Author: Justin Lane

In September 2001, one week after the 9/11 attacks, the United States was subjected to a series of frightening events known to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) as Amerithrax. A number of letters containing anthrax spores were mailed to news offices and the offices of two senators. 23 people were infected, of which five died. Fast forward, in the last 12 years the United States has experienced a rapid escalation in the number of measures available to ensure security in the homeland, not the least of which was to be better prepared to prevent attacks like the Anthrax...

Below are Ring of Fire’s top stories from the past week. Papantonio and Ed Schultz Discuss Darrell Issa’s Criminal Record Congressman Darrell Issa, the man with the nerve to call the Obama Administration “corrupt,” knows a thing or two about corruption. After all, the man has been arrested at least 3 times over the years for things like possessing an illegal weapon and stealing cars. That’s right – the man in charge of investigations for the House is a former car thief. Watch as Mike Papantonio and Ed Schultz uncover Issa’s criminal past. Florida Decreases Yellow Traffic Light Intervals...

After years of conflict and countless lawsuits filed against it, Johnson & Johnson’s orthopedic unit, DePuy Orthopaedics, is ending production of all metal replacement hips because of “high early failure rates,” according to New York Times author Barry Meier. Meier has been following products from Johnson & Johnson and DePuy for years, reporting the failures and scandals in the industry since the 90’s. “Whether DePuy will do the right thing for those injured by its products, remains to be seen,” commented Daniel Nigh, an attorney specializing in litigation for those injured by faulty orthopaedic devices with the Levin, Papantonio...

The media has been buzzing in recent days surrounding the Department of Justice’s obtaining phone records from Associated Press journalists in secret and political groups being targeted by the IRS for their affiliation with right-wing-sounding names. It has been a long time since the impression that it’s best to keep quiet if you know about something that needs to be exposed has had such a concrete basis to support it. How can someone come forward securely? How can someone protect themselves from the potential public scrutiny and privacy invasion that can come from releasing information others would rather wasn’t...

Indian-based Ranbaxy Laboratories Ltd., has agreed to pay out $500 million to resolve allegations that the company was selling tampered and corrupted drugs to government medical programs. The drugs at issue were Sotret, gabapentin, and ciprofloxacin. The penalty is a combination of $350 million for settlement and $150 million following a guilty plea to charges from the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), $130 million of which is a fine. According to the DOJ, this is the largest generic-drug settlement in history. Pharmaceutical companies have a history of putting their profits ahead of the well-being of the patients. Whether by...