September 2022
DOJ told SDNY ‘It’s time to even things out by indicting a Democrat before the midterms’
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FEMA administrator: Hurricane Ian will leave ‘catastrophic footprint’
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Michael Cohen on Deadline White House – Part 2
10:04
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Michael Cohen on Deadline White House – Part 1
11:18
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‘Better to be safe than sorry’: Tampa residents evacuate ahead of Hurricane Ian
03:15
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Texas’ top law enforcement officer doesn’t like when laws apply to him
09:24
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Postponed Jan. 6 hearing meant to be a reset for committee
07:38
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Protests sweep Iran following death of woman in police custody
06:51
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Trump’s embrace and amplification of QAnon raises concerns
08:33
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Michael Cohen thinks criminal prosecutions are ‘forthcoming’ for Trump
11:17
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Rep. Zoe Lofgren: Committee will lay out more on Trump’s culpability
11:56
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GOP candidates have tricky relationships with the truth
06:14
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Trump tries a familiar defense with NY AG lawsuit: Throwing other people under the bus
10:13
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Miles Taylor: Trump seems to think his presidential powers continue
10:17
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Neal Katyal: Complaint from NY AG James has ‘devastating range’
11:36
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Weissmann: Dearie’s message to Trump lawyers is ‘if you don’t put up’ you won’t get relief
10:58
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New book highlights the moral choices confronting members of the Trump administration
10:52
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fmr. press secretary to Zelenskyy: I believe Ukraine will win
07:51
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More Republicans refuse to vow to accept election results
09:18
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Frank Figliuzzi calls Trump’s QAnon embrace ‘the last act of a desperate man’
07:54
Insurance agents offer advice to hurricane-proof your home
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Insurance agents say that it’s extremely important to make sure your home is properly prepared ahead of the storm, no matter how strong the storm may get — from making sure your gutters are free of debris to making sure your sandbags are properly in place.
As Hurricane Ian continues to make its presence known through Florida, Joe Carlucci with Brightway Insurance said prepping your home is key.
“Water and wind are the worst things with the hurricane. You got to be kind of mindful of. There’s going to be way more water than normal. Way more wind than normal. How can we kind of mitigate those two factors,” Carlucci said.
RELATED: Latest Updates | Interactive Map | Plan and Prepare | Hurricane Survival Guide | Know Your Zone
He was clearing out his gutters, trimming his trees and removing any items in the yard that could potentially fly away on Tuesday.
“Little things like the umbrella, things that you don’t really think about on an everyday basis but will kind of just take that umbrella and put it who knows where,” Carlucci said. “This over here is like a pergola, a shade that clips in and out. We’re just going to unclip that, roll it out, that’s going to act as just a huge umbrella. That could really, really do some damage.”
How to sandbag your home
Joe’s brother and fellow insurance agent, Matt Carlucci Jr., said it’s a must to make a barrier around different areas of your home using sandbags or self-inflating silicone bags to prevent your home from flooding.
He said technique is important as well.
“Most importantly, you don’t want any gaps between the bags, and one way you can make sure that happens is by staggering
Justice minister says province not willing to undermine Legal Aid Alberta review
Alberta Justice Minister Tyler Shandro says the province does not want to undermine a review of Legal Aid to satisfy criminal defense lawyers who have taken job action over the amount they’re compensated.
Organizations representing lawyers in Edmonton, Calgary, Red Deer and southern Alberta began job action Aug. 8 by refusing to accept certain bail and duty counsel files from legal aid.
The lawyers escalated Monday by withdrawing all services and refusing to take any new cases.
Shandro told reporters in Calgary that a review of the Legal Aid Alberta system will be completed next month and he’s not going to undermine it by taking action now.
He said Legal Aid has enough money and his department is monitoring to make sure people who need the service have access to justice.
Shandro says he’s sympathetic to the lawyers’ position and is willing to discuss future changes, but only after the review is complete.
“We’re willing to have conversations about whether there needs to be increases in the tariff or whether there needs to be changes to the financial eligibility guidelines, but I think that’s a next step after the review in October is completed,” Shandro said.
“We’ve heard the advocacy from the criminal defense bar that there needs to be changes to how they’re compensated. That’s the next step.”
Senate confirms Kevin Ritz as US Attorney for Western District of Tennessee
The US Senate confirmed Kevin Ritz as US Attorney for the Western District of Tennessee Thursday.
President Joe Biden nominated Ritz in July to succeed D. Michael Dunavant, President Donald Trump’s nominee. Ritz’s nomination followed the recommendation of Congressman Rep. Steve Cohen, D-Memphis.
Cohen praised the Senate’s confirmation Thursday.
“I applauded President Biden’s choice of this outstanding lawyer and public servant. I was proud to recommend him and have never known anyone with higher commendations,” Cohen said.
Kevin Ritz:President Joe Biden nominates former assistant US attorney to top spot in Memphis
Ritz worked as a prosecutor in gun-related crimes before moving to appeals later in his career, even appearing before the US Supreme Court in 2014 to argue whether a man convicted of misdemeanor domestic assault in Tennessee qualified as a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence under federal law.
The man, James Castleman, was convicted in Tennessee in 2001 and, in 2008, he was “allegedly buying firearms from dealers and selling them on the black market.” Castleman was charged with two counts of possessing a firearm after being convicted of a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence, but that charge was later dropped as federal law did not define it that way.
In September 2014, the US Supreme Court delivered a 9-0 opinion that said the 2001 conviction qualifies as a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence in federal law.
Ritz is a graduate of White Station High School and the University of Virginia.
Lucas Finton contributed reporting.
This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: ritz-as-us-attorney-western-district-tennessee/69513504007/” data-ylk=”slk:Senate confirms Kevin Ritz, US Attorney Western District of Tennessee” class=”link “Senate confirms Kevin Ritz, US Attorney Western District of Tennessee
What is the golden touch in insurance?
New insurance technologies and innovations – no matter how much they increase connectivity and collaboration between insurance professionals – will never quite compare to the combination of two local minds with shared experience, working together to solve a local insurance problem.
Read next: Why do insurers overcomplicate their language?
Let me explain what I mean. If you weren’t already aware, Insurance Business publishes in six countries or regions worldwide: the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Asia-Pacific, Australia, and New Zealand. As part of that, our editors are interviewing insurance professionals from coast-to-coast and border-to-border.
The geographic spread is immense. Canada, for example, has a total area of 9,879,750 km², according to worldpopulationreview.com, trumping the US (9,831,510 km²) and Australia (7,741,220 km²). Meanwhile, Asia is the world’s largest and most populous continent.
The thing about risk is that no two risks are the same. While a small business risk in Eastern Canada might look the same on paper, or in automated computer algorithm, as a small business risk 6,000km away in Western Canada, there are local nuances that must be considered when underwriting that risk. The same goes for any other country or region where Insurance Business has a publication.
Brokers have benefitted hugely from greater connectivity in the insurance industry. There’s no doubt about that. If they have relationships with international insurers, they’re now able to tap into intellectual capital from insurance professionals and risk experts around the world – a boon inaccessible in the not-so-distant past.
But even the best and brightest brains cannot understand the culture or the “feel” of a place and its people if they’ve never been there or experienced it first-hand. That’s not something you can enter into a database and run through an automated risk assessment and underwriting tool. It comes from
Labor conference: Society renews legal aid plea | News
The Law Society has used Labor’s party conference to renew calls for the government to commit to funding to restore legal aid for early advice.
Society vice-president Lubna Shuja told a Society of Labor Lawyers fringe event, which was attended by shadow justice secretary Steve Reed MP, that solicitors are the ‘silent backbone’ of the justice system and economy.
‘They help small firms with their transactions and contracts. They advise clients going through a divorce, they deal with immigration and asylum cases, they support people going through court generally. The work we are doing impacts everyone in this room,’ Shuja said.
‘Access to justice is a foundational part of the justice system… If you cannot access legal help, you are not equal before the law. If you cannot access legal advice, you are not getting access to justice. The situation is pretty dire. There are large areas in England and Wales where people cannot access free, legal advice when they are entitled to it.’
In the civil sphere, Shuja urged the government to commit to funding to restore legal aid for early advice ‘so solicitors can be involved early in the client’s journey’. She also called for an urgent review of the sustainability of legal aid, which must cover fees, the provider base and geographical demands of the system.
The availability of criminal legal aid had been severely restricted as a result of systemic underfunding, Shuja said – telling the event the number of criminal legal aid firms has fallen by 43% over the past 12 years.
Labor delegates heard that Chancery Lane was recently contacted by a criminal defense solicitor in his sixties who is about to retire. ‘Because criminal legal aid work is unviable, there is no young solicitor willing to come in and take over his practice.
Shannon Brandt’s bond ‘woefully inadequate’ for alleged killing of teen: former assistant US attorney
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A former assistant United States attorney says that Shannon Brandt’s bond is “very low” and “woefully inadequate” for his alleged killing of 18-year-old Cayler Ellingson with an SUV.
Brandt, 41, used an SUV to hit Ellingson during the early morning hours of Sept. 18 and told a 911 operator that he hit the teenager because he was part of a “Republican extremist group” and was adding that he had a “political argument” with Ellingson, court documents show. Brandt also alleged that Ellingson was calling others to come “get him,” according to the documents.
Ellingson was severely injured and was taken to a local hospital, but later died.
Brandt was charged with criminal vehicular homicide, as well as leaving the scene of a crash involving a death after the incident. He was released from jail on Sept. 20 after posting a $50,000 bond, and wasn’t placed under house arrest or given a curfew.
CAYLER ELLINGSON’S ALLEGED KILLER NOT UNDER HOUSE ARREST, NO CURFEW AFTER POSTING ‘VERY LOW’ BOND: COURT DOCS
North Dakota man who ran down ‘Republican’ teen says he doesn’t want his own life, job jeopardized
(Foster County Sheriff, Facebook)
North Dakota Highway Patrol Captain Bryan Niewind told Fox News Digital that there is “no evidence” suggesting that Ellingson was part of a “Republican extremist group” or that the incident involved politics.
Under the terms of the bail order, Brandt cannot leave North Dakota, cannot drink alcohol and must participate in a 24/7 sobriety program with constant testing.
Brandt also cannot possess “a firearm, destructive device, or other dangerous weapon,” and cannot go within 300 feet of the Ellingson family.
Former Assistant US Attorney Neama Rahman told Fox News Digital that the bond handed down to Brandt is
$20M for free housing-related legal services awarded to TAJF
The Texas Access to Justice Foundation is the primary state-based funding source for the provision of civil legal aid in Texas.
AUSTIN, Texas — The state’s largest funding source for civil legal aid has received an additional $20 million from the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs to continue the Emergency Rental Assistance Program.
The Texas Access to Justice Foundation (TAJF) was awarded the first $20 million in August 2021 to help Texans access legal services for housing issues they experienced during the COVID-19 pandemic. According to the TAJF, the Emergency Rental Assistance Program provides legal information and representation to Texans so they can obtain or maintain housing.
The additional $20 million awarded to the TAJF will fund a second year of the program’s legal services through Aug. 31, 2024.
“Since 2021, the Emergency Rental Assistance Program has provided legal services and housing stability clinics to thousands of Texans across the state,” said TAJF Executive Director Betty Balli Torres. “The program’s work to keep Texans housed plays a vital role in our mission. With these funds, we can continue helping current and future generations of Texans.”
The TAJF said the funds will provide a full range of free civil legal services to Texans in eligible households who are at risk of losing their homes or who were previously unable to pay their rent. Those services include representation in eviction proceedings in justice of the peace courts, eviction appeals in county court and housing stability clinics.
TAJF said following the initial round of funding, it assisted more than 11,000 households through legal services.
“These funds are crucial as civil legal aid is a vital component of the public response to and recovery from the current housing crisis,” Torres said. “Legal aid is a safety net that keeps our
Six insurance agents working at the same agency in Singapore jailed for falsifying expense claims to evade nearly S$100,000 in taxes
Informants who provide information or documents that lead to a recovery of evaded taxes will be given a cash reward of 15 per cent of the tax recovered, the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore said. — TODAY pic
Saturday, 17 Sep 2022 10:52 AM MYT
SINGAPORE, Sept 17 — Six insurance agents were jailed and penalised for tax evasion yesterday after they claimed false business expenses and collectively reduced their income taxes by close to S$100,000.
The six, who used to work at the same agency, pleaded guilty to making false entries to evade tax.
They are:
- Yvonne Quah, 34, who was jailed for eight weeks and ordered to pay S$113,839 for evading S$37,946 in personal income taxes
- Lim Zhan Yi, 32, who was jailed for five weeks and ordered to pay S$83,610 for evading S$27,703 in taxes
- Chan Jun Yi, 33, who was jailed for two weeks and ordered to pay S$27,531 for evading S$9,010 in taxes
- Sherlin Chia Hee Ping, 41, who was jailed for 10 days and ordered to pay S$32,542 for evading S$10,680 in taxes
- Chanel Quah Hui Wen, 31, who was jailed for one week and ordered to pay S$14,433 for evading S$4,644 in taxes
- Jackie Tang Hong Kong, 42, who was jailed for four days and ordered to pay S$8,465 for evading S$2,655 in taxes
Court documents did not state which agency they worked for but checks online revealed that they represented Great Eastern Financial Advisers.
The Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (Iras), which brought the charges against them, said in a statement that for the 2018 and 2019 tax assessment years, the six had claimed business expenses amounting to about S$600,000 in their income tax returns as “general expenses” and “commissions paid to introducers”.
Investigations found these to be a sham.
“The six
Specialist family violence court and legal aid needed in north-east Victoria, advocates say
As a victim-survivor of family violence, Alexandra (name changed to protect privacy) had to go to court many times.
Key points:
- There is no specialist family violence court in north-east Victoria
- A Royal Commission has recommended all family violence matters be heard in a specialist court
- Wangaratta, Wodonga and Benalla had higher incidents of violence than the Victorian average, according to Crime Statistic Agency data
“[It was] an exceptionally challenging and debilitating period in my life, and it’s been years,” she said.
With no specialist family violence court in her town of Wangaratta, or in north east Victoria at all, she had to attend the local Magistrates Court, which she says was not properly equipped.
“[I had to] be in the court room with the perpetrator, had to walk right beside them, stand by them. I certainly felt intimidated,” she said.
Alexandra was one of many people and local organizations to take part in a roundtable at Wangaratta this week, organized by Member for Northern Victoria Tania Maxwell.
The aim was to define the need for a specialist family violence court (SFVC) and Legal Aid Office in north east Victoria.
Alison Maher from the Hume Riverina Community Legal Service said it was something they had needed for a long time.
“We’re the only free community legal service in our region and we’re turning away more people than we can currently assist,” Ms Maher said.
She was frustrated the region did not have a SFVC, while others did.
“What that means is our people, our residents, are getting a far lesser service than what others are getting across the state,” she said.
“It’s a huge postcode injustice and something that needs to change.”