Home Ownership On Decline
A big part of the American dream is slipping away as owning a home becomes more elusive for people across the country. According to a Bloomberg article, home ownership has fallen to its lowest level since 1997.
About On the Net
This article links to an article or blog post on another internet website. Click on the link to read the entire article or post.Three Cups of Tea Lawsuit Dismissed
thomsonreuters.com: Today in Missoula, Montana, a lawsuit against the author of Three Cups of Tea, Greg Mortenson, was thrown out today with the judge citing “flimsy” claims by the Plaintiff:
But U.S. District Judge Sam Haddon dismissed the case for what he said was the “imprecise, in part flimsy, and speculative nature of the claims and theories advanced” by the plaintiffs.
The lawsuit was filed in May 2011 following a critical report by CBS television’s “60 Minutes” program that challenged the credibility of biographical details in Mortenson’s memoir.
In particular, the “60 Minutes” report disputed his account of being kidnapped in Pakistan’s Waziristan region in 1996, and said his institute, founded to build schools for girls in Afghanistan and Pakistan, was largely being used to promote the book.
Supreme Court Will Mend Divide On Immigration and Deportation
thomsonreuters.com: The Supreme Court has agreed to decide the application of its two year-old ruling on immigrants have a constitutional right to effective assistance of counsel and must be told about possible deportation as a result of a guilty plea:
The justices said they would consider whether its March 31, 2010, ruling would apply retroactively to previous convictions or would only to convictions after that date. Defense lawyers said in their Supreme Court appeal that the issue has profound practical significance.
In its original ruling, the Supreme Court decided by a 7-2 vote that an immigrant’s constitutional right to effective counsel was violated when his attorney mistakenly told him he could plead guilty to drug charges without being deported.
Federal Judge in Texas Keeps Planned Parenthood Alive – For Now
huffingtonpost.com: A federal judge has halted plans to “de-fund” Planned Parenthood in Texas:
U.S. District Judge Lee Yeakel ruled that the law was unconstitutional because it bars eight Planned Parenthood clinics that don’t provide abortions from participating in the program based on their affiliation with legally and financially separate entities that offer abortions.
Housing Leaders In Arizona Fight to Keep Mortgage Settlement
azcentral.com: According to this article, “[t]he Arizona Housing Alliance, made up of leaders in the housing industry, is considering legal action to stop a proposed $50 million sweep from the mortgage settlement fund to balance the state’s budget.”