STAFF WRITER

California Court Upholds Use of Voluntary Meal Waivers for Short Shifts

California Court Upholds Use of Voluntary Meal Waivers for Short Shifts

LOS ANGELES — A California appeals court has ruled that employers may use written, voluntary waivers to forgo 30-minute meal breaks for employees working shifts between five and six hours, so long as the waivers are revocable and not coercive. The ruling came in a published decision issued April 21 by

ACLU Sues Iowa Governor for Withholding Records on Satanic Temple Event Ban

ACLU Sues Iowa Governor for Withholding Records on Satanic Temple Event Ban

DES MOINES, Iowa — On Tuesday, the ACLU of Iowa has filed a lawsuit against Gov. Kim Reynolds, accusing her office of violating the state’s open records law by refusing to release documents tied to the cancellation of a proposed Satanic Temple event at the Iowa State Capitol. The lawsuit,

Florida Faces Legal Challenge Over Ban on Cultivated Meat

Florida Faces Legal Challenge Over Ban on Cultivated Meat

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — A federal judge has allowed a legal challenge to proceed against Florida’s first-in-the-nation ban on lab-grown meat, setting the stage for a broader battle over food innovation and interstate commerce. The lawsuit was filed by Upside Foods, a California-based producer of cultivated meat, and the Institute for

Ex-Sergeant Accuses Brevard PD of Retaliation for Raising Evidence Room Concerns

Ex-Sergeant Accuses Brevard PD of Retaliation for Raising Evidence Room Concerns

BREVARD, N.C. — A former police sergeant in Brevard says he was fired for reporting that hundreds of pieces of evidence, including narcotics, were missing from his department’s evidence room, according to a federal lawsuit filed last week. Sgt. Wilson Bunn and the Southern States Police Benevolent Association (PBA)

Mistrial Declared in Corruption Case Against Illinois Senator

Mistrial Declared in Corruption Case Against Illinois Senator

CHICAGO — A federal judge declared a mistrial Thursday in the bribery case against state Sen. Emil Jones III after jurors deadlocked on all three charges. U.S. District Judge Andrea Wood issued the decision at the Everett McKinley Dirksen U.S. Courthouse in Chicago. Jones, a Chicago Democrat, was accused

Bootlegging Case in Alaska Clarifies Excessive Fines Clause

Bootlegging Case in Alaska Clarifies Excessive Fines Clause

FAIRBANKS, Alaska — The Alaska Supreme Court has ruled that the state did not violate the U.S. Constitution when it seized a small aircraft used to smuggle beer into a dry village, ending a 13-year legal battle that tested the limits of the Excessive Fines Clause. The case centers around

Judge Rules Southbury Couple Must Pay for Damaging Town Property

Judge Rules Southbury Couple Must Pay for Damaging Town Property

WATERBURY, Conn. — A Superior Court judge has ordered a Southbury couple to pay nearly $600,000 in damages and restoration costs after ruling they unlawfully cut down or topped nearly 140 trees on town-owned land near their lakefront home. Judge Joseph Pellegrino issued the $598,476 judgment on Monday against