Contested divorce, marked by a hyper-formal courtroom atmosphere featuring indirect spousal communication, dueling intermediaries and a third-party decision maker, has long been the dominant process for ending marriages in Virginia and elsewhere throughout the United States. Although it certainly works for some, for many others - couples with widely varying family, financial and other relevant circumstances - the attendant costs, both immediate and long-term, are being increasingly questioned. It is no small secret in American life that a litigated divorce outcome typically ...

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) has been working on revising trucking hours-of-service (HOS) rules for over ten years. During that time there have been several court challenges and at least three major revisions. Hours-of-service regulations limit how long commercial-motor-vehicle (CMV) drivers may drive. The HOS rules are intended to ensure truck drivers get enough rest to operate vehicles safely. Among other specifications, the current FMCSA regulations provide that CMV drivers carrying property may drive a maximum of 11 hours after 10 consecutive ...

A sharp uptick in the use of illegally obtained prescription drugs by residents of several southern states is being blamed on so-called "pill mills" springing up throughout Florida. Perhaps most troubling is that many of those taking advantage of readily available prescription drugs -- whether obtained from a pill mill (most often a "pain relief clinic" set up under the auspices of a legitimate treatment center but serving the sole purpose of writing prescriptions for powerful painkillers like OxyContin or Vicodin and relaxants like Xanax or Valium), bought one pill at ...

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has postponed a public hearing in New York discussing a controversial type of natural gas drilling called hydraulic fracturing, or hydrofracking, due to concerns about crowd control. The postponed hearing will be the fourth and final hearing by the EPA on the subject across the U.S. Hydraulic fracturing is a process which opens fractures in rock formations to increase the output of natural gas or oil in wells. A mixture of water, sand and chemicals is injected at a high pressure into the formations which opens existing fractures ...

A $712.5 million settlement has been offered to rescue and recovery workers that were injured or killed while working at ground zero in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks. The settlement offers $125 million more in compensation than the last offer, with attorneys' fees capped at 25 percent of the total amount. The Proposed Settlement Workers afflicted with respiratory issues within seven months of toxic exposure to airborne particles at ground zero are set to receive from $800,000 to $1.05 million in compensation. Wrongful death claims proven to be caused by operations ...

The medical world has long since recognized the high turnover rate of certified nursing assistants, or nurses' aids, as having a negative impact on long-term care. More than 70 percent of nurses' aids leave the job in a given year. Research shows that nursing homes with high turnover rates for nurses' aids also have a poor quality of care. The high stress levels causing the high turnover rate are caused by inadequate training, little support, poor benefits and minimal respect from management and superiors. Low wages are also a factor, with an average hourly pay of $10.48. ...

A new day is coming for people with mental illness currently living in nursing homes. According to the Los Angeles Times, a federal judge recently approved a historic agreement allowing thousands of individuals with mental illness to move from nursing homes and into supportive community settings. The agreement directly impacts approximately 4,300 Illinois residents with mental illness. They will be given the option to move from two dozen large nursing facilities called institutions for mental diseases (IMDs) to supportive community-based residences. The case began ...

A tug of war between the Drug Enforcement Administration and nursing homes has vulnerable nursing home residents caught in the middle. The New York Times reports the DEA has put a stop to easy nursing home access to powerful painkillers. The system allowed nurses, pharmacists and health care professionals to write prescriptions for nursing home patients. Generally only physicians have legal authority to write prescriptions. Nursing Home Residents in Distress The system was rife with abuse, prompting the new DEA rules. But now there's a dilemma: some nursing home ...

Due to the size and weight of their vehicles, truck drivers have to be cautious and operate their trucks in a manner that keeps safety at the forefront. The summer driving season saw a sharp uptick in commercial vehicle accidents in Connecticut, and Governor Jodi Rell has had enough. She recently announced a plan to have law enforcement officials with the state police and Department of Motor Vehicles aggressively pursue truck drivers who are not following the rules. While the cause of truck accidents is as varied as the vehicles involved in them, Governor Rell is concerned ...

In 2009, approximately 3.9 million fetuses were assessed with electronic fetal monitoring (EFM). EFM is, by far, the most common obstetric procedure in the United States. In fact, it is considered the standard of care to utilize EFM for the assessment of fetal heart rate patterns and uterine activity during labor. Hospitals in the United States spend millions of dollars annually to purchase the latest technology in EFM equipment and to train their nurses on the use of EFM's. The reason so much time and money is spent on EFM equipment and training on its use is because ...

Atlanta moving company Coast 2 Coast Moving & Storage has moved its headquarters. The Atlanta movers are now located in a larger office space in Norcross, GA. The move to the new location has not disrupted the company's Atlanta moving service in any way. On the contrary, the larger warehouse has allowed the Atlanta movers to better serve their moving and storage customers. "We have been contemplating this move for some time," explains Sharon Brown, an Atlanta moving consultant at Coast 2 Coast Moving & Storage. "Business has been thriving, and we had outgrown our ...

House of Fraser, the premium department store, has launched its winter 2010 footwear collection by Kurt Geiger group online. The Kurt Geiger Group offers affordable luxury shoes on the House of Fraser website. Customers can shop online to purchase this season's on-trend shoes from Kurt Geiger, KG by Kurt Geiger and Carvela. They offer the latest fashion and a variety of shoe collections inspired by the latest catwalk trends. Kurt Geiger's winter footwear collection focuses on three main trends. 'And God Created Woman!' celebrates all that is startlingly stunning ...

npower is treating its customers this Halloween with the offer of a free home electricity monitor for any existing customer signing up for paperless billing. What's more, households with a home electricity monitor, which provide a 'real time display' of the amount of electricity being used at any given time, are proven to reduce their energy consumption by up to 15%* in their first year of use. The limited npower smartpower offer will run in conjunction with its Revenge of the Killer Watts advert, starring Wallace & Gromit, which is back on screens again. The ...

Kuoni has launched its latest brochure for Caribbean holidays, with pages full of information on the laid-back and beautiful islands of the region, offering magnificent beaches and underwater paradise for divers. Summing up the new brochure, Sarah Jackson, Market Manager for the Caribbean at Kuoni, said: "Our new Caribbean and Mexico holidays brochure is bigger, brighter and full of great Kuoni Exclusives such as free nights throughout the islands, room upgrades, early booking discounts and fabulous new hotels and destinations." Cancun is included in the brochure ...

Russell Jones & Walker Solicitors is representing ten families of victims of the 7/7 London bombings at the ongoing inquest into the incidents, which began on 14th October 2010. The independent Coroner's Inquests into the London Bombings of 7 July 2005, which will be overseen by the Right Honourable Lady Justice Hallett D.B.E., will examine the details of the case and the lead up to the bombings on 7th July 2005 and have been welcomed by the victims' families, who continue to seek answers about the terrorist attacks more than five years later. 52 civilians were killed ...

Bestweddingaway launches new destination Mood to provide clients the opportunity to get married in Tuscany. Tuscany has been a popular tourist spot for centuries with the aristocracy using it as their playground and writers and artists taking inspiration for their next work of art. In fact the beautiful countryside and historic architecture is still popular with modern-day celebrities, with many famous people like musician Sting, best-selling writer Frances Mayes and 'Goodfellas' star Debi Mazar making Tuscany their home. With an undeniable attraction to both Italians ...

Over the years, casino craps has always been a fan favorite, appealing to gambling enthusiasts all over the world. As new generations arise, the need for a comprehensive guide to playing real money craps becomes more prevalent. Alleviating the requisite is RealMoneyOnlineCraps.com who has proudly announced the launch of its latest web site. The new site presents a wealth of resources devoted to all things relevant to playing real money online craps. To start things off, visitors will find an inclusive craps rules section that teaches new players how to play craps. ...

The official Allstate GLORY DAYS 25th Anniversary Reunion show will be hosted by comedian and entertainer Tom Dreesen. The 1985 Chicago Bears Super Bowl Championship winning team are reuniting for one night only to celebrate Chicago's Super Bowl XX win at the Arie Crown Theater on November 5th. The evening will be a mixture of storytelling and entertainment as the legends relive their glory days, as Coach Ditka puts it, "It's like a roast, only BIGGER!" Dreesen will be the Master of Ceremonies and host for the show, keeping the laughs coming throughout the evening. ...

Corcentric, a leading provider of accounts payable automation solutions, today announced a new live Webinar: How to Sell Accounts Payable Automation to Your CFO. The 45-minute Webinar, which is the second in a series of educational Webinars about AP automation, will take place on Thursday, October 28th at 2:00 PM EDT. Rob DeVincent, Vice President of Product Marketing for Corcentric, is the Webinar's featured speaker. He will discuss the following topics, which can help build the case for automating invoicing processes: - Why you'll need more than ROI to get your ...

Mexico's National Maquiladora Industry Association (CNIME) will hold its annual convention in the city of Merida, Yucatan from October 27-30th. The group is Mexico's foremost advocate for issues affecting Mexico's vibrant manufacturing sector and foreign investment before the Mexico's national government. Some of the topics to be addressed during the convention will include: - Best practices in the Development of Human Capital; - National and Global Perspectives - Securing the Supply Chain - The Economy in a Post Recession Context According to Luis Felipe Seldner, ...

The football industry has grown astronomically in recent years, becoming the world's number one sport - played and followed in over 200 countries around the world with the European football revenues exceeding 14.6 billion Euros in 2008. The Football Fund chairman, Carlos Alberto Torres, one of the most highly respected football players of all time, stated, "The Football Fund operates within this lucrative market where brand loyalty is second to none to harness large and diverse revenue streams generated by loyal fans around the globe. With a world-class advisory team, ...

Siemens has achieved the Corporate Learning Improvement Process accreditation (CLIP) from the European Foundation for Management Development (EFMD). The accreditation recognizes the high standards and quality learning programs offered and dispensed by the company's in-house learning and leadership development providers. "The peer review team was impressed by the originality of the Siemens approach to the task of combining highly focused leadership development with the broad-based coordination of learning and development provision across the company. Siemens is exemplary ...

The pre-Columbian Indian societies that once lived in the Amazon rainforests may have been much larger and more advanced than researchers previously realized. Together with Brazilian colleagues, archaeologists from the University of Gothenburg have found the remains of approximately 90 settlements in an area South of the city of Santarém, in the Brazilian part of the Amazon. "The most surprising thing is that many of these settlements are a long way from rivers, and are located in rainforest areas that extremely sparsely populated today," says Per Stenborg from the Department ...

WORCESTER, Mass. – Researchers at the University of Massachusetts Medical School have uncovered new evidence suggesting that the SOD1 gene, which is implicated in 20 percent of inherited cases of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS, or Lou Gehrig's disease), also plays a part in sporadic forms of the disease. Discovery of this common pathology is described in the October 17 online edition of Nature Neuroscience. While the SOD1 gene has long been understood to play a role in familial ALS, scientists suspected a connection to the more common form of ALS, for which there ...

A team of scientists from Singapore led by the Genome Institute of Singapore (GIS) and the Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology (IMCB), two biomedical research institutes of Singapore's Agency of Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), have discovered the most important genes in human embryonic stem cells (hESCs), a crucial breakthrough in discovering how human stem cells work. Their research, published in top scientific journal Nature, is the first ever genome-wide study of human stem cells on such a massive scale, and its results are crucial in understanding how ...