New Regulation Aims to Challenge California Judge’s Ruling Requiring Warning Labels on Coffee

Remember when a judge in California decided that coffee should be served with warning labels so coffee drinkers know the cancer risks associated with drinking coffee. However, since the judge’s decision, many in the state have begun to wonder if the health warnings may be going too far. One of those concerned citizens is Sam Delson, the deputy director for external and legislative affairs for California’s Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment. He said, “There’s a danger to over-warning—it’s important to warn about real health risks.”


Settlement Agreement Could Help Keep Mentally Ill Out of Washington Jails

A lawsuit between Disability Rights Washington and the Department of Social and Health Services in Washington settled yesterday. The suit revolved around a lawsuit filed by Disability Rights Washington back in 2014 on behalf of “mentally ill people who’ve been warehoused in jails for weeks or months while awaiting competency services.” When the lawsuit was first filed, it was seeking “relief for criminal defendants who were languishing for months in county jails while waiting to be evaluated to see if they were competent to help in their defense.” Those who were eventually found incompetent often had to wait additional “weeks or months before being taken to a state-run mental hospital for treatment.” As a result, the suit argued that the state “was violating their constitutional rights.”



President Trump Offers Support for FIRST STEP Act for Prison Reform

President Trump has thrown his support behind the FIRST STEP Act, a controversial bill intended to reform America’s broken criminal justice system. Early in August, Trump spoke to a group of ‘inner-city pastors’ at the White House. Explaining the moves he’s made to lower unemployment and offer fresh opportunities for former prisoners, the president elaborated



City of Omaha, Douglas County Hit with Negligence Suit

For many people, calling 911 means help will arrive promptly to help with virtually any type of emergency, including asthma attacks. Unfortunately for one woman in Omaha, Nebraska, help didn’t arrive soon enough when she began suffering from an asthma attack. That delay in help resulted in her death, and now her family is suing. The suit itself was filed against the City of Omaha and Douglas County by the family of Cristine Herek and argues that “Douglas County 911 personnel were negligent in failing to locate Herek in time to save her life.” Attorney Ben White filed the suit on behalf of one of Herek’s sons, Angelo Emmanuel, and her estate. The city and county are both named as defendants because much of “Douglas County 911’s funding comes from the city.”


Safety Alert: USPSC Recalls More Than 200,000 Hair Dryers Over Fire Hazard Concerns

Are you one of the many people who use a hair dryer as part of your morning routine when getting ready for work? If so, this latest recall notice is for you. Earlier this week, The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (USPSC) issued a recall of more than 200,000 Xtava Allure hair dryers over concerns that the can potentially “catch fire or deliver electrical shocks.”