ReportWire

Tag: LEGAL

  • U.S. Supreme Court’s Barrett again declines to block Biden student debt relief

    U.S. Supreme Court’s Barrett again declines to block Biden student debt relief

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    Nov 4 (Reuters) – U.S. Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett on Friday again declined to block President Joe Biden’s plan to cancel billions of dollars in student debt, this time in a challenge brought by two Indiana borrowers, even as a lower court considers whether to lift a freeze it imposed on the program in a different case.

    Barrett denied an emergency request by the Indiana borrowers, represented by a conservative legal group, to bar the U.S. Department of Education from implementing the Democratic president’s plan to forgive debt held by qualified people who had taken loans to pay for college.

    Barrett on Oct. 20 denied a similar request by a Wisconsin taxpayers organization represented by another conservative legal group. The justice acted in the cases because she is the justice assigned to handle certain emergency requests from a group of states that includes Indiana and Wisconsin.

    The St. Louis-based 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Oct. 21 put the policy on hold in yet another conservative challenge by six Republican-led states while it considered their request for injunction pending their appeal of their case’s dismissal. That request remains pending.

    Biden’s plan, unveiled in August, was designed to forgive up to $10,000 in student loan debt for borrowers making less than $125,000 per year, or $250,000 for married couples. Borrowers who received Pell Grants to benefit lower-income college students would have up to $20,000 of their debt canceled.

    The non-partisan Congressional Budget Office in September calculated that debt forgiveness would eliminate about $430 billion of the $1.6 trillion in outstanding student debt and that more than 40 million Americans would be eligible to benefit.

    The policy fulfilled a promise Biden made during the 2020 presidential campaign to help debt-saddled former college students. Democrats hope the policy will boost support for them in Tuesday’s midterm elections in which control of Congress is at stake.

    Friday’s case was filed by two borrowers, Frank Garrison and Noel Johnson, represented by the conservative Pacific Legal Foundation, and claimed they would be irreparably harmed if some of their student loans were automatically forgiven because they would face increased state tax liabilities.

    Soon after they sued, the Department of Education created an opt-out option for borrowers. U.S. District Judge Richard Young on Oct. 21 dismissed the case, finding that the debt forgiveness program did not injure Garrison and Johnson.

    The Chicago-based 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Oct. 28 declined to block the plan while Garrison and Johnson pursued an appeal, noting that the program is “not compulsory” and that the plaintiffs could avoid tax liability simply by opting out.

    Caleb Kruckenberg, a lawyer at the Pacific Legal Foundation, in a statement expressed disappointment that Barrett declined to block the plan while his clients pursued their appeal but said they will “continue to fight this program in court.”

    “Practically since this program was announced, the administration has sought to avoid judicial scrutiny,” he said. “Thus far they have succeeded. But that does not change the fact that this program is illegal from stem to stern.”

    Reporting by Nate Raymond in Boston; editing by Jonathan Oatis and Rosalba O’Brien

    Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

    Nate Raymond

    Thomson Reuters

    Nate Raymond reports on the federal judiciary and litigation. He can be reached at nate.raymond@thomsonreuters.com.

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  • North Carolina reports possible voter intimidation, threats ahead of midterm elections

    North Carolina reports possible voter intimidation, threats ahead of midterm elections

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    WASHINGTON, Nov 4 (Reuters) – North Carolina officials have registered 14 instances of potential intimidation or interference with voters and election workers in the run-up to Tuesday’s U.S. midterm elections, according to records provided to Reuters on Friday.

    The alleged incidents come as grassroots poll observers, many recruited by prominent Republican Party figures and activists, fan out in the lead-up to Tuesday’s vote, a trend that has worried experts and officials.

    Many of the activists have embraced false conspiracy theories, spread by former President Donald Trump, which hold that the 2020 election was marred by fraud and that the upcoming congressional elections are similarly vulnerable.

    Incident reports released to Reuters on Friday show that the North Carolina State Board of Elections is tracking eight instances of potential voter intimidation, one of potential voter interference and five of potential interference with election workers during early voting. The alleged incidents are spread across nine counties and include major metropolitan areas such as Mecklenburg County, where Charlotte is located, as well as more rural areas.

    It is not the only state where officials have raised concerns. Arizona late last month asked the Justice Department to investigate a case of possible voter intimidation, and officials there have since said they have observed several more possible instances of intimidation.

    In several other states, aggressive canvassing tactics by Republican-aligned groups have raised voter intimidation concerns among election officials and voting rights lawyers.

    Nearly 36 million Americans have so far cast early ballots, either at in-person sites or by mail, according to a tally by the U.S. Election Project.

    Signs direct voters into a polling station during the 2020 U.S. presidential election in Durham, Durham County, North Carolina, U.S., November 3, 2020. REUTERS/Jonathan Drake

    Most of the North Carolina incidents, which were described in only general terms, involved photographing, videotaping or yelling at voters and officials, the reports show.

    In Mecklenburg County, observers allegedly approached election workers as they returned to a government office and photographed their license plates. In one case in Columbus County in the state’s southeast, an observer allegedly followed an election worker in his or her car.

    Katherine Horn, chair of Columbus County’s election board, told Reuters that the sheriff’s office was looking into the incident.

    Harnett County, north of Fayetteville, had recorded two incidents, one in late October involving an individual who stood extremely close to poll workers and another on Friday involving individuals who were videotaping voters, said county election director Claire Jones.

    “The State Board and its law enforcement partners are monitoring several isolated incidents of possible voter or poll worker harassment or intimidation, as well as cases of aggressive campaigning outside polling places,” Karen Brinson Bell, executive director of the North Carolina State Board of Elections, said in a statement.

    “We take these incidents very seriously. When they occur, we will work with our law enforcement partners on appropriate responses.”

    North Carolina officials noted unusually aggressive observers during May’s primary election in 16 counties.

    Reporting by Gram Slattery; Editing by Scott Malone and Aurora Ellis

    Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

    Gram Slattery

    Thomson Reuters

    Washington-based correspondent covering campaigns and Congress. Previously posted in Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paulo and Santiago, Chile, and has reported extensively throughout Latin America. Co-winner of the 2021 Reuters journalist of the Award in the business coverage category for a series on corruption and fraud in the oil industry. He was born in Massachusetts and graduated from Harvard College.

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  • Twitter lays off staff, Musk blames activists for ad revenue drop

    Twitter lays off staff, Musk blames activists for ad revenue drop

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    • Musk axes around half of Twitter’s workforce
    • Employees file class action against Twitter
    • Staff lose access to systems
    • Major advertisers pull ads

    Nov 4 (Reuters) – Twitter Inc laid off half its workforce on Friday but said cuts were smaller in the team responsible for preventing the spread of misinformation, as advertisers pulled spending amid concerns about content moderation.

    Tweets by staff of the social media company said teams responsible for communications, content curation, human rights and machine learning ethics were among those gutted, as were some product and engineering teams.

    The move caps a week of chaos and uncertainty about the company’s future under new owner Elon Musk, the world’s richest person, who tweeted on Friday that the service was experiencing a “massive drop in revenue” from the advertiser retreat.

    Musk blamed the losses on a coalition of civil rights groups that has been pressing Twitter’s top advertisers to take action if he did not protect content moderation – concerns heightened ahead of potential pivotal congressional elections on Tuesday.

    After the layoffs, the groups said they were escalating their pressure and demanding brands pull their Twitter ads globally.

    “Unfortunately there is no choice when the company is losing over $4M/day,” Musk tweeted of the layoffs, adding that everyone affected was offered three months of severance pay.

    The company was silent about the depth of the cuts until late in the day, when head of safety and integrity Yoel Roth tweeted confirmation of internal plans, seen by Reuters earlier in the week, projecting the layoffs would affect about 3,700 people, or 50% of the staff.

    Among those let go were 784 employees from the company’s San Francisco headquarters and 199 in San Jose and Los Angeles, according to filings to California’s employment authority.

    Roth said the reductions hit about 15% of his team, which is responsible for preventing the spread of misinformation and other harmful content, and that the company’s “core moderation capabilities” remained in place.

    Musk endorsed the safety executive last week, citing his “high integrity” after Roth was called out over tweets critical of former President Donald Trump years earlier.

    Musk has promised to restore free speech while preventing Twitter from descending into a “hellscape.”

    President Joe Biden said on Friday that Musk had purchased a social media platform in Twitter that spews lies across the world.

    “And now what are we all worried about: Elon Musk goes out and buys an outfit that sends – that spews lies all across the world… There’s no editors anymore in America. There’s no editors. How do we expect kids to be able to understand what is at stake?”

    Major advertisers have expressed apprehension about Musk’s takeover for months.

    Brands including General Motors Co (GM.N) and General Mills Inc (GIS.N) have said they stopped advertising on Twitter while awaiting information about the new direction of the platform.

    Musk tweeted that his team had made no changes to content moderation and done “everything we could” to appease the groups. Speaking at an investors conference in New York on Friday, Musk called the activist pressure “an attack on the First Amendment.”

    [1/9] Owner and CEO of Twitter, Inc. Elon Musk arrives at the 29th Annual Baron Investment Conference in Manhattan in New York City, New York, U.S., November 4, 2022. REUTERS/Andrew Kelly

    Twitter did not respond to a request for comment.

    ACCESS TO SYSTEMS CUT

    The email notifying staff about layoffs was the first communication Twitter workers received from the company’s leadership after Musk took over last week. It was signed only by “Twitter,” without naming Musk or any other executives.

    Dozens of staffers tweeted they had lost access to work email and Slack channels overnight before receiving an official layoff notice on Friday morning, prompting an outpouring of laments by current and former employees on the platform they had built.

    They shared blue hearts and salute emojis expressing support for one another, using the hashtags #OneTeam and #LoveWhereYouWorked, a past-tense version of a slogan employees had used for years to celebrate the company’s work culture.

    Twitter’s curation team, which was responsible for “highlighting and contextualizing the best events and stories that unfold on Twitter,” had been axed, employees wrote.

    Shannon Raj Singh, an attorney who was Twitter’s acting head of human rights, tweeted that the entire human rights team at the company had been sacked.

    Another team that focused on research into how Twitter employed machine learning and algorithms, an issue that was a priority for Musk, was also eliminated, according to a tweet from a former senior manager at Twitter.

    Senior executives including vice president of engineering Arnaud Weber said their goodbyes on Twitter on Friday: “Twitter still has a lot of unlocked potential but I’m proud of what we accomplished.”

    Employees of Twitter Blue, the premium subscription service that Musk is bolstering, were also let go. An employee with the handle “SillyRobin” who had indicated they were laid off, quote-tweeted a previous Musk tweet saying Twitter Blue would include “paywall bypass” for certain publishers.

    “Just to be clear, he fired the team working on this,” the employee said.

    DOORS LOCKED

    Twitter said in its email to staffers that offices would be temporarily closed and badge access suspended “to help ensure the safety of each employee as well as Twitter systems and customer data.”

    Offices in London and Dublin appeared deserted on Friday, with no employees in sight. At the London office, any evidence Twitter had once occupied the building was erased.

    A receptionist at Twitter’s San Francisco headquarters said a few people had trickled in and were working in the floors above despite the notice to stay away.

    A class action was filed on Thursday against Twitter by several employees, who argued the company was conducting mass layoffs without providing the required 60-day advance notice, in violation of federal and California law.

    The lawsuit asked the San Francisco federal court to issue an order to restrict Twitter from soliciting employees being laid off to sign documents without informing them of the pendency of the case.

    Reporting by Sheila Dang in Dallas, Katie Paul in Palo Alto, California, and Paresh Dave in Oakland, California; Additional reporting by Fanny Potkin, Rusharti Mukherjee, Aditya Kalra, Martin Coulter, Hyunjoo Jin, Supantha Mukherjee and Arriana McLymore; Writing by Matt Scuffham and Katie Paul; Editing by Kenneth Li, Jason Neely, Matthew Lewis and William Mallard

    Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

    Paresh Dave

    Thomson Reuters

    San Francisco Bay Area-based tech reporter covering Google and the rest of Alphabet Inc. Joined Reuters in 2017 after four years at the Los Angeles Times focused on the local tech industry.

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  • Murdaugh Family Murders Explained, What You Need to Know

    Murdaugh Family Murders Explained, What You Need to Know

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    The story of the Murdaugh murders stems from a 100-year-old family legal dynasty in Hampton, South Carolina, that was put in the hands of fourth-generation lawyer Alex Murdaugh.

    But what took a century to build came crashing down in June 2021, when Alex called authorities after finding his wife, Maggie Murdaugh, and his youngest son, Paul Murdaugh, shot dead in their 1,770-acre hunting lodge at 4147 Moselle Road in Islandton, South Carolina.

    These crimes led to a series of revelations about the family, which HBO Max is set to unpack in the new true crime documentary, Low Country: The Murdaugh Dynasty, airing on November 3.

    Image credit: Courtesy of Maggie Murdaugh via Facebook.

    Who Are the Murdaugh Family?

    The Murdaugh family began in South Carolina at the turn of the century and have been prominent lawyers in the state for decades. Beginning with Alex Murdaugh’s great-grandfather Randolph Murdaugh Sr., who started Peters Murdaugh Parker Eltzroth & Detrick in 1910, generations of his family have continued to work at the firm, including his son, Randolph “Buster” Murdaugh II, grandson, Randolph Murdaugh III, and his great-great-grandsons Randolph “Randy” Murdaugh IV and Alex Murdaugh.

    The firm was successful with personal injury cases by taking advantage of a South Carolina law that allows people to sue in any county and not where an incident may have occurred — which can often result in favoritism and landed Hampton County on the 2004 list of “Judicial Hellholes“. However, this made the Murdaugh group the “go-to” lawyers in the county.

    Randolph Sr. also became the first elected solicitor, (or district attorney), of the 14th judicial circuit (district) in 1920. Randolph Sr. held the role for 20 years until his death. His son, Randolph “Buster” Murdaugh II, was elected to the position next. He worked from 1940 to 1986, until his son Randolph Murdaugh III took over, working from 1986 to 2006. Alex volunteered and worked part-time in the solicitor’s office after graduating from USC Law School in 1994 until 2021.

    The Murdaugh family were solicitors in South Carolina for 86 years straight; leading criminal prosecutions for their district, and playing a key role in deciding which cases get prosecuted (and when) from 1920 to 2006.

    What Happened to Paul and Maggie Murdaugh?

    Maggie and Paul Murdaugh were shot dead on June 7, 2021. Alex Murdaugh called 911 at around 10 p.m., claiming he had discovered the bodies. However, the coroner found that the two had died between 9 p.m. and 9:30 p.m., per NPR, and they had been shot with different weapons — Maggie with an assault-style rifle and Paul with a shotgun.

    In October 2021, Alex was named as a person of interest in the case, although his lawyer denied the allegations and said he had no motive for the crimes, according to People.

    According to NBC News, sources close to the investigation said authorities found cellphone video evidence that places Alex at the scene of the crime.

    On July 14, 2022, he was indicted by a grand jury in connection to Paul and Maggie’s murders. He was charged with two counts of murder and two counts of possession of a weapon during the commission of a violent crime.

    Alex Murdaugh’s lawyers maintain his innocence.

    Image credit: Courtesy of Maggie Murdaugh via Facebook.

    What Other Crimes Were Uncovered After the Murdaugh Family Murders?

    As investigators looked into the deaths of the mother and son, other unsolved crimes relating to the Murdaugh family were discovered.

    Two years before his death, in February 2019, youngest son Paul, 22, had been involved in a boat crash that left his friend, Mallory Beach, dead after being thrown from the boat. Though various witnesses said Paul had been driving the boat while intoxicated, according to a previous NBC documentary on Peacock, key evidence had gone missing in the case.

    Paul was charged with one count of boating while intoxicated and two counts of causing bodily injury, though people suggested he received special treatment thanks to his family’s legacy. He was released on bond and a date for his trial was never set, per People.

    Additionally, two weeks following the double murders that took place in June 2021, the state reopened an investigation into a 2015 case of a man, Stephen Smith, who had been found dead on the side of the road.

    While South Carolina State Law Enforcement Division (SLED) has not revealed what evidence caused them to reopen the case, per NPR, the Murdaugh name kept coming up in relation to the case. Sources speculated that Buster Murdaugh, Alex Murdaugh’s eldest son who also worked at the family law firm, had a relationship with Smith, according to the Daily Mail.

    Furthermore, although Smith’s death was ruled a hit-and-run, he had a gunshot wound above his right eye and his injuries were not consistent with those sustained from vehicle trauma, according to the Daily Mail.

    Buster has not been named a person of interest in Smith’s death.

    What Happened to Gloria Satterfield?

    In addition to Smith’s death, SLED began investigating another case involving the Murdaugh family. In 2018, the family’s longtime housekeeper, Gloria Satterfield, died after Maggie Murdaugh called 911, claiming Satterfield had fallen down the stairs. It was noted that Paul was present during the call.

    Satterfield was a longtime caretaker of the family, and according to sources featured in Discovery + documentary Murdaugh Murders: Deadly Dynasty, she had told several people that Paul would kill small animals and often disregarded authority.

    Her cause of death remains unclear.

    At the funeral, Alex approached Satterfield’s sons and said since the accident happened on his property, he was going to sue himself for wrongful death so the boys can get some insurance money, according to The New York Times.

    With all legalities handled by Alex, the sons were told to wait for a settlement.

    Alex and his insurers did reach a $4.3 million settlement in the months after Satterfield’s death, but the Satterfield family didn’t see a dime.

    The Satterfield sons filed a lawsuit against Alex Murdaugh in September 2021, and SLED decided to exhume the body for an autopsy in June 2022, according to South Carolina’s WCSC. That same month, Alex agreed to pay the Satterfield family $4.3 million.

    Where Is the Murdaugh Law Firm Now?

    The alleged misappropriated funds in the wrongful death suit uncovered various other financial crimes including Alex stealing millions from clients and his family law firm, according to The New York Times.

    He was then forced out by his partners in September 2021, just three months after the double murders. The firm changed its name to the Parker Law Group, LLP in January 2021, according to WOTC South Carolina.

    Alex was also stripped from being a lawyer in the state of South Carolina indefinitely, and his name was removed from the firm that was once known as the “Murdaugh Law Firm.”

    What Happened to Alex Murdaugh?

    The following day, after Alex was forced out of the firm, he was shot in the head while changing a tire on the side of the road. The shot only caused minor damage and he was able to call for help.

    Days after he was shot, he checked into rehab for opioid addiction. It was there that he admitted to lawyers that he had hired Curtis Eddie Smith to kill him so his son Buster could collect $10 million in insurance money.

    On Sept. 16, 2021, he turned himself in to Hampton County Law Enforcement in connection to the suicide-for-hire scam, per People.

    Later, on Oct. 14, 2021, Alex was arrested on felony charges for misusing millions from the Satterfield estate and obtaining property under false pretenses, per NPR, and was hit with tens of charges in the months that followed concerning numerous financial crimes and deaths.

    He was indicted on murder charges for the deaths of his wife and son in July 2022.

    Image credit: Tracy Glantz/The Island Packet/Tribune News Service via Getty Images

    Where Are the Murdaughs Now?

    Alex Murdaugh is currently in jail and is set to go on trial for the June 2021 murders of his son Paul and his wife Maggie in January. If convicted, he could face 30 years to life in prison without parole and could be eligible for the death penalty, according to USA Today.

    Murdaugh faces a total of 90 charges, many of which include financial crimes such as stealing from the family law firm, money laundering through a drug ring, and committing insurance fraud.

    As for the rest of the surviving Murdaugh family, eldest son Buster was last reported to be “not doing well at all” since his father was arrested for the double murders, sources told People in July 2022.

    Despite previously working at his family’s law firm, Buster appears to have no involvement in the rebranded Parker Law Group.

    Meanwhile, Alex’s brother Randy still works as a practicing lawyer at the now-renamed Parker Law Firm. He denounced Alex’s actions and claimed he had no involvement in his mishandling of company funds in a statement to People in September 2021.

    Randy is also suing Alex for thousands in unpaid loans.

    How Much Are the Murdaughs Worth?

    It’s unclear exactly how much wealth the Murdaugh family once had, but several accounts and properties were found to be worth millions.

    When Murdaugh was held on a $7 million bond for 51 criminal charges, the court detailed Murdaugh’s assets, which included numerous real estate properties and even small islands, according to Greenville News.

    Additionally, the court found a retirement account worth between $2.1 and $2.2 million, and an IRA retirement fund valued at $350,000 to $400,000.

    He was also supposed to receive a trust for an undisclosed amount after his father Randolph Murdaugh III’s death in June 2021, plus probate assets after his wife’s death that same month.

    Furthermore, the family hunting lodge where Paul and Maggie were killed was listed in February 2022 for $3.9 million.

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    Sam Silverman

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  • How to Overcome the Challenges of Increasing Insurance Rates

    How to Overcome the Challenges of Increasing Insurance Rates

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    Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

    With today’s emphasis on corporate transparency and accountability, an organization’s directors and officers face countless exposures. Regardless of your company’s size or mission, the legal costs associated with a lawsuit can be crippling for both the organization and your directors and officers. Many wrongly assume that directors and officers (D&O) insurance is only necessary for publicly traded companies. However, privately held organizations can just as easily fall victim to lawsuits that can impact the company, its officers, and board, making D&O insurance a must.

    Some benefits that D&O insurance can offer to privately held companies:

    • Coverage for manufacturing or production flaws
    • Legal cost reimbursement
    • Coverage for regulatory exposures
    • An improved ability to attract new directors
    • Peace of mind

    Related: Get an insurance quote tailored to your needs!

    Unfortunately, these days the D&O marketplace has been severely impacted by the COVID environment, causing rate increases, more stringent underwriting, and a decreased capacity in the marketplace. An example is below us after being presented with a $140,000 increase (111%) on a renewal for a $20m D&O policy. We were approached for a second opinion and a last-ditch effort for the insured as the policy was set to expire within 48 hours. If no other options existed, the insured would be forced to reduce their limits to bring their renewal premiums to an affordable level.

    Part of the problem was that along with a difficult marketplace, the insured’s underperforming financials also played into this large increase. The current broker had collected a renewal application and financials but had no further discussions with the insured before taking the account to market and coming back with a quote.

    When Bryson asked the insured what their financial outlook was for the next 12-18 months, the insured noted that they had finished a recent capital raise and a seven-figure sum would be received by the company in the next month. Further discussions revealed an updated business plan for the coming year and data regarding their current investors, of which many were accredited.

    The current broker made an egregious error in the renewal process by not collecting relevant data that we knew would make a major difference in marketing efforts. D&O rates hinge greatly on the insured’s financial standing and an underwriter’s ability to determine how well the company will perform over the life of the policy term.

    The solution was to approach the insurance carriers with the full financial outlook of the company, along with a strong relationship with a newer D&O carrier that focuses on private equity-backed businesses and provides aggressive rates based on their faith in the PE firm’s due diligence process, this saved the insured over $150,000 on their renewal while providing a full $20m in limits, which had been reduced to $15m on their original renewal quote.

    Although the insured was not private equity-backed, we uncovered that this carrier would consider companies with accredited investors. With new, positive financial details and an aggressive carrier willing to consider our risk, we went to work to put a deal together in under 48 hours.

    Takeaways

    1. An application and financials do not tell your full story
    2. Partner with a broker who will be your advocate with underwriters and understand D&O insurance specifically
    3. Make sure your broker has strong relationships with carriers who have an innovative outlook

    While many private companies do not believe that they need D&O insurance, this can cause a very dangerous outcome. D&O lawsuits can occur without warning and easily reach six figures, draining the personal assets of a company’s leadership team.

    If you want to learn more about D&O insurance to protect your company and your leadership team, contact Bryson at info@brysonfinancial.com.

    Get a business insurance quote tailored to you today!

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    Trent Bryson

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  • How The Government Could Come For Your Bitcoin

    How The Government Could Come For Your Bitcoin

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    This is an opinion editorial by Robert Hall, a content creator and small business owner.

    Link to embedded video.

    The popular thought among Bitcoiners is that bitcoin adoption will be a seamless transition to a bitcoin standard. While I wish this were the case, governments will not give up their power to print money and control the economic affairs of what they consider to be their slaves without a fight.

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    Robert Hall

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  • Let The Free Market Regulate The Value And Efficiency Of Bitcoin

    Let The Free Market Regulate The Value And Efficiency Of Bitcoin

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    This is an opinion editorial by Kelly Slaughter, an associate professor of professional practice at the Neeley School of Business at Texas Christian University.

    With elections coming up next month, it’s almost impossible to find common ground between liberals and conservatives. But there’s one subject that should unite red and blue voters: keeping bitcoin free from government regulation.

    To make this case, compare bitcoin to a potential central bank digital currency (CBDC), currently being explored per a recommendation from a recent White House report. A CBDC fails to provide all the benefits of bitcoin while introducing new risks.

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    Kelly Slaughter

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  • 3 Legal Mistakes Avoid When Starting an Online Business

    3 Legal Mistakes Avoid When Starting an Online Business

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    If you’re thinking about starting a business, attorney Berkley Sweetapple wants to help you avoid making expensive legal mistakes. She sat down with Jessica Abo to discuss how she helps clients through her practice and legal template shop.

    Jessica Abo: Berkley, you are the founder of a legal template shop and of Berkley Sweetapple Law. Tell us a little bit about your business and your practice.

    Berkley Sweetapple:

    I have a legal template shop where I offer affordable, downloadable, fill-in-the-blank legal documents, like contracts and website policies, to creative entrepreneurs. I also have a law firm where I work one on one with online business owners. I mostly handle trademarks, contracts, copyright and website policies.

    All very important things. Did you always want to be a lawyer?

    When I was five, my dad, who was an attorney, told me that the only way I would be able to get the pot-belly pig that I wanted as a pet was to become a lawyer and fight the city that I lived in to change the local zoning ordinances.

    Did you get the pig?

    I did not get the pig, but I knew that I wanted to be a lawyer just like him so that one day I could grow up and fight for things like having pet pigs. I went to law school after college but never felt like the traditional law firm path was right for me. After I graduated from law school, I created a lifestyle blog as a side hobby and decided that I wanted to monetize the blog and create a business out of it. I joined online courses and ended up meeting other creative entrepreneurs who needed legal advice about the online business/blog space. I really enjoyed working with entrepreneurs who had online businesses and began to educate myself in that area of the law, while working full-time as a litigation attorney. Seven years after graduating from law school, I stopped practicing litigation to pursue my template shop and law firm full-time.

    Who are some of your clients and how do you help them?

    My clients are primarily coaches, online course creators, website designers, copywriters, graphic designers, and other online business owners. My favorite practice area is trademarks, which involves helping business owners secure the exclusive right to use their business name, slogan, or logo in their industry. Because trademark law is federal, I have clients with online businesses in all 50 states.

    You’ve been at this for a while. What would you say is the most expensive legal mistake you have seen someone make?

    The most common and expensive legal mistake I see business owners make is using a business name without first making sure it’s available first. If you’re starting a business, it’s important to make sure someone else hasn’t trademarked the name first, so that you don’t get a cease-and-desist letter from their attorney and are forced to rebrand. Changing a business name after you’ve launched, along with the branding, packaging, and web design that comes with the business name, can be frustrating and expensive. It’s also important to trademark as soon as possible so that no one does it before you. If you’ve been using the name and competitor trademarks first, litigation can get very expensive trying to enforce your rights.

    And that of course can be a total business nightmare. What are some of the legal boxes entrepreneurs should be checking?

    First, make sure your business name is available before you invest in any kind of branding or web design, or before you get too attached to the name. Hire an attorney to do a comprehensive trademark search. Make sure it’s available and trademark it. Second, have website policies. If you have any kind of website, like a blog or an e-commerce store, you need a couple of legal documents on your site. First, you should have terms of use, which is basically your contract with anyone who comes to your website or purchases from your website. A terms of use will contain necessary disclaimers, your refund policy, and intellectual property clauses. A privacy policy is legally required if you’re collecting any kind of consumer data. Finally, make sure you have contracts with your one-on-one clients as well as any independent contractors you hire.

    How do you make all of this less overwhelming for your clients?

    In my template shop, I try to make it as easy as possible. I’ve created contract templates tailored to different kinds of service providers, that can be downloaded and filled in within twenty minutes. For one-on-one work, I try to make the client experience as easy and efficient as possible. For example, for trademarking, I work on a flat fee model so that clients aren’t ever worried that costs will add up. I handle everything in the trademark process, from the application to Office Actions, so that clients don’t have to worry about the legal stuff and can focus on doing what they love.

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    Jessica Abo

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  • Bitcoiners Should Work With The FATF, Not Against It

    Bitcoiners Should Work With The FATF, Not Against It

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    This is an opinion editorial by Kevin Murcko, CEO and founder of Coinmetro.

    On October 12, 2022, I was honored to speak at Bitcoin Amsterdam’s panel session titled “FATF And The Threat To Bitcoin Privacy.” With my fellow speakers, we dove into the evolving role of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), and its relationship to Bitcoin. It’s so important that we understand both sides of the argument if we are to create a world where both the ideological and the practical implementation of Bitcoin will match the original intentions outlined in Satoshi Nakamoto’s now-famous white paper.

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    Kevin Murcko

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  • Hodlonaut Defeats Craig Wright In Norwegian Court Case For Defamation

    Hodlonaut Defeats Craig Wright In Norwegian Court Case For Defamation

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    Hodlonaut, a pseudonymous Bitcoiner, has won a court case for defamation against Craig Wright who claimed to be Satoshi Nakamoto in a Norwegian court, per a translated transcript sent to Bitcoin Magazine.

    While this case did not seek a definitive answer to the question of legitimacy to Wright’s claims, the judge did need to ascertain the likelihood of the possibility that Wright was telling the truth about being the creator of Bitcoin in order to decide if Hodlonaut was liable for damages based on his social media statements.

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    Shawn Amick

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  • KAMKHADZE PA, a Law Firm Exclusively Practicing U.S. Immigration and Nationality Law, Was Launched in Hollywood Beach, Florida

    KAMKHADZE PA, a Law Firm Exclusively Practicing U.S. Immigration and Nationality Law, Was Launched in Hollywood Beach, Florida

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    The immigration law firm provides counsel to clients who want immediate and convenient access to legal services worldwide.

    Press Release
    –


    updated: Oct 19, 2022


    HOLLYWOOD, Calif., October 19, 2022 (Newswire.com)
    –
    KAMKHADZE PA, a law firm practicing U.S. Immigration and Nationality law, was launched in Hollywood Beach, Florida. The immigration law firm provides counsel to clients who want immediate and convenient access to legal services worldwide. Using the latest technology and the most efficient operational processes, Kamkhadze PA offers clients the ability to complete their immigration process entirely online, with seamless and prompt communication during the process. 

    The firm provides full legal services in the field of immigration law, including legal counsel, long-term strategy, case preparation and filing, and representation with U.S. Immigration agencies. The firm’s practice specializes in employment-based visa and green card petitions for foreign nationals of extraordinary ability, investors, entrepreneurs, artists, athletes, and scientists. The firm also provides legal services in family-based immigration matters and naturalization cases.

    Kamkhadze PA Immigration Law Firm utilizes the Lean Six Sigma methodology to ensure consistency, provide clear communication, be flexible and responsive. By individually analyzing each case and tailoring strategies to the individual needs and qualifications of the client, Ana Kamkhadze, Esq., MBA, has developed a comprehensive approach to case development and has successfully represented a range of clients. 

    The firm is committed to excellence and its capabilities are differentiated through its innovative and extensive legal analysis. The case preparation at the firm reflects Mrs. Kamkhadze’s meticulous attention to detail as well as her in-depth knowledge of immigration law and the latest adjudication trends. Her firsthand knowledge of the complex U.S. immigration system allows her to empathize with clients on a personal level and handle each case as if it were her own.

    Ana Kamkhadze, Esq., is a licensed Attorney in New York, and since immigration law is federal law, she represents clients in their immigration matters anywhere in the United States and abroad. Prior to opening her immigration practice, she acquired significant expertise in U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Law for almost a decade. She is a member of the New York State Bar Association (NYSBA) and a member of the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA).

    Mrs. Kamkhadze received legal education first in Georgia and later in the U.S., at Florida International University, where she obtained a master’s degree in law and a master’s degree in business management and administration. Her combined education in both business and law assists her clients in developing the most efficient business immigration strategies.

    Before moving to the United States, Ana Kamkhadze, Esq., practiced business law in Georgia at one of the leading business law firms, where she has also been a contributor to the Doing Business Report published by the World Bank. She has been the author of several published articles and the winner of a few international conferences.

    See the website for details: https://www.esq.mba/

    Source: KAMKHADZE PA

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  • Regulation Is Coming And Bitcoin Will Benefit

    Regulation Is Coming And Bitcoin Will Benefit

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    This is an opinion editorial by Shane Neagle, the editor-in-chief of “The Tokenist.”

    The continued discussion about the need for a comprehensive U.S. regulatory framework to identify opportunities and risks within the rapidly growing Bitcoin sector has caught the attention of the wider public.

    Rostin Behnam, chairman of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), said recently that proper regulation of the cryptocurrency space could have significant positive effects on market growth, particularly for bitcoin.

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    Shane Neagle

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  • UK police charge two women after soup thrown at van Gogh’s ‘Sunflowers’

    UK police charge two women after soup thrown at van Gogh’s ‘Sunflowers’

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    LONDON, Oct 15 (Reuters) – Two women have been charged with criminal damage after climate change protesters threw soup over Vincent van Gogh’s painting “Sunflowers” at London’s National Gallery, British police said on Saturday.

    A video posted by the Just Stop Oil campaign group, which has been holding protests for the last two weeks in the British capital, showed two of its activists on Friday throwing tins of Heinz tomato soup over the painting, one of five versions on display in museums and galleries around the world.

    The gallery said the incident had caused minor damage to the frame but the painting was unharmed. It later went back on display.

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    Police said two women, aged 21 and 20, would appear later at Westminster Magistrates’ Court charged with “criminal damage to the frame of van Gogh’s Sunflowers painting”.

    Another activist will also appear in court accused of damaging the sign outside the New Scotland Yard police headquarters in central London.

    Police said in total 28 people had been arrested during protests on Friday.

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    Reporting by Michael Holden; Editing by Emelia Sithole-Matarise

    Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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  • Physicians for Informed Consent Opposes COVID-19 Vaccine Mandate for Private and Public Employees and Independent Contractors in California

    Physicians for Informed Consent Opposes COVID-19 Vaccine Mandate for Private and Public Employees and Independent Contractors in California

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    Press Release
    –


    updated: Mar 29, 2022


    NEWPORT BEACH, Calif., March 29, 2022 (Newswire.com)
    –
    Physicians for Informed Consent (PIC), an educational nonprofit organization focused on science and statistics, has submitted an opposition letter to California Assembly Bill 1993 (AB 1993).

    AB 1993 proposes a COVID-19 vaccine mandate for all private and public employees and independent contractors in California. Physicians for Informed Consent, representing hundreds of its physician and surgeon members, opposes the bill and asserts that AB 1993 is both unscientific and would legalize medical bullying in the workplace. Per Dr. Shira Miller, PIC founder and president, “…the clinical trials have been the only settings in which the vaccination status of subjects/patients was closely monitored, and those trials did not detect enough COVID-19 deaths to measure a significant difference in mortality between vaccinated and unvaccinated patients despite observing tens of thousands of subjects.”

    AB 1993 will be heard by the Committee on Labor & Employment members this Wednesday, March 30, 2022, at 1:30 pm. If you or someone you know lives in California, PIC urges you to read the Physicians for Informed Consent AB 1993 opposition letter, including its accompanying educational document “COVID-19 Vaccine Mandates: 20 Scientific Facts That Challenge the Assumptions” and request of your assembly members and representatives to oppose AB 1993 as soon as possible.

    Physicians for Informed Consent 
    Press Contact:
    info@picphysicians.org
    (925) 642-6651

    Source: Physicians for Informed Consent

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  • Swigart Law Group Files Lawsuit Against Kia Motors Alleging Fair Credit Reporting Act Violations

    Swigart Law Group Files Lawsuit Against Kia Motors Alleging Fair Credit Reporting Act Violations

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    Cohn v. Kia Motors Finance, et al., U.S.D.C., S.D. Cal., Case No. 3:21-cv-02078-L-RBB

    Press Release
    –

    Jan 19, 2022


    SAN DIEGO, January 19, 2022 (Newswire.com)
    –
    In December of 2021, the Swigart Law Group, APC, filed a lawsuit against Kia Motors Finance, Equifax Information Services, LLC, Experian Information Solutions, Inc., and Trans Union, LLC. The complaint filed by the Swigart Law Group alleges multiple violations of the Fair Credit Reporting Act and seeks monetary damages on behalf of Plaintiff Michelle Cohn.

    See a copy of the Swigart Law Group, APC complaint below or here.

    About Swigart Law Group, APC

    Swigart Law Group, APC is a consumer protection and privacy law firm that helps people who have been injured by online companies, banks, employers, drug and medical companies, or large companies. We pride ourselves on our ability to deliver a seamless customer experience and competent representation for consumers nationwide.

    Media Contact: Joshua B. Swigart, P: 866-219-3343, D: 619-728-6348, F: 866-219-8344, josh@swigartlawgroup.com

    Source: Swigart Law Group, APC

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  • White House signals Biden may address filibuster reform soon

    White House signals Biden may address filibuster reform soon

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    WASHINGTON, Oct 22 (Reuters) – The White House on Friday offered a strong signal that it is preparing to seek changes soon to a long-standing Senate tradition that has allowed Republicans to block voting rights legislation and other major Democratic initiatives.

    Democratic President Joe Biden, who spent 36 years in the Senate, has previously opposed any significant overhaul of a Senate rule known as the filibuster, which requires 60 of the 100 senators to agree on most legislation. read more

    His opposition has angered Democrats and activists who say an arcane rule should not stand in the way of important issues such as voting rights and immigration.

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    “I expect you’ll hear more from the president about it in the coming weeks,” White House spokesperson Jen Psaki told reporters on Friday about the filibuster. Asked what more he would want to address with filibuster reform beyond voting rights, Psaki said to “stay tuned.”

    During a televised town hall event on Thursday, Biden said the Senate should “fundamentally alter” the filibuster process, but did not offer specifics on how.

    The White House’s potential shift on the issue comes after the latest successful effort by Republicans to block Democratic legislation aimed at thwarting restrictive new voting laws enacted in Republican-led states. On Wednesday, Republicans used the filibuster to block beginning a debate on the measure.

    When Republicans control the White House and the Senate, Democrats have used the filibuster as well.

    Psaki suggested Biden had lost patience with Republican resistance to Democrats’ ideas on voting rights, saying the president is “frustrated” and “disappointed.”

    “When a hand has been extended by Democrats to work together to protect the fundamental right, Republicans have not only recoiled, they have blocked the … ability to make any semblance of progress,” Psaki said.

    While Democrats are united on voting rights, they are not unified in whether to overhaul the filibuster. U.S. Senator Joe Manchin, a moderate Democrat from West Virginia, has publicly opposed eliminating the filibuster, even for specific issues.

    With a 50-50 split in the Senate, Democrats would need all of its members to support changes.

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    Reporting by Jeff Mason and Jarrett Renshaw; additional reporting by Steve Holland; Editing by Jonathan Oatis and Bill Berkrot

    Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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  • Ex-Giuliani associate Parnas found guilty of violating U.S. campaign finance law

    Ex-Giuliani associate Parnas found guilty of violating U.S. campaign finance law

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    NEW YORK, Oct 22 (Reuters) – Lev Parnas, a onetime associate of Donald Trump’s former personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani, was found guilty on Friday of violating U.S. campaign finance laws during the 2018 elections.

    Parnas, a Ukraine-born American businessman, and his former associate Igor Fruman had been accused of soliciting funds from Russian businessman Andrey Muraviev to donate to candidates in states where the group was seeking licenses to operate cannabis businesses in 2018.

    Parnas also concealed that he and Fruman, who pleaded guilty in September, were the true source of a donation to a group supporting Republican then-President Trump, prosecutors said. Giuliani’s attorney has said the Parnas case is separate from a probe into whether violated lobbying laws while representing Trump.

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    Giuliani, a U.S. prosecutor in the 1980s before he was elected New York’s mayor in 1994, has not been charged with any crimes and denies wrongdoing.

    Parnas was found guilty on all six counts of federal election law violations that he faced, which included illegally helping a foreigner contribute to a U.S. election campaign, making contributions in the names of others, and lying to the Federal Elections Commission (FEC).

    Andrey Kukushkin, a Muraviev associate and California resident who was tried alongside Parnas, was found guilty on Friday of two counts of campaign finance violations. Kukushkin is also a Ukraine native.

    The trial in U.S. District Court in Manhattan has drawn attention because of the role Parnas and Belarus-born U.S. citizen Fruman played in helping Giuliani, who was Trump’s personal attorney while he held office, to investigate Democrat Joe Biden during the 2020 presidential campaign. Biden won the election, denying Trump a second term.

    Parnas, dressed in a blue suit, stared straight at the jury as the verdict was read. Kukushkin, wearing a grey sweater, shook his head after he was pronounced guilty on the second count.

    “I’ve never hid from nobody,” Parnas said as he left court wearing a black “Combat COVID” mask. “I’ve always stood and tried to tell the truth.”

    His attorney Joseph Bondy said they would be filing a motion to vacate the verdict “in the interest of justice.”

    Lev Parnas, Ukrainian-American businessman and former Giuliani associate, walks to the United States Court in Manhattan in New York City, New York, U.S., October 18, 2021. REUTERS/Mike Segar

    “It’s obviously a very difficult time for Mr. Parnas and his wife and his children,” Bondy said.

    U.S. District Judge J. Paul Oetken denied a request from prosecutors to detain Parnas and Kukushkin. “The defendants have sufficiently established that they’re not a risk of flight,” Oetken said after the jury left.

    Oetken set a sentencing date of Feb. 16 for Kukushkin. He did not set a sentencing date for Parnas, who faces another possible trial on separate fraud charges.

    ‘IN WELL OVER HIS HEAD’

    The case provided a glimpse into the inner workings of political fundraising in the United States.

    “You saw the wires from Muraviev,” Assistant U.S Attorney Hagan Scotten told the jury during closing arguments on Thursday. “You saw how that money came out on the other side, finding its way into American elections, where the defendants thought they had bought influence to further their business.”

    Parnas’ defense lawyers countered that Muraviev’s funds went toward business investments, not campaign contributions, and that the donation to the pro-Trump group was from a company founded by Parnas and broke no laws.

    In his closing statement Parnas attorney Bondy characterized his client as a passionate proponent of marijuana legalization who was “in well over his head.” He argued that Muraviev’s money funded business operations, not campaign contributions.

    Deliberations in the trial began on Friday morning and lasted about five hours.

    Fruman, who lives in Florida, pleaded guilty to one count of soliciting campaign contributions from a foreign national. His sentencing is scheduled for Jan. 21.

    Parnas and Kukushkin had faced two counts of conspiring to make donations from a foreign national, and making the donations. Parnas had also been charged with four other counts, including making false statements to the Federal Elections Commission.

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    Reporting by Tom Hals in Wilmington, Delaware; Editing by Franklin Paul, Grant McCool and Jonathan Oatis

    Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

    Jody Godoy

    Thomson Reuters

    Jody Godoy reports on banking and securities law. Reach her at jody.godoy@thomsonreuters.com

    Luc Cohen

    Thomson Reuters

    Reports on the New York federal courts. Previously worked as a correspondent in Venezuela and Argentina.

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  • Viral video, opinions challenge Georgia jury selection for Arbery case

    Viral video, opinions challenge Georgia jury selection for Arbery case

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    Oct 22 (Reuters) – A Georgia court struggled this week to seat jurors in the trial of three white men accused of murdering Black jogger Ahmaud Arbery, underscoring the challenge of finding people who have not formed firm opinions based on a viral video of the shooting.

    “I saw the news footage and I saw the video footage of the crime, and I’ve already formed a guilty opinion of the crime,” one woman told the court earlier this week.

    Arbery’s killing just outside the coastal city of Brunswick, Georgia, in February 2020 stoked national outrage and protests after the cellphone video taken by one of the three defendants went viral.

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    Defense lawyers and prosecutors say they are not looking for jurors who have not seen the video or don’t know about the case. Rather, they are trying to determine whether potential jurors can set aside any opinions they have and make a decision based on evidence presented to the court.

    Former policeman Gregory McMichael, 65; his son Travis McMichael, 35; and neighbor William “Roddie” Bryan, 52, face charges of murder, aggravated assault and false imprisonment. If convicted on all charges, they could draw a maximum sentence of life in prison.

    Superior Court Judge Timothy Walmsley told prosecutors and defense attorneys to speed things up. “I am not comfortable with this,” he said of the pace on the first day of jury selection on Monday.

    As of late Thursday night, out of 80 Glynn County residents interviewed, only 23 residents had been prequalified for a group of 64, from which the ultimate 12 jurors and four alternates will be selected to hear the case.

    Walsley said on Thursday that selection could take well into next week or possibly the week after. The court was not in session on Friday; jury selection is slated to resume on Monday.

    CITIZEN’S ARREST DEFENSE

    Defense attorneys have said in interviews that they plan to base their case largely on a now-defunct version of a “citizen’s arrest” law that allows people in the state to detain someone they suspect of a crime. The three defendants told police they thought Arbery was a burglar and the shooting was in self-defense after Arbery grappled with a shotgun leveled by Travis McMichael.

    Arbery, an avid runner and former high school football star, was shot three times and fell on the street in the suburban neighborhood.

    One potential juror was dismissed because he watched the video more than six times and told the court he thought the men were “guilty. They killed him. They did it as a team.”

    Another said, “The only time I’ve heard of citizen’s arrest is in ‘The Andy Griffith show’,” the 1960s TV comedy about a small-town sheriff.

    The man added that he would listen to both sides in the case. “Everyone deserves their day in court. It’s the foundation of our country, it’s the rule of law.”

    Of the 80 people brought to court through Thursday, a few said they had seen only clips from the video, and only two people told the court they hadn’t seen it.

    “I didn’t want to see somebody killed,” said one man in his 70s.

    Chris Slobogin, a Vanderbilt University law professor, said picking fair juries is harder in the days of cellphones and social media.

    “I mean, everyone’s seen this video,” he said. “I believe the judge will eventually find 12 jurors, but the work is to figure out if a person is being forthright when they say they can set aside what they saw.”

    A nurse told the court that she had thought hard about whether she could be a fair, impartial juror and “prayed about it.”

    “I feel firmly that I could do that,” she said.

    Another potential juror, a retired auto shop owner, said it would be hard to disregard the video.

    “Some things you just can’t unsee,” he said.

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    Reporting by Rich McKay in Atlanta; Additional reporting by Jonathan Allen in New York; Editing by Jonathan Oatis

    Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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  • U.S. Supreme Court takes up Texas abortion case, lets ban remain

    U.S. Supreme Court takes up Texas abortion case, lets ban remain

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    Oct 22 (Reuters) – The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday agreed to hear on Nov. 1 a challenge to a Texas law that imposes a near-total ban on the procedure and lets private citizens enforce it – a case that could dramatically curtail abortion access in the United States if the justices endorse the measure’s unique design.

    The justices took up requests by President Joe Biden’s administration and abortion providers to immediately review their challenges to the law. The court, which on Sept. 1 allowed the law to go into effect, declined to act on the Justice Department’s request to immediately block enforcement of the measure.

    The court will consider whether the law’s unusual private-enforcement structure prevents federal courts from intervening to strike it down and whether the federal government is even allowed to sue the state to try to block it.

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    The measure bans abortion after about six weeks of pregnancy, a point when many women do not yet realize they are pregnant. It makes an exception for a documented medical emergency but not for cases of rape or incest.

    Liberal Justice Sotomayor dissented from the court’s deferral of a decision on whether to block enforcement of the law while the litigation continues. Sotomayor said the law’s novel design has suspended nearly all abortions in Texas, the second most populous U.S. state, with about 29 million people.

    “The state’s gambit has worked. The impact is catastrophic,” Sotomayor wrote.

    The Texas dispute is the second major abortion case that the court, which has a 6-3 conservative majority, has scheduled for the coming months, with arguments set for Dec. 1 over the legality of a restrictive Mississippi abortion law.

    The Texas and Mississippi measures are among a series of Republican-backed laws passed at the state level limiting abortion rights – coming at a time when abortion opponents are hoping that the Supreme Court will overturn the landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade that legalized the procedure nationwide.

    Mississippi has asked the justices to overturn Roe v. Wade, and the Texas attorney general on Thursday signaled that he also would like to see that ruling fall.

    A supporter of reproductive rights holds a sign outside the Texas State Capitol building during the nationwide Women’s March, held after Texas rolled out a near-total ban on abortion procedures and access to abortion-inducing medications, in Austin, Texas, U.S. October 2, 2021. REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein

    Lower courts already have blocked Mississippi’s law banning abortions starting at 15 weeks of pregnancy.

    The Texas measure takes enforcement out of the hands of state officials, instead enabling private citizens to sue anyone who performs or assists a woman in getting an abortion after cardiac activity is detected in the embryo. That feature has helped shield the law from being immediately blocked as it made it more difficult to directly sue the state.

    Individual citizens can be awarded a minimum of $10,000 for bringing successful lawsuits under the law. Critics have said this provision lets people act as anti-abortion bounty hunters, a characterization its proponents reject.

    Nancy Northup, president of the Center for Reproductive Rights, which is representing the abortion providers, said Friday’s decision to hear their case “brings us one step closer to the restoration of Texans’ constitutional rights and an end to the havoc and heartache of this ban.”

    Alexis McGill Johnson, president of healthcare and abortion provider Planned Parenthood, said it is “devastating” that the justices did not immediately block a law that already has had a “catastrophic impact” after being in effect nearly two months.

    “Patients who have the means have fled the state, traveling hundreds of miles to access basic care, and those without means have been forced to carry pregnancies against their will,” she added.

    Kimberlyn Schwartz, a spokesperson for the Texas Right to Life anti-abortion group, praised the court’s action, saying it “will continue to save an estimated 100 babies per day, and because the justices will actually discuss whether these lawsuits are valid in the first place.”

    The Supreme Court only rarely decides to hear cases before lower courts have ruled, indicating that the justices have deemed the Texas matter of high public importance and requiring immediate review.

    The Justice Department filed its lawsuit in September challenging the Texas law, arguing that it is unconstitutional and explicitly designed to evade judicial review.

    Rulings in Texas and Mississippi cases are due by the end of next June, but could come sooner.

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    Reporting by Andrew Chung in New York; Editing by Will Dunham

    Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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  • OurFamilyWizard Rolls Out a New Mobile Experience With Market-Leading Parenting Time Tools

    OurFamilyWizard Rolls Out a New Mobile Experience With Market-Leading Parenting Time Tools

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    Ready-to-use templates and other new enhancements dramatically simplify the task of setting up co-parenting calendars on the OurFamilyWizard mobile app

    Press Release
    –


    updated: Apr 6, 2021


    MINNEAPOLIS, April 6, 2021 (Newswire.com)
    –
    OurFamilyWizard announced today that it has released a new mobile experience for building and tracking parenting time schedules, giving divorced or separated parents a decisively effective solution for coordinating calendars from separate homes.

    Managing schedules for children is a challenge for any family. When you add a shared custody or parenting time arrangement to the mix, it becomes infinitely more complicated. Most online calendar options are not built to accommodate the complexities of parenting time arrangements alongside day-to-day events. OurFamilyWizard’s calendaring tools are uniquely designed to make managing parenting time and schedules easier for co-parents. 

    With OurFamilyWizard’s most recent mobile update, parents can now easily create and customize color-coded parenting time schedules directly from the OurFamilyWizard mobile app. To simplify the process even further, OurFamilyWizard provides ready-to-use templates reflecting common parenting time rotations (i.e., 2-2-5-5, alternating weekends, etc.). Using the template as a starting point, parents can customize the schedules as needed. For example, parents can add precise transition times to note exactly when children are supposed to go from one home to the other. Additionally, leveraging a shared calendar via the mobile app allows parents to more easily request, manage, and document schedule changes and swaps.

    “The team is very excited to bring these new tools to our users,” said Nick VanWagner, CEO of OurFamilyWizard. “Seamless transitions between homes play a major factor in the overall success of co-parenting arrangements and the well-being of kids, yet we know that many co-parents find it challenging to manage this effectively. Given OurFamilyWizard’s commitment to helping families living separately thrive, we wanted to adequately address this pain point by simplifying the process of both creating and managing parenting time schedules from our app for co-parents.”  

    Since launching the first-ever online co-parenting application in 2001, OurFamilyWizard has continued to invest in its technology to ensure it continues to meet the ever-growing needs of its users. After receiving an equity investment in 2020, the company has also significantly increased headcount across the organization as it prepares for future growth. Most recently, it announced several executive hires, including the company’s first-ever Chief Marketing Officer, Bridgette Haymaker.

    About OurFamilyWizard

    OurFamilyWizard helps families living separately thrive. Its products provide both families and the family law professionals who serve them with the tools necessary for more seamless and successful co-parenting. Since its inception in 2001, over one million parents and professionals have leveraged OurFamilyWizard to share calendars, messages, journals, files, expenses, and important information such as health and school records. The platform has been recommended by courts in all 50 U.S. states, Canada, the United Kingdom, New Zealand, and Australia.

    Press Contact
    Sara Klemp
    sklemp@ourfamilywizard.com 
    612-294-0431

    Source: OurFamilyWizard

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