law

bluwmongoose

Huge Collection Fees Making It More Difficult For Cash-Strapped Students To Afford College

Each year, millions of college students rack up student loans that won’t come due until they leave school. But even with financial aid, some students have trouble keeping up with the soaring costs of tuition, and once that debt ends up in the hands of a collection agency, the amount can mushroom out of control while the student is still in school.  [More]

Renee Rendler-Kaplan

Using Your Phone While Crossing The Street In Honolulu Could Cost You As Much As $99

Looking at one’s phone while walking might not seem like too difficult of a task, but every once in a while it proves to be a painful endeavor, take the woman looking at her phone who tripped over a door in the sidewalk and fell into a utility room. The city of Honolulu wants to prevent these types of incidents by becoming the first major city in the U.S. to make it illegal to text while crossing the street. [More]

Viewminder

4 Things To Know About Idaho’s Non-Compete Law & The State’s Growing Tech Industry

Each year, millions of employees leave their jobs for a better one. But if you live in Idaho, this hallmark of the workforce might not be attainable, as the state now has one of the most strict non-compete laws preventing employees from leaving their current employer for a competitor. [More]

Adam Fagen

Lawmakers Introduce Legislation That Would Abolish The CFPB

The future of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau continues to remain in question with yet another attack being lobbed at the Bureau this week as lawmakers introduced new legislation both in the House and Senate that would abolish the agency. [More]

EFFIE YANG

Renting A Rulebreaking Airbnb Could Leave You Without A Place To Sleep

While Airbnb and New York City continue to battle it out over new restrictions that would penalize hosts with hefty fines for subletting whole apartments for less than 30 days, a California couple says the law — which isn’t currently being enforced — led to a costly and frustrating scenario while visiting the Big Apple.  [More]

frankieleon

Proposed European Law Change Could Make Google Pay Publishers For Your News Results

Regulators in Europe are proposing a big update to copyright law in the region that, if adopted, would likely to lead to major changes in the way your news aggregators, well, aggregate. [More]

Adam Fagen

Carnival Says Cuba Cruises To Move Ahead As Planned After Policy Shift

Carnival Cruise Line’s Adonia ship will depart the Port of Miami as planned on May 1 with Cuban-Americans on board after the company reached an agreement with the government of the island nation.  [More]

frankieleon

Florida Implements Law Protecting Consumers From Surprise Medical Bills

Florida is now the second state behind New York to shield consumers from expensive surprise medical bills, as Governor Rick Scott today signed into law legislation that would protect patients from balance-billing in both emergency and non-emergency hospital situations.  [More]

Tesla Can Continue Selling Cars Straight To Consumers In Indiana For At Least A Year

Tesla Can Continue Selling Cars Straight To Consumers In Indiana For At Least A Year

Electric car-seeking Indiana residents can still buy their new Tesla without having to go out of state, at least for the time being. State senators have tabled a bill that would have banned the carmaker from selling vehicles under its current, often controversial, straight-to-consumer business model.  [More]

Bill Requiring Childproof Packs For Liquid Nicotine Heads To President’s Desk

Bill Requiring Childproof Packs For Liquid Nicotine Heads To President’s Desk

The Child Nicotine Poisoning Prevention Act, intended to reduce the odds of kids getting their little hands on tasty-looking – but poisonous – liquid nicotine, appears destined to be the first new federal law regulating e-cigarettes. Yesterday, Congress passed the measure, which now goes to the White House for President Obama’s signature. [More]

(@FDNY)

New York Lawmakers Call For Legalizing “Hoverboards” As One Explodes In Brooklyn Apartment

So-called “hoverboards,” which don’t actually hover, are illegal to use on the streets of New York City. Two lawmakers are trying to change that, but their timing couldn’t be worse, as one of the self-balancing scooters caught fire in a Brooklyn apartment Tuesday.  [More]

Legislation Would Require Liquid Nicotine Come In Child-Proof Packages

Legislation Would Require Liquid Nicotine Come In Child-Proof Packages

Legislation to ensure children aren’t able to get their little hands on tasty-looking – but poisonous – liquid nicotine has made it past one hurdle: the Senate unanimously passed the measure yesterday, indicating widespread support for the Child Nicotine Poisoning Prevention Act of 2015.  [More]

Steven Depolo

Regulators Take Action Against Online Lender For Deceiving Borrowers On Default Charges

When a company’s name has the word “integrity” in it, you may assume it’s a wholesome, truthful operation forthcoming with information that its customers would find beneficial. That apparently wasn’t the case with Integrity Advance, as federal regulators accused the short-term online lender of deceiving borrowers about the true cost of its loans.  [More]

(Jason Mrachina)

After 25 Years, Chicago Landlords Continue Rampant Illegal Discrimination Against Section 8 Vouchers

Under Chicago law, landlords are prohibited from discriminating against families who pay all or part of their rent using Housing Choice Vouchers – most commonly referred to as “Section 8.” But a new report shows that thousands of listings for rental properties in the city blatantly disregard the 25-year-old law, showing bias against low-income, minority residents.  [More]

Court Rules NSA Phone Data Collection That Is Now Changing Anyway Is Still Legal

Court Rules NSA Phone Data Collection That Is Now Changing Anyway Is Still Legal

After several years of back-and-forth rulings, an appeals court in Washington, D.C. has ruled today that the NSA’s controversial bulk phone data collection program can indeed continue… at least until November, when it gets shut down anyway because Congress changed the law in June. [More]

Why The Stolen Ashley Madison Data Is (Legally) Fair Game For The Internet

Why The Stolen Ashley Madison Data Is (Legally) Fair Game For The Internet


If your credit card information gets stolen in a data breach, there are certain rules in place that limit your liability and protect you from fraud. But if a hack makes personal, potentially very embarrassing, information public — as in, say, the Ashley Madison hack — there’s not much anyone can do to stop others from seeing or writing about it. [More]

Servicemembers At Failing For-Profit Schools Not Protected By Veterans Affairs

Servicemembers At Failing For-Profit Schools Not Protected By Veterans Affairs

When a for-profit college closes its doors, students are often left with hefty student loan tabs and little recourse. Some of those borrowers may be eligible for a discharge of their debts through the Dept. of Education, but others – like the thousands of veterans who used their GI Bill benefits to finance their education – are simply out of luck, often losing their chance to obtain a degree, thanks in part to failures within the Department of Veterans Affairs. [More]

Court: NSA Bulk Phone Data Collection Program Is Illegal

Court: NSA Bulk Phone Data Collection Program Is Illegal

A federal appeals court has ruled this morning that the NSA’s controversial bulk phone data collection program is in violation of federal law. [More]