The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) is considering rolling back payday and title loan regulations designed to protect consumers from dangerous debt traps. Considered part of America’s democratization of credit, payday and title loans are offered by a multi-billion-dollar industry that is growing at a rate that far exceeds the rest of the financial services [...]
In the 2018 elections, women played a larger role than in any other election in American history. The record-breaking number of women running for US senate, house, and gubernatorial seats motivated media outlets to label 2018 another “Year of the Woman.” The first “Year of the Woman” was in 1992, when an unprecedented influx of women entered [...]
Imagine being a young, insecure, terrified child who feels like she does not belong or is loved by anyone. You have been beaten, raped, mistreated and neglected your entire life. Your own family gave you up for adoption, and while you were adopted, you do not feel like the family values you or honestly desires [...]
Under current leadership, the federal Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (Bureau) seems committed to only grudgingly protecting consumers from unfair and exploitative financial products. In its strategic plan, former Acting Director Mick Mulvaney explained that the Bureau had “committed to fulfill the Bureau’s statutory responsibilities, but go no further.” This language aligns with Mulvaney’s earlier change [...]
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) recently issued proposed regulations that could enhance the value of electronic health information. Specifically, the proposed regulations focus on the areas of interoperability and patients’ access to their health data. Electronic health information is a relatively new phenomenon. It became a subject of national importance in 2004, [...]
Recently, a District Court Judge in Iowa struck down a law passed in the spring of 2018 which would have barred abortions after a fetal heartbeat could be detected by means of a vaginal ultrasound. The exceptions included cases of medical emergency, or medically necessity, severe fetal defects, or when the fetus was conceived through [...]
From intrauterine device Mirena, to anticoagulant Xarelto, to gardening weed killer RoundUp, the German conglomerate Bayer has attempted to dip their feet into awe-inspiring advances in many sectors of the science field. Unfortunately, not all of the results have been ideal with the corporation now facing thousands of lawsuits from consumers over the past several [...]
Before January 15th, Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross’s decision to have every 2020 Census respondent answer a question about citizenship (for the first time in sixty years) lived as either a story of bureaucratic and political intrigue or a high-profile case on the Supreme Court’s docket. The bureaucratic-intrigue focus would have included a chain of events [...]
As trials begin in March, all eyes are on the multi-state opioid litigation against pharmaceutical manufacturers and distributors. More than 30 states, including hard-hit Ohio and West Virginia, and nearly 1,500 cities and counties have filed suit against pharmaceutical companies, wholesalers, and pharmacies for their role in the opioid crisis. Every day, more than 130 [...]
Mercury is one of the most toxic substances on earth. When inhaled or ingested by humans, mercury can cause severe neurological damage, cardiovascular harm, endocrine disruption, kidney damage and muscle coordination issues. When pregnant women are exposed, their babies can suffer IQ and motor skills impairments that will last their lifetime. Through rain, snow or [...]
