Harvard Law Prof Testifies Congress Can Make You Buy Veggies and Insurance

Harvard law professor Charles Fried testified before Congress on Wednesday that he’s “quite sure” the health-care law’s insurance requirement is constitutional. Fried, who was solicitor general in the Reagan administration, testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee that the commerce clause gives Congress the power to require insurance, the Talking Points…

Feb 3, 2011 4:31 PM CST

Suit Claims Plaintiff Shocked to Learn Nutella Was ‘Next Best Thing to a Candy Bar’

A class-action lawsuit filed by the mother of a 4-year-old child claims she was misled by Nutella’s claims that the hazelnut spread is a “healthy breakfast” and “nutritious.” The suit (PDF filed by Courthouse News Service) claims Nutella “falsely and misleadingly markets Nutella as healthful,” even though it contains 70…

Feb 3, 2011 2:06 PM CST

With the High Court in Mind, Challenges to the Health Bill Move Ahead

Feb 1, 2011 8:50 AM CST

Federal Judge Strikes Health Care Reform Act, Calls Insurance-Purchase Mandate Unconstitutional

Finding that an unconstitutional provision requiring most individuals to purchase insurance is central to the entire Health Care Reform Act championed by the Obama administration, a federal judge in Florida struck down the entire statute today. “Because the individual mandate is unconstitutional and not severable, the entire act must be…

Jan 31, 2011 8:58 PM CST

Bill to Nullify Federal Health Care Law Introduced in Idaho; Other Lawmakers May Follow

Two Idaho GOP lawmakers want their state to be a federal-health-care-law free zone. The lawmakers, Vito Barbieri and Judy Boyle, have introduced a bill that would make President Obama’s health-care law null and void within state boundaries, according to the IdahoReporter.com. The legislation would bar state workers from collaborating with…

Jan 27, 2011 1:03 PM CST

Trial of Michael Jackson’s Doctor Could Decide Insurance Coverage for Canceled ‘This Is It’ Concert

A decision earlier this month to try Michael Jackson’s personal physician for involuntary manslaughter could determine whether London market insurers ante up in the cancellation of the famous singer’s final “This is It” concert tour. Because the policy reportedly may cover only Jackson’s non-appearance due to “accident,” it might not…

Jan 27, 2011 1:29 AM CST

Six Justices Show Up for State of the Union, as Obama ‘Gently’ Hits Lawyers

A bipartisan group of six U.S. Supreme Court justices showed up for President Obama’s State of the Union address last night. All the Democratic appointees showed up, along with Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. and Justice Anthony M. Kennedy, the Los Angeles Times reports. Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr.…

Jan 26, 2011 12:31 PM CST

Ex-Judge’s Viral E-Mail Warning of Health Care Rationing Is ‘Woefully Out of Date’

A former Texas judge says his 2009 warnings about “Obamacare,” now circulating widely on the Internet and via e-mail, were based in part on provisions of the health care bill that never became law. David Kithil, formerly a judge in Burnet County, Texas, originally expressed his misgivings in a letter…

Jan 24, 2011 11:30 AM CST

Law Firms Sue Taco Bell, Ask Court to Determine: Where’s the Beef?

Contending that the purported “seasoned beef” or “seasoned ground beef” in a number of Taco Bell menu items isn’t as meaty as it sounds, consumer law firms have filed a federal suit in California this week asking for a court determination on the issue. Naming Irvine, Calif.-based Taco Bell Corp.…

Jan 22, 2011 12:43 AM CST

Doc Who Served as Court Liaison Is Criminally Charged for Alleged Sex with Patient

A longtime psychologist at a government-run mental health facility in suburban Chicago has been criminally charged after allegedly persuading a 45-year-old female patient to have sex by telling her he could continue to keep her confined, there or elsewhere, if she did not comply. Dr. Robert Eizinga, 66, is charged…

Jan 21, 2011 6:01 PM CST

Accused of Peeping Into Tiger Woods’ Medical Records and Fired, Nurse Sues for Defamation

Accused of misusing his employee computer access to peep into Tiger Woods’ medical records without good reason and fired in December 2009, a Florida nurse has filed suit for defamation. David Rothenberg is seeking more than $400,000 in damages and reinstatement to his former job at Health Central. He insists…

Jan 21, 2011 3:00 AM CST

Kidnapped as Infant from Hospital in 1987, Woman Contacts Mom After Spotting Baby Photos Online

Kidnapped as a 19-day-old infant from a New York hospital in 1987, after her mother took her in to be treated for 104-degree fever, the now 23-year-old victim has been found alive and well. Trying to find out more about her background, Carlina White contacted the National Center of Missing…

Jan 19, 2011 9:27 PM CST

Abortion Doc Charged with 8 Murders; 9 Clinic Workers in Custody, 4 Also Face Murder Charges

A physician whose medical license was suspended after a raid last year on his Philadelphia abortion clinic has been charged with 8 counts of murder. Nine of the untrained workers at Dr. Kermit Gosnell’s now-shuttered clinic are also in custody, and prosecutors say four clinic employees face murder charges, too,…

Jan 19, 2011 8:49 PM CST

Michael Jackson Doc to Be Tried for Involuntary Manslaughter in Singer’s Death

At the conclusion of a preliminary hearing, a Los Angeles Superior Court judge today ordered the personal physician for Michael Jackson to stand trial for involuntary manslaughter in the world-famous pop singer’s 2009 death. After hearing testimony that Dr. Conrad Murray, 57, violated the standard of care by giving Jackson…

Jan 12, 2011 1:23 AM CST

Supreme Court Rules Medical Residents Are Employees Subject to FICA Taxes

The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that medical residents are employees rather than students—a decision that makes them subject to Social Security and Medicare taxes. The ruling on so-called FICA tax liability settles a 20-year battle between teaching hospitals and the Internal Revenue Service, SCOTUSblog reports. The Associated Press also…

Jan 11, 2011 3:54 PM CST