Brianna Smith is a freelance writer and editor in Southwest Michigan. A graduate of Grand Valley State University, Brianna has a passion for politics, social issues, education, science, and more. When she’s not writing, she enjoys the simple life with her husband, daughter, and son.
For many people, their dogs are part of their families, which is why a recent recall issued by the Food & Drug Administration (FDA) has many people on alert. Yesterday, the FDA “announced product recalls for two different brands of dog food” because, according to the agency, “dogs and humans who came into contact with recently manufactured products by Raws for Paws and Smokehouse Pet Products were found to be at risk of contracting salmonella.”
After the enormous Equifax hack, many expected the government and industry professionals to put measures in place designed to protect against similar hacks down the road. Unfortunately, it seems the opposite is happening. According to reports, the head of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), Mick Mulvaney, recently decided to pull “back from a full-scale probe of how Equifax Inc failed to protect the personal data of millions of consumers.”
The lawsuit against President Donald Trump regarding Trump University is finally at an end. Earlier this week a $25 million settlement was approved in federal court, ending litigation that first began when “two federal class-action fraud lawsuits and a parallel state court action” were brought forward by Eric Schneiderman, the New York Attorney General. The lawsuits “accused Trump U. of deceiving students by falsely claiming that Trump knew the instructors and that the school was an accredited university.” Instead of being an accredited university, Trump University was a for-profit training program for those interested in learning all of Trump’s “secrets to creating a real estate empire” while charging students up to $35,000 to attend. Additionally, students claimed they were “cheated out of tuition through high-pressure sales tactics and misleading claims about what they would learn.”
After experiencing the tragic loss of her newborn daughter, Angela Marchant has decided to file a wrongful death lawsuit against St. Charles Health System, seeking $9 million in damages. The lawsuit itself was filed late last month on January 23 in Deschutes County Circuit Court shortly after her daughter, Grace Louise Marchant-Hubbs, died “at the St. Charles Family Birthing Center in Bend.” In addition to naming the hospital as a defendant, the suit also names “Bend OB-GYN Mary Jane Davis as a co-defendant,” and claims “she was often unaware of Marchant’s condition throughout her difficult childbirth and was frequently absent or late in arriving.”
If you’re a fan of fidget spinners, this recall is for you. Earlier last month the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) recalled certain “Pokémon fidget spinner keychains made in China for Fashion Accessory Bazaar.” Why? Well, according to the recall notice, “the center post on the fidget spinner can become loose or fall out, posing a choking hazard.” Fortunately, no injuries have been reported yet, and “no ASI-listed companies were named in the recall.”
A four-year civil lawsuit against The Mall at Short Hills was settled for $12 million earlier this week. The lawsuit itself was filed by the wife of a man “killed during a carjacking at The Mall at Short Hills.” Back in September the wife, Jamie Schare Friedland, made a “formal offer to settle the lawsuit,” and it seems the mall finally agreed, but what happened?
Earlier this week Alex Azar was sworn in as the new leader of the Department of Health and Human Services, a move that President Trump said will result in a drop in prescription drug prices. When commenting on the appointment of the former HHS official and pharmaceutical executive, Trump said: “We have to get the prices of prescription drugs way down and unravel the tangled web of special interest that are driving prices up for medicine and for really hurting patients.” He added, “As our new secretary, Alex will continue to implement the administrative and regulatory changes needed to ensure that our citizens get the affordable high-quality care that they deserve.”
Last year and early last month, test results of popular children’s makeup discovered the presence of asbestos, a dangerous chemical that should be nowhere near children’s products. Since the discovery, many have called on the Food and Drug Administration to conduct its own investigation into the tainted cosmetics sold by popular “retailers Claire’s Stores Inc. and Justice Retail.”
Earlier this week Jim Carrey was cleared of the lawsuits against him in relation to the “apparent suicide of his former girlfriend Cathriona White.” According to a representative for Carrey, the suits were “dismissed on Jan. 25” thanks in large part to a motion filed by his attorney, Raymond Boucher, in which he asked the court to “compel Mark Burton to provide White’s STD test results. Through discovery, Boucher came to the conclusion that a 2011 document showing White had clean test results prior to meeting Carrey was a forgery.” But who is Mark Burton? Why were the lawsuits filed against Carrey in the first place?
The popular bakery-cafe chain, Panera Bread, recently issued a recall for many of its cream cheese products over concerns of possible listeria contamination. Known for its delicious sandwiches and soups, Panera decided to voluntarily recall “2 oz. and 8 oz. cream cheese products after samples of one of its cream cheese products from a single production day showed a positive result for Listeria monocytogenes bacteria.”
