Author: admin

Imerys Talc America, the U.S. unit of French group Imerys SA and a supplier to healthcare conglomerate Johnson & Johnson Inc, on Wednesday said it was filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection due to rising costs in the litigation over cosmetic talc.

“After carefully evaluating all possible options, we determined that pursuing Chapter 11 protection is the best course of action to address our historic talc-related liabilities and position the filing companies for continued growth,” Imerys Talc America said in a statement.

Imerys’ U.S. unit faces thousands of consumer lawsuits alleging that its talc causes cancer. The company supplied cosmetic talc to J&J for Johnson’s Baby Powder and other talc-based products.

Continue reading “Imerys Talc America files for bankruptcy under weight of talc litigation”

A federal appeals court has decided to reconsider its recent decision that the Second Amendment of the U.S. Constitution protects the right to openly carry guns in self-defense.

In an order on Friday, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said it will revisit whether Hawaii acted lawfully in denying the plaintiff George Young a permit to openly carry a loaded gun in public.

Circuit Judge Diarmuid O’Scannlain wrote for a 2-1 majority last July 24 that “we do not take lightly the problem of gun violence, which the State of Hawaii has understandably sought to fight,” but that the state nevertheless violated Young’s rights.

Continue reading “U.S. appeals court to revisit open carrying of guns”

U.S. President Donald Trump called for curbs on late-term abortion in his State of the Union address on Tuesday, citing controversies over the issue in New York and Virginia.

Using emotive language, Trump waded into what has long been a divisive issue in American politics, even though the procedure was legalized in a Supreme Court ruling more than 40 years ago.

“To defend the dignity of every person, I am asking the Congress to pass legislation to prohibit the late-term abortion of children who can feel pain in the mother’s womb,” Trump said.

Continue reading “Trump asks U.S. Congress to prohibit late-term abortion”

Jurors began deliberations in the trial of Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman, accused of running one of the world’s most infamous drug cartels, in Brooklyn federal court on Monday morning.

Guzman, 61, is accused of leading Mexico’s Sinaloa Cartel, which became one of the most powerful drug trafficking organizations in the world. He twice escaped from prison in Mexico, and will face the possibility of life in a U.S. prison if convicted.

The 11-week trial, which featured testimony from more than 50 witnesses, offered the public an unprecedented look into the inner workings of the cartel, named for the state in northwest Mexico where Guzman was born in a poor mountain village.

Continue reading “Jury begins deliberating fate of alleged Mexican cartel boss ‘El Chapo’”

A U.S. appeals court on Thursday blocked a San Francisco law requiring health warnings on advertisements for soda and other sugary drinks in a win to the American beverage industry which fought the requirements in court.

The 11 judges of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in a unanimous decision said the city’s ordinance violated commercial speech protected under the U.S. Constitution.

“The required warnings therefore offend plaintiffs’ First Amendment rights by chilling protected speech,” the judges wrote in granting a preliminary injunction that prevents the law from taking effect.

Continue reading “U.S. court blocks San Francisco health warning on soda ads”