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Aged care regulations on chemical restraints 'normalise' use, human rights group says

A report by Human Rights Watch says new regulations to tighten the use of chemical restraints on dementia patients has actually normalised the treatment to the detriment of patients.






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Gable Tostee complains of 'harassment' after feminist group posts warning about Tinder profile

A Gold Coast man acquitted of murdering a woman he met on Tinder says he has "no ethical obligation" to reveal details of his past online, after a feminist group began a campaign against him.



  • ABC Gold Coast
  • goldcoast
  • melbourne
  • Community and Society:All:All
  • Community and Society:Feminism:All
  • Information and Communication:Internet:All
  • Information and Communication:Internet:Social Media
  • Law
  • Crime and Justice:All:All
  • Law
  • Crime and Justice:Crime:All
  • Law
  • Crime and Justice:Crime:Murder and Manslaughter
  • Australia:QLD:Surfers Paradise 4217
  • Australia:VIC:All
  • Australia:VIC:Melbourne 3000


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The first ageless playgroup in regional Queensland has been launched in Rockhampton



  • ABC Capricornia
  • capricornia
  • Community and Society:Aged Care:All
  • Community and Society:All:All
  • Community and Society:Family and Children:All
  • Community and Society:Family and Children:Children
  • Community and Society:Family and Children:Children - Toddlers
  • Community and Society:Regional:All
  • Health:Diseases and Disorders:Alzheimer's and Dementia
  • Australia:QLD:Central Queensland Mc 4702
  • Australia:QLD:Rockhampton 4700

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The first ageless playgroup in regional Queensland has been rolled out in Rockhampton



  • ABC Capricornia
  • capricornia
  • Community and Society:Aged Care:All
  • Community and Society:All:All
  • Community and Society:Family and Children:All
  • Community and Society:Family and Children:Children
  • Community and Society:Family and Children:Children - Toddlers
  • Australia:QLD:Central Queensland Mc 4702
  • Australia:QLD:Rockhampton 4700

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19-month-old Anyala Johnson loves heading to the weekly ageless playgroup in Rockhampton




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Rockhampton Samantha Farley takes her child to a weekly intergenerational playgroup



  • ABC Capricornia
  • capricornia
  • Community and Society:Aged Care:All
  • Community and Society:All:All
  • Community and Society:Family and Children:All
  • Community and Society:Family and Children:Children
  • Community and Society:Family and Children:Children - Toddlers
  • Australia:QLD:Rockhampton 4700

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Intergenerational playgroups reduce social isolation for parents, aged care residents

Intergenerational or 'ageless' playgroups are being rolled out across the country as part of a social experiment connecting young children with aged care residents.




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New grouper fish species found at market, Queensland Museum says

A new species of rockcod, or grouper, is confirmed by the Queensland Museum after two years of testing its DNA, following the discovery of several specimens at a fish market in 2017.




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Nazi memorabilia auction in Western Australian city condemned as 'morally repugnant' by Jewish group

Private collectors snap up dozens of artefacts from the Third Reich at an auction, showing the popularity and value of Nazi military memorabilia is on the rise.





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Tristar Medical Group chain under 'significant financial stress', keeps rural doctors waiting for pay

The Tristar Medical Group's chain of 50 clinics across regional Australia has been under "significant financial stress for 18 months" resulting in doctors often not being paid for weeks or months.




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Australia's wine industry recovers from decade-long grape glut, industry marketing group says

The wine industry emerges from a decade-long grape glut, with exports playing a big role in the sector's turnaround.




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Backpacker tax ruling gives farming groups hope it'll entice working holiday labour back to Australia

'What a waste of time and energy': Farmers, the strongest opponents of the Federal Government's backpacker tax, have welcomed a court ruling saying it was discriminatory.




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Canada wins Group B after dismantling Czech Republic




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WJHC groups set for 2021 in Alberta




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Oriental Financial Group v. Cooperativa de Ahorro y Credit

(United States First Circuit) - In an infringement action to determine whether a Puerto Rico credit union infringed a bank's word mark and trade name ORIENTAL with its competing marks COOP ORIENTAL, COOPERATIVA ORIENTAL, ORIENTAL POP, and CLUB DE ORIENTALITO, the District Court's finding of non-infringement and refusal to enjoin their use is: 1) reversed as to COOP ORIENTAL, COOPERATIVA ORIENTAL, and ORIENTAL POP, where the district court's determination of non-infringement was clearly erroneous; and 2) affirmed where the district court's determination is supportable as to CLUB DE ORIENTALITO.




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Marketquest Group, Inc. v. BIC Corp.

(United States Ninth Circuit) - Reversing the district court's summary judgment to the defendants in a trademark infringement suit, finding that genuine issues of material fact existed regarding whether defendant's use of 'all-in-one' was protected by the fair use defense and that the district court erred in applying fair use analysis after determining that plaintiff presented no evidence of likely confusion.




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Dutra Group v. Batterton

(United States Supreme Court) - Held that a mariner may not recover punitive damages on a claim that he was injured as a result of the unseaworthy condition of the vessel. After a hatch blew open and injured his hand, the deckhand filed suit under federal maritime law and sought punitive damages, among other things. However, the U.S. Supreme Court concluded that punitive damages are unavailable in unseaworthiness actions. Justice Alito delivered the opinion of the 6-3 Court.




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Valentine v. Plum Healthcare Group, LLC.

(California Court of Appeal) - Affirmed order denying petition to compel arbitration. Plaintiffs attempted to enforce arbitration in an action for elder abuse and wrongful death at a skilled nursing facility. The trial court determined that the successor in interest was bound by the agreement to arbitrate, but the children of the decedent were not so bound. The trial court denied the petition to arbitrate to prevent inconsistent findings if both arbitration and litigation proceeded concurrently. The appeals court agreed.



  • Injury & Tort Law
  • Dispute Resolution & Arbitration
  • Elder Law

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McDonnel Group, L.L.C. v. Great Lakes Insurance SE, UK Branch

(United States Fifth Circuit) - In an insurance dispute, addressed an issue relating to the Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards. Held that an insurance contract's conformity-to-statute provision did not negate the agreement to arbitrate.




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Wood Group Production Services v. DOWCP

(United States Fifth Circuit) - Petition for review denied. A man injured while unloading a vessel on a fixed platform in Louisiana territorial waters met the requirements for coverage under the Longshore and Harbor Workers' Compensation Act.




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Lacayo v. Catalina Restaurant Group Inc.

(California Court of Appeal) - Dismissed part of appeal and affirmed part. Plaintiff filed a class action complaint against Defendant alleging wage and hour violations and a unfair competition law claim (UCL). Defendants sought to compel arbitration. The trial court granted Defendant’s motion as to Plaintiffs individual claims, allowed the arbitrator to decide the class action claims, and denied the motion as to the UCL claim. The appeals court found that the motion that granted arbitration could not be appealed and found no error in the denial of arbitration for the UCL claim.



  • Commercial Law
  • Dispute Resolution & Arbitration
  • Labor & Employment Law

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DFS Group, L.P. v. County of San Mateo

(California Court of Appeal) - Held that a county tax assessor incorrectly determined the value, for property tax purposes, of a concessionaire's lease at San Francisco International Airport.




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The Urban Wildlands Group v. City of Los Angeles

(California Court of Appeal) - In an environmental action, challenging defendant city's finding that a project was exempt from formal environmental review, the trial court's grant of mandatory relief to plaintiff under Code of Civil Procedure section 473(b) is reversed where: 1) such relief is limited to default, default judgments, and dismissal; and 2) the trial court's grant of judgment to defendant after plaintiff counsel failed to prepare and lodge the administrative record as stipulated does not fall within either category.




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Financial Oversight and Management Board for Puerto Rico v. Ad Hoc Group of PREPA Bondholders

(United States First Circuit) - Vacated an order denying a request by Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority (PREPA) bondholders for relief from an automatic stay. The bondholders argued that a statute enacted by Congress to address Puerto Rico's financial crisis did not preclude them from obtaining relief so that they could petition another court to place PREPA into receivership. Agreeing, the First Circuit held that the district court erred in concluding otherwise.




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Pangang Group Co., LTD v. USDC CA

(United States Ninth Circuit) - Denied a petition for writ of mandamus. Plaintiffs, Chinese government controlled companies, sought a writ to vacate the district court’s order denying their motion to quash service of criminal summonses. The Ninth Circuit reasoned that plaintiffs had actual notice of the summonses and that there was no error on the part of the district court.




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Gov't Employees Ins. v. Avanguard Med. Group

(Court of Appeals of New York) - In an insurance action, brought by plaintiff insurance companies seeking declaratory relief, the Appellate Division's order is affirmed where Insurance Law section 5102 does not require no-fault insurance carriers to pay a facility fee to reimburse New York State-accredited office-based surgery centers for the use of their facilities and related support services.




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Branches Neighborhood Corp. v. CalAtlantic Group, Inc.

(California Court of Appeal) - Upheld an arbitrator's decision in favor of a builder in a dispute with a community association over alleged defects in construction. The association, consisting of residential condominium units, argued that its arbitration claim should not have been dismissed on summary judgment even though the association had filed the claim without first receiving the consent of its members, in violation of its declaration of Covenants, Conditions and Restrictions. Agreeing with the builder, the California Fourth Appellate District affirmed denial of the association's motion to vacate the arbitrator's decision.



  • Construction
  • Property Law & Real Estate
  • Dispute Resolution & Arbitration

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McCorkle Eastside Neighborhood Group v. City of St. Helena

(California Court of Appeal) - Held that citizen groups lacked a valid basis to challenge a city council's decision to approve the construction of an eight-unit multifamily residential building. Affirmed denial of a writ petition, in a case involving compliance with the California Environmental Quality Act.




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VHT, Inc. v. Zillow Group, Inc.

(United States Ninth Circuit) - In a copyright infringement lawsuit against the real estate website Zillow, reversed a judgment after a jury trial, in part. A photography studio claimed that Zillow violated its copyrights in photographs of homes.




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Ennio Morricone Music v. Bixio Music Group

(United States Second Circuit) - Reversed. Concluding the musical works at issue were not works made for hire, the panel reverses the district court’s grant of summary judgement in favor of the defendant.




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Trafon Group, Inc. v. Butterball LLC

(United States First Circuit) - In a suit alleging defendant breached an exclusive distribution agreement in violation of Puerto Rico's Law 75 of June 24, 1964, P.R. Laws Ann. tit. 10 section 278, the District Court's denial of a preliminary injunction against defendant and dismissal of the complaint is affirmed where plaintiff's claim was barred under Law 75's three-year statute of limitations and properly under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 56(f).




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In re: Omnicom Group, Inc. Secs. Litig.

(United States Second Circuit) - In a securities class action alleging that defendants fraudulently accounted for a transaction, summary judgment for defendants is affirmed where: 1) plaintiffs failed to prove loss causation because their expert's testimony did not suffice to draw the requisite causal connection between the information in the article at issue and the fraud alleged in the complaint; and 2) the generalized investor reaction of concern causing a temporary share price decline was far too tenuously connected -- indeed, by a metaphoric thread -- to the transaction to support liability.




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City of New York v. Group Health Inc.

(United States Second Circuit) - In antitrust dispute arising from a action by plaintiff seeking to prevent defendant-healthcare providers from merging, summary judgment in favor of defendants is affirmed where the district court's conclusion, that the market definition the plaintiff alleged as the basis of its claims is legally deficient, is a discretionary prerogative devoid of abuse.




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IDX Capital, LLC v. Phoenix Partners Group LLC

(Court of Appeals of New York) - In a suit for tortious interference with prospective business relations and aiding and abetting breach of fiduciary duty, arising from the defendants' alleged participation in derailing the plaintiff company's acquisition by a third party, the Appellate Division's dismissal of the complaint is affirmed by memorandum, where the plaintiffs failed to produce evidentiary proof as to whether: 1) individual defendants participated in a co-defendant's admitted campaign to interfere with the proposed acquisition; 2) defendant entities should be held vicariously liable for the interference; or 3) an individual plaintiff was entitled to injunctive relief.



  • Injury & Tort Law
  • M&A

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Thee Aguila v. Century Law Group

(California Court of Appeal) - Affirmed trial court’s judgment and order denying Plaintiff’s motion for new trial. Defendants were tenants of a commercial property that was subject to eminent domain. When the court for the eminent domain action, awarded Defendants for their loss, Plaintiff filed suit to recover Defendant’s eminent domain award. The trial court held that when a business owner’s property is taken by eminent domain their compensation is separate and apart from property owners interests.




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VHT, Inc. v. Zillow Group, Inc.

(United States Ninth Circuit) - In a copyright infringement lawsuit against the real estate website Zillow, reversed a judgment after a jury trial, in part. A photography studio claimed that Zillow violated its copyrights in photographs of homes.




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Anti-Vaccine Groups Take Lead Role In California Stay-At-Home Order Protests

By Sammy Caiola

Where jobs and the economy were at front of mind during last Friday's protest at California’s Capitol, Thursday’s demonstration against the stay-at-home order also focused on closed churches and government-mandated vaccinations.

The microphone passed from person-to-person, who each attempted to encourage the few hundred within earshot. One woman said she was honored to be standing shoulder-to-shoulder with those in attendance. The next person to speak took the microphone and said a prayer.

People who oppose mandatory childhood vaccinations have been a driving force in recent protests against California’s stay-at-home orders. Many who are passionate about the issue say they haven’t vaccinated their children yet. 

“I don’t vaccinate my children because I’ve done research on it and from experiences,” said Yvette Apfel of Modesto. “A lot of the people who don’t vaccinate because of experiences and that is not taken into account when they give their account of what’s happened.” 

Generally, concerns about childhood vaccines stem from the debunked belief that vaccines can cause autism or otherwise injure children. 

Democratic state Senator Dr. Richard Pan, who has authored several of California’s major childhood vaccine laws, said the messaging at these COVID-19 protests parallels what he’s seen from vaccination opponents in the past.

“We call them the anti-vaccine movement because they came out to oppose vaccination,” he said. “There’s no vaccine for COVID-19, but they’re also opposing essentially every public health measure we have that will allow us to resume our activities safely. So they’re opposed to the stay-at-home orders.”

At a hearing of the state’s Special Committee On Pandemic Emergency Response Wednesday, some people spoke up against public health measures such as contact tracing and testing.

He says he’s heard them preach the concept of “natural immunity,” which comes with a dangerous implication that everyone should acquire COVID-19.

“We often talk about ‘community immunity’ in relation to vaccination, because vaccines are safe,” he said. “So getting a vaccine doesn’t cause people to get hospitalized and die in the process of achieving it. If you try to achieve it through ‘natural immunity,’ you are talking about a lot of suffering and death.”

This is not the first time California’s been an epicenter of the anti-vaccination movement during the past few years.  

In 2015, California became one of the first states to eliminate “personal belief” vaccine exemptions for students attending public and private schools. These were previously allowed for families that opposed vaccination on religious, moral or other grounds. Under Senate Bill 277, only children with a medical exemption form signed by a doctor can opt out of mandatory vaccines.

As the bill moved through the Legislature, large crowds of vaccination opponents descended on the Capitol for rallies and public hearings. Pan received violent threats from people who feel the government should not have the authority to require vaccines for kids.

In 2019, Pan’s office raised the alarm about doctors who were reportedly writing false medical forms for children who did not meet the federal criteria for an exemption. After the personal belief ban took effect in 2016, the rate of kindergartners with medical exemptions quadrupled, according to the California Department of Public Health. 

Pan authored Senate Bill 276 to give the state final say on medical exemption forms. Hundreds of opponents packed into the halls of the Capitol to protest. Several weeks later, an opponent shoved Dr. Pan

California Gov. Gavin Newsom ultimately signed the bill, with some changes. It takes effect January 2021.

Now, vaccination opponents seem to be mobilizing again, not around childhood immunizations but around the idea that the government can require people to vaccinate themselves.

On social media, some Californians have said they will not get vaccinated for COVID-19 when that immunization eventually becomes available. They’ve expressed concerns about the safety of vaccines developed during a crisis response. Some at the protest Thursday said they were worried the vaccine would be used as a tracking device.

“I think it’s more to the whole government issue about the vaccine being a tracer,” said Mary Paris, an unemployed nail salon worker from the Bay Area who drove to Sacramento for the protest. “Whoever gets it, then we’re gonna separate you. So I really think this go-around I’m not gonna do it.”

PolitiFact investigated the claims about government tracking in vaccines in April and found them to be false. They also looked into claims some about the Bill Gates Foundation related to vaccines and tracing and found them to be false, saying "There’s no evidence that implanted microchips are being contemplated in a serious way to fight the coronavirus."

A look by Reuters at the claims about “tracing” and Bill Gates found the technology being referred to is not a microchip or implant that would allow an entity to track your whereabouts. Instead it is a die that would provide patient vaccine records for doctors and nurses in places without  medical records. 




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McDonnel Group, L.L.C. v. Great Lakes Insurance SE, UK Branch

(United States Fifth Circuit) - In an insurance dispute, addressed an issue relating to the Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards. Held that an insurance contract's conformity-to-statute provision did not negate the agreement to arbitrate.




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Nunez v. Nevell Group, Inc.

(California Court of Appeal) - Held that a construction contractor waived its right to compel arbitration of a unionized employee's wage-hour claim by waiting too long to file a motion to compel arbitration.



  • Dispute Resolution & Arbitration
  • Labor & Employment Law

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Valentine v. Plum Healthcare Group, LLC.

(California Court of Appeal) - Affirmed order denying petition to compel arbitration. Plaintiffs attempted to enforce arbitration in an action for elder abuse and wrongful death at a skilled nursing facility. The trial court determined that the successor in interest was bound by the agreement to arbitrate, but the children of the decedent were not so bound. The trial court denied the petition to arbitrate to prevent inconsistent findings if both arbitration and litigation proceeded concurrently. The appeals court agreed.



  • Injury & Tort Law
  • Dispute Resolution & Arbitration
  • Elder Law

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Lacayo v. Catalina Restaurant Group Inc.

(California Court of Appeal) - Dismissed part of appeal and affirmed part. Plaintiff filed a class action complaint against Defendant alleging wage and hour violations and a unfair competition law claim (UCL). Defendants sought to compel arbitration. The trial court granted Defendant’s motion as to Plaintiffs individual claims, allowed the arbitrator to decide the class action claims, and denied the motion as to the UCL claim. The appeals court found that the motion that granted arbitration could not be appealed and found no error in the denial of arbitration for the UCL claim.



  • Commercial Law
  • Dispute Resolution & Arbitration
  • Labor & Employment Law

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BOWLES v. ONEMAIN FINANCIAL GROUP

(US 5th Circuit) - No. 18-60749




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HEWITT v. HELIX ENERGY SOLUTIONS GROUP INCORPORATED

(US 5th Circuit) - No. 19-20023




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BWH Music Group Seeks Peace And Social Justice Songs

Album And Major Promotion Opportunity For Peace And Social Justice Songs




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Trumpeter Franco Ambrosetti Leads All-Star Group On 'Long Waves' Feat. John Scofield, Jack DeJohnette, Uri Caine, Scott Colley - Out On Unit Records!

While Ambrosetti Decided To Pursue His Family's Multi-million-dollar Business For Decades, He Never Put His Trumpet On The Shelf.




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Italian Independent Music Collective Fil1993 Group Signs With MusicDish*China

MusicDish*China Will Be Developing Their Online Presence And Social Media In China As Well As Releasing Their Catalogue To Chinese Streaming Music Services