Although the 12 countries involved in the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) nearly wrapped up the final negotiations of the agreement this week in Hawaii, a few major roadblocks have caused the countries to leave empty-handed. The Hawaii round was expected to be the final negotiating session after nearly five years of talks between the U.S., Japan,
7/31/2015 The U.S.’s fundamental national healthcare program Medicare, as well as Medicaid officially turned 50 years-old on Thursday. President Lyndon Johnson signed an amendment to the Social Security Act which set the programs into law on July 30th, 1965. Medicare, the landmark program for seniors, now enrolls 55.2 million Americans. While a recent Kaiser Family
New York-based U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara may be the greatest prosecutor who ever lived. From the Bernie Madoff scandal to Toyota, to a large portion of the New York state legislature; he has left a historic level of convictions and penalty awards. This includes a remarkable streak of 85 consecutive insider trading convictions before losing
7/30/2015 Superstar quarterback Tom Brady made good on his threat to file a federal lawsuit if NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell did not overturn his four-game suspension over Brady’s supposed knowledge of wrongdoing in the “Deflategate” scandal. Goodell, who also served as the arbitrator in Brady’s June 23rd appeal in New York, upheld the suspension on
7/29/2015 Longtime Oakland Athletics season-ticket holder Gail Payne has filed a lawsuit against Major League Baseball (MLB) asking the organization to make drastic changes in the netting that protects fans along the foul lines. The suit, filed July 13th in the U.S. District Court of Northern California lists MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred as the defendant.
7/28/2015 The National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA), the nation’s top auto-regulator, released additional details surrounding its consent order with Fiat-Chrysler involving 23 separate recalls. The agency is requiring the company to buy back Dodge Ram pickups and other Dodge and Chrysler SUV’s involved in three of the recalls due to the agency’s inability to
7/27/2015 In a move opposed by many food and drink manufacturers, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a proposal on Friday to requiring the industry to include detailed added sugar consumption levels in their products. The proposal is an update to the FDA’s 2014 proposed mandate requiring companies to list the amount of added
7/26/2015 In a potential victory for privacy advocates, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) adopted a proposal on June 18th to “protect consumers against unwanted robocalls and spam texts.” In a series of declarations, the FCC announced that consumers have the right to prevent unwanted calls while granting telecommunications companies the legal license to use software
7/26/2015 Superstar Brooklyn U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara scored another victory on Friday, July 24th, when Manhattan U.S. District Judge Valerie Caproni denied former Democratic New York Assembly speaker Sheldon Silver’s motion to dismiss the corruption indictment filed against him. Prosecutors allege that Silver used his position to funnel money involving asbestos-related litigation and real-estate referrals
7/26/2015 Multiple sources are reporting that the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA) will issue Fiat-Chrysler a record $105 million fine for its lax response to 23 separate recalls involving over 11 million vehicles. The NHTSA conducted a public hearing earlier in the month regarding the company’s multiple safety issues, its first such hearing in