November 23, 2015

Teen arrested for homemade clock seeking $15M in damages

Source: USA Today/ TV 11 Atlanta

IRVING, Texas -- Attorneys for the family of Ahmed Mohamed, the Irving High School student who made international headlines after being arrested earlier this year for bringing a homemade clock to school, have sent letters to both the city of Irving and the Irving School District demanding apologies and $15 million in damages.

Both letters claim that Mohamed's civil rights were violated, and he and his family have suffered physical and mental anguish because of the ordeal.

The letters claim Ahmed was singled out "because of his race, national origin, and religion."

"Ahmed never threatened anyone, never caused harm to anyone, and never intended to," read the letter to the city. "The only one who was hurt that day was Ahmed, and the damages he suffered were not because of oversight or incompetence. The school and city officials involved knew what they needed to do to protect Ahmed's rights. They just decided not to do it."

Read more: http://www.11alive.com/story/news/nation-now/2015/11/23/ahmed-mohamed-suing/76262308/

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Worth $15 million?

November 17, 2015

Papa John’s franchisee is Going to Jail

Source: Fortune Magazine

A Papa John’s franchisee received a jail sentence after being charged earlier this year with not paying workers minimum wage and with falsifying documents.

Abdul Jamil Khokhar, who owns nine Papa John’s locations in New York City with BMY Foods, pled guilty to failing to pay workers in compliance with the New York Labor Law, which is a misdemeanor, and to filing false business records, a felony.

As it’s stated on the Attorney General’s website, instead of paying his employees the proper minimum overtime wages according to New York State law, Khokhar paid them the same minimum wage they would make during regular hours. To hide this illegal practice, he created fake identities under which the employees would file their overtime hours to make it look as if they were distributed among more workers. As was previously reported by Fortune, this affected the wages of over 300 current and former employees.

A civil settlement secured by the U.S. Department of Labor in July of this year required Khokhar to pay $230,000 in damages and $50,000 in civil monetary penalties. He must also pay an additional $230,000 in back pay and spend 60 days in jail, as was agreed upon during his sentencing as part of his plea deal

(more at link)

Read more: fortune.com/2015/11/16/papa-johns-franchisee-jail/

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About time a crook goes to jail....

November 12, 2015

Michigan Senate votes to eliminate straight-ticket voting

Source: Michigan Live

WPBN/WGTU — LANSING - Michigan voters could no longer cast a straight ticket for a slate of candidates representing the party of their choice under legislation approved by the state Senate.

Republicans passed the bill 23-13 Tuesday, mostly along party lines.

Michigan is among 10 states to allow straight-party voting.

The Legislature voted to eliminate straight-ticket voting in 2001. But voters defeated the law in a 2002 referendum.

The legislation would appropriate $1 million for the Department of State to assess the impact of straight-party voting, assist in election fraud prevention, conduct precinct audits and provide equipment to "facilitate the integrity of the election process." The allocation makes the measure immune from a voter referendum, drawing criticism from Democrats.

Read more: http://upnorthlive.com/news/local/michigan-senate-votes-to-eliminate-straight-ticket-voting-11-11-2015

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Once again Michigan republicans move against it's own citizens wishes- voters overwhelming defeated this idea at the ballot box in 2002 and now republicans conveniently add a $1 million dollar appropriation, because under Michigan's Constitution, appropriations bills can't be overturned by the voter.

Something is wrong with you if your ideas suck so bad you have to cheat to prevent voters from overturning your bad laws.

November 4, 2015

Company launches Bernie Sanders-inspired underwear line

MONTPELIER, Vt. (AP) — Employees of a Vermont company have launched a side business selling underwear featuring a black-and-white drawing of the face of Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders.

NECN (http://bit.ly/20el7Og ) reports that the underwear, which features the message "Feel the Bern," is available for men and women and costs $15 plus shipping and handling. The three workers with KSE Partners, a strategic communications and government affairs firm, say they created Bernie's Briefs as a fun side business.

The Vermont senator has said recently on late-night TV and talk shows that he prefers briefs over boxers.

The startup's founders called Sanders' passion for serious issues admirable. One founder says the political process has benefited from his campaign.

Ten percent of the proceeds will go toward the Yellow Ribbon Fund, which supports injured service members.


Source:
http://news.yahoo.com/company-launches-bernie-sanders-inspired-underwear-line-193805218.html