After weeks of taking a beating from critics over North Carolina’s law dictating which restrooms transgender people can use, Gov. Pat McCrory adopted a strategy long favored by Southern conservative governors: He went after the federal government. The governor, trying ...
Read More »Tide of college football concussion lawsuits begins
As many as 50 class-action lawsuits contesting how the NCAA, major college football conferences or individual schools handled concussions will be filed in the coming months by former players seeking damages for lingering brain injuries and ailments. The first batch ...
Read More »Fewer people sought US jobless benefits last week
The number of people seeking U.S. jobless aid fell sharply last week, partially reversing two weeks of big gains that had raised concerns about rising layoffs. Weekly applications for unemployment aid dropped 16,000 to 278,000, the Labor Department said Thursday. ...
Read More »Cosby spends millions as lawsuits, criminal case rage on
In any given week, teams of high-priced lawyers fan out across the country to defend Bill Cosby amid a cascade of sexual assault allegations, defamation claims and insurance disputes. The disgraced TV star is spending millions in a frenzied bid ...
Read More »House to debate scaled-back Zika bill despite veto threat
Republicans controlling the House are ignoring protests from Democrats and a White House veto threat as they speed legislation funding the battle against the Zika virus toward a vote this week. The $622 million GOP plan would provide one-third of ...
Read More »Judge says Kansas can’t require citizenship proof to vote
A judge said Tuesday that Kansas can’t require people to show proof of U.S. citizenship when registering to vote for federal elections at motor vehicle offices. U.S. District Judge Julie Robinson ruled that the state’s proof-of-citizenship requirements likely violate a ...
Read More »In case linked to former Trump partner, gov’t wants secrecy
The Justice Department has urged a federal judge to keep some records sealed in a criminal proceeding linked to a former business associate of Donald Trump. Among prosecutors’ reasons: to avoid media attention. The case is related to Felix Sater, ...
Read More »Transgender ‘milestones’ took decades; more lawsuits likely
With two milestone developments in the federal government’s policy on gender issues, last week was heady for transgender people and advocates. First, an impassioned Attorney General Loretta Lynch announced the government was suing North Carolina for discriminating against transgender people. ...
Read More »Lowe’s like Home Depot, puts up big numbers as housing booms
Lowe’s reported surging first-quarter profits and comparable-store sales boomed in the midst of a strong recovery in the U.S. housing market. The Mooresville, North Carolina, company boosted its outlook for the year, as did its rival, Home Depot on Tuesday, ...
Read More »Study finds high rate of repossessions in auto title loans
People who put their cars up as collateral for what are supposed to be short-term emergency loans are being hit with interest rates of 300 percent, a high rate of repossession and long repayment periods. That’s according to a study ...
Read More »Amtrak victims: Investigative findings hard to believe
Victims of last year’s deadly Amtrak derailment aren’t buying the findings of federal investigators that the train’s engineer likely lost his bearings because he was distracted by an incident with a nearby train. Through lawyers, they called the National Transportation ...
Read More »