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.
After a week of deliberations, the jury in the Bill Cosby sexual assault trial remained deadlocked on “whether to convict the comedian on any of the three counts of felony aggravated indecent assault.” As a result, Judge Steve T. O’Neill, the judge in the case, “declared a mistrial Saturday morning,” putting an end to the
It looks like the Bill Cosby trial will continue for at least another day. Over the course of five days, the jury has deliberated for nearly 52 hours and has yet to reach a verdict. During that time, the jury has asked a total of 12 questions “of the court during deliberations, essentially asking to hear the evidence for a second time.” By continually asking questions, one can’t help but wonder if the jury will “remain deadlocked and unable to reach a unanimous verdict on any of the three counts of aggravated indecent assault that Cosby faces.”
The Honest Company is back in the news, this time over news that the company has “settled a lawsuit in New York claiming it fraudulently labeled dozens of home and personal care products as natural, plant-based or chemical-free.” Though the terms of the class action lawsuit settlement have yet to be disclosed, lawyers for both the company and the plaintiffs have said that “they expect to seek preliminary approval shortly.”
Rolling Stone Magazine has finally agreed to pay $1.65 million to a University of Virginia fraternity to “settle a defamation lawsuit.” What was the defamation lawsuit for? It turns out, back in 2014 the magazine published a story written by Sabrina Rubin Erdely titled, “A Rape on Campus.” The story was about “a woman identified only as Jackie who claimed to be raped by members of the school’s Phi Kappa Psi fraternity as part of an initiation rite.” The problem with the story was that it never happened, which led Phi Kappa Psi to file a defamation lawsuit against the magazine.
Last month, a settlement was reached between the city of Stamford and the “estate of the three young girls killed in a 2011 Christmas Day fire,” but details of the settlement have only just been released. It turns out, the city will pay nearly $6.65 million to the “estate of Lily Badger, 9, and twin sisters Sarah and Grace, 7.”
Who doesn’t enjoy the convenience of ready-to-eat chicken? Unfortunately, the well-known New Holland, Pa. establishment, Tyson Foods, has decided to recall nearly “2,485,374 pounds of ready-to-eat (RTE) breaded chicken products due to misbranding and undeclared allergens.” What kind of undeclared allergens did the company forget to include on the labels? Milk. The labels failed to mention that the products “could contain milk, a known allergen” that many people are sensitive to.
Chef Boyardee fans beware, Conagra Brands recently issued a recall of 700,125 pounds of canned spaghetti and meatballs products “over a labeling error with possible allergens.” The company decided to issue the recall after an “ingredient supplier notified Conagra that bread crumbs used in the [recalled] products might contain milk, a known allergen.” The main problem that prompted the recall was that the known allergen, milk, “was not listed on the products’ labels.”
A new recall has been issued by Creation Gardens, Inc., a Louisville, Ky., establishment that has decided to recall “approximately 22,832 pounds of raw ground beef and beef primal cut products that may be contaminated with E. coli O157: H7.” The recall is a big deal because the company supplies beef to many restaurants throughout Louisville, and more than “1,500 restaurants in Lexington; Evansville, Ind.; Nashville; and Cincinnati.”
A settlement has been reached between a suburban Oklahoma City school system, it’s insurer and the families of seven children who died tragically “when their school was destroyed by a tornado” four years ago. The lawsuit itself was filed back in 2014 by the families who endured the devastating loss of their children at Plaza Towers Elementary School on May 20, 2013, and so far no details of the settlement agreement have been released.
The Trump administration and FDA have decided to delay yet another Obama-era rule that would require manufacturers to “update nutritional facts labels on processed foods.” Why? Well, it turns out that the “Food and Drug Administration said it has determined that manufacturers need additional time beyond the July 26, 2018 compliance date to complete and print new labels for their products.”