Woman loses lawsuit against the company behind Dr. Pepper because she drank diet sodas for 13 years and didn’t lose weight
“Diet” soda does not pretend to help consumers lose weight, a California appeals court has ruled in response to a lawsuit filed by a woman who chugged it for more than a decade, yet failed to trim down.
“The prevalent understanding of the term in (the marketplace) is that the ‘diet’ version of a soft drink has fewer calories than its ‘regular’ counterpart,” a three-judge panel with the US 9th Circuit Court of Appeals unanimously decreed Monday.
“Just because some consumers may unreasonably interpret the term differently does not render the use of ‘diet’ in a soda’s brand name false or deceptive.”
The ruling comes in response to a fraud suit filed by Shana Becerra against the company behind Diet Dr Pepper. A lower court threw out her lawsuit, leading to the 9th Circuit’s concurring decision.
The Santa Rosa, Calif., woman claimed she’d been swindled into purchasing the beverage for 13 years in an attempt to whittle her waist — but had yet to shed a single pound.
The appeals court found that when “diet” is used as an adjective, as it is on the soda cans, it refers to something with fewer calories than the “regular” version of the product.
The woman also claimed she’d been misled, since “attractive, fit models in the ads implies that Diet Dr Pepper will help its consumers achieve those bodies,” yet the court disagreed in its decision, written by Judge Jay Bybee.
Ads depicting slim and beautiful people using the products “cannot be reasonably understood to convey any specific meaning at all,” Bybee wrote.
The same court last week shot down an attempt at appeal by Becerra in her lawsuit against Diet Coke for similar claims.
She alleged in her 2017 actions that she “did not receive what she paid for,” when she purchased the beverages. She additionally alleged that studies have shown that the artificial sweetener aspartame used in the sodas actually causes weight gain.
It has been approved for consumption by the US Food and Drug Administration, and is used in many low-calorie products.
Because the court ruled that Becerra failed to show false advertising and fraud by the companies, it was not forced to consider aspartame’s possible side effects.
via: https://nypost.com/2020/01/01/diet-soda-does-not-advertise-weight-loss-court-rules/
Photo Credit: nypost.com
Blood-drinking white nationalist who ran for US Senate in Florida in 2016 was arrested Monday for kidnapping, domestic violence, and possession of a firearm used during a crime
Augustus Sol Invictus, 36, was busted in Florida on a warrant from South Carolina, authorities said. The circumstances of the crime were not immediately released. He was being held without bail Wednesday.
Invictus, an Orlando-based lawyer, garnered national media attention during his unsuccessful bid to challenge Marco Rubio as a Libertarian candidate in 2016.
During the failed campaign, he claimed he slaughtered a goat and drank its blood as part of a pagan ritual.
He’s also credited by white nationalist Richard Spencer with laying the foundation for the deadly racist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, in 2017.
Invictus has denied affiliation with Spencer and the racists at the rally, but Spencer credited him with drafting the “tenets” behind the rally.
via: https://nypost.com/2020/01/01/white-nationalist-augustus-sol-invictus-arrested-in-florida/
Photo Credit: Broward County Sheriff’s Office
5 killed, 5 injured during violent New Year’s Day across St. Louis MO
ST. LOUIS (KMOV.com) – Five people were killed during a violent start to 2020 in the City of St. Louis.
The first shooting happened nine minutes after the year started in the 4900 block of Lotus. According to police, a man in his teens was shot in the thigh at the location and taken to the hospital in stable condition.
Ten minutes later, police were called to a quadruple shooting in the area of South Jefferson and Crittendon. Three shooting victims were pronounced dead at the scene and a fourth victim was taken to the hospital with a gunshot wound to the leg.
The third shooting of the night happened just before 2 a.m. in the 3400 block of Wyoming. According to police, a man in his early 20s was shot in the leg. He was reportedly conscious and breathing when first responders arrived.
Another shooting occurred about 40 minutes later in the 5400 block of Genevieve. Police said a man was pronounced dead at the scene and a second shooting victim was taken to the hospital.
The fifth crime occurred around 11 a.m. in the 1200 block of North Euclid. Few details have been released, but police said they were investigating a homicide at the location after a man was found not conscious nor breathing.
Police have not released additional information on any of the crimes.
Photo Credit: kmov.com
Homeless Man Fatally Stabs Patron at Restaurant on DTLA’s Skid Row
A man who is believed to be homeless fatally stabbed a fellow patron at a Mexican restaurant at the edge of Skid Row in downtown Los Angeles on New Year’s Day morning, police said.
Some kind of argument erupted between the two — who had not been eating together — and one man used a knife to attack the other, according to homicide Detective Ray Martinez with the Los Angeles Police Department.
The victim, described only as a Hispanic man in his 40s, died at a hospital. The unidentified killer got away on foot.
Police were called to the restaurant at 103 E. Seventh St. at 8:40 a.m., Martinez said. Crime scene tape surrounded the restaurant, Margarita’s Place, and investigators were still working there later in the morning.
The victim and killer had both been eating some distance apart at a counter at the establishment when the argument broke out for unclear reasons, Martinez said. It’s not known if the two knew each other.
The killer used a knife that was in his possession, not one from the restaurant, Martinez said.
The attacker is a regular at Margarita’s Place, employees told police. Police aren’t aware of any previous aggressive incidents involving him, Martinez said.
No one at the restaurant had seen the victim before, the detective said. It’s not clear if the victim lives in the area.
Police are hoping to release an image of the killer from surveillance video recorded at the restaurant.
Photo Credit: The man pictured in this surveillance camera image was being sought in connection with a stabbing near Los Angeles’ Skid Row on Jan. 1, 2019. (Credit: Courtesy)
Woman Burned When Vape Device Explodes in Backpack at Yucaipa Store
A woman suffered burns over about 20% of her body after a vape device exploded in her backpack at a Yucaipa Rite Aid store on Tuesday, officials said.
The incident unfolded about 6 p.m. at the store, 34420 Yucaipa Boulevard, Calfire Battalion Chief Josh Janssen said.
“We received multiple reports of a female on fire in a local Rite Aid,” he said. “While responding to the incident, we received updated information that the fire was caused by a vape pen that had exploded inside the female’s backpack.”
Firefighters found the woman suffering from first- and second-degree burns on her back, covering about 20 percent of her body, he said.
The woman was taken to a burn center for treatment.
mages from the scene showed a backpack with a hole burned through it, as well as several pieces of charred clothing.
No further details were available.
via: https://ktla.com/2020/01/01/woman-burned-when-vape-device-explodes-in-backpack-at-yucapia-store/
Photo Credit: Calfire via RMG New
Amanda Bynes resurfaces on Instagram with what appears to be a large face tattoo
Amanda Bynes has resurfaced on social media with what appears to be a large face tattoo.
The All That and She’s the Man star posted on Instagram for the first time since she reportedly checked herself out of a sober living facility earlier this month. The photo is noteworthy for the very large — and slightly lopsided — heart that appears to be inked on the former child star’s cheek.
The 33-year-old didn’t offer any details about whether it is permanent, the work of a pen or some type of filter fun. Her caption was just the extraterrestrial alien emoji.
Bynes still has her nose ring and the pink hair she’s been sporting for a few months. In the background of the photo were some women sitting at a table.
Yahoo Entertainment has reached out to Byne’s attorney about the apparent tattoo, but she is on vacation until after the new year.
Earlier this month, it was reported that Bynes — who’s under a conservatorship put in place by the Ventura County Court — had fled a sober living facility where she had been residing and her parents feared she would relapse. Bynes has said she abused Adderall and used other drugs, including cocaine, ecstasy and molly, recreationally.
However, a Bynes source then told Us Weekly that she has “never been lost or missing. She did leave the sober living facility but her parents know where she is. With Amanda, it’s not surprising that she would leave the sober living facility. It’s not uncommon for anyone dealing with sobriety and mental health issues.”
According to Entertainment Tonight, Bynes was living with her parents temporarily after the sober home until she found her own place to live. “She has a great relationship with them,” a source said of her parents, who accompanied her to a court appearance for her conservatorship on Dec. 13.
In January, Bynes — whose personal troubles have been well-documented since 2012 — checked back into a mental health facility for treatment after a relapse. (The facility later sued her for non-payment.) She then moved into the sober house to help maintain her sobriety. Bynes said last year in a rare interview with Paper magazine that her mental health challenges are “drug-induced, and whenever I got off of [drugs], I was always back to normal.”
Despite her woes, Bynes graduated from fashion design school (Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising) in June, but according to reports, she is currently not working.
Photo Credit: instagram
Bobbi Kristina Brown’s ‘controlling‘ ex-fiancé, Nick Gordon dies on New Year’s day of ‘drug overdose’
The late Bobbi Kristina Brown’s ex-fiancée Nick Gordon has died from a suspected drugs overdose, DailyMail.com can exclusively reveal.
Sources said Gordon, 30, had a series of heart attacks after he was rushed into intensive care in Florida amid New Year’s celebrations.
DailyMail.com understands his loved ones were informed of his death early today after doctors were unable to revive the prolific drug abuser.
‘God why did I have to lose my brother on New Year,’ his brother Junior Walker wrote on Facebook.
He also posted a touching family photo of the two siblings as little boys, adding: ‘All I can do is cry’.
Gordon is notorious for the 2015 death of Whitney Houston’s daughter Bobbi Kristina, who spent six months in a coma after she was found unconscious in a bathtub with a slew of drugs in her system.
Her controlling ex-fiancée never faced criminal charges but was held legally responsible for her wrongful death in a civil case.
‘It’s early days but the suggestion is he was taking drugs with friends and he passed out. They drove him to the hospital, took him inside and then left him there,’ said an insider.
‘Whatever you think of Nick and his lifestyle, it’s terribly sad that his supposed friends just dumped him and drove away.’
Gordon is thought to have been living with friends in recent months after his mom moved to Hawaii.
He had split from on-off girlfriend Laura Leal, whom he was accused of attacking on several occasions leading to several arrests for domestic abuse.
In an exclusive 2017 interview with DailyMail.com Leal described how Gordon held her captive in his mother’s former home in Sanford, Florida before savagely beating her up after a night of drinking.
However she later dropped charges of domestic violence battery and false imprisonment insisting she was as much to blame for the dust-up as he was.
‘Laura is absolutely devastated. They were seeing less of each other recently because they wanted some space,’ the source added.
‘But she cared deeply for him and was in a state of shock when she got the phone call.’
Bobbi Kristina spent six months in a coma and never recovered after she was found submerged in a bathtub with drugs in her system and bruises to her chest in July 2015.
Gordon protested his innocence and insists he did everything he could to resuscitate the 22-year-old budding singer after finding her unconscious at their Alpharetta, Georgia home. However he was held legally responsible for Bobbi Kristina’s wrongful death by default and ordered to pay $36 million in damages when he failed to fight a civil case brought by her family.
The sad episode echoed the death of her superstar star mom Whitney who also drowned in a bathtub in a Beverly Hills hotel, with cocaine abuse and heart disease contributing to her February 2012 demise.
Bobby Kristina’s autopsy similarly listed drug intoxication and the immersion of her face in the water as factors.
Gordon, who was taken in by Houston at the age of 12, has never faced criminal charges and claims he tried his best to save the girl he considered his ‘lil sis’ before their relationship became romantic.
Brown’s estate accused him, however, of causing her wrongful death by giving her a ‘toxic mixture’ and also stealing from her bank account while she was comatose.
When neither Gordon, nor his lawyer, showed up at hearings in 2016 a Fulton County Superior Court judge ruled against him by default and ordered him to pay $36 million in damages.
Photo Credit: dailymail.com