View of a Vera Bradley store at the Woodbury Common Premium Outlet. The American luggage and handbag design company is famous for its bright floral patterns.

On December 10, 2020, a U.S. Department of State employee and his spouse pleaded guilty to trafficking counterfeit Vera Bradley goods into the United States through e-commerce third-party sites on computers owned and operated by the U.S. Embassy in Seoul, South Korea. According to the indictment dated December 11, 2019,... Read More »

Church  mass

On May 3, 2018, President Trump issued an executive order “to assist faith-based and other organizations in their efforts to strengthen the institutions of civil society and American families and communities.” The order continued: Faith-based and community organizations have tremendous ability to serve individuals, families, and communities through means that... Read More »

Crime Scene

Serial killers and their tantalizing mysteries are the things of nightmares and cautionary children tales. But the reality is, documented cases of serial killers in the United States are decreasing, and it's unclear why that is. Serial Killer Statistics Over the Decades Virginia’s Radford University and the Florida Gulf Coast... Read More »

United States Department of Labor in Washington, DC

The Department of Labor's (DOL) Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) has issued a final rule entitled Fiduciary Duties Regarding Proxy Voting and Shareholder Rights. This ruling establishes a regulatory framework for fiduciaries of private employee benefits plans and helps clear up prior misunderstandings regarding proxy voting. This new ruling will... Read More »

Old woman looking out the window

On December 11, 2020, the U.S. Justice Department filed a lawsuit against J. Randolph Parry Architects and eight owners of multifamily properties that were designed by the architectural firm. The lawsuit alleges that both the architectural firm and the property owners violated the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). And in... Read More »

West Virginia running back Shawne Alston is tackled from behind during an NCAA football game against Pittsburgh in Pittsburgh. (AP Photo/Keith Srakocic, File)

Louisiana State University (LSU) made $92 million in football revenue last year, netting a $56 million profit. Joe Burrow, its Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback, received an athletic scholarship to LSU, worth approximately $40,000, the cost of attending college as an out-of-state student. This week, the Supreme Court granted an appeal, and... Read More »

Migrants who were returned to Mexico under the Trump administration's "Remain in Mexico" program, wait in line to get a meal in an encampment near the Gateway International Bridge in Matamoros, Mexico.

A joint finalized rule by the Department of Justice and Department of Homeland Security will go into effect mid-January 2021 which will “streamline and enhance procedures for the adjudication of claims for asylum, withholding of removal, and protection under the Convention Against Torture (CAT) regulations.” The two Departments claim this... Read More »

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer addresses the state during a speech in Lansing, Mich., Friday, Dec. 18, 2020.

Known for relatively stringent pandemic safety measures (along with protests and governor-kidnapping plots in response), Michigan remains in a partial shutdown amid the ongoing COVID-19 crisis. Though the state of the pandemic now surpasses the initial early-spring surges, restrictions are far less universally imposing than the lockdowns enacted at the... Read More »

Parkland school shooting suspect Nikolas Cruz(John McCall/South Florida Sun-Sentinel via AP, Pool, File)

In a unanimous decision by the 11th US Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta, justices rejected a lawsuit filed by fifteen survivors of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting. The survivors sued local officials for not protecting them during the mass shooting that claimed the lives of seventeen victims... Read More »

© TMuskingum County Common Pleas Judge Mark C. Fleegle

Muskingum County Judge Mark C. Fleegle has been disqualified from two cases scheduled for this month after complaints that Fleegle has not followed COVID-19 safety protocols in his courtroom. The complaints came from a Columbus, Ohio lawyer, Harry Reinhart. Reinhart, who is 69, was dissatisfied with the lack of safety... Read More »

TikTok App on phone

Available in the United States since August of 2018, TikTok is a social media app owned by the Chinese company ByteDance that allows users to create and share brief videos. The app provides sound and video effects that are easy to use and can produce sophisticated-looking results. Especially popular with... Read More »

U.S. Attorney Drew Wrigley, right. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Tara Iversen, center, and Melissa Burkland, left.  (Chris Flynn / The Forum via Grand Forks Herald)

The Department of Justice and the state of North Dakota have reached a settlement agreement in which the state will provide a more expansive community-based care service for individuals who live with disabilities. This settlement comes after a long battle between states concerning their role in upholding the law regarding... Read More »

Attorney General William Barr during a press conference on Monday December, 21st, 2020, in Washington, D.C. (Michael Reynolds/Pool vía AP)

The US charged Libyan Abu Agela Mas’ud Kheir Al-Marimi for his role in the Pan Am bombing over Lockerbie, Scotland. The charges come on the 32nd anniversary of the attack the killed 270 people, including 190 Americans. Al-Marimi is currently imprisoned in Libya and awaits extradition to the United States. It is... Read More »

U.S. Department of Labor building

After an investigation conducted by the U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division (WHD), Clearwater Cylinder Head, Inc. was ordered to pay $13,133 in back wages for violating the Fair Labor Standards Act (FSLA). Twenty employees of the cylinder manufacturer based in Clearwater, Florida, will receive $656.65 as compensation... Read More »

Workers in line getting temp checks

The U.S. Department of Labor’s OSHA has announced through a press release that the coronavirus pandemic has resulted in over $3,504,345 of violations. The violations stem from 263 inspections where citations were issued. Under the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, employers have the legal duty to provide a... Read More »