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You think you've heard it all until I tell you that an appeals court in Illinois recently ruled that a woman is allowed to sue a dead teen's estate for injuries caused by his flying body parts. The 18-year-old boy was running across the Amtrak tracks to catch another train but didn't make it -- he was hit by an oncoming train going 70 mph and his body was torn apart by the force and flung onto a nearby passengers' waiting platform. The woman, 58, was struck by a sizable chunk of the boy's body and was knocked to the...

Some members of a bankrupt Orange County, Calif. megachurch are expressing outrage after fielding an email request for congregants to deliver food to waiting limos so that it can ferried to the founder's sick wife. The appeal comes weeks after a lawsuit charged that the founder of the Crystal Cathedral house of worship, Rev. Robert Schuller, and his family had been paying themselves lavish salaries and other benefits while the church was in financial straits. "They've completely depleted the church's funds," one member, Bob Canfield, told the Orange County Register. "But they have shown that they have absolutely no remorse...

Why aspire to be successful when you will just be called greedy and selfish?

The Wall Street Journal CEO Compensation Study was conducted by Hay Group, a management-consulting firm. The study analyzes CEO pay from the biggest 350 U.S. public companies by revenue that filed their definitive proxy statements between May 1, 2010, and April 30, 2011. Survey Methodology & Terms Definitions Footnotes How to Use This Chart: Click on a column heading to sort by that category. For an individual executive's full compensation details, as well as a link to the proxy statement, click the relevant row. All figures in thousands

PHILADELPHIA - This may not sound new because we've been talking about it in Philadelphia in connection with its Deferred Retirement Option Plan, or DROP. That has cost the pension fund millions and been abused by elected officials. But now we're looking at it happening in New Jersey. Several high-ranking political leaders found a loophole allowing them to retire and then go back to work, collecting a pension and salary at the same time. Gov. Chris Christie says he will try to close the loophole. But we don't know how many people or even who is doing this. It comes...

FRESNO, California (KFSN) -- Earlier this week ABC30 showed you video of a woman who mistakenly fell into the fountain at a Pennsylvania mall, because she was distracted by text messaging. Well now that woman is suing the mall for not helping her. The video has received more than 1.5 million views since it went viral on YouTube last week. The woman in the video, Cathy Cruz Marrero, doesn't think the video is very funny. She claims she could have gotten seriously hurt and that the security guards should have helped instead of laugh. "I'm just like dumbfounded. And all...

The decision by First Lady Michelle Obama to leave on schedule for her two-week Hawaii vacation and not wait a few days for her delayed husband will probably cost taxpayers more than $63,000 in additional expenses, according to a White House Dossier analysis. President Obama was supposed to depart for Hawaii Saturday, but decided to stay in Washington until Congress finishes its work for the year. He’s now expected to depart today or tomorrow. But Mrs. Obama chose to leave without him Saturday, taking their two children and the dog along with her.

(snip) ...but federal staffers, along with millions of state and local public employees, won't get the tax holiday included in legislation that jumped a procedural hurdle in the Senate on Monday. At the same time, those federal workers, the ones covered by the Civil Service Retirement System, are facing a two-year pay freeze, as are most government employees. (snip) The result: About 426,000 federal workers covered by CSRS would pay more in taxes next year, while most Americans pay less. That doesn't sound fair to Joseph A. Beaudoin, president of the National Active and Retired Federal Employees Association. "Offering relief...

A Cook County jury has delivered the biggest verdict ever in a "popcorn lung" case: $30.4 million. Factory worker Gerardo Solis, 45, of South Elgin, won the award after alleging his lung disease was caused by exposure to diacetyl, a chemical used in the making of butter-flavored microwave popcorn and other foods. It has been linked to health problems by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. » Click to enlarge image Gerardo Solis Solis has bronchiolitis obliterans, which makes it difficult to breathe. He is awaiting a lung transplant, said his lawyer, Ken McClain. Last month's verdict is against BASF...

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The Duchess of York has held secret talks with Princess Diana's lawyers about renegotiating her 'paltry' divorce settlement with Prince Andrew. Sarah Ferguson consulted Anthony Julius at Mishcon de Reya, who famously negotiated a £17million pay off for Princess Diana when she divorced Prince Charles. The figure is in stark contrast to the £15,000 a year which the duchess receives from Prince Andrew after their marriage ended after ten years in 1996.

The Duchess of York is "devastated" and "regretful" after she was filmed apparently offering to sell access to her ex-husband Prince Andrew for £500,000, sources said today. A News of the World video showed Sarah Ferguson promising to introduce an undercover reporter posing as a wealthy businessman to the Prince, who has been the UK's special representative for international trade and investment since 2001. The Duchess who said she could 'open doors' is expected in Los Angeles later today where she is scheduled to pick up an award for her charity work.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said Monday he would mount a vigorous defense of his landmark environmental legislation, vowing to "push back" against "greedy oil companies who want to keep polluting in our state." His comments came as supporters of an effort to roll back AB 32, the global warming legislation Schwarzenegger signed in 2006, announced they had gathered enough signatures to get their measure on the November ballot. They submitted the signatures to the secretary of state Monday morning. AB 32 requires California to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to 1990 levels by 2020. The initiative campaign, which is bankrolled almost entirely...

California's trial bar lobby spent more than $21 million over the past decade to sway public policy in the direction of plaintiffs' attorneys, a state report said.

he fear of losing one’s home in these difficult times sent hundreds of area homeowners Saturday to a free program designed to help them. More than 100 volunteers for “Keep Your Home,” held at the University Center in Grayslake, helped troubled homeowners to determine whether they qualified for President Obama’s Loan Modification Program. If they did, the volunteers, including judges, lawyers and community organizers, assisted them in filling out applications which were then filed electronically to their lenders seeking a reduction of monthly mortgage payments. Within an hour after the program started, more than 250 homeowners had come into the...

Here is video of "Who Wants To Be A Millionaire" contestant Ken Basin getting the million dollar question wrong. He could have walked away with $500,000 but he took a chance and only walked away with $25,000. (Watch Video)

(04-04) 13:50 PDT WASHINGTON (AP) -- Lawrence Summers, President Barack Obama's top economic adviser, earned millions over the past year as managing director of the hedge fund D.E. Shaw Group and through speaking fees, some from financial institutions now at the center of the government's rescue program. Financial disclosure reports released by the White House show that Summers received $5.2 million from D.E. Shaw. He also reported payments for appearances before institutions such as J.P. Morgan, Citigroup, Goldman Sachs and Lehman Brothers. Overall, Summers was paid $2.7 million for more than 40 appearances before different organizations and companies, including financial...

Convicted last year of intoxication manslaughter for the death of her boyfriend, the 21-year-old daughter of a state district judge is suing the truck driver she ran into during a drunken driving crash. Elizabeth Shelton, the daughter of juvenile judge Pat Shelton, is accusing truck driver Lance Bennett of negligence in the Oct. 23, 2007, wreck that killed her boyfriend Matthew McNiece. Bennett was driving the box truck that Shelton rear-ended on the Southwest Freeway near Kirby around 2 a.m. Shelton had a blood alcohol concentration more than three times the legal limit, two tests showed. She was sentenced to...

How does this bail out effect the average person, i.e. carrying a mortgage and some credit card debt, reasonably stable job, decent credit rating? I'm hearing it's the end of the world on both sides of the issue but there has to be a fairly straight answer.

The last victim of the Interstate 35W bridge collapse has been recovered from the water. The long, complex search for the disaster's cause is ramping up in earnest. It's about the time we'd expect the lawyers to descend. But the pinstripes are already out of the gate, setting new records for jumping the gun in a disaster. Just days after the collapse, while recovery crews were still battling treacherous waters, Schwebel, Goetz & Sieben -- one of the state's highest profile personal injury firms -- petitioned for access to the site for three attorneys and two expert witnesses. An immediate...