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.


Contamination Concerns Prompt Baby Food Recall

When parents buy food for their children, they do so with a certain expectation that what they’re buying is safe. Unfortunately, a popular baby food manufacturer, Overhill Farms, has run into a problem that is making some parents nervous. Why? Well, the company is “recalling more than 50,000 pounds of frozen chicken bites because the products might be contaminated with bone fragments.”


Popular Britax Car Seats Recalled Due To Choking Hazard

Parents can never be too careful about the products they use for their babies and children. Because of that, it’s important to stay informed and up to date about recent recalls, like the one just issued by Britax Child Safety. The company has decided to recall more than “207,000 rear-facing infant car seats because part of a clip can break and cause a choking hazard.”


Nursing Home Alligator Attack Results in Wrongful Death Lawsuit

It’s always hard to lose a loved one, but even harder when a loved one dies unexpectedly, and in a tragic manner. Unfortunately, that is what happened to a 90-year-old grandmother after wandering away from her senior home last July. What happened, exactly? Well, she was attacked and “dismembered” by an alligator, and now her


Betsy DeVos Does Away With Obama-Era Protections for College Students

Two Obama-era rules “designed to protect college students from predatory lending and dubious for-profit colleges” have been halted by Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos. Why? Well, DeVos called them “overly burdensome and confusing.” The two rules were scheduled to go into effect on July 1, and were introduced last year in response to thousands of students complaining that they were “defrauded by for-profit colleges.” But what would the rules have done? How would they protect students?


Dog Owners File Lawsuit Against Evanger’s, Nutripack Amid Recall Concerns

Nearly 40 different pet food and treat items are or have been recalled this year, leaving pet owners feeling a bit uncertain about the safety of the dog or cat food they’re buying for their furry friends. But why were they recalled? In many cases, three brands of dog food, in particular, were recalled “because they contained the euthanasia drug pentobarbital.” Now, the company linked to the three brands of dog food is facing multiple lawsuits, “including a $5 million suit brought by the family that had four dogs fall ill, and one die, after eating food made by Evanger’s Dog and Cat Food Co Inc. and Nutripack., LLC.”


Two Female Firefighters Sue San Jose for Gender Discrimination

The San Jose Fire Department is under fire for the second time in five years for gender discrimination. Two female firefighters, Chief Patricia Tapia and retired Battalion Chief Debra Ward, are suing the city “for gender discrimination, retaliation and harassment saying they were passed up for promotions because they are women.” Both women claim in the lawsuit that they are “fighting to change the culture of exclusion at the fire department.”


Runaway Beverage Cart Blamed for Causing Brain Injury In Negligence Lawsuit

America’s airlines are not having a good year so far. A negligence lawsuit has been filed against American Airlines Group Inc after a plane “flew to its destination rather than make an emergency landing after a runaway beverage cart struck a passenger’s head during takeoff.” Unfortunately for the passenger, Charles Johnson, the injury left him with a “severe brain injury,” which is why Johnson and his wife are suing the airline for “at least $10 million in damages” over what they’re calling “gross negligence” and “reckless disregard” for their well-being, according to a complaint filed in the federal court in White Plains, New York.



New York State Division of Human Rights Set to Investigate Fox News

Fox News just can’t catch a break. Not only have they been knee deep in discrimination and sexual harassment lawsuits, but now the conservative news network is the “subject of an investigation by the New York State Division of Human Rights.” Why? Well, according to Lisa Bloom, an attorney and a spokesperson for the agency, the investigation is going to look into the “numerous and very public sexual harassment complaints that have been plaguing the company for well over a year.”


EPA Delays Obama-Era Chemical Safety Rule Until 2019

The Trump administration seems to be delaying a lot of Obama-era things lately. Not only will has the FDA decided to delay an Obama-era rule that would require manufacturers to “update nutritional facts labels on processed foods,” a move the agency claims is necessary because “manufacturers need additional time beyond the July 26, 2018, compliance date to complete and print new labels for their products,” but now the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is set to delay a “chemical safety rule for nearly two years while it reassesses the necessity of the regulation.”