for those who are deemed too dangerous to return to the general population. These include prisoners with histories of extreme violence including murder, narcotics possession, attempted escape, and those with severe mental health problems.
Takata Recall Total Lowered amid Widened Side-Airbag Probe
Original projections had estimated about 34 million airbags, with faulty inflators that could send shrapnel flying into the passenger cabin upon impact. The revised total estimates the number to be 23.4 million, with roughly 4 million of the airbags having already been replaced. The agency also estimates that 4 million of the affected vehicles have at least two of the recalled airbags, bringing the actual number of vehicles affected by the recall in the U.S. to around 19 million.