News from Midwin Charles & Associates LLC

BARACK OBAMA BECOMES 44th PRESIDENT OF THE U.S.
The year started with historic significance: Barack Obama made history this year as he became the first African American president of the United States. President Obama was sworn in as the 44th president on the January 20, 2009 inauguration.

OCTOMOM
Nadya Suleman became a nationally recognizable figure when she gave birth to octuplets in January 2009. Public reaction turned negative when it came to light that Suleman -- a single, 34-year-old, unemployed and on public assistance programs at the time - already had six young children at home. Suleman conceived the octuplets and her six other children via in vitro fertilization (IVF). The birth of her octuplets let to controversy in the field of IVF and an investigation by the Medical Board of California of the fertility specialist involved.

CARRIE PREJEAN, MISS CALIFORNIA
Carrie Prejean first hit the nation's radar when, during the question and answer portion of the Miss USA 2009 pageant when she stated that she did not support same-sex marriage. After partially nude photographs of Prejean surfaced on May 4, 2009, Miss California USA began an investigation, as nude photographs are a violation of a contract clause for pageant contestants. Finally, on June 10, 2009, Prejean was dethroned as Miss California for continued breach of contract issues. Prejean brought suit against Miss California USA, but the two parties reached a settlement but the debate over same-sex marriage continues.

DEATH OF MICHAEL JACKSON
Pop legend Michael Jackson passed away on June 25, 2009 after suffering cardiac arrest in his Los Angeles home. Jackson was taking a multitude of prescription medications, which the coroner attributed to the singer's death. As a result, Conrad Murray, Jackson's doctor was charged with manslaughter. The charge will certainly make doctors second guess casual administration of prescription drugs and begs the question as to whether the medical field will rein in how prescription drugs are prescribed.

SONYA SOTOMAYER BECOMES U.S. SUPREME COURT ASSOCIATE JUSTICE
Sonya Sotomayer is the most recent addition to the Supreme Court. Appointed by President Barack Obama on May 26, 2009 and confirmed by the Senate on August 6, 2009, Judge Sotomayor will be the first Latino to serve on the high court. She will also be the third woman named to the Supreme Court, and the second on the current court.

Judge Sotomayor graduated summa cum laude from Princeton University and attended Yale Law School, where she was editor of the Yale Law Journal. After law school, Judge Sotomayor became an Assistant District Attorney in Manhattan. She then entered private practice in 1984. In 1992, President George H.W. Bush appointed her to the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. President Clinton appointed her to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit in 1998.

ROMAN POLANSKI
In 1978, Polanski fled the United States for France the day before he was to be sentenced for having unlawful sex with a minor - a crime to which he pled guilty. In September 2009, Polanski was arrested in Zurich, 30 years after U.S. authorities sought extradition of the 76-year-old filmmaker. What made this case interesting was that, many - including the victim herself -- believed U.S. authorities should leave Polanski alone because so many decades had passed and/or he was such a great artist who had made enormous contributions to society.

DAVID LETTERMAN
On October 1, 2009, late night television host David Letterman came clean on the air -- when faced with the threat of blackmail by a CBS News employee -- to having sex with various female employees. This raised issues of sexual harassment on the job and relationships between employers and employees.

BALLOON BOY
On October 15, 2009, the Heene family pulled a fast one on the nation. Richard Heene and his wife claimed that their son, Falcon, was inside a mylar balloon launched into the air from their Fort Collins, Colorado home. The child, in fact, was not inside the balloon and the Heene's encouraged their children lie to authorities and the media in order to gain public attention with the hopes of landing a reality show. On December 23, 2009, Richard Heene was sentenced to 90 days in jail and his wife to 20 weekend days in jail as a result of their balloon hoax.

MICHAELE AND TAREQ SALAHI
Because the Heene's did not prove that some will do anything for publicity, on November 24, 2009, Michaele and Tareq Salahi managed to pass by White House security and gain admittance to President Obama's first state dinner for the Prime Minister of India, without an official invitation. The Salahi's were auditioning to participate in a reality show. Congress is investigating how this security breach occurred. The Salahi's have been asked to testify at a January 20, 2010 hearing but their attorneys have stated that the Salahi's will invoke their Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination. The Salahi's may face criminal charges for crashing the state dinner.

HEALTHCARE DEBATE
President Obama and his supporters proposed a bill that includes a government-sponsored health plan. The House passed a bill in November, and on December 24, 2009, the Senate passed a bill in a 60-39 vote. At least 15% of the U.S. population is completely uninsured. According to the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences, the U.S. is the "only wealthy industrialized nation that does not ensure that all citizens have coverage." Many issues remain to be settled between the two bills but nonetheless, it is undoubtedly a victory for President Obama.