Free Republic

Heather Squires was the designated driver. Never exactly a fun thing, but a college buddy of her husband's was driving up from Tucson to celebrate his acceptance into law school. So when her husband, Jason, asked, Heather said yes. It's not safe to be the designated driver these days, either. At Chuy's in Tempe, Heather's brother and her husband and the soon-to-be-law-school student knocked off four pitchers of beer. Everybody was having a great time. Around 9:30 p.m., they decided to head home. So they piled into Jason Squires' new pickup truck. As planned, Heather drove. They didn't get very...

Against the storm-ravaged backdrop of a New Orleans district, John Edwards will this week become the first Democrat heavyweight to announce his 2008 White House run.The declaration by Mr Edwards, a former senator and his party's vice-presidential candidate in 2004, will kick off a season of official announcements in coming weeks by the major contenders for the Democrat and Republican nominations. The choice of New Orleans, where life is barely back to normal 16 months after Hurricane Katrina, is a clear signal that some Democrats will seek to tar rival Republicans with what many see as the Bush administration's inept...

Children have a natural need to run around and scream. I first learned this truth on the playground of the Experimental Elementary School at Salisbury State Teachers College in Salisbury, Maryland. But I didn’t know I knew it until a generation later, when my own children were the same age. Now comes news that school administrators in Attleboro, Massachusetts, have outlawed the game of tag because “children might get hurt and sue the school”. What’s next? Outlawing cookies because they have sharp edges? Children are bundles of energy. That’s why recess was invented. To get the urchins sitting quietly and...

MILWAUKEE -- A Janesville man who admitted breaking into a home is suing the homeowner who shot him. Kurt Prochaska, 39, was on probation last fall when he admitted he broke in to a home and was shot by the homeowner, but that's not stopping him from going after cash through the courts. Late last year, the Rainiero family awoke to find Prochaska in their home. Michael Rainiero, a doctor, ordered Prochaska to leave. He didn't and was shot in the back. Nearly a year later, Rainiero's attorney said it's far from over because Prochaska is suing him from beind...

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. - A nanny who was arrested after police viewed hidden camera video recordings that appeared to show her shaking a 5-month-old baby is suing the recording system's manufacturer. Claudia Muro, 32, alleges that distorted camera footage wrongfully led to her arrest and imprisonment. She was arrested in October 2003 and spent two years awaiting trial before prosecutors dropped the case because of concerns about the tape. The footage was broadcast on television around the country. The lawsuit was filed against Boca Raton-based Tyco Fire & Security, according to a report in the South Florida Sun-Sentinel. The lawsuit...

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - An owner of Apple Computer Inc.'s iPod music player filed a federal lawsuit against the computer maker, claiming the device causes hearing loss in people who use it. The portable music players are "inherently defective in design and are not sufficiently adorned with adequate warnings regarding the likelihood of hearing loss," according to the complaint, which seeks class action status. The suit, filed on behalf of John Kiel Patterson of Louisiana on Tuesday in U.S. District Court in San Jose, Calif., seeks compensation for unspecified plaintiffs' damages and upgrades that will make iPods safer. Apple has...

SHERA PAGLINAWAN, ET AL., V. JAMES FREY, ET AL. January 30, 2006 Readers of James Frey's book, A Million Little Pieces, have filed suit in federal court in Seattle seeking class action status based on allegations of breach of contract, unjust enrichment, misrepresentation, and violation of the Washington Consumer Protection Act. The suit was filed against Frey and his publisher after Frey disclosed that much of this book, sold as a memoir, was fabricated. http://news.findlaw.com/hdocs/docs/oprah/pagfrey13006fac.pdf Plaintiffs' Lawyer http://pview.findlaw.com/view/2998965_1