A highly publicized San Francisco money laundering case wrapped up recently when the defendant was found guilty and sentenced to five years in a California state prison. The Case Against Keith Wilson Prosecutors presented compelling evidence during the trial proving that Wilson had bilked an untold number of victims out of nearly $400,000 since 2006. Wilson drew investors in with a proposal to purchase distressed real estate, make improvements and then "flip" the property to turn a profit. The money was never invested, however, but was spent by Wilson for ...

A prenuptial agreement, also known as a premarital agreement, is a legally binding contract that explains how a couple's assets will be distributed if their marriage ends. Broaching the idea of a prenuptial agreement is difficult to do in a committed relationship. It may come across as reducing your partner to a dollar figure. Nevertheless, prenuptial agreements are more and more common. Almost 75 percent of attorneys surveyed in 2010 by the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers said they had seen a spike in prenuptial agreements. Specifically, the poor economy left ...

These days, a significant percentage of Michigan marriages end in divorce. All sorts of complications come with divorce, including the need to divide marital property and determine spousal support. Divorces become even more complex when you consider that one or both spouses might have preexisting debts, inheritances, business interests or children from a prior relationship. Increasingly, couples are choosing to sort these issues out before marriage by entering into prenuptial agreements. Among other things, a prenuptial agreement outlines what will happen with the couple's ...

The United States Supreme Court has recently agreed to hear a case that will have a profound effect on those who are suspected of driving under the influence of alcohol nationwide. The issue at stake is whether individuals that have been stopped on suspicion of drunk driving have a Fourth Amendment protection against forced blood tests. The case, Missouri v. McNeely, began when a Missouri highway patrol officer pulled over Tyler McNeely for speeding. During the stop, the officer claims that he recognized signs that McNeely might be intoxicated. The officer asked McNeely ...

In May 2012, the U.S. Department of Transportation's Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) declared 26 busing operations in six states as "imminent hazards to public safety" and shut them down. These operations included one ticket seller, three bus companies in the process of obtaining authority to operate, nine legitimately operating bus companies, and 13 bus companies continuing to operate despite previously being ordered to stop. During a year-long investigation, federal investigators found multiple safety violations in the 26 operations, including ...

Report Connects Foreclosure Rates to Bank Understaffing, Disorganization A new study finds that disorganization and understaffing at the nation's largest mortgage servicers contributed to low modification rates over the last few years, leading to 800,000 more foreclosures than necessary between 2009 and 2012. New Study Implicates Nation's Largest Banks The new report found that 800,000 more homeowners would have been eligible for a loan modification between 2009 and 2012 if the nation's largest banks had been adequately staffed, properly organized and had devoted ...

Are Victims Losing Access to Courts in Medical Malpractice Cases? There are few things more life-shattering than going in for a medical procedure and coming out seriously or permanently injured. When the harm was caused because a physician, nurse or other medical provider did not uphold their duties, the patient's physical and financial suffering is often compounded by an unshakable sense of injustice. It is for this reason that the right to pursue a medical malpractice lawsuit exists. The American justice system operates on a principle that those who negligently ...

Pedestrian Accidents on the Rise in North Carolina The increase in gas prices has led to several people looking for alternative methods of transportation. This means that there are more bicyclists and pedestrians on North Carolina roads than in previous years. More people out and about increase the potential for pedestrian accidents, which can lead to serious injuries. According to "Watch for Me NC," a campaign on pedestrian safety by a collaborative group of state and agencies, over 400 people are struck in pedestrian accidents each year. Out of this 400, ...

Some say that money can buy happiness. That may or may not be true, but if the results of the most recent Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) tests on luxury vehicles is accurate, it can't always buy safety. The tests measured the performance of several of the country's most renowned luxury vehicles in a particular type of front-impact crash, and, surprisingly, some of the most recognized and respected luxury brands performed poorly. How Was This Test Different? This test was a modified version of the traditional front-impact crash simulation. The standard ...

Military divorce is different from civilian divorce because it is governed by both state and federal laws. If you are active in the military - or if you are married to someone who is - a divorce will affect you in a couple of unique ways. Filing a Military Divorce From the beginning, military divorce can involve issues that other couples do not encounter. For example, you must consider special jurisdictional factors. In most cases, a military divorce is filed in the state where the spouse lives, the state where the military member is stationed or the state where the ...

New York residents who enjoy walking and biking know the importance of safety. It is often assumed that when a pedestrian or biker is killed in a motor-vehicle accident, it is simply an incident caused by the victim's own negligence. It is surprising that a majority of fatal personal injury accidents involving pedestrians and bikers in New York City are actually caused by drivers who break the law, according to an article in The Epoch Times which cited a study by Transportation Alternatives, a transit advocacy group. A variety of traffic violations contribute to pedestrian ...

According to the California Association of Realtors, this year mortgage fraud has increased by 60 percent throughout the country. The rise in mortgage fraud is part of an ongoing trend over the past few years. The Federal Bureau of Investigation has seen a significant rise in mortgage fraud cases since 2008. Studies show that California is among the states with the highest rates of mortgage fraud. California ranks as one of the top nine states with cases of mortgage fraud per capita. The Los Angeles-Long Beach-Santa Ana area is one of the top metro areas in the nation ...

Toronto based Authentic Cuba Travel, the leading provider of escorted tours to Cuba, is pleased to announce a new website dedicated to providing travelers with a simplified directory of the most important attractions that Havana has to offer. The directory is not comprehensive. Instead, it is a guide to help those on short education trips or research Cuba tours decide what to visit in Havana when staying only a few days. Havana, the capital and cultural center of Cuba, offers many attractions and activities for visitors to the island. While the list of cultural and historic ...

This winter, Canary Wharf will unveil its stunning ice rink, set under the impressive towers surrounding Canada Square Park. Returning for the eighth time but now under new management, and proudly sponsored by Hublot and Prime Location, this year's 'Ice Rink Canary Wharf' will be bigger and better than ever. The 800m2 rink features London's first 'skate path', leading skaters on a glittering trail through trees lit by fairy lights. Ice Skating in London Skate lessons will be available to everyone throughout the day, from fully-qualified and certified National Ice Skating ...

Channel Islands imprint, Liberation Publishing, is publishing its first novel, "Black Art" by Vic Tanner Davy, on 1 November 2012. A crime thriller, featuring the world's first female-to-male transsexual detective, it is about a genealogist's attempts to uncover the truth surrounding the disappearance of the grandmother of a British actress called Helen Valentine. The novel is set in the present day, but its protagonist, Arty Shaw, is a genealogist who is asked to research the disappearance of Kay Marett in 1942 so, inevitably, there is an historical element ...

When someone develops liver cancer, the disease introduces a very subtle difference to their bloodstream, increasing the concentration of a particular molecule by just 10 parts per billion. That small shift is difficult to detect without sophisticated lab equipment – but perhaps not for long. A new "lab on a chip" designed by Brigham Young University professor Adam Woolley and his students reveals the presence of ultra-low concentrations of a target molecule. As the BYU researchers report in the journal Analytical Chemistry, their experiments detected as little as a ...

Berkeley — A new, comprehensive survey of day care centers by University of California, Berkeley, researchers found that, overall, the environmental quality in child care settings was similar to other indoor environments, but that levels of formaldehyde and several other contaminants exceeded state health guidelines. Cleaning- and sanitizing-related chemicals were also present in the air, and sometimes at higher levels, than in comparable studies on homes. The study, funded by the California Air Resources Board (CARB), is the first detailed analysis of environmental contaminants ...

Much more must be done to develop energy efficient cars, buildings and domestic appliances to address climate change – according to new research from the Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research at the University of East Anglia. A report published today in Nature Climate Change shows that twice as much effort is being spent on developing energy supply technologies - such as new power stations - than is spent on improving the efficiency with which energy is used. The research shows that efficient end-use technologies have the potential to contribute large emission ...

Our master circadian clock resides in a small group of about 10'000 neurons in the brain, called the suprachiasmatic nucleus. However, similar clocks are ticking in nearly all cells of the body, as demonstrated by the group of Ueli Schibler, professor at the Department of Molecular Biology of the University of Geneva, Switzerland. The molecular mechanisms of circadian clocks can thus be studied outside of the animals, in cultured cells. A system to study gene regulation live in single cells "Given the important role of the DBP protein in the regulation of detoxifying ...

A cell is composed of a nucleus which encloses its genetic information and the cytoplasm which is itself confined by an external membrane separating the cell from the outside world. The impermeability of the membrane and its ability to repair itself protect the cell from its environment. Although this membrane resistance is fundamental to the survival of the cell, the cell also needs to let in particles necessary for its proper functioning. The mechanism by which a small region of the cytoplasmic membrane invaginates to form a bud that will then be sectioned off to let ...

Growing evidence suggests that there may be a link between diabetes and Alzheimer's disease, but the physiological mechanisms by which diabetes impacts brain function and cognition are not fully understood. In a new study published in Aging Cell, researchers at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies show, for the first time, that diabetes enhances the development of aging features that may underlie early pathological events in Alzheimer's. Specifically, the Salk team found increases in two hallmarks of Alzheimer's-accumulations of amyloid beta (Abeta) and tau protein-in ...

A new computer algorithm can analyze the footwear marks left at a crime scene according to clusters of footwear types, makes and tread patterns even if the imprint recorded by crime scene investigators is distorted or only a partial print. Footwear marks are found at crime scenes much more commonly than fingerprints, writes a team from the University at Buffalo, New York, in a forthcoming issue of the International Journal of Granular Computing, Rough Sets and Intelligent Systems. They point out that while footprints are common they are often left unused by forensic scientists ...

The NHS should implement a non-invasive alternative to autopsies, according to a Department of Health-commissioned report by leading UK experts within the field of post-mortem cross-sectional imaging. The NHS Implementation Sub-Group of the Department of Health's Post Mortem, Forensic and Disaster Imaging Group (PMFDI) has called on the NHS to adopt post-mortem cross-sectional imaging for as an adjunct to, and under the right circumstances, a replacement for autopsies. The group, chaired by Professor Guy Rutty, Chief Forensic Pathologist to the East Midlands Forensic ...

Digital spending - the acquisition of media products in digital format - tripled from 2006 to 2010 worldwide, with the recording music sector now achieving 30% of its global sales in the digital market. The digital success of the music sector contrasts other media and content industries, which are moving at a slower pace towards digital with distribution. Only 6% of film/video, newspapers, magazines and book sales were digital, according to the Joint Research Centre's (JRC) report on "The media and content industries. A quantitative overview", which represents an important ...

At the Sixteenth International Conference on Miniaturized Systems for Chemistry and Life Sciences (microTAS) to be held Oct. 28-Nov. 1, in Okinawa, Japan, University of Cincinnati researchers will present four papers, including one detailing improvements in rare cell isolation and one detailing improvements, in terms of cost and time, of common blood tests. Ian Papautsky, associate professor in UC's School of Electronic and Computing Systems (SECS), part of the College of Engineering and Applied Science, and a UC team are leading these research efforts. In a paper titled ...