Declarations

“I continue to believe that the facts demonstrate an unsafe condition to the public that could easily be solved by the responsible parties at very little cost.”

— Attorney Paul Newton Jr. of Gulfport, Miss., comments on a lawsuit he filed against Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen after he said he choked on a piece of chicken from the restaurant. Newton said he was not given a knife to cut his chicken with at the drive-thru, which caused him to choke.

“We entered into this mutually acceptable resolution to avoid the costs and disruption associated with continued litigation.”

— McDonald’s spokeswoman Terri Hickey said McDonald’s Corp. is not a joint employer of franchise workers when commenting on the company’s agreement to pay $3.75 million to settle a suit claiming it was liable for labor law violations by a California franchisee.

“All the police officers … admitted to being guilty. We’re just thankful for all of this. Because all of this could have been wiped away.”

— Lance Madison, whose brother Ronald was killed by New Orleans police on Danziger Bridge five days after Hurricane Katrina, after a former police sergeant, Gerard Dugue, pleaded guilty to helping Sgt. Arthur Kaufman cover up the bridge shootings. Kaufman also pleaded guilty to the cover up.

“While we still have significant challenges to ensure that all Minnesotans have access to high-quality health care at affordable rates, this drop in charity care and bad debt is a positive sign that reflects our progress in reducing the number of Minnesotans going without coverage.”

— Minnesota Health Commissioner Ed Ehlinger, in a statement regarding a state health department report showing the cost of uncompensated care at Minnesota hospitals has dropped nearly 17 percent since the federal Affordable Care Act.