4/30/2015 When former Attorney General Eric Holder announced the retirement of Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) chief, Michelle Leonhart, on April 21st, he may have also closed the book on an era for the DEA as we know it. Called a “trailblazer for equality” by Holder in his statement, Leonhart spent 35 years working for the
4/29/2015 The two most recent scandals involving government healthcare that Legal Reader has been following have been unearthed by whistleblowers, former employees who have brought systematic abuses to the public even in the face of retaliation. First, last year’s nationwide Veterans Affairs (VA) wait-time scandal dominated news headlines and forced the resignation of then-Secretary Eric
In what could be seen as uncharacteristically customer-focused maneuver, Verizon began offering “Custom TV” plans for their FiOS cable packages starting at $55 per month beginning last week. These plans include a core bundle of stations and then offer additional customizable tiers of channels based on customer
A case argued on January 21st before the Supreme Court may derail a major portion of America’s primary housing-discrimination law. The 1968 Fair Housing Act (FHA) was created by its sponsors to prevent discrimination of housing choices against protected groups as well as being created with the intent to proactively integrate segregated communities. Texas Department
In what is probably the most appalling issue of injustice that I have covered to date for Legal Reader, the FBI confirmed on Monday, April 20th, that approximately 95 percent of hair sample analyses it used to help convict suspects between 1985 and 1999 relied on flawed methodology. The revelations stem from a 2-year investigation
It must be noted that the Center for Public Integrity (CPI) is on quite a roll lately. A few weeks ago, the investigative non-profit and 2014 Pulitzer Prize winner released an Earth-shattering report about the small circle of panel experts, many with ties to big tobacco that decides a large portion of food ingredient safety
As I mentioned last week, the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) is an unprecedentedly entangling trade agreement, whose complexity is only made worse by the secrecy of its negotiations. Although small pieces of information have been leaked as early as 2011, the main source that analysts have to go by is the November 13th, 2013 Wikileaks disclosure.
Technically as of today, not a single person has been fired for the Veterans Affairs wait time scandal from last year. That’s right, it bears repeating: technically, not a single person has been fired for the VA wait time scandal. Sorry, but that point needs to sink in. New VA Secretary Bob McDonald is already
The Tenth Circuit issued an opinion on Tuesday, finding that state law claims asserted against Medtronic, manufacturer of the InFuse bone growth stimulator were preempted by FDA approval of the medical device under the Medical Device Act (“MDA”). Plaintiff in the case alleged that Medtronic representatives promoted an off-label, posterior surgical approach for the device,
Senate Majority Leader, Mitch McConnell shocked both parties in Congress by introducing a bill late Tuesday, April 21st to reauthorize a section of the Patriot Act that essentially provides the justification for the NSA spying program on American citizens. The move comes a day before the House Judiciary Committee was to introduce an NSA-reform bill