House Rejects NSA Spying Restrictions

Newsflash from your Hollywood Attorney:

The US House of Representatives voted on Wednesday to reject an attempt to reign in domestic spying by the National Security Agency following a storm of lobbying by the White House against the measure.

In a 205-217 vote the House defeated an amendment introduced by Rep. Justin Amash (R-Michigan) which would have prevented the NSA from collecting the phone data of individuals not currently under investigation.

Amash aimed to challenge the NSA’s program of widespread collection of phone records, specifically information known as 'metadata,' the details of which were revealed by The Guardian in June.

That newspaper was able to acquire and publish a copy of a top-secret Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court opinion which required the mobile carrier Verizon to provide the NSA with the phone numbers of both parties involved in calls, along with the time and duration of the calls as well as calling card numbers used, and the International Mobile Subscriber Identity (IMSI) number for mobile carriers.

Since that information was revealed, officials have both confirmed the authenticity of the leak and justified its actions, as well as suggested that many more telecom companies are involved.

Surveillance of phone communications was itself eclipsed by revelations then made by former NSA contractor Edward Snowden, who blew the whistle on an unimagined level of online surveillance being conducted by the intelligence agency in conjunction with a long list of major American companies, including Yahoo, Microsoft, Google and Facebook.

According to various experts on the matter, including analysis provided by Wired Magazine, the NSA’s indiscriminate collection of such data would thereby allow the government to build a massive database to map connections and relationships between callers.

The defeated amendment would have ended the statutory authority of the newly revealed spy program, as part of the $600 billion Department of Defense Appropriations Act of 2014.

“The government collects the phone records without suspicion of every single American of the United States,” said Amash during floor debate on the measure.

On Monday, both the White House and lawmakers who support the NSA’s domestic spying programs launched a major lobbying effort against Amash’s measure after it was granted a vote.

Director of National Intelligence James Clapper released a statement on Wednesday against the amendment, saying it risked “dismantling an important intelligence tool.”

The day prior, White House Press Secretary Jay Carney had issued a statement announcing the White House’s opposition to the amendment.

“We oppose the current effort in the House to hastily dismantle one of our intelligence community’s counterterrorism tools,” Carney said.

Democratic Representatives John Conyers and Zoe Lofgren had sent a letter to colleagues Wednesday urging them to support Amash’s amendment.

“Congress did not intend for Section 215 of the Patriot Act to allow the bulk collection of information about all Americans,” wrote the two.“This amendment would not prohibit the government from spying on terrorists under Section 215, or from collecting information in bulk about American under other legal provisions.”

The authority for the NSA’s spying programs are based on a provision of the PATRIOT Act, known as section 215, which allows the secret Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court to authorize broad warrants for phone records deemed “relevant,” but not necessarily connected to terrorists.

Pete Ashdown, the founder and CEO of Xmission, an Internet service provider that has denied NSA surveillance requests, told RT that the only way to avoid government monitoring is for an Internet user to encrypt their activity and hope their provider complies.

“I want to hope something good is coming out of Washington,” he said. “There are many in Congress who are calling Edward Snowden a traitor and criminal when in fact I think it’s the people in the NSA who are criminals for not following the Constitution and have perjured themselves in front on Congress. These are people we cannot trust and its time we audit them or shut them down. I don’t envision the wholesale surveillance of Americans they’re doing as part of my America.”

Source.... http://worldtruth.tv/house-rejects-nsa-spying-restrictions-after-white-house-outcry/

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Florida University Student Antonio Morrison was Barking and Harassing a Police Dog While Dog was on Duty

Newsflash from your Hollywood Attorney:

An officer and a dog were investigating a vehicle in Gainesville early on Sunday when Antonio Morrison, 19, barked at the animal, police said.

Florida law makes it a crime to "harass" a police dog while the animal is "in the performance of its duties".

Mr Morrison, who plays linebacker for the University of Florida "Gators" team, said the dog had barked first.

University of Florida football coach Will Muschamp said Mr Morrison would be suspended for at least two games when the season starts later this summer.

"I'm extremely disappointed in Antonio Morrison's decision making," Mr Muschamp said in a statement.

Mr Morrison enrolled at the University of Florida in January 2012, playing his first season the following autumn. He was scheduled to be on the team's starting line-up this season.

Sunday's arrest was Mr Morrison's second in five weeks. He was charged with battery in June after being accused of punching a bouncer who refused to give him a discount.

According to a report, police responded about 03:00 local time (07:00 GMT) on Sunday to a vehicle near a bar to which officers had repeatedly been called over the past year.

As an officer was investigating, Mr Morrison walked by in a group. The linebacker then walked up to a police car where a police dog, Bear, was inside and began barking, police said.

The dog barked back, becoming distracted from its investigation of the car, police said. As the officer attempted to handcuff Mr Morrison, he resisted several times, according to the police report, until two other officers arrived to assist.

A Florida prosecutor said he was unsure Mr Morrison should have been arrested.

"Based on the initial report, I have to question the sufficiency of the evidence to constitute a crime," Florida State Attorney Bill Cervone told the Gainesville Sun.

"Simply barking at a dog may not be enough."

Source.... http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-23408643

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Thrown Out Lawsuit targeting National Defense Authorization Act of 2012 that Opponents Argue could be used to Indefinitely Detain American Citizens on Suspicions of Terrorism.

Newsflash from your Hollywood Attorney:

The journalists and activists who brought the case argued that the NDAA unconstitutionally gives the president the authority to detain anyone he suspects of teaming up with al Qaeda or the Taliban, anywhere. They argued that even those who merely spoke with terrorists -- like former New York Times reporter Chris Hedges -- might be in danger.

But in a 60-page ruling, a three judge panel from the Second Circuit Court of Appeals found that the plaintiffs lacked legal status to mount a challenge to the law because it "says nothing at all about the President’s authority to detain American citizens," and that two non-citizens who were also plaintiffs had failed to show that they were actually threatened with detention.

Hedges, who served as the lead named plaintiff in the case, told HuffPost he was frustrated by the court's decision.

"It's sad that we can't even find any kind of redress through the courts," he said. "There's nowhere left to turn to in this really egregious assault against our most basic civil liberties."

Wednesday's decision may bring to a close a 16-month legal saga during which a lower court judge briefly attempted to block the law. While noting that the Supreme Court's guidance on granting standing for such lawsuits "has been less than clear," the appeal court leaned heavily on the high court's February ruling that human rights groups couldn't challenge a warrantless wiretapping program without concrete proof that it had targeted them.

The plaintiffs may appeal the ruling, but the Supreme Court is not required to hear them out.

"The Second Circuit panel did not distinguish itself in upholding civil rights in America," said Carl Mayer, an attorney for the plaintiffs. "I think the decision is imminently appealable because it reverses a very solid and comprehensive lower court opinion, and frankly I think it's time for the Obama administration to stop supporting these statues like the indefinite detention law."

Read More.... http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/07/17/ndaa-indefinite-detention-lawsuit_n_3612354.html?ncid=edlinkusaolp00000003

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Protesters Seek Action after Zimmerman Verdict from Civil Rights Leaders in More than 100 Cities.

Newsflash from your Hollywood Attorney:

After a day of nationwide demonstrations protesting the verdict in the George Zimmerman murder case in Florida, civil rights leaders prepared to step up their calls for justice for Trayvon Martin, the unarmed teenager killed more than a year ago. Saying that they will protest until they get the justice.

The Rev. Al Sharpton, a prominent civil rights activist and a television host on MSNBC, announced that his National Action Network will hold demonstrations and prayer vigils in 100 cities across the country on Saturday. Sharpton, who has been active in supporting Martin’s parents, Sybrina Fulton and Tracy Martin.

Mayor Eric Garcetti will skipped his visit to Maryland and return to Los Angeles because of street protests after the George Zimmerman verdict.

See Video and Read More... http://www.latimes.com/news/nation/nationnow/la-na-nn-zimmerman-post-verdict-20130715,0,7939068.story

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FreightCar America Sues 700 Retired Steelworkers Instead of Buying Insurance

The United Steelworkers (USW) today denounced FreightCar America Inc. management's unilateral decision to abrogate benefits agreements that provide life and medical insurance for about 700 workers who retired from the company's Johnstown, Pa. production facility.

The USW called the company's scheme to shed its obligation to these union retirees a mean-spirited and greed-fueled money grab aimed at men and women who dedicated their lives and careers to building railcars and earning profits for FreightCar and its predecessors.

Over decades of service at the Johnstown "car shop," as it was known, retirees earned the right to receive company-paid health and life insurance benefits.

These rights were created through collective bargaining between the successive employers and the USW, where the parties agreed that the employer's obligation was to provide these benefits as long as the retiree remained retired, "notwithstanding the expiration of this agreement, except as the company and union may agree otherwise."

The USW never "agreed otherwise." It never agreed to convert these important retirement provisions into benefits that were "gratuitous," or terminable at the employer's whim, as the company's lawsuit claims.

In a letter today, FreightCar informed the USW of its intention to stop paying for the retirees' health and life insurance and brought a complaint against the union and retirees in federal court for the Northern District of Illinois seeking approval to terminate the benefit programs on October 1, 2013.

The USW and the retirees are filing a lawsuit of their own in federal court for the Western District of Pennsylvania to fight the company's announced termination of these benefits.

The USW represents 850,000 men and women employed in metals, mining, pulp and paper, rubber, chemicals, glass, auto supply and the energy-producing industries, along with a growing number of workers in public sector and service occupations.

Source... www.usw.org  Union Steel Workers

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IRS Posted 100,000+ Social Security Numbers on a Website

The IRS mistakenly posted the Social Security numbers of tens of thousands of Americans on a government website, the agency confirmed Monday night. One estimate put the figure as high as 100,000 names.

The numbers were posted to an IRS database for tax-exempt political groups known as 527s and first discovered by the group Public.Resource.org.

The California-based group said it learned of the "privacy breach" while working on an unrelated audit of an “improperly vetted shipment” of IRS data on DVDs and promptly informed the agency, which shut down the site the next day. The group said the Social Security numbers were largely those of donors, though some were also from people who prepared tax returns to furnish to the IRS.

An IRS spokesman told FoxNews.com on Monday the agency was alerted about a "substantial number" of Social Security numbers posted on the site and removed web access to the information "out of an abundance of caution." The spokesman also said the IRS is now "assessing the situation and exploring available options."

A message on the agency’s 527 homepage asks visitors to check back Monday, but the site was still down Monday evening.

Public.Resource.org. founder Carl Malamud told FoxNews.com on Monday night that roughly 100,000 Social Security numbers were exposed.

Malamud said in a statement on the group's website that it hopes the Obama administration will act to restore access to the agency's nonprofit database and resolve its concerns over what it described as a "serious violation of federal law."

"It is time now for the administration to send a tiger team over to the [IRS] to help fix their information management practices," Malamud said.


Read More... http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2013/07/09/group-irs-mistakenly-posted-thousands-social-security-number-on-website/#ixzz2YYtUepPA

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"Evil Spirit Scam" Plagues Asian Immigrants - Don't Be Takin!

 Getting rid of Evil Spirits should cost Nothing! Don't ever pay anyone for this service!

One woman was told by a fortune teller that her son was possessed by demons. Another was approached on a Chinatown street by a stranger who eerily claimed her daughter would die in two days. A third was informed that her dead husband was communicating from the grave, telling her to hand over thousands in cash.

"Your son will die in a car accident — he is cursed," a 65-year-old was told.

In each instance, the women bundled up cash and jewelry in a bag and gave it to strangers they'd just met — self-proclaimed spiritual healers. They were told the contents would be blessed in an effort to ward off evil spirits, bring good luck to the family or heal a sick child — they just have to wait a period of time to re-open it.

When they do, they find water bottles, cough drops and beans. But no valuables.

Detectives say there has been a rash in New York of what's known as an evil spirit or blessing scam, where older immigrant women, mostly Chinese, are swindled out of their valuables by clever scammers arriving from China who prey on superstition and fear. In the past six months, two dozen victims have reported valuables stolen — in some cases more than $10,000 in cash and $13,000 in jewelry, according to police reports. A total of more than $1.8 million has been stolen.

"They know the culture, they know how to talk to these victims to get them to listen," chief New York Police Department spokesman Paul Browne said of the grifts. "One person's spirituality is another's superstition, and they prey on that distinction."

The scam itself has many permutations, but the basic principle is the same: A woman, usually in her 50s or older, is approached by a stranger, usually a younger woman, who asks the woman if she knows where to find a particular healer or fortune teller. Another seeming stranger joins the conversation, says she knows where the healer is located, and convinces the older woman to come along. The healer convinces the victim that in order to ward off some evil, she must hand over valuables in a bag to be blessed. And then they switch the bag.

Similar scams occur in other places in the U.S. with large Asian communities, such as Boston, Seattle, Chicago and in Hawaii. In San Francisco late last year, thieves stole about $2 million in nearly 60 cases. Police there called the scams an organized crime ring. The district attorney's office, police and politicians waged a public safety awareness campaign, including community meetings and a video depicting a reenactment of a scam and tips on how to spot one.

The grift may be prevalent right now in Asian neighborhoods, but it's also rampant in Haitian and Latino communities where there is also distrust of Western culture and banks, and plenty of cash and valuables kept at home, said Dr. Alan Hilfer, director of psychology at Maimonides Medical Center in New York.

"It has to do with the idea of not necessarily adopting Western belief systems about magic and incantation systems, but staying with some of their traditional spiritual beliefs," he said. "And, in many cases they're so lost and desperate in a foreign culture they will turn to anyone who offers them something in a language they can understand."

A similar public awareness campaign has been underway in New York. Detectives in Chinatowns in Brooklyn and Manhattan have canvassed the streets warning of the scams and put up posters in Mandarin and English warning women.

"The power of belief is serious," Hilfer said. "And faced with an idea of a very expensive, absolutely incomprehensible, say, MRI machine versus someone putting grains or coins into a bag with incantations, it's just less frightening and unfamiliar to them."

New York City detectives say there is no larger criminal organization at work here, most scammers operate in groups of three or five and then disappear after, mostly fleeing back to China. Some arrests have been made, but recovery of the valuables is difficult.

The awareness campaign helped one 67-year-old woman, who turned the tables on the scammers, police and prosecutors said. She was approached June 3 in Manhattan's Chinatown. A younger Chinese girl on the street asked where to find a particular doctor. The accomplice joined and said she knew the doctor, and a third woman turned up saying she was a relative. They persuaded the woman that she was cursed. But rather than go home and bundle up her valuables, she called the cops, who set up a sting and nabbed five suspects after they'd stolen the 67-year-old's bag of fake jewelry.

Manhattan prosecutors charged the five with grand larceny. They are all from China. Lawyers for three didn't return calls seeking comment. But a lawyer for Jun Liang, 44, and Jingchang Quan, 44 said his clients were innocent.

Read More... http://news.yahoo.com/evil-spirit-scam-plagues-asian-immigrants-nyc-175711917.html;_ylt=Asw5IFiPom5myFbNJAcJidQJVux_;_ylu=X3oDMTI5YmpkMW84BG1pdANBVFQgMyBTdG9yeSBKdW1ib3Ryb24gSG9tZSBDYWNoZWQEcG9zAzYEc2VjA01lZGlhQXR0V2lkZ2V0cm9uQXNzZW1ibHk-;_ylg=X3oDMTFkcW51ZGliBGludGwDdXMEbGFuZwNlbi11cwRwc3RhaWQDBHBzdGNhdANob21lBHB0A3BtaA--;_ylv=3

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Man Jailed Over Neon Yard Sign

A Ventura County man who refuses to shut off an illegal, flashing-neon anti-Mitt Romney sign in his front yard has been arrested.

The Ventura County Star reports 59-year-old Steven Showers of Newbury Park was taken into custody after a hearing Monday.

Two weeks ago a jury convicted Showers of 8 misdemeanor counts of having unlawful signs, illegal electrical connections and other code violations.

A judge released Showers on his own recognizance provided he shut off the 10-foot sign that reads "Romneys Racist Heart Dotcom" and "Save the GOP." Showers refused.

He says the display falls under his First Amendment rights.

Read More... http://www.myfoxla.com/story/22746733/ventura-county-man-arrested-over-neon-yard-sign?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter#ixzz2XvYLVCsI

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51 Hospitals in 21 States Settle Medicare Fraud Case for $34 Million "Whistleblowers"

The federal government announced today that 55 hospitals in 21 states are paying a total of $34 million to settle allegations they overcharged Medicare for a back procedure known as "kyphoplasty" using a fraudulent billing scheme first exposed by two whistleblowers.

 The government so far has recovered over $74 million from more than 100 hospitals – including the settlements announced today -- as a result of its investigation and information provided by the whistleblowers.

"This isn't a case of simple paperwork errors or innocent misunderstanding of Medicare rules," said Tim McCormack, a Washington, DC, lawyer with Phillips & Cohen. "Hospitals across the country misrepresented the type of treatment they provided to patients so they could bill Medicare for expensive inpatient stays."

The government became aware of the Medicare billing scheme as a result of a "qui tam" (whistleblower) lawsuit filed in 2008 in federal district court in Buffalo, New York, by two former Kyphon employees, Craig Patrick and Chuck Bates. 

The whistleblowers alleged Kyphon, which sold the equipment and materials used to perform the procedure, persuaded hospitals to submit false claims to Medicare and other government healthcare programs by showing how much greater their revenues would be by billing kyphoplasty as an inpatient, rather than an outpatient, procedure. Inpatient care generally isn't medically necessary for routine, scheduled kyphoplasty procedures.

Kyphon was acquired later by Medtronic Spine LLC, which paid $75 million in 2008 to settle the allegations. Today's settlement brings the total recoveries to the government from kyphoplasty-related cases to more than 149 million.

Kyphoplasty is a minimally invasive procedure used to treat certain spinal compression fractures often due to osteoporosis.  A balloon device pumps up the compressed vertebra, and then bone cement is injected into the cavity after the balloon is removed. Generally patients fully recover within a few hours.

"Taxpayers are fortunate to have such a talented government legal team working on their behalf to recover Medicare funds that otherwise would have been lost," said attorney Matthew Smith of Phillips & Cohen. He singled out Trial Attorney Colin Huntley of the Department of Justice; Assistant U.S. Attorney Gretchen Wylegala, Investigator  Margaret McFarland and Auditor Theresa Tetlow of the US Attorney's Office in Buffalo; and Special Agent Peggy Glynn of the Department of Health and Human Services Office of the Inspector General  for their dedication and work on the case.

The False Claims Act offers rewards to whistleblowers who  file qui tam lawsuits against entities that are defrauding  the government if funds are recovered. Whistleblowers are awarded with 15 percent to 25 percent of the amount recovered when the government joins the case.

Phillips & Cohen is the nation's most successful law firm representing whistleblowers, with more than $11 billion in recoveries to governments resulting from their cases. Phillips & Cohen represents whistleblowers in qui tam cases and claims made under the SEC, IRS and CFTC whistleblower reward programs.

The hospitals that are settling are located in Alabama, California, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Nevada, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Tennessee and Texas.

Read More.... http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/fifty-five-hospitals-in-21-states-settle-medicare-fraud-case-for-34-million-whistleblowers-lawyers-comment-on-settlement-213980711.html

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Should You Hide Your Data From Internet Snoops - How to Do It...

Having concerns about NSA cybersnooping doesn't mean we must surrender all privacy -- what's left of it -- in our day-to-day online activities.

It's easy to forget that we're volunteering basic information about ourselves in return for free e-mail, social networking and other digital services. And let's remember that third parties -- from government agencies to cyber criminals -- can get their hands on even more personal stuff if they're actively trying.

So, whether it's due to a vague fear of Big Brother or a more specific desire to keep your bank information out of the hands of thieves, you might be considering ways to keep your communication more secure.

"So much that's geo-political, so much cyber crime, so many struggles of various types are being played out in terms of information security today," said Wade Williamson, a senior security analyst at Palo Alto Networks. "It's not just that people decided to get interested in encryption all of a sudden."

Specifically, encryption has come up a lot in recent days. For one, NSA whistleblower (some would say "traitor") Edward Snowden said Mondayin an online question-and-answer session that e-mail encryption is an effective way of foiling government surveillance.

"Encryption works," he wrote. "Properly implemented strong crypto systems are one of the few things that you can rely on. Unfortunately, endpoint security is so terrifically weak that NSA can frequently find ways around it."

Encryption is a method of securing your files, including e-mail, by encoding it so that the intended recipient can read it, but anyone who may intercept the message along the way cannot.

An encryption tool turns your original message (called "plaintext") into a garbled mess (or "ciphertext") while it's flying from Point A to Point B. The system gives the approved recipient a decryption tool which makes the text readable once it arrives at its destination.

With all of the renewed interest in online privacy, we talked with Williamson about ways to help keep your data secure -- before, during and after sending it.

 Before

First things first. There are ways to make your contact with every website you visit more secure.

A "secure sockets layer" (SSL) provides a layer of security during everything from Web browsing to text messaging. Many major websites offer the option of using a secure connection all the time. Williamson and other security experts suggest doing this when given the option.

If not -- sometimes it can be as easy as tweaking "http" to "https" in your browser's address bar.

"By and large, you can just throw an 'S' into the URL and go to town," Williamson said.

There are also tools like HTTPS Everywhere, a free extension for Chrome and Firefox browsers, that encrypt your connection with most major websites.

 During

Most major e-mail services, like Outlook and Gmail, offer some form of encryption. Check your e-mail's security settings for options.

But for people who are really worried about their e-mails being intercepted -- and that's always just an unsecured network and an eager hacker away -- Williamson suggests buying encryption software. (Note: His company focuses on network security and does not sell encryption software to individuals).

With many of the systems, customers will get digital "certificates" for themselves called private keys. Everyone with whom they want to share encrypted messages will receive public keys.

Using such a system, only someone with one of a user's public certificates could descramble a message's content.

 After

So, your data may be secure while it's hurtling through cyberspace. But what if somebody breaks into your car, where you stupidly left your laptop, and makes off with it?

That's where disk encryption comes in.

There's some free disk encryption software floating around in the open-source community, but for most folks this, too, will cost some cash.

In effect, disk encryption scrambles everything stored to your computer, requiring a password or other approved recovery tool to decode it. So, if your computer falls into the wrong hands, all won't be lost.

To summarize, there are lots of encryption and other security options out there. Some are quick, easy and free. Others are going to cost money for specialized software, hardware or both.

To find a level of security you're comfortable with, start by poking around with security settings on your browser, e-mail client and favorite websites. Then consider whether you want professional help to get to the next level.

SEE VIDEO from CNN   ... http://youtu.be/omx_yQqTj-g

Source & see Video.... http://worldtruth.tv/how-to-hide-your-data-from-internet-snoops/

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British Album Cover Artist Sues James Cameron Sued Over 'Avatar'

James Cameron is being sued yet again over his hit movie "Avatar” as a British album cover artist filed a lawsuit Thursday claiming the famed director copied his artwork for some scenes in the movie.

William Roger Dean is seeking more than $50 million in damages, claiming that the movie's floating mountains, stone arches, and the physical traits of flying creatures in "Avatar" were taken from his work by James Cameron, Deadline.com reported.

"The similarities of each such work are substantial, continuing, and direct so as to rule out any accidental copying or similarity in scenes common to the genre," states the lawsuit, which was filed in U.S. District Court in New York, according to Deadline.com.

Bert Field, Cameron’s attorney, told the Associated Press that the filmmaker is the "most original and creative person in the motion picture business today" and shouldn’t need to copy from anyone.

Dean is an established entertainment artist who has done album covers for bands like Yes and Asia.

Charlie Jane Anders, a writer for io6.com, which covers science fiction, pointed out the similarities between Dean’s work and Avatar back in January 2010.

"Since we pointed out the resemblance between ‘Avatar’ and Roger Dean's artwork a month ago, there's been a flurry of discussion on the subject online," Anders wrote. "Entertainment Weekly asked director James Cameron whether he got his idea for the floating mountains from a Yes cover, and he laughed 'It might have been... Back in my pot-smoking days.' Some more great Dean art has been posted in various places, as people celebrate his influence and point to more areas where Dean's art may have helped to inspire ‘Avatar.’"

According to Deadline.com, Dean's complaint is the fourth suit filed against Cameron and Fox involving "Avatar." A federal judge approved a trial in March for screenwriter Bryant Moore, who sued Cameron over copyright material.

Read More...  http://www.newsmax.com/newswidget/james-cameron-sued-avatar-british/2013/07/01/id/512779?promo_code=139A8-1&utm_source=139A8World_Truth&utm_medium=nmwidget&utm_campaign=widgetphase1#ixzz2XoWSQgzQ

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Lawsuit Over Commissions for Julianna Margulies from "The Good Wife"

The actress is looking at a possible trial in October that could determine whether she'll have to fork over 10 percent of ongoing salary from "The Good Wife."

The Good Wife star Julianna Margulies experienced a setback in court on Tuesday when a judge denied her motion for summary judgment in an ongoing fight with D/F Management over more than $420,000 in claimed commissions.

Margulies was sued last year by the firm of Steve Dontanville, which claimed that it had a deal that entitled the ex-managers to 10 percent of what she continued to make on shows and for product deals that were negotiated while they were her representatives.

Last week, the judge in the case allowed her to pursue a defense that was based on the fact that the agreement wasn't in writing, but today that defense proved less than mighty. As a result, Margulies is looking at a potential trial in October.

Margulies sought to apply the statute of frauds, a standard that requires that certain contracts be signed and in writing. Not all states have such a standard. New York arguably does. California doesn't, paying more respect to the sanctity of oral agreements.

At Tuesday's hearing, the key question was whether the judge would apply New York law or California law.

Sheldon Eisenberg, the attorney for Margulies, pointed to the fact that she lived and did much of her work in New York.

The other side directed the judge's attention to the fact that the alleged agreement was negotiated in California and that Dontanville is based there. "Ms. Margulies reached out to Dontanville, why?" asked Mathew Rosengart at Greenberg Traurig, who represented the plaintiff. "Because he is in California. The epicenter of the entertainment industry is in California, and Mr. Dontanville performed his job in California. He helped her get the job with The Good Wife not in New York, but in California."

Margulies has brought counterclaims alleging that Dontanville breached the terms of the oral agreement by failing to perform adequately. The TV star also has made the allegation that her former rep's "behavior became inappropriate and the source of embarrassment, upset and concern for" her.

Read More.... http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/thr-esq/julianna-margulies-face-lawsuit-managers-574463

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Holiday Bomb Threat Averted - Race Against Time

The explosive device, left, found inside a light fixture box at a Home Depot store in Long Island, New York. An x-ray of the device shows it tucked into the actual light fixture.

It was one of those cases like you might see on TV or in the movies—where the FBI and its partners work feverishly behind the scenes, racing to stop bombs from going off and lives from possibly being lost.


But this was real—and the stakes were high. The target was one of the nation’s largest retailers in one of America’s most populated areas. And the day of reckoning was Black Friday, the busiest shopping day of the year.


It all started last October 15, when the Home Depot in Huntington, New York—a town on the north shore of Long Island—received an ominous anonymous note. The sender demanded $2 million or he would “shut down” three Home Depot stores on Long Island the day after Thanksgiving by remotely setting off bombs filled with roofing nails using a cell phone. As proof of his ability to hide a bomb, he said that he had planted a live device in the Huntington store’s lighting department.


The man wasn’t bluffing. Home Depot immediately contacted the Suffolk County Police Department, which found an operational pipe bomb hidden within a light fixture inside a box on a shelf. Bomb techs rendered it harmless through a controlled detonation.


Suffolk County and FBI bomb techs later agreed that if a store employee or customer had come across the bomb and picked it up, it could have exploded. And the device made it clear that the bomb-maker knew what he was doing.


Two days later, the man called Home Depot and repeated his demands. Five days later, the store received a second letter, this time lowering the ransom to $1 million and setting up a “money drop” for October 26.


According to the criminal complaint filed in the case, on the day of the money drop, the bomber intended to be “wired up like a Christmas tree” with “2 devices strapped to a belt and 1 to a neck chain I will be wearing, wired together and attached to a deadman switch in my hand.” The man also stated that “to keep from being shot at a distance,” he intended to place an additional explosive device in a Home Depot store.


But just before the scheduled money drop, the would-be-bomber made a second phone call to Home Depot to call it off…for the time being.


All the while, a multi-agency team of investigators from federal, state, and local law enforcement were compiling a list of suspects and working to narrow it down. A prime suspect soon emerged—Daniel Patrick Sheehan, an employee of the Home Depot store in nearby Deer Park.


On November 7—after using a variety of innovative investigative techniques—law enforcement located and arrested Sheehan in the vicinity of one of the Long Island Home Depot locations. Found in Sheehan’s possession was the cell phone used to make the threatening phone calls to the store.


On June 17, 2013, Sheehan was convicted by a federal jury of extorting his employer and using a destructive device. As then-FBI New York Acting Assistant Director in Charge Mary Galligan said after Sheehan’s arrest, “Whatever his motivation …[Sheenan’s] scheme caused economic loss, was a huge drain on law enforcement resources, and threatened the safety of untold numbers of innocent people, any one of which is unacceptable.”

Source... http://www.fbi.gov/news/stories/2013/june/holiday-bomb-threat-averted/holiday-bomb-threat-averted

Law Offices of Jonathan Franklin
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Know Your Money! How to Spot Counterfeit Currency

Today, #DHS will seize $500,000 in counterfeit U.S. currency before it is introduced into circulation.

Position of Important Features

$10 Front (2004 Series)

 

$20 Front (2004 Series)

 

$20 Front (1996 Series)

 

$20 Back (1996 Series)

 

$20 Front (1990-1995 Series)

 

$20 Back (1990-1995 Series)

 

See More....   http://www.secretservice.gov/money_features.shtml

And Stay Safe! 

Law Offices of Jonathan Franklin
Open Evenings and Weekends this Summer
Call Us Now (310) 273-9600   
 http://www.jonathanfranklinlaw.com

 

 

FBI now digging for Jimmy Hoffa in Field in Oakland County, Mich.

Federal agents first heard about the vacant property in January, when the son of Joseph Zerilli, known as one of the city's legendary alleged crime bosses, came forward. Anthony "Tony" Zerilli, 85, told investigators that Hoffa's body was buried in a shallow grave in the Oakland Twp. field. Plans to move his body were abandoned.

But the FBI might have reason to doubt Zerilli's story. For one, it was reported in January that he's writing a book. The 85-year-old also said he has knowledge of Hoffa's death from his father, although he claims to have never been a mobster, and was serving time at the time of the disappearance.

Zerilli said it's important that people know the truth.

"I’d like to just prove to everybody that I’m not crazy," Zerilli told NBC. "And it means a lot to me. What happened, happened while I was in jail. And I feel very, very bad about it and it should never have happened to Jim Hoffa. He didn’t deserve what happened to him."

Although Hoffa disappeared nearly 40 years ago, the feds haven't given up trying to locate his remains around Metro Detroit. Investigators have searched beneath many innocuous suburban fixtures for the Teamster boss's body: a backyard swimming pool, Roseville driveway, Detroit home and even a horse farm.

UPDATE: 12:20 p.m. -- Investigators are digging around a cement slab in the middle of the Oakland Twp. field, according to WXYZ. Watch live feed from the dig site at WXYZ.


UPDATE: 2:20 p.m. -- An attorney for Tony Zerelli told WXYZ that Hoffa's body is buried underneath the cement slabs where investigators can currently be seen digging. "The body is in that field, no doubt about it," Attorney David Chasnick told WXYZ.

See Video and Read More... http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/06/17/jimmy-hoffa-search-body-fbi-disappearance_n_3453867.html

Law Offices of Jonathan Franklin
Open Evenings and Weekends this Summer
Call Us Now (310) 273-9600    
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