(nateone)
White House Tweaks Rule Requiring Employers To Cover Birth Control
By Chris Morran on February 10, 2012 2:15 PM
204 Comments
Late last month, the Obama administration angered some people when it announced that all employers — regardless of their stance on birth control — would need to provide insurance that covers female preventative care. Today, the President said his people had come up with a compromise that he believes will provide birth control while allowing businesses to not be directly responsible for providing it. More »
$25 Billion Mortgage Settlement Is Just The First Step Toward Cleaning Up Mortgage Mess
By Chris Morran on February 9, 2012 4:31 PM
82 Comments
There are a lot of good things about today's $25 billion settlement between the five largest mortgage servicers, the Dept. of Justice and the attorneys general of 49 states. But in spite of the huge price tag on the deal — which could grow even larger if other lenders sign on — it's only the beginning of cleaning up the aftermath of housing market collapse. More »
Here Is What The New Health Insurance Labels Will Look Like
By Chris Morran on February 9, 2012 2:02 PM
26 Comments
Back in August, we told you about how the Dept. of Health & Human Services was finalizing a template for new health insurance labels that would attempt to make it clear what a potential customer was buying and what sort of coverage they would receive. More »
(afagen)
DOJ, 49 States Reach $25 Billion Settlement With Five Largest Lenders Over Robosigning
By Chris Morran on February 9, 2012 10:48 AM
39 Comments
More than a year after several of the nation's largest mortgage lenders temporarily suspended foreclosures after it was revealed that they had been using untrained, unqualified "robosigners" to process foreclosure documents, the U.S. Justice Dept. and the attorneys general of 49 states have announced a $25 billion settlement that will result in mortgage reductions to some homeowners. More »
Lawmakers Announce Legislation To Set Limits On Arsenic & Lead In Fruit Juice
By Chris Morran on February 8, 2012 4:08 PM
49 Comments
In the wake of a recent Consumer Reports investigation that found high levels of arsenic and lead in a number of fruit juices, Congressman Frank Pallone of New Jersey and Connecticut Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro today announced the "Arsenic Prevention and Protection from Lead Exposure in Juice (APPLE Juice) Act of 2012," which would require the Food and Drug Administration to set standards for arsenic and lead in fruit juices. More »
(RAWRZ!)
Almost All States Sign On To Massive Mortgage Settlement
By Chris Morran on February 7, 2012 12:15 PM
53 Comments
Last night was the deadline for the attorneys general of each state to sign onto a massive settlement with the nation's five largest mortgage lenders, and more than 40 of the states opted to join in the pot-sharing. More »
Judge Says Bank Of America Can Boot The $16 House Guy From McMansion
By Mary Beth Quirk on February 6, 2012 3:00 PM
57 Comments
UPDATE 4:40 p.m.: Kenneth says he's going to leave his $16 house without a fight, telling the Dallas Observer's "Unfair Park" blog: "If they are the true owners, then you're supposed to give it up anyway." More »
Arizona Tries To Shake Amazon Down For $53 Million In Sales Tax
By Phil Villarreal on February 6, 2012 8:30 AM
116 Comments
The burden of state sales tax continues to plague Amazon. Groups of states hold Amazon to different standards when it comes to collecting the tax. While some disagreements end amicably — such as the company's January deal with Indiana that it will have to start collecting state sales tax in 2014 — other states are a bit more confrontational. More »
Lawsuit: You Can't Charge Me With Downloading Porn Because You Can't Copyright Obscenity
By Chris Morran on February 3, 2012 4:30 PM
80 Comments
For the first several years of the entertainment industry's crackdown on online piracy, American pornographers did very little to go after the people who filled up gigabyte after gigabyte of hard drive space with bittorrented x-rated material. But in recent years, realizing there is money to be made by merely threatening "John Doe" defendants with making their names and downloading habits public, that has begun to change. But one California woman is fighting back, claiming that the porn she didn't violate copyright laws because the porn she's accused of downloading isn't copyrightable. More »
New Legislation Would Pad Health Insurance Coffers While Screwing Over Consumers
By Chris Morran on February 3, 2012 4:15 PM
86 Comments
As part of the Affordable Care Act, health insurers must spend at least 80% of the money they earn from premiums on actually providing health care, with the remaining cash used to cover all administrative, advertising and payroll costs. Those insurers with plans that don't follow this ratio are soon supposed to start giving the extra money back in refunds and discounts. But new legislation introduced in the Senate this week could jeopardize this, while giving insurance companies even more money to stick in their dog pillows. More »
Vermont State Police
Vermont Inmates Ham It Up By Sneaking A Pig Into State Police Crest Decal
By Mary Beth Quirk on February 3, 2012 1:00 PM
88 Comments
When you've got inmates of a correctional facility manufacturing decals for state police cruisers, hilarity is practically guaranteed to ensue. Vermont prisoners got away with quite a prank, sneaking a pig into the state police crest decals that adorned two doors of 30 cruisers for the last year. More »
Former Intern Sues Magazine Publisher, Claiming She Was An Unpaid Full-Timer
By Phil Villarreal on February 3, 2012 8:15 AM
103 Comments
Although students gain work experience and connections from internships, the professional world tends to get the better end of the deal, exploiting talented interns for free or low-pay labor. Federal law bars companies from treating interns as they would employees, but overworked students don't often feel as though they're in much of a position to blow the whistle if their mentors cross the line. More »
(RickDrew)
Settlement Says It's Not Okay To Use Models In Short Skirts To Recruit Bone Marrow Donors
By Mary Beth Quirk on February 2, 2012 3:00 PM
35 Comments
Sex sells, which is why models in skimpy outfits sell consumers on the merits of everything from cars to web domain companies. But a Massachusetts settlement says skin gimmicks and free gifts shouldn't be used to recruit potential bone marrow donors. More »
(redteam)
Philadelphia Fighting Satellite Providers Over Ugly Dishes
By Chris Morran on February 2, 2012 1:16 PM
46 Comments
Last fall, the Philadelphia City Council passed a bill that would remove unused satellite dishes and pretty up any new ones that were bolted to the sides and roofs of city buildings. But that law is having some trouble becoming a reality after a group representing satellite TV providers filed a petition with the FCC. More »
(phirleh)
Feds Fight Big Tobacco Over Graphic Anti-Smoking Labels
By Mary Beth Quirk on February 2, 2012 12:00 PM
52 Comments
Cigarette makers appear to be winning the legal battle against the federal government's requirement that large graphic images of the consequences of smoking be displayed on all packages of cigarettes. The rule was supposed to take effect next year, but a U.S. District judge has put that plan on hold until the issue is resolved. More »
Woman Whips Honda In Small Claims Court
By Phil Villarreal on February 2, 2012 9:15 AM
78 Comments
The woman who took Honda to small claims court because her Civic didn't live up to its advertised gas mileage is now almost $10,000 richer thanks to a Los Angeles Superior Court Commissioner ruling. More »
(jabella)
Kodak Wants To Wipe Its Name Off Of Academy Awards Venue
By Phil Villarreal on February 2, 2012 8:15 AM
21 Comments
It's generally seen as bad form for a bankrupt company like Kodak to have its name plastered on a theater as a title sponsor. Kodak, which filed for Chapter 11 protection last month, has realized it would have a lot more cash to burn if it could wriggle out of a $75 million, 20-year commitment to slap its name on the Kodak Theatre, which hosts the Academy awards. More »
Spirit Adds $2 "Dept. Of Transportation Unintended Consequences Fee"
By Chris Morran on February 1, 2012 4:15 PM
81 Comments
Fresh off fighting laws that require truth in advertising, Spirit Airlines, which hilariously dubbed itself the "most consumer-friendly airline," is now taking a stand against another government regulation — one that requires airlines to allow passengers to change flights within 24 hours of booking without paying a penalty — by adding two dollars to everyone's ticket. More »
Angry Birds CEO: "Piracy May Not Be A Bad Thing"
By Chris Morran on February 1, 2012 1:15 PM
51 Comments
While lawmakers and Hollywood execs try to come up with ways to combat piracy in ham-fisted, knee-jerk ways that punish everyone, the CEO of Rovio Mobile — better known as the company that makes Angry Birds — has joined his voice to more sensible suits who see online piracy as an opportunity to learn and grow. More »
Feds Announce Program To Turn Foreclosures Into Rentals
By Chris Morran on February 1, 2012 10:50 AM
57 Comments
In an effort to put living, paying bodies into homes left vacant following foreclosure, the Federal Housing Finance Agency has announced the beginnings of a program to sell off pools of foreclosed properties to investors who would then rent them out. More »
Senators Push Legislation To Make Dollar Coin More Than A Novelty Item
By Chris Morran on January 31, 2012 4:15 PM
194 Comments
The fight over whether or not the dollar should be printed or minted continues. The latest volley of cannon fire in favor of the dollar coin came from Senators Tom Harkin of Iowa and Arizona's John McCain, who earlier today introduced the Currency Optimization, Innovation, and National Savings (Hey — that spells COINS!) Act to promote the use of coins in an effort to curb waste and spending. More »
Republicans: Expect Legal Challenges To Richard Cordray's 'Invalid' Appointment As CFPB Head
By Mary Beth Quirk on January 31, 2012 4:00 PM
121 Comments
Republican senators have a buzzy little bee in their collective bonnets over the appointment of Richard Cordray as the director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. See, they're mad that President Obama took it upon himself to finalize the deed while the Senate was in recess, and say his "invalid" appointment will hurt business. More »
Megaupload User Data To Get Two-Week Stay Of Execution
By Chris Morran on January 31, 2012 2:47 PM
10 Comments
Things were looking grim for the millions of users who had made mega uploads to Megaupload, as authorities stated that data could begin being deleted off the site's servers as early as this Thursday. But the two hosting companies that currently house all those files aren't ready to bring down the virtual axe just yet. More »
Dutch Court Says You Can't Beat Someone Up & Steal Their Stuff, Whether It's Real Or Virtual
By Mary Beth Quirk on January 31, 2012 2:00 PM
34 Comments
It's pretty cut and dry when a kid beats up another kid and takes his sneakers, but what if the fighting results in one party having to give up his virtual possessions in an online game? The Dutch Supreme Court says it's theft no matter what items were stolen, after a youth was beaten and threatened into surrendering his virtual property. More »
(jayRaz)
Dallas Bar-Owners Unhappy About New School Ruining Their Neighborhood
By Chris Morran on January 31, 2012 12:15 PM
69 Comments
Usually when you see reports about a flashy new charter school going into a neighborhood of bars and nightclubs, it's about how local families are thrilled about the area taking a turn for the better. But bar-owners in Dallas' Deep Ellum area are hoping to 86 the school's plans of bringing education to the block. More »
(afagen)
Senate Inches Closer To Ending Insider Trading By Lawmakers
By Chris Morran on January 31, 2012 11:15 AM
26 Comments
Sometimes good things come out of Presidential election year grandstanding. After years of reaping the benefits of a loophole that allowed insider trading by members of the Senate and House of Representatives (and their aides), legislation to stop this behavior is closer to becoming reality. More »
Another Guy Sues Frito-Lay, Says He Wasted $.10/Ounce On 'All-Natural' Chips
By Mary Beth Quirk on January 31, 2012 11:00 AM
81 Comments
Print something on a package and you better believe consumers are going to take it seriously, hence why a New York man is adding another lawsuit to Frito-Lay's docket, claiming their line of chips aren't made with "all-natural ingredients" as advertised. More »
(VA Trish)
Legislators Totally Cool With Required Drug Testing Unless It Applies To Them
By Mary Beth Quirk on January 30, 2012 4:00 PM
113 Comments
One way to get a politician to withdraw a bill requiring drug-testing for welfare applicants? Just tell him lawmakers also have to get tested, and see how fast he boomerangs. Rep. Jud McMillin, a Republican member of the Indiana General Assembly, took back his drug-testing bill after one of his helpful Democratic colleagues amended it ever so slightly. More »
(tramod)
FTC Fines Debt Collector $2.5 Million For Deceiving Consumers
By Chris Morran on January 30, 2012 3:23 PM
42 Comments
After years of writing about shady practices by debt collectors, it's nice to finally write that there's a small bit of justice in this world. Today, the Federal Trade Commission announced a $2.5 million civil penalty against Asset Acceptance, one of the country's largest debt collectors, for making misrepresentations and deceiving consumers in the name of collecting debts. More »
Megaupload User Files -- Even The Non-Pirated Stuff -- Could Be Destroyed
By Chris Morran on January 30, 2012 1:15 PM
87 Comments
Less than two weeks after authorities shut down file-sharing site Megaupload, it looks like everything stored by users on that site's servers could soon be erased, even the stuff that wasn't pirated. More »
Lawsuit Claims Technology Industry Bigwigs Had Secret Anti-Poaching Pact To Keep Employee Salaries Low
By Mary Beth Quirk on January 30, 2012 1:00 PM
77 Comments
The ability to play employers off bids from other companies seeking to snag the best in their fields is an important one. So much so, in fact, that workers in Silicon Valley have filed a lawsuit alleging that some of the industry's biggest players were involved in a secret anti-poaching pact that kept salaries down and workers stuck where they were. More »
Even Though Incomes Are Up, Americans Aren't Ready To Spend More
By Mary Beth Quirk on January 30, 2012 10:00 AM
57 Comments
Although there are signs of hope for the economy as American incomes were up by the most they have been in nine months, the fact that we're also keeping our spending exactly the same isn't so great. More »
(afagen)
FTC Commissioner Puts Verbal Smackdown On Facebook & Google Over Privacy
By Mary Beth Quirk on January 27, 2012 1:00 PM
11 Comments
Aww, snap! Federal Trade Commissioner Julie Brill doesn't care that her speech opening a forum on Data Privacy Day was being streamed on Facebook and likely Googled by many — she still put the verbal smackdown on those two companies for their problems protecting user privacy. More »
((Mon1ca))
House Republicans Are In Favor Of Ads That Make Your Child Harass You Into Buying Junk Food
By Mary Beth Quirk on January 26, 2012 5:00 PM
223 Comments
Tossing that box of Lucky Charms back on the shelf at the grocery store after your kid tried to sneak it into the cart is going to be a lot harder, if House Republicans have their way. They're on the side of food companies that don't want the White House telling them to stop marketing sugary cereal and junk foods to kids. More »
FTC Finally Permanently Shuts Down Fake News Sites Shilling For Acai Berries
By Maggie Shader on January 26, 2012 3:30 PM
23 Comments
It was nine months ago that the Federal Trade Commission announced its crackdown on companies that created sites aimed to look like news reports that were really just advertisements for supplements and other weight loss products made from acai berries. Now, as part of a settlement agreement, six online marketers will permanently stop the deceptive practice. More »
(Scoboco)
Should Wedding-Related Businesses Be Allowed To Refuse Service To Same-Sex Couples?
By Chris Morran on January 26, 2012 10:15 AM
256 Comments
Same-sex marriage has been legalized in the state of New Hampshire for two years, but a bill before the state legislature could allow businesses, like caterers, florists, and dress shops, to refuse their services to these couples. More »
Sen. Ralph Shortey
Legislator Calls For Ban On Imaginary Practice Of Using Aborted Fetuses In Food Products
By Chris Morran on January 25, 2012 12:30 PM
129 Comments
Because the lawmakers of this nation don't have real-world issues that need to be resolved, a state senator in Oklahoma has introduced legislation that would finally put a stop to the abominable, completely nonexistent practice of using tissue from aborted fetuses in food. More »
Public Citizen Calls For Breakup Of Bank Of America
By Marc Perton on January 25, 2012 12:15 PM
29 Comments
Bank of America poses "a grave threat to U.S. financial stability," according to watchdog group Public Citizen, which has called for the bank to be broken up. More »
Ask Tax Cat: What The Heck Is Going On With The Business Mileage Rate For 2011?
By consumerist.com on January 25, 2012 11:45 AM
18 Comments
Every year around this time, Tax Cat emerges from his basket to answer questions and offer advice to you, the fine people of the internet. More »
City May Issue Fines If Your Dog Barks For Longer Than 10 Minutes
By Chris Morran on January 24, 2012 11:15 AM
167 Comments
Barking dogs can be an annoyance. Ask anyone who has ever lived next to a chatty canine. But at what point does that annoyance cross the line and become a nuisance worthy of being issued a fine. For the folks in Fort Worth, TX, that threshold is ten minutes. More »
(aar0on)
Online Vendors, Meet The 1099-K
By Phil Villarreal on January 24, 2012 10:15 AM
66 Comments
Online sellers, we warned you about this in 2010. The Internal Revenue Service created the new 1099-K form as a way to keep closer tabs on those who sell items online, and the 2011 tax year is the first in which the form will apply. More »
Big Banks Pinky-Swear To Overhaul Lending & Foreclosure Practices
By Chris Morran on January 23, 2012 3:15 PM
28 Comments
Nearly a half-decade after the U.S. housing market collapsed like something that collapses really badly, the country's five biggest mortgage providers — Bank of America, Chase, Wells Fargo, Citi and Ally — are oh-so-close to reaching a settlement with the states that could include overhauls to how they operate when it comes to the whole lending/servicing/foreclosing process. More »
(gongus)
Get The Government To Email You About Car Recalls
By Phil Villarreal on January 23, 2012 2:15 PM
12 Comments
If your car manufacturer thinks your engine might catch on fire, it's better to know sooner rather than later. You can streamline the process for discovering any car recalls by signing up with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's Recall Notification by Email program. More »
Religious Employers Will Have To Provide Birth Control For Employees
By Phil Villarreal on January 23, 2012 9:30 AM
231 Comments
Religious opposition to birth control won't be a good enough reason for church-affiliated employers to get out of having to cover birth control for employees, according to an announcement from the Department of Secretary of Health and Human Services. Several types of companies will have an extra year to come into compliance with the edict, ushered in by the Obama administration's health care reforms. More »
(HHS.gov)
Consumers Union To Government Agency: Don't Delay Consumer-Friendly Wisconsin Health Insurance Provision
By Mary Beth Quirk on January 20, 2012 3:00 PM
39 Comments
Consumers Union, the policy and advocacy arm of our benevolent benefactors at Consumer Reports, is urging the Department of Health and Human Services not to delay a consumer-friendly health insurance provision in Wisconsin. The delay could result in a loss of over $13 million rebates or lower insurance premiums to residents. More »
Lamar Smith
SOPA Also Shelved Indefinitely
By Chris Morran on January 20, 2012 2:38 PM
51 Comments
The same day that the Senate decided to postpone its voting on the Protect IP Act, the House Judiciary Committee has decided it's probably time to give more than cursory thought to the Stop Online Piracy Act and has postponed the piece of legislation for the time being. More »
Man Attempts To Occupy House He Doesn't Own, Uses Claim-Jumper's Defense
By Mary Beth Quirk on January 20, 2012 1:00 PM
54 Comments
When living in a home that doesn't happen to be yours, you should have an excuse. And one man in Niceville, Fla. (how nice!) says he was just squatting there by way of the a law that makes it okay for what the pioneers used to call "claim jumpers" to hang on to property they don't own. More »
Megaupload Says They're Back And Almost Ready To Run Again Sans Domain Name
By Mary Beth Quirk on January 20, 2012 12:00 PM
46 Comments
UPDATE 1:51 p.m. Due to concerns that the reappearance of Megaupload.com with an IP address might not actually be that company, we have taken out any links directed there in the earlier version of this story. More »
(MB Quirk/Consumerist)
Senate Postpones Vote On PIPA
By Chris Morran on January 20, 2012 11:32 AM
45 Comments
As you may have heard the other day, the Senate was set to vote next Tuesday on the controversial anti-online-piracy Protect IP Act, but after the entire Internet seemed to raise its voice in opposition to the bill — and a number of Senators quickly changed their opinions — that vote has been put aside for the time being. More »
File Sharing Site Megupload Is Shut Down By The U.S. Government
By Mary Beth Quirk on January 20, 2012 11:00 AM
65 Comments
The U.S. government didn't even need SOPA or PIPA on Thursday, as it shut down Megaupload.com, a file-sharing site wiith 150 million registered users and about 50 million hits daily. So now where will celebrities go to download their own movies, music and TV shows? More »
(afagen)
IRS Says It's Ready To Field Your E-Filings
By Phil Villarreal on January 20, 2012 9:15 AM
42 Comments
If you're organized enough to have all your tax documents in order, you can go ahead and get a jump on the tax season by e-filing. The Internal Revenue Service says it's ready to process tax returns filed online. More »
SOPA Protest: Wikipedia Traffic Up, Congressional Support Down
By Marc Perton on January 19, 2012 12:15 PM
25 Comments
Yesterday's mass protests about the SOPA and PIPA anti-piracy bills have yielded some positive results: At least 18 members of Congress — including several PIPA co-sponsors — have withdrawn their support for the legislation. And Wikipedia, which went dark for the day, saw its traffic go up, as visitors used the site's SOPA page as a resource for information about the issue. More »
Let's Meet Two SOPA & PIPA Protestors We Talked To On The Street Today
By Mary Beth Quirk on January 18, 2012 5:30 PM
15 Comments
While Consumerist was outside in the chilly, sunshiney streets of NYC with anti-SOPA/PIPA protestors gathered outside the offices of Senators Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand, we made some friends! David Moore had one of our favorite signs, and a lot to say, while Emily is an English teacher who wants kids to be able to use the Internet. Then there was a guy with a beard hat. Let's meet them! More »
Anti-SOPA Movement Unites Trent Reznor, Opera Singers
By Marc Perton on January 18, 2012 5:00 PM
22 Comments
While SOPA and PIPA have the support of every major record label, the unions representing performing artists, and the organizations that manage licensing for musicians, some performers, writers and artists have stood up against the bills, including MGMT, OK Go, Trent Reznor and the members of OPERA America. (And Neil Gaiman, too!) More »
NYC's Tech Industry Protests SOPA & PIPA Outside Offices Of Senators Schumer And Gillibrand
By Mary Beth Quirk on January 18, 2012 4:15 PM
9 Comments
This afternoon, Consumerist headed over to check out an emergency NYC Tech Meetup protest outside the offices of Sen. Chuck Schumer and Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, both co-sponsors of anti-piracy legislation. Crowds gathered to hear speakers from the tech industry raise the cry against SOPA and PIPA. More »
Mark Zuckerberg: We Need Political Leaders Who Are Pro-Internet
By Chris Morran on January 18, 2012 2:01 PM
53 Comments
The folks at Facebook have made no secret of their objection to the Stop Online Piracy Act and the Protect IP Act. And while it would have been a huge statement for Facebook to shut down, even for a few hours, you can't fault the company for not wanting to turn off the money machine. Regardless, Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg just took to his personal page to quickly voice his opinion on these pieces of legislation. More »
(Regretsy.com)
Regretsy Founder: SOPA Focuses On Things It Shouldn't
By Chris Morran on January 18, 2012 1:30 PM
47 Comments
Like a number of people we've spoken to today about the impact of the proposed Stop Online Piracy Act, Regretsy.com's Helen Killer (not her real name, in case you hadn't guessed) tells Consumerist that she doesn't oppose the idea of fighting online piracy. It's just that SOPA goes too far and focuses on things it shouldn't. More »
Two Senators Change Tune On Online Piracy Legislation
By Chris Morran on January 18, 2012 1:05 PM
56 Comments
As you may have noticed, the Internet isn't happy with proposed anti-piracy legislation before Congress and the Senate that could have a huge impact on everything from e-commerce to your 13-year-old niece's Glee fan blog. And as the voices continue to grow louder in opposition to the SOPA and PIPA bills, some law makers are already switching sides. More »
(Personal Democracy Media)
Micah Sifry: SOPA Part Of "Larger Struggle Over How Expression And Creation Will Be Supported"
By Marc Perton on January 18, 2012 12:30 PM
15 Comments
Micah Sifry, head of Personal Democracy Media and an expert on the intersection of technology and politics, sees the battle over SOPA and PIPA as part of the ongoing changes affecting the content and entertainment industries in the Internet era: "They're trying to use the law to artificially protect business models and slow down new ways of doing things that are disrupting that business model," he told The Consumerist. More »
Mozilla Blacks Out Against SOPA & PIPA Without Leaving Firefox Users In The Lurch
By Mary Beth Quirk on January 18, 2012 11:30 AM
23 Comments
Mozilla is making its stance against SOPA and PIPA clear today, by joining the list of sites featuring a blackout page and a call to action to protest the anti-piracy acts. But while they take a stand, users seeking technical support for Mozilla products like Firefox will still be able to access that site and get security updates. More »
SOPA Sponsor Accuses Wikipedia Of Spreading Misinformation
By Chris Morran on January 18, 2012 11:15 AM
119 Comments
Texas Congressman Lamar Smith, sponsor of the Stop Online Piracy Act that has moved a number of sites, including Craigslist and Reddit to shut down for the day, accuses the biggest name involved in the blackouts, Wikipedia, of doing a disservice to its users by inciting outrage over the piece of legislation. More »
Fark Shows Its Support Of SOPA & PIPA With White-Out
By Chris Morran on January 18, 2012 10:45 AM
38 Comments
While all the other sites on the Internet are dimming the lights in protest of the Stop Online Piracy Act and the Protect IP Act, the link lovers at Fark.com have gone bright white to show their support of the controversial bills — because they are just sick and tired of having to do their jobs every day. More »
XKCD Creator: I Wouldn't Be Able To Do My Job Without A Free Internet
By Chris Morran on January 18, 2012 10:29 AM
30 Comments
We here at Consumerist have been posting links to Randall Munroe's online comic xkcd for more than five years. So we weren't shocked to see that today's xkcd dealt directly with the topic of the day — the Stop Online Piracy Act and the Protect IP Act. More »
Cheezburger CEO Ben Huh: Bipartisan Support Of SOPA & PIPA Smacks Of Money
By Mary Beth Quirk on January 18, 2012 9:38 AM
64 Comments
We've already heard the rallying cry against SOPA/PIPA, urging us not to let the LOLcats die, so we thought we'd ask the king of the LOLcats himself, Cheezburger CEO Ben Huh, to weigh in on SOPA. He explains why his sites are standing against SOPA today and how these potential laws would threaten the Internet as we know it. More »
Reddit's Alexis Ohanion: Piracy Can Be A Great Opportunity
By Chris Morran on January 18, 2012 7:19 AM
50 Comments
Reddit is set to black out for 12 hours starting at 8 a.m. ET this morning. But in advance of that temporary shutdown, the site's co-founder Alexis Ohanion has been making the media rounds to speak out against the Stop Online Piracy Act. More »
MPAA Calls Anti-SOPA Blackouts A "Gimmick" To Punish Politicians & Turn Us All Into "Corporate Pawns"
By Chris Morran on January 18, 2012 6:57 AM
86 Comments
The Motion Picture Association of America cares about you. It doesn't want children to see boobs or hear curse words (though rampant bloodshed is cool) and it doesn't want you to turn into a pawn of the big corporations that it says are really behind today's blackouts at sites like Craiglist and Wikipedia, which everyone knows are both monstrous examples of corporate greed. More »
Pirate Bay Joins SOPA Protest By Sort Of Blacking Out For The Day
By Chris Morran on January 18, 2012 6:39 AM
13 Comments
For years, BitTorrent tracker site thePirateBay.org has been one of, if not the biggest target in the music, movie, software and video game industries' anti-piracy efforts. So it might come as no surprise that, along with many, many other sites, the folks at Pirate Bay decided to shutter for the day today... well, sort of. More »
Anti-SOPA Protests Planned Around The Country Today
By Chris Morran on January 18, 2012 4:06 AM
4 Comments
Even though the House Judiciary Committee has moved its planned hearing on the Stop Internet Piracy Act from today until February — perhaps hoping that we'll all be too hungover from Super Bowl beer and wings to care — that's not going to stop people who are peeved about SOPA and its Senate counterpart, the Protect IP Act, from taking to the streets to have their say. More »
Jeff Jarvis Weighs In: SOPA "Changes The Architecture Of Our Greatest Tool Of Speech"
By Mary Beth Quirk on January 18, 2012 3:00 AM
1 Comment
To say that Jeff Jarvis, the media blogger, journalist and author behind BuzzMachine.com, is against SOPA/PIPA, would be more than an understatement. When we connected with him to prepare for our "SOPA/PIPA Only" content for today, Jarvis made it clear that he's as anti-SOPA as anyone could be. More »
Every Protest Needs An Anthem And This Anti-SOPA Ditty's Got LOLcat Jokes
By Mary Beth Quirk on January 18, 2012 2:45 AM
5 Comments
If only every political issue or very important cause could be explained with a song about LOLcats, maybe everyone would enjoy a higher level of understanding. Case in point: SOPA/PIPA is a big deal to those of us who enjoy the current form of the Internetz. No one wants those adorable cats to go anywhere, right? More »
Craig Newmark Talks To Us About SOPA: "Things Can Go Bad Real Fast"
By Marc Perton on January 18, 2012 2:30 AM
1 Comment
Craigslist founder Craig Newmark has been a vocal opponent of SOPA and PIPA with good reason: According to Newmark, if the bills as currently written were passed into law, "any site with any kind of user provided content could be shut down easily. For example, Wikipedia, Amazon, craigslist. Any media site with commenting." In an email interview with Consumerist, Newmark (who is also a member of the Board of Directors of our parent company) warned that, despite White House opposition, and recent changes to the bills to limit DNS filtering, consumers should still be concerned. More »
SOPA/PIPA And What It Means To You: Ben Parr Explains It All
By Mary Beth Quirk on January 18, 2012 1:30 AM
3 Comments
Sorting through all the SOPA/PIPA related news today is bound to get overwhelming. Sites like Wikipedia, Reddit, those in the Cheezburger network, Boing Boing, Mozilla and more are dark to protest the proposed anti-piracy laws. We've roped in a few industry experts and veterans to help sort out what exactly is going on here, and were lucky enough to get Mashable's former and formidable editor-at-large Ben Parr to weigh in. More »
Consumerist Is Against SOPA/PIPA And That's All We're Writing About Today
By consumerist.com on January 18, 2012 12:05 AM
52 Comments
The editorial staff of Consumerist would like to let you know that we have chosen to suspend our normal coverage so that we can bring you news, information, and opinion concerning the proposed SOPA/PIPA legislation and why Consumers Union, the advocacy arm of Consumer Reports and Consumerist, is against it. Inside is the letter we at Consumers Union, along with U.S. PIRG and the Consumer Federation of America, sent to several members of Congress on November 15th. More »
SOPA and PIPA Far From Dead, Despite Concerns Of White House And Changes To Bills
By Marc Perton on January 17, 2012 7:00 PM
54 Comments
Although the White House this weekend expressed "serious reservations" about elements of the pending anti-piracy bills SOPA and PIPA, and House leaders have said they will not conduct hearings on their bill any time soon, the legislation is far from dead. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said this weekend that he hopes to open debate on the Senate's version later this month. And House sponsor Lamar Smith said he will continue work on that chamber's version. Internet protests planned for tomorrow, in which some of the web's largest sites will go offline for 24 hours, are expected to go ahead as scheduled. More »
The Case Against Pennies Might Make You Want To Send Yours Back To Uncle Sam For Something Useful
By Mary Beth Quirk on January 13, 2012 5:00 PM
133 Comments
For your Friday afternoon viewing pleasure, we thought we'd share a YouTube video featuring a case against pennies our reader Lisa sent our way. Sure, you may have seen it, as it's a few months old, but since we're sure each and every one of you hasn't seen every single thing ever on the Internet, this one's worth a post. More »
Survey: U.S. Consumers Are Feeling Pretty Darn Optimistic Right About Now
By Mary Beth Quirk on January 13, 2012 4:00 PM
31 Comments
We're all a bunch of optimistic Spendy McSpendersons lately, according to a new survey that says consumer sentiment is remaining high in the new year. As more jobs are being created, consumers have lifted their collective spirits for the fifth consecutive month. More »
Coca-Cola Reveals It Blew The Whistle On Orange Juice Contamination
By Phil Villarreal on January 13, 2012 8:15 AM
22 Comments
When word broke that the Food and Drug Administration had halted orange juice shipments to check for a potentially harmful fungicide, the government was mum on which company found evidence that triggered the reaction. Now Coca-Cola solved the mystery by confirming it was responsible for spotting carbendazim — an illegal fungicide believed to cause infertility — in a shipment from Brazil. More »
(MGChan)
California To Require More-Efficient Chargers For Mobile Devices
By Chris Morran on January 12, 2012 9:05 PM
55 Comments
In a move that will likely have a huge ripple effect in the mobile device accessory market nationwide, the California Energy Commission approved the nation's first ever energy standards for the chargers you use to power up everything from your phone and tablet to your power drill. More »
FDA Puts Squeeze On Orange Juice Shipments, Checks For Fungicide
By Phil Villarreal on January 12, 2012 8:15 AM
19 Comments
Determined not to let orange juice double as unintentional contraception, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has frozen shipments to check for carbendazim, a fungicide banned in much of the world that is believed to cause infertility. As much as 25 percent of the American juice supply comes from abroad, and the FDA acted on a report that a juice company detected the fungicide in imports from Brazil, which provides 11 percent of America's OJ. More »
FCC Chair Calls AT&T/T-Mobile Failure "Reminder Of The Benefits Of Competition"
By Chris Morran on January 11, 2012 8:26 PM
10 Comments
In less than a year, AT&T went from swallowing up T-Mobile USA for for $39 billion to owing T-Mobile's German parent company $3 billion in cash and another billion in spectrum because that deal slammed into the regulatory roadblock at the FCC and the Justice Dept. Speaking for the third year in a row at the Consumer Electronics Show, FCC chair Julius Genachowski defended his agency's actions against the deal. More »
(afagen)
U.S. Supreme Court Rules That Consumer Credit Card Claims Must Be Handled By Arbitration
By Mary Beth Quirk on January 11, 2012 12:00 PM
109 Comments
Credit card companies scored a win yesterday, after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that credit card claims by consumers must go to arbitration, instead of being tried in a court room. The ruling overturned one made by a U.S. appeals court in San Francisco that had said the Credit Card Repair Organizations Act was meant to bar arbitration. More »
Here's Why Congressmen Are Allowed To Make Insider Trades
By Phil Villarreal on January 11, 2012 9:15 AM
67 Comments
As we mentioned a couple months ago, Congressmen aren't subject to the same insider trading regulations as the rest of us. Some elected officials have reportedly crossed the ethical line to inflate their personal wealth, using secret knowledge to make timely stock trades. More »
Lawsuit Puts The Squeeze On Tropicana Orange Juice's Claim Of 100% Natural
By Mary Beth Quirk on January 10, 2012 5:00 PM
59 Comments
Consumers don't like juiced up claims of natural ingredients, which is why one California woman is suing Tropicana's parent company over its claims that their orange juice is "100% pure and natural." More »
Why Olympus Is In Serious Trouble (And It Has Nothing To Do With Their Cameras)
By Terry Sullivan on January 10, 2012 4:30 PM
25 Comments
For camera companies, 2011 is a year they'd like to forget — natural disasters have wreaked havoc on Japanese manufacturers and delayed many a product launch. But last summer, Olympus suffered a different kind of catastrophe, one that was man-made, but perhaps much more damaging, and which, if the company goes under, could affect consumers who own Olympus devices, such as cameras, audio recorders, or other products. For instance, it may be difficult to send a device back for repairs or replacement if there's no company to send it to. More »
Hostess Prepares To File For Chapter 11 Bankruptcy Protection
By Mary Beth Quirk on January 10, 2012 10:00 AM
89 Comments
Gird your Twinkies, Hostess lovers: The maker of those frosting-filled yellow logs is preparing to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection this week, says a new report. It's the second time in recent years that it's attempted to restructure in court. More »
3 Things You Need To Know Before Filling Out A FAFSA
By Phil Villarreal on January 9, 2012 4:15 PM
52 Comments
If you're a college student who seeks financial aid, part of your annual ritual is filling out a More »
(msmail)
Study: Only 14% Of Medical Errors Reported By Hospitals
By Chris Morran on January 6, 2012 5:00 PM
56 Comments
In order for a hospital to participate in the Medicare program, it must develop and maintain a Quality Assessment and Performance Improvement (QAPI) program to "track medical errors and adverse patient events, analyze their causes, and implement preventive actions and mechanisms that include feedback and learning throughout the hospital." However, a new study by the Dept. of Health & Human Services found that only a small portion of patient errors are being reported — and that hospitals don't seem to give a damn about fixing things. More »
Watch Yourselves, Moneybags: The IRS Says It It's Auditing More Of You Than Before
By Mary Beth Quirk on January 6, 2012 4:15 PM
66 Comments
The Internal Revenue Sercice is onto you, millionaires, so you best be careful as to how you spend all that money and file your taxes right. The IRS revealed in an enforcement report this week that they're auditing more wealthy taxpayers for 2011 than 2010. More »
SEC To Be Slightly Less Wimpy About Letting Violators Get Away Without Admitting Guilt
By Chris Morran on January 6, 2012 4:00 PM
19 Comments
The Securities and Exchange Commission has been taking a lot of heat recently after a federal judge refused to sign off on its $285 million settlement with Citigroup because, as is usual in these types of deals, the bank would neither admit its guilt nor profess innocence, and no evidence was ever entered into the record. But now the SEC says it won't be letting rulebreakers get off so easily — well, at least not all the time. More »
ID Now Needed To Buy Drain Cleaner In Illinois
By Chris Morran on January 6, 2012 12:45 PM
105 Comments
With every new year comes a new set of laws, some of which are destined to, in the words of the great Arsenio Hall, make you go "hmmm..." One of the latest is a new regulation in Illinois that requires you to show your ID and sign a log if you purchase drain cleaner or other similarly caustic substances. More »
Lawsuit Against Frito-Lay: "All-Natural" Means You Shouldn't Be Using Genetically Modified Ingredients
By Mary Beth Quirk on January 6, 2012 11:00 AM
97 Comments
One woman in California isn't about to let a big food company get away with what she says is fraudulent advertising. Frito-Lay is the subject of a new class action suit, which alleges that though they tout certain products as "all natural," they actually contain genetically modified ingredients, or GMs. More »
(S.L.M.)
Labor Department Reports 200,000 New Jobs Were Added Last Month
By Mary Beth Quirk on January 6, 2012 10:00 AM
60 Comments
In a sign that perhaps the U.S. economy is finally chugging forward like the little engine that could, the Labor Department announced today that 200,000 new jobs were added last month. More »
New CFPB Chief: Consumers Need To Fully Understand Costs & Risks Of Borrowing
By Chris Morran on January 5, 2012 12:45 PM
72 Comments
Only a day after being appointed — in the face of stalwart Senate Republicans — as head of the new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, former Ohio Attorney General Richard Cordray took to YouTube to share his vision of the CFPB's mission. More »
(In Icons)
Apple Doesn't Want You To Own An Eerily Lifelike Steve Jobs Action Figure
By Mary Beth Quirk on January 5, 2012 12:00 PM
34 Comments
As much as you might be yearning to snuggle up at night with an action figure version of Steve Jobs that is creepily akin to the real person, Apple doesn't want Jobs fans to get their hands on any such dolls. They're reportedly planning to sue the makers of a new extremely lifelike figure of the late CEO. More »
You Get Two Extra Days To File Your Taxes This Year
By Phil Villarreal on January 5, 2012 8:15 AM
34 Comments
When April 15 falls on a weekend or holiday, as it does this year and did last year, the IRS cuts you a break and gives you until the next business day to file your taxes. That means tax procrastinators won't have to file until April 17, giving them two extra, frantic days to delay the inevitable. More »
(TheeErin)
Hospital CEO Thinks It's Perfectly OK To Show Patient's Records To Newspaper
By Chris Morran on January 4, 2012 1:35 PM
125 Comments
Last January, a woman in California says she was billed by a hospital for a treatment she never received. She took her complaint to the folks at California Watch, who published a story about her predicament. But when a local newspaper went to verify the information, the hospital's CEO had absolutely no problem showing up at the reporter's door to rifle through that patient's file without her permission. More »
President To Just Go Ahead And Appoint Cordray As Financial Protection Chief
By Chris Morran on January 4, 2012 11:22 AM
141 Comments
It's been nearly six months since President Obama picked former Ohio Attorney General Richard Cordray as his nominee to head the recently created Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. But with Senate Republicans continuing to block a vote on Cordray's appointment, the President has decided to go ahead and use his authority to fill the position by making a recess appointment. More »
(msmail)
Government Cracks Down On Swiss Bankers It Says Helped Hide $1.2 Billion
By Phil Villarreal on January 4, 2012 9:15 AM
34 Comments
The government is sick of ultra-rich people hiding funds in Swiss bank accounts to lessen their tax burdens, so it's gone after three bankers it accuses of responsibility for $1.2 billion worth of such shenanigans. Appropriately keeping with the anonymity of such accounts, the prosecutors didn't name the bank at which the accused worked. More »
TiVo Twists AT&T's Arm, Gets It To Cough Up $215 Million Patent Settlement
By Phil Villarreal on January 4, 2012 8:15 AM
49 Comments
If TiVo is in the news in these days of its irrelevance, it's usually because it's won another massive settlement dispute with a company it accused of ripping off its tech. After getting $500 million from Dish Network last year, TiVo has now shaken down AT&T for $215 million. More »
Should Smokers Have To Pay The Full Tax If They Roll Their Own Cigarettes?
By Chris Morran on January 3, 2012 11:15 AM
151 Comments
Since state and local governments began slapping heavy taxes on cigarettes, a number of smokers have managed to pay less by buying loose tobacco and rolling their own. But as a growing number of stores have begun offering free-to-use roll-your-own machines that take the loose material and spit out a pile of smokes that look like they came straight out of the carton, some lawmakers are crying foul. More »
Pepsi: Mountain Dew Can Dissolve A Mouse
By Phil Villarreal on January 3, 2012 9:00 AM
56 Comments
Back in 2009, a man sued PepsiCo, saying he found a dead mouse in a can of Mountain Dew. Pepsi wanted to prove its innocence by suggesting its high-caffeine drink is so extreme that it would have dissolved the mouse carcass, rendering it a "jelly-like substance." More »
Venezuela Owes Exxon Almost $1 Billion For Nationalizing Oil Assets
By Phil Villarreal on January 2, 2012 8:30 AM
33 Comments
In 2007, Venezuela nationalized its oil assets, violating contracts with oil giants such as Exxon. A Paris-based International Chamber of Commerce arbitration panel awarded $908 million to Exxon, and the outcome is being viewed as more of a victory for the country's state oil company than the company. More »
Court Says It's Fine That Telecommunications Companies Collaborated With Federal Wiretaps
By Mary Beth Quirk on December 30, 2011 11:00 AM
34 Comments
A U.S. appeals court says it's just fine that certain telecommunications companies cooperated with the National Security Agency by monitoring customers' email and phones, upholding a 2008 law. This means they've got immunity, rendering 33 lawsuits against them ineffective. More »
Chile's Supreme Court Orders Newspaper To Pay Up For Victims Of Exploding Churro Recipe
By Mary Beth Quirk on December 29, 2011 2:00 PM
31 Comments
Seven years ago Chilean newspaper La Tercera made the mistake of printing a recipe for churros that ended up resulting in explosions of hot oil, injuring 13 readers. The case has finally been resolved by the country's supreme court, which ruled that the paper must compensate the victims. More »
Politicians Get Wealthier As Those They Represent Get Poorer
By Phil Villarreal on December 28, 2011 9:15 AM
66 Comments
In the past quarter-century, Congressmen have gone from super rich to super-duper rich, while their constituents have remained relatively poor. Members of the U.S. House of Representatives are doing quite well for themselves, raising their median net worth from $280,000 to $725,000 from 1984 to 2009. In the same span, the average net worth of American families has dropped from $20,600 to $20,500. The inflation-adjusted figures come from Panel Study of Income Dynamics from the University of Michigan. More »
Gay Couples Lose Big On Tax Breaks Because Their Marriages Aren't Recognized
By Phil Villarreal on December 27, 2011 9:45 AM
333 Comments
Gay couples whose marriages aren't viewed as legitimate by the federal government have to pay heavily due to the indignity. Same-sex couples reportedly pay as much as $6,000 more a year in taxes because they aren't allowed to file jointly. More »
Legal Online Gambling May Be On The Way, Courtesy Of Justice Department
By Phil Villarreal on December 27, 2011 9:15 AM
29 Comments
Online poker and other forms of non-sports internet gambling could become legal, thanks in part to a recently released U.S. Department of Justice opinion on a 50-year-old law. More »
Politicians Won't Face Charges For Accepting Free Trips From Fiesta Bowl
By Phil Villarreal on December 22, 2011 10:15 AM
33 Comments
Back in March, word spread that the Fiesta Bowl committee was allegedly rife with corruption. Bowl officials, which run the so-called nonprofit, were accused of buying favor with power brokers and politicians by taking them off on luxurious junkets, including potentially illegal trips to football games. It turns out politicians involved in the shenanigans won't face charges, because an Arizona county attorney doesn't feel confident he can prove the fact that elected officials knowingly violated the law. More »
(afagen)
White House: Unemployment Insurance Must Be Extended To Help Spur Job Creation
By Mary Beth Quirk on December 21, 2011 5:00 PM
161 Comments
As the deadline to approve the payroll tax cut extension looms 10 days away, White House officials are speaking out to urge Republicans in the House of Representatives to approve the measure that only days ago was hailed as a bipartisan compromise when it passed in the Senate. However, the White House says Republicans have now changed their tune. More »
New Bill Would Prevent FCC Commissioners From Jumping Ship To Companies Whose Mergers They Just Approved
By Chris Morran on December 21, 2011 4:02 PM
55 Comments
Remember last May when then-FCC commissioner Meredith Atwell Baker (pictured at left) ruffled a lot of feathers by taking a job at Comcast, only a few months after approving the cable company's controversial merger with NBC? Well, Congresswoman Maxine Waters hasn't forgotten, and she's introduced legislation aimed at preventing these kinds of obvious shenanigans. More »
(kandh07)
EPA Announces New Standards To Reduce Mercury Contamination From Power Plant Emissions
By Chris Morran on December 21, 2011 2:35 PM
42 Comments
This morning, the Environmental Protection Agency announced its new Mercury and Air Toxics Standards, a set of national regulations aimed at reducing power plant emissions of mercury and toxic air pollution like arsenic, acid gas, nickel, selenium, and cyanide. More »
RIAA On Illegal Dexter Downloads: "It Wasn't Us"
By Chris Morran on December 21, 2011 12:32 PM
65 Comments
Earlier this week, we told you about how the torrent freaks at TorrentFreak claimed to have discovered that some people at anti-piracy stalwart the Recording Industry Association of America had been illegally using BitTorrent to download copyrighted material, including five full seasons of Showtime hit Dexter. RIAA has since come out with an explanation, one that sounds exactly like the defense used by the very people it has pushed to have prosecuted — "it wasn't us." More »
Poker Site Co-Founder Pleads Guilty To Conspiracy
By Phil Villarreal on December 21, 2011 8:15 AM
29 Comments
A federal crackdown on online poker sites continues to rake in chips. In a reported plea agreement, a man who co-founded the gambling site Absolute Poker pleaded guilty to conspiracy charges. Federal regulators accused his organization of deceiving banks by masking customers' gambling charges with names of online retailers. More »
Report: Someone At The RIAA Downloaded $9 Million Worth Of Pirated Dexter Episodes
By Chris Morran on December 20, 2011 3:15 PM
57 Comments
The hallowed halls of the Recording Industry Association of America, where all music is bought at full price and never shared, lest people face violations of up to $150,000 per pirated item, has reportedly been infiltrated by ne'er-do-wells who think they can BitTorrent copyrighted material at work and not be caught. More »
"Aren't you in the Black Eyed Peas?"
Man Sentenced To Year In Prison For Leaking So-So Wolverine Movie
By Chris Morran on December 20, 2011 1:15 PM
81 Comments
The New York man who pleaded guilty to uploading a nearly finished work print of X-Men Origins: Wolverine to the internet a month before it hit theaters, has been sentenced to a year behind bars in federal prison for letting the world see how mediocre the movie was before they had to pay $10 to see it at the theater. More »
Federal Reserve On Verge Of Proposing New Capital Rules For Banks
By Phil Villarreal on December 20, 2011 8:30 AM
39 Comments
The Federal Reserve is expected to roll out new rules soon that could make big banks keep more capital reserves on hand, presumably leaving them with less money to lend. The idea is to make banks act more responsible with their stacks of chips and not need the government to bail them out. More »
(afagen)
Let's All Guess Which Members Of Congress Got VIP Loan Discounts From Countrywide
By Chris Morran on December 19, 2011 3:28 PM
54 Comments
It's been more than three years since it was revealed that Angelo Mozilo, the curiously orange former CEO of Countrywide Financial, provided discounted loans to U.S. Senators and other VIPs. But it wasn't until last February that the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform got around to finding out if members of Congress might have scored the special treatment. Their findings: Yes, four House members were involved; and no, we're not yet saying who it was. More »
Supreme Court Sets Late March Dates To Hear Health Care Reform Arguments
By Chris Morran on December 19, 2011 1:36 PM
51 Comments
The countdown clock is on for health care reform. This morning, the Supreme Court announced that it has set aside three dates in late March to hear arguments surrounding the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. More »
Chants Of "Rudy, Rudy!" Not So Inspirational In Ruettiger's SEC Stock Fraud Case
By Mary Beth Quirk on December 19, 2011 12:00 PM
30 Comments
Daniel Ruettiger, aka Notre Dame football folk hero immortalized in the movie Rudy, apprently didn't want to be the underdog any more. So he tried to make a go against Gatorade with Rudy Nutrition in the sports drink market, only to get busted by the SEC for allegedly running a stock scam. More »
Old School Incandescent Bulbs Get 9-Month Stay Of Execution
By Chris Morran on December 16, 2011 12:45 PM
157 Comments
In spite of the fact that regulations to phase out high-wattage incandescent bulbs were signed into law in 2007, the ability to buy antiquated, inefficient lighting somehow became a lightning rod topic in recent months. And so legislators who want to defend your right to waste electricity (and still be able to use your old Easy Bake Oven) managed to find a way to stave off enforcing the rules until next fall. More »
Government Cuts Off Funding For New Chimp Research
By Phil Villarreal on December 16, 2011 8:15 AM
69 Comments
Rest assured that the government is determined to prevent the events from Rise of the Planet of the Apes from unfolding. Kidding aside, the government aims to ensure humane treatment of chimpanzees. The National Institutes of Health announced that they won't give out new grants for biomedical and behavioral research on chimps because they deserve "special consideration and respect." The organization acted on a recommendation from the Institute of Medicine that concluded most chimp research is unnecessary. More »
Legislators Kill Bill To Allow Robocalling Of Cell Phones
By Chris Morran on December 14, 2011 5:00 PM
50 Comments
Less than three months after introducing a bill that would legalize automated robocalls to cell phone numbers, the Nebraska Congressman behind the legislation has listened to reason and pulled the plug on it. More »
The U.S. Mint Halts Production Of $1 Coins Because No One Wants Them
By Mary Beth Quirk on December 14, 2011 10:00 AM
203 Comments
If you really love $1 coins, you're probably in the minority. The U.S. Mint announced their vaults are jammed so full of the things, they're going to pull back on producing them. Not only do they have enough hanging around, the dang things keep coming back because people just don't want them. More »
D.C. Residents, Recycle Your Cat Litter Or Face Garbage Snooping, Fines
By Phil Villarreal on December 14, 2011 9:00 AM
97 Comments
The Washington, D.C. Department of Public Works is apparently so dedicated to enforcing recycling laws that they're willing to dig through trash to find evidence to issue fines. A resident says she's been stuck with $2,000 worth of fines, some of which come from a government employee who admits to discovering her violations by snooping in her garbage. More »
Postal Service Will Delay Mass Closures
By Phil Villarreal on December 14, 2011 8:15 AM
53 Comments
The outlook is grim for the U.S. Postal Service, with plans to close thousands of post offices and cutting processing centers, but the inevitable is being postponed for now. More »
(dmuth)
Pennsylvanians May Soon Have More Choices In Buying Beer & Wine
By Mary Beth Quirk on December 13, 2011 5:00 PM
75 Comments
Consumers have limited options in Pennsylvania right now when it comes to getting booze, as the state-run Liquor Control Board runs all the stores selling liquor, wine and beer. But new proposal could be close to passing in the legislature that would shake things up a bit and offer more options for shoppers. More »
NTSB: You Shouldn't Be Using Your Cell Phone While Driving, Even Hands-Free
By Mary Beth Quirk on December 13, 2011 3:00 PM
154 Comments
The day could be coming when it would be illegal for that girl yapping on her headset in the lane next to you on the freeway to be yapping at all, even on a hands-free cell phone. The National Transportation Board said states should ban all cell phone use for drivers More »
Carrier IQ: We Never Gave Anyone's Phone Data To The FBI, Promise!
By Mary Beth Quirk on December 13, 2011 1:00 PM
50 Comments
The mysterious case of Carrier IQ and its software that some claim is tracking every move on our phones continues, as the company denies ever providing phone users' data to the FBI for law enforcement purposes. More »
FCC: TV Commercials Will Be A Lot Quieter One Year From Now
By Mary Beth Quirk on December 13, 2011 10:00 AM
66 Comments
Today the Federal Communications Commission is expected to pass regulations requiring that all commercials on TV be at a constant level — which means no sudden blaring of Wacky Wild Wally screaming at you about the best RV deals in town. Well, he might still be screaming but he won't permanently damage your hearing. More »
Apple Removes App That Let Users Make Fake Driver's Licenses
By Chris Morran on December 12, 2011 1:30 PM
35 Comments
Well, that was quick. On Friday, we wrote about the iOS app that allowed users to craft fake driver's licenses — for the sole purpose of entertaining and amusing their friends, of course — and how one U.S. Senator had appealed to Apple CEO Tim Cook to have it removed from Apple's online store. Looks like that may have been sufficient, as the app has is no longer on sale. More »
Republican Senator Summons Soviet Russia Comparison For Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
By Mary Beth Quirk on December 12, 2011 1:00 PM
53 Comments
After Republicans blocked the confirmation of Richard Cordray as director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, North Carolina's Sen. Lindsey Graham is explaining that he just doesn't want a Soviet dictator like Joseph Stalin to have so much control. Ostensibly in this comparison, Cordray is Stalin? We're not quite sure. More »
(FDA)
Recalled Cilantro Has Unintended Bonus Ingredient Of Salmonella
By Phil Villarreal on December 12, 2011 9:00 AM
18 Comments
Your salsa may have more of a kick to it than you know. The Food and Drug Administration announced that Pacific International Marketing has recalled 6,141 cartons of cilantro that might have been contaminated with salmonella. Cilantro is often used in salads and salsa. More »
(afagen)
IRS Is Stuck With $153.3 Million It Wants To Give Away
By Phil Villarreal on December 12, 2011 8:00 AM
54 Comments
The Internal Revenue Service has $153.3 million in tax refunds burning a hole in its pocket, but can't find any takers. The agency says mailing address errors have rendered 99,123 refund checks undeliverable. More »
Motorola Wins Patent Battle And Potential For Injunction Against Apple In Germany
By Mary Beth Quirk on December 9, 2011 11:00 AM
33 Comments
Apple is having a tough go of it over in Europe, as they're involved in various lawsuits in several countries, including one they just lost. Motorola Mobility just scored a big hit against Apple, winning a patent infringement suit against them in Germany. More »
Obama Administration Counters Chase CEO Statement On Taxing The Rich
By Mary Beth Quirk on December 8, 2011 5:30 PM
170 Comments
After JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon complained over how the rich have to pay so much in income taxes, claiming he and his fellow wealthy "wage-earners" end up shelling out 50% of their incomes to the government, we took the chance to ask the White House what they thought of that. More »
(afagen)
White House: GOP Efforts To Block Confirmation Of CFPB Director Will Hurt Consumers
By Mary Beth Quirk on December 8, 2011 4:40 PM
35 Comments
Deputy Director of the National Economic Council, Brian Deese, spoke with Consumerist today during a conference call where he stressed the importance of Richard Cordray's confirmation as director of Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, a confirmation that was blocked earlier today by Senate Republicans. More »
Senate Blocks Vote On Confirmation Of Richard Cordray As Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Director
By Mary Beth Quirk on December 8, 2011 12:35 PM
81 Comments
A vote today in the Senate over whether or not to confirm Richard Cordray as the new director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has been blocked with a filibuster by opponents of the current structure of the bureau. More »
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Proposes Two-Page Credit Card Forms
By Mary Beth Quirk on December 8, 2011 10:00 AM
26 Comments
Anyone who hand shreds unwanted credit card solicitations knows how thick those envelopes can be — with forms full of interest rates, fine print and unnavigable terms. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau proposed a new, shorter form yesterday, so that you wouldn't have to wade through pages full of credit jargon. More »
Senate Expected To Vote On Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Director Tomorrow
By Chris Morran on December 7, 2011 4:45 PM
32 Comments
It feels like it was ages ago when former Ohio Attorney General Richard Cordray (not to be confused with his doppelganger NBC page Kenneth Ellen Parcell) was announced as the White House's nominee for director of the recently formed Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Now it's almost time to cue some sort of dramatic music as the Senate is expected to thumbs-up-or-down the nomination on Thursday. More »
Drugstore.com Named In Lawsuit Over Knock-Off Sex Toys
By Mary Beth Quirk on December 6, 2011 4:00 PM
23 Comments
Opting not to buy into name brand hype can be cheaper, but in the case of one company that manufactures vibrators, knockoffs might mean a legal battle. A Canadian company claims that Walgreen's online-only entity Drugstore.com is importing knockoff sex toys and selling them in the U.S. More »
European Officials Investigate Possible E-Book Cartel Involving Apple
By Mary Beth Quirk on December 6, 2011 11:00 AM
22 Comments
In a page ripped from the script of Scarface, except switch out drugs for e-books and Tony Montana for Apple, European Union anti-trust officials are looking in to whether five publishers of e-books have colluded with the makers of the iPad, offering them lower book prices than they do for everyone else. More »
States Push Insurers To Pay Off On Policies
By Phil Villarreal on December 6, 2011 9:30 AM
27 Comments
Silly insurance companies, forgetting to pay off policies owned by beneficiaries of dead policyholders. Good thing state governments are there to help refresh their memories. More »
(extrabox)
Government Reports 120,000 New Jobs As Unemployment Rate Slips
By Mary Beth Quirk on December 2, 2011 12:00 PM
59 Comments
Today the government reported 120,000 new jobs for November, which might sound awesome but is actually considered weak, even as unemployment rates dipped from 9% to 8.6%. Better than blatantly bad news, right? More »
(afagen)
Report: States Need To Do More To Keep For-Profit Colleges Honest
By Phil Villarreal on December 2, 2011 9:15 AM
60 Comments
According to a report, for-profit colleges are making things tough for students by charging exorbitant fees, engaging in high-pressure recruiting efforts and supplying degrees that don't do as much for students as promised. The report contends more oversight from state governments could better protect students from the institutions. More »
Patient Sues Dentist Who Threatened Legal Action Over Yelp Reviews
By Chris Morran on December 1, 2011 3:35 PM
81 Comments
A number of dentists who fear what effect a negative review on a site like Yelp can have on their business have been compelling patients to sign "privacy agreements" that aim to stop annoyed customers from going public with their complaints. But one patient has decided that these agreements go too far, especially after his comments on Yelp resulted in his dentist coming after him for money. More »
(erin m)
House Considering Three Bills That Could Erode Consumer Protections
By Mary Beth Quirk on December 1, 2011 3:00 PM
82 Comments
Our ever-vigilant parents at the Consumers Union are taking action against three new bills set to be vote on in the House of Representatives Friday, publishing a letter to show how proposed reforms in the bills would contribute to damaging many consumer protections. More »
Congress Lifts Ban On Funding Horse Meat Inspections, Slaughterhouses Could Open Soon
By Mary Beth Quirk on November 30, 2011 12:00 PM
184 Comments
Modern Americans love our horses, and not for eating, so we're betting the news that Congress has lifted a ban on funding horse meat inspections, potentially enabling slaughterhouses to open, will be met with a bit of outrage. It's not a simple matter, however. More »
FCC Agrees To Let AT&T And T-Mobile Withdraw Merger Application
By Mary Beth Quirk on November 29, 2011 5:00 PM
23 Comments
Update: AT&T has responded to the release of the FCC's report on their merger application, and they're really not too happy about it. Their view is that the report was just a draft and furthermore, they never got to see it first. More »
(rpongsaj)
Facebook Agrees To Settle With FTC Over Privacy Violation Charges
By Mary Beth Quirk on November 29, 2011 3:00 PM
26 Comments
Three years after the Federal Trade Commission leveled charges against Facebook, claiming the social networking site violated users' privacy, a settlement has been reached. Part of the terms of the proposed settlement requires Facebook to undergo audits for 20 years. More »
Food Carts Could Be Required To Post Letter Grades In New York
By Mary Beth Quirk on November 29, 2011 1:00 PM
34 Comments
Diners in New York City are used to seeing letter grades posted in restaurant windows, which can act as an either an inducement to eat there or a turn-off. And now, one local politician wants to apply that same grade standard to food carts operating in the city. More »
You Could Score $1.50 As Part Of Class Action Suit Against Ticketmaster
By Mary Beth Quirk on November 28, 2011 5:00 PM
76 Comments
Start greasing up your piggy bank, Ticketmaster users! If you bought tickets from the online behemoth between October 21, 1999 and October 19, 2011, you could be entitled to anywhere from $1.50 to $25.50 as part of a settlement in a class action suit. More »
5 Questions To Ask Yourself To See If You'll Need A Pre-Nup
By Phil Villarreal on November 28, 2011 9:30 AM
108 Comments
Hammering out a prenuptial agreement with your betrothed certainly isn't the most romantic of moments, but it may just be the decision that saves your financial sanity a few years from now when your life has become hell and it comes time to undo the sanctity of marriage. More »
Senator Introduces Two Bills To Curb Checked Bag Fees
By Chris Morran on November 23, 2011 12:38 PM
84 Comments
With so many people lining up at the airport today and tomorrow to fly home to stuff their stomachs with, well... stuffing, one U.S. Senator has introduced two pieces of legislation aimed at reining in the checked bag fees charged by airlines. More »
Shots For Everyone! Jack Daniel's Beats Tax Proposal
By Mary Beth Quirk on November 22, 2011 4:00 PM
35 Comments
Lovers of Lynchburg Lemonade, rejoice: A proposal to tax barrels of Jack Daniel's whiskey has been defeated before it even made it to the state legislature in Tennessee. More »
Justice Dept. To Put Debit Card Fees Under Antritrust Microscope
By Chris Morran on November 22, 2011 3:30 PM
37 Comments
Even though Bank of America and a few others have — for now — ditched their plans to charge customers a monthly fee for making purchases with debit cards, the Justice Department has decided to look at the possible antitrust considerations surrounding the controversial proposals. More »
(jpghouse)
Game Publisher Sued For Alleged "Battlefield 3" Bonus Bait And Switch
By Phil Villarreal on November 22, 2011 9:00 AM
49 Comments
Last moth, some gamers were irate when their PlayStation 3 copies of Battlefield 3 didn't include the promised bonus of an older game in the series, Battlefield 1943. Now a law firm has sued publisher EA on behalf of gamers, framing the broken promise as a bait and switch. More »
Former AIG CEO Sues U.S. Government For $25 Billion Over Takeover
By Chris Morran on November 21, 2011 2:20 PM
68 Comments
The one company that will forever be linked to the financial meltdown in the final years of the last decade is AIG (or American International Group, if you're not into the whole brevity thing), which was bailed out and then effectively taken over by the U.S. government. Now a company led by AIG's former CEO has filed suit against the feds, alleging that said takeover was unconstitutional. More »
Big Sugar Accuses Big Corn Of Conspiracy To Deceive Public With 'Corn Sugar' Ads
By Chris Morran on November 21, 2011 12:15 PM
62 Comments
Last month, the judge in the sugar industry's lawsuit over ads that try to rebrand high fructose corn syrup as Corn Sugar allowed the suit to move forward but removed the individual corn companies as defendants. Now, Big Sugar has fired the latest legal missle, amending its complaint to accuse those corn companies of conspiracy to deceive the public. More »
(Pfizer)
Pfizer To Pay $60 Million To Settle Bribery Allegations
By Phil Villarreal on November 21, 2011 8:15 AM
29 Comments
Drug giant Pfizer will have to squirt out $60 million in order to settle allegations from the feds that it bribed foreign companies, violating the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, which forbids companies from making deals by paying off foreign officials. More »
(dooley)
Name Change On A Car Loan Completely Confuses Chase
By Laura Northrup on November 18, 2011 9:00 AM
105 Comments
Every day, people in America get married. Some of them change their last names. Evidently, though, no one in the history of Chase Bank has ever done this while they were in the middle of paying off their car loan. See, until the loan is paid, the bank has a lien on your car's title. If you want to change the name on your car title and the loan hasn't been paid off yet, Chase won't let that happen. This isn't a problem unless you have to move and register your car in a different state after your name change but before the car is paid off. That's what happened to Michael's wife, and how she ended up in a loop of bureaucracy sending them back and forth from Chase to the Maryland Vehicle Administration. More »
(KCAL9)
California City Threatens Legal Action Against Residents With Fake Grass Lawns
By Chris Morran on November 17, 2011 1:00 PM
143 Comments
Three months ago, the city of Glendale, CA, approved a ban on the use of artificial grass on residents' front yards — and now authorities plan to go after folks who haven't ripped up their faux greenery and replaced it with the real thing. More »
(B-Kay)
White House Wants Your Car To Get 54.5 MPG By 2025
By Chris Morran on November 16, 2011 5:00 PM
154 Comments
Earlier today, the White House — along with the EPA and DOT — formally announced their proposal to improve fuel economy over the next decade and a half, with the goal of achieving fuel efficiencies equivalent to 54.5 miles per gallon by 2025. More »
Judge Rips Into U.S. Bank For Taking Bailout Money But Denying Mortgage Modifications
By Chris Morran on November 16, 2011 2:00 PM
64 Comments
A judge in Georgia is quickly becoming an internet folk hero after he publicly slammed U.S. Bank for taking billions in government bailout money and all the while refusing mortgage modifications for homeowners in need of help. More »
(Eva_Deht)
The Stop Online Piracy Act Goes Too Far & Could Hurt Consumers
By Chris Morran on November 15, 2011 5:37 PM
77 Comments
In advance of Wednesday's House Judiciary Committee hearing on the Stop Online Piracy Act, a coalition of national consumer groups has reached out to the committee to urge them to stop this legislation, which they believe is too far-reaching and could end up hurting the consumers it intends to protect. More »
UK City Forcing Taxi Drivers To Record All Passengers
By Chris Morran on November 15, 2011 2:00 PM
53 Comments
You're probably familiar with the long-running HBO special "Taxicab Confessions," in which cab passengers —often under the influence of some sort of intoxicant — open their hearts, minds, and sometimes their blouses to drivers of taxis rigged with multiple hidden cameras. Now the UK city of Oxford is turning its entire fleet of cabs into rolling recording devices. More »
Skechers Prepping For Possible FTC Settlement Over Shape-Up Ads
By Chris Morran on November 15, 2011 12:11 PM
44 Comments
In September, when we figured out that the Federal Trade Commission was about to announce a mammoth settlement with a major shoe company over deceptive "toning shoe" ads, we guessed it was either Reebok or Skechers. Well, we were right about Reebok and it looks like Skechers is preparing for the possibility that it could end up paying out millions to the FTC. More »
Supreme Court Agrees To Hear Health Care Reform Case
By Chris Morran on November 14, 2011 11:21 AM
119 Comments
We all knew this was going to happen; it was just a matter of when. Today, the Supreme Court announced it would hear the appeals in the case to strike down — at least in part — the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. More »
(eric731)
Layaway Can End Up Costing More Than A Credit Card, Senator Schumer Warns
By Ben Popken on November 14, 2011 11:00 AM
60 Comments
Retailers are trying to push layaway this holiday season as a way to buy stuff you don't immediately have the money for. For people without available credit, this can be a way to eventually get what they can't afford now. But NY Sen. Chuck Schumer is warning that layaway fees can add up to be a much higher interest rate than any credit card would be allowed to charge. More »
Report: Insider Trading Is Illegal Unless You're A Congressman
By Phil Villarreal on November 14, 2011 8:00 AM
79 Comments
Thanks to a loophole in federal law, those elected to Congress are allowed to use inside information to buy and sell stock. Some allegedly take advantage of the information for personal gain. More »
(Ninja M.)
Do Not Call 911 Five Times About Your Broken iPhone
By Laura Northrup on November 11, 2011 10:34 AM
42 Comments
911 emergency services are a very helpful community resource, but they have their limits. They cannot, for example, deliver you a pizza. Or transfer you to AppleCare when your iPhone doesn't work. That didn't stop a man in Illinois from doing the latter...and then getting arrested for it. More »
FDA Threatens Stores That Sell Tobacco To Kids
By Phil Villarreal on November 11, 2011 9:15 AM
42 Comments
The Food and Drug Administration is going after businesses suspected of selling cigarettes and smokeless tobacco to minors, sending out letters to 1,200 stores and threatening eventual fines if they fail to comply with the law. The FDA says it has conducted 27,500 inspections to make sure retailers aren't violating restrictions on such activities as setting up cigarette vending machines, selling cigarettes and failing to check IDs. More »
10 Million More In Poverty Because Of Medical Expenses, Census Reports
By Ben Popken on November 10, 2011 4:00 PM
116 Comments
If you were to subtract the cost of health care expenses from family incomes, an additional 10 million more Americans would be considered in poverty by official measures, the U.S. Census Bureau said this week in a new report. More »
Coca-Cola Helps Put Kibosh On Grand Canyon Water Bottle Ban
By Chris Morran on November 10, 2011 1:15 PM
86 Comments
Discarded plastic bottles account for around 30% of trash at the Grand Canyon, so in an effort to reduce the amount of waste left behind by the oodles of visitors, the park was all set to launch a ban on the sale of bottled water. But then, after the folks at Coca-Cola voiced their concerns, a top national park official decided to pull the plug on the program. More »
Should Employees Be Paid For Time It Takes To Change Clothes?
By Chris Morran on November 10, 2011 12:45 PM
125 Comments
Some jobs require more than just a uniform; they require specific clothing that must be taken on and off at the place of work. But that doesn't mean that the employee gets paid for the time slipping in and out of these necessary duds. And that's why a pair of nurses in Colorado have filed a class action lawsuit. More »
Police Say Man Threatened To Bomb Best Buy Because It Didn't Have Game
By Phil Villarreal on November 10, 2011 8:15 AM
69 Comments
Authorities say a Colorado man was so irate over not being able to buy the game Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 at a Colorado Best Buy that he said he would shoot staffers and blow up the store. The man allegedly went into a rage at the customer service desk after employees revealed the store ran out of copies of the game early Tuesday morning. More »
White House Gets Dept. Of Agriculture To Delay Christmas Tree Tax
By Chris Morran on November 9, 2011 5:28 PM
87 Comments
Less than 24 hours after the Dept. of Agriculture announced a program that would charge a $.15/tree "tax" to Christmas tree growers in order to fund a campaign to promote those very trees, the White House has responded to the flurry of criticism by asking the regulators to rethink the idea. More »
Theft Victim Catches Guy Returning Her Stuff To Macy's
By Ben Popken on November 9, 2011 3:00 PM
67 Comments
Rachel thought she would never see her stuff again. Someone had stolen the Christmas gifts she left on the backseat of her car parked in front of her house overnight, along with her iPod. It was $460 out the window. But when she went back to Macy's to replace some of the gifts, her Spidey-sense started tingling. More »
Senators Introduce Bill To Compel Amazon & Others To Collect Sales Tax
By Chris Morran on November 9, 2011 12:30 PM
213 Comments
As has been discussed here on numerous occasions, even though Amazon.com didn't charge you sales tax on that laptop you purchased, you still may owe it (though very few people ever pay). Thus, once again, a bipartisan group of Senators in D.C. have introduced legislation that would require online retailers to collect sales tax. More »
Dept. Of Agriculture Announces Christmas Tree Tax To Help Promote Christmas Trees
By Chris Morran on November 9, 2011 12:15 PM
173 Comments
UPDATE: The White House says it has asked the Dept. of Agriculture to press pause on this fee while it rethinks the program. More »
(syphlix)
Fannie Mae Needs $7.8 Billion Because It Lost Its Fanny Betting On Derivatives
By Phil Villarreal on November 9, 2011 9:45 AM
74 Comments
Like the irresponsible son who goes to his daddy asking for money to cover gambling losses so loan sharks don't bust his kneecaps, Fannie Mae is begging taxpayers for $7.8 billion because it lost so much money last quarter on derivatives. The $5.1 billion loss in the third quarter dwarfs last year's awful third quarter shortfall of $1.3 billion. More »
Apple Replaces Frayed Magsafe Adapter Cables For Free
By Ben Popken on November 9, 2011 9:30 AM
33 Comments
Apple will replace or refund out-of-warranty frayed Magsafe adapters, according to the terms of proposed class action lawsuit settlement. More »
Walmart Gets 10 Million Reasons To Keep Aisles Clean
By Phil Villarreal on November 8, 2011 10:00 AM
81 Comments
A delivery woman who slipped and fell at a Colorado Walmart will collect $10 million from the company, thanks to the state Supreme Court, which gave a thumbs-up to the majority of the settlement decided in a jury verdict. Before you go getting jealous of the victim, bear in mind that she underwent three spinal surgeries, couldn't return to work and lost her truck. More »
Judge Approves BofA's $410M Overdraft Settlement
By Phil Villarreal on November 8, 2011 8:45 AM
88 Comments
To settle a class-action suit over reordering transactions to maximize overdraft fees, Bank of America agreed to pay out $410 million months ago. A judge has now approved the settlement, and the bank has coughed up the money into an escrow account from which it will be distributed to customers who were part of the suit. Those who had a Bank of America debit card between January 2001 and May 24, 2011 will automatically receive a payment of at least 9 percent of the fees they paid. More »
(star5112)
Can My Job Only Pay Me For 8 Hours Instead Of 9 Because Of Daylight Saving Time?
By Ben Popken on November 7, 2011 12:00 PM
194 Comments
A man says that he worked on Sunday, and, because of daylight saving time, his boss only wants to pay him for 8 hours instead of the 9 he worked. Is this legal? More »
Verizon Class Action Settlement: Get Refunds For Accidentally Pressing "Get It Now" Button
By Ben Popken on November 4, 2011 2:00 PM
27 Comments
If Verizon "erroneously" charged you for accidentally pressing the "Get it Now" or "Mobile Web" buttons on your phone, you can file for a refund, thanks to a recent class action settlement. More »
(aar0on)
Government Kept Adding Jobs As Economy Sputtered
By Phil Villarreal on November 4, 2011 9:15 AM
85 Comments
While many industries were forced to downsize over the past few tough years, the government found a way to grow. The Bureau of Labor Statistics says the federal government increased its workforce by 12 percent since the start of the recession in December 2007. Meanwhile, overall employment has fallen almost 5 percent in that span. More »
Renter Sues To Keep Name Off List Of Renters Who Have Been Sued
By Chris Morran on November 3, 2011 11:30 AM
41 Comments
If you're sued for eviction by your landlord in New York state, whether you win or lose the case, your name goes on a list that then gets sold to other landlords looking to screen out potential nuisance renters. Wanting to keep his name and record clean, one Manhattan man has preemptively sued to bar his name from being added to the list. More »
For Robbers, Spider-Man Masks Are "In"
By Phil Villarreal on November 2, 2011 10:30 AM
42 Comments
In the realm of armed robbery, it's become a fashion "do" to don a Spider-Man mask while committing the deed. A rash of robberies in a few states have started to portray the comic book crime fighter in a poor light. More »
FDA Study Concludes That ADHD Meds Don't Cause Heart Problems
By Phil Villarreal on November 2, 2011 9:45 AM
47 Comments
A Food and Drug Administration study found that those who suffer from attention deficit hyperactivity disorder can take medications without increasing their risk of heart problems. The study focused on patients ages 2 through 24. More »
Feds Investigate $600 Million Allegedly Missing At MF Global
By Phil Villarreal on November 2, 2011 9:15 AM
33 Comments
Federal investigators are attempting to sort out how New York-based derivatives broker MF Global has apparently up and lost $600 million of customers' money. The FBI, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodities Futures Trading Commission are all reportedly investigating, amid accusations that MF Global has broken federal rules for keeping customers' money separate from the business's own assets. More »
BofA Ending $5 Debit Card Fee
By Ben Popken on November 1, 2011 11:42 AM
98 Comments
Bank of America is calling off its plan to charge debit-card users $5 a month, the WSJ reports. More »
How Many Slaves Work For You?
By Ben Popken on November 1, 2011 11:00 AM
150 Comments
There's a decent chance that slaves have handled something you own. The coltan in your smartphone. The beans in that coffee you're sipping. The cotton in the underwear you're sitting in. All around the world, forced labor is used to mine and harvest the raw materials that goes up the supply chain and into the products you own. So how many slaves do you have working for you? This interactive, beautifully designed, 11-question survey calculates it for you. More »
Cops Tell Town They Will Ignore Some 911 Calls Unless They Get More Gas Money
By Phil Villarreal on November 1, 2011 10:30 AM
77 Comments
Police have told a North Carolina town that they could stop responding to 911 calls and investigating misdemeanors unless it provides more money to cover gas costs. The reduction in services could be the next cuts in Smithfield, after the force halved the number of patrol cars on duty during certain times. More »
U.N. Says The World Has 7 Billion People, But U.S. Census Disagrees
By Phil Villarreal on November 1, 2011 9:00 AM
35 Comments
Among the issues that the United Nations and United States can't quite agree upon is the amount of human beings living in the world. The U.N. estimates that we just surpassed the 7 billion world population mark, but if you go by U.S. Census Bureau projections we won't get there until several months from now. More »
Obama Calls On FDA To Reduce Drug Shortages
By Phil Villarreal on November 1, 2011 8:30 AM
64 Comments
In an attempt to quell drug shortages that are affecting patients around the country, President Barack Obama ordered the Food and Drug Administration to adjust policies in order to streamline the process of getting drugs into patients' hands. More »
(balmes)
Phoenix-Based Flight Attendant Death In Mexico Investigated As Homicide
By Phil Villarreal on October 31, 2011 11:15 AM
28 Comments
Authorities are investigating the possibility that a US Airways flight attendant who died during a layover in Mexico City was murdered. The 33-year-old employee, who was based out of Phoenix, was found dead in his hotel room, stripped naked and tied up. More »
Author Crafts Modest Proposal For Police Officers To Consider
By Phil Villarreal on October 27, 2011 3:15 PM
158 Comments
Law enforcement officers put themselves at great risk, perform a vital public service and give society the peace of mind to be able to function with confidence. Even so, it has been said that some cops have been known to do things that could be classified as annoying or abusive. More »
Car Receives $44,500 Ticket For 1,800 Years Of Illegal Parking
By Laura Northrup on October 27, 2011 12:30 PM
44 Comments
Accurate data entry is important. Need proof? Just ask the woman in Italy who was taken to the hospital for a dizzy spell after receiving a €32,000 ($44,500) parking ticket. How long does a car have to be parked to receive that kind of fine? About 1,800 years. Wait, what? More »
US Economy Grew 2.5% In Third Quarter, Department of Commerce Report Says
By Ben Popken on October 27, 2011 11:00 AM
24 Comments
Buoyed by brisker consumer and business spending, The American economy grew at an annualized rate of 2.5% in the third quarter, according to a report released this morning by the U.S. Department of Commerce, More »
Government Finds $6.6 Billion It Thought It Lost In Iraq
By Phil Villarreal on October 27, 2011 9:45 AM
64 Comments
In a way, the U.S. government has lifted up the seat cushion it knows as Iraq and dug out the $6.6 billion in pocket change it believed it had misplaced during the early days of the conflict. A new report says the money was never lost, but instead was placed under the control of the Iraqi government, as intended. More »
White House Announces Plan To Cut Some Student Loan Payments
By Marc Perton on October 26, 2011 5:30 PM
157 Comments
The Obama administration has announced two initiatives to lower student loan payments for some borrowers. One, an update to the existing income-based repayment program, will cap loan payments at 10% of discretionary income for certain borrowers. The other proposal will let some borrowers merge older student loans with newer ones. More »
Pennsylvania Moves To Shut Down Gambling At "Internet Sweepstakes Cafes"
By Chris Morran on October 26, 2011 4:15 PM
34 Comments
If you've never heard of an "Internet Sweepstakes Cafe," or whatever other description the owners use, it's basically a place where customers purchase pre-paid "phone cards" that they then use to buy time on a computer to play in various "sweepstakes" for which they can possibly win cash. How is this now gambling? Well, that's the the question that the Pennsylvania state legislature is asking. More »
Consultant Who Allegedly Leaked Info During Financial Crisis Faces Criminal Charges
By Phil Villarreal on October 26, 2011 11:30 AM
16 Comments
Life isn't always easy for one-percenters. Every now and again, high-profile white collar criminals get pinched by the legal system. The former head of a management consultant group is expected to face criminal charges for allegedly sharing inside information from Goldman Sachs board meetings to a hedge fund manager. More »
TSA Finds Your Vibrator In Checked Suitcase, Leaves Creepy Note
By Laura Northrup on October 26, 2011 9:30 AM
114 Comments
Bad: Having the TSA pawing through your checked luggage. Worse: The suitcase they chose to open includes a sex toy. Worse still: the person who went through your bags leaves a leering note. Specifically, they scrawl "GET YOUR FREAK ON GIRL" on the notice of inspection. More »
Man Arrested After Trying To Bail Out Of Mid-Air Flight
By Phil Villarreal on October 26, 2011 9:15 AM
41 Comments
Although some flights are uncomfortable, that's no excuse to try to bust open an emergency exit and take a leap. Authorities arrested a Delta Airlines passenger who allegedly tried to to just that Sunday. More »
Corporations Can Be Sued For Violating Human Rights In Foreign Countries
By Phil Villarreal on October 26, 2011 8:45 AM
61 Comments
Thanks to a federal court ruling, corporations that act badly abroad have to face legal repercussions at home. The 9th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals backed up decisions by two other appeals courts that found that corporations can be sued for war crimes and genocide under a 1789 law. More »
(minor9th)
Bill Proposed To Felonize Selling Fake Maple Syrup As Real
By Ben Popken on October 25, 2011 5:00 PM
166 Comments
In order to tamp the scourge of artificial maple syrup being sold as the real deal, New York Senators Kirsten Gillibrand and Charles Schumer are sponsoring a bill that would make it a felony. More »
Top 10 States With Highest Debt Per Capita
By Ben Popken on October 25, 2011 2:00 PM
43 Comments
Are you in a state that has saddled its citizens with a big debt load per person? This list tells you. It may surprise you that the state with the highest debt per capita is also the one with the most penny loafers per capita. More »
Federal Judge Blocks Florida's Plan To Drug Test Welfare Recipients
By Phil Villarreal on October 25, 2011 9:30 AM
372 Comments
Earlier this year, Florida enacted a law that requires welfare recipients to pass drug tests to qualify for benefits. A federal judge stepped in and stopped the law in its track marks over concerns that it violates the Fourth Amendment, which bans illegal searches and seizures. The law would have forced recipients to pay for their own drug tests. More »
AT&T Tries To Boot Sprint Suit From T-Mobile Hearing
By Ben Popken on October 24, 2011 1:00 PM
15 Comments
Today AT&T is going to ask the Federal judge to toss out Sprint's lawsuit seeking to stop it from buying up T-Mobile. More »
Bill Introduced To Let You Keep Your Account Number When You Switch Banks
By Ben Popken on October 21, 2011 4:00 PM
124 Comments
When you switch phone companies, you're allowed to keep your phone number. So why isn't there this "number portability" for bank accounts? Well, a bill has been introduced in Washington to let you do exactly that. More »
Broom-Wielding Convenience Store Clerk Foils Sword-Packing Spider-Man Robbery Attempt
By Phil Villarreal on October 21, 2011 11:15 AM
40 Comments
If you happen to be working as a clerk at a convenience store and aren't sure whether or not the guy causing havoc at the counter is the real Spider-Man, check and see if he's got a sword. Police say a North Carolina clerk confronted a ponytailed, Spidey-masked robber armed with a sword and managed to stop the heist by beating him down with a broom. More »
(Jocasse)
Hacker Admits To Splicing Porn Into Comcast's Super Bowl Broadcast
By Phil Villarreal on October 21, 2011 10:15 AM
53 Comments
Back in February 2009, Comcast's standard-def broadcast of the Steelers-Cardinals Super Bowl in the Tucson area shifted to porn for 37 seconds. The incident was a black eye for Comcast and caused the company to apologize by offering $10 rebates to offended customers. Now a man has admitted to hacking Comcast's signal to cause the craziness. More »
Former D.C. Tax Examiner Admits To Stealing $400K In Tax Refunds
By Phil Villarreal on October 21, 2011 9:45 AM
19 Comments
A former tax examiner for the Washington, D.C. government was efficient enough at collecting funds, but not so great at handing them over to her employer. That was the case for a woman who pleaded guilty to wire fraud, swiping $400,000 over four years in fraudulent refunds. More »
Fewer People Filing For Unemployment
By Phil Villarreal on October 21, 2011 8:45 AM
34 Comments
The Labor Department provided a sign that the job market may be creeping out of its dreadful depths. For the fourth consecutive week, the rolling four-week average of people applying for unemployment benefits declined. The 403,000 applicants in the span ending last week were down from 409,250 in the frame ending the week before. More »
At Least Someone's Getting A Raise -- Social Security Payments Increase
By Phil Villarreal on October 20, 2011 7:30 AM
52 Comments
In an era burdened by pay freezes across countless industries, the only sure way to get a raise is to retire. Social Security has snapped out of its own rate freeze and is handing out a 3.6 percent benefits increase next year. More »
DOT Investigates Airlines For Not Disclosing Fees On Their Websites
By Ben Popken on October 19, 2011 5:00 PM
15 Comments
Starting August 23rd, airlines were supposed to start being more upfront on their websites about the fees they charge you. Guess what? They didn't. More »
Feds Deport Record Number Of Immigrants
By Phil Villarreal on October 19, 2011 11:15 AM
95 Comments
The United States gave away a record number of its poor, tired, hungry and huddled masses in the fiscal year that ended in September. According to the director of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the agency deported nearly 400,000 illegal immigrants, adding that more than half of the deported had convictions of felonies or misdemeanors. More »
Louisiana Outlaws Cash For Trading Used Goods More Than Once A Month
By Ben Popken on October 19, 2011 10:00 AM
103 Comments
In order to combat the rising threat of metal theft, Louisiana passed a law that prohibits anyone who trades used property more than once a month from conducting that transaction in cash. This should cut down on metal vultures stripping down the infrastructure to turn it into money for their drug habit. However, this also means you can't really hold a garage sale more than once every 30 days without some burdensome restrictions. More »
Psychic On Trial For Theft, Tax Evasion
By Phil Villarreal on October 19, 2011 9:45 AM
43 Comments
There's no word about what Tarot cards, life lines or crystal balls have to say about a Colorado psychic on trial for theft and tax evasion, but common sense says things don't look good for the suspect. She's accused of telling clients that their money was evil and she needed to cleanse it before returning it to them. She didn't follow through with the promise to give it back and allegedly made off with $300,000. More »
States, Banks Close To Foreclosure Deal
By Phil Villarreal on October 19, 2011 8:15 AM
33 Comments
Several states and major banks are said to be close to sealing a deal that would protect banks from civil suits over sketchy mortgage practices in exchange for $25 billion that would help underwater homeowners refinance their loans. The deal could help the weak housing market. More »
Class-Action Lawsuit Claims Fruit Roll-Ups Are Unhealthy, Contain Little Fruit
By Laura Northrup on October 19, 2011 8:00 AM
89 Comments
Do phrases like "low fat," "gluten-free," "made with real fruit" and "good source of vitamin C" on the package of a processed fruit snack product make you think that the product is a healthy food? These phrases have all been on the packaging of fruit-like snack substances from General Mills: Froot by the Foot, Fruit Roll-Ups, and Gushers. Marketing copy on the front of a box is no substitute for taking a moment to read nutrition information and ingredients. But that hasn't stopped the Center for Science in the Public Interest from filing a class-action lawsuit alleging that the company tried to make consumers believe that their products were wholesome and fruit-based, not full of trans fats, preservatives, and food coloring. More »
Big Dairy Accused Of Pricefixing Milk By Paying For Cows To Be Killed
By Ben Popken on October 18, 2011 3:00 PM
101 Comments
A new class action lawsuit accuses several dairy industry juggernauts of paying mainly small farmers to send their entire herds to the slaughterhouse in order to reduce the supply of milk and jack up milk prices. More »
Target Manager Sues, Says Was Fired For Working Through Lunch
By Ben Popken on October 18, 2011 12:00 PM
87 Comments
An ex-Target manager is suing his former employer, accusing the retailer of firing him for working during his lunch break. Ironically, he says it was retaliation for the complaints he had made about being denied uninterrupted breaks. More »
No Amount Of Drunkenness Will Turn A Taco Into Your I.D.
By Mary Beth Quirk on October 18, 2011 9:45 AM
44 Comments
Grabbing whatever is around is not going to get you far when the police ask for your I.D. Even if it's a delicious taco! A man in Florida tried the taco trick, handing one over to officers after he was asked for I.D. More »
ATM Council Sues Visa And Mastercard For Forcing Them To Charge Consumers Set Fees
By Ben Popken on October 14, 2011 4:00 PM
38 Comments
Visa and Mastercard have been accused of price fixing in a lawsuit filed Wednesday by the the National ATM Council. The suit alleges that nonbank ATM operators could charge customers lower ATM fees when they use other, cheaper payment networks, but are prevented from this by the set access fees Visa and MasterCard charge. More »
High School Bans Cheerleaders From Wearing Breast Cancer Awareness Shirts
By Phil Villarreal on October 14, 2011 11:15 AM
121 Comments
High school cheerleaders in Gilbert, Ariz. aren't allowed to wear shirts meant to boost breast cancer awareness that read "Feel for Lumps, Save Your Bumps." Administrators call the slogan objectionable and have banned the girls from wearing the shirts at football games. More »
Your Taxes May Go Down Thanks To Prices Going Up
By Ben Popken on October 14, 2011 11:00 AM
50 Comments
Don't cry over the price of milk spilling upwards. It could actually mean that you pay lower taxes. More »
(cavale)
Senate Bill Would Streamline Medical Device Approval
By Phil Villarreal on October 14, 2011 9:45 AM
27 Comments
When it comes to approving medical devices for patients to use, the Food and Drug Administration is handcuffed by conflict of interest rules that it says slow the process. A bipartisan trio of senators have introduced a bill that would ease the rules in favor of getting devices approved quicker, possibly at the expense of medical ethics. More »
Dept. Of Education's New Site Giving Headaches To Folks With Student Loans
By Chris Morran on October 13, 2011 5:55 PM
76 Comments
Paying your student loan is enough of an annoyance without the Dept. of Education making it more difficult. Unfortunately, the new site for the Federal Student Loan Servicing Center has people tearing their hair out in frustration. More »
The New Consumer Bill Of Rights
By Ben Popken on October 13, 2011 3:00 PM
21 Comments
The folks over at Fearless Revolution have made several iterative amendments to JFK's 1964 Consumer Bill of Rights to update it for the modern age. More »
Watch Now The Live Senate Hearing On Whether Forced Arbitration Is Fair
By Ben Popken on October 13, 2011 2:00 PM
74 Comments
Here's a live webcast of the judiciary committee's hearing on mandatory binding arbitration going on right now. The title of the hearing is "Arbitration: Is it Fair When Forced?" Arbitration clauses appear in all sorts of consumer contracts and they mandate that in order to use the product or service, you have to agree to give up your right to sue if anything goes wrong. Originally designed for businesses to expedite disputes with other businesses, binding arbitration clauses are now also a popular way for companies to strip consumers of their basic legal rights. Since the hearing is chaired by Senator Al Franken, you know there's bound to be some good zingers. Pop the popcorn and sit back! More »
(afagen)
Woman Sues After Sex Toy Causes Pain, Bleeding
By Phil Villarreal on October 13, 2011 11:15 AM
89 Comments
A Northern California woman is suing a sex toy manufacturer, saying she was hospitalized with pain and bleeding after using the device with her boyfriend. The woman wants damages from the company for personal injury, negligence, and breach of warranty. More »
Credit Card Marketer Uses Clever Way To Circumvent New Regs
By Ben Popken on October 13, 2011 11:00 AM
38 Comments
Looks like at least one credit card marketer has cooked up a clever way around regulations that forbid unsolicited credit cards from being issued and showing up in your mailbox. More »
November Fifth Is Bank Transfer Day
By Ben Popken on October 13, 2011 10:00 AM
176 Comments
Remember, remember, the fifth of November, because that's when "Bank Transfer Day" is happening. By that date, all participants will have closed their big retail bank accounts and put their money in a local non-profit credit union or local or regional community bank. More »
([RAWRZ!])
FBI Arrests Man Accused Of Hacking Celebrity Emails
By Phil Villarreal on October 13, 2011 7:30 AM
26 Comments
A certain Scarlett Johansson photo you may have read about but certainly didn't check out yourself is part of a federal investigation that resulted in the arrest of a 35-year-old Florida man who is accused of hacking into online accounts of various celebrities. More »
SF Giants, MLB Sued Over "San Francisco" Logo
By Chris Morran on October 12, 2011 4:17 PM
44 Comments
If you've ever visited San Francisco, you've likely seen — and perhaps purchased — a coat or sweatshirt emblazoned with the city name in a distinctive script font, much like the "San Francisco" on jackets and other gear worn by the San Francisco Giants baseball team. Well, now the team, along with Major League Baseball, finds itself in a legal battle with the apparel company that says it owns the trademark. More »
Builder Must Pay $625K In Fines For Allegedly Violating Clean Water Act
By Phil Villarreal on October 12, 2011 11:15 AM
47 Comments
One of the country's largest homebuilders stands accused of running afoul of Clean Water Act requirements at 278 sites in 14 states and must shell out a $625,000 fine. The government accuses the Ryland Group of leaking pollutants into stormwater and messing up procedures involving pollution prevention, inspections and permits. More »
California Ups Testing For Contaminated Public Waterways
By Phil Villarreal on October 12, 2011 10:15 AM
11 Comments
Responding to an increase of contaminated waterways in the state, California's State Water Resources Board plans to test its 3 million acres of rivers, streams and lakes, which may have been polluted with nastiness including bacteria and pesticides. More »
How To Say No To Arbitration With Your Cable Company
By Ben Popken on October 12, 2011 10:00 AM
27 Comments
Here's something neat. Comcast, Time Warner Cable, and Cablevision/Optimum actually let customers opt out of arbitration when they sign up. If you don't want to give up your right to personally sue them in a court of law and be forced into a kangaroo court overseen by a judge whose fees are paid for by the company you're suing, Cablevision will let you. The caveat is that you have to tell them within 30 days of signing your contract. Here's the links and relevant contract language to opt-out: More »
The Punishment For Selling An iPhone Prototype: $250
By Phil Villarreal on October 12, 2011 9:45 AM
48 Comments
When a pre-release iPhone 4 prototype went missing at a beer garden last year and ended up being sold to Gizmodo, the stakes seemed high. Investigators seized an editor's computers and charged two men with crimes connected to the alleged theft. But several months and an entire newer iPhone model release later, the drama turned out to be much ado about very little. Two men accused of selling the device were sentenced to a year of probation, 40 hours of community service and a not-so-whopping $250 restitution they must both pay to Apple. They pleaded no contest to charges of misdemeanor theft. More »
(LaMenta3)
Report: Air Force Officials Kept Quiet For 2 Weeks About Drone Virus
By Phil Villarreal on October 12, 2011 8:45 AM
17 Comments
When news broke last week that some of the Air Force's drone aircraft had been infected with a virus, Air Force network security experts reportedly found out about the breach when everyone else did. Officials at a Nevada Air Force base may have known about the problem for as long as two weeks and never reported the issue to security. More »
Woman Sues "Drive" For Not Having Enough Driving
By Ben Popken on October 11, 2011 3:00 PM
132 Comments
A woman has filed a lawsuit against the movie Drive because she felt the moving didn't have enough driving in it relative to what was promised in the movie trailer. More »
How Bank Of America Picked $5 As The Debit Card Monthly Fee
By Ben Popken on October 7, 2011 5:00 PM
211 Comments
The new $5 monthly fee Bank of America is charging debit card holders wasn't just picked because the spreadsheet guys really like Subway $5 footlongs. There's actually a calculation behind it. Here's the math. More »
Drug Maker Adds Line To Pill's Surface To Delay Generic Versions
By Chris Morran on October 7, 2011 10:45 AM
81 Comments
There are numerous ways for makers of pricey brand-name drugs to delay the release of generic copies and hold on to the market for even a few months longer. They could make slight changes to the doses or even go so far as to buy a company that supplies a needed ingredient. But one pharmaceutical company is taking a new approach to putting off the release of generic versions — etching an additional score into the pill's surface. More »
FDA Gives Enlarged Prostates Hard Time By Approving Erectile Dysfunction Drug
By Phil Villarreal on October 7, 2011 10:15 AM
10 Comments
Thanks to the Food and Drug Administration, those who suffer enlarged prostates have a new weapon at their disposal to combat the condition. Cialis, which messages in your spam filter repeatedly inform you has formidable powers of revitalization, can now be prescribed to pound away at prostates that have gotten too big for their britches. More »
Government Tells Power Plants To Go Ahead And Pollute More
By Phil Villarreal on October 7, 2011 9:45 AM
43 Comments
Proposing to relax emissions standards for power plants in 10 states, the Environmental Protection Agency is allowing power plants to send more pollution across state lines than previously allowed. And plants that ignore the relaxed Cross-State Air Pollution Rule guidelines and keep on going pollution-crazy won't have to pay any penalties until 2014 rather than previously-planned 2012. More »
Feds Tell California To Shut Down Medical Marijuana Dispensaries Within 45 Days
By Phil Villarreal on October 7, 2011 9:15 AM
131 Comments
California's medical marijuana dispensaries are legal in the state, but in breach of federal law. Now feds are cracking down on businesses that distribute the product, telling them they have 45 days to shut down. More »
(jeffq)
Oracle Must Pay Nearly $200 Million In Largest False Claims Act Settlement
By Phil Villarreal on October 7, 2011 8:45 AM
9 Comments
The U.S. General Services Administration has nailed tech company Oracle Corporation for allegedly violating the False Claims Act. The company will have to pay $199.5 million for failing to meet contractual obligations, apparently because it didn't provide correct information about sales practices and discounts offered to customers. The figure is believed to be the largest settlement collected under the act. More »
Cordray One Step Closer To Becoming CFPB Head
By Chris Morran on October 6, 2011 12:09 PM
15 Comments
Nearly three months after President Obama nominated Richard Cordray as director of the new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the former Ohio Attorney General has gotten one step closer to filling that position after the Senate Banking Committee voted to approve the nomination. More »
Georgia Woman Wins $25 Million Lottery Due To Clerk's Mistake
By Phil Villarreal on October 6, 2011 9:45 AM
70 Comments
It takes an incredible amount of lock to win a lottery jackpot, and still greater fortune to win on a ticket you didn't even intend to purchase. A Georgia woman who was looking for a job won out on both fronts when she won on a ticket a clerk gave her by accident. More »
Alabama Illegal Immigrant Law Could Leave State With Job Surplus
By Phil Villarreal on October 6, 2011 9:15 AM
192 Comments
An Alabama law meant to crack down on illegal immigration may be so effective that the state won't have enough immigrant labor to fill its labor requirements. Immigrant farm and construction workers, as well as their legal citizen relatives, are reportedly said to be leaving the state in such high numbers that some employers may have trouble filling openings if the economy picks up. More »
Wisconsin Rep Seeks To Repeal Anti-Margarine Law
By Ben Popken on October 5, 2011 4:00 PM
74 Comments
A Wisconsin state legislative rep who Googled "Stupid Wisconsin Laws" has introduced a bill to overturn one of the dumbest ones he found: a law that forbids "colored margarine" from being served at a restaurant unless a customer asks for it. More »
(dmuth)
Couple Sues Cox After Cable Guy Kills Their Son
By Ben Popken on October 5, 2011 1:00 PM
125 Comments
An Arizona family is suing Cox cable company after one of the cable companies' outsourced technicians executed their son in a botched break-in. That ex-contractor is now sitting on death row. More »
Madoff Victims Will Start Getting Refunds This Week
By Phil Villarreal on October 5, 2011 9:15 AM
16 Comments
Those who lost money investing with jailed shyster Bernie Madoff will be getting some of their ill-advised expenditures back this week, thanks to the bankruptcy court-mandated liquidation of his estate. More »
Medical Marijuana User: Papa John's Driver Ratted Me Out To The Cops
By Chris Morran on October 4, 2011 5:25 PM
244 Comments
We imagine that food delivery drivers see their fair share of customers under the influence of any number of legal and illegal intoxicants. But unless the customer becomes belligerent or refuses to pay, it's pretty rare to hear about the authorities being called in. That's why a man in Colorado is fuming mad at his Papa John's driver. More »
(Ross)
Obama's Debt Reduction Plan Includes Letting Debt Collectors Robo-Call Cellphones To Collect On Federal Student Loans
By Ben Popken on October 4, 2011 5:00 PM
79 Comments
One part of the debt-reduction bill Obama sent to Congress is a provision that would let debt collectors robo-call cellphones to collect on what's owed to the government, like federal student loans. More »
Senators Introduce Bill To Ban Mandatory Binding Arbitration Clauses In Cellphone Contracts
By Ben Popken on October 4, 2011 4:00 PM
89 Comments
When you buy a new cellphone you have to sign a contract where you give up your right to sue. You agree to what's called, "mandatory binding arbitration." This is a bad thing to give to an industry that has high levels of complaints about hidden fees and abusive anti-consumer practices. Because if their crummy customer service fails to remedy an issue, your last resort option is to participate in a kangaroo court system that is paid for out of fees paid by the cellphone companies themselves. So Senators Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) and Al Franken (D-MN) have today introduced The Consumer Mobile Fairness Act that would ban mandatory arbitration clauses in cellphone contracts. More »
8 States Hike Minimum Wages
By Phil Villarreal on October 4, 2011 10:15 AM
119 Comments
Eight state governments are forcing bosses to give low-rung workers pay raises, thanks to automatic annual raises in minimum wages. Washington state leads the way, scheduled to up its minimum wage 37 cents an hour to $9.04 next year. Burger flipping in Colorado will still only pay $7.64 in 2012, but at least that's better than the $7.36 it pays now. More »
Studio Dismisses More Than 21,000 Sued For Downloading "Hurt Locker"
By Phil Villarreal on October 4, 2011 9:15 AM
85 Comments
The studio that produced The Hurt Locker sued 24,583 unnamed people for illegally downloading the film. Now more than 21,000 of those John Does can breathe a little easier because the studio has dismissed them from the suit, leaving more than 2,300 in its sights. More »
TSA Gives Breast Cancer Survivor Invasive Patdown After She Goes Through Scan
By Ben Popken on October 3, 2011 1:00 PM
68 Comments
A breast cancer survivor says she was forced to go through a patdown where TSA agents touched her breasts, even though she had already gone through the backscatter body scanner and had an ID card explaining the tissue expanders in her chest. More »
Residents Of Milwaukee Suburb Told To Boil Bacteria-Plagued Water
By Phil Villarreal on October 3, 2011 9:30 AM
21 Comments
Those who live in 14,000-strong Greendale, Wis. have to make like campers sustaining themselves from a creek and boil all their water until further notice. The town's officials said in a statement that coliform bacteria were found in the water supply last week, and the tap water is no longer good for drinking, making ice, brushing teeth or washing hands. More »
(boliston)
Doctors Sue Washington State For Limiting ER Visits For Medicaid Patients
By Phil Villarreal on October 3, 2011 8:45 AM
115 Comments
In order to curb medical costs, Washington state lawmakers have capped the amount of annual "non-emergency" visits Medicaid patients can make to emergency rooms at three. Furious about the seemingly arbitrary restriction on patients' rights, a group of doctors has sued the state over the measure. More »
Washington Makes You Decide Between Medical Marijuana & Guns
By Mary Beth Quirk on October 1, 2011 12:00 PM
106 Comments
Medical marijuana and owning guns are both legal in the state of Washington. But before you're all like, oh, that is really scary/fun, don't worry/get too excited because the feds are not going to let those two things coexist. More »
Delta Air Lines & Disabled Passengers Settle 3-Year-Old Discrimination Suit
By Mary Beth Quirk on October 1, 2011 11:00 AM
13 Comments
Five disabled passengers have finally reached a settlement with Delta Airlines after a three-year battle against the carriers claiming discrimination at the Detroit airport. More »
Utah Movie Theater Fined For Showing Hangover II
By Chris Morran on September 30, 2011 4:49 PM
99 Comments
There are a number of theaters across the country that like to combine movie-showing with beer-drinking and as long as all the patrons are of legal drinking age, there are usually no issues about what's being shown on screen. But the state of Utah has decided that if you show a movie featuring naked bodies, that makes your business answerable to the same rules governing strip clubs — and subject to thousands of dollars in fines. More »
(jpmarth)
Feds Charge 37 Boeing Workers In Drug Bust
By Phil Villarreal on September 30, 2011 8:15 AM
27 Comments
Giving headline writers an excellent opportunity to make puns about aerospace workers getting high, federal agents arrested 37 Boeing workers in a drug bust at a plant near Philadelphia. The undercover operation was a four-year sting meant to expose a ring of prescription drug abuse. More »
(50 Watts)
Bill Introduced To Let Robots Call Your Cellphone
By Ben Popken on September 29, 2011 3:00 PM
104 Comments
Since '91, it's been illegal for telemarketers to use autodialers and other robot-like devices to call your cellphone. Last week, a bill was introduced to change that. While in the past email hoaxes have gone around saying that your cellphone could be opened up to telemarketers, HR 3035 seeks to let businesses contact your cellphone "for informational purposes." More »
DOJ Petitions Supreme Court To Review Health Care Challenge
By Chris Morran on September 29, 2011 12:15 PM
43 Comments
It was inevitable that it would come to this; it was just a matter of which side would make the request first. Yesterday, the Dept. of Justice filed a petition for a writ of certiorari with the U.S. Supreme Court, asking the nine robed ones to review the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals ruling that part of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act is unconstitutional. More »
680 lb Man Fired For Being Obese
By Ben Popken on September 29, 2011 12:00 PM
194 Comments
Ronald at one point weighed 680 lbs, a fact that never interfered with his ability to do his job. He received high marks in his performance reviews. Despite this, he was fired for his weight. More »
Lawsuit Claims "Black Swan" Movie Floated On Unpaid Intern Labor
By Phil Villarreal on September 29, 2011 10:45 AM
51 Comments
Countless youngsters attempting to claw their way into the film business will gladly work for free, and a lawsuit filed in federal court accuses the production of the film Black Swan of exploiting those masses. Two men who worked on the movie claim the film broke labor laws by hiring more than 100 interns to do work that should have been handled by paid employees. More »
4 People Get Pot From Government In Old Federal Program
By Phil Villarreal on September 29, 2011 8:45 AM
47 Comments
At one point, 14 people in the United States received medical marijuana regularly from the government. Started in a 1976 court ruling, the program that facilitated the unorthodox treatments stopped accepting applicants in 1992, but four surviving patients still count Uncle Sam as their drug dealer. More »
If Inflation Droops, Federal Reserve May Pump It Up
By Phil Villarreal on September 29, 2011 8:15 AM
39 Comments
It's tough for consumers to rationalize how inflation could be a good thing, especially if they haven't received pay increases in years, but increasing costs are believed by many to be a sign of a healthy economy. That's why Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke said Wednesday that the central bank will keep a close eye on inflation levels and may altar monetary policy to maintain the phenomenon if prices start to level off. More »
(Ү)
Govt. Paid Over $600 Million In Benefits To Dead Workers
By Ben Popken on September 28, 2011 5:00 PM
65 Comments
A new report by the Office of Personnel Management's inspector general say the federal government has paid out over $600 million in benefits in the past five years to dead people. The money was meant to go to retired or disabled federal workers. More »
Secret Memo Reveals Which Cellphone Carriers Store Your Data The Longest
By Ben Popken on September 28, 2011 4:00 PM
27 Comments
How long does your cellphone company keep logs of your text messages? Of the words you wrote? Of the calls you made? A Freedom of Information Act request by the American Civil Liberties Union of North Carolina unearthed a Department of Justice document that breaks down the retention periods for each mobile provider. More »
(°Florian)
You Can Get $500 If An Autodialer Calls Your Cellphone
By Ben Popken on September 28, 2011 3:00 PM
111 Comments
Your cellphone rings from a number you don't recognize. You pick it up. At first there's silence. Then the sound of a call center kicks in and a person asks, "Hello, can I speak to Karen?" It's a telemarketer, or a debt collector, using an autodialer. And they just broke the law. And just for funsies, you can collect $500 or $1500 with just a few hours of work if you go after them. More »
(Fujoshi)
Robber Tries To Hold Up Clerk With Toy Gun, Foiled When Coworker Pretends To Be Cop
By Phil Villarreal on September 28, 2011 2:30 PM
32 Comments
Proving once and for all that childhood games of cops and robbers offer training for real-world crime prevention procedures, a Florida convenience store clerk foiled a robbery by pretending to be a policeman. Naturally, the masked woman he subdued turned out to be wielding only a toy gun. More »
Reebok Spent At Least $64 Million On Deceptive EasyTone Ads
By Chris Morran on September 28, 2011 1:30 PM
54 Comments
Earlier today, we wrote about the $25 million settlement between the Federal Trade Commission and Reebok over the shoemaker's misleading ads for its EasyTone line of shoes. And while that $25 million in refunds is a nice slab of cash, it's chump change compared to what Reebok has spent marketing the shoes — and what it's earned off their sales. More »
SEC Warns S&P It May Sue Them
By Ben Popken on September 28, 2011 1:00 PM
31 Comments
In an unprecedented move, the SEC warned S&P that it might be suing it over its rating of a mortgage-backed bond. It's the first warning a credit rating firm has gotten over its behavior leading up to the financial crisis. More »
Reebok To Fork Over $25 Million In Refunds For Deceptive EasyTone Ads
By Chris Morran on September 28, 2011 11:22 AM
44 Comments
As we reported yesterday, the Federal Trade Commission was going to announce a huge settlement, involving millions in refunds to consumers, with some big name shoe company over deceptive advertising claims. And today it was revealed that it's sneaker biggie Reebok that has agreed to fork over $25 million in refunds to buyers of its EasyTone shoes. More »
(imsickof)
Saggy Pants Fines Bring City $3,916.49
By Ben Popken on September 28, 2011 11:00 AM
98 Comments
Albany, Georgia is raking in the dough by fining people who violate the city's saggy pants ban. More »
Government Worker Injured In Toilet Explosion
By Phil Villarreal on September 28, 2011 10:30 AM
42 Comments
We're at our most vulnerable when we're taking care of business in the bathroom. But the feeling of safety provided by a closed stall can sometimes be false. A woman who works at the General Services Administration Building in Washington, D.C. suffered the sum of all fears when her toilet exploded on her, sending her to the hospital with serious injuries. More »
Animal Rights Group Says It Torched Idaho Fur Shop
By Phil Villarreal on September 28, 2011 9:45 AM
130 Comments
An Idaho store that sells fur coats and fireworks was set on fire Monday, and a group of animal rights activist say they started the blaze that caused $100,000 in damage. The admitted arsonists say they will strike again if the business resumes operation. More »
Women Sue Plastic Surgeon For Posting Nude Pics
By Phil Villarreal on September 28, 2011 9:15 AM
99 Comments
According to lawsuits filed by five women, a St. Louis plastic surgeon violated their privacy, advertising his skills by posting naked pictures of them on his site. More »
(Joe)
Did FTC Spoil Its Own Surprise Announcement?
By Chris Morran on September 27, 2011 5:43 PM
77 Comments
Earlier today, the Federal Trade Commission posted a media alert for a Wednesday morning press conference to announce an action against a "major marketer of consumer goods" that will result in millions of dollars in refunds being given to consumers. But while the Commission wanted to keep secret the name of this mystery major marketer, they may have given it away in the URL of the media alert. More »
More Groupon Employees Sue Over Unpaid Overtime
By Ben Popken on September 27, 2011 1:00 PM
58 Comments
Groupon was hit with a second employee lawsuit alleging that the company failed to pay overtime. It's only the latest in a series of major setbacks for the social coupon site casting its future into doubt. More »
Earthquake Causes Washington Monument To Shut Down Indefinitely
By Phil Villarreal on September 27, 2011 9:45 AM
53 Comments
August's 5.8 magnitude earthquake has delivered a long-distance aftershock — the closure of the Washington Monument. Deciding that the structure had suffered more damage than originally thought, the National Park Service has shut the monument down indefinitely. More »
New Jersey Governor Vetoes Tax Break For "Jersey Shore"
By Phil Villarreal on September 27, 2011 8:45 AM
91 Comments
After the New Jersey Economic Development Authority passed a tax credit dubbed the "Snooki Subsidy" geared to bring more TV and film production to the state, governor Chris Christie has punched the legislation in the face. Christie's veto nullifies the $420,000 credit. More »
Blind Man Uses Memorization And Trust To Keep Track Of Paper Money
By Ben Popken on September 26, 2011 1:00 PM
85 Comments
How does a blind guy tell the difference between a fifty and a dollar bill in his pocket? In this video, blind man Tommy Edison shows his method. More »
(Meggito)
Scientists Translate Brain Activity Into YouTube Videos
By Phil Villarreal on September 26, 2011 9:45 AM
36 Comments
Science is getting closer to letting people see through the eyes of others. California scientists have determined a way to read brain activity and reconstruct YouTube videos subjects watched with the information. The research could be the foundation of taking the lifecasting concept a step further by broadcasting the mental images people create, meaning you could watch your own dreams as well as those of others. More »
Texas Kills Off Ritual Of Special Last Meal For Those About To Be Executed
By Phil Villarreal on September 23, 2011 10:15 AM
230 Comments
Deciding to take away a final creature comfort from death row inmates on the verge of execution, Texas has eliminated the traditional last meal ritual, in which the condemned got to choose a favorite dish before he departed. More »
New York Subway Workers Say Rats Are Out Of Control
By Phil Villarreal on September 23, 2011 9:45 AM
79 Comments
According to workers who spend their days underground in the New York City subway system, the rats that infest their work environment are rapidly multiplying and getting more aggressive than ever. The union TWU Local 100 has launched an initiative called New Yorkers Deserve a Rat-Free Subway to bring attention to the problem. More »
Wisconsin Library Loans Out iPads
By Phil Villarreal on September 23, 2011 8:30 AM
80 Comments
Any libraries concerned that the ebook phenomenon will render them obsolete could stand to take a cue from a Wisconsin library that has started lending iPads to members. The devices come pre-loaded with at least 1,000 classic books and are available for weeklong loans and four-hour in-library use. More »
Over-The-Counter Asthma Inhalers To Vanish From Store Shelves By End Of Year
By Chris Morran on September 22, 2011 3:00 PM
90 Comments
If you or someone you know uses Primatene or any other over-the-counter epinephrine inhaler for asthma, the clock is officially ticking before they disappear off store shelves. The Food and Drug Administration announced today that, in an effort to cut down on products using ozone-depleting chlorofluorocarbons, these inhalers will no longer be available after Dec. 31. More »
Debt Collectors Fighting Laws Aimed At Making Them Do Their Jobs Properly
By Chris Morran on September 22, 2011 1:50 PM
65 Comments
In recent years, a number of U.S. states have crafted legislation intended to make sure that debt collectors are doing a thorough job of properly identifying debtors and proving that a debt is actually owed. But now these collections folks are fighting these laws because they apparently make debt collecting a less profitable venture. More »
New Law Has Put 1 Million More Young Adults On Parents' Health Insurance
By Phil Villarreal on September 22, 2011 10:30 AM
58 Comments
A 2010 health insurance law that allows those under age 26 to stick to their parents' health insurance plans has allowed 1 million presumably uninsured adults in the age group to find coverage. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said the amount of young adults who lack health insurance has fallen from 34 percent from the beginning of 2010 to 30 percent in March. More »
Customer Allegedly Pulls Shotgun On Taco Bell Employee For Forgetting Hot Sauce
By Phil Villarreal on September 22, 2011 10:15 AM
49 Comments
Some people take their missing hot sauce far too seriously. An irate Taco Bell customer was so enraged after he found out his order was missing the condiment that he allegedly returned to the restaurant with a shotgun and pulled it on the offending employee. Now the suspect has been arrested and faces up to 10 years in prison. More »
Full Tilt Poker Says It Isn't A Ponzi Scheme
By Phil Villarreal on September 22, 2011 9:15 AM
46 Comments
Responding to allegations from the U.S. Department of Justice that Full Tilt Poker proprietors operated a global Ponzi scheme, attorneys of the online poker emporium responded with the legal equivalent of "nu-uh!" More »
(fyunkie)
US Accuses Full Tilt Poker Of Being Global Ponzi Scheme
By Ben Popken on September 21, 2011 11:30 AM
51 Comments
Looks like Full Tilt Poker just went bust. The Department of Justice has accused the site's proprietors of operating a "global Ponzi scheme" in which the owners got paid with money they told players was being safely held. More »
Report: Government Investigating Google's Alleged Ad Price Gouging Of Microsoft
By Phil Villarreal on September 21, 2011 9:15 AM
19 Comments
In what has the appearance of a high-stakes, corporate sumo wrestling match, the Federal Trade Commission is reportedly investigating a hefty ad rate increase with which Google stung Microsoft. The investigation is said to be part of the FTC's antitrust probe of Google that's been going on for months. More »
Pennsylvania Pulls Plug On Wine Kiosk Experiment
By Chris Morran on September 20, 2011 4:30 PM
73 Comments
As anyone who has tried to buy booze, wine or beer in Pennsylvania can tell you, the Keystone State has some of the most bizarre and byzantine liquor control rules on the books. Last year, the state tried to clear things up by introducing overly complicated wine kiosks in supermarkets, but it now looks like those have fallen victim to a payment dispute. More »
Should We Be Concerned That Federal Agents Are Raiding IHOP Restaurants?
By Chris Morran on September 20, 2011 1:16 PM
97 Comments
Of all the places one would expect to see IRS, FBI and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents storming through the doors, an IHOP in Ohio. That's why it's even more bizarre to hear that very thing went down today inside at least seven IHOPs. More »
Despite Their Protests, Airlines Are Indeed Liable For Lost Luggage
By Ben Popken on September 20, 2011 1:00 PM
37 Comments
Many airlines have inserted "checked baggage limitations of liability" into their contracts which try to act like it's not their fault if jewelry or gadgets somehow go missing during transit from your luggage. They're bunkum. More »
(crzybob)
OSHA Goes After Sea World For Killer Whale Incident
By Phil Villarreal on September 20, 2011 9:45 AM
51 Comments
Sea World Orlando faces hearings this week that are connected to the infamous 2010 tragedy in which a killer whale caused the death of a trainer. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration contends Sea World Orlando willfully put its employees in danger by failing to take enough safety precautions, including using proper barriers, decking or oxygen supply systems. More »
Copy "Wedding Crashers" Prank, Get Charged With A Felony
By Phil Villarreal on September 20, 2011 9:15 AM
111 Comments
In the movie Wedding Crashers, Owen Wilson's character pours eye drops into an enemy's drink to put him out of commission and is rewarded with audience laughter. In real life, a Wisconsin college student does the same to her roommate and is charged with a felony that stuck her with 90 days in prison and 30 months of probation. More »
(afagen)
Some New York Taxi Drivers Anger Businesses By Rejecting Racy Ads
By Phil Villarreal on September 19, 2011 11:30 AM
75 Comments
Claiming their free speech has been violated, advertisers are speaking out against the New York City Taxi and Limousine Commission's decision to let taxi drivers decline to post ads featuring scantily-clad women on their vehicles. The companies are bitter that they apparently wasted the money they paid to create ads they now can't use as widely as planned. More »
(afagen)
TSA Fires 28 Agents Who Allegedly Did Not Do Jobs
By Phil Villarreal on September 19, 2011 9:15 AM
27 Comments
In the slow but inevitable reaction to the scandal in which several Transportation Security Administration agents were accused of letting un-screened baggage make it on to flights, the agency fired 28 employees. Fifteen others connected to the alleged negligence — which is believed to have occurred over several months in Hawaii last year — were suspended. Three others left their jobs voluntarily. More »
(matneym)
Appeals Court Rules $675,000 File-Sharing Judgment Is Constitutional After All
By Phil Villarreal on September 19, 2011 9:00 AM
82 Comments
Last year, a Boston college student caught a break when a judge reduced an earlier file-sharing judgment against him from $675,000 to $67,500, calling the earlier figure unconstitutional. Now a federal appeals court has wiped that relief away by deciding the Constitution is cool after all with the $675,000 fee and has reinstated the earlier judgment. More »
FDA Scolds Big Corn For "Corn Sugar" Ads & Websites
By Chris Morran on September 16, 2011 4:51 PM
93 Comments
For more than a year, the folks at the Corn Refiners Association have been making a very public push to rebrand the controversial but widely used high fructose corn syrup as "corn sugar," telling consumers that "sugar is sugar." But newly uncovered correspondence between the Food and Drug Administration and Big Corn show that regulators aren't exactly thrilled about the new name. More »
(zieak)
Guy Who Helped Create TSA Wants To Kill It
By Phil Villarreal on September 16, 2011 9:15 AM
70 Comments
Of all the critics the Transportation Security Administration has attracted, one of the last naysayers you'd expect to see would be a politician who had a hand in creating the bureau. But according to a conservative site, the Republican chairman of the House Transportation Committee who sponsored the bill that led to the establishment of the TSA in 2002 wants to dismantle and privatize the organization. More »
Colleges Banning Sale Of Bottled Water On Campus
By Chris Morran on September 15, 2011 12:30 PM
266 Comments
The college students of America have a drinking problem, but it's not what you think. More »
Probe: BP Cost-Cutting Led To Spill
By Phil Villarreal on September 15, 2011 8:15 AM
49 Comments
BP's infamous oil spill last year in the Gulf of Mexico might have been prevented had the company not offered incentives to workers to cut costs rather than improve safety. A 16-months-in-the-making government report concluded that there were five instances in which BP either cut costs, decreased drilling time or increased risks. More »
Analysis: Laws Restricting Teen Drivers Doing Little Good
By Phil Villarreal on September 14, 2011 10:45 AM
110 Comments
According to a nationwide analysis of car crash data, heavier restrictions on the driving privileges of 16 and 17-year-old drivers haven't necessarily made the roads safer. Although deadly accidents involving the youngest drivers have fallen, the number of crash fatalities in 18 and 19-year-old drivers has doubled. The implication is that younger drivers, who are forbidden from driving at night or with passengers some states, are simply older when they're still dangerously inexperienced. More »
(Scurzuzu)
Banks Must Produce Living Wills To Tell Regulators How To Liquidate Them
By Phil Villarreal on September 14, 2011 10:15 AM
20 Comments
No one likes to imagine their own undoing, but that's what the government has asked the largest American banks to do, mapping out liquidation plans in "living wills" that will help financial regulators pick apart their carcasses if they go under. The banks have until next year to submit their plans, which are mandated by the 2010 Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act. More »
(basykes)
6 E.Coli Strains Added To Beef Ban List
By Ben Popken on September 13, 2011 5:00 PM
34 Comments
The government is adding six more, relatively rarer, strains of E.coli to the list of banned beef. Meat mongers are balking. More »
PA Judge Deems Health Insurance Mandate Unconstitutional
By Chris Morran on September 13, 2011 3:30 PM
122 Comments
Even though three U.S. Courts of Appeal have ruled on challenges to the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act — though they haven't all agreed — and it will all inevitably be decided by the Supreme Court, lower courts are apparently still issuing rulings on the matter. More »
What It's Like For A Blind Man To Use An ATM For The First Time
By Ben Popken on September 13, 2011 2:00 PM
56 Comments
Have you ever been waiting for the ATM to dispense your monies and seen that little headjack for blind people and wondered, hey, how does a blind person use an ATM? This video shows what happens when Tommy Edison, a blind man, uses the ATM for the first time. It takes him 11 minutes. More »
Judge Dismisses Lawsuit Against TSA From Man Who Wrote 4th Amendment On Chest
By Chris Morran on September 13, 2011 1:15 PM
144 Comments
Many of you will remember the story from earlier this year about the man with the Fourth Amendment written on his chest who filed a lawsuit against the TSA, alleging that he had been wrongfully detained after he stripped down to his running shorts at an airport security checkpoint. Now comes news that a federal judge has dismissed complaints against almost all defendants in the lawsuit. More »
More Towns To Withdraw Millions From Chase Over Mortgage Mod Practices
By Ben Popken on September 13, 2011 1:00 PM
57 Comments
We know the story. Chase and other banks got billions in bailouts that they were encouraged, but not required, to use to help people modify their mortgages. Instead they sat on it and smiled like cheshire cats. Now a movement has sprung up to punish Chase for its intransigence by withdrawing money from their accounts. On the individual account level, that's not much. But in New York state, entire towns are getting in on the act. More »
Authors Guild Sues Universities For Amassing Digital Book Library
By Phil Villarreal on September 13, 2011 10:15 AM
76 Comments
Authors who believe they are being ripped off by institutions of higher learning are taking four universities to court for scanning about 7 million copyright-protected books into a digital library, allowing students and faculty to download out-of-print work. More »
Seattle Becomes Third City To Require Paid Sick Leave
By Phil Villarreal on September 13, 2011 9:45 AM
104 Comments
Many businesses offer paid sick days to stay competitive, but few laws actually require them to do so. Seattle joined the slim ranks by passing a law requiring businesses more than two years old with at least five employees to provide at least five days of sick leave per year. The city joins San Francisco and Washington, D.C. as the only municipalities in the country to require the benefit. The state of Connecticut also mandates paid sick leave. More »
Get $3.99 In Oprah Free KFC Coupon Debacle Lawsuit
By Ben Popken on September 12, 2011 1:00 PM
41 Comments
Two years ago, Oprah promoted on her show a KFC coupon for a free grilled chicken meal. Now the class action lawsuit the resulted after that ended in tears has settled. More »
(moeberg)
Restaurant Sues Dex Media For Making It Butt Of Leno Joke
By Phil Villarreal on September 12, 2011 9:30 AM
36 Comments
It's less than advantageous for a restaurant to be grouped with animal carcass removal companies. A Montana eatery suffered such an indignity two years ago in online and printed listings by by Dex Media, suffering a heavy hit to its reputation, even ending up as fodder for Jay Leno on his Headlines segment. The restaurant owner has sued for, among other charges, negligence, defamation and slander, and wants Dex to compensate the business for the money it spent building up the brand, as well as a TV commercial to set the record straight. More »
Workers Fired For Facebook Post Get Jobs Back
By Phil Villarreal on September 12, 2011 9:15 AM
49 Comments
According to the National Labor Relations Board, workers have the right to publicly gripe about workplace conditions without suffering retribution. An NLRB judgment in a messy case last week reaffirmed the stance. An employee at a Buffalo nonprofit complained about the work ethic of a coworker on Facebook, and coworkers piled on in comments. After the organization fired the employees, citing an anti-cyber harassment policy, one of them filed a complaint via the NLRB. More »
Your Tax Dollars Are Hard At Work Subsidizing Video Game Companies
By Phil Villarreal on September 12, 2011 9:00 AM
56 Comments
The government has played a part in keeping video game companies as profitable as they are, offering tax incentives that bolster the businesses' bottom lines. Game companies have managed to benefit from a slew of arguably outdated tax credits, deductions and write-offs largely intended for other companies. Gaming companies also take advantage of a 1950s-era tax break, expanded in 1969 to include software companies, that lets businesses deduct research and experimentation costs immediately. More »
(Tracy O)
Landlord Refuses To Rent To Single Mother Because There's No Man "To Shovel The Snow"
By Ben Popken on September 9, 2011 4:00 PM
204 Comments
A Wisconsin landlord has been sued by the US Department of Housing and Urban Development after refusing to rent a property to a single mother. The landlord, who is a woman, said it was because the renter didn't have a man "to shovel the snow." More »
Obama Calls For Congress To Quickly Pass Jobs Bill
By Ben Popken on September 9, 2011 1:00 PM
155 Comments
Last night, President Obama addressed Congress and urged them to pass the American Jobs Act immediately. Here are some of the highlighted proposals: More »
Woman Accused Of Stealing 2,000 Library Books
By Phil Villarreal on September 9, 2011 11:15 AM
62 Comments
Police say a Los Angeles-area woman stole 2,000 library books, as well as a number of DVDs, and was suspected of planning to sell off the collection. Library staff notified authorities after they noticed massive numbers of books had gone missing between March and July, and that a customer was acting suspiciously. More »
L.A. City Councilman Proposes Making Spray Paint Buyers Provide Addresses, IDs
By Phil Villarreal on September 9, 2011 10:15 AM
94 Comments
Los Angeles is a city crawling with artists and graffiti vandals, and both sectors — as well as other folks who like to paint stuff for legitimate reasons — are big on buying spray paint. In order to keep closer tabs on the graffiti types, the L.A. City Council is proposing a law that would require anyone who buys spray paint to submit their address and identification so police can keep the information on file. More »
(acetonic)
U.S. Mint Officer Admits He Stole And Sold $2.4 Million In Coins
By Phil Villarreal on September 9, 2011 9:45 AM
43 Comments
Money isn't necessarily safe in the hands of those who mint it. A U.S. Mint employee pleaded guilty to theft of government property and tax evasion, admitting he swiped $2.4 million in coins with errors and sold them to a California coin distributor. The $1 presidential coins he admitted to stealing were missing lettering, and the convict knew he could get a premium for them because the errors gave them more value in the coin collecting market. More »
(Amazon)
Military Branches License Branded Cologne, Hot Sauce
By Phil Villarreal on September 9, 2011 8:45 AM
38 Comments
The military has marched into the retail sector armed with an arsenal of unorthodox products, ranging from cologne and walking canes to hot sauce. If you'd like to smell like a Marine, you can purchase a $45 bottle of Devil Dog cologne. You can also spice up your food with some drops from a $7 bottle of U.S. Marine Corps Hot Sauce, which its bottle declares "Will Make You Stand At Attention." More »
Nivea Fined For Saying Skin Cream Makes You Slimmer
By Ben Popken on September 8, 2011 2:00 PM
13 Comments
The distributor of Nivea in Canada has been fined nearly 400,000 Loonies for marketing the "My Silhouette" skin cream as making you slimmer. As opposed to the usually vague nonsense talk surrounding skin and beauty product pitches, this one claimed users could expect a "reduction of up to three centimetres on targeted body parts, such as thighs, hips, waist and stomach." More »
Federal Appeals Court In Virginia Tosses Out Challenge To Health Care Reform
By Chris Morran on September 8, 2011 12:50 PM
112 Comments
The final of three federal appeals court rulings on the constitutionality of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act has come down, and this round goes to the White House. More »
Medicare Fraud Sting Hauls In 91 Suspects
By Phil Villarreal on September 8, 2011 11:15 AM
35 Comments
Medicare has enough sustainability problems when used by the book, so the government-subsidized healthcare plan is in no position to absorb massive fraud. In an effort to rein in misuse of the program, federal agents led a 400-plus agency national sting operation that yielded 91 arrests of alleged fraudsters. More »
TSA Will Phase Out Making You Take Your Shoes Off
By Ben Popken on September 8, 2011 10:00 AM
75 Comments
At some currently unspecified point down the road, you'll be able to go through airport security without taking your shoes or belt off. The policy easement was announced by U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano during a forum hosted by Politico Playbook in DC. More »
Three Topless Female Coffee Shop Employees Cited
By Phil Villarreal on September 8, 2011 9:45 AM
78 Comments
It seems that uniforms were optional at a Vietnamese coffee shop in San Jose, Calif., where three female employees were cited after they reportedly were caught serving customers while topless. Cited on suspicion of public nudity, but not arrested, the women will be forced to appear in criminal court. More »
DEA Set To Ban Bath Salt Drugs
By Phil Villarreal on September 8, 2011 8:45 AM
77 Comments
Following a groundswell of state bans on stimulant drugs sold at gas stations dubbed "bath salts," the Drug Enforcement Administration will reportedly place a temporary ban on possessing and selling the drugs. The drugs, Mephedrone, MDPV and Methylone, are sold under names such as Bliss and Purple Wave and are said to cause hallucinations and spark violence in users. More »
White House Developing Plan To Save USPS
By Ben Popken on September 7, 2011 12:00 PM
125 Comments
"I'm operating right now with a week's worth of cash," Postmaster General Patrick R. Donahoe told Senators on Tuesday. After the Postmaster General went to Capitol Hill to pass the hat around, the White House announced it's a few weeks away from developing a plan to save the USPS from bankruptcy. More »
California Court Says Guy Can't Change His Name To Web Address
By Phil Villarreal on September 7, 2011 10:30 AM
52 Comments
If you want your name to be your website URL, you're most likely going to have to settle for the moniker as a nickname. A man described as a marijuana activist who tried to name himself after his pot advocacy website had his name change request denied by a trial court, and the decision was affirmed by an appeals court. More »
Anti-Baggy Pants Bill Takes Effect In Florida Schools
By Ben Popken on September 6, 2011 12:00 PM
135 Comments
Senator Gary Siplin of Florida greeted returning high school students this week by personally handing out leather belts. It was a reminder that the law he got passed last spring, which requires that schools adopt dress codes that ban baggy, saggy, and underwear-showing pants, was now in full effect. More »
(B Rosen)
Ideas For Saving USPS From Bankruptcy
By Ben Popken on September 6, 2011 11:00 AM
222 Comments
Before it even has a chance to deliver the next letter to Santa, the US Postal Service could be bankrupt. The USPS might not be able to make a $5.5 billion payment it owes this month. Lawmakers will hear all about it and ideas for staving off default in a Senate committee hearing today called "U.S. Postal Service In Crisis: Proposals To Prevent A Postal Shutdown." More »
Starbucks CEO Emails Customers, Recruiting Them To Stop Washington Gridlock
By Ben Popken on September 6, 2011 10:00 AM
50 Comments
The CEO of Starbucks emailed customers on Friday asking them to join hands with him and other business leaders to urge Congress to stop the nihilist political gridlock and get on with fixing our country. Tuesday night at 6pm he will host an online townhall meeting. At the same time, he's also set up an online petition where businesses can "pledge" to withhold campaign contributions as well as promise to start hiring employees. Is this the start of the "Coffee Party"? More »
Irene Expected To Wash $1.5 Billion Away From Taxpayers
By Phil Villarreal on September 6, 2011 8:45 AM
87 Comments
Efforts to clean up the destruction left in the wake of Hurricane Irene will charge a tab of $1.5 billion to taxpayers. The White House budget director released the estimate, which adds to $5.2 billion needed to mop up other disasters. The problem is that the Federal Emergency Management Agency's funds are tight until Oct. 1, when the new budget kicks in. More »
Postal Service May Default Without Congressional Intervention
By Phil Villarreal on September 5, 2011 3:30 PM
92 Comments
Predictions of coming doom have been coming from the United States Post Office for months, with the service expected to suffer a $9.2 billion deficit this fiscal year and unable to make a $5.5 billion payment to cover employee health coverage due at the end of the month. Now the postmaster general has raised the stakes of the organization's financial crisis by declaring that it will default if Congress doesn't intervene. More »
California Bill Calls For Ban On Shark Fin Soup
By Phil Villarreal on September 5, 2011 2:30 PM
55 Comments
If you're into buying, selling, trading or eating shark fins in California, you may want to live it up before a bill calling for the ban on sharkfin trafficking becomes law. The legislative effort, dubbed the California Shark Protection Act, would also make it illegal to dine on the Chinese delicacy of shark fin soup. More »
(KFreon)
Why You're Not At Work Today: The History Of Labor Day
By Mary Beth Quirk on September 5, 2011 1:58 PM
53 Comments
While you're lolling about by the grill and enjoying that frosty beer, you should know why it is your hard work is celebrated on the first day of September every year. Let's learn about Labor Day, shall we? And pass the chips. More »
Government's Customer Service Ratings Improve, Still Not Great
By Laura Northrup on September 2, 2011 11:40 AM
19 Comments
Did you know that President Barack Obama signed an executive order in April that requires federal agencies to improve their customer service? Yeah, me either. But maybe fewer people will want to nominate the federal government as the Worst Company in America in 2012, because a recent survey by federal IT network MeriTalk indicates that the quality of customer service from the government is going up. A little. 31% of respondents said that they were satisfied with government services, up from 24% last year. The highest-rated agencies? The Social Security Administration and the IRS. More »
Texas Ups Speed Limit To 85 MPH
By Ben Popken on September 1, 2011 4:00 PM
197 Comments
Put the pedal to the metal and get it in gear, today the max speed limit in Texas was officially raise to 85 MPH. Woohoo, yee-doggy! More »
Report: Government Lost As Much As $60 Billion To Waste, Fraud In War Contracts
By Phil Villarreal on September 1, 2011 11:15 AM
110 Comments
According to the Commission on Wartime Contracting in Iraq and Afghanistan, those conflicts have been cesspools of financial mismanagement. The commission says between $31 billion and $60 billion of the total $206 billion in war-related contract spending has been burned in waste or fraud. More »
Chart: This Is How Dead Free Checking Is At Big Banks
By Ben Popken on September 1, 2011 11:00 AM
141 Comments
This chart from American Banker shows just how many nails are in the coffin of free checking at big banks in a post-Durbin amendment world. That is a whopping drop from 96% of large banks offering free checking in 2009 to only 34.6% in 2011. What's also amazing is just how resilient free checking is at the credit unions and smaller banks, which continue to use it as a marketing tactic to attract customers. More »
COBRA Subsidies Expire, Leaving Unemployed To Scramble For Healthcare
By Phil Villarreal on September 1, 2011 8:15 AM
107 Comments
Laid-off workers who relied on COBRA subsidies to help pay for health insurance saw the benefits end Wednesday. Under the program, the government paid 65 percent of COBRA costs with federal stimulus dollars. Wednesday saw the end of 15 months of extended subsidies for those who lost their jobs between September 2008 and May 2010. More »
Scofflaw Lemon Tree Escapes Florida, Causes Interstate Incident
By Meg Marco on August 31, 2011 3:30 PM
87 Comments
Florida is apparently under quarantine because of diseases that affect the quality of citrus fruit. This isn't information your average person from Wisconsin is in possession of, so when the United States Department of Agriculture wrote to one Waukesha woman to let her know that she'd have to give up her Meyer lemon tree, she was a little confused. More »
Teen Sentenced For 2 To 6 Years For Mugging Man For 7 Cents
By Phil Villarreal on August 31, 2011 11:15 AM
103 Comments
A New York judge got tough with a 15-year-old boy convicted of mugging a 73-year-old man, sentencing him for 2 to 6 years in juvenile detention. The judge said he would have given the boy the same 1 to 4 year state prison sentence as a youthful offender that he gave his accomplice if he had taken responsibility for the crime rather than taking back his initial confession. Because the boy with the 2 to 6 year sentence was not convicted as a youthful offender, his crime — unlike that of his accomplice — will stay on his record after he serves his time. More »
(Tee_Bird)
Judge Says Couple Can Sue Laptop Security Business For Recording Sex Chats
By Phil Villarreal on August 31, 2011 10:15 AM
75 Comments
Security companies that track down stolen laptops don't necessarily have the right to peek into virtual bedrooms. A U.S. District judge ruled that there are potential grounds for a jury to find that a company violated a couple's privacy when it recorded their sex chats as it attempted to track down a stolen laptop the woman was using. More »
Chicago Sausage Sellers Bicker Over Who's More Original
By Phil Villarreal on August 30, 2011 10:30 AM
60 Comments
A pair of similarly named Chicago Polish sausage establishments — Jim's Original Polish and Jim's Original Chicago — are locked in a federal court battle over business names and marketing practices. More »
(zieak)
White House Picks Princeton Prof. Krueger For Top Economic Adviser Gig
By Chris Morran on August 29, 2011 2:07 PM
88 Comments
Now that economic adviser — and Consumerist pal — Austan Goolsbee has departed the White House, President Obama has a spot to fill. Today he announced the choice of Princeton labor economist Alan Krueger to be chairman of the White House Council of Economic Advisers. More »
California Considering Ban On Styrofoam To-Go Containers
By Chris Morran on August 29, 2011 1:00 PM
96 Comments
Though many of the large fast food chains ditched Styrofoam containers many moons ago, there are still plenty of restaurants that continue to use Styrofoam for packing up to-go orders for customers. But a bill before the California State Assembly could put an end to that in the Golden State. More »
Federal Court: Massachusetts Law Against Recording Of On-The-Job Cops Is Unconstitutional
By Phil Villarreal on August 29, 2011 11:15 AM
120 Comments
A federal appeals court ruled that the people have the right to record police officers when they're on the job in public. A U.S. First Circuit Court of Appeals judge found that a Massachusetts law used to ban such actions is unconstitutional. More »
Lawsuit: Background-Check Service Incorrectly Reporting People As Sex Offenders
By Chris Morran on August 26, 2011 2:30 PM
71 Comments
This may actually be worse than having the world think you're dead. A new class-action suit claims that a credit and background checking company is reporting "hundreds or thousands of consumers as sex offenders in consumer reports provided to employers." More »
Thief Allegedly Crashes Stolen Semi Into Porn Shop, Swipes $800 Toy
By Phil Villarreal on August 26, 2011 10:15 AM
55 Comments
A suspected thief was so determined to nab an $800 sex doll that he allegedly stole a semi, crashed it into an adult shop and made off with the prize. More »
Hells Angels Sue L.A. T-Shirt Maker For Copyright Infringement
By Phil Villarreal on August 26, 2011 9:15 AM
54 Comments
It seems the Hells Angels aren't cool with the idea of an L.A. fashion boutique slapping its name on a t-shirt. The notorious motorcycle club is suing the designer and several online retailers for copyright infringement. The shirt in question bears the message: "My boyfriend's a Hells Angel." More »
Defense Department Employee Accused Of Taking Bribe
By Phil Villarreal on August 26, 2011 8:15 AM
27 Comments
Bidding wars for defense contracts make particularly fertile ground for corruption, and a federal employee may have gotten caught with his hand stuck in the cookie jar. Federal authorities have accused an Afghanistan-based U.S. Department of Defense employee of taking a bribe from a company there in exchange for helping to secure a government contract. The suspect was caught with a backpack stuffed with $95,000 in alleged bribe money. More »
(JohnKit)
If You Must Pee At A Supermarket, Don't Do It On The Floor
By Phil Villarreal on August 25, 2011 10:30 AM
61 Comments
Some people are afraid of relieving themselves in public bathrooms, while others have no qualms about heeding nature's call no matter the time or place. A 62-year-old man in Holmes Beach, Fla. allegedly falls into the latter category, judging by the way he up and let it flow on a supermarket floor. He was arrested for indecent exposure in public and driving with a suspended license, which had been revoked from an earlier DUI charge. More »
I Fought A Sleazy Towing Company And Won
By Laura Northrup on August 24, 2011 4:03 PM
160 Comments
The bad news was that Anne's car was illegally towed from the parking lot of her friend's apartment complex while she was visiting him. The good news: this friend is a lawyer, who researched the situation and determined precisely why the tow was illegal. More »
Russia Wants To Connect With Alaska Via Tunnel
By Phil Villarreal on August 24, 2011 10:15 AM
83 Comments
In what at a first glance seems like an supervillain plot from a James Bond movie, Russia wants to dig a 64-mile tunnel that connects Siberia and Alaska. The $65 billion project would allow for travel via a high-speed railway and connect the countries with energy links and fiber optic cable. More »
Samsung Cites 1968 Movie To Prove It Didn't Rip Off iPad
By Phil Villarreal on August 24, 2011 9:15 AM
90 Comments
Responding to Apple's lawsuit alleging it copied designs for the iPad and iPhone, Samsung's lawyers have pulled out video evidence from the 1968 film 2001: A Space Odyssey. In a 1-minute clip, the lawyers imply that the iPad-style form factor predates Apple's devices. More »
(matneym)
Judge: Companies Can Offer Cloud Music Storage Without Label Consent
By Phil Villarreal on August 23, 2011 9:30 AM
36 Comments
Amazon, Google and other companies that allow users to store their music on cloud servers are within the law, according to a federal judge who ruled that the Digital Millennium Copyright Act of 1998 protects the business model. The judge ruled in favor of cloud storage service MP3tunes, which was sued by record label EMI. More »
Social Security Disability Payments Could Dry Up In 2017
By Maggie Shader on August 22, 2011 2:15 PM
100 Comments
The Social Security disability fund may not be able to make payments come 2017, according to a new analysis by the Congressional Budget Office (CBO). More »
Fed Doled Out $1.2 Trillion In Secret Loans To Giant Banks, Brokerages
By Phil Villarreal on August 22, 2011 9:00 AM
42 Comments
The Federal Reserve got loan-happy from 2007 to 2010, handing out mega funding to several top banks and brokerage firms, such as Morgan Stanley, Citigroup and Bank of America. The secretive financial agreements were meant to stop the economy from plunging into depression. More »
Government Sues Panda Express For Alleged Civil Rights Violations
By Phil Villarreal on August 19, 2011 9:45 AM
82 Comments
According to a federal lawsuit brought by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, a Panda Express general manager at a San Jose, Calif. location mistreated Latino workers, assigning them fewer work hours and more difficult and dirty tasks than he did Asian employees. More »
(afagen)
Seven Former Players Sue NFL Over Concussions
By Phil Villarreal on August 19, 2011 8:30 AM
89 Comments
One of the dark sides of pro football is the toll the game takes on players, leaving some with permanent brain injuries brought on by concussions. Seven former NFL players are suing the league over its handling of concussion-related injuries, alleging teams trained players to hit in ways that led to head injuries, failed to properly treat concussions and tried to hide links between the game and brain injuries. More »
(zieak)
Texas AG Accuses Gas Station Chain Of Diluting Fuel
By Chris Morran on August 18, 2011 3:36 PM
68 Comments
When you choose a grade of gasoline at the fuel pump, you're taking the gas station at its word that the gasoline coming out of the nozzle is the octane you selected. But the Attorney General for the state of Texas has filed a lawsuit against a chain of filling stations, alleging that its premium- and medium-grade gasoline has been diluted with the regular stuff. More »
(_tar0_)
Toilet Paper-Plagued Idaho River Finally Flushed Clean
By Phil Villarreal on August 18, 2011 11:15 AM
15 Comments
An Idaho truck mishap that left a river clogged with massive rolls of disintegrating, unprocessed toilet paper has finally been cleaned up after weeks of efforts by clean-up crews. The upper Lochsa River was clogged with the waste, foiling sanitation efforts until recently. More »
(Muffet)
SEC Lawyer Says Agency Illegally Destroyed Documents
By Phil Villarreal on August 18, 2011 9:15 AM
20 Comments
According to allegations made by a Securities and Exchange Commission lawyer, released by Congressional investigators, the organization has illegally destroyed documents related to at least 9,000 preliminary inquiries over the past two decades. More »
Justice Department Investigates Standard & Poor's Mortgage Security Ratings
By Phil Villarreal on August 18, 2011 8:30 AM
69 Comments
Standard & Poor's may be have a downgrade of sorts in store for itself, now that the credit ratings agency is the target of a Justice Department investigation into its ratings of mortgage companies before the financial crisis. More »
The Letter That Got My Homeowner's Insurance Company To Pay Up
By Ben Popken on August 17, 2011 5:00 PM
92 Comments
Reader S finally got his homeowner's insurance company to pay up for the rebuilding of the glass railings around his condo, thanks to a well-crafted and scary letter he wrote them. Here is his story, and his ass-kicking letter. More »
Proposed New Health Insurance Forms Seek To Make Sense Of It All
By Chris Morran on August 17, 2011 2:27 PM
33 Comments
Much about the health insurance business is deliberately byzantine, intended to discourage customers from understanding all the fine details of their policies. But today the Department of Health and Human Services proposed a new way of labeling insurance policies that would spell out the costs and benefits of health plans in easy-to-understand language. More »
Congress To Legalize Online Gambling?
By Chris Morran on August 17, 2011 1:40 PM
84 Comments
Only months after the federal government shut down access to online poker sites come reports that Congress could soon consider a bill that would legalize online gambling. More »
Social Security Responsible For Creating 14,000 Zombies Every Year
By Chris Morran on August 17, 2011 12:15 PM
61 Comments
Every day in this country, more than 38 living, breathing Americans join the ranks of the living dead after their names somehow end up on the Social Security Administration's Death Master File. More »
Idaho Woman Faces As Much As 10 Years In Prison For Stealing A Beer
By Phil Villarreal on August 17, 2011 11:30 AM
128 Comments
An Idaho woman suspected of swiping a single can of beer from a grocery store last week was charged with a felony punishable by as many as 10 years in prison. More »
Dog Group Says Dog Theft Is Up 32 Percent This Year
By Phil Villarreal on August 17, 2011 11:15 AM
65 Comments
According to the American Kennel Club, dognappers are on a rampage this year, making off with nearly a third more canines than they did at this point in 2010. More »
Flash Mob Blamed For Maryland Convenience Store Heist
By Phil Villarreal on August 17, 2011 9:45 AM
123 Comments
Authorities say a flash mob organized online descended on a Maryland 7-Eleven and robbed it in less than a minute. At least 28 youths are accused of bombarding the store, cleaning the shelves and leaving en masse without paying a visit to the cash register. More »
Tobacco Companies Sue FDA Over New Warning Labels
By Phil Villarreal on August 17, 2011 9:15 AM
154 Comments
In an effort to get the Food and Drug Administration to shut down its plans to slap graphic new warning labels on tobacco products, four large tobacco firms have sued the government. Big tobacco contends the labels will cost too much to print and will infringe on their rights to free speech. More »
(CBS 2)
Homeowners Steamed After Utility Rips Up Old Trees To Install Power Lines
By Ben Popken on August 16, 2011 5:00 PM
126 Comments
A neighborhood is up in arms after, without notice, the utility trimmed several old-growth shade trees to make way for new power lines. They even took one down to the stump. PSE&G says emergency measures had to be taken to address resident complaints about outages. The Montclair homeowners say their street and property values have been damaged to provide power to a tony neighborhood and country club the next town over. More »
Judge Tells Madoff Investors They Won't Get All Their Fake Money Back
By Ben Popken on August 16, 2011 3:00 PM
40 Comments
A federal judge shot down an appeal from Madoff investors who didn't just want the money they'd invested back, they wanted the amount of money Madoff said they were worth on paper. The judge said that Madoff's financial statements were "fictitious" and thus can't be used as a basis for claims by investors. More »
Domino's CEO: Why Put Calories On The Menu If 90% Of Our Customers Never Enter The Store?
By Chris Morran on August 16, 2011 12:15 PM
113 Comments
As regulations requiring all restaurants with 20 or more outlets to label their in-restaurant menus with calorie info go nationwide, the CEO of Domino's Pizza says the idea — as constructed by the federal government — just doesn't fit a business like his, given the variable nature of pizza and its many toppings and the fact that store owners are paying for sign updates that most customers will never see. More »
(TEDizen)
Buffett Begs Congress To Raise His Taxes
By Ben Popken on August 16, 2011 12:00 PM
203 Comments
Famous uberrich guy Warren Buffett has penned a NYT editorial begging Congress to please, please, raise his taxes. Last year, he writes, they were only 17.4 of his taxable income. He says folks like him, who make over $10 million a year, are treated by Washington "as if we were spotted owls or some other endangered species." It's time to stop the "coddling," he says and make the super-rich pay their fair share. More »
Former Cop Accused Of Using WiFi From Neighbors, Businesses To Get Child Porn
By Phil Villarreal on August 16, 2011 11:15 AM
67 Comments
If you need motivation to encrypt your WiFi signal, consider the possibility that criminals may try to use your network for illegal activity. A former Tennessee police officer allegedly victimized churches, businesses and neighbors, using their WiFi to download child porn and share it with an online ring via a site he accessed at times while on duty. More »
Judge Tosses Gorilla Coffee's Suit Against NYT For Posting Workers' Walkout Letter
By Ben Popken on August 16, 2011 10:00 AM
29 Comments
A popular Brooklyn coffee shop's lawsuit against the New York Times just got chucked. The paper's City Room blog had reprinted the letter penned by eight employees who simultaneously quit over working conditions, and the owners of Gorilla Coffee felt that the Times' action was defamatory and an "intentional infliction of emotional distress." A judge disagreed. More »
Ball Park & Oscar Mayer Square Off In Court Over Who Has The Best Wiener
By Chris Morran on August 15, 2011 4:15 PM
87 Comments
"Let the wiener wars begin." That's what a judge in a legal battle between the nation's two biggest hot dog brands declared earlier today, as the makers of Oscar Mayer and Ball Park franks each accused the other of misleading and deceptive advertising practices. More »
Government Wants Organic Small-Batch Ice Cream Maker To Stop Making Organic Small-Batch Ice Cream
By Laura Northrup on August 15, 2011 2:01 PM
175 Comments
Nice Cream is a small ice cream company in Chicago that does something strange and daring in the modern food landscape: they make and sell ice cream using only ingredients with names that ordinary people can pronounce. Ingredients such as "cream," "eggs," and "pie." The tiny company was a classic recession success story: a laid-off teacher experiments at home with her Cuisinart ice cream maker, and with hard work and creativity creates a delicious product that's eventually sold at Whole Foods. But the state of Illinois doesn't really see it that way, and Nice Cream will have to shut down or make drastic changes to its products and process in order to stay legal. They're first, and other small-batch ice cream makers could be next. More »
Cross-Dressing Thieves Disguised As Nurses Strike Denver Nursing Homes
By Phil Villarreal on August 15, 2011 9:30 AM
12 Comments
A pair of male thieves who dressed as female nurses are accused of robbing residents of Denver-area nursing homes, making off with credit cards they used at big-box retail stores. Authorities say the alleged criminals, who wear nurse scrubs, made their move when victims are dining or participating in other activities. The crimes could be connected to a national ring with similar incidents in Louisiana, Georgia, Texas, Kansas and Alabama. More »
Justice Department Says North Carolina Fails At Caring For Mentally Ill
By Phil Villarreal on August 15, 2011 9:00 AM
33 Comments
According to gripes from the U.S. Department of Justice, the state of North Carolina is mishandling mental health patients, violating the Americans With Disabilities Act by failing to provide adequate housing. The DOJ may sue the state and force 1,200 mental health patients out of adult care homes — inadequate facilities which it says are operating as mental health care facilities. More »
(Amazon)
Rapper May Face Arrest After Tweeting Sheriff's Station Phone Number
By Phil Villarreal on August 15, 2011 8:30 AM
72 Comments
Rap artist The Game pulled a Twitter prank Friday by posting the Compton sheriff's station phone number, encouraging his 580,000 followers to call the department if they wanted to apply for an internship. The station was bombarded with hundreds of phone calls for hours, and is now working on an official complaint it will file with prosecutors. Potential charges are "annoying or harassing phone calls via electronic device or the Internet whether or not a conversation ensues, delaying or obstructing a peace officer in the performance of their duties, and disrupting or impeding communication over a public safety radio frequency." More »
SunTrust Sunsets Free Checking
By Ben Popken on August 12, 2011 2:00 PM
68 Comments
The next bank to do away with free checking is SunTrust, and they've got their own unique twist on it. More »
Appeals Court Rules Mandatory Health Care Coverage Unconstitutional
By Chris Morran on August 12, 2011 1:52 PM
192 Comments
The legal battle over health care reform continued this morning after an appeals court in Atlanta ruled that the portion of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act requiring Americans to have some sort of health insurance is unconstitutional. More »
Taco Bell Worker Handcuffs Self To Coworker He Likes, Gets Arrested
By Phil Villarreal on August 12, 2011 10:15 AM
100 Comments
It's never a good idea to declare your infatuation with someone by handcuffing yourself to them. Doing so when both you and your victim happen to work for a prominent fast food establishment only adds the shame of national headlines to your embarrassment. More »
Postal Service May Lay Off 120,000
By Phil Villarreal on August 12, 2011 9:45 AM
131 Comments
The U.S. Postal Service continues to deliver awful news, proposing job cuts of as many as 120,000 workers in an attempt to temper costs in the wake of massive financial losses. Projecting to lose more than $8 billion for the second straight year, the USPS also wants to set up its own health plan, pulling employees out of the federal system. More »
NY, Michigan Law Grads Sue Schools For Providing Allegedly Misleading Job Stats
By Phil Villarreal on August 12, 2011 9:15 AM
60 Comments
Law school graduates in Michigan and New York who believe they were duped into making poor investments in their degrees have used their skills to take their alma maters to court in a pair of class-action suits. The grads say the schools misled them about their post-graduation job prospects, as well as their potential salaries. More »
(afagen)
NYC Says 50K Residents Weren't Counted In Census
By Phil Villarreal on August 11, 2011 9:45 AM
38 Comments
New York City officials formally challenged the Census Bureau, contending 50,000 residents of four neighborhoods in Brooklyn and Queens were overlooked in the 2010 Census. The challenge is too late to affect Congressional district lines, but could result in more federal aid. More »
(Muffet)
If You Want To Avoid TSA Screenings, Become A Pilot
By Phil Villarreal on August 11, 2011 9:15 AM
72 Comments
Perhaps figuring that if you can't trust pilots not to hijack their own flights, you may as well not let them fly in the first place, the Transportation Security Administration started allowing pilots to bypass security screenings Tuesday. Instead of being screened like everyone else, pilots show authorities their credentials. More »
Two Charged In Swiping Of iPhone 4 Prototype; Neither Are Bloggers
By Phil Villarreal on August 11, 2011 8:30 AM
32 Comments
When a pre-release iPhone 4 prototype wound up in the hands of Gizmodo last year, authorities began an investigation that led to the seizure of an editor's computers. Authorities allege that an Apple engineer left the prototype at a bar. Gizmodo admitted paying someone to get the phone, stating it didn't realize the prototype was stolen. Now Gizmodo editors can breathe easy, because the San Mateo County District Attorney has not brought charges against anyone from the site. More »
Viacom, Cablevision Settle iPad Streaming Suit
By Phil Villarreal on August 11, 2011 8:00 AM
16 Comments
In what could be described as a streaming contest, Viacom and Cablevision have been legally sparring for weeks over how to divvy up the rights to control streaming video on iPad apps. Now the corporate giants have settled their differences out of court. In a joint statement, the companies announced that Cablevision will be allowed to stream Viacom channels, including MTV and Comedy Central, over iPads located inside cable-subscribing homes. More »
(softlad)
5 People Serving Time In Michigan Jails For Failing To Pay Fines
By Phil Villarreal on August 10, 2011 9:45 AM
169 Comments
A 19-year-old Michigan man thought he'd do some unlicensed fishing but when he cast his line he ended up reeling in a jail sentence. Because he caught a fish out of season and couldn't afford the $215 fine, he was sentenced to three days in jail. The American Civil Liberties Union is using the fisherman's case, along with four others, to attack a state law it considers to be the modern-day equivalent of a debtors' prison. More »
Philly Cracks Down On Flash Mobs With Teen Curfew
By Phil Villarreal on August 10, 2011 9:15 AM
88 Comments
Just as Bomont became known as the town that forbade dancing and rock music, Philadelphia could earn the reputation as the city that stifled flash mobsters. Hollywood would do well to base a Footloose-style film on Philly, which has placed 9 p.m. Friday and Saturday night curfews on teens in downtown Center City, where a recent flash mob left two injured, and college neighborhood Universe City. In the rest of the city, curfew is midnight for those ages 14 to 17 and 10 p.m. for kids under 13. More »
Federal Reserve Says It Will Keep Interests Rates Low For 2 More Years
By Phil Villarreal on August 10, 2011 7:45 AM
18 Comments
In a move meant to ease uncertainty in the markets, the Federal Reserve pledged to keep interest rates low for the next two years. The Fed's target rates, which banks use to set loan rates, have been close to zero since 2008, and previously said they would stay there for "an extended period." The two-year designation is a sign that the Fed expects the economy to remain in troubled waters until at least 2013. More »
Atlanta Teacher Exposes Teacher-Aided Cheating On Standardized Tests
By Phil Villarreal on August 9, 2011 10:15 AM
125 Comments
Incentivized standardized tests are designed hold teachers and schools accountable for student performance, but they also provide plenty of motivation to artificially inflate test scores. A teacher in Atlanta helped expose her colleagues of doing just that. More »
FBI Releases App That Helps Parents Find Missing Kids
By Phil Villarreal on August 9, 2011 9:45 AM
28 Comments
Parents can use a new iPhone app from the FBI to store photos and important information about their children and alert the authorities in case they go missing. More »
Department Of Justice, Four States File Fraud Suit Against For-Profit College Company
By Phil Villarreal on August 9, 2011 9:15 AM
124 Comments
The for-profit college industry has earned a reputation for shady methods of operation, such as peddling flimsy academic credentials for high prices and minimal effort in the classroom, and now the government is taking one of the largest corporations in the industry to court. More »
(afagen)
Freddie Mac Wants $1.5 Billion From Taxpayers
By Phil Villarreal on August 9, 2011 9:00 AM
93 Comments
Apparently oblivious to the fact that the government is experiencing some financial problems, Freddie Mac says it needs to ask taxpayers for $1.5 billion to help it cover the net worth deficit it's plunged into thanks to the housing market bust. More »
(afagen)
Army Makes Soldier Pay $21 C.O.D. Fee To Receive Purple Heart
By Phil Villarreal on August 8, 2011 10:30 AM
59 Comments
A soldier who was wounded in Iraq feels the Army did him an indignity by not only waiting four years to send him his Purple Heart, but delivering it with a $21 bill to cover shipping. The soldier, who hails from South Dakota, was wounded in a rocket blast in 2007. More »
Get $500 Each Time Sprint Called You After You Said Stop
By Ben Popken on August 8, 2011 10:00 AM
11 Comments
If Sprint telemarketed you after you told them not to call you again, you could get $500 for each time they rang you up, thanks to a recent class action settlement. More »
(softlad)
To Battle Drought, Texas Town Will Drink Recycled Sewage
By Phil Villarreal on August 8, 2011 9:45 AM
81 Comments
If you happen to find yourself in Big Spring, Texas, you could be contributing to the water supply every time you relieve yourself. The town is building a plant that will capture and recycle treated waste water, planing to take treated water that would normally flow into a creek and redirect it into the drinking water supply. More »
Prepare To Pay More In Tolls While Driving In NY, NJ
By Phil Villarreal on August 8, 2011 8:45 AM
89 Comments
Driving to New York from New Jersey could become more expensive, as proposed toll increases would raise the cost for using several bridges and tunnels — currently maxing out at $8 — up to $15 during peak hours in September, and as much as $17 in 2014. More »
Man With Breast Cancer Can't Get Medicaid Coverage Because He's A Man
By Chris Morran on August 5, 2011 4:15 PM
136 Comments
While breast cancer in males is not common, it's no yellow lobster. But a South Carolina state program that provides Medicaid to breast cancer patients in need had to deny a patient because of his Y chromosome. More »
Judge Spices Up Order With Corn-Pone Comedy
By Ben Popken on August 5, 2011 3:00 PM
39 Comments
A Kentucky judge's order in a tense malpractice suit went viral this week after folks were amused by the corn-pone humor and mixed metaphors that he used to enliven a normally straight-forward legal document. Among the colorful phrases, the judge wrote that he was glad the case was settled as he would have preferred to "have jumped naked off of a 12-foot step ladder into a 5 gallon bucket of porcupines" than to preside over it. More »
Medicare Drugs Should Cost A Little Less Next Year
By Phil Villarreal on August 5, 2011 9:15 AM
25 Comments
Good news for Medicare enrollees who are on fixed incomes and counting pennies as well as pills: The price of prescription drug premiums in the program are expected to slightly dip next year. More »
California Environmental Nonprofit Says State Redesigned License Plate To Cut It Out Of Royalties
By Phil Villarreal on August 4, 2011 11:15 AM
37 Comments
The California Coastal Commission unveiled a new license plate design featuring a whale's tale tweaked slightly from the previous design, and an environmental nonprofit said the state did so because the artist who created the previous design asked for royalties to help fund the organization. More »
(*whims*)
Web Analytics Firm, 20 Clients Sued For Web Tracking
By Phil Villarreal on August 4, 2011 9:15 AM
9 Comments
There's big business in tracking web browsing, and temptation to grab more information than is legally acceptable. A lawsuit alleges a web analytics company and its clients stepped over the line in snooping on browsing habits, particularly of those who try to cover their tracks. More »
Elderly Couple Games Lottery To Win Big Money
By Phil Villarreal on August 3, 2011 10:15 AM
84 Comments
Lotteries are said to be sucker bets for those who lack mathematical understanding, but some who understand systemic quirks can exploit them for huge gains. More »
New Missouri Law: Teachers Can't Contact Students Via Social Networks
By Phil Villarreal on August 3, 2011 9:45 AM
92 Comments
Determined to limit the possibility of inappropriate contact between teachers and students, the Missouri state government has forbidden teachers from messaging students via social networks. More »
(KCRG)
Police Continue Battle Against Kiddie Lemonade Stand Menace
By Laura Northrup on August 3, 2011 9:30 AM
108 Comments
Every year, the Des Moines Register's Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa (RAGBRAI) pedals through towns across Iowa. Some children in Coralville, one of the ride's host towns, wanted to participate in the event by selling lemonade in front of their houses for a quarter per cup. Police celebrated their entrepreneurial spirit by promptly shutting down at least three lemonade stands for not obtaining $400 vendors' licenses and a health inspection. More »
Detroit Bureau Uses Money Meant To Feed Poor To Buy $314 Trash Cans
By Ben Popken on August 2, 2011 5:00 PM
109 Comments
Three stainless-steel trash cans with motion-activated sensor lids: $314.93 each. A 500-lb capacity ottoman for the cafeteria: $469. Mahogany-finished conference room table: $3,000. The line items sound extravagant enough on their own. When you learn that they were to makeover a Detroit city office that handles the federal money for feeding and clothing the poor, and the credenzas and sofas and such came out of that money, it's time to get livid. More »
Mom Fined $535 After Daughter Saves Woodpecker
By Ben Popken on August 2, 2011 12:00 PM
191 Comments
A mother faces a $535 fine and possible jail time because her 11-year old daughter saved a baby woodpecker from the family cat. More »
What The Debt Ceiling Bill Means For Your Wallet
By Ben Popken on August 2, 2011 11:00 AM
82 Comments
You need a flowchart and a spreadsheet to understand all the different stages of the debt ceiling bill that passed the House yesterday and is likely to pass the Senate today. But let's not get hung up on who does what to whom at what point, and when that super-awesome "sudden death mode" of spending cuts kicks in. Instead, let's look at what the debt-ceiling bill means to you and your wallet. More »
(FDA)
FDA Warns Evital May Be Counterfeit Morning-After Pill
By Phil Villarreal on August 2, 2011 9:15 AM
26 Comments
According to the Food and Drug Administration, morning-after pills labeled Evital may be counterfeit and unsafe and ineffective at preventing pregnancy. The label of the counterfeit pill reads "Evital Anticonceptivo de emergencia, 1.5 mg, 1 tablet" by "Fluter Domull." More »
(camknows)
Debt Ceiling Deal Caves In On Some Subsidized Student Loans
By Phil Villarreal on August 2, 2011 8:15 AM
159 Comments
As if debt-soaked grad students don't have enough to worry about as they approach graduation, the federal government has provided them with another horrific prospect to go along with the fear of not being able to find a job — the responsibility of paying off student loans while still in school. More »
What If Food Labels Looked Like This?
By Ben Popken on August 1, 2011 4:00 PM
126 Comments
Maybe the real reason Americans are so fat is because our food labels are so ugly. If they were easier on the eye to read, maybe more people would read them and make better eating choices. That was the idea in mind behind a recent design contest at the University of California, Berkeley, School of Journalism aiming to give the standard government-mandated food label a much-needed makeover. The winning entry uses colored boxes for each ingredient that are sized in proportion to how much of each is inside the package. More »
Hours Left Before Debt Ceiling Vote Deadline, So Read The Bill
By Ben Popken on August 1, 2011 2:34 PM
118 Comments
There's just a few hours to go before the deadline to vote on raising the debt ceiling and steer clear of a federal default. Late Sunday a deal was worked out and the House and Senate are expected to vote on it. Broadly, the deal raises the debt ceiling, reduces the deficit, and avoids a credit default. More specifically... everyone should read the 74 pages of the bill before making a comment about it. If you don't have time for that, the White House has also released a 1,465 word fact sheet, a "TL;DR" document of sorts for the nation. More »
(ctsnow)
Guy Files Class Action Against Hilton For Charging Him 75 Cents For Newspaper He Didn't Ask For
By Ben Popken on August 1, 2011 1:00 PM
98 Comments
A man has decided to turn a minor annoyance, getting a newspaper at your hotel room door and getting charged for it, into a class action lawsuit. More »
(nateone)
Birth Control To Be Covered By Health Insurance Without Copay
By Chris Morran on August 1, 2011 12:30 PM
184 Comments
Late last month, an Institute of Medicine panel issued recommendations to the White House that birth control, along with a variety of women's health services, should be covered under the Affordable Care Act. Earlier today, the Dept. of Health and Human Services made its final decision on the matter public. More »
(afagen)
Schools Slap Ads On Buses To Make Ends Meet
By Phil Villarreal on August 1, 2011 11:30 AM
97 Comments
When you're a cash-starved school district, just about any idea to pull in some extra scratch can sound appealing. One concept that's catching on is turning school buses into moving billboards for paying clients. More »
3 More Banks Shut Down; That Makes 61 So Far This Year
By Phil Villarreal on August 1, 2011 10:30 AM
23 Comments
Movie rental chains, book stores and newspapers aren't the only businesses that are dying off. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC) announced three banks have been shut down, making 61 closures so far this year. Bank closures are still far behind the pace of 2010, when 157 banks were shuttered. More »
(redjar)
TSA Rolling Out Israeli-Style Behavior Detection
By Ben Popken on July 29, 2011 12:00 PM
128 Comments
The TSA might be asking you more questions when you go through security starting in August, and that's a good thing. More »
California City Emerges From Bankruptcy
By Phil Villarreal on July 29, 2011 11:15 AM
21 Comments
Three years ago, Vallejo, Calif. was so broke that it declared bankruptcy. Now a judge has approved the city's rebound plan, and it's emerged as a leaner, ideally more efficient entity with a balanced budget. More »
Mayor Of Florida City Says Marijuana Growing In Yard Isn't Hers
By Phil Villarreal on July 28, 2011 1:15 PM
66 Comments
On the list of people likely to be growing marijuana on their property, an 84-year-old mayor doesn't rank near the top. But federal agents found the illegal plant growing on the woman's property in central Florida. The incident forced her to defend herself at an Oak Hill city commission meeting, at which she said she suspects a political enemy tried to set her up. More »
Senators Blast Airlines For Profiteering During Tax Holiday
By Ben Popken on July 27, 2011 11:00 AM
69 Comments
Naughty, naughty. Senators Jay Rockefeller and Maria Cantwell are wagging the fingesr at airlines for raising airfares during the tax holiday that has resulted from the Federal Aviation Administration's shutdown. The practice could have "long-term negative repercussions for the industry," said the senators in a letter sent to the airlines on Tuesday. More »
California Hits Up 8 Banks For $5.4 Billion In loans
By Phil Villarreal on July 27, 2011 10:15 AM
30 Comments
Fearful that federal debt problems would leave it hanging, California has passed the hat around to eight banks and wound up with loans for $5.4 billion. The interest rate: an astoundingly low 0.237 percent. More »
Department Of Justice Investigates Wells Fargo For Discriminatory Lending Allegations
By Phil Villarreal on July 27, 2011 9:45 AM
11 Comments
The U.S. Department of Justice is said to be investigating allegations that Wells Fargo discriminated against black borrowers, offering high-interest, subprime mortgages that seemed geared to lead to default. More »
Man Rescued Twice In One Month By Rangers In Rocky Mountains
By Phil Villarreal on July 27, 2011 8:45 AM
46 Comments
Rocky Mountain National Park rangers don't typically charge imperiled hikers for rescue operations, but the agency may want to re-think its policy after having to save the same 68-year-old man with elaborate, time-consuming operations twice in a month. More »
FAA Has Trouble Successfully Firing Air Traffic Controllers
By Phil Villarreal on July 26, 2011 1:15 PM
48 Comments
When you're an Air Traffic Controller who gets fired, there's a 40 percent chance you'll manage to keep your job or retire on your own terms. The Federal Aviation Administration has trouble ridding itself of workers it accuses of screwing up, including two-thirds of those it tries to fire for using drugs or alcohol on the job. More »
Law From 1988 Keeps Netflix And Facebook From Buddying Up
By Phil Villarreal on July 26, 2011 10:30 AM
119 Comments
Back in the late 1980s, lawmakers were determined to prevent movie rental companies from publishing customers' rental history. The Video Privacy Protection Act made violations punishable by $2,500 per offense. Now the law is causing headaches for Facebook and Netflix because it's reportedly written in a way that would forbid Netflix from publishing your rental history on your Facebook page. More »
Company Accused Of Wasting Medicine To Take Money From Medicare
By Phil Villarreal on July 26, 2011 9:45 AM
60 Comments
A whistle-blower lawsuit filed by a doctor and nurse accuses a kidney dialysis provider of intentionally wasting medicine in order to qualify for hundreds of millions of dollars from Medicare. According to the employee, the company used over-sized vials for medicine, intending to have the excess amount deemed to be waste that Medicare pays for. More »
How A Wall Street Lobbyist Is "Reforming The Reform"
By Ben Popken on July 25, 2011 4:00 PM
28 Comments
Banks are none too happy about how the passage of Dodd-Frank has been crimping their style. So they hired a Wall Street lobbyist, former Congressman Steve Bartlett, to lead the well-funded rearguard action by the " Financial Services Roundtable" to neuter the laws. And darned if those cocktail parties aren't working. More »
(LCSO)
Florida Authorities Find Meth Smuggled In Meow Mix Bag
By Phil Villarreal on July 25, 2011 10:30 AM
36 Comments
According to the Lake County, Fla. Sheriff's Office, drug smugglers in Arizona sent 260 grams of meth to Florida via FedEx in a Meow Mix bag. The package was sent to a title company and was addressed to one of the business's clients who resided in D.C. An employee thought the package looked suspicious, so he turned it over to authorities. More »
(~dgies)
Court: Call For Assassination Was Protected As Free Speech
By Phil Villarreal on July 25, 2011 9:00 AM
49 Comments
Last week, the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals overturned the conviction of a man who posted a threatening message online in 2008, calling for the assassination of then-presidential candidate Barack Obama. In a divided ruling, which overturned the man's 2009 conviction, the written opinion declared that the threat would not have been taken seriously by a reasonable person. More »
CFPB Launches Credit Card Complaint Portal
By Chris Morran on July 22, 2011 2:15 PM
13 Comments
Yesterday, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau finally took down its "Coming Soon" sign and hoisted the "Open For Business" banner. And as part of its grand opening celebration, the CFPB kicked things off with the launch of its credit card complaint portal. More »
Potential FAA Shutdown Could Mean Tax-Free Airfares For Travelers
By Chris Morran on July 22, 2011 11:15 AM
44 Comments
Unless Congress can hammer out their issues over extending the FAA's operating authority by midnight tonight, 4,000 agency employees will be temporarily out of a job, but travelers will be able to but airline tickets without paying federal taxes. More »
Taxpayers Lost $1.3 Billion In Chrysler Bailout
By Phil Villarreal on July 22, 2011 9:15 AM
95 Comments
The government bought a piece of Chrysler in a 2009 bailout that turned out to be a costly investment in an automaker deemed too big to fail. Now that the government has sold its remaining interest in the company to Fiat, the U.S. Treasury Department announced the arrangement cost taxpayers $1.3 billion. More »
L.A. Law: If Your Dog Chases Someone, It Can Be Seized, Killed
By Phil Villarreal on July 20, 2011 1:30 PM
221 Comments
Los Angeles County residents will want to keep a tighter leash on their dogs due to a new law passed by the Board of Supervisors that loosens the definition of how officials determine dogs to be "vicious." A dog that chases someone without causing an injury can now be reported, seized and possibly euthanized. More »
Man Fined $2,000 For Not Watering His Beehive
By Ben Popken on July 20, 2011 1:00 PM
55 Comments
While New York may be trying to raise revenue by cracking down on city beekeepers, this looks like one sting operation that got its stinger broken off in the wound: inspectors fined a Queens man $2,000 for "not watering his beehive." More »
(kkalyan)
Suit Can Proceed Against Restaurant For Serving Meat To Hindus
By Ben Popken on July 20, 2011 11:00 AM
221 Comments
An appellate court has ruled that a lawsuit against a New Jersey restaurant that served meat to a group of devout Hindus can forward. The vegetarian dining party are suing the eatery for the cost it would take for them to travel to India and purify themselves in the Ganges River. More »
(nateone)
Panel: Birth Control Should Be Covered By Insurance Without Co-Pay
By Chris Morran on July 20, 2011 7:45 AM
230 Comments
Yesterday, an Institute of Medicine panel released its recommendations to the federal government about which services for women should insurance companies be obliged to cover. Chief among the eight recommendations was that birth control should be made available without need for a patient copay. More »
Poll: Overwhelming Majority Of Voters Want A Strong, Undiluted CFPB
By Chris Morran on July 19, 2011 1:15 PM
75 Comments
While Republicans in the Congress and Senate continue to grouse about the structure of the newborn Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, a new poll indicates that those politicians' actions may not be a reflection of their constituents' desires. More »
(stirwise)
Liposuction Doctor Convicted Of 2 Murders, Manslaughter In Practice
By Phil Villarreal on July 18, 2011 2:30 PM
41 Comments
Liposuction turned fatal for three Phoenix patients, and the allegedly sloppy doctor who worked on them was convicted of second-degree murder in two deaths, and manslaughter in another. He'll be sentenced Aug. 19. More »
Police Bust Tweens For Operating Unlicensed Lemonade Stand
By Laura Northrup on July 18, 2011 12:00 PM
190 Comments
It's the middle of summer, and we all know what that means: adorable kids learning the basics of capitalism by running lemonade stands. Among those basics: you need to lay down a few hundred bucks at City Hall before you even think about buying lemons and paper cups. Three Georgia girls thought they would earn money for a trip to the water park by selling lemonade in their neighborhood. They were successful...until the police chief happened to drive by, and shut them down for selling lemonade without business and food vendors' licenses totaling $180. More »
Obama To Nominate Former Ohio AG Cordray For CFPB Director
By Chris Morran on July 18, 2011 11:19 AM
51 Comments
After months of speculation and fighting over the leadership of the newborn Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the White House has announced that President Obama will not nominate Elizabeth Warren for the directorship, but instead will go with former Ohio Attorney General Richard Cordray. More »
Neighbors Are Mad At Guy Who Got $300K House For $16
By Mary Beth Quirk on July 18, 2011 10:30 AM
219 Comments
UPDATE 2/6/2012: Unfortunately for the our pal Kenneth, aka the $16 house man, a judge has ruled that Bank of America can make him move out, as they own the deed on the foreclosed home. More »
(zieak)
Woman Accused Of Groping TSA Agent -- Yeah, You Read That Right
By Phil Villarreal on July 18, 2011 9:15 AM
59 Comments
Accusations of groping involving Transportation Security Administration agents are far from unheard of, but it's rare that it's a security officer who's the one filing the complaint. Yet a Colorado woman stands accused of groping a TSA agent at Phoenix's Sky Harbor Airport Thursday. More »
Forever 21 Sued Again, This Time For Allegedly Swiping A Textile Design
By Mary Beth Quirk on July 18, 2011 8:30 AM
27 Comments
Poor gigantic corporation Forever 21! They just can't stop getting sued by people claiming they've stolen stuff! In the latest lawsuit against the low-priced fashion chain, the Feral Childe line claims Forevs ripped off one of their textile prints. More »
Lawsuit Claims 70-Year-Old Woman Illegally Downloaded Porn
By Mary Beth Quirk on July 18, 2011 8:00 AM
78 Comments
"Grandma, what are you doing on the Internet? Oh, downloading porn illegally?" Yeah, that scenario doesn't seem too likely, but nonetheless, a 70-year-old woman is being told to pay up in a settlement pushed by a Chicago law firm, claiming she and others pirated porn. More »
Appeals Court: Feds Rushed To Roll Out Controversial TSA Scanners
By Chris Morran on July 15, 2011 3:21 PM
50 Comments
An appeals court panel in Washington, D.C., ruled today that the government jumped the gun by not seeking public feedback before rolling out airport scanners that see through travelers' clothes. Unfortunately for those opposed to these devices, the scanners are not going anywhere. More »
(blitzcat)
Treasury Announces The End Of Paper Savings Bonds
By Chris Morran on July 15, 2011 1:32 PM
70 Comments
It's the end of an era. In an effort to save cash and cut down on waste, the Dept. of the Treasury announced earlier this week that paper savings bonds will be a thing of past starting January 1. More »
(eflon)
Mass. Court Rules It's OK For Town To Charge $320 To Appeal Parking Ticket
By Phil Villarreal on July 15, 2011 9:15 AM
94 Comments
If you get a parking ticket in Northampton, Mass., don't appeal it unless you want to bet $320, in addition to the cost of your ticket, that you'll win. The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court ruled that the town's appeals process is valid, ruling against a man who appealed two parking tickets and was forced to cough up about $320 in court fees. The original fine was $15. More »
TSA To Test Trusted Traveler Program With Certain Delta & American Airlines Frequent Fliers
By Chris Morran on July 14, 2011 2:41 PM
35 Comments
In May, TSA chief John Pistole said the agency was considering a program that would allow pre-vetted "trusted travelers" to get through airport security faster. Today, the TSA announced actual details of the program it will begin testing on a small group of fliers. More »
Bank Of America Paying Out $410 Million For Reordering Your Transactions To Maximize Overdraft Fees
By Ben Popken on July 14, 2011 11:00 AM
111 Comments
What makes this Bank of America $410 million class action settlement special is that it's over a basic consumer banking business practice. For years, banks have been processing your daily transactions in order from highest to lowest, rather than real-time. They say they're doing us a favor so that if we have a check bounce, it's the one for the babysitter and not the mortgage payment. But this class action suit claims that Bank of America did this to unjustly enrich itself. It's one of over 60 lawsuits against various banks for similar practices, and it could reshape the entire industry. More »
Moody's Could Downgrade U.S. Government Bond Rating If It Misses Debt Payments
By Phil Villarreal on July 14, 2011 7:45 AM
83 Comments
Even Uncle Sam needs to make his payments on time or risk taking a hit on his credit rating. Moody's is reviewing the U.S. government's Aaa government bond rating, and could downgrade it if government gridlock fails to raise the federal debt ceiling. The government has reached its $14.2 trillion debt limit and lacks congressional authority to borrow more to pay its bills, according to the Treasury Secretary, starting Aug. 2. More »
(**bc**)
Congressmen Vow To Fight For Your Right To Wasteful Light Bulbs
By Chris Morran on July 13, 2011 4:15 PM
330 Comments
There are only a few months to go before a long-awaited ban on inefficient light bulbs kicks in. And even though Congressional opponents of the regulation failed yesterday in their bid to stop it, they have vowed to continue to fight for your right to buy cheap light bulbs that run up high electric bills. More »
(jojoling)
Lawsuit Accusing Starbucks Of Denying Tips Dismissed
By Phil Villarreal on July 13, 2011 10:15 AM
57 Comments
A group of former assistant managers of New York Starbucks sued the company, saying it violated state labor laws by denying them tips. A U.S. District judge stiffed the workers, dismissing the suit because they didn't show they had the right to the gratuities. More »
(afagen)
National Sheriffs' Association Wants ISPs To Keep Web Surfing Logs For 18 Months
By Phil Villarreal on July 13, 2011 9:45 AM
84 Comments
If a law enforcement trade association gets its way, a federal law will require internet service providers to maintain logs of all web addresses customers visit for 18 months. The information would be used to prosecute crimes. More »
(**bc**)
Man Who Hacks Neighbor's WiFi And Tries To Frame Him For Crimes Gets 18 Years
By Phil Villarreal on July 13, 2011 9:15 AM
77 Comments
Good firewalls make good neighbors, but they won't stop a determined hacker from busting through and manipulating your cyber footprints. For proof, look at the Minnesota man convicted of hacking his neighbor's WiFi and attempting to frame him for child pornography and other crimes will serve 18 years in prison. More »
FCC Proposes Anti-Cramming Regulations For Landline Bills
By Chris Morran on July 12, 2011 3:15 PM
38 Comments
Last month, FCC chair Julius Genachowski said the commission was preparing to take on the problem of landline bill cramming, the practice of placing mysterious third-party charges for everything from long-distance to yoga classes on your landline bill. Earlier today, the FCC announced more details of its proposed plan. More »
Caterpillar Manager Says He Was Demoted After Complaining About Tax Trick
By Phil Villarreal on July 12, 2011 11:15 AM
141 Comments
A former Caterpillar executive says in a lawsuit he was punished for calling out the company about sketchy tax practices — demoted and threatened with termination if he didn't take the allegedly lesser job. The man accuses the company of using accounting tricks to avoid paying $2 billion in federal income tax. More »
The Potential Tax Perils Of Catching A Historic Baseball
By Phil Villarreal on July 12, 2011 9:45 AM
114 Comments
If you're a dreamer who totes a baseball glove to a ballgame and seeks bleacher seats in hopes of catching a home run ball, you may want to consider the tax implications of your whimsy. The man who chased down the home run ball that was Derek Jeter's 3,000th hit — and gave it back to Jeter — may face financial peril because of the windfall of swag the Yankees showered upon him. The IRS may consider the free season tickets and signed merchandise the team gave the man to be taxable income. More »
(ashi)
Mass. City To Refund "Gay Marriage Penalty" That Hits Public Employees
By Phil Villarreal on July 11, 2011 9:00 AM
94 Comments
The IRS has a way of punishing people for getting married, but the marriage penalty hits gay public employees harder than straight couples. Unlike their straight counterparts, gay workers who place their spouses on employer-provided health insurance have to pay taxes on the benefits that can add up to $3,000 a year. Cambridge, Mass. will use a stipend to refund the "gay marriage penalty" to city workers affected. More »
Treasury Prints Less Money As Credit Card Use Climbs
By Ben Popken on July 8, 2011 2:00 PM
43 Comments
Last year, the Treasury Department didn't even bother printing any new $10 bills. More »
(sussmanb)
Phoenix Suburb Plans To Turn Dog Waste Into Electricity
By Phil Villarreal on July 8, 2011 9:15 AM
30 Comments
(Warning: This post includes Tucson-Phoenix sh*t talking). I'm not sure what sort of reputation the Phoenix area has in the rest of the country, but those in my hometown of Tucson associate the locality with dog excrement. Officials in the Phoenix suburb of Gilbert are making the best of their bumper crop by planning to use dog poop as a power source for a street lamp at a dog park. More »
Beware These Credit CARD Act Loopholes
By Phil Villarreal on July 7, 2011 9:45 AM
34 Comments
Protections offered by the Credit CARD Act of 2009, which demanded more transparency and established tighter rules for credit card companies, have left some loopholes that expose users to potential exploitation. Credit card-offering banks, which rarely miss an opportunities to use credit to manipulate customers, are taking advantage of the law's shortcomings. More »
CNET Copyright Infringement Suit Dropped
By Phil Villarreal on July 6, 2011 9:15 AM
9 Comments
Plaintiffs have dropped their lawsuit against CBS Interactive, the parent company of CNET, that alleged the company helped others infringe on copyrights and profited from LimeWire downloads in 2008. More »
Airlines Can't Convince Court They Are Being Overcharged For TSA Screening
By Chris Morran on July 6, 2011 8:37 AM
47 Comments
Even though the screeners at airport security checkpoints in the U.S. are employees of the Transportation Security Administration and those fancy new see-through-your-clothes machines are technically paid for by the feds, the airlines still have to fork over hundreds of millions of dollars per year for security theater. Several of them claim the TSA is overcharging to the tune of $115 million. An appeals court disagrees. More »
Michigan Inmate Sues Because He's Denied Porn
By Phil Villarreal on July 5, 2011 10:30 AM
132 Comments
A 21-year-old Michigan inmate has filed a lawsuit that contends he's been stripped of civil rights because he isn't allowed to look at porn, claiming his lack of access to the material gives him a "poor standard of living" and "sexual and sensory deprivation." More »
Exxon Mobil Ordered To Pay $1.5 Billion Over Maryland Gasoline Leak
By Chris Morran on July 1, 2011 3:15 PM
36 Comments
A jury in Baltimore County, Maryland, has ordered petroleum giant Exxon Mobil to pay $1.5 billion in damages to residents and businesses of a town affected by a gasoline leak in 2006. More »
(og2t)
Chase Drops Thousands Of Debt Collection Cases Against Borrowers
By Ben Popken on July 1, 2011 12:00 PM
28 Comments
Chase is dropping thousands of pending debt collection cases against defaulted credit card borrowers, WSJ reports. Remember the big deal over robo-signing foreclosure cases a few months ago? The problem of bulk signing sloppy paperwork, and, in some case, filing fraudulent documents, could be even bigger when it comes to credit cards. It looks like JP Morgan Chase is trying to get its house in order before they're forced to by government and legal forces. More »
Parking Ticket Gets Paid, 35 Years Late
By Laura Northrup on July 1, 2011 8:00 AM
53 Comments
If you found a 35-year-old unpaid parking ticket pressed in a book that you bought in a garage sale, what would you do? An 89-year-old Michigan man who found such a ticket decided that it was his civic duty to mail the $1 ticket back with payment to Orlando, Florida, where it was issued in November of 1975. More »
(sfxeric)
Seattle Residents Have Canceled 225,000 Yellow Pages In Only Two Months
By Chris Morran on June 30, 2011 1:30 PM
46 Comments
Even though the Seattle city council announced it would be creating an opt-out registry for residents who don't want the Yellow Pages delivered anymore last October, the registry didn't go live until May. But in the short period of time since that launch, the response has been overwhelming. More »
$1 Billion In Unwanted Dollar Coins Lurk In Government Bunkers
By Laura Northrup on June 30, 2011 9:00 AM
207 Comments
It's cost taxpayers an unnecessary $300 million so far, and won't end until 2016. It's wildly unpopular with the American public, even though it saves the government money in the long run. It's taking up comical amounts of space in secure federal government vaults. What is it? The United States Mint's series of dollar coins featuring the faces of all 44 presidents. Congress meant well when authorizing the program in 2005, but failed to realize that the American public thinks that dollar coins are an icky Canadian affectation. One billion of the coins are currently in hibernation, and at least a billion more coins will be minted but destined for storage. More »
Post Videos Of Your Pot Garden, Wind Up In Prison
By Phil Villarreal on June 29, 2011 1:30 PM
25 Comments
If you happen to be proud of your involvement in a pot growing operation, it's probably best to resist the urge to brag about your accomplishments on YouTube. A Southern California man led investigators to his alleged criminal enterprises by posting videos of his pot-growing setup. More »
(ashi)
Marijuana In Drug Case Vanishes From FedEx Truck
By Phil Villarreal on June 28, 2011 9:30 AM
84 Comments
Authorities say marijuana that was meant to be used as evidence in a Long Island drug case and was shipped via FedEx disappeared during shipment. Someone apparently opened the box, removed the contents, then resealed the package. More »
Get $15 In Rice Krispies Cereal Class Action
By Ben Popken on June 27, 2011 4:00 PM
70 Comments
You don't have to show a proof of purchase to claim $15 in a class action lawsuit against Kellogg. Just be someone who bought Kellog's Rice Krispies or Cocoa Krispies between June 1, 2009 and March, 1 2010. More »
(afagen)
Supreme Court Does Something That Makes Sense, Strikes Down Law Banning Sale Of Violent Games To Kids
By Chris Morran on June 27, 2011 12:30 PM
147 Comments
So far this session, the Supreme Court has basically guaranteed a future filled with mandatory binding arbitration, said it's completely cool for drug companies to data mine prescription records and blocked a mammoth class-action suit against Walmart. So they were due to do something that made sense. More »
Feds To Use Mystery Shoppers To Investigate State Of Health Care
By Chris Morran on June 27, 2011 9:45 AM
77 Comments
Looks like our research-relishing relatives at Consumer Reports aren't the only ones using mystery shoppers to help with their investigations. A new report says the federal government is bringing on a team of undercover operatives to see how hard it is just to get an appointment with a doctor. More »
(mroach)
Lawsuit Accuses Home Depot Of Violating Buy American Act
By Phil Villarreal on June 27, 2011 8:45 AM
64 Comments
Home Depot is taking legal heat for possibly violating the Buy American Act of 1933, which requires that materials used to build public construction products come from the U.S. The U.S. Department of Justice is investigating the company due to accusations that it purchases products from China and other foreign countries, and offers those products to government agencies online. More »
Convicted Bank Fraudster Could Get 385-Year Sentence
By Marc Perton on June 24, 2011 2:30 PM
32 Comments
Prosecutors in the case against Lee Farkas, who was convicted of leading a $2.9 billion scheme that wrecked Taylor, Bean & Whitaker Mortgage Corp., have asked the judge in the case to sentence Farkas to at least 50-years in prison, adding that the maximum sentence for his crime is 385 years. More »
(reegmo)
Georgia Program Replaces Migrant Farm Workers With Ex-Cons
By Laura Northrup on June 24, 2011 11:30 AM
125 Comments
Recent immigration crackdowns in Georgia have left the agricultural sector with a labor shortage. A big one. An unscientific poll puts the gap as high as 11,000 workers, but plants still have to be harvested. The governor responded to farmers' complaints with a new program that puts people on probation to work in the fields at minimum wage, with bonuses for high production. This seems like an ideal match: probationers have a higher unemployment rate than the general population, and farmers need people in the fields. It turns out, though, that hard work, hot weather, low pay, and inexperienced workers don't make for a very bountiful harvest. More »
Food Blogger Jailed For Salty Restaurant Review
By Chris Morran on June 23, 2011 4:15 PM
78 Comments
A food blogger in Taiwan has been sentenced to jail for 30 days and ordered to pay around $7,000 in damages after a judge ruled that her comments about the saltiness of a restaurant's food were made without doing due diligence. More »
House Committee Votes To Gut Safe Products Database
By Chris Morran on June 23, 2011 1:30 PM
69 Comments
The Consumer Product Safety Commission's public database, SaferProducts.gov, which allows people to report unsafe products and search recalls and safety reports, has only been around since March. And already the House Appropriations Committee has moved to cut funding for the project. More »
Report: FTC Ready To Serve Subpoenas In Google Antitrust Probe
By Chris Morran on June 23, 2011 12:45 PM
40 Comments
More than two months after it was first reported that the Federal Trade Commission was thinking about launching an investigation into antitrust concerns surrounding Google, it looks like the FTC might be ready to start probing in earnest by issuing formal demands for information from the search engine behemoth. More »
Supreme Court: Data Mining Of Prescription Drug Records Is Free Speech
By Chris Morran on June 23, 2011 12:15 PM
73 Comments
In 2007, the state of Vermont passed a law forbidding the data mining of prescription drug records (i.e., which drugs are being prescribed and how frequently) for marketing purposes. But earlier today, the Supreme Court ruled that the Vermont law interferes with drug makers' right to free speech. More »
Facebook-Suing Twins Stop Legal Battle Short Of Supreme Court
By Phil Villarreal on June 23, 2011 9:15 AM
23 Comments
After years in court, the determined twin Harvard classmates of Facebook CEO/president Mark Zuckerberg who claim he stole their idea for Facebook have finally given up their legal challenge to their $65 million 2008 settlement. More »
Rutgers Becomes Latest School To Sell Football Stadium Naming Rights
By Phil Villarreal on June 22, 2011 10:15 AM
51 Comments
In contrast to the ubiquity of corporate-named stadiums in the NFL, the vast majority of college football stadiums have stuck with their traditional names. The dominoes may be starting to fall, though, after Rutgers sold the Rutgers Stadium naming rights to High Point Solutions for a reported $6.5 million over 10 years. More »
Staples Canada Accused Of Selling Computers With Old User Data On Hard Drive
By Chris Morran on June 21, 2011 4:18 PM
73 Comments
Staples stores in Canada have some explaining to do after a government audit found evidence that the office supply chain was violating Canadian privacy law by selling used computers and storage drives that still contained data belonging to the previous owner. More »
Study: California Spends $308 Million Per Execution
By Phil Villarreal on June 21, 2011 10:15 AM
123 Comments
A study by a California judge and his law clerk, a law professor suggests that the state should do away with the death penalty in order to save money. The state has spent $4 billion on capital punishment since 1978, but has only executed 13 convicts in that span. And costs are projected to increase to $9 billion by 2030. More »
Federal Judge: Republishing Full Story Without Permission Was OK
By Phil Villarreal on June 21, 2011 9:45 AM
49 Comments
According to a ruling by a federal judge, a man was legally protected when he copied and pasted an entire Las Vegas Review-Journal article, including a headline, onto another site. The judge said the man wouldn't have to pay a Copyright Act fine because the newspaper couldn't prove that the article's re-posting reduced the amount of readers who would read the original article. More »
FDA Unveils New Tobacco Warning Labels For Teens To Laugh At While They Smoke
By Chris Morran on June 21, 2011 9:00 AM
126 Comments
Last fall, the Food & Drug Administration announced they would be requiring tobacco packaging to carry larger and more graphic warning labels. And because our governmental agencies move like quicksilver, it only took about seven months for the FDA to finalize the nine images that will soon decorate your pack of Kools. More »
FCC Chair: 15 To 20 Million Americans Are Seeing Mystery Fees On Landline Bills
By Chris Morran on June 20, 2011 3:30 PM
35 Comments
Eight months after the FCC settled with Verizon Wireless for $25 million over mystery charges on cell phone bills, the Commission's Chairman Julius Genachowski says he's ready to take on the bigger problem of so-called "cramming" on landline bills. More »
(C.Barr)
DA Declines To Prosecute Man Arrested For Starting Community Garden
By Phil Villarreal on June 20, 2011 12:30 PM
33 Comments
A Burlington, Vt. man who was arrested for starting a community garden on public property without proper permission won't face further legal troubles, thanks to a district attorney who dropped the charges. More »
IRS Gives $110,000 To Wrong Guy, Now He's In Jail
By Ben Popken on June 17, 2011 11:00 AM
277 Comments
A California father is in jail and faces charges after the IRS deposited $110,000 in his account that should have gone to another taxpayer, reports KCAL. More »
Guy Relieves Self In Reservoir, Costs Portland $33K
By Phil Villarreal on June 17, 2011 9:45 AM
136 Comments
If you absolutely, positively cannot make it to the restroom when in public, do your city a favor and aim at most anything other than its water reservoir. A man who confessed to disobeying such common sense has caused government coffers to leak nearly $33,000 to rectify the contamination. More »
DOT & Disney Team Up To Fight Distracted Driving, Promote New Movie
By Paul Eng on June 15, 2011 12:45 PM
25 Comments
The Department of Transportation's campaign against distracted driving is becoming animated. Literally. More »
No More Chocolate Milk, Corn Dogs Or Chicken Nuggets For L.A. School Students
By Chris Morran on June 15, 2011 12:14 PM
303 Comments
Almost a year ago, as school boards across the country began to ponder whether or not to keep chocolate milk on students' lunch menus, we asked readers for their opinions, and 75% of you said that the milky, chocolatey childhood fave should continue to be offered, at least part of the time. The folks at the Los Angeles Unified School District disagree, voting yesterday to take away chocolate milk and other goodies from students at the second largest school district in the nation. More »
Federal Courts: Schools Can Punish Students For Off-Campus, Online Speech
By Phil Villarreal on June 15, 2011 10:15 AM
84 Comments
In a pair of rulings by the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals earlier this week, judges sided with students who contended in separate cases that they were unfairly punished for publishing fake MySpace profiles of their principals. But the victories may be construed as defeats for student free speech, because judges' opinions held that students can be punished for speech made off-campus and online if it is deemed to "materially and substantially disrupt the work and discipline of the school." Neither of the cases ruled on earlier this week met that standard. More »
Wisconsin Supremes Reinstate Collective Bargaining Law
By Phil Villarreal on June 15, 2011 9:45 AM
203 Comments
Wisconsin's state labor activists suffered a major setback Tuesday. The Wisconsin state Supreme Court overruled a county judge and reinstated a law that strips tens of thousands of public workers of most of their collective bargaining. More »
FDA Announces New Labeling Standards For Sunscreen
By Chris Morran on June 14, 2011 12:31 PM
49 Comments
Earlier today, the Food and Drug Administration announced new labeling guidlines for sunscreen in an effort to make it clear to consumers which products offer the best chance of keeping your skin from turning into shoe leather. More »
(SCHMEGGA)
TSA Agents Who Allegedly Failed To Screen Luggage Face Dismissal
By Phil Villarreal on June 14, 2011 9:45 AM
40 Comments
Those Transportation Security Administration agents in Hawaii who allegedly let un-screened baggage through on flights will have to start looking for a new line of work. More »
Burning Bananas Leave Diner Covered In Flames
By Ben Popken on June 13, 2011 4:00 PM
97 Comments
A family was helicoptered to the hospital with severe burns after a tropical dessert ended in tragedy. The waiter poured the 151 proof rum over the plate of bananas Foster, a treat consisting of bananas sauteed in butter and soaked in alcohol and often served over ice cream, and then lit it. The liquid fire then spilled onto several members of the family, leaving one woman's body covered in flames as her dress caught fire. More »
(dmuth)
Alabama Brewery Owner Moonlights As Detective To Track Down Stolen Kegs
By Phil Villarreal on June 13, 2011 11:15 AM
45 Comments
When an owner of an Alabama brewery lost 40 beer kegs in a heist, he took it upon himself to track down the culprits and the containers. Now comes the difficult part: Waiting for the legal system to get off its duff and allow him to reclaim the property he claims is his. More »
Tell The Federal Reserve What You Think About Bank Rules
By Mary Beth Quirk on June 13, 2011 10:15 AM
33 Comments
The Federal Reserve is mulling over some new rules for 35 of the nation's biggest banks, including one that would require them to submit their annual capital plans for review. And they want to hear from you! More »
(ash)
NY Court: Lap Dances Not Exempt From Sales Tax
By Chris Morran on June 10, 2011 4:53 PM
54 Comments
The owners of a strip club in New York state have spent the last half decade arguing that they do not owe $125,000 in sales tax on cover charges and lap dances because the dirty dances fall under the tax exempt category of "dramatic or musical art performance." Alas, the NY State Supreme Court Appellate Division disagrees. More »
Procter & Gamble Agrees To Settle Lawsuit Over Pampers Dry Max Diapers
By Chris Morran on June 10, 2011 2:15 PM
31 Comments
Last spring, the internet was lit up with reports that Pampers Dry Max diapers cause rashes, burns, sores, and boils on the babies who wear them. And though at least one study could find no link between the nappies and the babies' blemishes, Pampers parent company Procter & Gamble has agreed to settle a class-action suit involving the product. More »
Washington State High Court: Employers Can Fire Medical Pot Users
By Phil Villarreal on June 10, 2011 10:00 AM
157 Comments
Although the state of Washington is known to be fairly lenient to marijuana users, and especially those who use the drug for medical purposes, smokers in the state still put themselves at some risk. The state Supreme Court ruled that employers may fire workers who take medical marijuana, even if they only use the drug at home and don't show ill effects from it on the job. More »
Tennessee Bans Posting Of Pics That Cause Emotional Distress
By Phil Villarreal on June 10, 2011 9:45 AM
175 Comments
It's a good thing for the internet that Tennessee lawmakers are around to learn it how to behave. After lawmakers threw down a regulation barring people from sharing passwords for services such as Netflix, the state made famous by Arrested Development (the band, not the show) has created a law that bans the posting of images that cause emotional distress. More »
Elizabeth Warren: Mortgage Forms Should Be Comprehensible To Normal Human Beings
By Meg Marco on June 9, 2011 4:49 PM
77 Comments
At yesterday's White House Personal Finance Online Summit, Elizabeth Warren, Special Advisor to the Secretary of the Treasury on the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, went into details about the still-nascent agency's "Know Before You Owe" project and how the CFPB is working to simplify the documents that consumers are shown when shopping for a mortgage. More »
Get Cash In LA Fitness Class Action Settlement
By Ben Popken on June 9, 2011 10:00 AM
11 Comments
Gyms are notorious for not letting people get out of their membership contract and making it difficult to cancel. Now a settlement has been proposed in the class action lawsuit against LA Fitness for making customers pay a fee to end their contracts before the contract term was up. More »
Senate Votes To Continue With Debit Card Swipe Fee Slash
By Chris Morran on June 8, 2011 4:19 PM
38 Comments
The Senate narrowly voted earlier today to defeat a measure to delay new rules that significantly decrease swipe fees, the amount of money banks charge retailers every time a debit card is used. More »
Pennsylvanians Still Paying Tax To Rebuild Town Flooded In 1936
By Chris Morran on June 7, 2011 12:15 PM
114 Comments
It's been 122 years since Johnstown, PA, was nearly wiped off the face of the planet by a flood that killed more than 2,000 people. And it's been 75 years since even more damage was done to the down by the St. Patrick's Day flood of 1936, spurring the commonwealth to enact a tax on alcohol sales to help rebuild the town. Luckily, that tax was only needed for a few years, so it's obviously long since been repealed... right? More »
Man Gets $10 In Eclipse Gum Class Action Settlement
By Ben Popken on June 6, 2011 5:00 PM
76 Comments
Last August we told you how you could get ten bucks in an Eclipse gum class action settlement over how they claimed to kill germs, and reader Tom writes in to say he just got his Hamilton in the mail. Cash money in the bank! More »
Determined Camper Opens Closed Campground Without Permission
By Phil Villarreal on June 6, 2011 11:15 AM
90 Comments
A Michigan camp site that was officially shut down in 2009 has been revived, apparently due to the work of a Robin Hood-like camping enthusiast who has done a bunch of work for free. Officials from the Michigan Department of Natural Resources are not amused, and are hoping to identify the person responsible. More »
Woman Leaves Entire $300K Inheritance To Doomsday Prophet's Family Radio
By Mary Beth Quirk on June 6, 2011 10:30 AM
77 Comments
Remember how the world didn't end on May 21? Unfortunately for the loved ones of one woman who passed away May 2, in addition to the loss of a family member, they also found out she'd left most of her estate to Family Radio, the group driving those Doomsday buses around and predicting The Rapture. More »
Florida Will Screen Welfare Recipients For Drug Use
By Phil Villarreal on June 6, 2011 9:00 AM
441 Comments
Florida has passed legislation that would force welfare recipients to undergo drug tests before they're able to receive aid. The law, set to go into effect July 1, would make applicants to the federal Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program pay for the tests upfront, but ensures they will be reimbursed if they pass. More »
If For-Profit Colleges Want Federal Student Aid, They Have To Prove Graduates Can Get Jobs
By Chris Morran on June 2, 2011 3:15 PM
122 Comments
A 2010 GAO studied showed that federal aid to students at for-profit colleges had tripled over a five-year period from $8 billion to $24 billion and now accounts for 23% of the total aid given out, even though enrollment at for-profit schools only accounts for 8% of college students. Meanwhile, studies continue to show that an inordinately small number of students at these schools ever graduates. In an effort to cut back on the number of people left with mammoth amounts of student loan debt they can't pay back, the U.S. Dept. of Education has issued a new edict: Show us your college actually prepares students for gainful employment or risk losing out on that lovely loan money. More »
California Takes Step Toward Taxing Online Purchases
By Phil Villarreal on June 2, 2011 10:15 AM
162 Comments
With hopes of collecting possibly $1 billion a year in sales taxes, the California State Assembly approved a bill that would require buyers to pay taxes on Amazon and other online purchases. More »
Xbox Gamer Allegedly Tricks SWAT Team Into Investigating Rival's Home
By Phil Villarreal on June 2, 2011 9:45 AM
83 Comments
An online gaming disagreement turned into a nightmare for a gamer who refused to do the bidding of a person he spoke to over Xbox Live. The victim alleges a rival somehow discovered his name, address and phone number, then falsely reported a murder-suicide at his home, causing a SWAT team to descend on his home. More »
(Amazon)
Few Pirated Titles Named In Copyright Infringement Case Against CBS Interactive
By Phil Villarreal on June 2, 2011 9:15 AM
21 Comments
A copyright lawsuit against CBS Interactive, the parent company of CNET, claims the company helped others infringe on copyrights by promoting and profiting on LimeWire downloads via Download.com in 2008. But when asked to provide a list of songs and movies that CNET allegedly helped others pirate, the plaintiffs came up with only six obscure titles: one movie (2007's Fish Tales) and five songs which don't yet have U.S. copyright registration. More »
(afagen)
Tennessee Lawmakers Pass Bill Making It A Crime To Share Your Netflix Password
By Chris Morran on June 1, 2011 4:15 PM
106 Comments
If you've ever let a friend or family member know your password for subscription services like Netflix or Rhapsody so they can watch a movie or listen to a song, we hope you don't live in Tennessee, where state legislators have passed a bill making it a crime. More »
(Amazon)
Court Says U.S. Polo's Logo Tramples Ralph Lauren Trademark
By Phil Villarreal on June 1, 2011 9:00 AM
53 Comments
According to a ruling by a federal judge, Ralph Lauren Polo has more of a right to an image of a man playing polo than the organization that represents the sport. More »
Theft Of Pittsburgh's Iron Trash Cans Allegedly An Inside Job
By Laura Northrup on May 31, 2011 3:00 PM
29 Comments
After a police investigation, the mystery of where fifty of the city of Pittsburgh's metal trash cans ran off to has been solved. The culprit wasn't who Consumerist readers suspected. The cans were installed through a partnership with Lamar Advertising, and the man arrested for trying to recycle them just happens to work for Lamar. More »
Lockheed Martin Says Hackers Didn't Get Sensitive Info In Data Breach
By Phil Villarreal on May 30, 2011 1:30 PM
10 Comments
On May 21, hackers breached the defenses of aerospace/defense/security mega-contractor Lockheed Martin, causing cyber detectives to converge at the company's Washington, D.C.-area headquarters. The experts have yet to track down the origins of the attack, but insist they didn't make off with any sensitive information. More »
New Law Would Allow Medical Marijuana Sellers To Get Bank Loans
By Marc Perton on May 27, 2011 5:30 PM
50 Comments
Two new bills could make it easier for businesses that sell medical marijuana to stay in the green, er, black. Under the Small Business Banking improvement Act, accredited marijuana dispensaries would be able to apply for bank loans, and the Small Business Tax Equity Act would allow them to deduct business expenses when filing their taxes. More »
(Federal Trade Commission)
Help The FTC Update Its Guidance For Internet Advertisers
By Marc Perton on May 27, 2011 4:30 PM
17 Comments
The Federal Trade Commission has announced plans to update its "Dot Com Disclosures," the guidelines it uses to tell businesses how federal advertising laws apply to the internet. The document was originally published in 2000, and the FTC admits that the "online world has changed dramatically" since then. More »
(Bob Reck)
ATM Repairman Accused Of Swapping Out Cash With Funny Money
By Phil Villarreal on May 27, 2011 3:30 PM
21 Comments
An ATM repairman who is suspected of trafficking in counterfeit money stands accused of using ATMs as, well, ATMs for his criminal purposes. Authorities say the man swapped out $200,000 of genuine cash in exchange for his faux green. More »
Suffering From Budget Cuts, Public Schools Charge For Basics
By Phil Villarreal on May 27, 2011 3:00 PM
114 Comments
As state budgets get slimmer by the year, school systems suffering devastating cuts — a collective $17 billion nationwide in the past two fiscal years, partially counteracted by stimulus funds — are passing their costs on to students. More »
(U.S. Navy)
Disney Is No Match For The Navy SEALS
By Marc Perton on May 27, 2011 1:30 PM
50 Comments
The Walt Disney Company has dropped its efforts to trademark the term SEAL Team 6. The Navy had objected to Disney's plans to market products based on the name of the unit that killed Osama Bin Laden, and filed its own trademark claims to block Disney. More »
Current, Former Washington Redskins Make Goal Line Stand For TSA Worker Unionization
By Phil Villarreal on May 27, 2011 9:45 AM
46 Comments
Transportation Security Administration workers have some unlikely allies in their struggle to organize: A pair of pro football players. Noting the need for labor solidarity across industries, one current and one retired Washington Redskin are speaking out in favor of the much-maligned airport security workers. More »
Swords Are Not Acceptable Utensils At Pizza Hut
By Phil Villarreal on May 26, 2011 4:30 PM
46 Comments
There is a time and place to pull out a sword when you are threatened, and that's when you are He-Man and Skeletor unleashes an attack on Castle Grayskull. On the other hand, if you happen to, say, be inside a Louisville Pizza Hut and get in a heated argument, just keep that sword in its sheath. And ask yourself why you felt the need to bring it to the restaurant in the first place. More »
Oregon Lawmakers Want To Cash Out Small-Balance Gift Cards
By Phil Villarreal on May 26, 2011 2:30 PM
71 Comments
Gift cards with just a few bucks left on them are nagging annoyances. Oregon's state house is fed up with the glorified plastic coupons and passed a bill that would require businesses to let customers exchange them for cash. More »
(KDKA)
City Paid $1,000 For Iron Trash Cans, Thieves Sell Them For Scrap Metal
By Laura Northrup on May 26, 2011 12:30 PM
109 Comments
Back in 2009, the city of Pittsburgh paid $250,000 for 250 elegant iron trash cans weighing more than 200 pounds each. Critics of the mayor called it a waste of city funds at the time, but they are very nice-looking. Now 20% of them are missing, and it took police and the public works department four months to figure out where they've gone. They were hauled off and sold for scrap. Update: Theft Of Pittsburgh's Iron Trash Cans Allegedly An Inside Job More »
Whistleblowers Can Get Paid To Track Down Financial Fraud
By Marc Perton on May 25, 2011 6:00 PM
27 Comments
Despite objections from businesses, the Securities and Exchange Commission has passed a new rule that will allow whistleblowers to get up to 30% of any money the SEC recovers based on their tips. The rule also exempts whistleblowers from having to reveal their findings to the companies they're reporting before going to the government. More »
(.sanden.)
TSA Could Ban Flights From Texas If State Passes Anti-Patdown Law
By Marc Perton on May 25, 2011 3:30 PM
184 Comments
A showdown is in the works over an anti-patdown law, which the Texas House of Representatives recently approved by a unanimous vote. The government warns that passage of the law could cause the TSA to "cancel any flight" where it couldn't ensure passenger safety. Texas legislators say the rule is needed because existing laws "let government employees fondle innocent women, children and men." More »
(Environmental Protection Agency)
New Fuel-Economy Stickers Actually Display Car's Fuel Economy
By Marc Perton on May 25, 2011 2:15 PM
61 Comments
The U.S. Department of Transportation and Environmental Protection Agency have rolled out the biggest redesign of the car window stickers that display a vehicle's estimated fuel efficiency since the labels were introduced. The new stickers, designed to be easier to read and to provide more information about fuel savings and costs, will be required for all 2013 cars. More »
USDA: You Can Eat Pink Pork Without Getting Sick
By Marc Perton on May 25, 2011 11:30 AM
80 Comments
If you've been cooking pork chops until they're dry and leathery in the name of safety, stop now! The U.S. Department of Agriculture has revised its pork-cooking guidelines, saying it's OK to cook the other white meat to 145 degrees, and that the previous 160 degree recommendation was "probably overkill." More »
(Amazon)
How To Quiet Your Neighbor's Loud Birds If You're Quentin Tarantino
By Phil Villarreal on May 25, 2011 9:45 AM
86 Comments
Neighborly disputes are universal, even for high-powered Hollywood writer-directors. Quentin Tarantino and True Blood maestro Alan Ball got into a tiff involving Ball's allegedly loud exotic birds. Tarantino said the birds' "blood-curdling screams" impeded his ability to work at home, and Ball promised to build a sound-proof aviary and keep the birds inside until construction was finished. Apparently, at some point after the agreement, the birds were still repeatedly left outside for several hours, and Tarantino sued. More »
(Amazon)
Businesses Don't Like Plan That Would Reward Whistleblowers
By Phil Villarreal on May 25, 2011 9:15 AM
74 Comments
The Securities and Exchange Commission is considering a proposal that would pay out rewards to employees who turn in their companies for wrongdoing, and businesses aren't so happy about having bounties placed on their heads. More »
(Consumer Reports)
House Committee Battles Elizabeth Warren Over Consumer Protection Bureau
By Marc Perton on May 24, 2011 4:30 PM
52 Comments
At a hearing held by the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform today, the committee's GOP leadership debated Elizabeth Warren, the White House's pick to run the new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. As the committee argued that new regulations are required to keep the watchdog agency from having "unchecked discretion" over financial matters, Warren responded that such efforts serve to "undermine the consumer bureau before it even begins its work of protecting American families." More »
Judge Denies DirectBuy Settlement For Being Too Paltry
By Ben Popken on May 23, 2011 5:00 PM
42 Comments
A judge has given the thumbs down to a proposed settlement in the class-action lawsuit against DirectBuy over its pricing practices. The settlement would have been free memberships to DirectBuy, worth $3,000, to around 800,000 class members. In other words, they were getting sued for being a bad deal and having a problem with their prices, and their make-good is a free pass so you can come in and keep paying those same prices. More »
(Marike79)
Don't Even Think Of Smoking In New York Parks And Beaches
By Marc Perton on May 23, 2011 2:00 PM
74 Comments
New York City, a pioneer at smoking bans in restaurants, bars and workplaces, has extended its policies to the outside world, with a new law that makes smoking in city parks, beaches or public plazas a crime punishable by a $50 fine. More »
Amex Settles Case Alleging They Advertised BOGO, But Charged Double
By Ben Popken on May 23, 2011 11:45 AM
37 Comments
How's this for a bad deal? American Express Publishing Corp. had an offer for a "free" airline ticket when you bought a companion ticket and a subscription to Skyguide magazine. But a lawsuit brought by five Californian counties says that when consumers went to the website to buy their ticket, they were often charged double what the ticket would have cost them if they bought the ticket straight from the airline. Get it? More »
Undercover NASA Agent Busts Woman For Allegedly Trying To Sell Possibly Phony Moon Rock
By Phil Villarreal on May 23, 2011 9:45 AM
57 Comments
If you are so bold as to try to hock a moon rock, you'd do best not to try to sell your wares to an undercover agent from NASA. More »
Utah Makes Scrooge McDuck Money Bins A Possibility
By Phil Villarreal on May 23, 2011 9:15 AM
76 Comments
Those who dream of constructing giant towers filled with gold and silver coins in which to swim, and doing so with the knowledge that their coins are as good as cash, may want to look at moving to Utah. The state has pushed through legislation that makes gold and silver coins legal currency. More »
(Courtesy FTC)
FTC Chairman Jon Leibowitz On Oreck's "Flu Reducing" Vacuum And Other Bad Ads
By Meg Marco on May 20, 2011 7:20 PM
13 Comments
The FTC is in charge of keeping an eye on spurious claims from TV product ads — so ABC News sat down with FTC Chairman and friend-of-the-blog Jon Leibowtiz to discuss what manufacturers are, and are not, allowed to claim in their ads, as well as the hurdles the FTC faces in enforcing truth-in-advertising rules. Case in point, Oreck recently settled with the FTC over a vacuum that claimed to prevent the flu. More »
(f●rming)
Mom Sues Four Loko For Teen's Death
By Ben Popken on May 20, 2011 10:00 AM
229 Comments
The parents of a teen who died after drinking two Four Lokos and running onto a highway have sued the beverage maker, reports the Chicago Tribune. The lawsuit claims the manufacturer was "careless and negligent" in making a caffeinated alcoholic drink that "desensitizes users to the symptoms of intoxication and increases the potential for alcohol-related harm." More »
Bill Aims To Stop People From Using 401(K) As A Piggy Bank
By Chris Morran on May 19, 2011 4:30 PM
134 Comments
A recent study found that a record number of people (around 28%) with 401(k) retirement funds had loans (averaging $7,860) outstanding on them in 2010, meaning that these same folks will not have as much money set aside when it does come time to retire. That's why a pair of Senators have introduced legislation that would make it more difficult for people to tap their 401(k)s. More »
California Law Would Allow Raids Of Suspected Piracy Facilities Without Warrants
By Phil Villarreal on May 19, 2011 11:15 AM
110 Comments
If anti-piracy California legislation becomes law, authorities will be able to enter facilities suspected of pirating movie and music discs and seize equipment without first receiving warrants. More »
Private Prisons Fail To Deliver Big Savings To States
By Phil Villarreal on May 19, 2011 9:45 AM
122 Comments
Most states have turned to privately-owned prisons in order to cut savings, but a report says that the prisons offer little savings to state governments, and in some cases end up costing taxpayers more than traditional systems. More »
Verizon Sues FCC Over New Rules For Data Roaming
By Chris Morran on May 19, 2011 9:15 AM
14 Comments
Last month, the Federal Communications Commission voted to enact new rules that require national wireless broadband providers like Verizon and AT&T to provide data roaming to other carriers "on commercially reasonable terms and conditions." Not surprisingly, Big Red is against this idea and has thus filed a lawsuit against the FCC in an attempt to have the rules reversed. More »
FDA: Diabetes Drug Avandia To Be Pulled From Retail Pharmacies In November
By Chris Morran on May 19, 2011 8:04 AM
8 Comments
For several years, prescription diabetes medicine Avandia has been at the center of a debate about whether the medication's heart attack risk was high enough to pull it from pharmacies. Now, nearly eight months after the FDA announced it would be introducing strict restrictions on its sale and use, the agency has finally gotten around to announcing the specifics of those restrictions. More »
Lottery Winner Continues To Use Food Stamps
By Phil Villarreal on May 18, 2011 11:49 AM
179 Comments
A Michigan man isn't letting something a lottery windfall stop him from using government assistance to buy food. More »
Consumers Union: Americans Deserve A Financial Watchdog Not A Big Bank Lapdog
By Chris Morran on May 18, 2011 10:45 AM
50 Comments
As some members of the Congress and Senate continue to do their best to neuter the still-nascent Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, our benevolent benefactors at Consumers Union are asking the folks on Capitol Hill to not put a muzzle on the CFPB. More »
(BentonJ)
EEOC Sues Starbucks For Firing Dwarf
By Chris Morran on May 17, 2011 3:32 PM
244 Comments
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has filed a lawsuit against Starbucks, alleging that the coffee chain violated federal law when it fired a barista-in-training who is a dwarf. More »
Senators Ask FTC To Investigate Possible Price Fixing By Oil Refiners
By Chris Morran on May 17, 2011 12:37 PM
94 Comments
Even though the U.S. Attorney General has already begun an inter-agency investigation into the manipulation of oil prices, three senators have asked the Jon Leibowitz, Chairman of the Federal Trade Commission and Consumerist pal, to investigate possible price fixing by this country's oil refiners. More »
(jerm IX)
California To End Carpool Lane Benefit For Hybrid Owners
By Chris Morran on May 17, 2011 11:30 AM
109 Comments
From 2005 through 2007, the state of California made a pretty tempting offer to get drivers behind the wheels of hybrid cars: Buy one and you'll get a sticker that allows you to cruise in the carpool lane without having to have that annoying other passenger (or mannequin) next to you. It was like a VIP pass on the highway. But those halcyon days are about to end. More »
Man Convicted Of Running $100 Million Ponzi Scheme Sentenced To 10 Years
By Phil Villarreal on May 17, 2011 10:15 AM
41 Comments
A Connecticut man was convicted of tricking investors out of $30 million in a Ponzi scheme that involved a total of $100 million in cash exchanged in an elaborate ruse was sentenced to 10 years in prison. Once he gets out, he'll have to pay $500 a month in restitution, although the actual figure will be based on what he can afford. More »
Court Lets NFL Continue Lockout
By Phil Villarreal on May 17, 2011 9:30 AM
65 Comments
After a couple early victories in court by players, the NFL has had its way in recent rulings involving its labor dispute. On Monday the league won a permanent stay of an injunction that forced the league to temporarily end its lockout. More »
NY Attorney General Investigating Pre-Bust Hijinks At Bank Of America, Goldman Sachs & Morgan Stanley
By Chris Morran on May 17, 2011 9:15 AM
32 Comments
Just when you think the beleaguered bankers of the world can finally stop dealing with pesky investigations into their roles in the recent financial ugliness (some would call it a global economic meltdown), some Columbo-like snoop has to say, "Just one more thing" and open up all new cans of worms. The latest can-opener is New York state Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, who has reportedly begun a broad investigation of Goldman Sachs, Bank of America and Morgan Stanley. More »
FCC Commissioner Turned Comcast Flunky Defends Herself
By Chris Morran on May 16, 2011 3:37 PM
98 Comments
Last week, FCC commissioner Meredith Atwell Baker raised a lot of eyebrows when — only months after voting to approve the controversial merger of Comcast and NBC — she announced she would be jumping ship to become Senior Vice President of Government Affairs, NBCUniversal. The lame duck commissioner recently released a statement to defend herself against allegations of impropriety. More »
(Bob Reck)
Chuck E. Cheese's Accused Of Turning Kids Into Gamblers
By Phil Villarreal on May 16, 2011 11:30 AM
141 Comments
According to a potential class action suit filed by a San Diego mom, kiddie-themed pizza chain Chuck E. Cheese's is a gambling parlor disguised as a venue for innocent entertainment. More »
(matneym)
You Get Free Birth Control In Maryland If You Happen To Be A Deer
By Phil Villarreal on May 16, 2011 11:15 AM
141 Comments
Some frisky deer in Maryland now have the opportunity to get it on without concern of possible parenthood, thanks to a state directive to provide contraception to the animals in order to keep the population under control. More »
FTC Complaint: Dropbox Misinformed Users About Security
By Phil Villarreal on May 16, 2011 9:15 AM
25 Comments
According to a Federal Trade Commission complaint lodged against online storage service Dropbox, users were told they had more security than they actually did. More »
Disney-Owned Studio Pays $3 Million For Violating Kid Gamers' Privacy
By Mary Beth Quirk on May 16, 2011 9:00 AM
19 Comments
The Federal Trade Commission is not about to let anyone, even Disney, get all up in the U.S. Child Online Privacy Protection Act's business without paying dearly for it. Playdom, a social games studio owned by Disney, is in trouble to the tune of $3 million for collecting kids ages and email addresses without requiring parental consent. More »
Consumerist
House Committee Approves Legislation To Weaken Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
By Chris Morran on May 13, 2011 3:27 PM
61 Comments
Because it would apparently really suck to have a Consumer Financial Protection Bureau that could actually do anything to protect consumers, the House Financial Services Committee has given the thumbs-up to three pieces of legislation that would weaken the agency before its even born. More »
Texas House Passes Bill To Outlaw TSA Pat-Downs That Make Contact With Your Most Personal Parts
By Chris Morran on May 13, 2011 2:15 PM
124 Comments
As we reported in March, a handful of Texas politicians were fed up with being felt-up and were considering a way to ban the TSA's invasive pat-down procedures. Last night, that ban got closer to reality — or at least closer to becoming a courtroom battle — when the Lone Star State's House of Representatives voted to approve legislation that would keep hands off travelers' most personal areas. More »
LimeWire To Pay $105 Million To Record Labels
By Chris Morran on May 13, 2011 12:15 PM
38 Comments
Last October, a federal court shut down peer-to-peer file-sharing service LimeWire. Yesterday, the defunct company agreed to fork over $105 million to to settle a copyright infringement suit brought by 13 record labels. More »
BCS "Punishes" Fiesta Bowl By Making It Donate $1 Million To Charity
By Phil Villarreal on May 13, 2011 9:15 AM
32 Comments
After the Fiesta Bowl revealed it had misspent funds, buying extravagant, bribe-like gifts for power brokers — including strip club outings — and coercing illegal campaign contributions from staffers, Bowl Championship Series officials rattled their sabers. But despite vague threats to possibly strip the Arizona-based bowl game of its lofty BCS status, the organization has let the bowl off the hook with a stern lecture and an non-punishing punishment. More »
Senators Ask SEC To Force Companies To Reveal Data Leaks
By Marc Perton on May 12, 2011 2:15 PM
13 Comments
Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Jay Rockefeller has come up with a new tactic to push companies like Sony to disclose hack attacks and data security breaches more promptly: He's asked the Securities and Exchange Commission to require companies to treat attacks as time-sensitive information that must be provided to investors. More »
Big Oil Execs Defend Need For $21 Billion In Tax Breaks
By Chris Morran on May 12, 2011 12:30 PM
77 Comments
Even though Exxon Mobil alone earned more than $30 billion in profit in 2010 — and has reported a huge 69% increase in profit in the first quarter of 2011 — that company's CEO was one of several oil biz execs trying to convince the Senate Finance Committee that they still need $21 billion in tax breaks. More »
Civil Rights Group Sues Maryland's Education Commission For Discrimination
By Phil Villarreal on May 12, 2011 10:15 AM
75 Comments
Maryland's Higher Education Commission faces a lawsuit brought by a civil rights advocacy group that alleges the state's treatment of its traditionally black institutions promote segregation and unfair education opportunities. More »
White House Wants Mortgage Firms To Help Homeowners Avoid Foreclosure
By Phil Villarreal on May 12, 2011 9:30 AM
79 Comments
An Obama administration plan calls for the 14 largest mortgage companies to contribute to a federal fund that would help distressed homeowners avoid foreclosures. More »
FEMA Tries To Get Back Mistaken Payments To Disaster Victims
By Phil Villarreal on May 12, 2011 9:15 AM
66 Comments
Deciding it had been a bit too generous when dishing out disaster aid, FEMA is going around asking for refunds of mistaken payments. Letters demanding repayment within 30 days are coming as a shock to disaster victims who say they needed the money to get back on track and no longer have it. More »
Hedge Fund Billionaire Convicted On Insider Trading Charges
By Phil Villarreal on May 12, 2011 8:15 AM
33 Comments
The Justice Department has managed to nail a hedge fund billionaire believed to be one of the many driving forces behind the financial crisis. The billionaire, the founder of the defunct hedge fund management firm Galleon Group, was convicted on 14 counts of fraud and conspiracy. More »
Google Sets Aside $500 Million For Ad Settlement
By Phil Villarreal on May 11, 2011 4:30 PM
6 Comments
Preparing to settle a Department of Justice investigation of "use of Google advertising by certain advertisers," Google has set aside $500 million to make the investigation go away. More »
Federal Judge Rules That Political Activists Can Use Company Logos
By Phil Villarreal on May 11, 2011 3:30 PM
37 Comments
Political activists who use company trademarks to protest business practices often face lawsuits from offended organizations, but a ruling by a federal judge in Utah may stifle such suits because they violate First Amendment rights. More »
Google Wants Nevada To Allow Its Driverless Cars On Roads
By Phil Villarreal on May 11, 2011 2:30 PM
79 Comments
Google wants its self-driving cars to prowl Nevada streets, so it's lobbying the state's lawmakers to make its cars legal, and also give them exemptions from a distracted driver law that forbids text messaging while at the wheel. More »
Dumping 2nd Mortgage Through Bankruptcy Is No Cake Walk
By Ben Popken on May 10, 2011 5:00 PM
22 Comments
For anyone considering getting rid of their second mortgage in the manner described in yesterday's post, bear in mind that it is by no means a painless process. One of our readers is a staff attorney for a Chapter 13 bankruptcy trustee, and he writes in with more details about what this process entails. More »
(leanne42)
Video: Shoplifters Smuggle Booze Between Legs
By Phil Villarreal on May 10, 2011 11:15 AM
74 Comments
These three women put on a clinic of how not to shoplift from a liquor aisle. Spurning the tradition of trenchcoats or other types of baggy clothing, they manage to slip bottles of liquor underneath their skirts. They're not as sneaky as they think they are because the store's security camera captures them in mesmerizing action. More »
23,000 Who Downloaded Stallone Flick Face Lawsuit
By Phil Villarreal on May 10, 2011 10:15 AM
114 Comments
Hopefully 23,000 users who allegedly illegally downloaded The Expendables really, really enjoyed the movie, because now they'll be paying for it with fear and loathing brought on by a lawsuit, as well as possibly tons of money. More »
(CJ Sorg)
College Kid Is Pro At Taking Companies To Small Claims Court
By Ben Popken on May 10, 2011 10:00 AM
58 Comments
Most of us have trouble scratching a simple customer service call off our to-do list, but The Red Tape Chronicles profiles a college kid who has turned taking companies to small claims court into a bit of a hobby. And he's won 10 out of 12 times. More »
TSA Tries To Explain Need For Patting Down An Infant
By Chris Morran on May 10, 2011 1:35 AM
131 Comments
Over the weekend, TSA agents at the Kansas City International Airport felt the full furor of the internet when a camera phone image of a baby being patted-down hit the web. The world wanted to know if we'd moved from worrying about dirty bombs to hunting for poopy bombs. In an attempt to diffuse the explosive situation, the folks behind the curtains of Security Theater took to their blog to offer an explanation. More »
Sick Of Comcast Rate Hikes, Boston Mayor Asks FCC To Let City Regulate Cable Prices
By Chris Morran on May 9, 2011 12:32 PM
103 Comments
In the city of Boston, where most residents only have access to Comcast service, the price of basic cable has soared 60% over the last three years. So the city's mayor, Thomas Menino, has asked the Federal Communications Commission to let the city regulate the cost of cable. More »
Judge Throws Out Doctor's Defamation Lawsuit
By Phil Villarreal on May 9, 2011 9:45 AM
58 Comments
A Minnesota judge weighed a touchy healthcare issue in a defamation lawsuit, deciding whether or not a doctor's right to protect his reputation outweighs the family of a patient's intentions to publicize their grievances against the doc. The District Court judge sided with the family, tossing out the doctor's defamation lawsuit. More »
(KFreon)
Senator Proposes "No-Ride List" For Amtrak
By Chris Morran on May 9, 2011 8:45 AM
88 Comments
Apparently the only way for a terrorist to plant a bomb on any of the thousands and thousands miles of completely unsecured railroad track in this country is to actually be a passenger on a train — specifically an Amtrak train. Thus, Senator Chuck Schumer of NY has figured out a way to keep our entire rail system safe: A "no-ride list." More »
(msmail)
TSA Considers Making Airport Screenings Less Annoying For "Trusted Travelers"
By Chris Morran on May 6, 2011 1:32 PM
110 Comments
You might have heard that some airline passengers haven't exactly been overjoyed with the TSA's recent rollouts of revealing full-body scanners and like-groping-teenagers-in-heat pat-down procedures. But now the agency is reportedly considering the idea of giving "trusted travelers" an express pass through airport security screenings. More »
Senate Republicans To Block Consumer Financial Protection Chief
By Marc Perton on May 6, 2011 1:30 PM
78 Comments
Following their colleagues in the House, who earlier this week offered legislation that would weaken the powers of the planned Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, nearly all Republican Senators have sent a letter to President Obama vowing to block the confirmation of any nominee to head the new agency, unless there are "structural changes that will make the Bureau accountable to the American people." More »
Texas Refuses To Pay Wrongfully Convicted Man, Garnishes His Wages Instead
By Phil Villarreal on May 5, 2011 11:15 AM
124 Comments
Under Texas law, wrongfully convicted criminals are entitled to $80,000 for each year of mistaken incarceration. But a man who was locked away for 18 years after he was convicted of capital murder, and was released when a state court dropped the charges, is being stiffed. More »
Rappers Sue CBS Interactive, Alleging It Profited From Music Piracy
By Phil Villarreal on May 5, 2011 9:45 AM
32 Comments
A lawsuit led by rap artists alleges CBS Interactive, the parent company of CNET, aided copyright infringement by promoting and profiting on downloads of file-sharing service LimeWire. More »
Judge Dismisses College Athletes' Case Against EA
By Phil Villarreal on May 5, 2011 9:15 AM
21 Comments
As far as the justice system is concerned, EA Sports is allowed to continue using rough approximations of player likenesses in its college sports games. More »
College Football Bowl System Apparently Warrants DOJ's Attention
By Chris Morran on May 4, 2011 4:59 PM
81 Comments
Because antitrust investigators at the Justice Department made such quick work of their investigations into the United/Continental and NBC/Universal mergers, they apparently have plenty of free time to wonder why there are no playoffs in the Bowl Championship Series. More »
House Subcommittee Approves Bills That Would Effectively Shackle Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
By Chris Morran on May 4, 2011 3:35 PM
115 Comments
As we reported yesterday, a House of Representatives subcommittee was set to review various proposed bills that would effectively disarm the new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau before it even had a chance to do any protecting of consumers. Sadly, but not surprisingly, all three bits of proposed legislation have been approved. More »
Do You Live Near A Food Desert?
By Ben Popken on May 4, 2011 1:00 PM
75 Comments
If you've ever wanted to find out if you live in a wasteland with a dearth of access to fresh and nutritious food, boy have we got the government-sponsored data mashup for you! The USDA just launched the "Food Desert Locator" which lets you see where it's hard to get a decent bite to eat in America. A "food desert" (remember: not dessert, that has two s's because you want more of it) is a low-income area where a most of the people live more than one mile from the nearest grocery store/supermarket. Thanks to this map, now we know why North Dakotans are so sad: no one will make them a sandwich! More »
Woman Sues Strip Club For Discrimination For Charging Female Customers Double
By Chris Morran on May 4, 2011 12:15 PM
229 Comments
In February, a woman says she took her husband to a strip club in Maryland to celebrate. But when they got to the door, they were told that she would have to pay double her husband's $10 cover charge. Now that woman has slapped the bar with a $200,000 discrimination suit. More »
(stirwise)
Appeals Court: Boeing Allowed To Fire Whistleblowers
By Phil Villarreal on May 4, 2011 10:15 AM
39 Comments
In a ruling that's sure to scuttle the urges of would-be whistleblowers who seek to expose wrongdoing by employers, an appeals court has allowed Boeing to fire two employees who leaked documents to the press that made the company look bad. More »
Judge Rules IP Addresses Aren't People, Blocking Subpoenas
By Phil Villarreal on May 4, 2011 9:15 AM
61 Comments
In a decision that could have long-term implications for cybercrime prosecution, a U.S. District judge ruled that IP addresses do not directly represent people, and thus aren't fair criteria for copyright holders to subpoena individuals. More »
(T.M.Y.)
Your Rented Computer Could Be Spying On You
By Ben Popken on May 3, 2011 5:00 PM
100 Comments
According to a recently filed lawsuit, a big rental chain installs physical hardware and software into its rented computers, capturing the keystrokes, screenshots, and even webcam images of unsuspecting customers. The only way to disable it is by waving an electronic "wand" over the device. The spyware was revealed when a store manager for the chain showed up at renter's house to try to repossess the laptop and showed the renter a picture of him taken by the webcam, unbeknownst to him, by the leased laptop. More »
Feds Gave $220 Million In Bailout Bucks To Two Morgan Stanley Wives For Some Reason
By Ben Popken on May 3, 2011 4:00 PM
95 Comments
Rolling Stone's Matt Taibbi - the guy who famously referred to Goldman Sachs as "a great vampire squid wrapped around the face of humanity, relentlessly jamming its blood funnel into anything that smells like money" - has an interesting expose of how the wives of two Morgan Stanley hot shots, though they had no previous financial experience, set up their own investing initiative and got $220 million in bailout funds. More »
Washington Already Considering Ways To Ruin Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
By Chris Morran on May 3, 2011 11:45 AM
105 Comments
The still nascent Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is already on its way to becoming the latest victim in Washington's efforts to make sure American consumers have their voice taken away. Tomorrow, the House Subcommittee on Financial Institutions and Consumer Credit is scheduled to consider a number of bills that, if passed, would undermine the CFPB's ability to protect consumers. More »
(mrbill)
Social Security Phases Out Paper Checks
By Phil Villarreal on May 3, 2011 10:15 AM
107 Comments
Planning to save $1 billion over the next decade by eliminating the costs of printing, handling and sending paper checks, the U.S. Department of the Treasury will require all new Social Security applicants to set up direct deposit. Those who have always received Social Security checks will be able to continue doing so until March 2013, when the organization will eliminate paper checks entirely. More »
LAPD Falls For Internet Hoax, Sends Out Misguided Alert About UPS Deliveries
By Phil Villarreal on May 2, 2011 9:15 AM
20 Comments
Internet hoaxes are capable of tricking not only your grandma, but also the Los Angeles Police Department. An 8-year-old yarn about terrorists — dressed as UPS workers thanks to uniforms bought on eBay — who could deliver explosives disguised as packages spurred the force to send out an alert to residents. An unidentified state law enforcement agency passed the info to the police department. More »
Advertisers Fire Back At Government Over Proposed Food Marketing Guidelines
By Chris Morran on April 29, 2011 1:30 PM
93 Comments
Yesterday we wrote about the proposed guidelines put forth by a federal interagency working group regarding the marketing of food to children. The "principles" asked for food companies to market products with healthier ingredients and gave suggested limits on things like fat and sodium. The ad industry is less-than-pleased by the news. More »
(takgoti)
DEA Will Be Happy To Take Your Old Drugs Off Your Hands This Saturday
By Chris Morran on April 29, 2011 12:15 PM
53 Comments
Last September's first-ever National Take-Back Day, in which the DEA and other law enforcement agencies operate stations for people with old prescription drugs to dispose of them safely, was apparently enough of a success that the agency decided to not even wait a full year to try it again. That's right, it's time to bust out your National Take-Back Day decorations, along with your old Vicodin, Oxycontin and Cipro! More »
Former Miss USA Says She Was "Molested" By TSA Employee
By Phil Villarreal on April 29, 2011 10:15 AM
187 Comments
An devastated former Miss USA crown holder fights back tears as she describes an overly touchy-feely pat-down by a TSA agent at the Dallas airport. She says she feels "molested" because the female agent touched her vagina four times. More »
Government Proposes New Guidelines For Marketing Food To Kids
By Chris Morran on April 28, 2011 3:30 PM
107 Comments
Earlier today, an interagency working group consisting of folks from the Federal Trade Commission, Centers for Disease Control, Food and Drug Administration, and the Dept. of Agriculture, issued a set of "proposed voluntary principles" it hopes the food industry will ultimately adopt in its marketing to the youth of America. More »
Do Not Pretend Your Waitress's Bosom Is A Credit Card Reader
By Phil Villarreal on April 28, 2011 11:15 AM
86 Comments
Just in case you were wondering, it's not cool to paw at a waitress and slide a credit card in her bra. Such actions are what a Washington Redskins lineman stands accused of, according to court papers filed Wednesday. More »
Virginia Tech Appeals Federal Fines From 2007 Shooting
By Phil Villarreal on April 28, 2011 9:15 AM
43 Comments
After the 2007 Virginia Tech shootings that left 32 dead, the U.S. Department of Education fined the school $55,000 in March for failing to notify students and campus personnel about the danger in a timely manner. More »
AT&T: Mandatory Binding Arbitration Actually Benefits The Consumer
By Chris Morran on April 27, 2011 5:30 PM
105 Comments
Earlier today, the Supreme Court ruled that it's okay for companies to effectively preempt class-action lawsuits by putting mandatory binding arbitration clauses into their contracts with consumers. To most of us, that looks like a slap in the face to the American consumer, but the folks at AT&T want us all to know that the Supreme Court decision is actually going to benefit us all. More »
Lawsuit: Benjamin Moore's Odorless Paint Actually Quite Stinky
By Laura Northrup on April 27, 2011 4:00 PM
46 Comments
Benjamin Moore's Natura paint is billed as an eco-friendly, odorless paint with no volatile organic compounds that doesn't stink up your house while it dries. Some consumers love it, and some don't. Bu some consumers really don't like it, and one woman has initiated a class-action suit claiming that Natura wouldn't dry and stunk up her house so badly that she couldn't stay in her home. More »
(afagen)
Supreme Court Rules That Companies Can Block Customers' Class-Action Suits
By Chris Morran on April 27, 2011 2:14 PM
186 Comments
In a huge blow to peeved consumers, the Supreme Court ruled earlier today that companies can block customers from joining together in a class-action suit by forcing each complaint into arbitration. More »
California AG Asks Judge To Throw Tax Lady Roni Deutch In Jail
By Chris Morran on April 26, 2011 1:30 PM
80 Comments
Last summer, the California Attorney General filed a $34 million lawsuit against daytime TV mainstay "Tax Lady" Roni Deutch, alleging that her firm defrauded customers out of millions each year. Now, the AG's office has asked that Deutch be thrown in jail for allegedly destroying important documents and for not refunding money to customers. More »
Proposed NYC Law Could Send Buyers Of Knockoff Handbags To Jail
By Chris Morran on April 26, 2011 12:15 PM
200 Comments
The sidewalks of lower Manhattan, especially Chinatown, are filled with vendors selling genuine faux Louis Vuitton bags "Ugggs" boots and Ronex watches. One city councilwoman from that neighborhood is so fed up of trying to fight the problem from the supply side that she's introducing new legislation that would attempt to curb demand by making it illegal to purchase counterfeit merchandise. More »
State Department Proposal Would Make It Tougher For Some To Get Passports
By Phil Villarreal on April 26, 2011 10:15 AM
159 Comments
Quick — name off every address at which you've resided. Finished? Now let's hear the addresses, phone numbers and names of supervisors at every job you've ever had. And when you're finished with that, cough up your mom's address at wherever she was living a year before you were born. More »
Judge Unlocks NFL, But League Will Push To Quickly Lock Back Down
By Phil Villarreal on April 26, 2011 8:00 AM
79 Comments
The NFL's ugly labor dispute took a promising turn for fans hoping they don't miss football this year on Monday, when a U.S. District judge ended the owners' lockout. More »
Illinois Attorney General Taking Aim At Pabst's Colorful Malt Beverage
By Mary Beth Quirk on April 25, 2011 12:30 PM
74 Comments
When we hear the word "Pabst" the word "blasted" comes into mind, so it's no surprise that Woodbridge, Ill.-based Pabst Brewing Co. is having some trouble with its new, highly-alcoholic, colorful malt beverage, Blast. More »
Supreme Court Won't Hear Health Care Law Arguments Until Lower Courts Have Had Their Chance
By Chris Morran on April 25, 2011 12:08 PM
167 Comments
Earlier this year, those fighting the Constitutionality of the national healthcare reform legislation asked for permission to skip the appeals process and bring their arguments straight to the Supreme Court. Earlier today, the Supremes denied that request. More »
Polls: Most Americans Think Rich Folk Aren't Paying Enough Taxes
By Chris Morran on April 22, 2011 3:15 PM
354 Comments
While the absolute wealthiest Americans are now paying less federal income tax than they were two decades ago, two new polls show that most people support raising taxes on those earning over $250,000 a year. More »
FCC Commissioner Michael Copps Talks Mergers With Consumerist
By Chris Morran on April 22, 2011 2:45 PM
12 Comments
Of the commissioners on the FCC, Michael Copps is easily the most outspoken in his opinion on media consolidation. In January, he was the only commissioner to vote against the sale of NBC to Comcast, saying that the deal "grievously fails the public interest." More recently, he's expressed his skepticism about how smoothly the AT&T purchase of T-Mobile USA will go. And he's also a cool enough guy to sit down for a chat with Consumerist. More »
Samsung, Sued By Apple For Copying iStuff, Sues Apple For Copying Samsung Stuff
By Phil Villarreal on April 22, 2011 11:15 AM
48 Comments
Samsung and Apple are now officially entangled in a messy legal slapfight. After Apple sued Samsung for allegedly violating iPhone and iPad patents, Samsung has responded in kind, alleging Apple violated several of its patents. More »
Google Ordered To Pay Computer Firm $5 Million For Patent Violation
By Phil Villarreal on April 22, 2011 10:15 AM
33 Comments
A small Texas computer company won a $5 million district court judgment against Google, which a jury found in violation of a Linux-related patent due to proprietary code for storing and retrieving information that was found in Google software. More »
Attorney General Forms Team To Look Into Oil Price Manipulation
By Chris Morran on April 21, 2011 4:17 PM
115 Comments
Someone at the Attorney General's office must have finally looked at how high gasoline prices are right now and thought, "Maybe there's something more than meets the eye here," because President Obama announced earlier today that the AG is gathering his forces to see what, if any, behind-the-scenes shenanigans are going on to keep prices so high. More »
DHS Ditches Color-Coded Terror Alert System, Joins The Facebook & Twitter Crowd
By Chris Morran on April 21, 2011 2:32 PM
28 Comments
I know all of you have gotten used to checking to see if it was an orange, yellow, or red day according to the Department of Homeland Security's color-coded terror alert system. But now that's all gone, and you can check Facebook or Twitter to see whether or not the world is going to blow up today. More »
Sen. Franken Demands Answers From Apple About iPhone Tracking
By Chris Morran on April 21, 2011 12:05 PM
121 Comments
Yesterday, it was revealed that Apple iPhones and 3G-enabled iPads have been, unbeknownst to their users, recording their locations with corresponding time stamps in a file named "consolidated.db." This discovery did not please Al Franken, the U.S. Senator from Minnesota, who has fired off a letter to Apple bigwig Steve Jobs. More »
Feds Crack Down On Restaurant Owners For Allegedly Employing Illegal Immigrants
By Phil Villarreal on April 21, 2011 11:15 AM
110 Comments
Apparently some restaurants are in the habit of hiring undocumented workers to do grunt work, paying them in cash to avoid taxes. The feds are onto this brazen scheme, and put the smackdown on two owners of a restaurant chain based in Arizona and California, as well as their accountant. More »
Government Rules USPS Treated GameFly Unfairly
By Phil Villarreal on April 21, 2011 10:15 AM
47 Comments
Putting an end to a two-year dispute between GameFly and the U.S. Postal Service, the Postal Regulatory Commission ruled the USPS has given services such as Netflix and Blockbuster preferential treatment over its own discs. More »
Government Re-Activates Online Poker Domains To Allow Refunds
By Phil Villarreal on April 21, 2011 9:45 AM
37 Comments
Although the government brought the wrath of Olympus down upon law-averting offshore online poker palaces, it's showing compassion for customers who had money locked up in gambling accounts. Authorities re-activated two previously closed domain names, allowing players to request refunds. More »
Appeals Court Gives Both Dish, TiVo Reasons To Be Happy, Sad
By Phil Villarreal on April 21, 2011 9:15 AM
38 Comments
TiVo and Dish Network are locked up in a never-ending lawsuit over the satellite provider's alleged violation of TiVo's DVR patents, and a U.S. Federal Court of Appeals ruling Wednesday only served to muddle the picture. More »
(Thinkstock.com)
FDA Approval for Implants Is Too Slow. Or Is It Too Fast?
By Paul Eng on April 20, 2011 2:00 PM
19 Comments
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration can't seem to catch a break. Last week, the federal agency came under fire by the Government Accountability Office for its 510(k) program, which expedites approvals of new medical devices without requiring extensive clinical studies. More »
Airlines Now Actually Have To Return Bag Fees If They Lose Your Bag
By Meg Marco on April 20, 2011 12:30 PM
87 Comments
It's sort of sad that the Department of Transportation actually had to force airlines to refund bag fees if they lose your baggage — but whatever, let's not dwell. More »
Man Arrested At Airport After Swearing At Flight Crew
By Phil Villarreal on April 20, 2011 10:15 AM
62 Comments
Note to flyers: If you've got a beef with flight attendants, try not to cuss them out, because losing your temper could lead to your detention and arrest. More »
(smcgee)
Facebook-Suing Twins Appeal The Appeal They Lost
By Phil Villarreal on April 19, 2011 9:15 AM
37 Comments
The twin former Harvard classmates of Facebook CEO/president Mark Zuckerberg, who contend he stole their idea for the site, refuse to give up their quest to procure more than what they got in a previous settlement. Even after a U.S. appeals court judge denied their argument and pointedly told them to give up the case, the twins' lawyers asked a special 11-judge panel to take a look at their appeal. More »
Apple Sues Samsung, Alleging It Copied iPad, iPhone
By Phil Villarreal on April 19, 2011 8:45 AM
82 Comments
In the corporate method of waving your hand to tell the teacher the kid at the desk next to you has been peeking at its paper, Apple filed a lawsuit alleging Samsung copied the "look and feel" of its iPad and iPhone. It seems Samsung's Android devices such as the Samsung Galaxy S 4G, Epic 4G and Nexus S drew too much inspiration from istuff for Apple's liking. More »
(msmail)
White House Pushes Secure Online Identity System
By Phil Villarreal on April 18, 2011 9:15 AM
103 Comments
In an effort to develop something of a uniform standard for identifying online users, the White House announced plans for the National Strategy for Trusted Identities in Cyberspace (NSTIC). Companies that opt in to guiding the program will aim to allow people to use a single secure verification mechanism to access a number of different services. For example, your ID could potentially allow you access to email, online shopping and social networking sites. More »
Government Goes All-In Against Online Poker
By Phil Villarreal on April 18, 2011 8:00 AM
52 Comments
If you were planning on making your fortune on your sofa, taking fools' money in online poker, it's probably time to think of a plan B. Feds are making like Eliot Ness in an effort to shut down offshore companies that let Americans subvert in the nation's online gambling laws. G-men have filed an indictment against several individuals accused of operating illegal internet poker speakeasies. More »
(mrbill)
FAA Makes Changes To Keep Air Traffic Controllers From Falling Asleep On The Job
By Chris Morran on April 18, 2011 6:33 AM
74 Comments
Following a rash of incidents — like this one and this one — where air traffic controllers were caught snoozing on the job, the Federal Aviation Administration has issued some new rules that will hopefully give the controllers more rest and more supervision. More »
(stirwise)
Why Form 1040X Can Be Your Best Friend
By Phil Villarreal on April 17, 2011 9:30 AM
30 Comments
If you've waited until the last possible moment to do your taxes, there's probably a better chance that you'll rush through the process and make an error. An error you'll only realize you've made just after you've clicked on the e-file button or after the mailman has spirited your return off to Mount Doom. More »
Study: Suicide Rates Climb In Tough Economic Times
By Phil Villarreal on April 15, 2011 11:15 AM
94 Comments
According to researchers, suicide rates rise when investments tank and the job market becomes less forgiving, especially among those in the post-college, pre-retirement age range. More »
(tjean314)
Kansas Couple Convicted Of Ticket Scam, Sentenced To Prison
By Phil Villarreal on April 15, 2011 9:45 AM
18 Comments
A University of Kansas ticket official and her husband were convicted of aiding a $2 million illegal ticket ring in which they admitting to stealing and selling basketball and football tickets. More »
These Sweet Population Maps Make White Flight Look Pretty
By Ben Popken on April 14, 2011 5:00 PM
59 Comments
Here's a series of really nice-looking maps Datapointed made to visualize the 2000-2010 US Census data released this year. The bluer an area, the more people it gained. The redder an area, the more it lost. In the series of maps across America you'll see urban centers surrounded by a blossom of red, ringed by a halo of blue. It's the classic "flight to the suburbs" playing out. But one interesting development is the core of cobalt at the heart of these cities where downtown addresses have become in-demand again. Even beleaguered Detroit, as seen in this graph, is showing glimmers of a comeback in its most central neighbs. More »
Sears Sues Maker Of Sex-Enhancement Spray Over "DieHard" Name
By Chris Morran on April 14, 2011 3:38 PM
61 Comments
For decades, Sears has been using the trademarked brand name "DieHard" on its car batteries and auto parts. Now the retail relic has filed a trademark infringement suit against a company that makes a sexual enhancement spray under the same name. More »
Congress Takes Animal Off Endangered Species List
By Phil Villarreal on April 14, 2011 11:15 AM
53 Comments
Usually the way off the Endangered Species List does not head through legislators, but Congress let the Rocky Mountain wolf off the list, angering environmentalists who believe the reclassification was inappropriate. More »
Federal Judge Rules Middle Schoolers Can Express Their Love Of "Boobies"
By Phil Villarreal on April 14, 2011 9:45 AM
95 Comments
A ruling by a federal judge clears the way for kids to wear clothing that expresses their love of "boobies" without school administrators forcing them to remove it. More »
Another Day, Another Air Traffic Controller Asleep On The Job
By Phil Villarreal on April 14, 2011 9:15 AM
60 Comments
The Air Traffic Controller Sleeping Epidemic of 2011 continues. Yet another worker responsible for keeping planes from crashing into one another has fallen asleep on the job, with the FAA investigating yet again. More »
VIDEO: FTC Chairman Jon Leibowitz Chats With Consumerist
By consumerist.com on April 13, 2011 6:03 PM
21 Comments
Earlier today, Federal Trade Commission chairman Jon Leibowitz visited the Consumer Reports compound in Yonkers, NY. While there, Consumerist's Executive Editor Meghann Marco managed to score a sit-down interview with him. More »
Senator Durbin To Chase CEO: You're Already Gouging The Consumer, So Stop Complaining
By Chris Morran on April 13, 2011 2:30 PM
104 Comments
The main reason that JPMorgan Chase and other big banks have given for things like $5 ATM fees and prohibitive caps on debit card purchases is a soon-to-be-enacted bit of legislation known as the Durbin Amendment, which limits the amount of money banks can make off of interchange fees, the amount they charge retailers for each debit card transaction. Chase CEO Jamie Dimon has called the laws "price fixing at its worst" and "downright idiotic." Now Dick Durbin, the Illinois senator whose name graces the legislation, has come out swinging at Dimon, telling the bank exec to quit whining and enjoy being profitable. More »
Study: Less Than 40% Of Bank Branches Willing To Openly Disclose Account Fees To Customers
By Chris Morran on April 13, 2011 1:30 PM
38 Comments
In spite of legislation requiring banks to disclose all fees associated with consumer deposit accounts, a new study from the Public Interest Research Group shows that only around four out of 10 bank branches don't make it difficult or impossible for consumers to see the full schedule of fees.Additionally, banks are reluctant to let customers know about the availability of free checking accounts. More »
(Getty Images)
Former Foes McCain and Kerry Unite To Tackle Net Privacy
By Paul Eng on April 13, 2011 12:45 PM
27 Comments
Senators John Kerry and John McCain introduced an Internet privacy bill that would require companies to clearly spell out the types of data collected from consumers online, how it's used and require corporate safeguards from hackers and other criminals. More »
(RedJ)
Texas Considers Upping Speed Limit To 85 MPH
By Phil Villarreal on April 13, 2011 10:15 AM
240 Comments
Being that Texas is a giant state with wide expanses of dull spaces, you can't blame people for wanting to rush through it faster. Lawmakers are considering upping the speed limit to 85 miles per hour on some stretches of highway. Currently, Texas has 500 miles of roads with a speed limit of 80. More »
(telaine)
Chicago Transit Employee Accused Of Demanding Bribe From Filmmakers
By Phil Villarreal on April 13, 2011 9:45 AM
64 Comments
In what newscasters describe as a "classic Chicago shakedown" during the making of the movie Source Code last year, a Chicago transit employee who negotiated a $19,000 contract for use of the train system reportedly demanded filmmakers deliver $2,000 in an envelope to him or another employee as a tribute to his effort. When he learned the money wouldn't be delivered, he told a whistle-blower she'd never be able to work with Chicago's Metra again. More »
Photo: Consumer Reports
MagicJack Loses Some of Its Money-Making Mojo
By Paul Eng on April 12, 2011 3:30 PM
61 Comments
The company behind MagicJack, the $40 USB device that "makes monthly phone bills disappear" for consumers, is about see something else go up in smoke: Its own revenues. More »
State Farm Ordered To Pay $350 Million To Overcharged Customers
By Chris Morran on April 12, 2011 10:45 AM
21 Comments
A judge in Texas has sided with the Lone Star State's insurance commissioner, upholding an order for State Farm Insurance to pay out $350 million to over one million overcharged customers. More »
(KitanaOR)
Chicago Schools Sack The Sack Lunch
By Phil Villarreal on April 12, 2011 9:45 AM
371 Comments
Citing health factors, some Chicago schools have stopped allowing kids to bring lunches and some snacks from home unless they have medical orders that bar them from eating in the cafeteria. More »
(afagen)
Sony, Accused Hacker Call Truce In Settlement
By Phil Villarreal on April 12, 2011 9:30 AM
50 Comments
Sony's Itchy and Scratchy-esque tangle with an alleged hacker and his supporters has finally reached its apparent end. The parties agreed to an out-of-court settlement with an injunction that bans the man who took credit for jailbreaking the PlayStation 3 from distributing the offending code. More »
Texas Data Breach Exposes 3.5 Million Addresses, SSNs
By Phil Villarreal on April 12, 2011 9:15 AM
26 Comments
Everything's bigger in Texas. Even data breaches. As many as 3.5 million residents of the state found their personal data has been set free in a gaffe by the state government. More »
Appeals Court Denies Twins' Case Against Facebook
By Phil Villarreal on April 12, 2011 8:00 AM
29 Comments
An epilogue to the film The Social Network took place in a U.S. appeals court, with twin Harvard classmates of Facebook CEO/president Mark Zuckerberg — who accused him of ripping them off — being forced to stick with their 2008 settlement of $65 million. More »
The Credit Score Experian Is Selling You Isn't The One Lenders Consider
By Mary Beth Quirk on April 11, 2011 8:30 AM
52 Comments
If you've ever turned on a TV, you've seen those dudes singing about getting your credit score and making it seem like a good thing to do. Which it is, really, important to know that kind of thing. But a a new lawsuit filed against Experian, a super huge credit bureau, says that the company is intentionally misleading consumers about their scores. More »
Johnson & Johnson Settles With SEC & DOJ For $70 Million For Bribing Doctors Overseas, Paying Kickbacks To Iraq
By Chris Morran on April 8, 2011 1:15 PM
16 Comments
Johnson & Johnson may have been eliminated from the Worst Company In America tournament, but the company's craptastic year continues, as J&J has settled with the Securities and Exchange Commission and Dept. of Justice over allegations that it violated the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act by illegally bribing doctors in Europe and paying kickbacks to Iraq... At least it wasn't another product recall. More »
Chase Will Reinstate Debit Card Rewards If Fee Overhaul Is Delayed
By Ben Popken on April 7, 2011 3:00 PM
45 Comments
Chase has pledged to reinstate debit card rewards programs if the cap on fees it collects from merchants per debit transaction, scheduled to go into effect July 21st, is delayed. More »
(msmail)
2nd Air Traffic Controller Could Be Fired For Snoozing On The Job
By Ben Popken on April 7, 2011 11:00 AM
36 Comments
The second air traffic controller in a month could lose his job for catching some z's up in the tower. FAA Administrator Randy Babbitt told Congress that the controller was "found intentionally sleeping." What defines "intentional sleeping?" He had cushions and a blanket, meaning he brought materials to work with him to help him sleep. More »
Surprise! BP Would Rather Pay A Few Million In Fines Than Billions
By Mary Beth Quirk on April 7, 2011 9:15 AM
48 Comments
Oh, silly BP! Of course you want to be fined by the day and not by the millions and millions of gallons of oil you spilled into the Gulf of Mexico! The big bad oil guys have asked the U.S. government to levy their fines for the April 20, 2010 oil spilled based on the days the Deepwater Horizon rig spewed black stuff into the water, not how many barrels of crude oil it gushed. More »
Police Pepper Spray Unruly 8 Year Old At School
By Phil Villarreal on April 7, 2011 8:30 AM
247 Comments
Someday kids in Lakewood, Colo. will become crotchety old men who complain about how kids have it easy, saying "Why, in my day, police used to come and pepper spray second graders if they got out of line." More »
Former Employee Sues ShamWow Guy, Alleging He Wanted Her To Be "Love Slave"
By Phil Villarreal on April 6, 2011 9:45 AM
34 Comments
A woman who used to work for Vince Shlomi, the pitchman made famous in ads for the ShamWow and the SlapChop, has sued him, accusing him of civil battery and causing emotional distress, claiming he wanted her as his "love slave." More »
How Does A $25 Traffic Ticket Become A $911 Ticket?
By Laura Northrup on April 5, 2011 2:00 PM
166 Comments
When you receive a parking or traffic ticket, don't forget about it. In this time of widespread budget crisis at all levels of government, they're apparently not messing around. Brent received a ticket from a California Highway Patrol officer for not changing the address on his driver's license. He made the change, but forgot to send the ticket back. In just a few months, his $25 fine somehow turned into a $911 fine. Wait, what? More »
(Ninja M.)
Federal Grand Jury Investigates App Makers Over Privacy Issues
By Phil Villarreal on April 5, 2011 11:15 AM
17 Comments
Pandora and other app makers received subpoenas related to a criminal federal investigation in which prosecutors are looking into claims that smartphone apps violate users' privacy by illegally collecting and transmitting info. More »
Pro Football Player Accused Of Stealing Beer From Casino Deli
By Phil Villarreal on April 5, 2011 8:15 AM
44 Comments
No matter how tough things may be for out-of-work pro football players, it's doubtful they're hard up enough for cash that they have to resort to swiping beer. More »
Report: FTC Considering Giving Google A Good Probing
By Chris Morran on April 5, 2011 4:13 AM
31 Comments
Less than a week after Google reached a settlement with the Federal Trade Commission over its Google Buzz privacy debacle comes a report that the FTC is ready to probe the internet giant once more, this time over antitrust concerns regarding its search engine. More »
FAA Calls For Mandatory Inspection Of Older Boeing 737s
By Chris Morran on April 5, 2011 3:19 AM
19 Comments
Following this past weekend's incident in which a Southwest Airlines jet suddenly got a sunroof when a hole opened up in the plane's fuselage and the subsequent finding of problematic cracking on at least three other Southwest jets, the FAA is set to require inspections of around 175 older Boeing 737s. More »
Original Madden Video Game Creator Sues EA For Billions
By Phil Villarreal on April 4, 2011 10:15 AM
37 Comments
Sports simulation games take strides to replicate their real-life counterparts, but Madden NFL game publisher EA would rather not be facing a legal dispute that somewhat echoes the NFL's labor troubles. More »
Report Says BP Wants To Get Back To Drilling
By Mary Beth Quirk on April 3, 2011 9:07 PM
38 Comments
According to a new report, BP is asking permission from U.S. regulators to continue its drilling operations in the Gulf of Mexico. More »
FDA Proposes More Food Establishments Provide Calorie Info In Menus
By Mary Beth Quirk on April 3, 2011 8:53 PM
59 Comments
Maybe you won't want to eat that double bacon cheeseburger and large fries if the menu you order it from says its 1,600 calories. At least that's wht the Food and Drug Administration is hoping with their proposal that menus be required to list calorie counts at chain restaurants, bakeries, grocery stores, convenience stores and coffee chains. More »
American Apparel May Pout Its Way Into Bankruptcy
By Chris Morran on April 1, 2011 2:45 PM
53 Comments
American Apparel, the store perhaps better known for the barely legal, oft-undressed models in its ads, and the peccadilloes of company founder Dov Charney, than for its actual clothing, has alerted the Security and Exchange Commission that it may need to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. More »
(mary~lou)
Goldman Actually Borrowed From Fed Discount Window 5 Times, Contradicting Bank Claims
By Ben Popken on April 1, 2011 1:00 PM
28 Comments
Looks like Goldman has been a more frequent visitor to the Federal trough than they've been letting on. Despite testifying before Congress that they had only accessed the Federal Reserve's discount window, which lets banks borrow cash from the government quickly and on favorable terms, just once, Bloomberg reports that recently released data shows they actually took at least five overnight loans from the Fed between September 2008 and 2010. More »
(dooley)
FDA Lets Pharmacies Compete Against Price Gouging Company Making Pregnancy Drug
By Phil Villarreal on April 1, 2011 11:45 AM
91 Comments
Reacting to a pharmaceutical company's seemingly greedy ploy to jack up a premature birth-preventing drug from $10-$20 to $1,500 after the Food and Drug Administration granted it exclusive rights to produce the drug, the FDA shifted course and will allow specialty pharmacies into the market. More »
At Least One FCC Commissioner Thinks AT&T/T-Mobile Deal Won't Be A Cakewalk
By Chris Morran on April 1, 2011 10:15 AM
21 Comments
With the pending $39 billion sale of T-Mobile to AT&T heading toward review by the various regulatory bodies involved, there is at least one senior FCC commissioner who thinks it might not be so easy for the deal to go down. Of course, he was the one commissioner who voted against the NBC/Comcast deal. More »
(matneym)
New Hampshire Fish And Game Warns That Bears Dig Your Bird Feeders
By Phil Villarreal on March 31, 2011 2:15 PM
38 Comments
Looking to frighten viewers into putting away their bird feeders, the New Hampshire Fish and Game Department warns you that bears are looking to romp into your yard and tear into them. More »
How West Virginia Tax Money Ended Up In Phoenix Strippers' G-Strings
By Phil Villarreal on March 31, 2011 11:15 AM
20 Comments
The college football bowl system is alleged to be rife with corruption, some of which bubbled to the surface in an Arizona Republic report that identified rampant misuse of funds by Fiesta Bowl officials. More »
Whistle-Blowing Nuclear Plant Manager Sues Over Firing, Claiming Retaliation
By Phil Villarreal on March 31, 2011 9:15 AM
34 Comments
A former manager at a nuclear power generating facility in California says he was fired because he brought up safety concerns regarding labor issues at the plant. Now he's suing, claiming emotional distress and retaliation. More »
(J. Star)
Cops Taser 400-Pound Alleged Shoplifter Riding Motorized Cart
By Phil Villarreal on March 30, 2011 11:15 AM
82 Comments
Tangles between shoplifters and law enforcement often make for entertaining spectacles, but what went down at a Macomb County, Mich. Meijer in February is tough to top. When a 400-pound woman allegedly used a motorized cart to try to cruise away with $600 in stolen items, she got stuck at the door. She then allegedly pushed and punched a security guard, then resisted arrest until an officer subdued her with a Taser. More »
Baby Formula Is A Prized Item For Shoplifting Rings, Drug Smugglers
By Mary Beth Quirk on March 30, 2011 10:15 AM
90 Comments
Raise your hand if you're surprised to hear that baby formula is a popular choice of not only shoplifting rings, but drug smugglers who use it to cut heroin and cocaine. Yes, we're shocked, too! More »
Mass. Restaurant Chain Fined $110K For Data Breach
By Phil Villarreal on March 30, 2011 9:15 AM
18 Comments
A Massachusetts restaurant chain agreed to pay a $110,000 fine to settle a complaint that alleged hackers nabbed customers' credit card and debit card info in 2009. More »
(Ninja M.)
Federal Courts Fear Bombs Disguised As Smartphones
By Phil Villarreal on March 29, 2011 4:30 PM
45 Comments
If you've ever wondered why some federal court jurisdictions refused to allow cell phones on the premises, the answer lies partially in the potential threat of your technological doohickies. More »
New York Attorney General To Look Into AT&T Purchase Of T-Mobile
By Chris Morran on March 29, 2011 2:29 PM
52 Comments
Looks like Sprint isn't the only one with concerns about the pending $39 billion sale of T-Mobile to AT&T. The Attorney General for the state of New York has announced that his office will be conducting a "thorough review" of the deal. More »
Michigan Gives Itself Stingiest Jobless Benefits
By Phil Villarreal on March 29, 2011 10:15 AM
135 Comments
Michigan's governor signed a bill into law that will cut unemployment benefits by six weeks — bad news for would-be workers in a state that's been marred in 10.4 percent unemployment. More »
Study: Radiation From TSA's Full-Body Scanners Poses "No Significant Threat"
By Chris Morran on March 29, 2011 9:15 AM
104 Comments
In a new study that will surely be argued and dissected by both sides of the full-body scanner debate, researchers claim that the risk from the ionizing radiation to which travelers are exposed in these scanners "would be extremely small, even among frequent flyers" and that there "is no significant threat of radiation from the scans." More »
Supreme Court Hears Walmart Sex Discrimination Suit Today
By Phil Villarreal on March 29, 2011 9:00 AM
26 Comments
Walmart is quite competitive this week, not only vying to move on in the Worst Company in America Sweet 16, but battling female employees in a sex discrimination court today in a case before the Supreme Court. More »
Cleveland Browns Fan Sues Team, NFL Over Lockout
By Phil Villarreal on March 28, 2011 9:15 AM
40 Comments
Even though an NFL work stoppage is the one thing that keeps the Cleveland Browns from embarrassing themselves, a fan of the team is suing the team and league over its lockout, claiming the league violated his personal seat license contract, which grants him the right to buy tickets. More »
GAO: Consumers Only Getting $.21 On The Dollar Out Of Credit Card Debt Protection Fees
By Chris Morran on March 25, 2011 3:30 PM
21 Comments
In 2009, U.S. consumers spent at least $2.4 billion in fees for credit card debt protection products that provide them with the ability to suspend or cancel a part of their debt obligations as a result of things like disability and involuntary unemployment. However, a new Government Accountability Office report finds that the credit card companies are making a substantial profit from these fees. More »
Utah Considers Making Gold And Silver Legal Tender
By Phil Villarreal on March 25, 2011 1:30 PM
82 Comments
Utah's state house took a step toward allowing gold and silver to be accepted as cash, passing a bill that would recognize government-issued gold and silver coins for not only their face value, but the value given to the items by collectors. If the bill passes, the state would study the idea of establishing an alternative form of currency backed by silver and gold. More »
Parents Want To Push Kid With Peanut Allergy Out Of School
By Phil Villarreal on March 25, 2011 9:45 AM
536 Comments
Objecting to what they deem to be cumbersome accommodations for a student with a severe peanut allergy, parents at a Florida public school are urging administrators to remove the girl from the classroom and have her home-schooled. More »
What Has Changed Since 146 Workers Died In Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire 100 Years Ago?
By Ben Popken on March 24, 2011 3:00 PM
100 Comments
The government proposes new regulation to make an industry safer. The industry shouts back that the new measures are "cumbersome and costly,‟ tantamount to "a confiscation of property." A newspaper opines, "Excited persons rarely accomplish anything...No new laws are needed." Trade groups issue dire warnings about how the new laws will wipe out entire industries and sacrifice jobs. Are these the latest response to new Consumer Product Safety Commission guidelines? Banking giants balking at financial reform? Nope, those were quotes from when fire protection guidelines were proposed after the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire of 1911, in which 146 garment workers died. Friday marks the 100th anniversary of this tragedy. More »
Senators Call Out Makers Of Drunk-Driving Checkpoint Apps
By Mary Beth Quirk on March 24, 2011 11:45 AM
117 Comments
After four senators requested that smartphone software vendors to stop selling apps that allow users to report and find drunk-driving checkpoints, the makers of those applications are defending themselves, saying they actually help police, and not drunkies out on the road. More »
Theater Owners Don't Want You To Know A Large Popcorn Is Like Eating 3 Big Macs
By Chris Morran on March 23, 2011 4:15 PM
164 Comments
The FDA is reportedly set to announce a decision that would force movie theater operators to post calorie counts next to their items in the same way that restaurant chains must. Not surprisingly, the theater owners are popping mad about this possibility. More »
(WTVM)
Georgia Jury Awards Soldier $21 Million Over Mortgage Mix-Up
By Chris Morran on March 23, 2011 3:30 PM
95 Comments
A Staff Sergeant in the U.S. Army went up against a terrifying enemy — the mortgage industry, in the form of PHH Mortgage Corporation — in court and came away victorious after a jury awarded him $21 million for his troubles. More »
Do Not Try To Turn A Kid Into A Drug Dealer By Promising Him A Video Game
By Phil Villarreal on March 23, 2011 1:40 PM
46 Comments
A 34-year-old New Hampshire woman who wanted to get her hands on some pain medication allegedly devised a plan that landed her in jail: Ask a 9-year-old boy to swipe his mom's Percocet, and promise to buy him a video game in return. The boy held up his end of the bargain and noticed something was amiss when he saw the woman take the label off the pill bottle. More »
(TLFagan)
Judge Rejects Google's Digital Books Settlement
By Phil Villarreal on March 23, 2011 11:30 AM
29 Comments
A district court judge told Google its $125 million settlement with authors and publishers is invalid because it's too favorable to the company. The ruling stalls Google's plans to complete a massive digital library and bookstore. More »
(nsub1)
Food From Four Japanese Prefectures Barred From Entering U.S.
By Chris Morran on March 23, 2011 11:15 AM
43 Comments
Following the news that radiation has been detected in tap water and food products in areas closest to the damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in Japan, the FDA has announced that many imported food products from prefectures near the plant will not be allowed to enter the U.S. More »
(sfxeric)
California May Go After Online Shoppers For Unpaid Taxes
By Chris Morran on March 22, 2011 12:45 PM
125 Comments
While most of the country don't pay sales tax to online retailers like Amazon, most customers are still supposed to pay those taxes to the state. No one does, of course, which is why the California State Board of Equalization is looking into the prospect of going after residents who have made more than $5,000 in online purchases in the hope of getting paid. More »
(pic-nerd)
Microsoft Says Nook Infringed On Its Patents
By Phil Villarreal on March 22, 2011 11:15 AM
28 Comments
Believing the Nook e-readers are ripping it off, Microsoft is suing Barnes & Noble and the manufacturers over the devices, which it says infringe on several patents. More »
What Should I Know To Provide For My Family After I Die?
By Laura Northrup on March 22, 2011 11:00 AM
78 Comments
While everyone should have their financial and legal affairs in order in case of sudden and untimely death, reader Charlie has to worry about this much too early in his life. He's been told that he has only a few years to live, and wants to begin planning now to make his passing easier on his family and to provide for them. More »
(Ninja M.)
Supreme Court Action Will Net Eminem Millions In Music Downloads Case
By Phil Villarreal on March 22, 2011 9:45 AM
45 Comments
Whether the arena be the Grammys, Oscars or freestyle rap battles, you don't want to face Eminem as an opponent. That's a lesson Universal Music Group learned when it took on the rapper in the Supreme Court, which refused to hear its appeal in a lawsuit over downloadable music. The court's refusal to hear the case, reports the Detroit Free Press, probably means Eminem won between $40 million and $50 million from the publisher. More »
(jaubele1)
If At First Your Health Insurer Denies Your Claim, Try Try Again
By Chris Morran on March 21, 2011 1:30 PM
51 Comments
Among the items on recent list of things your health insurer won't tell you was the fact that you shouldn't give up if your insurance claim is initially denied. Now a new report from the Government Accountability Office says that upward of 50% of appealed claims ultimately get paid. More »
Unicyclist Sues New York City To Be Allowed To Roll On Sidewalks
By Phil Villarreal on March 21, 2011 11:15 AM
119 Comments
Believing it's unjust that he was fined under a New York City ordinance that forbids riding two or three-wheeled vehicles on sidewalks, a unicycler is suing the city for $3 million. More »
"What Is A Photocopier" Spans 10 Pages In Deposition
By Ben Popken on March 21, 2011 11:00 AM
105 Comments
Do you know what a photocopier is? Congratulations, you are smarter than the acting head of information technology for the recorder's division of the Cuyahoga County fiscal office. At least that's what this dialog between him and a plaintiff's lawyer, suing over "whether deeds and other records at the county recorder's office...should be readily available at reasonable cost," would lead you to believe. More »
IBM Pays $10 Million To Settle Charges It Bribed Asian Governments
By Phil Villarreal on March 21, 2011 9:15 AM
25 Comments
After the Securities and Exchange Commission accused IBM of bribing officials in Asian countries to secure government contracts over an 11-year period, the company agreed to pay a $10 million settlement. More »
Big Box Stores Pushing To Tax Amazon Sales Nationwide
By Chris Morran on March 18, 2011 4:30 PM
216 Comments
In recent years, retailers have been successful in getting a handful of states, including Illinois and New York, to pass laws requiring Amazon.com and similar e-tailers to collect sales tax on products shipped to those states. Now, with the backing of super-sized chains, there is a full-on push to get these laws on the books in every state that collects sales tax. More »
Woman Sues For $63K In Wedding Expenses After Fiance Has Fling With Floozy In Vegas
By Chris Morran on March 18, 2011 3:30 PM
242 Comments
The cost of one man's Las Vegas bachelor party could end up being a lot higher than airfare, hotel and gambling expenses if a Chicago woman gets her way. Claiming breach of promise, she's suing her former fiance for at least $62,814 in wedding expenses after he got caught sowing his wild oats in Sin City. More »
(matneym)
Insurers Dodge Payouts By Claiming Accidental Deaths As Suicides
By Ben Popken on March 18, 2011 3:00 PM
72 Comments
Thanks to loopholes, some insurers are erroneously denying insurance claims for accidental deaths by claiming they're suicides, reports Bloomberg Markets Magazine in a new in-depth investigation. More »
(sroemerm)
Bill Introduced To Delay Swipe Fee Reform
By Ben Popken on March 18, 2011 12:00 PM
39 Comments
Bills were introduced in both the House and Senate to delay "swipe fee reform" by at least a year and they call for a study of its potential effects. The new rules, scheduled to take effect July 21, would cap the fee banks can charge merchants for processing debit card fees at 12 cents per transaction. More »
House Votes To Stop Funding NPR
By Phil Villarreal on March 18, 2011 8:00 AM
289 Comments
Although it's unclear whether the government will actually stop funding National Public Radio and place the public news source in jeopardy of shutting down, the U.S. House of Representatives took a step in that direction Thursday, voting to strip the organization of federal funding and forbidding radio stations from using public grants to pay NPR. More »
Man Wins $5,000 Suing Debt Collectors, Thanks To Google Voice
By Ben Popken on March 17, 2011 4:00 PM
85 Comments
Reader PJ sued a bunch of harassing debt collectors and won $5,000, and Google Voice made doing it really easy. Someone had put down his work cellphone number on their credit applications and ran up a bunch of debts and collectors started calling him multiple times per day. He told them he wasn't the guy and asked them nicely to stop, but that only made it worse. More »
Sony Can Sift Through Alleged Hacker's PayPal Records
By Phil Villarreal on March 17, 2011 9:15 AM
66 Comments
In it's all-out legal quest to stomp an alleged hacker who released a PS3 jailbreak, Sony continues to seem to get whatever information it wants via legal channels. After being allowed to collect the IP addresses of anyone who visited the alleged hacker's site, Sony has now been given the go-ahead from a federal magistrate to collect the man's PayPal records. More »
Mom Sues Preschool For Failing To Prep Tot For Harvard
By Ben Popken on March 16, 2011 4:00 PM
215 Comments
A Manhattan mother has filed a class action suit against her 4-year-old daughter's $19,000 a year Upper East Side preschool for not properly preparing her child for a top-tier university. More »
SEC May Go After Former Freddie Mac Chief
By Phil Villarreal on March 16, 2011 10:30 AM
18 Comments
The Securities and Exchange Commission may file a civil action against former Freddie Mac chief executive as it concludes an investigation of Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae's disclosure practices. More »
Blogger Must Pay $60K To University Employee Fired Because Of Post
By Phil Villarreal on March 15, 2011 1:30 PM
133 Comments
A Minnesota jury decided a blogger must pay $60,000 in damages to a former University of Minnesota employee who was fired after the blogger's posts exposed the former employee's alleged involvement in a mortgage fraud. More »
(Government Photo)
Man With 4th Amendment Written On His Chest Sues The TSA
By Meg Marco on March 15, 2011 12:45 PM
217 Comments
This 21-year-old was on his way to Wisconsin for his grandmothers funeral when he was handcuffed and held for 90 minutes on a disorderly conduct charge. Why? He opted-out of the "naked scanner" and instead chose the pat-down — at which point he began removing his clothes to expose a message written on his chest in marker. The message, of course, was the 4th amendment. More »
Denny's Customer Accused Of Firing Gun To Protest Slow Service
By Phil Villarreal on March 15, 2011 9:45 AM
55 Comments
Waiting for slow service at a restaurant can be frustrating, but that's no excuse to go firing off your gun like Yosemite Sam. A frustrated Florida Denny's customer was allegedly irritated past the point of reason when he stepped outside and shot off his gun three times. More »
U.S. Investigating Morgan Stanley Subsidiary For Unlawfully Foreclosing On Military Families
By Ben Popken on March 14, 2011 3:00 PM
8 Comments
A Morgan Stanley unit is under investigation by the Justice Department for foreclosing on nearly two dozen military families without a court hearing, a violation of Federal law meant to protect active duty service members. More »
21 Airlines Fined $1.7 Billion In Price-Fixing Scheme
By Ben Popken on March 11, 2011 1:00 PM
30 Comments
The Justice Department has fined 21 airlines in a massive global price-fixing scheme. British Airways, Air France-KLM and Virgin Atlantic were among the airlines indicted. Even four executives have gone to jail. What did they do? The JD charges that the airlines colluded to artificially inflate fuel surcharges for passengers industry-wide, as well as cargo surcharges. The case probably wouldn't have been broken if Luthansa and Virgin Atlantic hadn't come forward and confessed under the Justice Department's amnesty program that provides leniency for finking. In an interesting turn, the scheme was so codified that various airlines had entire committees and sub-committees devoted to managing it. More »
Government To Take Control Of Three Tylenol Plants
By Chris Morran on March 11, 2011 11:15 AM
18 Comments
Following a slew of recalls that seemed to have pulled just about every Tylenol product from store shelves, three Johnson & Johnson plants responsible for the recalled goods are being put under the supervision of the FDA. More »
Judge Says Blockbuster Can Go Ahead And Sell Itself
By Phil Villarreal on March 11, 2011 10:15 AM
25 Comments
Mired in $1 billion of debt, Blockbuster asked the U.S. Bankruptcy Court to let it auction itself off. After restructuring its plan to better suit creditors who were calling for liquidation, Blockbuster has been granted verbal approval by the court to go ahead and put itself on the market. The judge still has to put his decision in writing to make it official. More »
Wireless Industry Group Says All Those Overages Are Actually Saving Us Money
By Chris Morran on March 9, 2011 4:48 PM
48 Comments
There has been a lot of talk in recent years about cellphone bill shock and overages and what can be done to stop it. Now comes a new study by a wireless industry trade group that claims consumers are actually saving money because of all these overage. More »
(teksmith)
Passenger Accused Of Karate Chopping Air Marshal
By Phil Villarreal on March 9, 2011 11:15 AM
43 Comments
On a Delta flight from France to Atlanta, a belligerent passenger allegedly used karate to unsuccessfully fight off an air marshal who arrested him after he sexually harassed a passenger. More »
(matneym)
LimeWire Settles Copyright Case
By Phil Villarreal on March 9, 2011 9:15 AM
45 Comments
After a federal court shut down LimeWire with a permanent injunction last year, the defunct peer-to-peer file sharing service settled its copyright infringement case with the National Music Publishers Association. More »
Rising Cotton Costs Make Paper Money More Expensive To Print
By Chris Morran on March 8, 2011 3:45 PM
71 Comments
Even though it's referred to as "paper" money, most of the material used to produce U.S. banknotes is actually cotton. And with raw cotton costs at a 140-year high, it's costing more money to print money. More »
Florida Motorists Illegally Detained For Paying With Large Bills
By Laura Northrup on March 8, 2011 2:00 PM
116 Comments
Is it a crime to pay a $1 toll with a $100 bill? The people responsible for counting out change might wish that it were, but paying a toll with legal tender isn't a crime. Toll collectors in Florida allegedly asks motorists for personal information and illegally detained them for paying with bills deemed too large. Even better? Toll takers flagged and detained drivers paying with bills as small as $20 based on racial profiling. More »
Woman Charged With Scamming Nuns Out Of $285K
By Phil Villarreal on March 8, 2011 10:30 AM
39 Comments
A federal indictment alleges that a California woman conned nuns in a Rhode Island convent out of $285,000. More »
Disabled Janitor's $311,000 Victory Against Abusive Firm Trying To Collect $3,800 Debt
By Ben Popken on March 7, 2011 2:00 PM
28 Comments
They just wouldn't stop calling, and now they have to pay. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has upheld a ruling that a debt collection firm will have to pay a former janitor suffering from a head injury $311,000. Quite a turn of events, considering the debt they were hounding him on was only about $3,800. More »
LaHood Highlights Distracted Driving Risks, Launches Guide
By consumerist.com on March 7, 2011 12:45 PM
33 Comments
Surrounded by family members of distracted driving victims, Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood announced a new pamphlet designed to highlight the "deadly epidemic" of inattentive driving. Among those joining LaHood in his presentation at Consumers Union was Melissa Dinges, whose sister, Angelina, was walking with two of her friends along a pedestrian walkway just three houses away from her home in California when she was hit from behind by a truck driven by an 18-year-old woman. The driver had been typing a text message before the accident. Angelina's two friends survived, but sadly, she did not. More »
(TKIY)
Judge: Sony Can Have IP Address Of Anyone Who Visited Forbidden Site
By Phil Villarreal on March 7, 2011 11:30 AM
87 Comments
In its ongoing quest to neutralize the alleged hackers who decimated the PS3's security, Sony won the legal right to track down the IP address of anyone who visited a site on which the PS3 jailbreak was posted. More »
Transportation Secretary LaHood Answers Reader Questions
By consumerist.com on March 7, 2011 10:15 AM
19 Comments
Later today, U.S. Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood will be answering questions at the Consumers Union offices, where he'll also be speaking on the topic of "Distracted Driving Shatters Lives: Helping Parents and Educators Reach Teens." You can watch that event live on the Consumer Reports Facebook page (click the "Live" tab) at 11:00 a.m. ET. Meanwhile, Secretary LaHood accepted Consumerist's request to answer a few reader-submitted questions. More »
(u2acro)
Government May Tap Petroleum Reserve To Tame Pump Prices
By Phil Villarreal on March 7, 2011 9:45 AM
119 Comments
Because Middle Eastern turmoil is inflating the price of oil, leading to runaway gas prices that are in no way examples of gouging, the government is considering turning toward its own petroleum stockpile. More »
GAO To Feds: Replace Dollar Bills With Coins
By Chris Morran on March 4, 2011 2:30 PM
246 Comments
While many other global economies — including the European Union — have ditched their low-value paper banknotes in favor of coins, the U.S. continues to churn out dollar notes while $1 coins take a backseat. But a new report by the Government Accountability Office urges the Treasury and the Federal Reserve to give renewed thought to the idea of making dollar bills extinct. More »
Botched Paperwork Delays Law Capping Gas Tax
By Chris Morran on March 4, 2011 12:15 PM
32 Comments
As gas prices have continued to rise in recent weeks, the people of Suffolk County in New York must have been so happy they passed a law that would cap sales tax on gas. The regulation was supposed to have kicked in on March 1, but, well... someone goofed. More »
Former Spam King Released From Prison, Vows To Spam No More
By Phil Villarreal on March 4, 2011 11:15 AM
41 Comments
A man who launched 10 trillion spam messages before he was sent away to federal prison is out after serving four years, and he's allowed back online. He promises he's a changed man and will no longer shower your inbox with unwanted solicitations. More »
(tjean314)
Judge: NFL's TV Contract Won't Fly
By Phil Villarreal on March 4, 2011 7:45 AM
39 Comments
If it didn't seem fair to you that the NFL would be allowed to collect TV revenue while it locked out players, take heart, because a federal judge felt the same way. More »
(bigpresh)
Get $150 In Dell Inspiron "Deceptively Designed" Class Action
By Ben Popken on March 3, 2011 4:00 PM
51 Comments
A class action lawsuit claims Dell "deceptively designed" its Inspiron laptop series to have "1) inadequate cooling systems, (2) a power supply system that prematurely fails when used as intended, and (3) motherboards that prematurely fail when used as intended." If you had one of these laptops and paid Dell for a repair, you could be eligible for a $150 payout. More »
Groupon Sued Over Expiration Date Issues
By Chris Morran on March 3, 2011 2:15 PM
63 Comments
Online coupon site Groupon.com now finds itself the subject of a lawsuit claiming the expiration dates on its deals violate existing gift card laws regarding expiration dates. More »
(Ian.H)
Feds Investigating TSA Agents For Allegedly Failing To Screen Luggage
By Phil Villarreal on March 3, 2011 9:45 AM
40 Comments
According to a federal probe, at least 27 TSA agents in Honolulu took it easy on the job, routinely letting un-screened baggage through on early-morning flights. More »
USPS: We'll Be Out Of Money By October
By Phil Villarreal on March 3, 2011 9:15 AM
137 Comments
USPS is in crisis mode, stuck in an unsustainable business model that threatens to run the service into the ground by the end of the fiscal year in October. More »
Government Says It Has A Stupidly Large Number Of Buildings It Doesn't Need
By Meg Marco on March 2, 2011 4:00 PM
76 Comments
On Whitehouse.gov today there's a post declaring that the government has a stupidly large amount of real estate that taxpayers are paying to maintain — but that it doesn't really need. More »
Man Sues Strip Club, Claiming Dancer Broke His Teeth With Flying Shoe
By Phil Villarreal on March 2, 2011 12:30 PM
43 Comments
If one day strip clubs start to offer patrons mouthguards, or have dancers wear bunny slippers rather than stilettos, you might be able to trace it back to a lawsuit filed in Indiana, in which a man says he got his teeth kicked in by a projectile flung from a high-kicking dancer. More »
Making The Case For Elizabeth Warren & The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
By Mary Beth Quirk on March 2, 2011 8:30 AM
43 Comments
The new U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau isn't even up and running yet, and already it seems its funding could be in trouble. Prof. Elizabeth Warren, the champion of the bureau, is trying to protect her project in the face of a conservative House majority. More »
Kansas Lawmakers Consider Letting Motorcyclists Run Red Lights
By Phil Villarreal on March 1, 2011 11:30 AM
184 Comments
Citing stoplights that run on sensors incapable of detecting diminutive vehicles, the Kansas House of Representatives passed a bill that will allow motorcyclists and riders of scooters and bicycles to legally run "dead reds." Missouri has a similar law on the books. More »
Lawsuit: GameStop Collects & Stores Customer Info
By Phil Villarreal on March 1, 2011 9:15 AM
29 Comments
A class action lawsuit filed in California accuses GameStop of collecting and storing customers' data, violating state law in the process. More »
Connecticut Governor Wants Coupon Users To Pay Tax On Full Price Of Purchase
By Chris Morran on February 28, 2011 3:30 PM
159 Comments
Got a coupon for 30% a Blu-Ray player? If the Connecticut governor gets his way, you'd still be paying sales tax on that player's full price. More »
(eyetwist)
Banks Shutting Down Branches In Poorer Hoods While Opening In Richer
By Ben Popken on February 28, 2011 12:00 PM
114 Comments
The New York Times combed through the data and found that when the banks close branches, they're doing it in poorer neighborhoods. And when they open a new branch, it's more likely to be in a well-off area. While that makes business sense, it could violate the spirit of the Community Reinvestment Act which was passed to curb "redlining," where lower-income neighborhoods are discriminated against by the financial services industry. More »
(mrbill)
Supreme Court Tells Parents They Can't Sue Vaccine Makers Over Harm To Children
By Phil Villarreal on February 28, 2011 9:45 AM
106 Comments
A Supreme Court ruling protects vaccine makers from lawsuits filed by parents who believe vaccines have hurt their children. More »
Banks Might Limit Amount You Can Buy On Debit Card
By Ben Popken on February 25, 2011 12:00 PM
203 Comments
Grumbling over proposed limits to debit card swipe fees, banks are hinting they're considering putting a cap on how much you can buy with a debit card. It could even be something like $50 or $100, forcing consumers to either pay with credit card or cash. More »
(LaMenta3)
No Taxation On My Syrupy Sweet Carbonation
By Mary Beth Quirk on February 25, 2011 11:15 AM
101 Comments
So annoying when syrupy sweet Large Sips cost more because they might make you fat! In Colorado, soda lovers are trying to repeal a tax on soft drinks. More »
Student Uses Smart Phone To Beat Speeding Ticket
By Ben Popken on February 24, 2011 3:00 PM
137 Comments
A student describes how he was able to get out a speeding ticket by whipping out his Android. More »
(Masimo)
Justice Department Wants Big Tobacco To Admit Its Products Are Deadly
By Phil Villarreal on February 24, 2011 11:15 AM
112 Comments
The Justice Department wants major tobacco companies to admit its products cause 1,200 Americans to die every day, and also that it misled consumers with advertisements that "light" and low-tar" cigarettes were less harmful than regular cigarettes. More »
Four Bankers Charged With Helping U.S. Taxpayers Hide $3 Billion
By Chris Morran on February 23, 2011 4:43 PM
35 Comments
The latest news in the federal government's crackdown on taxpayers (or rather, people who are supposed to be paying taxes) with offshore bank accounts: Four bankers from Credit Suisse Group have been indicted on charges of aiding tax evaders in hiding around $3 billion in assets. More »
Undercover TSA Agent Makes It Through Full-Body Scanners With Gun In Her Undies
By Chris Morran on February 23, 2011 2:20 PM
85 Comments
Here's a behind-the-scenes look at Security Theatre: An undercover TSA agent was able to slip through the full-body scanners at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport with a handgun stashed in her undies... And not just once, but five times. More »
Self-Employed Taxpayers Get Bigger Deduction For Medical Expenses
By Tax Cat on February 23, 2011 1:15 PM
23 Comments
As a self-employed certified tax cat, I make sure to take advantage of every opportunity possible to reduce my taxable income. The health insurance premiums I pay for me and my litter have always worked to bring that number down, but they never did anything to reduce the amount I had to pay in Medicare and Social Security taxes. Until now. More »
(dooley)
FCC Asks Verizon To Investigate 911 Calls Dropped Amid Snowstorm
By Phil Villarreal on February 23, 2011 9:15 AM
32 Comments
When several thousand Verizon customers needed to dial 911 during a January snowstorm in the D.C. area, they were left hanging by the provider. The FCC has asked Verizon to investigate why an estimated 10,000 911 calls were dropped. More »
Toy Manufacturers Try To Block Online Injury Report Database
By Phil Villarreal on February 22, 2011 1:30 PM
47 Comments
The Consumer Product Safety Commission is set to launch a database in the next few weeks that tracks reports of injuries resulting from strollers and cribs. A group of children's product manufacturers are trying to coax lawmakers to stifle the database and roll back other health regulations. More »
New York Drivers Caught Using Phone While Driving Will Be Punished With Points
By Phil Villarreal on February 18, 2011 11:15 AM
63 Comments
Adding some teeth and uniformity to a law against cell phone use while driving, the state of New York will tack two points onto the driving records of offenders in addition to making them pay a $100 fee. Previously, those who texted while driving were stuck with the points and fee, while drive-and-talkers got off with just a fee. More »
Fed Might Rethink Capping Debit Card Swipe Fees
By Ben Popken on February 18, 2011 11:00 AM
52 Comments
The Fed told Congress yesterday that it might rethink the plan to cap debit card swipe fees at 12 cents per swipe. One of the hopes is that merchants would be able to pass on the reduced costs to consumers in the form of lower prices. Lawmakers piled on in the hearing, saying that it would "batter banks still reeling from the 2008 financial crisis." How banks can both be posting soaring profits and still be "battered" and reeling is an accounting trick way over my head. More »
(Kyle Cassidy)
Wells Fargo Meeting Today With Philly Homeowner Who "Foreclosed" On Them (Here's How He Did It)
By Ben Popken on February 18, 2011 10:00 AM
184 Comments
Wells Fargo is meeting today at noon with the Philadelphia homeowner who "foreclosed" on them, The Consumerist has exclusively learned. Patrick says he "received a call from upon high" late yesterday and that he now has an appointment, "with a very senior Wells Fargo person." It will be interesting to see how this plays out. But how did Patrick go from embattled and ignored homeowner to seated across the negotiating table with leverage? I spoke with him to find out more about both how and why he did what he did. His story is an inspiration to anyone who's dreamed of going toe-to-toe with the big banks and winning. Turns out that armed with persistence, and a little legal know-how, Davids can take down Goliaths. More »
Family Sues Disney, Says Too-Hot Nacho Cheese Burned Son
By Chris Morran on February 17, 2011 4:45 PM
168 Comments
A family in California has filed a lawsuit against Walt Disney World, alleging that the nacho cheese served at one of its restaurants was so hot it scalded their 4-year-old son. More »
(matneym)
Snowed-In Chicago Cars Get Parking Tickets
By Phil Villarreal on February 17, 2011 1:15 PM
82 Comments
Some Chicagoans who were snowed in during the area's recent bout of awful weather received a little surprise when they went out to check on their vehicles — $75 parking tickets. More »
Understand Common Contract Terms So You Don't Get Screwed
By Ben Popken on February 17, 2011 11:00 AM
15 Comments
There's a bunch of terms and provisions that keep showing up in the contracts you sign throughout life, but do you know what they mean? Who exactly are these "Heirs, Successors, and Assigns" coming over for the contract party? Do they have dietary restrictions? What is "separability?" Will it hurt? Well, we'll tell ya! More »
You Can Donate Money Toward The National Debt
By Laura Northrup on February 17, 2011 10:30 AM
89 Comments
Are you outraged at recently proposed federal budget cuts, and dismayed that you just aren't contributing enough in taxes to help pay off the national debt? Good news! The Treasury Department has a program in place to donate toward the national debt. The program began in 1996, and has collected more than $406,000 so far this year. More »
FDA Approves Lap-Band Surgery For Not-As-Obese Patients
By Chris Morran on February 17, 2011 10:15 AM
108 Comments
The folks at Allergan, the company behind the popular Lap-Band weight loss surgery, have 26 million reasons to cheer today. After all, that's the number of potential new Lap-Band patients now that the FDA has lowered the minimum weight loss requirements for the procedure. More »
Economic Downturn Puts Police Horses Out To Pasture
By Laura Northrup on February 16, 2011 3:00 PM
43 Comments
Have you seen a police horse lately? The New York Times reports that mounted patrols are on the decline nationwide, victims to budget cuts despite their popularity with the public and ability to put a cuddly, slightly archaic face on policing. "They are a valuable element to policing. The problem is I just couldn't afford it," the police director of Newark, N.J. told the Times. More »
(jonathon)
New California ZIP Code Rule Results In Landslide of Lawsuits
By Chris Morran on February 16, 2011 2:30 PM
148 Comments
It's been less than a week since the California Supreme Court issued a ruling forbidding retailers from asking for your ZIP code when making a purchase. In that short time, more than a dozen different lawsuits have been filed against retailers as a result. More »
Cell Phone Tax Rates Are Highest Ever
By Phil Villarreal on February 16, 2011 1:30 PM
39 Comments
Cell phones are crafty little tax machines for local, state and federal governments, now raking in their largest amount of taxes ever and posting sizable increases each year. More »
Philly Homeowner Declares He's 'Foreclosed' on Wells Fargo
By Phil Villarreal on February 16, 2011 12:30 PM
48 Comments
Frustrated with Wells Fargo Home Mortgage, a Philadelphia homeowner took the bank to court under the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act and won a $1,000 default judgment because it wouldn't answer his formal questions about a dispute. The bank blew him off, so the man got the sheriff to schedule a sale of contents of a Wells Fargo Home Mortgage location to pay for the judgment and $200 in court and sheriff's fees. More »
Full-Body Scan Privacy Law Gets One Step Closer To Reality
By Chris Morran on February 15, 2011 2:15 PM
58 Comments
Back in December, we wrote about the law being proposed by Senator Chuck Schumer that would make it a crime to distribute or save images taken as part of an airport security scan. That law has come one step closer to becoming a reality after being unanimously accepted as an amendment to the FAA Reauthorization Bill being considered by the Senate. More »
Fast Food Calorie Counts Don't Stop Kids From Overeating, Either
By Laura Northrup on February 15, 2011 12:30 PM
78 Comments
A provision in last year's federal health care reform bill requires all food-serving establishments with more than 20 outlets to post the calorie count of every item on the menu so customers know exactly what they're getting themselves into. The FDA is taking nationwide an idea that some cities and counties had already put in place. It seems like a good idea in theory, but studies show that calorie counts on menus just make people say "ah, screw it" and order the same amount of food that they would have without the calorie posting—or more. A new study in this month's International Journal of Obesity shows that children, too, fall into the same delicious caloric trap. More »
Do Not Try To Deal Drugs From Your Cruise Ship Cabin
By Phil Villarreal on February 15, 2011 9:15 AM
64 Comments
What won't you find on a list of must-pack items for cruise vacations? Narcotics and incriminating wads of drug money. U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials say a passenger on a Royal Caribbean cruise was caught with both inside his cabin, where he had allegedly set up a drug-dealing operation. More »
No Electronic Cigarettes Allowed On Flights, Rules The DOT
By Mary Beth Quirk on February 14, 2011 8:00 AM
120 Comments
Looks like cigarette smokers will have to keep furiously chewing nicotine gum on U.S. flights, as the Department of Transportation has said "nope, not gonna do it," to allowing smokeless electronic cigarettes on airplanes. More »
Teen Arrested For Sending Out School Threat Via Xbox Live
By Phil Villarreal on February 11, 2011 1:30 PM
49 Comments
Authorities arrested a Maryland teenager who is charged with making threats of a mass shooting at a high school. He's accused of impersonating another student while sending a threatening message to more than 100 people via Xbox Live. More »
(dooley)
CA Supreme Court: Stores Can't Ask For ZIP Code When You Pay By Credit Card
By Chris Morran on February 10, 2011 6:34 PM
129 Comments
If you live in California and you've ever been annoyed or concerned about giving out your ZIP code when making a credit card purchase, the state's Supreme Court has issued a ruling that should appeal to you. More »
(ash)
Why Does The Government Hate War Widows?
By Chris Morran on February 10, 2011 12:15 PM
57 Comments
Over 50,000 war widows whose late spouses paid for insurance to help support their families in the case they lost their life now find themselves unable to receive the entire benefit of the insurance — that is unless they remarry... but not until after they turn 57. More »
TurboTax's Pricing Scheme Is A Little Confusing
By Laura Northrup on February 10, 2011 10:30 AM
67 Comments
You depend on the company that makes your tax preparation software to actually be good at math, but Kevin is a little confused when looking at the pricing scheme for TurboTax this year. It doesn't make any sense, he points out, if you need to file state income taxes, or if you're filing returns for multiple households. More »
Angry Super Bowl Ticket-Holders Sue NFL, Dallas Cowboys, Jerry Jones
By Phil Villarreal on February 10, 2011 8:00 AM
45 Comments
Unhappy Super Bowl ticket-holders, including some of the 400 who were forced to stand during the big game because their seats were deemed unsafe, have filed a lawsuit claiming they were misled by the NFL, the Dallas Cowboys and that team's owner Jerry Jones. More »
Bernake Says Unemployment To Stay "Elevated"
By Ben Popken on February 9, 2011 2:00 PM
51 Comments
Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke testified before the House Budget Committee today that he expects unemployment to "remain elevated" "for some time." So if you were putting your job search on the back burner, thinking, "oh, I'll just try harder when the economy gets better," it might be time to reevaluate that strategy. More »
IRS Offers Amnesty To Tax-Evaders With Offshore Accounts
By Tax Cat on February 8, 2011 2:20 PM
57 Comments
If you are, or if you know, a person who is avoiding paying their taxes by stashing their cash in an offshore account, the IRS has announced a new amnesty program for just that sort of rich d-bag. More »
(jpghouse)
Sony Goes After People Who Spread PS3 Hack
By Phil Villarreal on February 8, 2011 11:15 AM
123 Comments
First Sony went after alleged PS3 hackers who broke down the console's firmware, opening it up to gamers to run pirated, copied and unlicensed games. Now it wants information on those who posted details of the hack online, even though they had no hand in its creation. More »
(itsedsy)
Florida Bans Coke-And-Meth-Like "Bath Salts" Sold In Gas Stations
By Ben Popken on February 8, 2011 10:00 AM
97 Comments
Florida became the second state after Louisiana to ban sales of MDPV, a synthetic drug with effects similar to meth and cocaine that sellers are marketing as "bath salts," NPR reports. They can be found in convenience stores and gas stations. Besides their high, authorities have said that the drug produces a psychotic break in their users, afflicting them with violent hallucinations. In one case, a man tore out a police radio from the car with his teeth. In another, a woman went after her mother with a machete, having confused her with a monster. Party time! More »
(bradym80)
Detroit Mayor Offers $1,000 Homes To Cops, Firemen
By Phil Villarreal on February 8, 2011 9:15 AM
87 Comments
In a bold offer that speaks volumes about Detroit's housing market as well as its state of public safety, the city's mayor has offered to provide homes for as little as $1,000 to police and firefighters. More »
(ronnyg)
"Shocked" That It's Not Healthy, Mother Sues Nutella
By Ben Popken on February 7, 2011 1:00 PM
216 Comments
A mother of a four-year old child has filed a class action lawsuit against delicious hazelnut spread Nutella. In her complaint, the mother says she was as "shocked to learn" from her friends "that Nutella was in fact not a 'healthy,' 'nutritious' food," as advertised, "but was instead the next best thing to a candy bar." More »
FCC Looking To Shift Land Line Subsidy Efforts To Broadband Internet Access
By Phil Villarreal on February 7, 2011 9:45 AM
62 Comments
The FCC has long subsidized access to land lines in rural areas, but will vote Tuesday to possibly shift the funding toward high-speed internet access. More »
Police Nab Suspected Bellagio Robber
By Phil Villarreal on February 4, 2011 3:30 PM
26 Comments
In Vegas they say the house always wins, and that appears to be the case in December's brazen robbery of the Bellagio, in which an armed thief made of with $1.5 million in casino chips by escaping on a motorcycle. More »
Accused Puppy-Mailer Wants Dog Back
By Laura Northrup on February 4, 2011 10:30 AM
92 Comments
The woman who tried to ship a four-month-old puppy from Minneapolis to Atlanta in an airless box using Priority Mail earlier this week reportedly would like the dog back. Will her request be granted, or will the puppy be made available to the numerous people all over the country who actually know how to keep an animal alive and have inquired about adopting him? More »
There Is No Good Reason To Buy These 9/11 Commemorative Coins
By Laura Northrup on February 4, 2011 9:00 AM
65 Comments
If you enjoy commemorative coinage, and want something tangible and shiny to mark the tenth anniversary of the September 11 attacks, wait for the official coin coming from the U.S. Mint later this year. Skip the neat-looking coin currently being hawked on cable TV. That coin comes from a company with an untrustworthy past when it comes to 9/11 coinage, headed by the same man who brought us the Bedazzler. More »
Send Your Ideas To The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's New Website
By Ben Popken on February 3, 2011 2:49 PM
21 Comments
ConsumerFinance.gov, the newly created Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's new website, is live and in full effect. So is their Twitter, Facebook, Flickr and YouTube. They want your suggestions and ideas so send 'em in! As they announced on their website their central role is "to make markets for consumer financial products and services work for America...The CFPB belongs to the people it serves. If you have suggestions, we want to hear them." More »
Virginia AG Asks Supreme Court To Hear Health Care Case Now
By Chris Morran on February 3, 2011 1:49 PM
67 Comments
Rather than wait for his case against the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act to run the appellate court gauntlet, the attorney general for the commonwealth of Virginia has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to hear arguments about the legislation now. More »
(NoNoJoe)
NYC Bans Smoking At Parks, Beaches
By Chris Morran on February 3, 2011 12:28 PM
178 Comments
The smokers of New York City will soon have even fewer places to light up this summer after the Big Apple's city council voted to expand the existing ban on smoking in restaurants and bars to include, beaches, parks, boardwalks and other public spaces. More »
Govt. Unveiling "Superstar" Energy Star Rating
By Ben Popken on February 3, 2011 10:00 AM
40 Comments
The government is updating the Energy Star program and launching a new higher tier of certification called "Superstar," Marketplace reports. The program currently certifies the top 25% most energy-efficient products in a given category, so the new star might be for the top 5%. Energy Star could certainly use an overhaul; last year the Government Accountability Office found it was able to submit and get certified 15 of 20 phony products, including a gasoline-powered alarm clock. More »
Feds Aim For Harsher Regulations On Toxic Chemicals In Drinking Water
By Phil Villarreal on February 3, 2011 9:15 AM
41 Comments
The Environmental Protection Agency is ratcheting up restrictions on drinking water, setting the first standards for perchlorate, a compound found in rocket fuel, as well as new standards for as many as 16 other toxic and carcinogenic chemicals. More »
South Dakota Politicians Propose Mandatory Gun Ownership Law
By Chris Morran on February 1, 2011 2:15 PM
232 Comments
A handful of South Dakota lawmakers have introduced a bill that would require every one of the state's citizens over the age of 21 to own a firearm. But the legislation isn't really intended to force South Dakota residents to take up arms. Instead, it's meant to highlight the questions some have regarding the constitutionality of the mandatory coverage portion of the health care bill. More »
(nffcnnr)
Federal Judge Strikes Down Health Care Reform Bill
By Phil Villarreal on February 1, 2011 3:40 AM
323 Comments
Health care reform legislation lost a significant court battle Monday when a U.S. District Court judge in Florida ruled that the entire Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act is void after finding that the portion of the law that requires people to buy health insurance is unconstitutional. More »
Shocking New USDA Recommendations: "Just Eat Less"
By Ben Popken on January 31, 2011 3:00 PM
120 Comments
For the first time ever, the USDA came out and said that in order to combat obesity, you have to eat less. So just eat a single down, okay? More »
Treasury Impotent To Penalize Wrongfully Denied Loan Mods
By Ben Popken on January 31, 2011 12:00 PM
35 Comments
For all its tough talk, the Treasury can't do jack to reign in lenders who are wrongfully denying home owners loan modifications. After seeing reports that some banks were basically modifying no loans at all, Treasury staffers huddled up to talk about withholding payments and levying fines on the baddest of the bunch. Unfortunately, they were told by their own lawyers that they don't have that power. ProPublica reports, "staffers were walked back by Treasury lawyers, who said the government was only party to a commercial contract with servicers and not acting as their regulator." More »
(joce01_y)
Movie Pirates Mourn: MPAA Puts The Smackdown On 50 Torrent Sites
By Mary Beth Quirk on January 31, 2011 8:30 AM
92 Comments
If you listen very closely, you can just hear the agonized shrieks of torrent site users bemoaning the loss of their favorite movie-providing sites. The Motion Picture Association of America joined forces with Dutch anti-piracy group BREIN to shut down 12 torrent sites in the U.S. and 39 more abroad. More »
You Deserve A High Five: Consumer Spending Is Up
By Mary Beth Quirk on January 31, 2011 7:30 AM
25 Comments
Spend, spend, spend! Buy, buy, buy! That's what all of you have been doing, especially at the end of 2010, says a new report from the Commerce Department, leading to an uptick in consumer spending which is helping to boost the economy. Good job! More »
(WHEC.com)
Politician Breaks Into Home, Sues Owners For Injuries
By Mary Beth Quirk on January 29, 2011 12:15 PM
97 Comments
File this one under "S" for "shut the front door!" — no, really, shut the front door and lock it: Senator Jim Alesi of New York is very angry that he injured himself after breaking into a home, and is suing the owners, his constituents, as well as the builders of the home. More »
Your 1099s May Be Tardy This Year
By Ben Popken on January 28, 2011 12:00 PM
28 Comments
Some of your 1099s may be delayed this year because recent changes in the tax law require them to be corrected. They're supposed to be mailed out by Jan 31 but this year they may not even show up until after the April 18th filing deadline. So what do you do? More »
(mattb4rd)
Ticketmaster Settles Class Action Lawsuit
By Ben Popken on January 28, 2011 11:00 AM
78 Comments
If you bought a ticket from Ticketmaster between Oct '99 and May '10, get ready for some bucks/ticket discounts coming your way. Ticketmaster has agreed to settle a class action lawsuit brought against it in 2003 that alleged the ticket giant's processing fees were just a "profit component" and didn't recoup any actual costs of doing business. More »
Guess What? Letting Corps. Make Anonymous Unfettered Political Donations Quadrupled Contributions!
By Ben Popken on January 27, 2011 4:00 PM
112 Comments
A year ago, the Supreme Court ruled that corporations could not be banned from political spending during elections through either independent expenditures from corporations' general funds or "electioneering communications," i.e. political ads. Detractors cried out that it would let loose a flood of corporate cash into elections, and they were right. A new Public Citizen report shows that outside groups quadrupled their contributions during the last mid-term election from the previous, and we will never know exactly where a good deal of the money came from. More »
Adding Calories To Menus Doesn't Affect Consumption, Study Says
By Ben Popken on January 27, 2011 12:00 PM
87 Comments
Though the move to require menus to sport calorie information was met with applause by health advocates, a new, limited, study of Taco Time restaurants in Seattle says they don't change what people decide to eat. More »
Politician Wants Warning Labels On Video Games
By Phil Villarreal on January 27, 2011 9:15 AM
103 Comments
A congressman figures that if warning labels are good enough for your cigarettes and bug spray, they're also suitable for your video games. More »
Woman Robs Girl Scout Of $92
By Phil Villarreal on January 26, 2011 2:30 PM
106 Comments
A 7-year-old Girl Scout and her mom set up shop selling cookies at a Florida shopping center when a woman in her 30s allegedly decided that she preferred a wad of cash to Thin Mints. Police say the woman swiped $92 and sped off in her car. More »
NYC Parks To Get Free WiFi, At A Price
By Ben Popken on January 26, 2011 8:41 AM
130 Comments
New Yorkers are slated to get free wifi in 32 public parks next year, but it will come with a pricetag. Park users will get three 10 minute sessions per month, and after that pay 99 cents a day. The money goes to Time Warner and Cablevision, who agreed to provide the wifi as part of the city agreeing to renew their cable-tv franchises for 10 years. Public advocates promptly slammed the deal as the privatization of a public good. More »
USPS Shutting Down 2,000 Locations
By Phil Villarreal on January 25, 2011 1:30 PM
98 Comments
A year from now, you may be driving a little bit farther and waiting in longer lines to do your mail-related business. The USPS set a goal to shut down 2,000 branches and stations in 2011. No post offices are on the chopping block, but the new cuts are in addition to nearly 500 closures that are all ready in the works. The locations under threat of closure are smaller satellite offices that don't process mail and sometimes don't have mail carriers. More »
Trade Agency Judge Shuts Down Kodak's Patent Claim
By Phil Villarreal on January 25, 2011 9:45 AM
29 Comments
This digital photography fad isn't great for companies that built their empires on film, so Kodak seems to be grasping at legal straws to generate some revenue. The company filed a image-previewing patent claim to force smartphone makers such as Apple and BlackBerry maker Research In Motion Limited to pay it royalties. The United States International Trade Commission ruled that the phones don't violate the patent. More »
Lawsuit: Taco Bell Ground Beef Is Really Just "Meat Filling"
By Mary Beth Quirk on January 24, 2011 10:15 AM
172 Comments
To be beef, or not to be beef, that is the question in a lawsuit against Taco Bell for what one Alabama law firm claims is the company's dubious pronouncements of ground beef. The suit says the fast food purveyors are misleading customers by advertising its ground beef offerings as such. More »
IRS Goes After Executive Whose Pay Is Too Low
By Phil Villarreal on January 24, 2011 9:45 AM
97 Comments
Targeting executives who pay themselves too little in order to shield some of the money they make from taxes, the IRS is focusing its sunshine-concentrating magnifying glass on potential offenders. More »
(afagen)
Chipotle Fires Hundreds Of Undocumented Workers, Faces Protests
By Phil Villarreal on January 21, 2011 2:30 PM
334 Comments
Following an audit of employees' legal statuses, Chipotle fired between 350 and 700 undocumented employees at its Minnesota restaurants. More »
Verizon Sues Over FCC's Net Neutrality Rules
By Phil Villarreal on January 21, 2011 9:45 AM
29 Comments
Unhappy with the FCC's net neutrality rules that have yet to take effect, Verizon filed suit in a federal appeals court. in December, the FCC ruled that while wireless providers can throttle internet use based on what kind of content users are attempting to access, they can't block access to competitors. Non-wireless ISPs generally aren't allowed to throttle internet use. More »
Texting Woman Who Fell Into Fountain May Sue Mall
is suing is hinting that she may sue the mall after leaked security footage of the incident went viral. More »
By Ben Popken on January 20, 2011 1:00 PM
313 Comments
A woman who was so focused on texting that she fell into a fountain 
Woman Finds $280K Worth Of Drugs In Vacuum
By Phil Villarreal on January 19, 2011 3:30 PM
119 Comments
A Wisconsin mother received a vacuum from her children as a Christmas present. The gift quickly lost its dull nature when she opened it up to discover a stash of drugs encased inside. More »
8 Ways Your 1040 Is Different This Year
By Ben Popken on January 19, 2011 1:00 PM
94 Comments
Once January hits it's a good time to start getting ready for your taxes. To help you prepare, here's 8 ways your 1040 is going to be different this year: More »
Guy Allegedly Tunnels Into GameStop To Swipe Video Games
By Phil Villarreal on January 19, 2011 10:15 AM
55 Comments
In a heist that was probably narrated by Morgan Freeman, a determined Tennessee man is accused of tunneling into a GameStop in order to pilfer its sweet, unguarded wares in the dark of night. More »
(martyz)
Citigroup Still Selling Mortgages That Violate Quality Standards
By Ben Popken on January 18, 2011 12:00 PM
26 Comments
15% of the mortgages Citigroup sold to government-owned Freddie Mac from the second half of 2009 and the first part of 2010 were riddled with flaws, according to an internal report obtained by Bloomberg. The error rate should be about 5%. The mistakes included missing insurance docs, missing appraisals and income miscalculations. More »
Treasury Dept. To Offer Tax Refunds On Pre-Paid Debit Cards
By Chris Morran on January 18, 2011 10:40 AM
74 Comments
We've been warning readers for years against "refund anticipation loans," where tax preparers like H&R Block and Jackson Hewitt give you a pre-paid debit card now loaded with your expected return (minus fees and interest). And yet, these cards have continued to appeal to some lower-income taxpayers who don't have bank accounts for direct-deposit of their returns. Now the federal government is providing these people with an alternative — a debit card that will accept the direct deposit. More »
Kardashians Sued For Fee-Drenched Debit Card, By The Card's Makers
By Ben Popken on January 14, 2011 2:00 PM
71 Comments
The Kardashians have been sued over their Kardashian Card, a pre-loaded debit card they agreed to put their faces and names on and help promote. The card was slammed by critics and an AG almost as soon as it came out for the high hidden fees it hoped to extract from the teen audience it was targeting. But the plaintiff isn't a government body or members of a class action, it's the Kardashian's former business partners. More »
(PepOmint)
FDA Asks Prescription Drug Companies To Limit Amount Of Acetaminophen
By Chris Morran on January 13, 2011 3:30 PM
65 Comments
Worried about the possibility of liver damage from over use, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has asked manufacturers of prescription drugs containing acetaminophen to limit the amount of acetaminophen to no more than 325 mg in each tablet or capsule. More »
LAX Is A Hotbed For Animal Smuggling
By Phil Villarreal on January 13, 2011 9:45 AM
36 Comments
Apparently due to wealthy Hollywood types' yearning for exotic pets, Los Angeles International Airport — its friends call it LAX — has long been known as animal smuggling central. In the most recent high-profile incident, Japanese passengers were busted for sneaking 55 live tortoises and turtles in luggage. More »
(nffcnnr)
Feds Sue New York City For Overbilling Medicaid
By Phil Villarreal on January 13, 2011 9:15 AM
51 Comments
Saying it's caught New York City's hand in the Medicaid cookie jar, the federal government has sued the city, claiming it billed Medicaid for "at least tens of millions of dollars" more than it was legally allowed. More »
Sony Goes After Alleged PS3 Hackers, Wants Them To Hush Up
By Phil Villarreal on January 12, 2011 12:40 PM
58 Comments
Hackers have apparently shredded the security innards that stop people from messing with PlayStation 3 firmware, so Sony is wielding its legal katana. More »
U.S. Seizes Killer Chocolate Eggs At Canadian Border
By Laura Northrup on January 12, 2011 9:00 AM
138 Comments
The Kinder Surprise is a delicious chocolate egg that contains a small toy. They're available pretty much everywhere....except the United States, which has banned them because the tiny toys present a choking hazard to small children. And people who like to swallow chocolate eggs whole, we guess. The CBC reports that a Winnipeg woman didn't know this, and was almost fined $300 for attempting to bring a single $2 egg into the country. More »
(elle_emm)
Banks Lose Foreclosure Case Over Bad Docs, More Could Come
By Ben Popken on January 11, 2011 1:00 PM
65 Comments
In a potential foreshadowing of things to come, Massachusetts's Supreme Court upheld the voiding of two home seizures this week because the banks couldn't prove they owned the mortgages at the time they foreclosed. More »
(eviloars)
NJ Cracks Down On Cops Juicing
By Ben Popken on January 11, 2011 11:00 AM
67 Comments
After a damning Star Ledger investigation exposed how a local doctor was the steroid dealer for "hundreds" of New Jersey cops and firefighters, lawmakers there have put forth a bill to crack down on the practice. The law would add steroids to the list of drugs law enforcement is randomly tested for and personnel would need to get a health checkup before they could be prescribed anabolic steroids and growth hormones. However, anecdotal evidence suggests that the problem is not limited to the Garden State. More »
New Law Says Pentagon Must Buy American Solar Panels
By Phil Villarreal on January 11, 2011 9:15 AM
95 Comments
Sorry, Chinese solar panel salesmen, your days of racking up commissions from sales to the American military are over, because a new federal law forbids the Pentagon from buying non-American panels. More »
Man Says Penis Enlarger Never Worked, Even After 500 Hours Of Use
By Mary Beth Quirk on January 10, 2011 12:15 PM
73 Comments
What with all that free healthcare and those easygoing natures up north in Canada, there's not much to get upset about. So why not sue over a penis enlarger to stir stuff up? More »
Thief Tries To Buy $3K Worth Of Chicken Sandwiches With Stolen Credit Card
By Phil Villarreal on January 10, 2011 9:15 AM
33 Comments
You're a thief who has just exercised your criminal genius to swipe two credit cards from an unsuspecting victim. You know you probably have only a few hours to use your golden tickets to fulfill your dreams before the cards are rendered worthless. What do you do? Try and buy as many chicken sandwiches as possible, of course. More »
Pay Movers A Fuel Surcharge Fee? Get Money Back
By Ben Popken on January 7, 2011 12:00 PM
29 Comments
If you hired movers and paid a fuel surcharge fee, you could be up for getting some cash back in a recent class action action. More »
gambling, arrests, robberies, casinos
Pair Accused Of Defrauding Casinos Of $1.4 Million
By Phil Villarreal on January 7, 2011 9:15 AM
90 Comments
(C.Barr) More »
Can Bedbugs At The Waldorf-Astoria Actually Give You An Anxiety Disorder?
By Meg Marco on January 6, 2011 1:35 PM
51 Comments
The bedbug lawsuits are flying... or maybe they're crawling. Anyway, Gothamist has a post about the most recent customer to point a calamine-scented finger at the Waldorf-Astoria. More »
Finallyfast.com Refunds Thousands In Scareware Suit
By Ben Popken on January 5, 2011 4:00 PM
81 Comments
FinallyFast, one of those companies with the late-night infomercials promising to make your computer faster, has settled with the Washington AG for misleading and deceiving consumers, and making it hard to cancel or get refunds. One of their tactics was to make the free scan on their site falsely identify harmless files on your computer as being errors. Consumers can now get some of their money back. More »
Awesome Holiday Gives You Until April 18 To Do Taxes
By Tax Cat on January 5, 2011 11:45 AM
45 Comments
Tax Cat here. Yes, I'm sorry, it's me again. What? You're glad to see me? You're going to itemize? Oh, I can't stop purring. Well, I know Consumerist readers are already hard at work preparing their 2010 returns — and never, ever procrastinate — but I thought I'd pop in and mention that a little-known D.C. holiday that celebrates the freeing of slaves (called "Emancipation Day") is being observed on April 15th. That means that since taxes can't be due on Saturdays, Sundays or holidays — you get until April 18th this year to file your taxes! More »
Ron Paul Wants Us To Use Gold And Silver Along With Paper Money
By Ben Popken on January 5, 2011 10:00 AM
258 Comments
Ron Paul, career-long proponent of outmoded and discredited Austrian economic theory, went on Colbert last night to talk about how paper money sucks and he wants you you to be able to go into a store and buy a six-pack with some gold ingots. His proof? Paper money can rot and people have believed in the value of gold for centuries. So, gold is "better" because the collective hallucination around it is stronger. This wouldn't be disturbing except for the fact that Ron Paul is the new Chairman of the House Financial Services Subcommittee on Domestic Monetary Policy. Yeeeeeks. More »
New Jersey Wants To Balance Budget With Your Gift Cards
By Laura Northrup on January 5, 2011 9:30 AM
82 Comments
What would be even worse than losing the entire stored value of your gift cards after a few years? Having the state seize it as unclaimed property and use your money to pay its bills. More »
Stocks Up After Fed Releases Minutes
By Ben Popken on January 4, 2011 3:00 PM
20 Comments
The Federal Reserve Board, which sets US national monetary policy, released minutes from its latest meeting today, striking a tone of temperate growth. More »
Congrats, America, You're $14 Trillion In The Hole
By Phil Villarreal on January 4, 2011 1:30 PM
135 Comments
The first step to get yourself out of a hole is to stop digging, but that's a lesson the federal government refuses to acknowledge, allowing the national debt to soar past $14 trillion. More »
Man Sues College After It Rejects Son Following $40K Donation
By Phil Villarreal on January 4, 2011 9:45 AM
182 Comments
Assuming a $40,000 donation to his alma mater would grease the wheels enough to get his son an easy acceptance letter, the donor is suing because the college left his son hanging. More »
Smuggled Phones Help Cons Play FarmVille From Behind Bars
By Phil Villarreal on January 3, 2011 9:15 AM
50 Comments
Just because you're locked up, you shouldn't have to miss out on texting buddies, logging status updates and playing FarmVille. Thanks to smuggling channels and intense demand, cell phones have become as much a part of the prison experience as lunchtime brawls and toothbrush shanks. More »
Judge: NYC Can't Make Cigarette Sellers Post Anti-Smoking Ads
By Chris Morran on December 30, 2010 3:40 PM
75 Comments
While the FDA prepares to roll out graphic warning labels for cigarette packages, the city of New York had been hoping to get a head start on the agency by requiring stores that sell cigarettes to put up anti-smoking posters. However, a judge in U.S. District Court has ruled that the city doesn't have the authority to enact such a regulation. More »
(FTC)
FTC Wants To Ban Mortgage Mod Services From Charging Up-Front Fees
By Ben Popken on December 30, 2010 3:00 PM
21 Comments
To combat mortgage relief fraud, the FTC would like to make a new rule that would ban mortgage modification services from charging up-front fees. "Homeowners facing foreclosure or struggling to make mortgage payments shouldn't have to contend with fraudulent 'companies' that don't provide what they promise," FTC Chairman Jon Leibowitz said in a statement. "The proposed rule would outlaw up-front fees so companies can't take the money and run." Indeed, there are some shady operators in this area and consumers need to beware. More »
Meat & Poultry To Get Detailed Nutritional Labels Starting In 2012
By Chris Morran on December 30, 2010 2:40 PM
38 Comments
In what the USDA says is an attempt to better inform the meat-buying public about the products they buy, many popular cuts of meat and poultry will be required to carry labels with detailed nutritional information. More »
NJ Couple Marries At Dunkin' Donuts
By Phil Villarreal on December 30, 2010 9:15 AM
36 Comments
How much do you like Dunkin' Donuts? Definitely not as much as the New Jersey couple who are so devoted to its drive-thru coffee that they decided to get married there. More »
(C.Barr)
Calculate How Much Of A Raise You'll Get On January 1
By Phil Villarreal on December 28, 2010 4:20 PM
105 Comments
As part of the extension of the Bush tax cuts, Social Security payroll tax will drop from 6.2 percent to 4.2 percent. That means you'll be taking home more money each paycheck, even if your stingy employer has frozen your wages. More »
(mrbill)
Ohio Supreme Court: State Sales Tax OK For Satellite, But Not Cable
By Phil Villarreal on December 28, 2010 10:30 AM
37 Comments
Giving an odd boost to cable providers, the Ohio Supreme Court ruled the state could slap a sales tax on satellite TV services even though cable companies don't need to tack the tax on to their packages. More »
Hacking Your Spouse's Email Could Land You In Jail For Half A Decade
By Phil Villarreal on December 28, 2010 9:15 AM
105 Comments
Before you consider snooping in your spouse's email, you may want to pay close attention to a case unfolding in Michigan in which a man faces up to five years of prison for hacking into his wife's messages. More »
Cops Around The Country Getting Busted For Using Steroids
By Phil Villarreal on December 27, 2010 9:45 AM
111 Comments
Steroids — they're not just for linebackers anymore. Some police officers, presumably seeking to get any edge they can to survive on the streets, are getting busted for 'roiding it up in increasing numbers. More »
(tubbynj)
Motorola Tries To Stop Microsoft From Selling Xbox 360
By Phil Villarreal on December 24, 2010 1:30 PM
28 Comments
At the request of Motorola, which claims Microsoft is violating its wireless technology patents, the United States International Trade Commission is conducting an investigation that Motorola hopes ends with Microsoft forbidden to import Xboxes. More »
5 Downright Silly Sales Taxes
By Chris Morran on December 24, 2010 12:15 PM
69 Comments
Several months ago, we wrote about New York State's decision to crack down on bagel vendors who weren't charging an 8.875% sales tax on sliced bagels. Believe it or not, that's not the silliest sales tax story of the year. More »
Town Spends $17,000 To Defend $5 Fee It Charged Resident, Loses
By Ben Popken on December 23, 2010 3:00 PM
57 Comments
The town of Bridgewater, NJ, just spent $17,000 in legal costs to defend its right to charge a guy $5 for a CD recording of a town council meeting. The man had argued that he should only be required to pay for the actual cost of the CD. The case went to court and the town ended up losing. The kicker? They also had to pay him back a $4.04 refund for the overage. More »
Man Sues Restaurant For Not Stopping Him From Eating An Entire Artichoke
By Ben Popken on December 23, 2010 11:00 AM
178 Comments
A doctor has sued the Houston's restaurant in Miami after he ate a complete artichoke that he ordered, including the spiny and sharp exterior leaves. He subsequently suffered "severe abdominal pain and discomfort," and a "exploratory laparotomy" showed that the artichoke leaves were jammed in his "small bowel." His lawsuit claims that he had "never seen nor heard of previously" an artichoke and that it was the restaurant's fault for not teaching him how to eat it. More »
Thanks To Census, Sun Belt Swipes People, Clout From Midwest, Northeast
By Phil Villarreal on December 23, 2010 9:15 AM
44 Comments
Cries of "they took our jobs" can be replaced with "they took our votes," thanks to census data that will shift seats in the U.S. House of Representatives and electoral votes away from the Midwest and Northeast to southern and western states. More »
FCC Ruling On Net Neutrality Is A Big Compromise
By Ben Popken on December 22, 2010 11:24 AM
89 Comments
The FCC has ruled on net neutrality and offered up a compromise solution: ISPs can't throttle fixed line computer users based on what kind of content they're accessing, but wireless providers can. More »
Toyota Must Fork Over $32.4 Million More In Fines
By Phil Villarreal on December 22, 2010 9:15 AM
15 Comments
The thrashing continues for Toyota, which has had to recall more than 11 million cars since the Fall of 2009 thanks to myriad problems, including bum gas pedals and steering relay rods. The car company has coughed up $16.4 million in government fines, and now will pay $32.4 million more. More »
You Care About Recalls, But Can't Find Out About Them
December 16, 2010 4:33 PM
16 Comments
According to a new poll by our careful cousins at Consumer Reports, most Americans are concerned about product recalls, but don't believe they're getting enough information about them. Only 13% said they were very confident that they were getting enough information about recalls from manufacturers and retailers. And just 8% were very confident that the government was getting enough information from those companies. More »
Nike Goes After Man For Ordering One Pair Of Counterfeit Shoes
By Chris Morran on December 16, 2010 4:01 PM
94 Comments
If there's one thing we've learned from either the war on drugs or the RIAA's fight against music piracy, the most effective way to fight crime is to punish the end user. That must be why Nike is using a similar strategy in the UK to combat counterfeit footwear. More »
74-Year-Old Accused Walmart Shoplifter Fights To Clear Name
By Phil Villarreal on December 15, 2010 2:20 PM
36 Comments
No one wants to spend their golden years fending off unwarranted shoplifting charges, but that's the situation in which a 74-year-old Missouri man finds himself. Following up on Walmart complaints, authorities accused the man of nearly 20 robberies at stores throughout the midwest. He's maintained his innocence and finally seems to be making some headway. More »
FTC: Dannon Agrees To Stop Selling Activia As Cure For Irregularity
By Chris Morran on December 15, 2010 12:48 PM
46 Comments
More than a year after settling a class-action lawsuit over false advertising claims, Dannon has finally settled a separate but related complaint from the Federal Trade Commission. As a result, the company says it will no longer market unproven health benefits of its Activia and DanActive yogurts. More »
Real-Life Danny Ocean Robs Bellagio Of $1.5 Million
By Phil Villarreal on December 15, 2010 9:15 AM
53 Comments
A gunman allegedly robbed the Bellagio casino in Las Vegas, and he didn't need to split his take with an acrobat, explosives expert or Matt Damon. The thief sauntered into the casino, made off with $1.5 million in chips from a craps table, then sped off on a motorcycle. More »
CPSC Says Lead Wizard Of Oz Glasses "Are Not Children's Products"
By Meg Marco on December 13, 2010 4:30 PM
44 Comments
A recent study commissioned by the AP showed that dozens of decorative glasses featuring superheros (like Wonder Woman and Superman) and movie characters (like the cast of Wizard of Oz), have "up to 1,000 times more" lead than is currently allowed for children's products. The AP asked the CPSC to issue a recall. The CPSC's response? The glasses are not children's products. More »
FAA Missing Info On 119,000 Planes
By Meg Marco on December 10, 2010 11:30 AM
26 Comments
The FAA says its records are in such disarray that its afraid that criminals could buy planes "without the government's knowledge" or use the registration numbers of other planes. The agency has ordered all aircraft owners to re-register. More »
Govt Misprints Ton Of New $100s
By Ben Popken on December 8, 2010 3:00 PM
63 Comments
A printing error on the fancy new $100 bills means that nearly a billion are in storage until the government figures out how many to destroy. The paper got creased during printing, leaving a portion of Franklin's face uninked. It's a $110 billion boo-boo! More »
What The New Tax Deal Means For You
By Ben Popken on December 8, 2010 11:00 AM
127 Comments
Besides the Bush tax cuts getting stretched another two years, the proposed new Obama-GOP tax deal has other goodies in the bag for you. More »
Feds Nab Satellite-Smuggling Microsoft Contractor
By Phil Villarreal on December 8, 2010 9:15 AM
14 Comments
Someone forgot to pay attention to Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, which teaches that giving Slugworth an everlasting gobstopper will lead directly to ruin. In a sting operation, the FBI arrested an alleged satellite smuggler who did contract work for Microsoft. More »
(pdbogen)
Feds Arrest Online Seller Who Tried To Drive Up Google Ranking By Scaring People
By Phil Villarreal on December 7, 2010 9:15 AM
59 Comments
Pushing the "there's no such thing as bad publicity" mentality to the extreme, an online retailer allegedly stalked and threatened customers in order to boost his search engine visibility. The seller reportedly went to such extremes that federal authorities stepped in and arrested him on charges of mail fraud, wire fraud, making interstate threats and cyberstalking. More »
Supreme Court To Hear Walmart Gender Discrimination Suit
By Chris Morran on December 6, 2010 3:42 PM
32 Comments
Given that Walmart is the country's largest private employer it's not terribly surprising that the U.S. Supreme Court has decided to have a look at the sex discrimination lawsuit filed against the retailer — the largest class-action suit of its kind in U.S. history. More »
Get Up To $175 In The Clorox Bowl Cleaner Class Action
By Ben Popken on December 6, 2010 12:00 PM
48 Comments
You can get up to $175 if you bought, used, or suffered property damage from using Clorox Automatic Toilet Bowl cleaners, thanks to a class action settlement. More »
How Do You Handle Undeserved Parking Tickets?
By Phil Villarreal on December 3, 2010 1:30 PM
129 Comments
It's bad enough to be stuck with a parking ticket when you deserved to get dinged, but much worse when you were obeying the rules and still got hammered due to a glitch. More »
Xbox Modding Case Dismissed
By Phil Villarreal on December 3, 2010 9:15 AM
29 Comments
Federal prosecutors dropped their case against a California man accused of modding Xboxes to to play pirated and unlicensed games. The reasons the lawyers gave were "fairness and justice," which was a way of saying they screwed up the case. More »
2 Million Jobless Wave Goodbye To Welfare
By Phil Villarreal on December 2, 2010 9:15 AM
268 Comments
Unless Congress acts quickly, unemployment benefits will stop cold for 2 million Americans who have been jobless for 99 weeks. Benefits have already been extended well past normal lengths, but if no other extension comes, the loss of income will make the holidays sting that much harder for people unable to find work for nearly two years. More »
Government May Use Tech To Stop Cell Phone Use In Cars
By Phil Villarreal on December 1, 2010 2:40 PM
242 Comments
People are so insistent on driving while using their cell phones that only death in a car accident will stop them from doing so. Spurred by the prevalence of fatal accidents caused by distracted drivers — 5,500 last year — the government is mulling over the concept of using technology to force drivers to put down their phones. More »
FTC Proposes "Do Not Track" Option For Web Browsing
By Chris Morran on December 1, 2010 1:33 PM
41 Comments
Wary of surfing the web because you don't want any of your information or browsing habits being shared with the world? The folks at the Federal Trade Commission apparently understand your concerns and have proposed new regulations that would let users decide which sites and advertisers can track their online behavior. More »
Senate Passes Food Safety Bill That Would Increase FDA Authority
By Chris Morran on November 30, 2010 11:46 AM
52 Comments
Earlier today, the Senate passed its version of a new food safety bill that would increase the authority of the Food & Drug Administration in making recalls and inspecting food processing facilities. The intent behind the bill is to proactively prevent outbreaks of tainted food instead of just dealing with the negative health and economic after effects. More »
(XISMZERO)
Wisconsin Woman Arrested For Gun Threat In Toys R Us Black Friday Line
By Phil Villarreal on November 30, 2010 9:15 AM
52 Comments
Not only did hardcore shoppers have to brave chilling temperatures when they waited in line at a Wisconsin Toys R Us Thursday night for a Black Friday sale, they had to face a woman who cut in line and made threats of going to get a gun. More »
"Pure Chocolate" Does Not Exist, EU Court Rules
By Ben Popken on November 29, 2010 10:00 AM
20 Comments
There's no such thing as "pure chocolate," says a European Union high court, and the phrase cannot appear on the front of candy packages. More »
Fox Sues Screenwriter With Script Database For $15M
By Phil Villarreal on November 29, 2010 9:15 AM
69 Comments
Instead of messing with Wolverine, smarmy Marvel anti-hero Deadpool has his sights set on a Long Island screenwriter. He's called upon his bosses at 20th Century Fox to sue the writer for $15 million because she posted Fox screenplays, including an early copy of the script from his upcoming movie, the New York Post reports. More »
Opt-Out Protest Field Reports, With Bikinis
A male college student did the same in a Speedo with "SCREW BIG SIS" markered on his back. TSA said he wasn't detained as he was not a threat. [JonAndEric]
Two protestors at the Sky Harbor International Airport in Phoenix AZ held up signs mentioning "pornoscans," drawing both "sidelong glances" and "words of support." [AP]
Half a dozen protestors at Tampa airport talk about tyranny. [TBO]
Overall, checkpoints are running smoothly with no major delays. "Most travelers seemed more interested in getting to their destinations than in making a political statement." [NYT] More »
By Ben Popken on November 24, 2010 3:00 PM
44 Comments
An opt-out protestor wore a bikini through security. [NBC Los Angeles]A male college student did the same in a Speedo with "SCREW BIG SIS" markered on his back. TSA said he wasn't detained as he was not a threat. [JonAndEric]
Two protestors at the Sky Harbor International Airport in Phoenix AZ held up signs mentioning "pornoscans," drawing both "sidelong glances" and "words of support." [AP]
Half a dozen protestors at Tampa airport talk about tyranny. [TBO]
Overall, checkpoints are running smoothly with no major delays. "Most travelers seemed more interested in getting to their destinations than in making a political statement." [NYT] More »
(Marike79)
Are You Participating In "Opt-Out" Day?
By Ben Popken on November 24, 2010 11:00 AM
127 Comments
The day is finally here. No, not the day before Thanksgiving. Something far more important than spending time with your family, National Opt-Out Day. People who are doing it plan to, when asked to step through the body imaging machine, opt-out and get the enhanced pat-down instead. Are you gonna do it, or do you think it's stupid - or worse? Take our poll! More »
Are TSA Scanners Likely To Cause Cancer In Travelers?
By Phil Villarreal on November 24, 2010 9:45 AM
115 Comments
A Columbia University radiation expert says the Transportation Security Administration's airport body scans are "likely" to cause cancer in some passengers. The expert also said Department of Homeland Security-commissioned research, which found that the exposure to radiation is minimal, is suspect because it has not been peer reviewed. More »
Adam Savage: TSA Scanners Missed My 12" Long Weapon
By Meg Marco on November 23, 2010 3:40 PM
76 Comments
Adam Savage of Mythbusters carries around a bunch of weird crap, so he's always careful to check his laptop bag and person to make sure he's not going to have any of his valuable nonsense confiscated by the TSA. Except one day last May... More »
Nissan Leaf Scores 99 MPGe EPA Rating
By Ben Popken on November 23, 2010 12:08 PM
63 Comments
People have been wondering how the EPA would rate the Nissan Leaf. The normal "miles per gallon" didn't make sense because the car uses electricity, not gas. The results are finally in, and the vehicle has scored a 99 MPGe. That stands for "Miles Per Gallon equivalent." More »
(Ben Popken)
Your Morning Cup Of TSA Backwash
TSA head makes ad explaining why there's nothing to fear. Message belied by ominous grey background. [YouTube]
Reporter goes through pat-down to show us how easy it is. "He uses the back of his hand to check the front of my groin area." [KDAF]
An "I'll be groped for Christmas" holiday jingle. [YouTube]
Man opts for third choice: stripping down to his skivvies. Is then arrested and walked through two terminals in his underwear. [NBC San Diego]
SNL reimagines TSA as a sexy 80's hookup company. [Hulu] More »
By Ben Popken on November 23, 2010 11:00 AM
109 Comments
American citizen with free time declines both backscatter scan and patdown upon re-entering country, ends up being able to walk through security without doing either even after cops are called. [NO BLASTERS!]TSA head makes ad explaining why there's nothing to fear. Message belied by ominous grey background. [YouTube]
Reporter goes through pat-down to show us how easy it is. "He uses the back of his hand to check the front of my groin area." [KDAF]
An "I'll be groped for Christmas" holiday jingle. [YouTube]
Man opts for third choice: stripping down to his skivvies. Is then arrested and walked through two terminals in his underwear. [NBC San Diego]
SNL reimagines TSA as a sexy 80's hookup company. [Hulu] More »
Animated Pig Bunnies Explain Quantitative Easing
By Ben Popken on November 23, 2010 10:00 AM
21 Comments
Still don't understand quantitative easing? Is it really just "printing money" or something more subtle? These animated xtranormal pig bunnies seem to have a grasp, at least judging by the millions of hits this movie of them explaining it has gotten. "The only thing deflating is the Fed's credibility," says one pig bunny to the other. More »
(TLFagan)
Florida Aims To Fine Pesky Robocallers
By Phil Villarreal on November 23, 2010 9:15 AM
26 Comments
Fed up with untimely calls from the Terminator, Robocop and other telemarketrons, Florida's Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services is going after four telemarketing firms in the state, aiming to stick them with fines and injunctions that will stop them from making more cold calls. More »
(Ben Popken)
Your Morning Cup Of TSA Horror
Video of frustrated father ripping shirt off shy son so TSA can complete search. [YouTube]
Video of 3-year old girl screaming and writhing during TSA patdown. Her teddy being taken away and going through the x-ray seemed to have set her off. [KGTV]
Airport opt-out day is imbecilic. [Slate]
TSA bumper stickers. "It's not a grope, it's a freedom pat." [Althouse] More »
By Ben Popken on November 22, 2010 11:00 AM
126 Comments
Man with a bladder bag says a TSA patdown left him humiliated and soaked in urine. [MSNBC]Video of frustrated father ripping shirt off shy son so TSA can complete search. [YouTube]
Video of 3-year old girl screaming and writhing during TSA patdown. Her teddy being taken away and going through the x-ray seemed to have set her off. [KGTV]
Airport opt-out day is imbecilic. [Slate]
TSA bumper stickers. "It's not a grope, it's a freedom pat." [Althouse] More »
Warren Buffett Thinks Rich Should Pay More Taxes
By Phil Villarreal on November 22, 2010 9:00 AM
216 Comments
Most people who want tax increases seem to think the rate hikes should apply only to people wealthier than themselves. And many who want across-the-board tax cuts believe that lightening the tax load on the richest folks will create a trickle-down effect that helps everyone. More »
(e.teel)
Dutch Seek To End 'Drug Tourism'
By Chris Morran on November 19, 2010 4:33 PM
66 Comments
For those of you who thought it might be worth it to be screened and patted-down by the TSA for your trip to the Netherlands, just so long as you could sit in a "coffee shop" and get stoned without threat of a legal hassle, here's some bad news. In an effort to curb so-called "drug tourism," the Dutch government is looking to limit the sale of cannabis to residents only. More »
(JohnKit)
UPDATE: TSA Says Pilots Can Skip Scanners & Pat-Downs
By Chris Morran on November 19, 2010 4:08 PM
95 Comments
Earlier today, TSA chief John Pistole hinted on Good Morning America that airline pilots might soon be able to skirt the agency's stricter screening procedures. Now one of the unions that had recently told pilots to refuse being scanned says a deal has actually been reached. More »
Cancer Survivor Flight Attendant Forced To Show Prosthetic Breast During TSA Pat-Down
By Chris Morran on November 19, 2010 3:20 PM
173 Comments
After 32 years on the job as a flight attendant, not to mention being a breast cancer survivor, a North Carolina woman says airport screeners went too far when they told her to remove her prosthetic breast during a recent pat-down. More »
Pilots Might Soon Get A Pass On Stricter Security Measures
By Chris Morran on November 19, 2010 12:20 PM
82 Comments
As we wrote last week, two of the nation's largest airline pilots unions had recently told their members to refuse full-body scanners at airport security, arguing that pilots have already undergone rigorous background checks before getting their jobs. Now the head of the TSA says their could soon be a rule change that would treat pilots differently than passengers. More »
Overstock.com Sued For Allegedly Overstating Discounts
By Chris Morran on November 18, 2010 2:40 PM
46 Comments
Apparently, the "O" in Overstock.com stands for "Overstating discounts and misleading customers," at least according to the district attorneys in seven California counties. They've filed suit against the online retailer, alleging it made untrue statements about its pricing. More »
Airports Looking To Replace TSA Screeners With Contractors
By Chris Morran on November 18, 2010 1:20 PM
130 Comments
In case you hadn't heard, there's been a slight bit of public push-back to the TSA's increased use of full-body scanners and invasive pat-downs at security checkpoints. And at least one airport in Florida is telling the TSA "no thanks," opting to use a private contractor instead. More »
Group Of Reddit Editors Make Public Stand Against Grabby TSA Pat-Downs & Revealing Full-Body Scanners
By Chris Morran on November 17, 2010 5:18 PM
105 Comments
There are few sites on the internet more tapped into the zeitgeist than the hive mind over at Reddit. So it should come as little surprise to those familiar with Reddit that a group of the site's editors — or Redditors — have banded together to create a forum for those who feel less than enthusiastic about the TSA's roll-out of full-body scanners and its "enhanced" pat-down procedures. More »
South Park Sued By Folks Behind 'What What (In The Butt)'
By Chris Morran on November 17, 2010 3:20 PM
71 Comments
It hasn't been a laugh-filled autumn for the people at South Park. First they had to issue a public apology after plagiarizing a portion of a College Humor parody of the movie Inception. Now they are facing legal action from the makers of the so-awful-you-send-it-to-your-friends YouTube music video "What What (In the Butt)," alleging copyright infringement. More »
So Did The USDA Spend Millions To Cheese-Up Your Domino's Pizza Or Not?
By Chris Morran on November 17, 2010 2:32 PM
35 Comments
A couple weeks back we wrote about a New York Times article that claimed our tax dollars were being spent by the USDA to find more ways to add cheese to things like Domino's Pizzas and Taco Bell products. But a new report in the Atlantic now says the Times misled readers — perhaps unintentionally — into thinking this was the case. More »
FDA Warns Makers Of Alcoholic Energy Drinks
By Chris Morran on November 17, 2010 1:46 PM
63 Comments
Earlier today, there was speculation that the FDA might issue a declaration that effectively bans alcoholic beverages that contain caffeine and other stimulants. While the agency opted to not go to such lengths, it did announce that caffeine added to malt liquor qualifies as an "unsafe food additive" and sent warning letters to the makers of seven different drinks, giving them 15 days to come up with a plan for remedying the violation. More »
TSA Chief Admits The New Pat-Downs Are 'More Invasive'
By Chris Morran on November 17, 2010 12:26 PM
156 Comments
For the second day in a row, TSA head Jon Pistole was testifying before Senate about the recent negative attention that the agency's full-body scanners and 'enhanced' pat-downs have received. And Pistole admitted that the newer, hands-on procedure is more touchy-feely than it had been previously. More »
Is A Ban Needed On Alcoholic Energy Drinks?
By Chris Morran on November 17, 2010 11:30 AM
120 Comments
Reports say the the Food & Drug Administration is planning to announce today that caffeine is an unsafe food additive in alcoholic drinks. This would effectively ban a whole range of products like Four Loko, Joose and Sparks, which market themselves as a sort of boozed-up energy drink. More »
Poll: Americans Deeply In Love With Full Body Scanners
By Meg Marco on November 16, 2010 4:30 PM
294 Comments
CBS says the have a poll that shows Americans overwhelmingly support full body "naked" scanners at airports, despite what some "civil rights groups" have to say about them. More »
Yellow Pages Sues Seattle For Letting Residents Opt-Out Of Getting Phone Books
By Chris Morran on November 16, 2010 10:52 AM
78 Comments
A few weeks ago we wrote about the recently passed ordinance in Seattle that would create a do-not-deliver list for residents who no longer want to receive the doorstop that is the phone book. Now we hear from the Yellow Pages Association that they have filed a lawsuit alleging that the regulations violate their right to free speech. More »
(sfxeric)
Government May Require Some Websites To Accommodate Deaf, Blind Users
By Phil Villarreal on November 16, 2010 9:45 AM
122 Comments
Feds are considering expansions to the Americans with Disabilities Act that could lead to the online equivalent of sidewalk ramps and wide, arm rail-equipped toilet stalls. Law updates could require certain sites that offer goods and services to make changes that allow those with disabilities to use them. More »
Think You Can Cure The Nation's Budget Woes?
By Chris Morran on November 15, 2010 2:20 PM
82 Comments
In these days of financial frailty, there is a lot of armchair quarterbacking going on about what needs to be done to fix the federal budget. Over at the New York Times, they've actually put together an interactive way for you to try your hand at meddling with the nation's checkbook. More »
You Might Be In Serious $%#@ For Refusing To Be TSA Screened
By Meg Marco on November 15, 2010 11:45 AM
239 Comments
Did you assume that once you got to the airport, if the TSA was doing something you didn't like, you could just opt-out and decide not to fly? The answer is — nope. According to CNN and the TSA, a ruling from the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals compels all passengers to be screened, whether they fly or not. Refusing screening will result in being denied access to secure airport areas and may result in civil penalties. More »
If I Used 200 Gallons Of Water Per Day, I Think I Would Notice
By Laura Northrup on November 12, 2010 9:00 AM
109 Comments
What's wrong with Arif's water meter? He and his fiancée use a modest amount of water, but the local water authority claims that the two of them are somehow using 200 gallons per day. If this seems like it should be a straightforward problem to fix...well, you've never had to deal with a local water authority. More »
Police Raid Spencer Gifts, Confiscate 'Sex-Related' Products
By Chris Morran on November 11, 2010 4:37 PM
157 Comments
We hadn't been in a Spencer Gifts (aka Spencer's) since Color Me Badd was lighting up the charts, but our memories of the mall-based stores are of goofy bachelor party gag gifts and posters of bikini-clad women. The authorities in Rapid City, SD, believe the store is an unlicensed "adult-oriented business" and on Monday the police seized boxes containing around 2,000 "sex-related" products. More »
Woman Says She Was Cuffed And Booted From Airport For Questioning Body Scanners
By Ben Popken on November 11, 2010 2:00 PM
231 Comments
Meg McLain claims that the TSA ripped up her US Airways plane ticket and called police who restrained her in a chair, cuffed her, and escorted her out of the airport after she opted out of the backscatter can. Her radio interview describing the incident is at 390,000 hits and growing, and the TSA has posted CCTV of the incident on their blog. More »
(SA_Steve)
Nintendo Wants To Trademark "It's On Like Donkey Kong"
By Chris Morran on November 10, 2010 5:11 PM
53 Comments
Even though people have been using the phrase "It's on like Donkey Kong" for two decades, Nintendo has just gotten around to filing a request with the Patent and Trademark office to slap a little "TM" on those words. More »
FDA Proposes More Graphic Warning Labels For Cigarettes
By Chris Morran on November 10, 2010 12:20 PM
212 Comments
In an effort to convince cigarette smokers to quit — and to stop potential smokers from picking up a pack — the FDA's Dept. of Health and Human Services has proposed a series of larger, more graphic warnings for cigarette packs and advertising. More »
FDA Says CT Scans Need To Be Safer
By Phil Villarreal on November 10, 2010 9:45 AM
51 Comments
Acting to make the administration of CT scans safer, the Food and Drug Administration released documents that urged better training for those who administer tests as well as warnings for patients about the radiation levels to which the tests expose them. More »
(20 buckz)
FDIC Seizes 4 More Banks
By Ben Popken on November 9, 2010 5:00 PM
43 Comments
The FDIC seized four more banks on Friday. That brings the total number for 2010 to 143, the most in a year since the S&L fiasco back in the 80's. Here's who went down: More »
(jayRaz)
Fed Clamps Down On Credit Card Loopholes
By Ben Popken on November 5, 2010 1:00 PM
41 Comments
To shut down "fee harvesters" and other crafty tricks credit cards cooked up to escape the CARD act, the Federal Reserve has proposed three ways to tighten and clarify the rules. More »
Jury Slaps File Sharer With $1.5 Million Penalty Over 24 Songs
By Chris Morran on November 4, 2010 3:27 PM
137 Comments
The third time was not the charm for Jamie Thomas-Rasset, who has spent the last several years wrapped up legal wranglings with the Recording Industry Association of America over 24 songs she downloaded through Kazaa back when people still used Kazaa. The latest development — a jury in her third trial has found her liable for $1.5 million ($62,500/song) in damages to Capitol Records. More »
Lawsuit: Apple's New Operating System Intentionally Slowed Older iPhones
By Phil Villarreal on November 4, 2010 9:45 AM
189 Comments
Some iPhone owners say Apple's iOS 4 tossed some sand in the gears of their older iPhones, and at least one angry customer thinks it was all part of Apple's plan to make iPhone owners sour on their devices and upgrade to the iPhone 4. More »
Dodgers Forget They Left Brooklyn In 1957, File Complaint Against Brooklyn Burger Over Logo
By Chris Morran on November 3, 2010 4:20 PM
70 Comments
Fifty-three years ago, the Dodgers told the borough of Brooklyn to shove it up its nose with a rubber hose and lit out for the warmer climes of Los Angeles. Now they've returned — well, at least their lawyers have — to file a trademark infringement complaint against a local burger company for daring to use a similar font and the word "Brooklyn." More »
(bradym80)
Fed Announces It Will Buy $600B In Treasuries
By Ben Popken on November 3, 2010 4:00 PM
45 Comments
Today the Fed announces it will buy back $600 billion in Treasuries, a nuanced effort that aims to stimulate the economy by lowering interest rates. More »
(martyz)
A Nightclub Security Guard Tased Me -- What Should I Do?
By Phil Villarreal on November 2, 2010 3:30 PM
194 Comments
C, who is in the military, says a Taser-happy security guard hunted him down in the parking lot of a North Carolina nightclub, giving him a 50,000 volt "move along" message, and now he's weighing his options as to how to proceed. More »
NASA Wants To Send Robot To Moon
By Phil Villarreal on November 2, 2010 9:15 AM
78 Comments
Money is tight in the federal government, so the Obama administration nixed a proposed $150 billion manned NASA flight back to the Moon. The backup plan: A robot who's willing to make the trip for $450 million. More »
Read This News Site And They Will Hunt You Down And Sue You
By Laura Northrup on October 29, 2010 10:30 AM
116 Comments
The North Country Gazette, an online-only publication based in Chestertown, NY, wants you to know that reading their site without a subscription is serious business. How serious? Well, if you read more than one page on the site without a subscription, the site owner claims that she will use your IP address to track you down and sue you. More »
Mom Kills Baby For Interrupting Farmville Session
By Phil Villarreal on October 29, 2010 9:15 AM
144 Comments
Parenting and computer game obsessions don't mix. News of unspeakably sad proof of this came from Jacksonville, where a mother has pleaded guilty to murdering her baby, who wouldn't stop crying as she played Farmville. More »
NY DMV Doesn't Believe I Already Paid Fee, Wants More Money
By Laura Northrup on October 28, 2010 9:00 AM
47 Comments
New York's Department of Motor Vehicles doesn't believe that Danjalier already paid the fees to have his driver's license un-suspended. Never mind that he used a credit card, the charge from the DMV posted to his credit card, and the credit card company (American Express) tried to convince the DMV that yes, Danjalier had in fact already paid them. More »
Family Claims Comcast Let Grandma Bleed To Death On Thanksgiving
By Laura Northrup on October 28, 2010 8:00 AM
152 Comments
What happens when you have phone service through Comcast and you dial 0 for the operator in an emergency? A family in Florida claims that Comcast's negligence killed their grandmother. The elderly woman bled to death next to her phone while waiting for the Comcast operator and emergency services to figure out where she lived. Now they're suing Comcast. More »
Conan Dares NBC To Sue Him Over Masturbating Bear
By Chris Morran on October 27, 2010 3:30 PM
57 Comments
It's always tricky when a popular talk show host changes networks and tries to bring some of his associated gags and characters along with them. That's the situation facing Conan O'Brien as he preps to launch his new TBS show and expects the suits at his former network NBC to have some complaints. More »
Elderly Man Beaten To Death While Trying To Sell Comics Collection
By Phil Villarreal on October 21, 2010 2:30 PM
53 Comments
A 77-year-old man decided to cash out his comic book collection and peddled it around Upstate New York. Police say thugs who found out he had the collection broke into his home, took the comic books and beat the man, allegedly causing a heart attack that resulted in his death. More »
Burlington Coat Factory Pays $10 Million To Fendi Over Memory Lapse
By Chris Morran on October 21, 2010 1:45 PM
26 Comments
In the 1980s, discount retailer Burlington Coat Factory — where all the cool kids got their two-toned jeans when I was in middle school — got snagged selling faux Fendi bags. As part of its settlement with the Italian luxury brand, the Factory agreed to never sell anything with the Fendi name again without the label's permission. Unfortunately, someone forgot about that agreement and now Burlington has to pony up $10 million to Fendi. More »
Fox Blacked Out Hulu For Cablevision Subscribers
By Ben Popken on October 20, 2010 11:00 AM
80 Comments
A small skirmish in the pissing match between Fox and Cablevision could have major repercussions. More »
Man Eats 10 Cans Of Tuna Weekly For 2 Years, Gets Mercury Poisoning, Sues
By Phil Villarreal on October 20, 2010 9:15 AM
149 Comments
Mercury poisoning does not only afflict egotistical actors trying to get out of Speed-the-Plow performances, but New York men who devour 10 cans of tuna every week for two years. And the latter variety may decide to sue tuna makers for their troubles. More »
6 Nasty Things The FDA Found At Facility Behind Recalled Eggs
By Chris Morran on October 19, 2010 4:30 PM
60 Comments
The FDA has released the warning letter it recently sent to Quality Egg, one of the facilities behind the massive egg recall in August. And while some things are redacted — mostly details from Quality's plan to get back up to snuff — the letter contains more than its fair share of stomach-churning imagery. More »
Justice Dept. Goes After Blue Cross Blue Shield Of Michigan
By Chris Morran on October 18, 2010 1:46 PM
31 Comments
Crimefighters at the Justice Department put on their antitrust capes today, filing a lawsuit against Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan. The DOJ alleges the insurance company violated antitrust laws by asking hospitals to sign contracts that precluded other insurers from offering a better discount. More »
Bureaucrats Abuse Gov Databases, Snoop On Neighbors And Lindsay Lohan
By Ben Popken on October 15, 2010 2:00 PM
25 Comments
Low-ranking government apparatchiks are wasting taxpayer dollars and violating our trust by exploiting their access to massive government databases to look up private information on their neighbors and ex-spouses, and "doc gawk" on celebrities like Lindsay Lohan, Matt Damon, James Taylor, and Tom Brady. More »
Biggest Medicare Fraud Scam Ever Busted
By Ben Popken on October 14, 2010 10:00 AM
51 Comments
Authorities busted a ring of reputed Armenian gangsters who they allege perpetrated the most ginormous Medicare fraud of all time, racking up $163 million in fake claims. More »
Celeb Chef Mario Batali Sued Over Tips By Staff At Yet Another Restaurant
By Chris Morran on October 13, 2010 3:20 PM
34 Comments
Back in July, pony-tailed celeb chef Mario Batali found himself the subject of a lawsuit filed by workers at five of his NYC area restaurants for allegedly withholding credit card tips from the staff. Absent from that litigation were employees at Batali's flagship eatery Del Posto... until yesterday when 27 members of that restaurant's staff sued, claiming they weren't paid a legal wage. More »
Fed Might Buy $500B In Treasuries
By Ben Popken on October 13, 2010 11:00 AM
20 Comments
The Fed sent out signals that it could be making a major new move as soon, which experts think could take the form of buying back up to $500 billion in Treasury Bonds. They could decide as soon as their next meeting on November 2nd, which also happens to be Election Day. More »
Why Won't My Town Let Me Worry About My Own Crap?
By Laura Northrup on October 13, 2010 9:30 AM
102 Comments
Terri writes that when the homes in her neighborhood were built more than 60 years ago, they were built with septic tanks instead of being part of a municipal sewer system. Instead of maintaining their own tanks, some residents want to be part of the sewer system, and the neighborhood is about to become one with the sewer system. Terri wonders: what can she do to stop this? She'd welcome input from any readers who have had similar experiences. More »
FCC Doesn't Want You Spending Too Much On Your Mobile Plan
By Chris Morran on October 13, 2010 8:45 AM
73 Comments
Last week, we asked you what annoyed you most about your mobile phone plan, and most of you picked "cost." Now comes news that the Federal Communications Commission is going to review new proposals intended to keep you from spending more on your phone bill than you'd planned. More »
Seattle Residents Will Soon Be Able To Opt Out Of Getting Yellow Pages
By Chris Morran on October 12, 2010 12:25 PM
52 Comments
Back in May, we asked readers if they still used the White Pages and an overwhelming 87% of you said no. Soon, those of you in Seattle who no longer use the phone book will be able to opt out of receiving the annual doorstop. More »
(kostia)
Landlord Tells Apartment Tenant She Can't Display Flag
By Phil Villarreal on October 11, 2010 9:45 AM
321 Comments
A Nebraska landlord told a tenant the American flag she's hanging outside her window has to come down, but she's not budging. More »
Geithner: TARP Will Cost Taxpayers Under $50 Billion
October 8, 2010 3:00 PM
62 Comments
As the Troubled Asset Relief Program winds down, post-mortems for the program are rolling in. According to Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, the bailout effort — which was launched by former President George W. Bush in 2008 and officially ended last month — will end up costing taxpayers a mere $50 billion, rather than the $350 billion that the Congressional Budget Office pegged it at last year. More »
McDonald's, 29 Other Firms Don't Have To Play By Government Health Care Rules
By Phil Villarreal on October 8, 2010 9:45 AM
111 Comments
It seems snippy threats can get you places. After McDonald's threatened to drop health coverage for 30,000 workers unless the government granted it an exemption from a mandate to spend 80 to 85 percent of premiums on benefits, the Department of Health and Human Services granted a waiver to the company and 29 others. More »
(Amazon)
Use Public Domain Spaceman Pic As Album Cover, Get Sued
By Phil Villarreal on October 7, 2010 9:45 AM
103 Comments
In what could be a frivolous lawsuit that goes nowhere, but may make musical artists a little gun shy about pictures they co-opt onto album covers, a former NASA astronaut is suing Dido over her use of an iconic 1984 photo of him doing his spaceman thing for her album Safe Trip Home. More »
New York City Tries To Stop People From Using Food Stamps On Soda
By Phil Villarreal on October 7, 2010 9:15 AM
450 Comments
New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg doesn't want people getting fat off of government aid, so he's trying to make soda and other sugary drinks ineligible for Food Stamp purchases. More »
Elderly Woman Evicted From Home Due To Deed Mix-Up
By Laura Northrup on October 7, 2010 9:00 AM
48 Comments
An elderly woman in Kansas City was forced out of her longtime home this week because of a deed mixup. No, Bank of America didn't foreclose on her by mistake. Why are her belongings on the lawn? The situation dates back to 1998, when her friend and roommate, the owner of the house, died without properly transferring the deed. A probate battle ensued. Now a real estate company owns the house, and has offered to sell it for $60,000. They paid $13,000 at auction. More »
(eyetwist)
FTC Squashes Payday Site For Putting $54.95 Charge For Empty Debit Card In Fine Print
By Ben Popken on October 6, 2010 3:00 PM
19 Comments
You're broke. How would you like a $54.95 debit card? It's empty, but if you ever do get any money, you can put up to $2,500 on it. Yay. If that doesn't sound like a bargain, it's no wonder that one internet marketer of payday loan referral sites was hiding the fact that he was signing you up for these dodo cards via a pre-checked checkbox on the signup form, and the FTC smacked him down for it. More »
(C.Barr)
Unimpressed With Half-Baked Concession, Military Bases Still Won't Sell Medal Of Honor Game
By Phil Villarreal on October 6, 2010 1:30 PM
52 Comments
Despite efforts by Electronic Arts to make Medal of Honor more palatable to military members and their families, bases still won't sell the game when it releases next week. The game formerly allowed online gamers to play as Taliban members, but EA backed down to pressure and changed the squads' names to "Opposing Force." More »
(msmail)
Hackers Infiltrate D.C. E-Voting System, Force Testing Delays
By Phil Villarreal on October 6, 2010 9:15 AM
30 Comments
While testing out its electronic vote-by-mail program for overseas voters, the District of Columbia invited hackers to do their worst to break into the system. The programming geeks answered with decisive force, with someone making the site play the University of Michigan's fight song after a test subject submitted the ballot. D.C. officials suspended testing before patching things up and getting back online. More »
(Kelish)
Governator Legally Furloughed The Hell Out Of California State Workers, Court Says
By Phil Villarreal on October 5, 2010 9:45 AM
56 Comments
Since Skynet and Rekall couldn't thwart Arnold Schwarzenegger, California government employees probably knew they were in for a beatdown when they sued the governor. They contended he lacked authority to force them to take 46 unpaid days off between February 2009 and June 2010. More »
Motor Vehicles Bureau Gets Your Birthday Wrong, Makes You Pay
October 4, 2010 4:45 PM
56 Comments
A Cleveland driver paid to register his van and truck the day before his birthday, but got stuck with late fees because the Bureau of Motor Vehicles office insisted his birthday was three weeks earlier. The clerk's response when the man produced a driver's license with his correct birthday? Sorry; we can't update the computer record or refund the penalty. More »
Chippendales Fail At Trademarking Dancers' Outfits
By Chris Morran on October 4, 2010 11:15 AM
17 Comments
We don't know about you, but the first think we think of when someone says "Chippendales Dancers," is Chris Farley in nothing but a bow tie, shirt cuffs and spandex pants. And yet, according to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, that isn't enough to trademark male revue's signature outfits. More »
Senate Passes Bill Banning Loud Commercials
By Ben Popken on October 1, 2010 11:00 AM
115 Comments
Everyone hates loud commercials, which is why Senate Republicans and Democracts were able to agree on something and Wednesday unanimously passed a bill banning them. The bill would require commercials to be broadcast at the same sound level as the programs they're interrupting. More »
Bad News Cal Bears Ditch Baseball, Rugby, Two Other Sports
By Phil Villarreal on September 29, 2010 9:15 AM
26 Comments
If you happen to be a fan of the Cal-Berkeley baseball team, enjoy this baseball season, because in all likelihood it's the team's last. More »
Tell The FCC To Nix The NBC Comcast Deal
By Ben Popken on September 28, 2010 2:00 PM
62 Comments
If you don't want Comcast to own NBC, you can use this handy dandy online petition Consumers Union put together for you to tell the FCC. As the agency continue to mull over the deal, perhaps your opinion may help sway theirs. But why might Kabletown owning the peacock be bad for consumers? More »
Al Franken Wants To Put An End To Abuse By Debt Collectors
By Chris Morran on September 28, 2010 1:31 PM
185 Comments
A few months after Minnesota Senator Al Franken convinced the FTC to look into the practice of debt collectors having arrest warrants issued for people with less than $100 in debt, the former SNL star announced that he will be introducing legislation to put an end to some of the collection industry's more abusive practices. More »
Do We Need A Little Inflation To Get The Economy Moving?
By Ben Popken on September 28, 2010 11:00 AM
104 Comments
Inflation is good, at the right time, and in moderate amounts. Like adding just a smidge during a recession when there's a lot of people in debt. Knowing that prices will rise, some consumers and businesses are prodded to crack open their pocketbooks. The value of debts drop, easing the burden on strapped borrowers. Having used up a lot of options already, the Fed could slightly raise its inflation target and let prices slowly rise over the next few years, but they're unlikely to announce anything remotely close to that in their meeting this week. Namely because people really really really hate inflation. Why is that? More »
(dmuth)
Maryland Judge Says It's OK To Record Traffic Stops
By Phil Villarreal on September 28, 2010 9:45 AM
128 Comments
A Maryland motorcycle rider who recorded his confrontation with a traffic cop had the right to do so, a county judge ruled. More »
Idaho Man Arrested For Taking Upskirt Pics At Walmart
By Phil Villarreal on September 28, 2010 9:15 AM
71 Comments
Boise, Idaho police arrested a man for "video voyeurism" at Walmart. His offense was cruising the aisles and snapping shots under women's skirts. More »
FTC Says POM Wonderful Not So Great
By Chris Walters on September 28, 2010 8:00 AM
34 Comments
The FTC wants to see some proof that the pomegranate ingredients in POM Wonderful's products can actually treat heart disease, prostate cancer, and erectile dysfunction, which is what the company says in marketing and packaging materials. More »
(icodowd)
NY Bar Rules It's Ethical For Lawyers To Scour Facebook For Damaging Info
By Ben Popken on September 27, 2010 10:00 AM
53 Comments
The New York Bar Association has decreed that it's okay for lawyers to troll through Facebook and other social media sites for damaging info on their opposition. There is an important caveat, though. It's only ethical if the info is publicly available. "Friending" someone for the purpose of accessing data the person only makes available to their "friends" is not kosher, nor is it cool to ask someone else to do it for you. More »
Scottrade Won't Accept My Weird Foreign Marriage Certificate
By Laura Northrup on September 24, 2010 11:30 AM
83 Comments
Kim tells Consumerist that while she lives in the United States, she got married in the Cayman Islands. That sounds very beautiful and romantic and all, but she wondered: would she have problems with the handwritten marriage certificate when she returned home and needed to change her last name? Nope. No private or government institutions had any trouble with the handwritten certificate...except Scottrade. Apparently, online brokerages are stricter about name changes than the U.S. State Department. Who knew? More »
So You Think You're A Filmmaker? Enter Consumers Union's New Video Contest
September 24, 2010 10:15 AM
20 Comments
In an effort to both educate younger people about health care reform and engender the creative spirit in our readers, Consumers Union has announced its So You Think You're Invincible? video contest. More »
Webloyalty Settles With NY AG For $5.2 Mil
By Ben Popken on September 24, 2010 10:00 AM
21 Comments
Online "marketing" company Webloyalty has settled with the New York AG for $5.2 mil. You know how when you buy movie tickets and at the end it says, "You won a free $10 gift certificate!" And then if you read the small print it says that if you accept the gift certificate you get signed up for a discount club that charges a monthly fee? Yeah, that was their game. More »
FDA Puts Controversial Diabetes Drug Avandia On Near Lockdown
By Phil Villarreal on September 24, 2010 9:15 AM
6 Comments
Warning that the diabetes medication Avandia increases patients' risk of heart problems and strokes, the Food and Drug Administration threw a set of cuffs on the drug. It will still be available, but only as a last resort for those who go through several other methods of battling the disease. More »
North Dakota Court Says Bank Can Rob Customer Of $12K In Overdraft Fees
By Phil Villarreal on September 23, 2010 2:30 PM
55 Comments
If you live in North Dakota and find yourself buried in overdraft fees, don't go crying to the state's Supreme Court. Judges ruled that a bank was within its rights to stick a hog farmer with $12,000 in overdraft charges. More »
(teksmith)
Pro-Playoff Groups Blitz Bowl Championship Series With Corruption Allegations
By Phil Villarreal on September 23, 2010 9:15 AM
32 Comments
Most college football fans agree that the method the NCAA decides who gets to play for its football championship is competitively abhorrent, and now a political action committee is claiming that the system is buried in financial malfeasance as well. More »
(eviloars)
Mugging Alarms On ATMs Are Expensive And Useless
By Ben Popken on September 22, 2010 12:00 PM
50 Comments
Anti-robbery systems at ATMs, like an alarm button button or a PIN code used to alert police you're getting mugged, are rarely installed on the cash disgorgers, and with good reason. More »
(afagen)
FDA Won't Require 'Genetically Modified' Label On Salmon
By Phil Villarreal on September 21, 2010 3:30 PM
166 Comments
If you're curious about whether the food you're munching on is the product of gene-splicing scientists, don't expect the Food and Drug Administration to allay those fears. More »
(stirwise)
Nintendo To Fansites: Don't Advertise Our Games For Free (Updated)
By Phil Villarreal on September 21, 2010 9:15 AM
53 Comments
Nintendo's legal team is on a quest to stop Pokémon fan sites from posting screenshots from its games. More »
Feds Tell Reporter It's Illegal To Build Sand Castles in Florida
By Phil Villarreal on September 20, 2010 1:30 PM
70 Comments
A journalist who was searching the Florida Gulf Islands National Seashore for signs of oil pollution got a silly reason to go home from federal agents. A U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service representative told the WEAR ABC 3 Pensacola reporter, who was using a shovel to dig through the sand, that he needed to produce a permit that said he could do so. Soon after, a National Parks Service rep told the reporter the same thing. More »
Restaurant Makes The Best Out Of Health Department Ding
By Phil Villarreal on September 20, 2010 9:45 AM
39 Comments
A Midtown Manhattan sandwich shop got less than stellar marks from the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene decided to integrate its 'B' grade into some inaccurate, possibly ironic advertising. More »
What's On Warren's Mind? Check Her Old Blog
By Ben Popken on September 17, 2010 10:00 AM
21 Comments
If you're looking for insight into what's going on inside the mind of Elizabeth Warren, check out her blog. Before she became the new special adviser to President Obama, and probably the first director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau she designed, she was blogging on CreditSlips, a group blog by several academics on consumer credit, bankruptcy, mortgages, and the like. WSJ's Mary Pilon rounds up some of her notable posts, like her final one, entitled, "Bullshit — Professionally Speaking," on the subject of deceptive contract language. More »
Elizabeth Warren Outlines Her Vision For Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
By Chris Morran on September 17, 2010 7:00 AM
16 Comments
Hours after it was announced that Harvard law professor Elizabeth Warren would be named a special advisor to President Obama in the creation of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, she took to the White House blog to share the broad strokes about the new agency. More »
Elizabeth Warren Named Special Advisor To President
By Chris Morran on September 16, 2010 3:47 PM
34 Comments
The Consumer Financial Protection Agency has gotten one step closer to a reality, with Harvard law professor Elizabeth Warren being named a special advisor to President Obama, focusing on the agency's creation. More »
IHOP Sues IHOP Over IHOP Trademark
By Chris Morran on September 15, 2010 5:15 PM
132 Comments
It's a battle of biblical proportions as one IHOP — better known as the International House of Pancakes — fights another IHOP — the International House of Prayer — over the use of those four famous letters. More »
Warren To Snag CFPA Directorship?
By Ben Popken on September 15, 2010 10:00 AM
21 Comments
Elizabeth Warren is a lock for CFPA director, a White House aide tells Slate. More »
The George Lucas Death Star Tries To Obliterate My Startup
By Phil Villarreal on September 14, 2010 3:30 PM
150 Comments
Matt says George Lucas' lawyers are sending Storm Troopers after him for using the word "droid" in the title of his startup, Addroid. He has precious few days to coordinate his Rebel Alliance defense and sent out a hologram (OK, an email) saying "Help me, Consumerists. You're my only hope!" More »
Nobody Actually Reads Terms Of Service
By Ben Popken on September 14, 2010 3:00 PM
55 Comments
Let's be honest. More »
Law Enforcement Group: Legalize Pot So Cops Have Time To Fight Real Crime
By Chris Morran on September 14, 2010 10:15 AM
137 Comments
In November, California voters will have their say on Proposition 19, which would make it legal to grow, possess and use up to an ounce of marijuana for personal use. And as that decision day draws near, a group of law enforcement insiders has come out in support of the proposition, saying it would free up the police to focus its efforts on more serious crimes. More »
Global Regulators Back New Bank Rules To Avert Future Meltdowns
By Ben Popken on September 13, 2010 12:00 PM
34 Comments
Banks must triple the amount of cash they keep on reserve under a new set of guidelines backed by a global group of regulators this Sunday. With a more generous than expected deadline for the rules to take effect, financial stocks perked up on the news. More »
(jayRaz)
Homeland Security Wants To Look Deep Into Your Eyes... To Scan Them For Their Records
By Chris Morran on September 13, 2010 10:15 AM
33 Comments
Screw fingerprints. That's so 2009. That's the attitude the Homeland Security Dept. is taking in Mexico, where it will be testing out a new iris-scanning technology that it claims is faster than old-fashioned fingerprinting. More »
(sfxeric)
Guy Hassled For Refusing To Answer Custom Cops' Questions Responds To 700 Of Yours
By Ben Popken on September 13, 2010 10:00 AM
213 Comments
The American traveler who wouldn't answer the questions of the passport control officer upon re-entry to these shores beyond the legally required minimum has posted a 10-point response to the over seven-hundred comments his story received. Long-story short: "The only absolute and unqualified right of citizenship is to residence within the territorial boundaries of the United States; a citizen cannot be either deported or denied reentry." U.S. v. Valentine. More »
Florida City Fines People For Parking Car In Driveway Without Plate
By Phil Villarreal on September 13, 2010 9:45 AM
117 Comments
If you own a junk car without plates, it's a good idea to keep it hidden away, especially if you live in North Port, Fla., which tends to stick violators for thousands of dollars in fees. More »
Burglary Ring Scoped Facebook Statuses For Targets
By Phil Villarreal on September 13, 2010 9:15 AM
37 Comments
Even though your friends may be bored with your copious Facebook posts, there is a certain group that is very interested in your lame airport terminal observations and vacation photos. That group would be thieves. More »
(hoyasmeg)
Guy Won't Answer Customs Cops' Questions Because He Doesn't Have To. Hilarity Ensues.
By Ben Popken on September 10, 2010 3:00 PM
396 Comments
If you love our recurring posts about people who won't comply with stores demanding to see their receipts, you'll go Lady GaGa over the American citizen who refuses to answer customs cops' questions beyond the legally required bare minimum. More »
DMV Doesn't Tell Me I Owe Money, Charges $80 In Late Fees
By Phil Villarreal on September 10, 2010 2:30 PM
103 Comments
Mark writes in with a nightmarish tale of government bureaucracy costing him ever-expanding late fees by failing to inform him he owed money, then making him wait several weeks to set up a meeting and apply to appeal. More »
FDA Fuming Over E-Cigarettes
By Chris Morran on September 10, 2010 1:15 PM
59 Comments
It's been a busy week of letter-writing for the FDA. First, they sent out miffed missives to Canada Dry and Lipton over their questionable claims about their green tea drinks. Now the regulators are going after five manufacturers of electronic cigarettes for what the FDA alleges are illegal marketing tactics. More »
Zero Witnesses Back Slater's Story
By Ben Popken on September 9, 2010 4:00 PM
50 Comments
Authorities have interviewed every single passenger that was on Steven Slater's last flight, and not a single one says events went down the way he's been describing them, according to a Port Authority police official. More »
Man Sues Whole Foods Over Exploding Green Tea
By Phil Villarreal on September 9, 2010 10:15 AM
72 Comments
Some people drink tea to put a little spark into their day, but a Nashville man got explosions instead. He's suing Starbucks and Whole Foods after bottles of Tazo green tea exploded twice in his possession. One time the bottle shattered in his hand, and another it blew up in his shopping cart. On one of the occasions, shards of glass damaged tendons in his hand that required two surgeries. More »
FDA Warns Canada Dry, Lipton Against Making Health Claims On Green Tea Drinks
By Chris Morran on September 8, 2010 12:15 PM
23 Comments
Canada Dry and Lipton have been yellow-carded by referees at at Food and Drug Administration, who have warned the beverage makers of making unauthorized nutrient claims on their green tea drinks. More »
(CDC)
Which States Have The Worst Smoker's Breath?
By Chris Morran on September 8, 2010 11:15 AM
69 Comments
In spite of all the ads with coroners squeezing fat out of a smoker's diseased heart and all the taxes levied on tobacco products, the percentage of adults who smoke on a regular basis has held steady at just over 20% for the last five years, says a new report from the Centers for Disease Control. But that percentage can vary wildly depending on location, education, race and gender. More »
Airport Body Scanners May Replace Your Naked Body With A Generic Avatar, Eventually
By Chris Walters on September 8, 2010 10:30 AM
35 Comments
Bloomberg reports that one of the big companies behind airport full-body scanners has released a software update that replaces your misshapen nakedness with a generically proportioned, nondescript avatar. The software then indicates on the avatar where you should be searched. More »
Restaurant Owner Admits To Hiring Undocumented Workers, Pleads 'Not Guilty' To Doing So
By Phil Villarreal on September 8, 2010 10:00 AM
128 Comments
Along with hotels, the food preparation industry may be the sector that relies the most on undocumented workers. A White House crackdown on employers of such workers has been in effect since April of last year is putting increased pressure and heightened consequences — including tighter scrutiny increased fines — for business owners who take the risk of hiring such workers. A San Diego restaurant owner is going all in to fight the regulation. He has been indicted by a federal grand jury for hiring illegal immigrants, but has entered a not guilty plea and kept the workers in question on the staff. More »
Your Saggy Pants Are Not Welcome In Dublin, Georgia
By Chris Morran on September 7, 2010 3:45 PM
123 Comments
Even though other municipalities have tried — and failed — to enact laws regulating the bagginess and sagginess of their citizens' trousers, the mayor of Dublin, GA, is moving forward with his plan to sign an ordinance that would fine violators up to $200 for low-riding pants. More »
Minnesota County Doesn't Want Employees To Even Have Option Of Watching Hotel Porn
By Chris Morran on September 7, 2010 12:15 PM
83 Comments
The notion of business travelers being forbidden from purchasing X-rated pay-per-view isn't anything new. The erotic offerings are — so we hear — more expensive than other titles and very few employers want to foot the bill for them. But Winona County, MN, doesn't just want to tell municipal employees not to order hotel porn; they don't even want them staying at hotels that offer smutty selections. More »
(mrbill)
The Craziest Homeowners Association Bylaws
By Phil Villarreal on September 7, 2010 9:45 AM
214 Comments
Deep inside, most homeowners despise their homeowners associations for their arbitrary rules and uncanny ability to send out nasty letters for the tiniest violations. More »
(blue_j)
Would You Pay $25 For The Right To Speed?
By Phil Villarreal on September 6, 2010 1:30 PM
173 Comments
Maybe someday you'll slam your foot on the gas pedal to see how fast that Ford Ranger can really go and you'll catch the sirens in your rear-view mirror, only to wave off the patrol car and resume going way too fast just for the fun of it. More »
(I Am Rob)
Court Rejects Lawsuit Against Ladies Nights
By Chris Walters on September 6, 2010 8:00 AM
146 Comments
Last week, the Second Circuit Court of Appeals rejected a New York lawyer's claims that "ladies nights" at bars were unconstitutional because they forced men to pay more. The lawyer says he's going to appeal to the Supreme Court, but he admitted to the New York Daily News that the odds the court will agree to hear his case are "about the same as some pretty young lady paying my way on a date." More »
(S.L.M.)
Business Credit Cards Not Protected By CARD Act
By Ben Popken on September 3, 2010 10:00 AM
16 Comments
Sorry, small businesses, the much ballyhooed protections of the CARD Act do not cover your credit cards. Only consumer credit cards get safeguarded against the most punitive of the old interest rate and fee policies. No wonder credit card solicitations to small business owners have increased 256%, vs 29% for consumer credit cards - they're more profitable now. More »
The Continent's Most Notorious Speed Traps
By Phil Villarreal on September 3, 2010 8:30 AM
130 Comments
Some cities have garnered a reputation for employing guerrilla methods to snag speeding motorists. Speed traps help keep drivers honest. But more importantly for the municipalities, they keep the money flowing. More »
DC Comics Goes Batty, Fights BBQ Restaurant Over Trademark
By Chris Morran on September 2, 2010 11:15 AM
87 Comments
Had the owner's of BATS BBQ in Rock Hill, SC, not attempted to file a trademark application for their logo (see image to the left), they probably wouldn't have drawn the attention of lawyers for DC Comics, who say the bat icon used in the logo is a little too similar to one of the many Batman logos they have already trademarked. More »
(Jay Adan)
You Can Get Unemployment Payments On A Debit Card That No One Accepts
By Laura Northrup on September 2, 2010 9:00 AM
63 Comments
Many states no longer issue unemployment checks. You can receive your payments through direct deposit, or using a Visa or Mastercard-branded debit card. That's the state of affairs in Pennsylvania, where reader Sam lives. He tells Consumerist that this method would be less of a racket for banks and more useful for people on unemployment if there were any places other than fee-happy ATMs that actually accepted the darn things. More »
California Decides Not To Ban Plastic Bags
By Ben Popken on September 1, 2010 5:00 PM
119 Comments
California lawmakers rejected a proposed statewide ban on plastic bags late Tuesday. More »
Court Orders Bally To Send Refunds To 1,000 Texans
By Phil Villarreal on September 1, 2010 3:30 PM
19 Comments
The Texas attorney general has advised Bally Total Fitness to send refunds to 1,000 customers it bombarded with false invoices, the Dallas Morning News reports. More »
(Marike79)
AirTran Fined $500,000 For Lousy Wheelchair Service
By Chris Walters on August 31, 2010 11:30 AM
46 Comments
The Transportation Department has served AirTran a $500,000 civil penalty for repeated failures to accommodate disabled travelers, reports Associated Press. The airline was also cited for not providing adequate responses to customers who complained, and for not properly filing complaints with the government. The biggest issue, however, was that it doesn't always provide wheelchairs to disabled passengers in a timely manner. AirTran says it's working on implementing a wheelchair tracking system at its hubs. More »
White House Wants To Slap Fuel Efficiency Grades On Vehicles
By Phil Villarreal on August 31, 2010 10:15 AM
107 Comments
By proposing the assigning of letter grades onto cars to rank fuel efficiency, the Obama administration either wants to shame car manufacturers into making their cars more efficient or stop larger vehicles from getting into Ivy League schools. More »
New York Requires Landlords To Tell Tenants Of Bedbug History
By Phil Villarreal on August 31, 2010 9:45 AM
13 Comments
Since New York is being eaten alive by bedbugs, the state government has stepped in to make landlords disclose a one-year history of bedbug infestations at properties to prospective tenants. More »
Calorie Count Rules Coming To Theaters, Airplanes, Convenience Stores, Supermarket Food Courts
By Chris Walters on August 31, 2010 8:00 AM
58 Comments
The FDA says the law that requires restaurant chains with more than 20 locations to post calorie counts also applies to other types of businesses, reports the Wall Street Journal. Specifically, movie theaters, airplanes, trains, food courts in grocery stores, and convenience stores are all considered chains and will soon have to start following the law. The agency hasn't made up its mind yet whether things like salad bars in grocery stores will have to fall in line. The FDA will announce official guidelines in December. More »
Military Radio Messes With Garage Door Opener
By Phil Villarreal on August 30, 2010 9:45 AM
55 Comments
Add this to the list of reasons why you should think twice before moving to Yuma, Ariz., where the thermometer can hit 124 degrees: nearby Marine Corps radio signals can kill your garage door opener. More »
(Ninja M.)
Homeless Illegal Bar Entrepreneur Coughs Up $160, Sentenced To Jail
By Phil Villarreal on August 27, 2010 3:45 PM
58 Comments
If you want to make headlines by breaking into a closed bar and re-opening it on your own without a liquor license, plan on spending 15 days in jail and paying a $160 fine for your fun. More »
(balmes)
American Airlines Hit With Record-Setting $24 Million Fine
By Chris Morran on August 26, 2010 3:26 PM
57 Comments
Back in February, we wrote that American Airlines could be on the hook for up to $20 million over allegations the airlines made thousands of flights in jets containing potentially dangerous wiring. But the FAA went even farther than that figure, announcing today that it plans to fine American $24.2 million, more than double the amount of the previous record fine. More »
(afagen)
Ask President Obama About Health Care Reform
August 26, 2010 12:36 PM
143 Comments
Consumer Reports Health is going to the White House next week, to speak directly with President Obama about health reform, and they want your help. Send in your questions, and they may become part of the interview. More »
New Rule Makes It Easier For Shareholders To Usurp Board Members
By Ben Popken on August 26, 2010 11:00 AM
23 Comments
As of yesterday's 3-2 SEC ruling, the little guy just got a little more power in the boardroom. When shareholders want to nominate people to the board, the company now has to include those names on the regular ballots passed out to everyone before the annual meeting, even if the company doesn't like them. More »
Fire Chief: Most Smoke Alarms Are Useless, Endanger Users
By Phil Villarreal on August 25, 2010 2:30 PM
70 Comments
Fire alarms make you feel safe, but an Albany, Calif. fire chief says it's a false sense of security. Speaking to the San Francisco Chronicle, the chief says most people equip their homes with cheaper ionization alarms, which detect smoke via an electric current and can lead to false alarms (such as reacting to overcooked food) while missing genuine dangers until it's too late. The chief says people should opt for slightly more expensive photoelectric alarms, which use more accurate light beams to alert fire victims. More »
(jm3)
Credit Card Interest Rates Hit 9-Year High. Thanks, CARD Act!
By Ben Popken on August 24, 2010 1:00 PM
98 Comments
Average interest rates have hit a new 9-year high of 14.7%, and we have credit card reform to thank for that. Por-kay? Unable to keep soaking you on the backend with hidden fees, tricks, and traps, issuers now have to push their profit-taking to the fore. More »
Federal Court Rules Recording Your Own Conversations Ok As Long As It's Not For A Crime
By Ben Popken on August 24, 2010 12:00 PM
98 Comments
In a heated dispute over how to handle a woman's estate, the son secretly set his iPhone to record a conversation that happened between him and the other members of his family days before she passed. The stepfather tried to get it tossed out by saying it violated the Wiretap act, but the case was dismissed and also lost on appeal. This has important implications for people who are interested in recording their customer service calls. More »
Seattle Libraries To Close For A Week To Save Money
By Chris Walters on August 23, 2010 11:30 AM
54 Comments
If you live in Seattle, make sure you don't plan any library outings between August 30th and September 6th, when all branches will be closed. As it did last year, the library system is shutting down services and not paying employees for a week to cut about $650,000 from its budget. Fortunately, you'll still be able to access several electronic services that week, including ebook checkout and online databases. More »
Rap Video Pimps Elizabeth Warren For CFPA Head
By Ben Popken on August 20, 2010 2:00 PM
8 Comments
A lot of folks are rooting for the smart, fierce and uncompromising Elizabeth Warren to head up the new Consumer Financial Protection Agency. And now the cowboy rappers have thrown their 10-gallon hats in the ring. More »
Family Drinks Milk Containing Dead Mouse For 3 Days, Sues Walmart
By Chris Morran on August 20, 2010 11:30 AM
127 Comments
I've never tasted milk that contained the corpse of a dead mouse, so I can't say whether or not it would be noticeable, but a couple in Kentucky claim they drank three days' worth of moused-up milk they'd purchased at Sam's Club before ever noticing the rotting rodent inside. Now, as happens in these situations, they have filed a lawsuit. More »
Should Towns Be Able To Block Fast Food Joints From Opening?
By Chris Morran on August 18, 2010 2:15 PM
131 Comments
Last week, we brought you the story of an Illinois town that rejiggered its zoning regulations to keep an upscale tattoo parlor from opening. This drew several jeers from readers for the village council that made the decision. And yet, there are several municipalities around the country that have effectively banned fast food and chain restaurants from opening within town limits, and there's barely a peep from dissenters. More »
(lu_lu)
Your Credit Card APR Might Fall Starting This Sunday
By Ben Popken on August 18, 2010 1:00 PM
45 Comments
Some Americans might be getting a break on their credit card interest rates very soon. More »
Mom Sues NYC Chocolate Shop Over Breastfeeding Argument
By Chris Morran on August 17, 2010 4:15 PM
201 Comments
Bringing together two of our favorite topics — lawsuits and chocolate — a new mom in New York City has filed a lawsuit against the chocolate store she says gave her the boot for attempting to nurse her child. More »
Broadcasters, Labels, Want To Force FM Radio Into Your iStuff
By Phil Villarreal on August 17, 2010 3:30 PM
165 Comments
The National Association of Broadcasters and the Recording Industry Association of America, which have often bickered over royalties rules, have agreed that your iPhone and iPod need to have built-in FM radio capabilities via special microchips and want to push laws to make it happen. More »
Should Seat Belts Be Required On The Bus?
By Chris Morran on August 17, 2010 3:15 PM
60 Comments
Riding the bus is a relatively safe way to get from point A to B, but a new proposal under consideration by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration would seek to make it even safer by requiring new motorcoaches — as opposed to municipal or school buses — to provide seat belts for all passengers on board. More »
FDA Tries To Break Precedent, Pull Unproven Blood Pressure Drug
By Phil Villarreal on August 17, 2010 2:30 PM
63 Comments
The Food and Drug Administration is moving to pull ProAmatine, a blood pressure medication that's been available for 14 years and racked up a quarter billion in sales, because the manufacturer hasn't submitted a follow-up study that proves the drug is effective. More »
(heipei)
Don't Confuse Medical Discount Plans With Health Insurance
By Chris Walters on August 17, 2010 11:30 AM
23 Comments
If you don't have health insurance, you might hear about a medical discount plan and think that it's an affordable alternative, but be careful. Some of the plans being sold don't lower your health care costs at all, and in some cases can even increase them. That's why the the FTC and 24 states have recently filed a total of 54 lawsuits against companies selling medical discount plans to people who don't have health insurance. More »
California Says Some Bouncy Castles Have Too Much Lead In Them
By Chris Walters on August 17, 2010 10:36 AM
59 Comments
California's Attorney General, Jerry Brown, has filed a lawsuit that claims too many inflatable structures used at kids' parties come with high levels of lead in the vinyl—"sometimes dozens of times the federal limit," reports the New York Times. One of the defendants said the lawsuit was a "witch hunt," and warned that it would have a chilling effect on what the Times calls the "bounce-house industry." More »
Acai Berry Company Temporarily Shut Down By FTC Over Billing Practices
By Chris Walters on August 17, 2010 9:00 AM
27 Comments
Last summer, Central Coast Nutraceuticals settled a deceptive practices charge from Arizona's Attorney General by promising to pay $1.4 million in fines. Now the company, which peddles acai berry and colon cleansing products, has been forced to temporarily stop selling or marketing its wonder products completely under an injunction obtained yesterday by the FTC. More »
Pastor Hugs It Out With Protesting Strippers
By Chris Morran on August 16, 2010 2:15 PM
95 Comments
You may remember last week's story of a church in Ohio that was being protested by bikini-clad strippers fed up with being hassled by the pastor and his flock. The tense standoff is now showing signs of detente, with the pastor agreeing to meet with the owner of the strip club. More »
Court Says California Mall Can't Ban Customers From Talking To Each Other
By Chris Walters on August 16, 2010 10:30 AM
131 Comments
The Westfield Galleria in Roseville, California takes the comfort of its patrons seriously—so seriously, in fact, that it wants them to shut up and focus on shopping, or else ask for permission first if they want to talk about any topic that's not mall related. Last week, the state's 3rd District Court of Appeal found that the rule violated the state's constitution, so now mall shoppers can gab as much as they want to each other. More »
(ste3ve)
Woman Says Donald Duck Groped Her
By Chris Walters on August 16, 2010 8:00 AM
65 Comments
Did Disney's eternally overreacting duck mascot put the moves on a woman visiting Epcot Center a couple of years ago? That's what the woman claims happened; in her lawsuit, she says a park employee dressed as Donald Duck grabbed her breast and molested her, "then made gestures making a joke indicating he had done something wrong." She's asking for $50,000. More »
(DerrickT)
Dell Accused Of Cutting And Pasting Text, Withholding Emails, In Defective 11.8 Million PCs Suit
By Ben Popken on August 13, 2010 2:00 PM
32 Comments
Dell is accused of providing altered and incomplete emails from among its top execs, the latest turn in a lawsuit that alleges the computer maker of selling and then covering up 11.8 defective PCs. More »
(Ian H.)
Libertyville, IL, Thinks Your Tattoos Lack Moral Fiber
By Chris Morran on August 13, 2010 1:15 PM
108 Comments
The village board of Libertyville, IL, hears about tattoo parlors and apparently envisions seedy, run-down places that stay open all hours of the night to service beer-swigging bikers and their leather-clad lady friends. And in order to keep this stereotype from being shattered, they recently changed their zoning laws to smash one businessman's dream. More »
(j.buck)
Lowe's Proposes To Settle Sulfur-Spewing Drywall Claims With Piddly Gift Cards
By Ben Popken on August 12, 2010 5:00 PM
54 Comments
Lowe's is proposing to settle in the tainted drywall class action lawsuit with gift cards. The gift cards will be $50, $250, or $2000. Never mind those who entire homes, way of life, and most of their possessions and electronics ruined or contaminated by the sulfur-emitting drywall. Here, how about a discount on a new showerhead? More »
Illinois Sort Of Ends Pre-Employment Credit Checks, But Not Really
By Laura Northrup on August 12, 2010 9:30 AM
68 Comments
Some experts claim that there's no connection between poor credit history and poor job performance. That doesn't stop employers from evaluating applicants based on their credit reports. The governor of Illinois signed a law this week prohibiting employers from hiring on the basis of credit checks...but there are some pretty big exceptions. More »
Gas Company Wants $0.00 Or They'll Send Me To A Collection Agency
By Phil Villarreal on August 11, 2010 2:30 PM
83 Comments
Avi recently went to his mailbox and found a notice from Philadelphia Gas Works warning him that he was going to have his account referred to a collection agency if he didn't pay the $0 past due balance on his bill. More »
(Mike)
Government Program Replaces Mutilated Cash
By Phil Villarreal on August 11, 2010 1:30 PM
35 Comments
Just because your dog mistakes a $100 bill for a chew toy, it doesn't mean you're out the cash. You can just take what's left of your mangled paper and send it to the U.S. Bureau of Engraving and Printing's Mutilated Currency Division, which will issue you a check for the amount you otherwise would have lost. More »
Banks Told To Target Financially Unsavvy For Overdraft Reup
By Ben Popken on August 10, 2010 1:00 PM
46 Comments
Consulting firms are telling banks to hone in on the financially precarious to sign back up for costly overdraft protection that will only further erode their bank account. Here are some quotes from their strategies: More »
Town That Outlaws Pinball Shuts Down Arcade
By Phil Villarreal on August 10, 2010 9:15 AM
44 Comments
As if it's not tough enough for an arcade to make a go of it in 2010, the owner of Beacon, NY's Retro Arcade Museum has to battle town laws that ban pinball. After a year and a half in business, officials shut down the pinball palace. More »
FTC Shuts Down Domain Name Scammers
By Chris Walters on August 10, 2010 8:00 AM
15 Comments
The FTC says a Toronto-based company called Internet Listing Service scammed thousands of U.S. consumers and small businesses by mailing invoices to them demanding payment for unnecessary domain registration services. The company was given a suspended judgment of over $4 million, based on "the total amount of consumer injury" caused, but in reality the people behind the scam have been ordered to pay $10,000 because that's all the money they have left. More »
Public Menace? Las Vegas Wants To Ban Gigantic Hula Hoops
By Meg Marco on August 9, 2010 4:45 PM
23 Comments
We've never been to Las Vegas, but apparently there is a serious problem with giant hula hoops going on. According to AOL, the Las Vegas City Council is considering banning hula hooping on a five-block pedestrian mall called "The Fremont Street Experience." (Warning: link is annoying.) More »
Table Dancers Turn Tables, Show Up To Church To Protest Being Protested
By Chris Morran on August 9, 2010 4:15 PM
119 Comments
The dancers at the Foxhole in Coschocton County, Ohio, are used to arriving at work to the sounds of protests from members of the nearby New Beginnings Ministries church. But the same couldn't quite be said for the churchgoers, who showed up for services on Sunday and were greeted by the sight of bikini-clad protesters. More »
Woman Arrested Over Wet T-Shirt Complaints At Florida Children's Water Park
By Chris Walters on August 9, 2010 10:54 AM
87 Comments
A 36-year-old woman says she's planning on suing the city of Tavares, Florida, because its police force demanded her name for a "database" as she was leaving a children's water park last spring. She'd taken her 7-year-old son there for the third time that season, and on each visit, other parents complained that her wet t-shirt and bra look was offensive. As she was leaving, a police officer demanded her name, and arrested her when she refused. More »
Why Target And Best Buy's Support Of Anti-Gay Bigots Is Going To Change The Way You Shop Forever
By Carey Alexander on August 8, 2010 6:00 PM
271 Comments
Target gave $150,000. Best Buy chipped in $100,000. Companies supporting politicians or their political action committees isn't new. A quarter-million dollars for Minnesota Forward—a group that supports anti-gay rights candidates like Tom Emmer—might seem like a gay rights issue, but it's so much more. It represents the next frontier in consumer activism and a world where every purchase acts as a political statement. Join us inside as we explain. More »
UPDATE: Officials Say Little Kids Don't Need Health Dept. License To Run Lemonade Stand
By Chris Morran on August 6, 2010 1:18 PM
65 Comments
Earlier today, we brought you the tale of a girl in Oregon whose lemonade stand was shut down by health inspectors for lack of proper permits. Realizing the error of their ways, county officials have now issued an apology, meaning the little girl's horribly unsafe lemonade can be unleashed upon the world once more. More »
Government Cracks Down On Little Girl's Lemonade Stand
By Phil Villarreal on August 6, 2010 9:15 AM
125 Comments
UPDATE: The little girl has gotten a reprieve and is allowed to sell her lemonade without a license. More »
(cjc4454)
Sign Up For MSN Internet At Best Buy? You Could Get $75
By Ben Popken on August 5, 2010 1:00 PM
12 Comments
If you signed up for MSN Internet at Best Buy between 1999 and 2004, you could be entitled to up to $75. More »
Courthouse In Florida Has 35,000 Body Scans Of Citizens
By Chris Walters on August 4, 2010 11:30 AM
93 Comments
Like it or not, advanced imaging technology (AIT)—capable of producing highly detailed pics of your naked body—is expanding rapidly throughout U.S. airports. Last month, there were at least 142 AIT units deployed in eleven airports, but by the end of the year that will jump to more than 450 nationwide, spread across at least forty airports (see full list below). The TSA has tried to downplay privacy issues by saying that the units won't save images, but that doesn't mean that they can't. In fact, the U.S. Marshals Service in Florida says they've got over 35,000 AIT scans of people saved. They also say that an AIT unit tested in the Washington, D.C. federal courthouse was sent back to the manufacturer with images still stored on it. More »
(**bc**)
NFL Retirees Blitz EA With Madden Lawsuit
By Phil Villarreal on August 4, 2010 9:15 AM
45 Comments
NFL retirees are unhappy that Electronic Arts used their likenesses and stats in Madden NFL 09 without paying for the rights to do so. The game didn't include the old-timer's names in order to run the end around on licensing fees, the class-action lawsuit alleges. EA also changed the players' numbers for an extra layer of protection. More »
Shoplifter Forgets Baby
By Phil Villarreal on August 3, 2010 3:30 PM
56 Comments
A note to shoplifters: When doing your thing, don't leave behind any item that could incriminate you, such as, say, your 10-month-old infant. More »
Before Suing A Company In Small Claims, Look Up The "Registered Agent"
By Ben Popken on August 3, 2010 11:00 AM
24 Comments
Suing a company in small claims court is fun and easy and oftentimes the company won't even try to fight back. One thing you want to make sure to remember though is to look up the company's "registered agent" in the state where you are filing. If you don't serve this person with notice of the case, it could result in a dismissal. More »
(adrienna)
Motor Home Travelers Attacked In Walmart Parking Lot Sue Company
By Phil Villarreal on August 2, 2010 1:30 PM
139 Comments
Back in 2006, a Florida couple parked an RV in a Utah Walmart and shot and killed an intruder. Now the couple is suing Walmart, saying the company knew the creep was lurking about but didn't alert authorities, the Salt Lake Tribune reports. More »
Strip Clubs Banned From Advertising Jobs At UK Employment Offices
By Chris Morran on August 2, 2010 1:15 PM
20 Comments
Times are tough everywhere. Which means desperate people will consider taking jobs, like stripping or performing nude on a web cam, they wouldn't otherwise have considered. But the government in the UK doesn't want to encourage its citizens to find these types of sexy jobs and has banned a certain class of employers from advertising at tax-funded employment offices. More »
Watch Out For Sneaky New Credit Card Fees
By Marc Perton on August 2, 2010 11:52 AM
63 Comments
Remember the CARD Act, that shiny new law that's supposed to stop credit card issuers from hitting you with all kinds of nasty fees and force them to disclose all of their terms? Well, even if you do, it looks like the card issuers have forgotten all about it. They're working overtime to come up with a raft of new charges on things that aren't covered by the new law, like annual fees and cash advances. More »
(leanne42)
NYC Has Spent $3.3 Million On Food And Booze This Year
By Phil Villarreal on August 2, 2010 9:45 AM
30 Comments
The New York City Mayor's Office took part in its own stimulus program, apparently pumping $18,000 into liquor stores for unexplained booze binges. More »
(nixter)
10 State Taxes That May Be Coming Your Way
By Phil Villarreal on July 30, 2010 2:15 PM
119 Comments
As states scramble to fill coffers, lawmakers are getting creative in dreaming up new ways to tax you. More »
Saggy Pants Legal: Your Constitutional Right To Foolishness Has Been Protected
By Meg Marco on July 29, 2010 2:45 PM
116 Comments
A Bronx judge has ruled that saggy pants are not, in fact, illegal and do not constitute "Disorderly Conduct." The ruling comes in a case where a gentleman was issued a summons because he was wearing "his pants down below his buttocks exposing underwear [and] potentially showing private parts," says Gothamist. More »
Kiddie Viagra Could Earn Patent Extension For Pfizer
By Chris Morran on July 28, 2010 4:44 PM
39 Comments
Viagra for kids? That sounds... well, wrong. But apparently, low doses of the erectile dysfunction drug can help children stricken by a rare lung disorder. It could also earn Pfizer a six-month extension on the patent for its blue-chip brand. More »
Homeowners Association Spends $300,000 In Legal Fees Over A Pick-Up Truck
By Meg Marco on July 28, 2010 12:45 PM
246 Comments
A homeowner in Florida was awarded $187,000 in legal fees from a years-long court battle over the right to park a pick-up truck in his driveway. Now the homeowners association is going to have to pick up the tab for $300,000 in fees. More »
Apple Sued Because iPad Does Not Work "Just Like A Book" As Claimed
By Chris Walters on July 28, 2010 10:30 AM
104 Comments
A new class action suit filed in California takes issue with how the iPad shuts off automatically if it overheats. In particular, however, the suit claims that the marketing phrase "reading on the iPad is just like reading a book" is misleading, and that Apple is therefore engaging in fraud and misleading consumers. This is great news for me, because I was thinking of suing Apple for not providing dustjackets for iBookstore titles but my friends told me I shouldn't. More »
(rogersmj)
The Mystery Of The $100,000 Water Bills
By Chris Morran on July 27, 2010 3:00 PM
97 Comments
Something is amiss with the water in Brockton, MA. No, it doesn't smell or taste funny — it's just costing some of the town's citizens one hell of a lot of money. In fact, some residential customers have been charged as much as $100,000 for one month's worth of H20. More »
(Ninja M.)
A List Of 18 "Free Credit Report" Websites Warned By The FTC
By Meg Marco on July 26, 2010 1:45 PM
17 Comments
The FTC recently amended the Free Credit Reports Rule to require "certain disclosures to help consumers distinguish between ads for free credit reports that often require them to buy credit monitoring or other services." More »
(u2acro)
San Francisco Considers Ban On Almost All Pet Sales
By Chris Morran on July 26, 2010 12:15 PM
122 Comments
A few months ago, in an effort to not contribute to the puppy mills and kitty factories of the world, San Francisco began mulling over the possibility of forbidden canine and feline sales within city limits. But, as happens when the discussion turns to the critters of the world, that ban has now grown to include just about everything you would ever want to even consider having as a pet. More »
(r0bz)
V.A. Okays Medical Marijuana For Veterans In 14 States & D.C.
By Chris Morran on July 26, 2010 11:00 AM
23 Comments
Even though more than a dozen states and Washingon, D.C., continue to square off with the federal government regarding the legality of medical marijuana, the folks at the Veterans Affairs Dept. has decided not to penalize veterans who use the drug in states where its permitted for medicinal use. More »
(Mica_R)
Girl Uses iPod, Facebook To Catch Sex Predator
By Phil Villarreal on July 23, 2010 12:45 PM
97 Comments
A tech-savvy 12-year-old Minnesota girl reported a sexual assault by her mom's ex-boyfriend by using her iPod to contact a friend through Facebook. More »
Are You Ready For The Return Of Bratz Dolls?
By Marc Perton on July 22, 2010 6:53 PM
44 Comments
After a 2008 court ruling found that the creator of the Bratz line of dolls had stolen the idea from Mattel (or rather, from himself, when he was working for Mattel), all Bratz products were supposed to be destroyed, and Mattel had the right to take over the brand and do whatever it wanted with it. A judge put the mass annihilation on hold, and today an appeals court overturned the initial ruling, meaning your local toy store may soon be carrying the next generation of the once-popular dolls. More »
Congress OKs Unemployment Extension
By Chris Morran on July 22, 2010 2:53 PM
83 Comments
The bill to extend and restore unemployment benefits to out of work Americans now only has to make its way to the White House after Congress passed the legislation by a vote of 272 to 152. More »
DOT Calls BS On "Misleading And Premature" Tarmac Delay Study
By Chris Morran on July 21, 2010 3:10 PM
35 Comments
Remember that study from yesterday that said there had been a significant increase in the number of flight cancellations since the DOT enacted new rules limiting the number of hours a plane can sit on the tarmac? Well, it's not sitting with the folks behind the rule, who say it's a bunch of hogwash. More »
Oakland Gives Thumbs-Up To Large-Scale Marijuana Factories, Asks "Are You Gonna Eat That?"
By Chris Morran on July 21, 2010 2:45 PM
67 Comments
While L.A. has been cracking down in a harsh way on medical marijuana dispensaries, its much cooler cousin up north, Oakland, is opening its arms to embrace the demon weed. Yesterday, the Oakland City Council approved an ordinance that could take pot-growing out of your basement and into legitimate commercial factories. More »
Sears Settles Lawsuit Alleging Pricing Fraud
By Phil Villarreal on July 21, 2010 2:30 PM
5 Comments
Sears paid out $1 million to settle a civil lawsuit with six California counties that accused the retailer of charging customers more for products than the advertised prices. More »
Obama Signs Off On Financial Reform Bill
By Chris Morran on July 21, 2010 1:09 PM
65 Comments
After months of debate and compromises that left some members of both parties less than thrilled, President Obama signed the financial reform bill into law this morning, which means that all problems with all banking is fixed forever... right? More »
Illinois Town Wants To Outlaw Eye-Rolling
By Chris Morran on July 21, 2010 11:00 AM
151 Comments
Next time you're in line at the grocery store and you roll your eyes at the person with two carts full of items refusing to leave the 10-items-or-fewer line, you might be in trouble with the law — at least if you live in Elmhurst, Illinois. Officials of the Chicago suburb are looking into finding a way of putting an end to the practice by legal means. More »
Homegrown Currencies Are Popular Right Now, But Do They Work?
By Chris Walters on July 20, 2010 12:30 PM
65 Comments
Remember the Downtown Dollars that Ardmore, PA sold to its citizens this year? Sara Lepro at American Banker looked at that and other "homegrown currency" experiments happening across the country, which are intended to stimulate the local economy and take advantage of "a growing 'localism' movement." More »
More Than 40 Experts Issue Call For More Government Stimulus And Tax Credits
By Chris Walters on July 20, 2010 9:00 AM
106 Comments
Online news site The Daily Beast is apparently tired of this whole "floundering economy" thing, so it got more than a dozen economists and historians to come together and issue a manifesto yesterday calling on the U.S. government to "reboot America." By the end of the day, the number of experts supporting the manifesto increased to more than 40. They argue that the government has to help return lost purchasing power to the unemployed and must use tax cuts and stimulus to boost overall demand, or we'll never make it out of this slump. More »
Consumer Advocate Says Protection Agency Should Be Like Harvard's Elizabeth Warren
Why Elizabeth Warren, you ask? More »
By Marc Perton on July 19, 2010 7:03 PM
19 Comments
Jeff Sovern at Public Citizen has a simple message for the Washington bureaucrats who will soon create the new Consumer Financial Protection Agency: Put Elizabeth Warren in charge and build the agency in her image.Why Elizabeth Warren, you ask? More »
Nestlé Agrees To Stop Promising Boost Kiddie Drink Is Anti-Diarrheal, Pro-Studying
By Chris Walters on July 19, 2010 8:11 AM
18 Comments
Nestlé is the latest company to slap some nutrients (or in this case probiotics) in a product, call it "functional food," and market it to shoppers as a healthy and smart product. Last week, the FTC got the company to agree to stop claiming that its chocolate Boost Kid Essentials—which comes with a straw lined with probiotic bacteria (mmm delicious!)—will do things like protect them from diarrhea and improve school attendance rates. The FTC says the claims aren't substantiated with adequate scientific research. More »
FTC To Take A Closer Look At Debtors Being Thrown In Jail
By Meg Marco on July 16, 2010 3:15 PM
94 Comments
It's not a crime to owe money, and debtors prisons have been abolished — but that doesn't mean that people are not being routinely arrested and put in jail for failing to pay debts. A few weeks ago the Minneapolis Star-Tribune published an investigative piece about arrest warrants being issued for people with less than $100 in debt, many of whom didn't even know that a collector had taken legal action against them. Now, following a letter by Sen. Al Franken (noted hater of the Comcast, NBC merger), the FTC has agreed to look into the issue. More »
TSA App Tells You How Long You Will Have To Stare At Other People's Luggage
By Meg Marco on July 16, 2010 11:15 AM
15 Comments
Wondering how long you'll be standing in the security line, staring at other people's luggage choices? The TSA has an app for you that relies on crowd-sourced data to give you estimated wait times at a variety of airports. More »
Tradition Of Stabby Kohl's Shoplifters Wielding Hypodermic Needles Continues
By Phil Villarreal on July 16, 2010 9:45 AM
29 Comments
In the Official Kohl's Shoplifters' Handbook there is a passage that requires all certified members to pack hypodermic needles to threaten authorities with when caught. More »
Financial Reform Bill Passes Senate, 60-39
By Chris Morran on July 15, 2010 3:52 PM
83 Comments
Two weeks after finally getting through the House of Representatives in a heavily edited form, the financial reform bill was passed by the Senate earlier today by a vote of 60-39. More »
Judge Throws Out $4,000 Fine For Picking Up Free Air-Conditioner
By Chris Morran on July 15, 2010 2:15 PM
75 Comments
Yesterday, we wrote about a New York City woman whose car was impounded and who was fined thousands of dollars after her nephew used her car to — horror of horrors — pick up an abandoned air-conditioner from a city curb. Good news: Both she and her nephew have had the ridiculous fines erased. More »
Parents Television Council F*cking Pissed About Repeal Of FCC Indecency Ban
By Chris Morran on July 14, 2010 3:15 PM
183 Comments
Not surprisingly, in the wake of yesterday's decision by a New York court to scrap the ridiculous FCC rule against on-air profanity, the not-at-all-overprotective folks at the Parents Television Council are raising their hands in the air and asking, "What about the children?" More »
Picking Up Furniture From The Curb Could Cost You Thousands
By Chris Morran on July 14, 2010 1:15 PM
123 Comments
Walking the sidewalks of just about any city — especially one like New York where apartment turnover is at a high level — you're likely to find at least one or two chairs, shelves, mirrors, dressers, etc., that are in passable, if not pristine, condition. But be warned before you go putting that side table in the back of a cab — it could end up costing you a lot of money. More »
BP Took 79 Days To Do Fix Citizen Sent Them On Day 6
By Ben Popken on July 14, 2010 12:00 PM
98 Comments
A reader claims he emailed BP and the White House on April 28th with the very method put into place to seal the gushing oil well on July 10th, and all he ever got back were boilerplate form letter replies. More »
F*ck Yeah! Court Strikes Down FCC Rule Against Unscripted Expletives
By Chris Morran on July 13, 2010 4:15 PM
116 Comments
The next time Bono drops the F-bomb while accepting an award or Janet Jackson's nipple makes a cameo appearance at the Super Bowl, broadcasters won't have to worry about facing mammoth fines from the FCC. A federal appeals court has said "f@ck this sh&t" to the controversial ban. More »
(afagen)
D.C. Metrobus Riders, Make Sure Your Driver Isn't A Teenage Conman
By Phil Villarreal on July 13, 2010 10:15 AM
32 Comments
Bus passengers usually trust that the person behind the wheel is who they say he is, because who would want to wear a uniform and drive around for hours for no pay? You know what they say about those who assume, though. Their bus ends up getting crashed into a tree by a 19-year-old pretending to be a bus driver. More »
Johnson & Johnson Hit With Fraud And Racketeering Lawsuits Over Tylenol Recalls
By Chris Walters on July 12, 2010 11:30 AM
14 Comments
The only thing more certain than stinky Tylenol this year is that there would be a lawsuit from consumers at some point, and now it's happened. Five times, in fact. They've been filed against Johnson & Johnson's McNeil Consumer Healthcare unit and seek class action status, and accuse J&J/McNeil of failing to properly recall the bad drugs and of failing to adequately compensate consumers. More »
Massachusetts AG Shoots Down Town's Bottled Water Ban
By Chris Morran on July 12, 2010 11:15 AM
86 Comments
In an effort to cut down on the number of plastic bottles turning up in its dumps — and streets and parks —- the town of Concord, Mass., voted in April to ban the sale of bottled water in their town. But late last week, the state's Attorney General took a big gulp of her bottle of Evian and said "not so fast." More »
More "Moldy, Musty" Tylenol Recalled
By Marc Perton on July 9, 2010 9:00 AM
10 Comments
That stink coming from your medicine cabinet may just be Tylenol, Motrin or Benadryl, according to the latest recall from Johnson & Johnson. The company is recalling 21 additional lots of drugs, including batches of Tylenol, Children's Tylenol, Benadryl and Motrin. The company says "the risk of adverse medical events is remote." More »
Don't Touch Yourself In The Walmart Electronics Department
By Phil Villarreal on July 8, 2010 2:30 PM
39 Comments
Of all the feelings one gets while walking the aisles of a Walmart, sexual excitement rarely factors into the spectrum. Unless you were the guy in Louisiana Walmart who was arrested for touching himself while gawking at a young boy in the store's electric department. More »
No, The Right To Call And Sell You Stuff Is Not Transferable
By Laura Northrup on July 8, 2010 10:30 AM
49 Comments
Russell wants to know: if a company cold-calls you to sell you things when you're part of the federal Do Not Call registry, and insists that the call is totally legal because they've "partnered with" a company that you do business with, does that make it okay? No. No, it does not. More »
Wall Street Threatens To Get Back At Politicians For Financial Reform
By Phil Villarreal on July 7, 2010 2:30 PM
50 Comments
Bankers are planning to tighten the purse strings when it comes time to donate to political campaigns as a way of letting elected representatives know they're not too happy about the whole financial reform thing. More »
(hjl)
Passport Fees Rising On July 13
By Ben Popken on July 7, 2010 2:00 PM
69 Comments
If you have apply or renew passport on your to-do list, better put it on your "done" list this week if you want to save money. Starting July 13, new higher passport fees go into effect. More »
Jury Punches Nursing Home Company With $671 Million Fist
By Meg Marco on July 7, 2010 11:45 AM
33 Comments
A jury in California has slapped Skilled Healthcare Inc. with $671 million in damages for a four-year-old lawsuit that alleged that company did not provide the required 3.2 nursing hours per day, per patient. More »
Study: American Express Has Most Obtuse Penalty APR Polices
By Ben Popken on July 7, 2010 10:00 AM
32 Comments
If you're gonna get kicked in the pants, wouldn't you at least like to know why? Well, American Express is the least clear in how they communicate their penalty interest rate policies, a new Card Hub survey finds. More »
Woman Sues Movie Theater After Being Arrested For Filming Twilight Scenes
By Chris Walters on July 6, 2010 10:33 AM
154 Comments
A woman who was arrested last November during a screening of whatever Twilight movie was in theaters at the time has filed suit against the movie chain. She says that she only filmed two short sequences, the opening credits and a moment when her "favorite actor" took off his shirt. Wisely, she does not say in her lawsuit whether she's Team Beefcake or Team Emo, or my niece would possibly go ballistic. More »
Internet Sales Tax Bill Introduced Again
By Chris Walters on July 6, 2010 9:30 AM
113 Comments
Last week, Massachusetts Rep. Bill Delahunt introduced a bill called the "Main Street Fairness Act," which is a stupid name for a bill. The text of the bill hasn't been released yet, but if passed, it would presumably set up a process where sales tax could be collected on purchases made over the Internet. As anyone who has shopped online over the past decade is probably aware, this has been an ongoing and thorny issue, since billions in online sales tax would provide a welcome revenue stream for struggling states. More »
(biskuit)
Man Says Yoo-hoo's 'Good For You' Promise Is False Advertising
By Chris Walters on July 6, 2010 8:02 AM
41 Comments
A Brooklyn man is suing the makers of Yoo-hoo, the weird chocolate-flavored drink that's been around for 90 years, over their claims that the drink is as healthy as it is delicious. Although actually, if the company would change its description to "as healthy as it is delicious," they'd probably be able to avoid all lawsuits: "Look, we told you it wasn't healthy." More »
BP Spill Now Spoiling All Gulf States As Tar Balls Hit Texas
By Chris Morran on July 6, 2010 4:27 AM
31 Comments
Congratulations to BP and all the others responsible for the Deepwater Horizon disaster. You've officially managed to screw up every U.S. state along the Gulf of Mexico. Texas had been the only of the five states bordering the greasy body of water to be untainted by the spill, but that changed over the weekend when the first batch of tar balls washed up on the shore of the Lone Star State. More »
Good News, Philly -- Your Rabid Groundhog Is With Satan Now
By Phil Villarreal on July 5, 2010 9:15 AM
71 Comments
Last month Eliza told us about a rabid groundhog that was stalking the streets of Philadelphia. She called multiple government agencies, but none of them would do anything about it. It took a vigilante to set things right and defeat the crazed beast. More »
Know Your State's Fireworks Laws
By Marc Perton on July 4, 2010 10:25 AM
86 Comments
How did America's birthday become synonymous with blowing sh*t up? We assume it has something to do with Francis Scott Key — or maybe it's just that a lot of people think blowing sh*t up is really, really cool. But you probably don't want to spend July 4th in jail, so you may want to learn a little about the hodgepodge of state fireworks laws — or just skip the DIY stuff and let someone else burst their bombs. More »
Bully Landlord Tries To Steal Security Deposit
By Ben Popken on July 2, 2010 1:00 PM
131 Comments
Sara thought she was being a good tenant. She moved cities and rather than pay the stiff penalties for breaking the lease, she continued to pay rent on the old place. She even turned off the electricity before she left. Ever since she told the old landlord she won't be renewing the lease, he's been going all aggro on her on the phone, demanding payments for electricity she didn't use, insinuating she's a criminal and is still living there, and generally being a jerk. Sara wants to extricate herself from his clutches but is afraid for her $700 security deposit. What can she do? More »
Filibuster Scuttles Jobless Benefits Restoration For Third Time
By Ben Popken on July 2, 2010 12:00 PM
129 Comments
Happy Fourth of July weekend! To help you celebrate Independence Day, which includes independence from the government dole, a Senate filibuster has successfully prevented unemployment benefits from being extended for 1.3 million out of work citizens. More »
(SA_Steve)
Should Parents Be Fined For Smoking With A Kid In The Car?
By Chris Morran on July 2, 2010 11:15 AM
249 Comments
I've never smoked a cigarette in my life, but I sure inhaled my fair share of my mom's, dad's and stepfather's tobacco when I was a child. Surely one of my earliest developed motor skills was learning how to roll down the window in our Chevy Nova. Now a bill under consideration by the New York State Assembly seeks to put an end to such behavior by fining adults who light up with a child in the vehicle. More »
Feds Make 9 Movie Pirate Sites Walk The Plank
By Chris Morran on July 1, 2010 11:15 AM
70 Comments
We're guessing the government has quarterly quotas for number of sites pushing pirated movies it shuts down, because on the last day of June the feds swooped in and shivered the timbers of several sites that had been allowing cheapos to not spend $12 to see Jonah Hex and other fine Hollywood offerings. More »
House Of Representatives Says "Okay" To Financial Reform
By Chris Morran on June 30, 2010 11:32 PM
30 Comments
It doesn't look like it's going to make President Obama's July 4 deadline, but the financial reform bill did manage to squeak through the House of Representatives on Wednesday with a final vote of 237-192. More »
Court Docs Reveal Dell Sold Computers It Knew Would Fail
By Ben Popken on June 30, 2010 5:00 PM
93 Comments
Seem Dell has a hell all of its own. Newly unsealed court documents show that Dell sold computers knowing they would go kaput. The documents reveal that Dell sold nearly 12 million Optiplex machines between 2003-2005 with leaky capacitors that caused problems in 97% of the cases in over three years. Leaky capacitors lead to device failure, and can even cause the computer to become ablaze with fire. More »
Chicago Provides City Vehicle Stickers That Lack One Important Feature
By Meg Marco on June 30, 2010 4:45 PM
55 Comments
First New York's vehicle inspection stickers lacked enough stickiness to actually stay stuck and now the disease has infected Chicago. Yes, it's the same company making the stickers. I know. We're shocked too. Who could have predicted this? More »
Homebuyer Tax Credit Poised For 3-Month Extension
By Ben Popken on June 30, 2010 10:00 AM
44 Comments
First-time homebuyers looking to snag the up to $8,000 income tax credit that expires today could get a reprieve. If you already signed the purchase contract by April 30th but haven't closed yet, you will have 3-months to seal the deal, if a bill passed by Congress yesterday makes it through the Senate, which it seems it will. More »
Burglars Take 34 Seconds To Swipe Nearly $10K From AZ Apple Store
By Phil Villarreal on June 30, 2010 9:45 AM
47 Comments
Forget about the Nicolas Cage movie Gone in 60 Seconds. A pair of swift-moving Arizona bandits made off with $9,400 in Apple Store goods in the time it takes your iTunes to boot up. More »
(teksmith)
Homeland Security Slaps 6-Year-Old Girl On No Fly List
By Phil Villarreal on June 29, 2010 10:15 AM
94 Comments
The Department of Homeland Security's anti-terrorist airplane protection services are so ironclad that even a sneaky 6-year-old Ohio girl couldn't make it through the dragnet. The feds were on to her and stuck her on the No Fly List. Possibly because she planned on asking for extra peanuts, getting up and going potty several times during a flight and maybe even kicking the seat in front of her. More »
Do Broadband Providers Actually Do Any Real Innovation?
By Chris Walters on June 29, 2010 10:03 AM
78 Comments
The kind of "innovation" your Internet service provider (ISP) is fighting so passionately to protect won't lead to faster or better service, says Ryan Singel at Wired. To ISPs, innovation means finding ways to generate more profit without making further investments in infrastructure. Yeah, it's a deliberately provocative statement, but take a look at the list he provides for what ISPs have done to innovate in recent years versus what other companies have done. More »
White House Backs FCC Plan For Wireless Broadband
By Marc Perton on June 29, 2010 9:18 AM
13 Comments
If you're having trouble getting a signal on your smartphone, the White House feels your pain. The Obama administration has endorsed an FCC plan to nearly double the bandwidth available for wireless devices by freeing up additional wireless spectrum. But don't expect blazing speeds or better signals overnight. The plan will take several years to implement, require congressional approval, and is tied to a bandwidth auction to get the carriers to pay for the right to use the spectrum. More »
FDA To Farmers: Enough Already With All The Antibiotics
By Chris Morran on June 29, 2010 4:53 AM
54 Comments
After coming to the conclusion that farmers have gone a little hog-wild with their use of antimicrobials — not to cure animals of disease, but to spur animal growth — the FDA has kindly asked them to cut it out because it's just going to make the rest of us sicker. More »
Should Online Dating Sites Be Required To Do Background Checks?
By Chris Morran on June 28, 2010 5:15 PM
104 Comments
Almost anyone who has ever visited — let alone actually joined — an online dating site knows going in, or quickly learns, to take everything they read and see with a grain of salt. A really, really big grain of salt. But the recent case of a convicted killer, awaiting trial for yet another murder, who posted a profile on Match.com has gotten some people talking about adding regulations to these sites. More »
(dsb nola)
Oil Now Washing Up In Biloxi; BP Sends Three People To Clean It Up
By Chris Morran on June 28, 2010 3:20 PM
59 Comments
The oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico continues to expand, despite BP's boasting about the number of barrels they pull out of the water each day. Over the weekend, the crude washed up for the first time on the shores of mainland Mississippi, driving away the already scant number of tourists. More »
Chicago's 28-Year-Old Handgun Ban Struck Down By Supreme Court
By Meg Marco on June 28, 2010 10:55 AM
145 Comments
The Supreme Court has decided 5-4 in favor of firearm owners, ruling that Chicago's 28-year-old gun ban is unconstitutional. More »
Congress Won't Let Traders Gamble On Hollywood Box Office
By Phil Villarreal on June 28, 2010 9:45 AM
36 Comments
If you were planning on putting your kids through college based on your foreknowledge that Toy Story 3 was going to rock the box office, you'll need to do your gambling on the black market, because Congress has banned Hollywood box office futures trading. More »
FDIC Says Pilot Program Offers Alternative to Payday Loans
By Marc Perton on June 25, 2010 9:29 PM
63 Comments
The FDIC has announced the results of a two-year pilot program designed to help banks offer alternatives to payday loans that would be "safe, affordable and feasible." Under the test program, participating banks offered loans of up to $2,500 at maximum interest rates of 36% — instead of the 400% offered by some payday lenders. More »
Auto Dealers Win Exemption From Financial Protection Bureau Oversight
By Ben Popken on June 25, 2010 1:00 PM
31 Comments
Some shady auto dealers are known to fake financial docs to get customers approved for loans they can't afford. They refer to senior citizens as "people with oxygen tanks" and even straight up steal money from their ATM account. So, good thing that they can afford good lobbyists, because in the final hours they succeeded in making it so the new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau doesn't apply to them. More »
California Welfare Recipients Spending Millions At Casinos
By Chris Morran on June 25, 2010 11:15 AM
161 Comments
Following an L.A. Times report that revealed the California welfare debit card program allows benefits recipients to withdraw cash at ATMs at casinos, state officials disclosed that over $1.8 million in taxpayer cash had been withdrawn on the gaming floors of casinos in just the last eight months. More »
Netflix Is Fine With No Saturday Mail Delivery; Amazon, Not So Much
By Chris Morran on June 24, 2010 9:45 AM
107 Comments
When we first wrote about the US Postal Service's plan to put an end to Saturday deliveries, only 35% of the 7,000 readers polled thought it would be a hassle to their way of life. However, many commenters wanted to know what this would mean for deliveries of their precious Netflix DVDs. Yesterday, they got their answer. More »
Court Says Arbitrators Can Decide If Arbitration Is Fair
By Marc Perton on June 23, 2010 7:07 PM
63 Comments
Think the arbitration clause in a contract is unfair? Go ahead and contest it! Of course, you shouldn't expect to win, since the Supreme Court has just ruled that it's just fine for the arbitrator to decide whether the clause is fair. More »
Yankees And Mets Among Baseball's Biggest Online Ticket Fee Gougers
By Ben Popken on June 23, 2010 5:00 PM
42 Comments
A new study released by Rep. Weiner shows that Yankees and Mets fans are bleeding more than just their team colors, they're also getting gouged with some of the highest online ticketing fees in baseball. More »
Verizon Blames Improper Billing Of Non-Verizon Customers On Human Error
By Chris Morran on June 23, 2010 3:15 PM
39 Comments
Yesterday, we reported on the Attorney General of Wisconsin filing a lawsuit against Verizon for sending bills to people who had never subscribed to any Verizon services. Today, a rep for Big V contacted Consumerist to give the telecom titan's side of the story. More »
1,300 Prison Inmates Received $9 Million In Home Buyer Tax Credit
By Chris Morran on June 23, 2010 12:15 PM
47 Comments
As always happens when the government puts tons of cash up for grabs, scam-happy people will line up to take advantage of it. And a new report says that nearly 10% of the 15,000 folks caught scamming the government for the recent home buyer tax credit were doing it from behind bars. More »
The DOT Wants Your Opinion On Proposed In-Flight Peanut Ban
By Chris Morran on June 23, 2010 11:45 AM
131 Comments
A couple weeks back we wrote about how the Dept. of Transportation was considering a possible ban on peanuts on airplanes and what resulted was easily one of the site's more divisive debates. Now, as the DOT and FAA continue to mull over this plan — and consider other options — the regulators say they want to hear from you, the citizens of these United States of America. More »
Self-Insured Premiums Jump By 20%, Triggering Warning From White House
By Chris Walters on June 22, 2010 12:34 PM
57 Comments
About 10% of respondents in our informal poll yesterday about health insurance said they pay their own premiums, and according to a new poll from Kaiser Survey, three quarters of those people just faced a premium increase of 20% on average. The recent hikes have prompted the White House to say it will "sternly warn industry executives" today that insurers shouldn't try to use the new health care law as an excuse to gouge customers, according to the New York Times. More »
(SA_Steve)
NY State Approves $4.35/Pack Tax On Cigarettes
By Chris Morran on June 22, 2010 12:15 PM
143 Comments
As we reported over the weekend, the NY State Legislature was considering a proposal to increase the state's already high $2.75/pack tax on cigarettes by $1.60. And last night, the ayes had it over the coughing and hacking nos, making New York the most expensive place to smoke in the U.S. More »
National Pork Board Attempting To Halt Sales Of Canned Unicorn Meat
By Chris Morran on June 22, 2010 10:15 AM
52 Comments
The ever-vigilant folks at the National Pork Board are out to put an end to the sale of Radiant Farms' canned unicorn meat. But it's not because they want to stop the slaughter of the one-horned flying horses, it's because they say the product infringes on their "other white meat" trademark. More »
p(RAWRZ!)
NYC Store's Vigilante Justice Against Shoplifters May Be Extortion, Or Maybe Not
By Meg Marco on June 21, 2010 5:30 PM
113 Comments
The NYT says that a local independent supermarket in Queens has an interesting way of dealing with shoplifters. If they catch you, the store's security guards take your ID, photograph you and then fine you. If you refuse to give up the money (usually $400, according to the manager), the workers threaten to post your picture and call the police. More »
NYC Forces Retailers To Stop Selling Illegal Knives
By Chris Walters on June 21, 2010 9:04 AM
71 Comments
If you were planning on picking up a sturdy switchblade or gravity knife from one of the Home Depots in NYC for your next home improvement project, or because you wanted to stab someone, you should note that they're no longer available. That's because last week, the Manhattan District Attorney's office persuaded that store and 13 other retailers to stop selling such knives. They're generally illegal in New York, and the retailers have agreed to surrender their inventory and forfeit any profits they made from illegal knife sales over the past four years. More »
Special Lovemaking Coffee Can Cause Sudden Drop In Blood Pressure, Lovemaking
By Chris Walters on June 21, 2010 8:18 AM
12 Comments
If you want to be a passionate lover, or at least a noticeably hyper one, of course you should drink a lot of coffee before hitting the sheets. That's just common sense. But the FDA says that a specially marketed aphrodisiac coffee, Magic Power Coffee, can interfere with prescription drugs and cause a dramatic loss of blood pressure. More »
BP Document Puts Early Spill Estimate At Up To 100K Barrels A Day
By Chris Morran on June 21, 2010 5:43 AM
19 Comments
Though British Petroleum's own CEO has made public statements like "The amount of volume of oil and dispersant we are putting into [the Gulf of Mexico] is tiny in relation to the total water volume," and the always classic "The environmental impact of this disaster is likely to be very, very modest," a recently released internal document shows that BP's initial estimates of the ongoing oil spill were outright apocalyptic. More »
You Still Can't Trust Trust Sunscreen SPF, Waterproof Claims
By Carey Alexander on June 20, 2010 2:45 PM
38 Comments
Sunscreen makers can say almost anything they want about their product's sun protection factor or water fighting ability because the FDA's sunscreen regulations are a just a teensy bit late. Well, they're actually thirty-two years late, but the FDA swears that they're going to publish final regulations by October. Except maybe not. So what can consumers do in the meantime? More »
New York Proposes Nation's Highest Cigarette Taxes
By Carey Alexander on June 19, 2010 12:00 PM
171 Comments
Cigarettes may cost more than $10 per pack in New York under the state's latest plan to close a $9 billion budget gap. In New York City, the tax alone on a pack of cigarettes would rise to $5.85. And cigarettes aren't the only carcinogens set for a tax bump under the proposal. More »
NY Times Threatens Neighborhoodies' Hosting Company Over Herald Tribune Logo
By Chris Morran on June 18, 2010 10:41 PM
38 Comments
On Thursday, we wrote about the NY Times Company threatening to sue custom-apparel company Neighborhoodies over its use of the logo for the long-dead New York Herald Tribune newspaper. And now that the 'hoodies have made it clear that they have no intent on complying with the Times' cease-and-desist order, the media giant has made an end-run around the shirt sellers, threatening legal action against the company that hosts Neighborhoodies' site. More »
Health Cops Tell Schools To Cook Up Alternatives To Bake Sales
By Marc Perton on June 18, 2010 5:55 PM
92 Comments
As part of its never-ending battle of the bulge, New York's health police have found a new target: bake sales that schools use as fund raising events. The sales have already been limited to once a month, and barred during school hours. Now, the city's Health Department has warned parents that they need to look for other ways to raise dough. More »
(Ben Popken)
Banks Luring You Into Signing Back Up For High Overdraft Fees
By Ben Popken on June 18, 2010 4:38 PM
84 Comments
Banks are mad they can't just automatically charge you a $35 overdraft anymore if you happen to try to buy a candy bar without enough cash in your account. Newly enacted legislation says they have to get you to opt-in to such overdraft programs. So, what they're doing is renaming the overdraft programs something else, making them sound awesome, and then blitzing your mailbox and inbox with up-sells. Some banks are even calling people up! More »
Students, Your College May Be Selling Your Info To Banks
By Phil Villarreal on June 18, 2010 11:00 AM
38 Comments
Just in case students don't slog through college with enough debt hanging over them, their colleges and universities have cut semi-secret deals with banks to share personal info meant to market credit to them afterward. The Huffington Post says Bank of America has such deals with 700 schools. More »
(levork)
Female Answer To Viagra Just Can't Stand Up To Testing Says FDA
By Chris Morran on June 17, 2010 4:19 PM
84 Comments
Sad news for the world of gettin-it-on today: A drug that had been intended as a female analog to Viagra has not only not shown promise in tests, but has actually demonstrated some quite non-sexy side effects. More »
City Of Philly Says You're On Your Own Against Rabid Street Animals
By Phil Villarreal on June 17, 2010 11:00 AM
152 Comments
Eliza writes us about her boss and others who who were stalked by a rabid groundhog in Philadelphia like something out of Predator. They called the city's animal control department and were juggled around and dismissed. More »
New Rules To Cap Credit Card Late Fees At $25
By Marc Perton on June 15, 2010 7:40 PM
37 Comments
New rules announced today will take some of the sting out of those penalties that hit you when you don't pay your credit card bill on time. Most fees will be capped at $25, regardless of your balance, and can be much lower in some cases. If your minimum payment is $10 and you're late, your late fee can't go above $10. More »
Washington Wants Better Oversight Of For-Profit Colleges
By Chris Walters on June 15, 2010 1:34 PM
94 Comments
Enrollment in for-profit colleges like the University of Phoenix, DeVry University, and Kaplan University—Gawker calls them fake colleges—tripled in the past decade, and has become such a fast-growing segment of the education market that some members of Congress think it needs better oversight. More »
How Card Issuers Sneak Around New Laws
By Ben Popken on June 14, 2010 6:19 PM
82 Comments
Crafty credit card issuers aren't going to let a little thing like the law get in the way of their profits. Nope, they're finding creative ways to get around the pro-consumer CARD act and maintain their grip on your pocketbook. More »
(yomi955)
USDA Wants To Make Sure That Organic Food From China Is Really Organic
By Chris Walters on June 14, 2010 3:39 PM
35 Comments
The U.S. Department of Agriculture has banned one of the biggest food inspector groups in the nation from operating in China, reports the New York Times, because of conflict of interest concerns. It turns out the Organic Crop Improvement Association (OCIA) was using employees of a Chinese government agency to inspect Chinese government-owned farms, which sort of misses the point of independent certification entirely. More »
(techfun)
Thomas' English Muffins Sues To Protect Nooks & Crannies From Hostess
By Chris Morran on June 14, 2010 3:00 PM
59 Comments
For decades, the Thomas' English Muffins have been bragging about the tasty nooks and delicious crannies of its breakfasts breads. They're such a well-regarded company secret that only seven people at the company know the recipe. And now that one of those dudes is trying to jump ship to Hostess, it's lawsuit time. More »
(julian-)
BP Swears It's Going To Try A Little Harder
By Chris Morran on June 14, 2010 11:57 AM
29 Comments
After getting a verbal boot in the butt from the U.S. Coast Guard about their lackadaisical attitude toward cleaning up their mess in the Gulf of Mexico, British Petroleum has come back with a slightly more aggressive schedule for mopping up the disaster. More »
Obama Orders Govt To Pay You Via Direct Deposit
By Ben Popken on June 14, 2010 11:32 AM
111 Comments
Now you can sit hitting refresh all day instead of looking out the window every 5 minutes to see if the red flag on the mailbox is down: the White House has ordered the government to switch to direct deposits for all payments to consumers. More »
Coast Guard To BP: Hurry The Hell Up
By Chris Morran on June 13, 2010 6:05 AM
38 Comments
Perhaps figuring that if a little forceful nudge from the federal government can get BP to stop dragging its feet on paying businesses hurt by the Gulf of Mexico oil spill, the U.S. Coast Guard has now told the oil giant that they really need to step up their actions with regards to both stopping the spewing crude and containing/cleaning up the mess that's already been made. More »
(genome.gov)
FDA Cracking Down on DNA-Test Providers
By Marc Perton on June 12, 2010 12:29 PM
18 Comments
After scaring Walgreens out of the genetic-testing business, the FDA has now decided to crack down on the entire industry, and will be subjecting DNA tests to the same rules that it applies to medical devices such as blood-glucose meters. More »
New Rules About Getting Paid When Airlines Bump You
By Ben Popken on June 11, 2010 10:14 AM
21 Comments
Airlines routinely overbook passengers, resulting in passengers getting bumped and having their travel plans disrupted. Currently, you can get the full ticket price if you are bumped, or 2x the ticket if you're not provided alternative transportation within a certain time frame to the next stop, up to a certain cap level. Newly proposed regulations would increase the amount passengers could get, but it's not as simple as that. Airline expert Elliott has delved into the report to find out what's being proposed: More »
SEC Stops Looking At Porn Long Enough To Investigate Dell
By Chris Morran on June 10, 2010 7:14 PM
9 Comments
While some SEC employees were up to their eyeballs in porn during office hours in recent years, apparently some have continued to do their job, as Dell announced today that it is nearing a settlement to a prolonged SEC investigation that could cost the computer company upwards of $100 million. More »
Elizabeth Warren Wants To End Exploding Mortgages
By Marc Perton on June 10, 2010 6:07 PM
63 Comments
Why does financial-reform advocate, Harvard professor and overall force of nature Elizabeth Warren want a Consumer Financial Reform Agency? It's simple: "We stopped exploding toasters. We're going to do the same with exploding mortgages and crazy credit cards." More »
15 Ways To Kick Ass When Testifying
By Ben Popken on June 10, 2010 4:44 PM
13 Comments
If you are victimized by corporate behavior and asked to testify before a legislative body in order to tell your story and help get a pro-consumer bill passed, it can be really scary. You only have a few minutes to make your case. Are you gonna choke it, or clinch it? Just follow these 15 tips I just learned in a Consumers Union Activist Summit workshop: More »
Philadelphia No Longer A Total Buzz Kill For Marijuana Consumers
By Chris Morran on June 9, 2010 6:22 PM
48 Comments
The city that brought the world the "blunt" has decided to chill out on folks who toke. As of yesterday, possession of 30 grams or less of marijuana has been downgraded to a relatively minor offense. More »
Should People Be Allowed To Shop In Swimsuits?
By Chris Morran on June 9, 2010 4:08 PM
178 Comments
It's summer (at least in the northern hemisphere), which means people of all shapes and sizes wearing all shapes and sizes of bathing suit. That also means that some of these people in swimsuits will also attempt to enter stores and restaurants. But now, even in places with historically liberal views on showing skin, there's a backlash against sporting a bikini anywhere other than the beach. More »
Texas Sues Bally Total Fitness Over Fake Past Due Billing
By Chris Walters on June 9, 2010 1:18 PM
38 Comments
Texas' Attorney General Greg Abbott is going after Bally Total Fitness for the fraudulent "past due" scheme it was using to trick former customers into re-upping with the gym. The AG office says that the gym mailed more than 11,000 fake notices to former customers between last summer and March 2010, and at least 1,000 Texans fell for it and paid the fees. More »
Um, Shouldn't The FDA Have The Power To Recall Dangerous Food?
By Meg Marco on June 9, 2010 12:49 PM
43 Comments
If you thought the FDA had the power to recall dangerous food already, you'd be mistaken. Apparently, they need to "coax" the company into it. Changing this and increasing the agency's budget are among the changes recommended by a new report by The Institute of Medicine, says Reuters. More »
Lawsuit: Land O'Lakes Must Pay $25 Million For Massive Egg Price-Fixing Conspiracy
By Laura Northrup on June 9, 2010 11:10 AM
56 Comments
A recent class-action lawsuit against Land O'Lakes alleges that the farmers' co-operative was part of a price-fixing conspiracy within the the ovo-industrial complex to keep egg prices artificially high. According to court documents, conspirators worked toward having fewer total hens laying in the United States, leading to more money per egg for everyone, and a nice violation of the Sherman Antitrust Act. More »
Coffee Shop Owner Throws Cop Out Of Joint Because He's A Cop
By Phil Villarreal on June 9, 2010 11:00 AM
183 Comments
Many small businesses like to have police officers as clientele because their presence is a deterrent to would-be criminals, but a Portland, Ore. coffee shop owner threw a cop out of his shop because he feared the officer would start a game of Taser tag. More »
(Torley)
Medicare Donut Hole Checks Being Sent Out This Week
By Chris Walters on June 8, 2010 5:31 PM
16 Comments
Hey people with Medicare, you're about to become a little more attractive to scammers. That's because this week the government will start sending out its one-time tax free rebate checks to those of you who have already hit the donut hole gap in your Medicare coverage. The main thing to know, advises Medicare, is that you don't need to provide any information to anyone to get the rebate—it's automatic. More »
Congresswoman Hints That Comcast May Have Tried To Buy Her Support
By Chris Morran on June 8, 2010 5:00 PM
56 Comments
As the merger of Worst Company In America 2010 and only-worth-watching-for-Biggest-Loser network NBC continues to limp forward through the bureaucratic maze, a California Congresswoman hinted not so subtly yesterday that the cable giant had contacted her in a not-exactly-professional manner. More »
(Kfreon)
Should Peanuts Be Banned From Airplanes?
By Chris Morran on June 8, 2010 3:45 PM
363 Comments
Among the new regulations under consideration by the FAA, there's one that hasn't gotten much press, but which we have a feeling might be something that will get at least a few travelers' blood up — banning peanuts from airplanes. More »
"Got ID?" Is A Question Many More Businesses Will Be Asking Soon
By Ben Popken on June 8, 2010 1:48 PM
110 Comments
Your driver's license could start getting worn down a lot starting in December . That's because a whole bunch of businesses will soon be required to ask you for your ID, everyone from your dentist to your car dealer. More »
Report: Growing Number Of Doctors Adding A La Carte Fees
By Chris Morran on June 7, 2010 2:27 PM
110 Comments
Lest you think nickle-and-dime fees for services that were once free is the sole purview of the airline industry, a new report in USA Today claims that the more and more physicians in the U.S. are going the route of charging money for services they say aren't covered by health insurance. More »
Should Plastic Shopping Bags Be Banned?
By Chris Morran on June 6, 2010 2:32 PM
327 Comments
There's a growing movement in the United States, especially in coastal communities, to curb the use of plastic shopping bags. In fact, both San Francisco and North Carolina's Outer Banks are among those communities that have already passed laws forbidding plastic bags. A statewide ban made it to the State Assembly level in California and at least one politician in Seattle is pushing for an end to their use. More »
BP Could Be On The Hook For Billions For Violating Clean Water Act
By Phil Villarreal on June 4, 2010 9:00 AM
93 Comments
On Thursday BP checked its mail and got a love letter from its not-so-secret admirer, the Center for Biological Diversity, notifying the spill-a-riffic British oil giant that it would be sued under the Clean Water Act. More »
(TheeErin)
Airlines May Be Forced To Treat You Like A Person
By Marc Perton on June 3, 2010 12:21 PM
66 Comments
Earlier this week, we got word that the Department of Transportation was considering requiring airlines to offer more cash to passengers that get bumped from flights. Turns out those rumors were true, and were just one piece of a package of changes proposed by the DOT. If the new regulations go into effect, airlines would be required to play straight about baggage fees and fare prices, would have to allow no-penalty cancellations within 24 hours of ticket purchases, and would have to add new contingency plans for long tarmac delays. More »
Ohio Cops Can Guesstimate Your Speed To Ticket You
By Phil Villarreal on June 3, 2010 12:00 PM
156 Comments
Ohio cops have been granted superpowers by the state's supreme court, which has ruled that officers needn't bother with such needless trivialities as radar guns. A visual estimate of speed is all that's necessary to give a driver a ticket, the court decided in a 5-1 vote. More »
Congress Considers Federal Anti-Slapp Law To Protect Consumers From Angry Businesses
By Chris Walters on June 2, 2010 6:42 PM
43 Comments
The New York Times has an article about Justin Kurtz, the college student who angered the owner of T&J Towing by creating a Facebook page about the company and who is now fighting a $750k defamation lawsuit. That sort of lawsuit—the kind meant to intimidate an opponent into silence—is called a "strategic lawsuit against public participation," or Slapp. Now two Representatives are sponsoring a bill that would create a federal anti-Slapp law to protect consumers from vengeful businesses. More »
(spevman)
FCC Seeking Volunteers For Test Of Residential Broadband Speeds
By Chris Morran on June 2, 2010 1:28 PM
61 Comments
Among the chief complaints we get from readers about their broadband providers is that the lightning-fast speeds advertised by the ISP are far from the reality of what they're getting through their modem. So in an effort to parse truth from lip service, the FCC is about to begin a nationwide test of residential broadband speeds — and they want your help. More »
Debt Collection Company Sued Over Racist Voicemails, Must Pay $1.5 Million
By Chris Walters on June 1, 2010 7:40 PM
64 Comments
Advanced Call Center Technologies tried to collect $200 on a disputed debt from Allen Jones a few years ago. Part of the company's advanced technology is its innovative voicemail strategy, where its employees leave wildly offensive, racist messages for people. Jones sued the company, and last week the jury awarded him $50k for mental anguish and $1.5 million in punitive damages. More »
(imdb.com)
Hurt Locker Producer Sues "Moron" Downloaders
By Marc Perton on June 1, 2010 4:57 PM
186 Comments
Nicolas Chartier, the movie producer who was banned from the Oscars for sending nastygrams about Avatar, and more recently, told a critic, "you're a moron who believes stealing is right. I hope your family and your kids end up in jail," is nothing if not consistent. Chartier has made good on his earlier threat to sue people who downloaded copies of The Hurt Locker, by filing a suit against 5,000 anonymous downloaders in Washington, D.C. More »
I Like Smelling Farts, Chinese Drywall Distributor Tells Court
By Ben Popken on June 1, 2010 1:00 PM
27 Comments
Do you like farts? Documents and depositions unearthed by ProPublica and the Sarasota Harold-Tribune show exchanges between homebuilder WCI Communities and drywall distributor Banner that reveal the sulfur-emitting drywall problem was known as far back as 2006, and yet customers and authorities were not notified. In one deposition, a Banner executive refuses to admit that sulfur-stinking drywall might bother others, seeing as he himself, on certain occasions, enjoys the sweet aroma of another man's butt gas: More »
(auxesis)
What iPhone Owners Complain About When They Complain To The FCC & FTC
By Chris Walters on May 31, 2010 11:49 AM
12 Comments
Last month, InformationWeek filed a Freedom of Information request with the FCC and the FTC for complaints made about the iPhone in the past year. Although the breakdown of complaints is interesting, what I found most striking was that in a nation of over 11 million iPhone owners, less than 600 complaints were filed in the past 14 months*, and some of those were for other Apple products. If you have a legitimate grievance with a company, you might have a much better chance of being heard by the FCC or FTC than you think. More »
Sleeping Passenger Left On Plane Wakes Up, Sues United
By Phil Villarreal on May 31, 2010 10:57 AM
52 Comments
The woman United left sleeping on the plane for four hours after touchdown in Philadelphia is suing the airline, AIRwise reports, citing the Detroit Free Press. More »
Hospital Cleared After Patient Catches Cancer From Kidney Transplant
By Meg Marco on May 29, 2010 4:10 PM
48 Comments
A NY hospital has been cleared in a lawsuit after a kidney transplant patient developed cancer and died after receiving an organ from someone who had the disease but had not yet been diagnosed. More »
(Not a union organizer. Photo by ashi)
Union Organizing California Weed Workers
By Marc Perton on May 29, 2010 3:54 PM
18 Comments
You know an industry has hit the big time when labor unions decide it's time to organize the workers. So, it looks like California's medical marijuana workers are about to reach new highs now that the United Food and Commercial Workers Local 5 in San Jose has begun organizing local pot purveyors. Here's the big question, though: How long before they start showing up to picket non-union shops with a giant inflatable bong? More »
What Does Congress Want From A Consumer Financial Protection Agency?
By Marc Perton on May 29, 2010 11:18 AM
10 Comments
If you have a lot of time on your hands, you could probably read through the House and Senate versions of the financial reform bills, and get some idea of how each one addresses consumer financial protection. Or, you could just hope that a consumer lawyer would do it for you, and then summarize his findings in a tidy PowerPoint presentation. Guess what? More »
(1suisse)
BP Oil Spill More Like 12,000-19,000 Barrels Per Day
By Ben Popken on May 28, 2010 11:00 AM
47 Comments
First BP told us 1,000, then 5,000, and now a joint federal and independent research task force estimates that 12,000 to 19,000 barrels of oil were spewing into the Gulf since the crisis began, NYT reports. If the numbers are right, then we're talking about as much as 30 million gallons. That would be more than 3x the amount from the Valdez disaster. More »
Bipartisan Senate Push Seeks To Expose Owners Of Prepaid Cell Phones
By Phil Villarreal on May 28, 2010 10:44 AM
109 Comments
A couple Senators are Voltroning to introduce legislation that would let authorities track identities of prepaid cell phone owners. Anyone who's seen The Wire knows criminals thrive off of pre-paids. More »
(cpsc.gov)
This Is Where Stinky Drywall Comes From
By Marc Perton on May 28, 2010 9:56 AM
23 Comments
The Consumer Product Safety Commission has released the names of the top manufacturers of stinky, dangerous drywall, which emits high levels of hydrogen sulfide (the source of its stinkiness). According to the agency, drywall from the manufacturers, all based in China, emitted hydrogen sulfide at levels up to 100x greater than samples from non-Chinese manufacturers. More »
Defense Department Has A 26-Page Brownie Recipe
By Meg Marco on May 27, 2010 12:23 PM
64 Comments
Looking to make brownies that can be stored in a hot warehouse, dropped out of an airplane, dragged through the mud, left out with bugs and vermin and still be eaten 3 years later? Then you should check out this 26-page PDF from the Pentagon. More »
(afagen)
If You See People Swipe iPhones, Don't Try To Cap 'Em
By Phil Villarreal on May 27, 2010 8:47 AM
111 Comments
Police in Oregon say a trigger-happy man who witnessed an iPhone mugging shot at the thieves' getaway car as the got away. Being that life is not Grand Theft Auto IV, the cops busted the guy. More »
Want More Lead Or Pesticide In Your Body? Try Dietary Supplements
By Chris Walters on May 26, 2010 9:42 AM
52 Comments
Lead has a deservedly bad reputation when it comes to human health and development, but because it's classified as a heavy metal it will always be kind of awesome. Well, to me. Pesticide, not so much. If you dislike ingesting either type of toxin, you might be interested in a new study being released today by the Government Accountability Office that found trace amounts of "lead and other contaminants" in every sample of 40 health supplements tested. More »
Lady Enters Security With $24,000 Rolex, Leaves Without, Suit Alleges
By Ben Popken on May 25, 2010 2:30 PM
152 Comments
A woman is suing the TSA after she says she was forced to take off her $24,000 Rolex to pass through security, and when she went to retrieve it, it had mysteriously vanished. More »
Federal Reserve Is Making All Sorts Of Money For The Treasury
By Meg Marco on May 25, 2010 1:55 PM
15 Comments
Bloomberg is reporting that the Federal Reserve will probably transfer record earnings exceeding $70 billion into the US Treasury. The income is coming from assets that include mortgage-backed securities, says the Congressional Budget Office. More »
Supreme Court Stuffs NFL's Antitrust Protection With Goal Line Stand
By Phil Villarreal on May 25, 2010 8:01 AM
29 Comments
The NFL is an association of 32 separate businesses rather than one giant corporation with 32 branches, the Supreme Court ruled Monday, preventing the league from getting antitrust law protections it wanted. The suit originated from hatmaker American Needle, which the NFL dissed in favor of an exclusive deal with Reebok. American Needle said it was shut out thanks to a collaboration between the teams. More »
(CPSC)
Congress May Consider Banning Drop-Side Cribs
By Chris Walters on May 24, 2010 12:02 PM
44 Comments
Kirsten Gillibrand, a senator from New York, is apparently unsatisfied with the CPSC's pledge to implement a voluntary ban of drop-side cribs. Gillibrand plans to introduce legislation this week that would outlaw the sale of drop-side cribs and ban them from daycare centers and hotels. Earlier this month, the CPSC said that this crib design has killed at least 32 infants and toddlers since 2000, that over 7 million drop-side cribs have been recalled since 2005. More »
To Settle Lawsuit, AT&T Lets You Unlock Anything That's Not An iPhone
By Phil Villarreal on May 24, 2010 10:48 AM
47 Comments
AT&T has settled a class action suit by providing codes that unlock any phones that were bound to AT&T. That includes any phones but that pesky iPhone, which is bound by an exclusivity agreement that lasts til 2012 but may or may not have already been renegotiated. More »
(genome.gov)
Congress Putting Genetic-Testing Companies Under Microscope
By Marc Perton on May 23, 2010 5:15 PM
48 Comments
While Walgreens may have voluntarily chosen not to sell home genetic testing kits in the face of an FDA investigation, its action has brought attention to the entire for-profit testing industry, and others may not have the luxury to quietly shut down on their own. A congressional committee is looking into the business, and could end up regulating the industry. More »
FTC Shuts Down Bogus Credit Card Robocallers
By Marc Perton on May 22, 2010 9:42 AM
14 Comments
Three companies that made claims that they could help consumers reduce their credit card interest rates — and then charged fees of up to $1,590 — have been shut down by the Federal Trade Commission. “The last thing debt-ridden consumers need is to be deluged by illegal robocalls - especially when all the calls are offering is a scam,” said FTC Chairman Jon Leibowitz. More »
White House Says CFPA On Your Side: "Anything Is Fair Game"
By Ben Popken on May 21, 2010 3:55 PM
27 Comments
The new Consumer Financial Protection agency will be a place you can go to with your complaints and they will be taken seriously, the White House said this afternoon during a conference call in which Consumerist took part. While, "It's not totally worked out who's going to be manning the 1-800 number," said senior economic adviser Austan Goolsbee, More »
(Lionsgate)
American Psycho: The Business Card Scene
By Ben Popken on May 21, 2010 1:34 PM
53 Comments
Apropos of the blow dealt to Wall Street excess by the financial reform bill just passed by the Senate, here's another piece of Wall Street excess that should probably get regulated. Business cards. They've gone totally off the rails. As my favorite scene from American Psycho shows, we must rein in these out-of-control practices before more kittens get stuffed into ATMS.
"$10 Minimum For Credit Card Purchase" Signs May Soon Be Totally Legit
By Meg Marco on May 21, 2010 11:05 AM
101 Comments
As we all know, merchants are generally not supposed to mandate minimum credit card purchases. It's a violation of the merchant agreements they sign with the credit card companies. (For more info, check out this article.) The proposed finance bill, however, may legitimize those handwritten signs if it ends up passing. More »
What's In The Financial Reform Bill?
By Marc Perton on May 21, 2010 8:25 AM
37 Comments
Now that the Senate has passed the financial reform bill, it's off to non-smoke-filled rooms, where it will go into a Blendtec with the version passed by the House last year. CNNMoney.com sifted through all 1,600 pages of the bill and came up with a handy cheat sheet explaining what's actually likely to change when this thing becomes a law. More »
ACLU Jumps In On Amazon's Privacy Fight
By Phil Villarreal on May 21, 2010 8:00 AM
44 Comments
The North Carolina Department of Revenue wants to hit up Amazon for detailed info about purchases by residents of the state, but Amazon is fighting back in federal court, and now has won over the American Civil Liberties Union as a tag-team partner, WRAL of North Carolina reports. More »
Financial Reform Bill Heading To Final Vote
By Marc Perton on May 20, 2010 5:10 PM
32 Comments
Despite opposition from most Republicans and a couple of liberal Democrats, the Senate today reached the 60 votes needed to block a filibuster threat, clearing the way to bring the financial reform bill to a final vote. In the 60-to-40 vote, Democrats were joined by three Republicans, including freshman Senator Scott Brown of Massachusetts. More »
Florida DMV Tells Woman She Lives On "Eat Ass" Street
By Meg Marco on May 19, 2010 5:07 PM
70 Comments
A woman in Florida got her driver's license in the mail only to find that she apparently lived on "Eat Ass" street. Her entire street address is printed as "Eat Ass Englewood, FL 34223," thus raising the question of how exactly they mailed the license to her. More »
FDA Announces Widespread Investigation Of McNeil After Tylenol Recalls
By Chris Walters on May 19, 2010 2:09 PM
10 Comments
Remember the recalled liquid Tylenol and other children's medicines last month? Or the stinky drugs that were recalled back in January? Or the children's Tylenol that was recalled last September? The FDA remembers, which is probably why it's "conducting a company-wide investigation of McNeil Consumer Healthcare's drug manufacturing practices to determine whether similar problems exist throughout the company." Also, a date has now been set (May 27) for the House Committee hearing where the CEO and chairman of parent company Johnson & Johnson are expected to testify. More »
Lawsuit-Happy Producer Tells Boycotter He's A 'Stupid Moron' Whose Kids Hopefully Get Arrested
By Phil Villarreal on May 19, 2010 9:30 AM
99 Comments
BoingBoing relays an entertaining name-calling tirade from Hurt Locker producer Nicolas Chartier, who responds with a vengeance to a writer who told him he'd boycott his company Voltage Picture's films because it's suing people who illegally downloaded the film. More »
Groupon Shows How To Properly Explain TOS Changes
By Chris Walters on May 18, 2010 2:47 PM
43 Comments
Groupon is a daily deal sort of website, but the reason it's on Consumerist today is because of how well it communicated some recent changes to its Terms of Service agreement. Consumerist reader Pureboy sent in a copy of the email he recently received where the website explained the changes in plain English, with examples. More »
Wireless Industry Lobbyists Explain Why The FCC Should Back Off
By Chris Walters on May 17, 2010 1:12 PM
45 Comments
The president and a vice-president for CTIA, a lobbying organization for the wireless industry, spoke recently with CNET about why they think the FCC should leave their members alone. The vice-president, Chris Guttman-McCabe, is a lawyer and as such his answers are useless. President Steve Largent, however, actually has a couple of candid moments during the interview. More »
Woman Sues Cellphone Company For $600,000 For "Exposing" Her Adultery
By Ben Popken on May 17, 2010 1:00 PM
114 Comments
A woman has sued her wireless provider for $600,000 for outing her as a cheater to her husband. After the they added internet and TV services to the woman's previously single-user cellphone bill, the wireless company began sending the husband a unified bill, which included several hours long conversations to an unknown number. The husband walked out, and the lawsuits began. More »
(nvaine)
Put The Words 'Eat More' In Your Biz And Chick-Fil-A Will Cluck At You
By Phil Villarreal on May 17, 2010 9:40 AM
71 Comments
A Florida businessman named his market Eat More Produce, and Chick-fil-A has taken it as a personal insult, sending the business letters accusing it of ripping off its ad campaign, the Orlando Sentinel reports: More »
Is A Cap On ATM Fees Definitely A Good Thing?
By Mary Beth Quirk on May 15, 2010 2:25 PM
142 Comments
A cap on ATM fees topping out at 50 cents, as proposed by some in Congress, sounds like a no-brainer, an automatically awesome thing that anyone who has ever groaned at a $3 fee would seem to applaud. But there could be disadvantages too. More »
How Can You Fix A Broken Credit Report?
By Mary Beth Quirk on May 15, 2010 1:37 PM
25 Comments
Just the words "credit report" make many want to cringe as they think of those late payments they made, or that time something just didn't go through, causing what you might think might be irreparable damage to that record almost every consumer carries with them as they go about the business of buying things. But if something isn't right, how can you fix it? More »
(˙Cаvin 〄)
Some Homeowners Worse After Getting Rushed Into Gov't Loan Mod Program
By Ben Popken on May 14, 2010 5:10 PM
32 Comments
Despite fulfilling every obligation under trial government-sponsored loan modification programs, some homeowners can end up far worse off than if they had never joined up at all, Propublica reports. That's because if they're denied a permanent modification, they have to pay the entire amount that was being discounted, often within a very short period of time. This pushes already strapped families past the breaking point. More »
No, The Government Isn't Coming For Your Gold
By Marc Perton on May 14, 2010 1:36 PM
76 Comments
Goldline, a company that sells gold coins, has an important announcement: coin collectors made out well in the 1930s and were protected from "the whims and vagaries of a spendthrift government." More »
Senate Bill To Curb Credit Card Swipe Fees Passes
By Ben Popken on May 14, 2010 12:46 PM
91 Comments
The bill to curb credit card fees that was being floated last night ended up passing. Credit card industry stocks fell Friday on the news. More »
Do Dry Max Pampers Burn Babies' Backsides?
By Phil Villarreal on May 14, 2010 9:40 AM
51 Comments
Parents have complained that Procter & Gamble's Pampers Dry Max diapers are irritating their babies' skin, and now the company is facing a lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in Ohio, as well as an investigation from the Consumer Product Safety Commission. More »
Get Ready For Anti-Net Neutrality Ads
By Marc Perton on May 13, 2010 11:35 AM
108 Comments
Foes of net neutrality are getting set to spend $1.4 million to air a series of ads against the Federal Communication Commission's efforts to enforce net neutrality rules by regulating broadband access providers as telecom services. First up: this peppy offering from Americans for Prosperity, that warns that the Internet will be the next domino to fall to the encroaching menace of a "Washington takeover." More »
Cash4Gold Supports Regulations Proposed By Congress
By Marc Perton on May 12, 2010 12:45 PM
16 Comments
Cash4Gold supports legislation designed to regulate it and its competitors, according to a letter from the company's president, Jeff Aronson. "Cash4Gold supports HR 4501, the Guarantee of a Legitimate Deal Act, and the provisions outlined in the bill," Aronson wrote to two congressman who are backing the bill. More »
FCC May Require Text Warnings Before You Get "Bill Shock"
By Marc Perton on May 12, 2010 10:26 AM
26 Comments
The FCC is considering requiring cell carriers in the U.S. to do something their European counterparts already have to do: send customers text warnings when they're about to incur massive charges because they've used up all their included minutes or are about to hit a roaming zone. More »
FCC To Control What You Can/Can't Record From TV
By Phil Villarreal on May 12, 2010 7:59 AM
124 Comments
At the MPAA's behest, the FCC granted Selectable Output Control, which means you won't be able to record certain "high value" stuff off your TV, ZeroPaid reports: More »
USDA Tightens Chicken Rules
By Chris Walters on May 11, 2010 1:54 PM
29 Comments
Yesterday the USDA announced new poultry safety rules intended to slightly reduce the number of poisonings annually from salmonella and campylobacter. An agency official says that the new rules should prevent about 65,000 cases of food sickness a year, which is only a fraction of the over a million cases annually. However, most of the other food products that contribute to that number fall under FDA regulation, so the USDA can't say anything. "This is something we can do, so we're doing it," the spokesman told the Los Angeles Times. More »
Safety Commission Cracking Down On Cadmium In Kids' Jewelry
By Chris Walters on May 11, 2010 12:44 PM
23 Comments
It's a good thing summer camps are coming up, with their weird seminars on bracelet weaving and whittling rings, because the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) has just announced a recall of 19,000 charms sold at Claire's stores, and says that's just the beginning. More »
Actually, You're Paying The Lowest Amount Of Taxes In 60 Years
By Ben Popken on May 11, 2010 12:24 PM
221 Comments
It may not feel like it, but it turns out that you are paying really low taxes right now, the lowest in 60 years, in fact, according to a new analysis of Federal data. More »
(ash TM)
HUD calls For Lenders To Send Tennessee Flood Victims A Lifeline
By Phil Villarreal on May 11, 2010 9:30 AM
14 Comments
Tennesseans homeowners have enough to worry about with the flooding, but the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development has stopped worries that victims would drown in the resulting debt. HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan directed lenders to put a 90-day moratorium on foreclosures in flood-ravaged areas. More »
New Jersey Wants To End Mail In Rebates
By Chris Walters on May 10, 2010 10:55 AM
70 Comments
Mail in rebates are a sneaky way to make things look cheaper than they actually are at the point of sale, since many consumers never actually get any cash back. Now New Jersey's state Assembly is considering legislation that would require retailers to charge shoppers the after-rebate price on goods, instead of forcing them to mail in or submit online requests. If the retailer still wants to take advantage of the rebate, that's no problem; he'll just have to mail it in himself. More »
They Foreclosed On Our Landlord And May Leave Us Homeless
By Phil Villarreal on May 10, 2010 10:00 AM
105 Comments
Jennifer says her apartment's landlord suffered a foreclosure, which will leave the rooms uninhabitable if the utilities have been shut off. Her horror story is probably more common than you'd like to believe in this era of rapid foreclosures, and a cautionary tale of signing a lease in which utilities are included. More »
(Tom McMahon)
The 3 Kinds Of American Business
The Three Classes of American Business [4-Block World] More »
By Ben Popken on May 7, 2010 9:26 PM
21 Comments
According to Tom, there are three basic types of American business. If that's too many to remember, you can also organize them under them under the umbrella concept known as "screwed up."The Three Classes of American Business [4-Block World] More »
(Acutance)
BoA Sued For Taking TARP $ But Not Helping Foreclosures
Washington homeowners file class action against Bank of America [Seattle PI] More »
By Ben Popken on May 7, 2010 4:27 PM
33 Comments
A class action lawsuit has been filed against Bank of America for taking $25 billion in federal TARP bailout money but intentionally failing to live up to its part of the bargain. The deal was that banks were supposed to use use the money to allow struggling homeowners to reduce their payments to affordable levels. "Bank of America came up with every excuse to defer the Kahlo family from a home loan modification, from stating they 'lost' their paperwork to saying they never approved the new terms of the mortgage agreement," said the plaintiff's attorney. "And we know from our investigation this isn't an isolated incident." Bank of America declined to comment.Washington homeowners file class action against Bank of America [Seattle PI] More »
(miamism)
Do Not Mock Your Co-Worker's Tiny Penis While Testing Full-Body Scanners
By Laura Northrup on May 7, 2010 11:10 AM
92 Comments
If you've been wondering how much of your body airport full-body scanners actually do reveal, a recent TSA training session in Miami shows the answer: enough for your co-workers to mock the size of your genitals. The target of the mockery eventually found it unbearable, and police say that he "could not take the jokes anymore and lost his mind," attacking one of his colleagues in the parking lot. He was arrested for aggravated battery. More »
If The Economy Added 290,000 New Jobs, Why Did The Unemployment Rate Go Up?
By Meg Marco on May 7, 2010 10:20 AM
46 Comments
You might have noticed a few headlines this morning about the good jobs news — 290,000 new jobs were added in March — coupled with the rather grim realization that the unemployment rate climbed to 9.9%. What's up with that? More »
FDA Wants To Know Which Labels You Read When You Shop
By Phil Villarreal on May 7, 2010 8:00 AM
63 Comments
The Food and Drug Administration is looking into adjusting labeling regulations and wants to know what you're looking for to ensure a food item's healthiness when you're digging through supermarket shelves. More »
Map: Is Your Local Pot Store About To Be Shut Down?
By Chris Morran on May 6, 2010 4:00 PM
29 Comments
Earlier this week, Los Angeles authorities announced that 439 currently legal marijuana dispensaries would have to shut their doors by June 7 or face fines of up to $2,500 a day and possible jail time. Only about 130 dispensaries will remain open after the June 7 deadline. And thanks to the folks at the L.A. Times, citizens of L.A. now have an interactive map showing where the stores to be shuttered are located. More »
(Oliver62)
Obama Administration Turning Out To Be Quite Expensive For Airlines
By Meg Marco on May 6, 2010 10:33 AM
48 Comments
ABCNews has an article that contrasts the Obama administration's handing of the airlines with the previous one — and one thing is for certain — it's getting much more expensive to mess with consumers. More »
(afagen)
Senate Agrees To Ban Taxpayer-Funded Bailouts
By Meg Marco on May 6, 2010 8:30 AM
50 Comments
An amendment to the financial overhaul bill banning the use of taxpayer funds for bank bailouts has been agreed upon in the Senate, says the LA Times. More »
FCC May Step In To Restore Net Neutrality
By Phil Villarreal on May 6, 2010 8:00 AM
61 Comments
Fighting back against a court ruling that found the FCC has no authority to require broadband providers to give equal treatment to all Internet traffic flowing over their networks, the commission has proposed regulating broadband under rules designed for phone networks, the Wall Street Journal reports. More »
Banks Gone Amok, Unlawfully Foreclosing
By Ben Popken on May 5, 2010 1:00 PM
66 Comments
"Darnit, where was that mortgage modification paper? I knew I put it somewhere. Oh well, let's just foreclose on these people's house. STAMP! Whoo, that was tough. Time to treat myself to a Diet Coke." That's an imaginative reenactment at what's going on inside the mortgage departments of the biggest banks in America: total disorganization, the right hand not knowing what the left is doing, a bureaucratic and document-strewn nightmare that can swallow up people's homes right from under them. More »
FDA: McNeil Plant That Made Recalled Tylenol Is A Dirty Stinkpot With No Quality Control
By Chris Walters on May 5, 2010 10:06 AM
34 Comments
One of the implied promises of a brand name, especially when it comes to drugs, is you can expect higher quality, but maybe that doesn't apply when it comes to McNeil products.The FDA says the plant that produced the recently recalled children's Tylenol, Motrin, Zyrtec and Benadryl, was using raw materials that were contaminated with bacteria. The plant also lacked adequate quality-control procedures and was dirty. So far none of the recalled medicine has tested positive for bacterial contamination, but the FDA report suggests that the contaminated material was used to make the recalled lots. The plant has been shut down indefinitely. More »
FTC: Consumer Privacy System Is Broken
By Marc Perton on May 4, 2010 10:05 PM
20 Comments
Citing lengthy privacy policies, confusing information about how personal data is used, and a lack of transparency in behavioral marketing campaigns, Maneesha Mithal of the Federal Trade Commission declared the current Internet consumer privacy system "broken," and said the agency is working on a series of recommendations to help fix it. More »
Death And Taxes 2011: Gobsmacking Visual Of Where All Your Tax Dollars Go
By Ben Popken on May 4, 2010 2:00 PM
57 Comments
Death and Taxes 2011 is here! Jess Bachman is famed for his annual poster where he spends two months researching and creating a visual representation of where your taxes go. The result is a stunning six-foot poster that boggles the mind. Now in it's 4th year, the poster has over 500 departments, agencies, programs, and whatever else the government can spend money on. "It is still the single most open and accessable record of government spending ever created," says its creator. After the jump, here is this year's version in full! More »
Walmart Settles California Environmental Lawsuit For $27.6 Million
By Phil Villarreal on May 4, 2010 10:00 AM
12 Comments
Walmart got caught violating California's environmental laws by dumping hazardous materials improperly and agreed to pay $27.6 million to the state to settle a lawsuit, the L.A. Times reports. More »
Bars In Utah Busted For Not Scanning IDs As Required By Law
By Meg Marco on May 3, 2010 2:48 PM
61 Comments
Here's an interesting law that has some privacy implications. In Utah, bars are required to scan the IDs of anyone "who looks 35 years old or younger", and the penalty for failing to electronically verify licenses is "akin to serving alcohol to a minor," says the Salt Lake City Tribune. More »
Sorry, We Really Have No Idea When We Are Open Saturdays
By Meg Marco on May 3, 2010 2:22 PM
14 Comments
Reader Colin writes in to let us know that in Atlanta the emission station might be open on Saturday, but they're really just not sure when. More »
(emelec)
Join The 24 Hour Fitness Class Action Lawsuit
Friedman, et al. v. 24 Hour Fitness USA [via Top Class Actions] More »
By Ben Popken on May 3, 2010 11:30 AM
19 Comments
If 24-Hour Fitness kept charging even after you cancelled, you might be eligible to join a class action lawsuit against them. You can join if you were debited between Oct 2, 2002 and Feb 28, 2010. You could get $20 back, or, in a perhaps ironic twist, a three month gift certificate to 24-Hour Fitnesss.Friedman, et al. v. 24 Hour Fitness USA [via Top Class Actions] More »
Oakland Is Out Of Weed, City Council Declares
By Phil Villarreal on May 3, 2010 8:30 AM
59 Comments
Only in the Bay Area does it become an official civic emergency when pot stashes dry up. The Easy Bay Express reports the Oakland City council declared a local public health emergency because supplies of medical marijuana have dwindled. More »
States Seek Sales Taxes On Haircuts, Balloon Rides
By Mary Beth Quirk on May 1, 2010 3:25 PM
142 Comments
As states across America take a look at their budgets, some are getting creative with sales taxes in an effort to increase their revenue by slapping a tax on some interesting items and services. CNNMoney checked out what's going down all over America, from magician taxes to hot air balloon ride tariffs. More »
Most Americans Don't Want Reagan On $50 Bill
By Marc Perton on May 1, 2010 2:31 PM
117 Comments
Fans of Ronald Reagan have gotten airports and highways named after the 40th president, but a proposal to put the Gipper on the $50 bill in place of Ulysses S. Grant is about as popular as putting Bonzo on the hundred. More »
( FourthFloor)
Philly Police No Longer Going To Waste Time On Fender Benders
By Meg Marco on April 30, 2010 3:33 PM
92 Comments
Philly police say they are no longer going to waste time and resources responding to minor fender benders in which there are no injuries and the cars can be safely driven away. More »
Is Your Photocopier Putting You At Risk For ID Theft?
By Chris Morran on April 30, 2010 11:50 AM
30 Comments
Long gone are mimeographs or photocopiers that used mechanical means to reproduce whatever document needed reproducing. Now, almost all copiers are also scanners, fax machines and rotisserie ovens (okay, so not that last one). As such, they contain some method of electronic storage that could possibly be used by individuals with shady purposes. That's why a Congressman from Massachusetts has asked the FTC to look into just how risky it is to use these new-fangled machines. More »
Feds Said To Be Opening Criminal Investigation Of Goldman
By Marc Perton on April 30, 2010 8:53 AM
52 Comments
As if Goldman Sachs didn't already have enough problems with the SEC's civil probe of the firm and senators screaming at execs about the "shitty deals" offered to clients, word is out now that federal prosecutors are investigating the company. According to reports out this morning, the investigation is just starting up, and no charges have been made against the company. More »
SEC Porn Aficionados Have Not Been Fired
By Meg Marco on April 29, 2010 3:10 PM
44 Comments
The Washington Post is reporting that the porn-lovin' employees of the SEC have not been fired. Here's the breakdown: More »
(foxyvoxy)
FTC Keeping Eye On Possible Blog Payola Cases: Ann Taylor Not Punished
By Laura Northrup on April 29, 2010 11:00 AM
16 Comments
A reminder to any bloggers who like free stuff, and companies working on exciting new Internet marketing strategies: the Federal Trade Commission is watching you, so keep to their guidelines that dictate bloggers must disclose any compensation that they receive for posting about or reviewing a product. While they didn't take any action against clothing retailer Ann Taylor for offering gift cards to bloggers who posted about a new collection, the scrutiny was an important message in itself. More »
Man Sues Sony For Taking Away PS3 Feature Via Update
By Phil Villarreal on April 29, 2010 9:30 AM
108 Comments
Not content to let Sony take away the PS3's ability to let users install alternate operating systems such as Linux, a man is bringing a class action lawsuit against the company. More »
(genebob)
Walmart Facing Mega Sex Discrimination Suit
By Phil Villarreal on April 29, 2010 8:00 AM
68 Comments
The Daily Beast spotlights a woman who joined in on the ongoing Betty Dukes v. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. sex discrimination class action suit against Walmart, the largest civil rights class action suit in American history. More »
VIDEO: Watch Bankzilla Devour An Innocent Passerby In D.C.
By Chris Morran on April 28, 2010 2:45 PM
41 Comments
Don't say we didn't try to warn people. We posted yesterday that our benevolent benefactors at Consumers Union would be unleashing Bankzilla upon the innocent people of Washington, D.C., and we were not kidding. Just check out the video for the evidence. More »
Here Are America's Most Corrupt Industries
By Chris Walters on April 28, 2010 8:04 AM
77 Comments
Do you work in a corrupt industry? The Daily Beast took a look at data gathered by Transparency International, a "global anti-corruption think tank," and put together a list of America's most corrupt professions. Everyone may be hating on Wall Street right now, but the worst offenders according to the criteria used are utilities. In second and third place were Wall Street and telecommunications, and media came in fifth, well before banking, insurance, or retail. More »
(IMDB)
Financial Reform Bill Blocked Again
By Marc Perton on April 27, 2010 6:23 PM
79 Comments
It's deja vu all over again: For the second day in a row, Republicans blocked debate on the financial reform bill. Once more, the vote was 57-41. And, once more, Democrat Ben Nelson of Nebraska broke ranks and voted with Republicans against the bill. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid plans to bring the bill up for a vote again tomorrow. More »
(C-SPAN)
Senator To Goldman Sachs: "Why Did You Push A Shitty Deal?"
By Marc Perton on April 27, 2010 4:06 PM
63 Comments
We don't normally put expletives in our headlines, but when a Senator says the word nearly a dozen times in an open hearing, who are we to argue? And, we have to admit, Senator Carl Levin (D-MI) certainly makes a compelling case when he reads back Goldman Sachs internal emails and concludes that the company's "top priority was selling that shitty deal." Video after the jump. More »
(chris morran)
Brazil's Cure For High Blood Pressure? More Sex
By Chris Morran on April 27, 2010 2:40 PM
23 Comments
Brazilians are a passionate people. Unfortunately, they are also a people with high blood pressure. But the country's health minister is telling Brazilians that a good place to fight heart problems is between the sheets. More »
Can A Price Scanner Give You Tourette's? (No, Says Judge)
By Chris Walters on April 27, 2010 12:12 PM
56 Comments
I've certainly fought back the urge to shout obscenities at the register over the years, but until now I never thought it might be because the laser in the scanner was triggering an inherited tic disorder; I just thought I was angry about something. A woman in Pennsylvania thinks otherwise and sued a convenience store, claiming that when a clerk shone a price scanner's LED in her daughter's face and told her to cheer up, the light burned her daughter and triggered Tourette's-style symptoms. The judge threw out the case earlier this month for lack of evidence. More »
Did Paulson Violate The Fair Credit Reporting Act?
By Chris Walters on April 27, 2010 9:29 AM
19 Comments
When the SEC announced its fraud complaint against Goldman Sachs, people noted that the penalties involved would involve money, not jail time. But an attorney writing for seekingalpha.com argued over the weekend that John Paulson, the hedge fund manager who worked with GS to create "synthetic derivatives," accessed FICO scores to create his financial product and therefore violated the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA)—which could mean a penalty as high as $1 billion, and even jail time if the FTC or Justice Department decides to go after him. More »
Financial Reform Bill Stalls In Senate
By Marc Perton on April 26, 2010 9:38 PM
84 Comments
With a 57-41 vote, Senate Republicans blocked debate over the White House-supported financial reform bill. The Democrats needed a 60-vote "supermajority" to avoid a Republican filibuster threat. Democrats plan to reintroduce the bill as early as tomorrow. More »
Supreme Court Makes It Easier To Sue Debt Collectors
By Chris Walters on April 26, 2010 12:15 PM
38 Comments
Last week, the Supreme Court ruled that debt collectors can't use a "bona fide error" defense to avoid being sued for misinterpreting the Fair Debt Collections Practices Act (FDCPA). In other words, if a debt collection agency makes a demand that's in violation of the Act, it can't say it didn't know any better. Well, it can, but you can go right ahead and sue. More »
10 Things You Don't Know About The Goldman Sachs Case
By Ben Popken on April 26, 2010 11:00 AM
33 Comments
The media spin cycle is churning out its typically tepid hogwash about the SEC's suit against Goldman Sachs. The Big Picture skewers 10 myths about the case and gets to the heart of the matter: Goldman is screwed. Here's why: More »
Senator Asks FTC To Provide Privacy Guidelines For Facebook, Other Social Networks
By Chris Walters on April 26, 2010 9:01 AM
17 Comments
Senator Charles Schumer is upset on your behalf over Facebook's latest loosening of its privacy policies, and yesterday he called for the FTC to step in and provide some guidance, offering to introduce legislation if the agency feels it needs that extra authority. Specifically, Schumer wants three things: opt-out defaults should be switched to opt-in, sites should always disclose where the information is going, and there should be some general "guidelines for user privacy" that sites follow. More »
What To Do When A Company Pulls Your Fair Use Video From YouTube
By Chris Walters on April 26, 2010 8:38 AM
37 Comments
Last week Constantin Films got YouTube to pull almost all the Angry Hitler parody clips by using the website's Content ID tracking system. The process is automatic, and YouTube immediately takes down a video once it's been tagged. However, that also means you can use this system in reverse to get your clips back up, at least for as long as you're in dispute with the copyright holder. Whether you do this or not will depend on how willing you are to risk a potential lawsuit later on. More »
FTC Protects Your Privacy, But FCC Rules At Hoops
By Marc Perton on April 24, 2010 3:43 PM
11 Comments
In a wide-ranging interview, Federal Trade Commission Chairman Jon Leibowitz spoke with NPR's On the Media about the agency's role in protecting consumer privacy, fighting back against deceptive marketing practices — and about Leibowitz's weekend basketball games with Federal Communications Commission chief Julius Genachowski: "Julius has been schooling me on the basketball court for some time. ... He's very crafty." More »
The Woman In Charge Of Making Sure You Are Not Offended By Movie Posters
By Meg Marco on April 23, 2010 11:40 AM
73 Comments
The NYT takes us behind the scenes of the endless nitpicking that goes on before a movie poster can be shown to the easily-offended public. Meet Marilyn Gordon. She is in charge of a team whose goal is to make sure you, the public, are not offended. More »
Massachusetts Appliance Rebate Program Lasts 145 Minutes
By Chris Morran on April 22, 2010 6:00 PM
39 Comments
When Massachusetts announced their cash-for-clunker appliance rebate program, Consumerist bet it would last one day before the rebate cash ran dry. We were wrong — it took less than three hours. More »
(White House Photo)
Obama To Bankers: Remember When Creating The FDIC Was Going To Ruin The Economy?
By Meg Marco on April 22, 2010 4:43 PM
74 Comments
During the President's address to Wall Street bankers today in New York City, he reminded them that their predecessors had completely flipped out about a bill that passed through Congress way back in 1933. It was, in their view, sure to "not only rob them of their pride of profession but would reduce all U.S. banking to its lowest level." What was this reform bill? More »
(zieak)
White House: Free Market Isn't "Free License To Take Whatever You Can Get"
By Meg Marco on April 22, 2010 10:10 AM
132 Comments
The White House has released potions of a speech to be made by the president later today in NYC. In it Mr. Obama calls on banking industry lobbyists to halt their efforts to stop financial reforms that he feels are in the best interest of the market and the country. More »
Pay Your Doctor In Chickens
By Chris Walters on April 21, 2010 2:01 PM
103 Comments
Sue Lowden, a senate candidate in Nevada, says if you want to combat health care costs you should consider bartering with your doctor. In an appearance on a local political talk show yesterday, she clarified her proposal: More »
(Disney)
$100 Bill Redesigned, Now Has Hidden Images
By Chris Walters on April 21, 2010 10:36 AM
85 Comments
Today the Treasury Department will reveal a redesigned $100 bill. The new design brings the bill in line with the smaller denominations that are already in circulation, and it adds a fancy new anti-counterfeiting measure called Motion that uses special threads to "create an optical illusion of images sliding in directions perpendicular to the light that catches them." More »
Should Google Be Broken Apart?
By Chris Walters on April 20, 2010 5:44 PM
83 Comments
The consumer group Consumer Watchdog is planning to ask the Justice Department to "launch an antitrust action against the search giant and seek remedies including a possible break up," reports the San Francisco Chronicle. The group will host a press conference in Washington, D.C. tomorrow where it will argue that there's enough evidence to warrant antitrust action from the feds. More »
(formatc1)
Amazon Sues North Carolina, Says It Won't Divulge Customer Names
By Chris Walters on April 20, 2010 12:51 PM
140 Comments
North Carolina's tax collectors want to find out which of the state's residents have bought untaxed goods from Amazon over the past seven years, so they visited Amazon's HQ in Seattle and demanded the retailer turn over its records. When Amazon said no, the state threatened to sue. What it got instead was a preemptive lawsuit from Amazon that "says the demand violates the privacy and First Amendment rights of Amazon's customers." More »
SEC Wants Disclosures For Asset Backed Securities Written In Python
By Chris Walters on April 20, 2010 12:29 PM
34 Comments
"Waterfall" provisions of asset backed securities are the rules that explain the flow of funds in the transaction, and they are are very hard to read. Blogger/professor Jayanth Varma calls them "horrendously complicated," leading trustees to make mistakes or pull stunts that investors never expected. To remedy this, the SEC is proposing that the provisions be written in a programming language, filed on EDGAR, and made available as downloadable Python source code. More »
Should "Legal Pot" Be Made Illegal?
By Chris Morran on April 20, 2010 12:24 PM
135 Comments
For several years, it's been completely legal for just about anyone in the U.S. to get their hands on K2, a so-called "herbal incense" which also happens to be sprayed with cannabinoids, meaning you should get a similar experience from smoking K2 as you would marijuana. However, it's recently been banned in Kansas and the state of Illinois is looking into the legality of K2. More »
Energy Star Introduces Stricter Rules In Attempt To Prevent Cheating
By Chris Walters on April 19, 2010 2:45 PM
11 Comments
Last year the Department of Energy, which co-administers the Energy Star certification program with the EPA, admitted that it allows many companies to certify their goods themselves. That was somewhat worrying, but nothing like what happened earlier this year when government auditors successfully got ludicrously power-hungry designs approved for the Energy Star label. The EPA and Energy Department have responded by announcing a new, stricter certification process. More »
CPSC To Create New Searchable Database For Consumer Complaints
By Meg Marco on April 16, 2010 11:49 AM
21 Comments
The Consumer Products Safety Commission has voted to create a new database of consumer complaints that will allow consumers to "see complaints of injuries or potential harm that are filed to the commission by consumers, safety groups, health care professionals and others," More »
(rivettip)
BBB Wants To Tear Your Personal Papers Apart Tomorrow
By Phil Villarreal on April 16, 2010 8:44 AM
25 Comments
The Better Business Bureau says tomorrow is Secure Your ID Day, which means 55 BBB locations around the country will provide free shredding services. You can frustrate identity thieves who planned on digging through your trash to find out your secret info by putting your files through the shredder. More »
Postmaster: USPS "On Brink Of Financial Insolvency"
By Chris Morran on April 15, 2010 4:25 PM
131 Comments
Postmaster General John Potter appeared before the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform to make his case for scrapping service on Saturdays, and what he had to say about the USPS wasn't exactly rainbows and sunshine. More »
NY State Worker Takes Friday Off For 17 Years Before Getting Caught
By Meg Marco on April 15, 2010 2:10 PM
103 Comments
The New York Post says that a state worker in charge of running a corrections department food facility took Fridays off... for 17 years. Now they're going after him for $230,000 worth of Friday pay, as well as other "ill-gotten" gains. More »
"Help, Equifax Won't Give Me My Credit Report!"
By Chris Walters on April 14, 2010 10:12 AM
25 Comments
A reader just had his credit limit lowered on a credit card due to some bad credit history that he says isn't his. He'd like to see what's going on with his credit report, but Equifax says he'll have to pay for the privilege, because they have no record of any inquiries in the past 60 days. The reader asks, "Has this happened to anyone else, where a credit card company waited over 60 days to notify them of credit limit reductions? Also, does this violate the FCRA?" More »
Tips For Those Filing Their Taxes At The Buzzer
By Phil Villarreal on April 14, 2010 9:30 AM
12 Comments
If you're going all Duke-Butler with your income taxes this year, Kiplinger's Mary Beth Franklin has some tips you might find helpful. Here they are, posted with permission: More »
Do You Trust Gas Stations To Self-Inspect Their Pumps?
By Chris Walters on April 14, 2010 9:29 AM
68 Comments
Pennsylvania is considering privatizing its Bureau of Weights and Measures to save money, reports CBS affiliate KDKA. This would mean gas stations would be responsible for making sure their pumps gave out the right amount of gas, and supermarkets would take over the certification for their deli scales. A consumer advocate calls this a "fox in the henhouse situation" that would make cheating far too easy. More »
Towing Company Sues Student Over Facebook Page
By Chris Walters on April 13, 2010 6:58 PM
134 Comments
T&J Towing of Kalamazoo, MI wants to send a message to anyone in the town who feels like complaining about the company online. They've filed a $750,000 defamation lawsuit against a Western Michigan University student for starting a Facebook page about them. More »
(elle emm)
Report: Lack Of Limits, Oversight, Lets Tainted Meat Out Into Market
By Chris Morran on April 13, 2010 3:28 PM
27 Comments
A new report issued by the Dept. of Agriculture's Office of the Inspector General says that tainted meat is making its way to your dinner plate because of a combination of inter-departmental squabbling and a lack of general oversight by the regulatory agencies involved. More »
North Face Reaches Settlement With South Butt
By Ben Popken on April 13, 2010 11:14 AM
59 Comments
Clothier North Face has reached an out-of-court settlement with parody vestment maker "South Butt." Once again, comedy wins! More »
New Documents Shed Light On Lethal Last Days Of WaMu
By Chris Morran on April 13, 2010 11:04 AM
18 Comments
Remember in Sept. 2008, when Washington Mutual went from being the sixth-largest bank in the U.S. to the biggest bank failure in U.S. history? Well, newly released documents show just how reckless and money-grubbing WaMu was in its final months — and how some employees were reaping huge rewards as the bank sunk into the quicksand. More »
(erikg)
That Negative eBay Comment Could Get You Sued
By Phil Villarreal on April 13, 2010 10:31 AM
128 Comments
A Florida man is being sued for $15,000 for leaving a negative comment on a transaction to buy a $44 clock, breaking his perfect rating, NBC 2 of Florida reports: More »
Sheriff's Deputy Uses Stun Gun On 30 High Schoolers At Job Fair
By Chris Morran on April 12, 2010 1:26 PM
135 Comments
Maybe this is the real reason job fairs are being cancelled: A sheriff's deputy in Colorado has been suspended after using his taser on 30 high school students at a job fair last week. And it wasn't a case of overzealous policing; the students volunteered! More »
Go Economy! Americans Broke Food Stamps Record In January
By Phil Villarreal on April 12, 2010 12:07 PM
139 Comments
The L.A. Times reports Americans' love of eating and immense poverty have combined to help our people set a new record for food stamp consumption in a month. More »
(PhillipC)
Senator Joins DOT Secretary In Blasting Spirit's New Carry-On Bag Fees
By Chris Walters on April 12, 2010 10:25 AM
67 Comments
Spirit Airline's ballsy new $20-45 fee for carry-on bags has already caught the attention of the Department of Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, and now New York Senator Charles Schumer is rattling his sword. More »
Obamacare Provides A Room To Pump Breast Milk In
By Mary Beth Quirk on April 11, 2010 3:41 PM
146 Comments
Whether you are a proponent of breastfeeding or not, the reality is that working mothers who do nurse their children need a place to pump during the workday, and the bathroom just might not do. Luckily for them, the new health care bill signed by President Obama includes provisions for nursing women in the workplace. More »
(bigpresh)
Ryanair's Pay To Potty Policy Could Violate Laws
By Mary Beth Quirk on April 11, 2010 12:53 PM
96 Comments
If you’re still angry over airline Ryanair's announcement last week that they’ll begin charging to use the bathroom on flights, as well as reducing the number of lavatories, you’re not alone — and the law might be on your side. One critic of the policy says he thinks the airline could be violating the Americans with Disabilities Act by limiting access to restrooms. More »
NHTSA Investigating Possible Brake Problems In 6 Million GM Trucks & SUVs
By Chris Morran on April 9, 2010 2:28 PM
30 Comments
NHTSA, fresh off its $16 million smackdown on Toyota is now investigating the company that booted Toyota from Consumerist's Worst Company In America tournament — General Motor — for possible brake failure issues in millions of the company's trucks and SUVs. More »
Judge Forces Comcast To Pay Customer $5,087
By Ben Popken on April 9, 2010 1:00 PM
32 Comments
"I have researched his issues and based on our records the case is without merit," wrote a Comcast spokesperson to local news investigator Amy Davis. She was looking into the case of Wayne, whose credit was damaged by Comcast just before he was going to refinance his house. This meant that on top of what he had already paid to lock in a lower interest rate, he had to pay several thousand dollars more. More »
DOT Secretary: Spirit Airlines Doesn't Care About Their Customers
By Chris Morran on April 9, 2010 9:07 AM
68 Comments
If you found yourself getting all riled up by Spirit Airlines' announcement on Tuesday that they are now charging for carry-on bags, you were not alone. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood has taken aim the move, calling it "outrageous" and "ridiculous." More »
Carlsberg Workers Strike Because They Can't Drink On The Job
By Chris Morran on April 9, 2010 8:50 AM
49 Comments
Warehouse workers at the Carlsberg brewery in Denmark have been striking this week, not over wages or unsafe working conditions, but because they can only drink on the job during lunch... and not as much as the company's truck drivers. More »
FDA: Your Antibacterial Soap May Be No Better Than My Regular Soap
By Chris Morran on April 8, 2010 4:51 PM
52 Comments
Responding to concerns from Congress, the FDA announced today that they are in the process of reviewing how consumers use triclosan, an antibacterial agent used in soap and many other products. And while the FDA says it doesn't have enough info to tell people not to use soaps containing triclosan, it also doesn't see any evidence that adding triclosan to soap makes any difference. More »
Who's Showing Love For Consumerist Today?
By Chris Morran on April 8, 2010 3:10 PM
24 Comments
Our more scholarly siblings over at Consumer Reports recently sat down for an interview with David Vladeck, director of the Bureau of Consumer Protection at the Federal Trade Commission. And while Mr. Vladeck had all sorts of important things to say about scams, frauds and various sorts of hoodwinkery, the most important thing is that he likes us... he really likes us. More »
Teacher Defeats Traffic Ticket With The Power Of Math
By Laura Northrup on April 8, 2010 11:00 AM
162 Comments
Have you ever suspected that your city or town is trying too hard to catch traffic scofflaws in the pursuit of ticket revenue? A Florida woman received a ticket based on evidence from a red light camera, but believed the ticket was unfair because the yellow light was too short. The power of math proved that she was correct.. More »
If You Were Broke, You Don't Need To Pay Taxes On Forgiven Debt
By Ben Popken on April 8, 2010 11:00 AM
19 Comments
Here's an important caveat to our "You Need To Pay Taxes On Forgiven Credit Card Debt," post: you don't need to pay the taxes if you were insolvent at the time the debt was discharged. More »
Judge Fired In The Case Of The Overdue DVD
By Chris Morran on April 7, 2010 6:57 PM
63 Comments
Remember a few weeks back when we wrote of the Colorado teen who was arrested for an overdue DVD from his local library? There's an update — the judge who issued the arrest warrant in the case has been fired. More »
Ex-Stripper Files Lawsuit After Seeing Herself On Billboard
By Chris Morran on April 7, 2010 3:06 PM
75 Comments
For as much as exotic dancers (you might call them strippers) show off when they're spinning around the brass pole on stage at the club, most of them are pretty private about their profession when they're not at work. That explains why a former dancer of the exotic type filed a lawsuit after she saw a picture of herself being used on a billboard — for a club she never even worked at. More »
Brooklyn Police Close 6 Stores On The Same Street For Selling Pot
By Chris Walters on April 6, 2010 8:00 PM
111 Comments
Up until today, if you lived near a certain street in Crown Heights, Brooklyn and wanted some pot, you just had to go to the nearby variety store. Or the music store. Or the take-out restaurants. MyFox New York says police "made a sweep of the neighborhood" today and shut down six businesses for selling drugs either in the back or right alongside the regular merchandise. They also arrested 8 people, including a few store owners and employees, and are planning more arrests. Video below. More »
Comcast Issues the Smackdown On FCC, Net Neutrality
By Meg Marco on April 6, 2010 3:57 PM
86 Comments
Comcast has won a key court battle as the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia ruled that the FCC lacks authority to require broadband providers to give equal treatment to all Internet traffic flowing over their networks, reports the AP. More »
(afagen)
Police Say NY Pizzeria Owner Spit In Pizza
By Phil Villarreal on April 6, 2010 10:30 AM
35 Comments
Authorities accuse a New York pizza shop owner of adding a free extra salivary topping to a pizza ordered by someone she apparently thought could use some extra flavor, Syracuse.com reports. More »
Man Receives Ticket While Walking From Car To Parking Meter
By Meg Marco on April 5, 2010 2:26 PM
132 Comments
This image, currently going crazy on reddit, speaks for itself. We hope it is real, but also hope that it isn't. Ya know? For humanity's sake? Or at least the City of Melbourne's sake... More »
12 Scams To Watch Out For During Tax Time
By Chris Morran on April 5, 2010 11:30 AM
13 Comments
For the last several years, the IRS has released their Dirty Dozen list of tax scams, including schemes involving return preparer fraud, hiding income offshore and phishing. They recently posted the 2010 version on their website. More »
AIG Chief Believes They'll Pay Back Bailout Billions Before Deadline
By Chris Morran on April 4, 2010 11:13 AM
19 Comments
$182.3 billion is a hefty tab to pay off, but the CEO of AIG says he feels "pretty comfortable" that his company will be able to get that all back to the government between now and the Sept. 2013 deadline. More »
Is Financial Reform Too Confusing For Most Journalists (And Consumers)?
By Marc Perton on April 4, 2010 11:04 AM
27 Comments
With financial reform likely to be the next big target of the White House, NPR's On the Media worries that the topic could be too confusing for most journalists to really understand well enough to explain to the American people. And this includes journalists who do this all day, every day. More »
You Need To Pay Taxes On Forgiven Credit Card Debt
By Ben Popken on April 2, 2010 2:29 PM
54 Comments
If you had some credit card debt canceled in 2009 the IRS might want a piece of it. More »
Man Sues Petsmart For $1 Million After Stepping In Dog Poop
By Laura Northrup on April 1, 2010 4:47 PM
124 Comments
When visiting a pet store that allows leashed pets to visit, is it unreasonable to keep an eye out for dog poop? Inside the store? The Virginian-Pilot reports that a man is suing Petsmart in federal court after slipping and falling on a pile of feces in a Norfolk, Va. store. He alleges that the fall exacerbated his existing back injury and knocked out four of his false teeth. More »
USPS Cares About Your Mail When It Doesn't Really Count
By Laura Northrup on April 1, 2010 3:44 PM
59 Comments
Lana is a little frustrated with the U.S. Postal Service right now. She writes that she received an odd envelope in the mail from USPS—the tear-off advertising sheet from the front of a Netflix envelope addressed to her. An overly conscientious postal employee took the flyer, carefully placed it in a damaged item envelope, and mailed it back to Lana. More »
Join The Latest And Greatest Class Action Lawsuits
By Ben Popken on April 1, 2010 10:36 AM
25 Comments
If you got some free time and want some cash and are cool with waiting a few months for it to arrive, here are some new class action lawsuits you can join. More »
IRS Extends Tax Deadline To May 11 For Victims Of Flood
By Chris Morran on April 1, 2010 9:25 AM
29 Comments
With torrential rains causing massive flooding in Rhode Island and parts of Massachusetts, the IRS has decided to make victims' lives a little less stressful by moving the due date for filing their federal income tax returns. More »
MTA Doesn't LOL At WTF Poster
By Chris Morran on March 31, 2010 10:40 PM
39 Comments
In these cash-strapped times, you'd think anyone willing to buy $50K worth of ad space on subways and buses would be a good thing. But for some reason, the New York Metropolitan Transit Authority wasn't happy with this recently proposed ad campaign. More »
Asphalt Has Become So Expensive That Some States Are Going Back To Gravel
By Chris Walters on March 31, 2010 10:26 AM
93 Comments
Kiplinger says that in the near future, if you're driving down a rural or less-traveled road, you might find yourself driving on gravel. Road asphalt has doubled in price over the past three years and shows no signs of coming back down, so some states—Michigan, Minnesota, Indiana, Vermont, and Pennsylvania to begin with—are looking for ways to cut corners. Gravel costs $20 a ton compared to asphalt's current $400/ton price. More »
Postal Service's Saturday Cuts Will Hurt Netflix
By Phil Villarreal on March 31, 2010 8:43 AM
99 Comments
Ethan Epstein of Slate's The Big Money draws the natural conclusion that the USPS's plans to stop Saturday service won't work out so well for rent-by-mail companies such as Netflix. More »
(AZCardinalsRule)
I Got $5 Because I Was Offended By Grand Theft Auto
By Phil Villarreal on March 31, 2010 8:00 AM
71 Comments
Reader AZCardinalsRule received a settlement check from the infamous Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas class action suit. More »
The Census Is Getting Weird With Its Marketing
surprise fear and surprise surprise, fear, and a ruthless efficiency to remind people to send back their forms. Oh, and they're ruining fortune cookies. I fully expect to be forced into a comfy chair soon, which all in all isn't a bad way to be tortured, so meh. More »
By Chris Walters on March 30, 2010 9:00 PM
73 Comments
"Nobody expects the U.S. Census! Our chief weapon is surprise!" A Seattle blogger posted a photograph of a fortune she received in her fortune cookie recently, and it looks like the Census is using 
Judge Says You Can't Patent Human Genes
By Chris Walters on March 30, 2010 1:37 PM
42 Comments
A judge just invalidated the patents on two human genes whose mutations have been linked to breast and ovarian cancer. The genes were isolated by a biotech firm called Myriad Genetics, which argued that because it figured out how to isolate the genes outside of the human body then they were patentable. The judge called that "a ‘lawyer’s trick’ that circumvents the prohibition on the direct patenting of the DNA in our bodies." The company sells a $3,000 cancer screening kit and has maintained a monopoly on the test because of the patents. More »
Mastercard Spent $960,000 In Q4 To Lobby Congress
MasterCard spends $960,000 in 4Q to lobby Congress [AP via LowCards] More »
By Ben Popken on March 30, 2010 10:21 AM
24 Comments
Kaching, kaching, that's the sound of Mastercard's lobbyist's coffers engorging. The credit card company spent nearly a million dollars in the 4th quarter to lobby Congress critters. By comparison, they spent only $680,000 in the 3rd quarter, and $510,000 in Q4 2008. Among the issues of keen interest to the big orange and yellow interlocking circle: overdraft fees, banking reform, interchange fees, issuer practices, and the Consumer Financial Protection Agency. The good thing about being Mastercard is that you can just charge all your lobbying expenditures.MasterCard spends $960,000 in 4Q to lobby Congress [AP via LowCards] More »
(opacity)
Man Files $530K Lawsuit Against Neighbor For Using WiFi, iPhone, Dimmer Switches
By Chris Morran on March 29, 2010 11:35 AM
158 Comments
Beware your home electronics — your phones, wireless routers, even your dimmer switches — because they might be making your neighbor ill. Or at least that's what one man in New Mexico is saying in a lawsuit against a technology-loving former friend. More »
(u2acro)
Government Mortgage Relief Plan May Buoy Underwater Homeowners
By Marc Perton on March 26, 2010 6:01 PM
72 Comments
A new program announced by the Obama Administration today could help homeowners whose homes have declined in value by offering new government-backed loans and getting lenders to reduce the principal owed on homes whose values have fallen by at least 15%. The catch? Investors who own existing mortgages won't be forced to participate in the new, voluntary program. More »
Congressional Audit Shows That EnergyStar Label May Be Meaningless
By Laura Northrup on March 26, 2010 5:31 PM
47 Comments
Does an EnergyStar label change your perception of a product? Maybe it shouldn't. Last year, an audit showed that Energy Star gave its rating to products that misrepresented their energy usage. This time, auditors posed as companies and submitted completely absurd appliances for EnergyStar ratings, like a gasoline-powered alarm clock the size of a portable generator, and a space heater with a feather duster on top claiming to be an "air purifier." Is the study meaningless because no actual products were sold, or a warning that the program is sloppy and susceptible to fraud? More »
(dbraaten)
Lawyers Begin Scrambling For Position In Toyota Lawsuits
By Chris Morran on March 26, 2010 2:30 PM
26 Comments
More than 100 lawyers from all around the country packed into a San Diego courtroom yesterday in an attempt to stake their claim to the lion's share of any settlements that come from the multitude of federal lawsuits filed against Toyota in recent weeks. More »
POLL: Should Tanning Beds Require Parental Consent?
By Chris Morran on March 26, 2010 1:31 PM
141 Comments
Yesterday, a Food & Drug Administration advisory panel suggested that the FDA begin making it a requirement for children and teenagers who want to get a golden glow from a tanning bed that they must first obtain parental consent on a form documenting that the parents are aware of the potential hazards of tanning. Since I get my sun the natural way — from the backlit screen of my laptop — I'd like to know from y'all whether you think this is a sensible idea that will help prevent skin disease and cancer in the long run or if it's just more mandated mollycoddling... More »
Cellphone User Sues Movie Theater After Arm Rest Hits Her Head
By Meg Marco on March 26, 2010 12:32 PM
179 Comments
A woman who was hunched over chatting on her cellphone "discreetly" says the movie theater she was in is negligent because an arm rest fell down and smacked her in the head. More »
ConEd To Raise Electric Rates 12.6% Over 3 Years
By Chris Morran on March 26, 2010 11:44 AM
40 Comments
As the slumbering economy forces more people to think of ways to save money, the basic costs of living continue to increase. Case in point: Con Edison is set to jack up rates for electricity to millions of customers in the New York City metro area. More »
Man Sues GameStop For Deceptive Used Game Sales
By Phil Villarreal on March 26, 2010 9:30 AM
103 Comments
A California man is suing GameStop because he bought a used game that lacked a valid code he needed to download contest promised on the cover of the box, IGN reports. More »
Computer Hacking ID Thief Gets 20-Year Prison Term
By Chris Morran on March 26, 2010 8:31 AM
19 Comments
A federal court in Boston has sentenced Albert Gonzalez, the Miami computer hacker behind millions of dollars in credit card theft from national retailers like TJ Maxx, BJs, Barnes & Noble and more, to 20 years in prison for his crimes. More »
(rmgustaf)
Car Warranty Robocallers Banned From Telemarketing, Will Pay $665,000
By Meg Marco on March 25, 2010 7:14 PM
50 Comments
The FTC says that the person behind a deceptive robocalling operation that allegedly used prerecorded messages to "fraudulently pitch extended auto warranties to U.S. consumers" will have to pay $655,000 as well as "turn over the proceeds from the sale of his second home in Florida and two luxury cars, a Porsche 911 and a Lexus sedan." More »
(ashi)
FTC Catches 30% Of Funeral Homes Violating Consumer Laws
By Laura Northrup on March 25, 2010 6:29 PM
34 Comments
Thanks to the Federal Trade Commission, consumers have certain rights when it comes to funerals. Consumers have the right to purchase only the products or services they need, to use the services of a funeral home while declining embalming, to see written price lists before they begin to make decisions, and the right to purchase a casket or urn elsewhere. An undercover FTC investigation, however, discovered that in 30% of the funeral homes they visited, at least one part of the Funeral Rule of 1984 was violated. More »
Starbucks CEO Thinks You Can't Carry A Loaded Gun Into Starbucks
By Chris Morran on March 25, 2010 11:32 AM
168 Comments
With Starbucks finding itself in the crosshairs of a debate between gun control and firearms rights advocates, one would think that the CEO of the company would understand whether or not customers were allowed to carry loaded guns into his stores. One would be wrong. More »
Californians To Vote On Marijuana Legalization
By Chris Morran on March 25, 2010 11:05 AM
166 Comments
Forget New York's proposal to raise the tax on cigarettes by $1 — California lawmakers have a much cloudier political situation on their hands. Election officials confirmed yesterday that voters will get the chance to say yea or nay to legalizing and taxing marijuana in their state. More »
Kmart Settles Age Discrimination Suit For $120K
By Chris Morran on March 25, 2010 9:35 AM
50 Comments
Kmart has agreed to a $120,000 settlement in an age discrimination lawsuit filed by a former employee at one of their stores in Hawaii. More »
POLL: Do You Really Need To Get Mail On Saturday?
By Chris Morran on March 24, 2010 6:00 PM
188 Comments
The USPS got one step closer to their goal of eliminating Saturday delivery with the Postmaster General earning approval to take their proposal to the Postal Regulatory Committee next week. If they ultimately get the PRC and Congress to sign off, that would be the end to 6-day service. But will it matter to you if you don't get your mail on Saturdays? More »
Two Women Sue Groceries After Slipping On Runaway Grapes
By Chris Morran on March 24, 2010 10:55 AM
51 Comments
In one of the odder coincidences in food-related lawsuit history, two separate Chicago-area women each filed suits against two separate grocery stores this week... for slipping and falling on runaway grapes. More »
Fed Makes Sure Gift Cards Are Still A Bad Deal
By Marc Perton on March 24, 2010 9:33 AM
23 Comments
When the CARD Act went into effect in February, it also included new rules designed to limit some of the more egregious practices of gift-card issuers, like early expiration dates and "dormancy" fees. However, Congress put the Federal Reserve in charge of interpreting the new law, and yesterday the agency unwrapped its new collection of rules. Is it too late to return this one? More »
(blue_j)
Health Care Reform Is Also Tax Reform: Here Are Some Changes
By Phil Villarreal on March 24, 2010 9:30 AM
114 Comments
Kiplinger tracked down the tax implications of the health care reform bill Barack Obama signed into law Tuesday. More »
(diaper)
NY State Considering $1/Pack Increase To Cigarette Tax
By Chris Morran on March 24, 2010 8:46 AM
97 Comments
After the failure to pass a tax on high-calorie beverages in NY state, the state assembly has once again turned to the idea of taxing cigarettes for increased revenue. More »
Pay Czar Cuts Exec Pay 15% At AIG, GM And Others
By Chris Morran on March 24, 2010 8:25 AM
40 Comments
Kenneth Feinberg, better known as the Obama administration's pay czar, announced yesterday that he'd cut salaries on top executives at 5 companies that are still using bailout cash. More »
(Wired)
TJX Hacker May Have Also Been Working For The Secret Service For $75,000 A Year
By Chris Walters on March 23, 2010 9:30 AM
11 Comments
Albert Gonzalez, the mastermind behind most of the multi-million dollar credit card breaches in the past few years, is being sentenced this week. (Feds are asking for 25 years.) Now his former accomplice, Stephen Watt, has told Wired that while Gonzalez was busy stealing and selling credit card data he was also being paid under the table by the U.S. Secret Service to inform on others, earning as much as $75,000 in cash annually. More »
Document Shows Toyota Knew Of Camry Acceleration Issues In 2002
By Chris Morran on March 23, 2010 9:01 AM
24 Comments
A newly uncovered document shows that Toyota alerted dealers to complaints from some drivers of 2002 Camrys about "surging during light throttle input at speeds between 38-42 mph" and that the resolution to the issue is an electronic, not mechanical issue. More »
Grok Health Care Reform With This Comic
For Consumers, Clarity on Health Care Changes [Image Think via Jodi Beggs] More »
By Ben Popken on March 23, 2010 6:48 AM
47 Comments
This graphic by Heather at Image Think does a pretty good job of explaining the major features and changes of the health care bill that Obama is set to sign on Tuesday.For Consumers, Clarity on Health Care Changes [Image Think via Jodi Beggs] More »
62 DFAS Employees To Be Terminated For Bad Credit
By Chris Walters on March 22, 2010 3:47 PM
85 Comments
The Defense Finance and Accounting Service (DFAS), a military payroll facility in Ohio, has told at least 62 of its employees that they will be terminated for having bad credit, reports WKYC. Troy Marshall, a 17-year veteran at the DFAS and one of the people being fired (incidentally, he's also the president of a union that expanded jobs at the DFAS five years ago), told WKYC that he handles Social Security numbers and maiden names, but nothing else. “We are people. We are not just numbers. We are not just credit reports... Look at the whole person.” More »
(afagen)
House Passes Senate Health Care Bill
By Chris Morran on March 22, 2010 2:03 AM
328 Comments
In a narrow vote, the US House of Representatives signed off on the Senate's national health care plan. The bill will now move onto the White House to, presumably, be signed by President Obama. More »
Tampa's Stripper Mobile Is Back In Business
By Laura Northrup on March 20, 2010 7:00 PM
42 Comments
The Stripper Mobile is a rolling billboard for Tampa's Déjà Vu gentlemen's club. It's a truck that rolls around the city with a glassed-in box in the back where bikini-clad strippers pole dance, gyrate, and distract every driver on the road. The city took the Stripper Mobile off the road because of...problems with the truck's registration. The city, however, was concerned with the Stripper Mobile's trips through residential neighborhoods, skimpy bikinis, and vigorous booty-shaking. Now the truck is back, in a much tamer form that will probably still piss people off. More »
(colros)
Zocor Can Increase Chance Of Muscle Injury & Kidney Damage: FDA
By Chris Morran on March 19, 2010 2:59 PM
40 Comments
While myopathy (muscle injury) is a known side effect for all cholesterol-lowering statin medications, the FDA has just issued a warning that, when prescribed and used at higher doses, Zocor (generic name: simvastatin) carries with it a greater risk of developing muscle injury, including the most serious form of myopathy, rhabdomyolysis, which can lead to kidney damage, kidney failure, and possibly death. More »
Know The Differences Between House And Senate CFPA Bills
Comparing the House and Senate Financial Reform Bills [NYT] More »
By Ben Popken on March 19, 2010 2:34 PM
7 Comments
Quick, what's the differences between the House and the Senate bills for creating the Consumer Financial Protection Agency? 4,3,2,1, okay, you can stop sweating, NYT has got you covered. Left column shows House, right column shows Senate. Choose the key areas to focus in on, like consumer protection, risk and executive pay on the left. Then dazzle your friends at the bar tonight!Comparing the House and Senate Financial Reform Bills [NYT] More »
FAA Proposes Over $1 Million In Fines Against American Airlines
By Chris Morran on March 19, 2010 12:04 PM
27 Comments
It's been a bad week for American Airlines. Not only are their flight attendants and ground crew edging closer to a strike, the FAA has proposed over $1 million in fines for alleged safety violations. More »
New FDA Rules Take The Fun Out Of Cigarette Advertising
By Chris Morran on March 19, 2010 9:35 AM
110 Comments
It's been fifteen years and three presidents since it was first proposed, but the FDA has now signed off on a new set of rules for tobacco companies that seek to limit the marketing of cigarettes and chewing tobacco to teens and children. These new rules cover both advertising and distribution and will essentially put an end to tobacco-branded clothing, tobacco-sponsored sporting and music events, and the use of music in tobacco ads on the radio. More »
NHTSA: No Evidence Of Braking In NY Prius Crash
By Chris Morran on March 18, 2010 6:50 PM
61 Comments
Looks like those who called "driver error" on the Prius that slammed into a stone wall in upstate New York a couple weeks back might have reason to boast. An e-mail from NHTSA seems to negate the driver's claims that she attempted to brake during the incident. More »
How Safe Is Your Facebook Info From The Feds?
By Chris Morran on March 18, 2010 11:33 AM
69 Comments
Newly released documents under the Freedom of Information Act reveal not just the Justice Department's guidelines for how to use social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter for investigative purposes, but which ones are the most friendly to their requests for access to user info. More »
(Photo: Abeeeer)
American Airlines, Jet Blue, Delta Seek To Delay Tarmac Imprisonment Rule
By Chris Walters on March 17, 2010 10:37 AM
30 Comments
You know that new rule that says airlines have to let passengers off the plane if it's stuck on the tarmac for more than 3 hours? It's supposed to go into effect in April, but at least three airlines are hoping to delay it because they say runway repairs at JFK Airport will interfere with schedules. More »
Heath Reform Fears: Consumer Reports Interviews Obama Administration
By Ben Popken on March 16, 2010 4:34 PM
140 Comments
Health reform is scary, which is why one of my grandma's keeps forwarding me emails about how Obama is going to steal her walker. Will it save me money? What if I hate my employer's insurance? What changes would I notice right away? Consumer Reports took your questions to the Administration to cut through the hype and get the facts. Nancy Metcalf interviews Secretary of Health & Human Services, Kathleen Sebelius. More »
NYC Health Dept. To Post Letter Grades On All Restaurants
By Chris Morran on March 16, 2010 4:06 PM
85 Comments
In a move toward greater transparency, the New York City Board of Health has decided that all restaurants in the five boroughs will now be required to post large letter grades reflecting the results of their most recent health inspection. More »
Researchers Urge Government To Levy Tax On Pizza
By Chris Morran on March 16, 2010 2:38 PM
151 Comments
While the current Soda Tax trend looks doomed to fail in New York state and Philadelphia, researchers are already making a suggestion for the target of the next sin tax — pizza. More »
Dentist Accused Of Using Paper Clips During Root Canals
By Chris Morran on March 16, 2010 1:39 PM
42 Comments
Paper clips are really handy. You can use them for things like hitting that tiny reset button on your DVR and, well, clipping paper. And according to the Attorney General's office in Massachusetts, one dentist was using them in patients' mouths during root canals. More »
Do You Mind If Mint Sells Data Based On Your Transactions?
By Chris Walters on March 16, 2010 11:34 AM
64 Comments
Financial blogger Felix Salmon wants to know why there isn't regulatory oversight of Mint and other financial management websites, especially if they're going to sell data created from their users' transaction histories. More »
(SA_Steve)
Soda Tax Failing In NY, Big Joke In Philadelphia
By Chris Morran on March 16, 2010 9:16 AM
59 Comments
Several states and cities around the country consider taking part in the latest trend of levying a "soda tax" on high-calorie beverages. But in New York state, the measure looks certain to die a quiet death in the state house, while the folks in Philadelphia are looking at a loophole that could render the whole "combatting obesity" thing nonexistent. More »
(ibeamee)
Court Overturns $18 Million Verdict Against Ford
By Chris Morran on March 16, 2010 8:35 AM
32 Comments
Yesterday, a court in South Carolina overturned an $18 million verdict against Ford stemming from a fatal 1999 incident involving a Ford Explorer. Their reasoning behind the reversal — an expert who testified about the vehicle's cruise control system apparently knew nothing about cruise control systems. More »
Former AIG Folk Threaten Lawsuit Over Delayed Bonuses
By Chris Morran on March 16, 2010 5:12 AM
32 Comments
In a move designed to make sure their neighbors throw extra eggs at their houses, a handful of former AIG employees are threatening to sue because they haven't received bonuses as quickly as they had expected. More »
Senate Bill Adds Consumer Protections; Advocates Want More
By Marc Perton on March 15, 2010 11:42 PM
14 Comments
Senate Banking Committee Chairman Chris Dodd (D-CT) unveiled a 1,336-page financial reform bill today, as consumer advocates warned that it doesn't offer enough to protect the public and concentrates too much power in the Federal Reserve, and bankers complained the bill would "confuse consumers and businesses." No wonder Dodd's quitting his job. More »
Pilots Who Missed Minnesota Will Not Appeal License Revocation
By Chris Morran on March 15, 2010 5:33 PM
40 Comments
Remember those Northwest Airlines pilots who were too busy looking at their laptops to bother landing in Minneapolis? They have made a deal with the FAA to drop their appeal to have their licenses reinstated. More »
States Realizing That A $50 Rebate Won't Make A Broke Person Buy A Fridge
By Meg Marco on March 15, 2010 4:05 PM
50 Comments
USAToday says some states, like Iowa and Minnesota, offered nice big rebates ($100 to $250 or more) in the cash for appliances stimulus program. Consequently, those states gave away the money and had a successful program. Meanwhile, New York, which offered only a $75 rebate on a new fridge or clothes washer, set a 10-day window in February for its $16.8 million in rebates, has $7 million left a month a month later. More »
FCC Leaks Summary Of National Broadband Plan
By Chris Walters on March 15, 2010 2:02 PM
38 Comments
The FCC has released a scan (PDF) of the five-page executive summary of the National Broadband Plan that it will present to Congress in two days. Although the summary is packed with recommendations, here's a couple that a lot of broadband customers might be interested in: the FCC wants to develop "disclosure requirements for broadband service providers" so that consumers can make the best choice for service, and it wants to map broadband services across the country to better identify "specific geographies or market segments" where there's not enough competition. More »
Inspectors Unable To Replicate Braking Problem In Runaway Prius Case
By Chris Morran on March 15, 2010 12:53 PM
71 Comments
Inspectors looking into last week's runaway Prius in Southern California are having troubled determining the cause of the incident, and haven't been able to replicate the braking problem. More »
(nDevilTV)
Test Your Broadband Speeds For The FCC
By Chris Walters on March 15, 2010 9:34 AM
27 Comments
Last Thursday, the FCC started collecting information from consumers about the quality of their broadband service. If you've got a PC that can run Java, you can go to Broadband.gov and run the test now. (The FCC will collect your IP address and physical address, but not your name or email address, reports Wired.) If you've got an iPhone or Android smartphone, you can download an app to measure your connectivity and report it. More »
Netflix Cancels $1 Million Contest, Settles Privacy Lawsuit
By Chris Morran on March 12, 2010 5:41 PM
61 Comments
As part of a settlement in a privacy lawsuit filed against Netflix late last year, the video delivery service has called off their $1 million Next Big Thing contest that started the whole problem in the first place. More »
Are You Eligible For Tax Credits? Follow This Handy Flowchart
By Laura Northrup on March 12, 2010 12:35 PM
20 Comments
Do you suspect you may be eligible for tax credits for to purchasing a new home or remodeling an existing one, but would like a sleek, simple infographic to guide you? Fixr is here to help, with a simple guide to this year's tax credits. More »
Ask The Administration Your Health Reform Questions
Ask a top administration official your questions about health reform [Consumer Reports Health Blog] More »
By Ben Popken on March 12, 2010 12:25 PM
53 Comments
Consumer Reports is going to the White House to ask them what's up with health reform, and they need your questions press to them. The Health Blog is going to interview Kathleen Sebelius, Secretary of Health and Human Services, the crackerjack former state insurance commissioner of Kansas. What does health reform mean? How much will it cost? Are we going to get savings or will private doctors get run out of business? Leave your questions in the comments here or over on the Consumer Reports Health Blog or email it to tips@consumerist.com, subject "health reform."Ask a top administration official your questions about health reform [Consumer Reports Health Blog] More »
(reegmo)
D.C. Has Customers Pay For Grocery Bags, Law Cuts Down On Waste
By Phil Villarreal on March 12, 2010 10:13 AM
162 Comments
A Washington, D.C. law mandates shoppers shell out a nickel for each grocery bag they use, and the regulation has caused people to stop taking as many unnecessary bags and reduced waste, the Baltimore Sun reports. More »
(goldberg)
Runaway Prius Was On Its Way To Dealership Before Crash
By Chris Morran on March 12, 2010 9:07 AM
61 Comments
Remember the story the other day about the woman in New York who slammed her runaway Prius into a stone wall? In an interesting little twist, the police say she was actually on her way to the Toyota dealership to have her car serviced when the incident occurred. More »
Use This Calculator To Set Your Paycheck Withholdings
By Phil Villarreal on March 12, 2010 8:43 AM
30 Comments
Tax refunds are fool's gold, because they're interest free loans you've been floating to the government all year long. The ideal move is to have just the right amount deducted from your paycheck each week so you'll pay a small amount come tax time. More »
How Bags Of Oranges Costs More Than Coke
By Ben Popken on March 12, 2010 8:11 AM
85 Comments
This is also why you're fat. A graph of inflation-adjusted data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics shows how the prices of different food and beverages has changed over the past three decades. The price of crap food over the past 30 years has dropped. At the same time, the food you used to try to hide in your glass of milk has gotten steadily more expensive. No wonder the average man in his 60's is 25 lbs heavier than he was in the late 70's. Hey, govmnt, how about shifting some of those corn and soybean subsidies over to produce growers? More »
Court Rules Against Selling Pink Floyd Songs Separately
By Chris Morran on March 11, 2010 2:44 PM
99 Comments
In a legal decision that could have a ripple effect on the digital download market, a British court has ruled that record label EMI can not sell songs from Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon album as individual downloads or ringtones. More »
Woman Crashes Toyota Into Church, Blames Stuck Accelerator
By Chris Morran on March 11, 2010 12:42 PM
115 Comments
Another day, another report of a Toyota crash being blamed on a stuck gas pedal. This time, it's a 76-year-old woman in Connecticut claiming her recalled Toyota Camry went nuts on her and — in spite of her best efforts to stop it — crashed into a church. More »
Consumer Protection Agency May Exempt Payday Lenders, Pawn Shops, Entire Point
By Laura Northrup on March 11, 2010 11:44 AM
40 Comments
The Washington Post reports that thanks to legislative compromise, banks and mortgage brokers may be the only financial institutions regulated by the proposed federal Consumer Financial Protection Agency—leaving entities that loan money but don't hold bank charters, such as auto dealers, pawn shops, and payday lenders, unregulated by the industry. Now an unholy alliance of banking industry groups and consumer advocates are fighting the proposal, each for their own reasons. More »
"Four Breast" Plastic Surgery Patient Wins Almost $1 Million Per Boob
By Chris Morran on March 11, 2010 10:35 AM
13 Comments
A few weeks back, we wrote about a woman in Staten Island who filed a lawsuit against her plastic surgeon, claiming her breast enhancement surgery was so botched that she effectively ended up with "four breasts." Well, her case must have been convincing, because a court has awarded her $3.5 million. More »
(strobist)
New York Lawmakers Consider Outlawing Salt
By Phil Villarreal on March 11, 2010 10:15 AM
139 Comments
Determined to match Utah in sheer craziness, the New York state assembly has turned its ire toward salt, considering a bill that would prohibit its use in cooking in state restaurants, with a $1,000 fine to slap violators. More »
Join The Class Action Against AT&T's Slothly DSL Speeds
By Ben Popken on March 11, 2010 10:06 AM
40 Comments
A class action has been filed against AT&T DSL for being too slow. Specifically, the suit alleges that AT&T set the maximum rate customers could get at a level that was lower than the advertised rate. The company denies these claims but has opted to settle instead of going to court. You're eligible to join if... More »
Food & Entertainment Industries Get Failing Grade For Pushing Unhealthy Snacks On Kids
By Chris Morran on March 10, 2010 2:33 PM
65 Comments
The folks over at the Center for Science in the Public Interest recently took a look at how 128 different food and entertainment companies market food to kids. And, perhaps not surprisingly, they gave failing marks to 95 of them for having either weak policies for marketing food products to children or having none at all. More »
Yet Another Toyota Prius Goes Rogue, Smashes Into Wall
By Chris Morran on March 10, 2010 8:55 AM
63 Comments
Things went from bad to worse to downright awful for Toyota on Tuesday as yet another of their Prius hybrid vehicles was involved in an accident involving a stuck accelerator pedal. More »
Mercedes-Benz Ordered To Pay $482k Over Lemon Car
By Chris Walters on March 9, 2010 7:10 PM
12 Comments
Wisconsin's lemon law for cars is pretty strict. If a customer demands a refund on a newly bought car that won't run and can't be repaired, the manufacturer has to comply within 30 days or pay double the purchase price plus legal fees. Marco Marquez has been fighting Mercedes-Benz for 4 years now over a $56,000 E 320 he bought in 2005 that immediately stopped working. He says the company deliberately stalled on giving him the refund in time, and last week a judge awarded him $482,000. More »
Toyota Still At Loss For How To FIx Problem WIth Prius
By Chris Morran on March 9, 2010 2:33 PM
19 Comments
A day after a 2008 Toyota Prius went rogue at speeds over 90mph on a California interstate, Toyota has admitted that, even though the Prius is on the current recall list, they don't quite know how to fix the problem. More »
LifeLock Settles With FTC For $11 Million Over False Claims In Ads
By Chris Morran on March 9, 2010 2:23 PM
14 Comments
For several years, LifeLock has been so brash about their skills at protecting customers from ID theft that they not only drove around a truck displaying their CEO's Social Security Number in public, they also advertised his SSN on TV ads. But that hubris has come back to bite them on the rear, as LifeLock has just agreed to a $11 million settlement with the Federal Trade Commission over the bulked-up claims made in their ads. More »
Colorado Teen Arrested For Overdue DVD
By Chris Morran on March 9, 2010 11:01 AM
97 Comments
A 19-year-old was pulled over at a traffic stop in Colorado a few weeks ago and quickly found himself arrested on an outstanding warrant. The charge? Not drugs or murder or even tax fraud. No, the perp was picked up because of an overdue DVD from his local library. More »
Amazon Cut Ties With Affiliates In Yet Another State Over Taxes
By Chris Morran on March 9, 2010 9:35 AM
100 Comments
The ongoing debate about whether or not to levy sales tax on online purchases got another talking point yesterday, as Amazon.com reacted to one such law in Colorado by completely dropping all of its affiliates in the state. More »
Toyota Prius Runs Wild At 90mph With Stuck Accelerator
By Chris Morran on March 9, 2010 3:20 AM
142 Comments
This is probably not how Toyota wanted their week to start. Yesterday afternoon in Southern California, a man called 911 because he was unable to unstick the accelerator pedal of his 2008 Toyota Prius and continued to drive at speeds of over 90 mph until finally coming to a stop. More »
Insurance Companies Want Fewer Policies At Higher Rates, Says Obama
By Chris Morran on March 8, 2010 7:08 PM
149 Comments
At a speech today in Philadelphia, President Barack Obama set his sights on the insurance industry as the main stumbling block to the passing of a National Health Care plan, saying they would rather not insure the people who need insurance the most. More »
Toyota Workers Say Bosses Have Ignored Safety Concerns For Years
By Chris Morran on March 8, 2010 2:23 PM
28 Comments
Adding a bit of fuel to the anti-Toyota fire, six Toyota manufacturing employees now say they wrote a memo to company executives in 2006 voicing concerns about vehicle safety and long-term impact on the company, only to be completely ignored. More »
NYC Mayor Bloomberg: Soda Tax Is An Easy Fix For Flagging Economy
By Chris Morran on March 8, 2010 1:36 PM
109 Comments
Even though an overwhelming number of Consumerist readers thought NY state's proposed "soda tax" on high calorie beverages was nothing but a cash grab, NYC Mayor ad eternum Michael Bloomberg says he's all for it, calling it an easy fix. More »
(respres)
New Program Wants To Help You Sell Your Home At A Loss
By Chris Morran on March 8, 2010 12:57 PM
31 Comments
While some indicators seem to say that the economy is turning around or at least not getting worse, there are still millions of homes out there that are at risk of foreclosure. And since so many of those outstanding mortgages were based on grossly inflated home prices, the odds of finding a buyer that will pay off the mortgage are slim. However, a new program about to take effect in April will encourage lenders to accept less than they're owed. More »
(SuziJane)
It's National Consumer Protection Week!
By Chris Walters on March 8, 2010 11:13 AM
6 Comments
The FTC has designated this week National Consumer Protection Week, so all scams will be put on hold and businesses won't overcharge you until next Sunday. What, no? That's now how it works? Ah... it looks like it's more about consumer education, which is also a good thing since that will help consumers protect themselves year round. For adults, here's a whole page of various scam prevention tips, fact sheets, and videos. If you're an educator, you can enroll in the National Financial Capability Challenge and get an "educator toolkit" to help you teach students how to be smart consumers. There's a section for businesses too, with information on how to protect customers' personal info and deter ID theft. More »
(sfxeric)
How Can I Make The Scamtastic Junk Mail Stop?
By Laura Northrup on March 6, 2010 4:00 PM
51 Comments
Jon needs help in getting out from under a pile of junk mail. He writes that after falling for a psychic scam, his grandparents have ended up on mailing lists advertising every scam imaginable. They receive about one hundred pieces of mail per week. He wants to stop the deluge, but isn't sure how. Can the Consumerist hive mind help him? More »
Judge Sues Sam's Club, Walmart, Alleging Bad Customer Service Led Him To Be Committed
By Chris Morran on March 5, 2010 6:45 PM
90 Comments
It's a story that sounds too odd to be true, but a judge in Brownsville, Texas, has filed a lawsuit against his local Sam's Club, the store's manager and the store's parent company Walmart Stores Inc., alleging that a bad customer service experience led to his arrest and involuntary commitment to two mental health facilities. More »
New Airport Screening Machines To Launch Monday
By Chris Morran on March 5, 2010 5:02 PM
83 Comments
Starting Monday, some passengers at Boston's Logan Airport will have the honor and privilege of being the first to be scanned by a new machine that probably costs more than their house. And this is just the beginning of the Dept. of Homeland Security's plan to install 450 of the sparkly new terrorist detectors in airports across the nation over the next year. More »
SEC Sues Psychic For Not Actually Being Able To See Future
By Chris Morran on March 5, 2010 1:05 PM
30 Comments
On his personal website, "natural psychic and Remote Viewer" Sean David Morton claims to have predicted everything from the 1989 San Francisco earthquake to Bill Clinton's impeachment to the burst of the dotcom bubble. But that doesn't impress the SEC, who filed a lawsuit against Morton yesterday, alleging that he committed $6 million worth of securities fraud by claiming he could see into the future. More »
Lawsuit Filed Over Netflix/Warner 28-Day Waiting Period
By Chris Morran on March 4, 2010 4:42 PM
105 Comments
Is anyone really surprised it came to this? A Netflix subscriber isn't happy about having to wait 28 days for Warner Home Video movies to be made available on the video delivery service, so she's filed a class action lawsuit. More »
US Fidelis Files Chapter 11, No Longer Sells Warranty-Like Objects
By Laura Northrup on March 4, 2010 4:30 PM
23 Comments
Extended car warranty company US Fidelis already stopped selling new car service contracts and laid off over half of their staff at the end of 2009, and has now filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. More »
(PCRM)
Why A Salad Costs More Than A Big Mac
Health vs. Pork: Congress Debates the Farm Bill [Good Medicine] More »
By Ben Popken on March 4, 2010 11:14 AM
176 Comments
This is why you're fat.Health vs. Pork: Congress Debates the Farm Bill [Good Medicine] More »
AT&T Thinks You Should Pay Their Disability Claims
By Chris Morran on March 4, 2010 10:31 AM
68 Comments
Not only does AT&T give you service you can't use and then continue to bill for it, they also apparently want you to pay the disability claim when one of their employees injures himself on your property. More »
Target Employees Say They Were Shooed Away Due To High Salaries
By Phil Villarreal on March 4, 2010 10:28 AM
77 Comments
Target says it's not into saving on salaries by demoting and laying off longtime workers, but the Tucson Weekly reports a bunch of fired longtime Target employees believe the company discriminated against them because of their ages, among other reasons. More »
The Post Office Keeps Losing My GameFly Video Games
By Phil Villarreal on March 4, 2010 8:42 AM
46 Comments
Josh tries to keep up with the hamster wheel of video game releases through GameFly, the Netflix of gaming, but the USPS can't seem to get the game envelopes to him. His story brings to mind the troubles GameFly has long had with the Postal Service. More »
VIDEO: Obama Gets Advice In Middle Of The Night From Former/Dead Presidents
By Chris Morran on March 3, 2010 4:56 PM
18 Comments
While Barack Obama stresses out at night in the White House, he's visited by former Presidents George and George W. Bush, Bill Clinton, Jimmy Carter, Gerald Ford and Ronald Reagan... all of whom seem to have an opinion on the Consumer Financial Protection Agency. More »
Court Awards Custody Of Grandmother's Frozen Head To Cryonics Company
By Laura Northrup on March 3, 2010 4:05 PM
44 Comments
There are many things that a family needs to consider and in the weeks and months after a loved one's death. A court battle over legal custody of her frozen head should not be one of those things, but that's what a Colorado family faces after the death of their 71-year-old grandmother. More »
NYPD Officer Says He Has Arrest, Ticket Quota
By Meg Marco on March 3, 2010 1:53 PM
116 Comments
The arrest and ticket quota is supposed to be an urban myth, but one NYPD officer told ABCNews that it is anything but. He works in the Bronx and says he's "not going to keep arresting innocent people." More »
Think Your Recalled Toyota Is Fixed? Maybe Not
By Chris Morran on March 3, 2010 12:31 PM
57 Comments
As Toyota continues to slog through the millions of cars and trucks on it massive recall list, several drivers whose vehicles have been to the dealer and back are saying that there cars are still experiencing problems with sudden acceleration and bad braking. More »
AUDIO: Listen As A Kid Directs Air Traffic At JFK
By Chris Morran on March 2, 2010 11:41 PM
120 Comments
We know that JFK is woefully understaffed in the air traffic control tower, but this is downright silly. The FAA has confirmed that a newly uncovered audio file is indeed that of a young child controlling air traffic over the radio to planes waiting to depart the busy NYC airport. More »
Rent-A-Center Settles With Washington Attorney General Over Customer Abuse Claims
By Chris Walters on March 2, 2010 8:39 PM
28 Comments
Rent-A-Center, the furniture/appliance rent-to-own company ("For When You Want to Piss Away Your Paycheck!"), has settled with the Washington Attorney General's Office over charges that its employees harassed customers who were late on payments. Last year, the company's employees in Washington were accused of trying to kick in one customer's door and threatening another one with jail, among other things. More »
FTC Shuts Down Multi-Million Dollar Cramming Business Inc21
By Chris Walters on March 2, 2010 8:15 PM
13 Comments
Inc21 supposedly sells web hosting and other Internet-related services, but the FTC says that in reality it contracted with offshore telemarketers who helped it cram charges onto unsuspecting customers' phone bills, earning $19 million over the past five years. Customers who complained about the charges said they were either never contacted in the first place, were promised a free trial, were told that the telemarketer was just verifying business information, or explicitly refused Inc21's offer and were charged anyway. More »
Obama Mulls Over Republican Tweaks To Health Care Plan
By Chris Morran on March 2, 2010 3:04 PM
61 Comments
A week after unveiling the White House version of the proposed National Health Care Plan, President Obama says he's opened his ears up to a handful of suggestions from the Republicans. More »
Wanna Bring A Gun To Starbucks? They're Cool With That
By Chris Morran on March 2, 2010 1:18 PM
349 Comments
In states like Virginia where it's legal for gun owners to walk around in public displaying their heat, there are some firearms fans who go out to stores they assume will be unfriendly about their gun-toting ways. But, in spite of its left-leaning reputation, coffee colossus Starbucks has instituted a policy saying guns are A-OK with them. More »
USPS Suggests Cutting Saturday Delivery And Increasing Rates
By Chris Walters on March 2, 2010 1:15 PM
189 Comments
The United States Postal Service is continuing its long slide into suckage according to a new report delivered by Postmaster General John E. Potter this morning. People sent far less mail last year ("more than double any previous decline," says the Washington Post) and labor costs continue to rise, which helped the USPS lose $3.8 billion in 2009. More »
(JS North)
Data Shows Toyota Might Be Crashiest Cars On The Road
By Chris Morran on March 2, 2010 12:03 PM
59 Comments
Toyota might be getting a pity party at home in Japan for the skewering the car company is receiving over their recall of 8 million vehicles, so this latest report will probably turn them into saints. A new look at almost 13,000 speed-related complaints over the last decade shows that Toyota led the pack in with the most complaints involving a crash. More »
There's No Handicap Parking In PlayStation Network
By Chris Morran on March 2, 2010 11:18 AM
39 Comments
A court in California recently tossed out a lawsuit filed against Sony claiming that their refusal to make their games more accessible to the visually impaired was in violation of the Americans With Disabilities Act. More »
Credit Checks For Job Applicants May Be Illegal
By Chris Morran on March 2, 2010 10:43 AM
123 Comments
According to a survey of human resource folks, 60% of them say they are now running credit checks on potential hires. But there's a new movement in several states — and one bill stuck in Congress — to make it illegal for a company to run such checks, because detractors claim they are hurting people from getting jobs during the recession. More »
Louis Vuitton Not Amused By Hyundai Ad, Wants Cash
By Chris Morran on March 2, 2010 10:06 AM
52 Comments
If you were one of the millions of people who watched the Super Bowl in February, and you never got up for a potty and/or beverage break during the commercials, you might have seen a spot for Hyundai and you might have noticed a 1-second shot of someone holding a blinged-up basketball. And because of that, luxury thing maker Louis Vuitton has filed a lawsuit against the South Korean car company. More »
Come September, Freecreditreport.com Must Come Clean In Ads
By Phil Villarreal on March 2, 2010 8:30 AM
30 Comments
If you really love those Freecreditreport.com commercials just the way they are, take this next half year to pause and reflect on what they mean to you, because in September, the Huffington Post reports, owner Experian will have to start telling people their side business isn't the real way to get free annual credit reports from the government. We had this story last year, but in the wake of CARD act reforms, it bears repeating. More »
American "Overreaction" To Recall Is Winning Toyota Sympathy At Home
By Chris Morran on March 1, 2010 4:40 PM
112 Comments
Apparently the Stateside uproar over the recall of 8 million Toyotas — and worries that the company may be attempting to conceal potential defects — has had the inverse effect in the car company's homeland. According to a new report, the Japanese public thinks America is overreacting to the situation. More »
Woman Who Lost Home Over $68 Dental Bill Might Get Another Chance
By Chris Walters on March 1, 2010 3:41 PM
31 Comments
Almost a year ago, Sonya Capri Ramos was in the news because she'd lost her home over a $68 dental bill. Last week, the Utah Court of Appeals gave her some hope that she might be able to get it back from the title company that bought it at auction for $1,550. More »
Court Dismisses Vista Downgrade Suit Against Microsoft
By Chris Morran on March 1, 2010 1:42 PM
23 Comments
Upstart software company Microsoft managed to eke out a rare legal victory, as a U.S. District Court has thrown out a lawsuit alleging that Microsoft was forcing computer manufacturers to ship computers with their Vista operating system, compelling owners who want to use the earlier XP operating system to pay for the downgrade. More »
How To File A Complaint With The FTC
By Chris Morran on March 1, 2010 11:55 AM
8 Comments
Here at Consumerist, we're constantly writing about online frauds, scams and misleading deals. But for all our writing, we're not a federal agency. That's where the Federal Trade Commission comes in. The good folks over at the FTC have just put together a short video demonstrating how easy it is for you to file a complaint with them on their site or over the phone. More »
Apple Admits To Having Underage Labor In Factories
By Chris Morran on March 1, 2010 10:58 AM
56 Comments
Apple has always positioned itself as the computer and electronics brand of the hip and young — and it looks like they extended that ethos to their overseas manufacturing. The iCompany has issued an "oops" on its Web site, admitting that underage workers were employed in three different Apple-affiliated plants last year. More »
Will The Soda Tax Do Anything To Curb Obesity?
By Chris Morran on March 1, 2010 10:55 AM
148 Comments
There's a movement in New York to have the state pass a so-called "soda tax" that impose taxes on soft drinks containing more than 10 calories per 8 ounces. Among the beverages included would be just about all non-diet sodas, sports drinks, energy drinks, sweetened coffees and teas (only in bottles), and fruit and vegetable juices containing less than 70% natural juice. According to the ads being run by the supporters of the tax, the goal is to curb childhood obesity. But will it really work? More »
USPS Swallowed Up My MST3K
By Phil Villarreal on March 1, 2010 10:30 AM
46 Comments
Rachel and her husband ordered a DVD set from a seller who shipped via USPS, but the package can't seem to make its way to them. Their saga includes a cryptic email update and a notice of a delivery attempt they say never occurred. More »
Hospital Says "Grandma's Dead," Grandma Disagrees With Diagnosis
By Chris Morran on March 1, 2010 9:28 AM
111 Comments
Imagine the scene: Your beloved grandmother has been hospitalized for a respiratory illness. And then comes the bad news — A nurse at the hospital calls to say your grandmother has passed away. You go to her room to gather her personal items, and that's when your dead grandmother wakes up. More »
Study Finds Consumers Want Their Food Labeled As Inspected For Safety
By Phil Villarreal on March 1, 2010 9:00 AM
24 Comments
A Michigan State University study found the majority of consumers look for labels that signify products they're buying were inspected for safety, and that about a third are willing to pay more for such labeling. More »
Oregon Lawmakers Cool With BPA In Baby Bottles
By Phil Villarreal on March 1, 2010 8:00 AM
22 Comments
Most people seem to agree that baby bottles that include the chemical BPA are probably less than awesome to use to feed your baby. States and municipalities have banned BPA, but the beleaguered chemical has finally found some allies in the Oregon state legislature, which voted down a bill that sought to ban it, the Oregonian reports: More »
(Jay Adan)
Man Spends $700 On Cell Phone Minutes To Get $700 Unemployment Check
By Laura Northrup on February 28, 2010 2:00 PM
110 Comments
Filing for unemployment benefits can be an exhausting bureaucratic mess, but it shouldn't cost you hundreds of dollars. In theory. According to TV station KOB, though, a New Mexico man spent so many hours on hold with the unemployment office that he ran up a $700 cell phone bill. More »
Hot Topic Steals Adorable Designs From Webcomic
By Laura Northrup on February 27, 2010 5:00 PM
37 Comments
Update: Meghan and Hot Topic have settled this situation. Fans of the adorable webcomic Kawaii Not were surprised to discover buttons made from comic panels for sale at Hot Topic. The problem? The artist sort of didn't license the designs to Hot Topic, and they are copyrighted. Artist Meghan Murphy does sell her own buttons...and these aren't those. More »
Yelp Accused Of More Negative Review Extortion
By Laura Northrup on February 27, 2010 3:00 PM
43 Comments
Yet again, business owners are accusing massive review site Yelp of extortion—and they've filed a class action lawsuit. This time, instead of guaranteeing positive reviews in exchange for cupcakes, the site is accused of contacting business owners and offering to remove their negative reviews for money. In a written statement, Yelp denied the allegations and noted, "Running a good business is hard; filing a lawsuit is easy." More »
Congress Accuses Toyota Of Deliberately Withholding Documents
By Chris Morran on February 26, 2010 3:02 PM
23 Comments
Last week, the House Committee on Oversight & Government Reform issued a subpoena for documents from former Toyota lawyer Dimitrios Biller as part of their investigation into exactly when the car giant knew about possible defects in their now-recalled vehicles. And now that they have their hands on Mr. Biller's papers, they are accusing Toyota of deliberately holding back important information. More »
Out-Of-Control Lexus Still On Road, Apparently No Longer Out-Of-Control
By Chris Morran on February 26, 2010 11:16 AM
77 Comments
If you've been following the hearings this week about the Toyota recall debacle, you're probably well aware of Rhonda Smith, who spoke before the House Committee on Energy & Commerce to share her harrowing story of trying to stop her suddenly accelerating Lexus ES350 back in 2006. Well, NHTSA now says that that car is still on the road — and that the new owners haven't experienced any problems. More »
California AG Investigating 7 Insurance Companies For Illegal Rate Hikes
By Chris Morran on February 26, 2010 10:25 AM
29 Comments
The showdown over skyrocketing insurance rates in California got even nastier yesterday. The state's Attorney General's office announced that it has subpoenaed financial documents and launched an investigation into allegations of illegal premium hikes and wrongfully denied claims by seven separate health insurance providers. More »
4 Reasons You Should Never Resolve Your Dispute On Judge Judy
By Chris Morran on February 26, 2010 8:44 AM
90 Comments
We can understand just a little bit why some people might be willing to go on any of the countless daytime "judge" shows like Judge Judy, Judge Mathis, Street Court, etc. The shows pay you a nominal fee to appear, you get to be on TV and if the defendant loses, the show foots the bill (up to a certain amount). But the following video should give you four very good reasons for why you should never, ever, ever go on one of these shows. More »
Muslim Hollister Employee Fired Because Of Headscarf
By Laura Northrup on February 25, 2010 5:55 PM
266 Comments
Update: This is the new discrimination incident that this post was about. Sorry for the link mixup. There are evidently a lot of things that violate the "look policy" of Abercrombie & Fitch and Hollister stores. For example, having a prosthetic arm. Or wearing an Islamic head scarf. According to the complaint a California woman filed with the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, a Hollister store hired her, then fired after a visit from a district manager who found the scarf inappropriate work attire. More »
5 Tax Changes The IRS Thinks You Should Know About
By Meg Marco on February 25, 2010 5:09 PM
18 Comments
The IRS tells Tax Cat that the rules have changed slightly this year. Learn how you can benefit. More »
Lactose Intolerant? Drink Milk!
By Chris Morran on February 25, 2010 3:24 PM
90 Comments
If you think you're lactose intolerant, the National Institutes of Health says, well... maybe you're not. In a statement released yesterday, the NIH claims that lactose intolerance is nowhere near as prevalent as it's believed and that a general misunderstanding of lactose is causing people to not get the Vitamin D and calcium they need. More »
(alvi2047)
CDC Will Probably Advise Flu Shots For Everyone This Fall
By Chris Walters on February 25, 2010 3:00 PM
88 Comments
An advisory panel for the Centers for Disease Control has recommended that everyone get flu vaccinations from now on, not just people in special higher risk groups. According to WebMD, "the CDC almost certainly will make universal flu vaccination official U.S. policy for this fall's 2010-2011 flu season, as it consistently follows the advice of the panel of outside experts." More »
(Not Stephanie Madoff)
Bernie Madoff's Daughter-In-Law No Longer Wants To Be A Madoff
By Chris Morran on February 25, 2010 2:54 PM
32 Comments
What's in a name? Just ask Stephanie Madoff, daughter-in-law to imprisoned Ponzi schemer Bernie Madoff. Seems like Stephanie is finding that the surname she took when she wed Bernie's boy Mark isn't just a badge of shame — it's also a threat to her life. That's why she has petitioned a Manhattan court for a name change. More »
Toyota's Toyoda Tears Up After Testimony
By Chris Morran on February 25, 2010 8:39 AM
70 Comments
While Toyota chief Akio Toyoda did his best to withstand over three hours of non-stop questioning in front of the House Committee on Oversight & Government Reform yesterday, he didn't fare as well when he spoke in front of Toyota employees only a short while later. More »
Street Vendors Protest Because They Would Rather Not Wet Themselves
By Chris Morran on February 25, 2010 5:15 AM
56 Comments
Following the news earlier this week that a street food vendor in New York City had lost his permit because he left his hot nut cart unattended while he used a nearby restroom, several vendors gathered outside the City's Dept. of Health offices yesterday in protest. More »
FBI Raids 3 Auto Parts Suppliers In Detroit As Part Of Anti-Trust Case
By Chris Morran on February 24, 2010 4:39 PM
3 Comments
While the House Committee on Oversight & Government Reform was busy raking Toyota's chief executives over the coals in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday, Federal agents in Detroit were going all Untouchables-like at the offices of three auto parts suppliers, including one company owned in part by Toyota. More »
Rhode Island High School Fires All 88 Teachers
By Meg Marco on February 24, 2010 2:31 PM
270 Comments
Do you teach at Central Falls High? Not for long. You've all been fired. The school is one of the lowest performing in the state and apparently the teachers couldn't come to an agreement about how much they should be paid to do something about it. More »
(adobemac)
Am I Going To Be Required To Get Government Health Care?
By Chris Morran on February 24, 2010 2:22 PM
188 Comments
Every time the topic of national health care comes up, the prophets of doom put on their black cloaks and start their chants of "Big Brother," "socialism" and "move to Finland," painting a picture of a bleak, Orwellian future where baritone-voiced Death Panels decide your fate on a punch card that then gets sent through a pneumatic tube to the waiting Euthanasia Agent. But our smarter, better-looking kin over at Consumer Reports claim it's not all that bleak. More »
Senate Passes Jobs Bill, Crosses Fingers & Says A Prayer It Works
By Chris Morran on February 24, 2010 12:54 PM
34 Comments
In a rare move of semi-solidarity, both Republicans and Democrats in the U.S. Senate approved a $15 billion initiative intended to spur job creation and growth. Of course, that amount is still $5 billion less than the total amount of bonuses doled out by Wall Street banks last year. More »
Low Interest Rate Party To Continue For An Extended Period
By Meg Marco on February 24, 2010 12:30 PM
26 Comments
Fed Chairman and former South Of The Border employee, Ben Bernanke, says these historically low interest rates will continue... but not forever. More »
Anthem Blue Cross "Wasting Time" Waiting To Raise Your Rates
By Chris Morran on February 24, 2010 11:30 AM
107 Comments
Last night, the selfless executives of California insurance behemoth Anthem Blue Cross (and parent company WellPoint) took time away from their usual Tuesday evenings volunteering at the soup kitchen to appear before those pesky members of the State's government who just won't stop harping about Anthem's plans to raise rates on individual policy holders as much as 39%. Anthem's answer: Let's stop all this nonsense and just raise rates already! More »
NYC Turns Shrink Ray On Parades, Reduces Fun By 25%
By Chris Morran on February 24, 2010 10:57 AM
12 Comments
New York is a big city with a lot of people, each of whom seems to get a parade of his or her own at some point during the year (usually the day I need to get across town in a hurry). But the NYPD has just thrown a dagger into the heart of this float-loving metropolis with their announcement that all parades — yes, even the Macy's Thanksgiving Day thingy — will now be 25% shorter. More »
DMV Staffers Made $1 Million Selling Fake IDs To Criminals, Sex Offenders, Undercover Cop
By Chris Morran on February 24, 2010 8:27 AM
44 Comments
It's bad enough that so many of the people at the Department of Motor Vehicles treat you like so much gum stuck to the bottom of their shoe, now comes a report that a handful of DMV employees in New York have been getting rich selling fake ID — not to minors trying to score beer or get into R-rated movies — to convicted felons, sex offenders and just about anyone who could come up with the cash. More »
VIDEO: Owner Describes Surviving Out Of Control Lexus
By Chris Morran on February 23, 2010 4:49 PM
214 Comments
During today's House Committee on Energy & Commerce hearing on the Toyota recall debacle, Congress heard from Rhonda Smith, a former Lexus owner who detailed her 2006 brush with death — and the even more horrid tale of her repeated attempts to get either Toyota or NHTSA to listen to her. Perhaps most chilling, Rhonda even tried to put the car in neutral while hurtling down the road, but not even that could stop the "possessed" Lexus. More »
BoingBoing Beats MagicJack Lawsuit, Wins $50,000
By Ben Popken on February 23, 2010 3:38 PM
25 Comments
MagicJack sued BoingBoing for defamation after they had the gall to criticize the gadget maker's EULA, and the blog has won, to the tune of $50,000. More »
Bankers Back To Congratulating Themselves, Bonuses Up 17%
By Chris Morran on February 23, 2010 2:44 PM
63 Comments
In these tough times, it's easy to forget about the struggling bankers out there as you dodge their SUVs on your walk to the unemployment office. So it's a good thing they have someone looking out for their financial interests — themselves. More »
Toyota Boss Risks Own Life By Testing Toyotas
By Chris Morran on February 23, 2010 12:36 PM
36 Comments
A full day before he's scheduled to appear before the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform to answer questions about the massive recall of 8.5 million Toyotas, the car giant's President and CEO Akio Toyoda has released the text of his prepared statement. And amid all the "Sorry about that, but we're workin' on it," stuff you'd expect, comes an interesting bit of tid — Toyoda claims that he does some of the testing himself. More »
Street Vendor Loses Permit For NOT Urinating In Bottle
By Chris Morran on February 23, 2010 11:59 AM
65 Comments
It's a problem that's common to men and women who drive trucks, make deliveries or work outdoors — When do you go to the bathroom? Well, a law recently passed in New York City gives street vendors an easy answer: Never. Just ask Mohammed Shirajul Islam, a 10-year veteran of the business who is now without a permit because he dared to answer nature's call. More »
Toyota Boss Akio Toyoda Feels Your Pain
By Chris Morran on February 23, 2010 10:27 AM
18 Comments
As his company continues to circle the drain, Toyota President and CEO Akio Toyoda wants everyone to know that it's not just Toyota drivers that are getting hurt, it's a little bit of him too. More »
(WALB TV)
Dear Pizza Hut, Thanks For The Racist Receipt
By Chris Morran on February 23, 2010 9:00 AM
219 Comments
An African-American man in Missouri is considering legal action against Pizza Hut after having his name replaced on a receipt with the words "BIGBLACK." More »
Transportation Secretary LaHood & Toyota's Lentz Defend Themselves To Congress
By Chris Morran on February 23, 2010 8:20 AM
10 Comments
Both Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood and Toyota U.S. President James Lentz are scheduled to appear before the House Committee on Energy & Commerce this morning, but in prepared remarks released before the hearing, these two fine chaps attempt to shrug off many of the accusations hurled at both sides of the Toyota recall debacle. More »
FCC To Unveil National Broadband Plan On March 17
By Chris Morran on February 23, 2010 7:48 AM
74 Comments
While President Obama was busy attempting to get his plan for a national health care system rolling, those folks at the FCC announced they will unveil their National Broadband Plan — which will provide Internet access to 93 million Americans who can't currently look at home videos of cats — to Congress on March 17. More »
Congress Rips NHTSA A New One Over Toyota Debacle
By Chris Morran on February 22, 2010 5:24 PM
26 Comments
Following this weekend's revelation that Toyota bigwigs were bragging to each other about saving $100 million by convincing the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to drop an investigation into a recall of the company's Camry and Lexis vehicles, Congressmen Henry Waxman, Chair of the House Committee on Energy & Commerce and Bart Stupak, Chair of the Subcommittee on Oversight & Investigations, broke out their typewriters to voice their opinions in no uncertain terms to Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood. More »
(blmurch)
Judge In Bank Of America Case Calls Settlement "Half-Baked Justice"
By Chris Morran on February 22, 2010 3:55 PM
27 Comments
A U.S. District Court Judge signed off on the $150 million settlement between Bank of America Corp. and the Securities and Exchange Commission over allegations of making misleading statements during BofA's purchase of Merrill Lynch & Co., but he wasn't exactly happy about doing it. More »
Lufthansa Pilots Put Strike On Hold For Now
By Chris Morran on February 22, 2010 3:17 PM
7 Comments
Less than 24 hours after 4,000 pilots for German airline Lufthansa walked off the job, the strike was suspended as talks resumed between the flyboys and girls and the company. More »
Grand Jury Issues Subpoenas, Opens Criminal Investigation In Toyota Recall
By Chris Morran on February 22, 2010 1:11 PM
29 Comments
Answering all those people who asked, "Shouldn't the Justice Department be the ones handling the Toyota recall hearings?", the car company confirmed today that both federal prosecutors and the Securities and Exchange Commission have already dropped a load of subpoenas on their desks. More »
Citibank Freaks Out Customers With Weird 7-Day Rule On Withdrawals, But It's Not As Devious As It Looks
By Chris Walters on February 22, 2010 12:52 PM
12 Comments
Some Citibank customers recently received notice that the bank reserved the right to require 7 days written notice before authorizing a withdrawal on checking accounts. (It's also on page 23 of Citi's Client Manual [PDF].) As you can imagine, this freaked some people out. A Citibank rep quickly moved to clarify the rule, and he pointed out that it's actually required by federal law for certain types of accounts, and it's not unique to Citibank, and they don't intend to enforce it. More »
Obama Wants To Expand Coverage To 31 Million Uninsured People In Health Care Plan
By Chris Morran on February 22, 2010 12:34 PM
183 Comments
Using the Health Care bill signed by the Senate on Dec. 24 as a jumping-off point, President Obama unleashed his version of the plan this morning on the White House website. More »
10 Ways To Provoke An IRS Audit
By Ben Popken on February 22, 2010 11:44 AM
46 Comments
Life can get a little humdrum sometimes, so why not shake things up with an IRS audit? You can't just check off a box and get an audit, you've got to earn it. You've got to provoke them. Here's 10 ways to get some IRS agents knocking on your door: More »
Is An FDA Conflict Of Interest Keeping Avandia On The Market?
By Chris Morran on February 22, 2010 11:31 AM
29 Comments
A new report from the Senate Finance Committee alleges that drug company GlaxoSmithKline not only knew about a possible link between their diabetes medication Avandia and heart attacks, but also acted to keep the FDA from pulling the drug off shelves. If so, how were they able to do it? More »
This Is Not A Reason Not To Pirate DVDs
By Phil Villarreal on February 22, 2010 10:02 AM
107 Comments
There is no excuse for downloading or copying DVDs illegally. It's wrong and could land you in jail. But, as is illustrated in this BSPCN post, studios could learn a thing or two from their swashbuckling, peg-legged counterparts in terms of streamlining. More »
What Changes Should You Expect From The CARD Act?
By Chris Morran on February 22, 2010 9:28 AM
52 Comments
After several months of waiting (during which, banks have had plenty of time to jack up your interest rates and cut your credit limits), the Credit CARD Act of 2009 has finally kicked in. If you haven't been following the news, here's a quick run-down of what's changed and what hasn't. More »
Toyota Bragged About Saving $100 Million With 2007 Floormat Recall
By Chris Morran on February 22, 2010 4:59 AM
43 Comments
You know those scenes toward the end of James Bond movies where the bad guy goes on and on about his elaborate plan and what a genius he is? That never happens in real life, right? No, in the real world the bragging is done in "confidential" documents that are never meant to see the light of day... but always do. Just ask the folks at Toyota. More »
Inexperienced Attorney Wins Epic Foreclosure Battle Against Wells Fargo
By Laura Northrup on February 20, 2010 9:00 AM
69 Comments
Consumerist's Hero of the Weekend is attorney and writer Wajahat Ali, who fought an epic battle for a home loan modification against Wells Fargo and won. Eventually. It's a well-written and terrifying look into the financial crisis, the state of America's megabanks, and how homeowners in need seemingly stand no chance against the towering indifference, incompetence and confusion of those megabanks. More »
Congress Issues Subpoena For Toyota Recall Documents
By Chris Morran on February 19, 2010 5:03 PM
14 Comments
Shortly after Toyota chief Akio Toyoda accepted an invite from Congress to appear before the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform next week, committee Chairman Edolphus “Ed” Towns of New York and Ranking GOP Member Darrell Issa of California issued a subpoena to Dimitrios Biller, the car giant's former National Managing Counsel in the U.S., for “all documents relating to Toyota motor vehicle safety and Toyota’s handling of alleged motor vehicle defects and related litigation.” More »
(Fe Ilya)
California Town To Start Charging Up To $400 For 911 Calls
By Chris Walters on February 19, 2010 3:14 PM
168 Comments
The town of Tracy, California has come up with a new plan to make money: you'll have to pay between $48-400 to call 911. I wonder if Tracy is planning on giving the caller the bill over the phone—they might be able to chain 911 calls together by giving the first caller a heart attack, thereby prompting someone else to call, and so on. Money! More »
Ticketmaster Agrees To Only Sell Tickets It Has
By Chris Walters on February 19, 2010 1:49 PM
24 Comments
Ticketmaster has settled with the FTC over charges that it used "deceptive bait-and-switch" tactics when selling concert tickets, reports the Los Angeles Times. As usual for this kind of settlement, Ticketmaster admits no wrongdoing. For instance, the FTC noted that in one case "the same set of 38 tickets for the Springsteen concert in Washington were sold and resold 1,600 times," and Ticketmaster waited as long as three months to let affected customers know, which is a clear example of not doing anything wrong. More »
I Owe More Taxes Than I Expected: Should I Hire An Accountant?
By Laura Northrup on February 19, 2010 11:08 AM
79 Comments
Tax Cat here! Filing your income taxes can be even more unpleasant than going to the vet for shots. Especially if, like reader Fletcher, you dutifully filled out your tax return and discovered an ugly surprise: you owe more money than you expected. A lot more. More »
Toyota Boss Accepts Invite From Congress, Unsure Of What To Wear
By Chris Morran on February 18, 2010 7:30 PM
17 Comments
Setting up what is sure to be a thrilling showdown like something out of a Highlander movie, Toyota's President and CEO Akio Toyoda has decided to accept Congressman Ed Towns' formal invitation to appear before the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. More »
U.S. Mint Redesigns Penny
By Chris Walters on February 18, 2010 6:43 PM
97 Comments
Here's the new design for the back of the 2010 penny. Instead of the Lincoln Memorial there's now a shield, or maybe a tiny badge that you can flash whenever you want to announce, "I have jurisdiction over your pocket change." No, I'm pretty sure it's a shield. More »
Toyota's Toyoda Gets Formal Invite To Appear Before Congress
By Chris Morran on February 18, 2010 2:29 PM
35 Comments
In the weeks since it was announced that the U.S. Congress would be holding hearings on the current massive recall of Toyotas, the car giant's president, Akio Toyoda, had been saying "Thanks, but no thanks," to the idea of appearing before the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. And then yesterday, he softened a bit, saying he would consider attending the hearing if given a formal invitation. Well, Mr. Toyoda... Ask and ye shall receive. More »
TSA Wants To Swab Your Hands For Bomb Juice
By Meg Marco on February 18, 2010 1:36 PM
90 Comments
The new cool development in security technology is a portable bomb juice scanner that the TSA plans to begin using to detect traces of explosives on your hands. More »
Harry Potter Author J.K. Rowling Accused Of Casting Plagiarism Spell
By Chris Morran on February 18, 2010 12:18 PM
65 Comments
Nearly eight months after the estate of late British author Adrian Jacobs filed charges of plagiarism against the UK publishers of Harry Potter & the Goblet of Fire, they have decided to add the author of the book, J.K. Rowling, to the list of defendants in what they claim could be a $1 billion case. More »
Google Buzz Subject Of Class Action Lawsuit
By Chris Morran on February 18, 2010 12:05 PM
46 Comments
We had a feeling it would come to this. Lawyers in San Francisco and Washington, D.C., have filed a class action lawsuit against Google for, among other allegations, violating the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act with its recently launched Google Buzz social networking tool. More »
Video: pHarmony Matches Polluters, Lobbyists, And Politicians
By Ben Popken on February 18, 2010 10:18 AM
11 Comments
New service "pHarmony" is like eHarmony except it matches together polluters, lobbyists and politicians looking to make that special connection that only money and power can bring! In this satirical Greenpeace video, an oil lobbyist talks about how used pHarmony to find his true special someone, Senator Lisa Murkowski of Alaska. He says things like, "We both like to stay up at night and gut energy bills," "It's like we finish each other's legislation," and, "We talked about how much we both don't like Jon Stewart." Worth a chuckle, as long as you don't take it too seriously and get all bent out of shape about it, oh wait, here comes the Consumerist comment section. More »
How Healthy Is Your County?
By Chris Morran on February 17, 2010 6:57 PM
69 Comments
Finally, after years of settling regional disputes with high school football, a new study has come out that could give some scientific grounding to your "I live in a better county" argument. More »
Don't Fall For Job Scams
By Chris Walters on February 17, 2010 5:13 PM
21 Comments
The Federal Trade Commission has a website at www.ftc.gov/jobscams with information on the types of scams you're likely to find in Help Wanted listings. They've also put together a short video (below) that describes how scammers try to charge job hunters fees to pay for job certification, or to provide access to executive-level interviews, or to acquire study materials that are supposedly crucial to passing a hiring exam. It's a good refresher course in what to look out for when you're answering ads. More »
CARD Act: Who's With It, Who's Not
By Ben Popken on February 16, 2010 4:31 PM
98 Comments
The CARD act is supposed to go into effect next week, Feb 22. As we get close to the deadline, is your credit card complying with the rules? Courtesy of BillShrink, this giant infographic is here to tell you the answers. Teaser: absolutely zero issuers are doing fair allocation of payments. More »
Cash4Gold Stops Suing Whistleblowers; FL AG Launches Investigation
By Ben Popken on February 16, 2010 2:38 PM
37 Comments
The lawsuit stemming from our post from last year, "10 Confessions Of A Cash4Gold Employee," is all over. At the beginning of February, Cash4Gold stopped suing the two ex-employees Michele Liberis and Vielka Nephew. And just this Sunday, the Florida Attorney General announced they've opened a civil investigation into Cash4Gold. It seems you can still speak truth to power after all. More »
(u2acro)
Detroit Schools Teach Kids To Work At Walmart
By Phil Villarreal on February 16, 2010 8:29 AM
99 Comments
Walmart is teaming with inner-city Detroit schools to offer classes on how to land entry-level jobs, the raw story reports, citing the Detroit Free Press. More »
(C.Barr)
Utah Considering Making High School Senior Year Optional
By Phil Villarreal on February 16, 2010 8:00 AM
151 Comments
In an attempt to save money while rendering its high school graduates even less prepared for adulthood than the likes of Arizona and Mississippi, Utah state senator Chris Buttars is proposing the state making senior year optional and let 11th graders roam free, the L.A. Times reports: More »
(Photo: red twolips)
Snow Thrower Wheels Still Exploding 4 Years After Recall
By Chris Walters on February 15, 2010 4:37 PM
26 Comments
Recalls are imprecise and never fully successful, but how can they be improved? Jeff Gelles of the Philadelphia Inquirer took a look at the recall problem with snow throwers manufactured by a company called MTD, and sold under Yard Machines, Troy-Bilt, and Craftsman brands. The snow throwers used plastic wheel rims which sometimes exploded, so in 2006 the company cooperated with the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) and announced a recall. More »
Man Spends $7K, One Year Battling Sonic Over $3.45 Overcharge, Resulting Arrest
By Phil Villarreal on February 15, 2010 9:00 AM
120 Comments
Ray wanted his happy hour discount at a Sonic in Colorado, and wasn't about to settle for paying more than double the $3.40 he thought he owed. Although his receipt read 4:11, meaning happy hour was over, Ray correctly insisted Sonic's clock was fast. But the restaurant wouldn't budge on the price and Ray ended up leaving in handcuffs, touching off a yearlong legal battle. More »
Chicago Seeks Corporate Sponsors For Public Transit
By Laura Northrup on February 13, 2010 5:35 PM
69 Comments
Imagine giving public transit directions to your urban home in the future. "Oh, yeah, you take the Target Red Line, transfer at Comcast Station to the Apple Gray Line headed Fox Sports Westbound, and finally get off at Taco Bell Station." Seem crazy? Well, you have to name transit stations something, and both Metra and the Chicago Transit Authority are exploring the idea of selling naming rights to stations. They're not the first city to do this. More »
H&R Block Upsells Tax Service, But Won't Downgrade
By Laura Northrup on February 13, 2010 3:00 PM
28 Comments
Tax Cat here with a reminder about using a free service to prepare your taxes. Beware sneaky upsells on "free" tax preparation options for people with simple tax returns. We've already seen a Consumerist reader get charged for this unawares with TurboTax, and now reader Shane reports that If you miss an option on H&R Block's form, you'll be paying extra for access to your own data. More »
(Photo: PJLewis)
Whistleblower Nurse Acquitted
By Chris Walters on February 12, 2010 5:25 PM
56 Comments
The West Texas nurse who went on trial this past Monday for reporting a doctor to the state board was found not guilty after just an hour of deliberation, reports the New York Times. The jurors who spoke to the Times after the case said it seemed pretty cut and dried to them. Now the nurse's lawyers are focusing on their civil lawsuit against the county, the sherrif, the county attorney—who is described in the article as the surgeon's personal attorney as well—and the hospital administrator who fired the nurse for going over his head. Hooray for whistleblowers! More »
Anthem Blue Cross/WellPoint Makes Early Bid For Worst Company In America
By Chris Morran on February 12, 2010 3:50 PM
126 Comments
As the United States continues to struggle to pull itself out of the current economic quagmire, it's good to know that not all American companies are behaving like times are tough. Take Anthem Blue Cross of California, who announced this week that individual policy holders will see an average premium increase of 25% with some rate hikes set to reach 39%, prompting Congress and the White House to demand an immediate explanation. More »
Microsoft Wouldn't Sell Xboxes To U.S. Army
By Phil Villarreal on February 12, 2010 9:30 AM
154 Comments
Wired reports that the U.S. Army was interested in purchasing a bunch of Xbox 360s to aid in training, but it was turned down flat by Microsoft. More »
(Photo: frankieleon)
Get Up To Speed On What The CARD Act Will Do To Credit Cards
By Chris Walters on February 11, 2010 3:05 PM
16 Comments
In just a little over a week, the CARD Act will go into effect, and a new set of rules will apply to credit card issuers. Here's a great summary of what will change and what won't, so you'll know what to expect. For instance, did you know that cards issued to business entities rather than individuals are exempt? More »
Yes Virginia, There Are Taxes For Shopping Online
By Chris Morran on February 11, 2010 12:30 PM
53 Comments
People of Virginia: Online shopping is great, right? High discounts, cheap shipping and no taxes... oh, wait. Looks like the commonwealth's State Senate Finance Committee voted 14-1 to get the ball rolling on a bill that would levy a sales tax on some products purchased through online retailers. More »
FBI Wants To Follow You Around The Internet
By Marc Perton on February 9, 2010 11:50 AM
88 Comments
FBI chief Robert Mueller wants ISPs to track everything their customers do on the Internet, and keep those records for two years. The government plan would give the FBI access to "origin and destination information" for all users. Hey, at least they're not doing it in secret and lying about it. More »
State Investigators Find All Sorts Of Dirty Tricks At Mercury Insurance
By Chris Walters on February 8, 2010 6:12 PM
27 Comments
This summer Californians will be able to vote on Proposition 17, which if passed will allow insurers to bypass some legal restrictions on how much they can charge for auto insurance. Mercury Insurance Group is a big proponent of the proposition, but maybe that's because it's been possibly sidestepping the law in recent years anyway. Hey, making it legal will just prevent another state report like the one Carla Marinucci at the San Francisco Chronicle obtained, which contains findings that Mercury "has engaged in practices that may be illegal, including deceptive pricing and discrimination against consumers such as active members of the military and drivers of emergency vehicles." More »
Whistleblower Nurse On Trial For Reporting Doctor To State Board
By Chris Walters on February 8, 2010 11:06 AM
75 Comments
Update: After four days, the nurse was acquitted. More »
FDA May Update Serving Sizes To Reflect How Much People Actually Eat
By Laura Northrup on February 6, 2010 5:00 PM
121 Comments
As anyone who has tried to carefully count calories knows, the serving sizes on food packages don't have much to do with reality. The FDA has finally realized that putting accurate serving sizes on labels might have an effect on the amount of food Americans cram into our mouths in one sitting. More »
FTC To Retailers: Bamboo And Rayon Are Not The Same Thing
By Laura Northrup on February 5, 2010 3:07 PM
22 Comments
The FTC has sent warning letters to 78 companies about clothing and household products marketed as being made from bamboo. Many of the products were were allegedly made out of rayon that may or may not have originally been derived from bamboo. The offenders include huge names like Walmart, Land's End, Kohl's, The Gap, and Target. More »
Al Franken Makes Comcast's CEO Look Like A Tool
By Meg Marco on February 5, 2010 2:13 PM
128 Comments
Love him or hate him, Sen. Al Franken (D-MN), former employee of NBC, made Comcast's befuddled CEO Brian "Comcatastrophe" Roberts look like a complete tool during yesterday's hearing on the proposed Comcast/NBC mergepocalypse. More »
Judge Censured, Barred For Ordering Lawyer To Be Paid In Gift Certificates
By Chris Walters on February 5, 2010 12:07 PM
61 Comments
A judicial commission for California judges censured and barred the recently retired judge Brett C. Klein for showing bias, abusing authority, and grandstanding to the press. At issue was his January 2009 alteration of a class action settlement, where he ordered everyone, including the attorneys, to be paid the same way: via $10 gift vouchers from a woman's clothing store. More »
Experian Sued Over Deceptive FreeCreditReport.com Ads
By Ben Popken on February 4, 2010 3:11 PM
74 Comments
Freecreditreport.com is getting class action sued, baby. Their ubiquitous singing ads make it sound like you'll go their website and get a free credit report, but they don't tell you that's only after you sign up for a $14.95 monthly credit monitoring service. "FreeCreditReport.com tells people they will get something for free, and you do, but you have to pay for something else, and there's not sufficient notice," said John Balestriere, lead attorney. I agree, so I made up my own parody Freecreditreport song: More »
Burger King Employees Accused Of Racially Motivated Hate-Spitting
By Phil Villarreal on February 3, 2010 9:30 AM
61 Comments
A black man is suing Burger King in a federal discrimination lawsuit because he says white Pennsylvania Burger King employees spat in his burger, the AP reports in a story on the Huffington Post. More »
Get $1000 In Ameriquest Mortgage Settlement
By Ben Popken on February 2, 2010 2:31 PM
10 Comments
If your home mortgage was serviced by the defunct Ameriquest or its affiliates, you could stand to receive payouts starting at $1,000. Just enter your loan number on the settlement website and it will tell you if you're eligible. The $325 million settlement came after a multi-state investigation which found shady lending practices that failing to disclose that loans had adjustable rates, failing to disclose the terms of the loan, refinancing homeowners into inappropriate loans, inflating home appraisals, and charging excessive fees. [ameriquestmdlsettlement.com]
(cranguy)
How The IRS Picks Its Audit Targets
By Phil Villarreal on February 2, 2010 8:30 AM
58 Comments
The IRS doesn't just draw potential audit victims out of a hat. There is actually a method to its cruel madness, as outlined in this 2006 IRS.gov post spotted by Jim Wang of Bargaineering. More »
Help! My W-2 Is Late And I Want Justice!
By Meg Marco on February 1, 2010 4:26 PM
72 Comments
Tax Cat here. Reader Jason wants to know what to do when your lazy former employer doesn't send your W-2 on time. More »
South Butt Rebuts North Face
By Ben Popken on February 1, 2010 1:00 PM
48 Comments
"South Butt," sued by North Face for trademark infringement, has filed a delightfully nyah-nyah answer to the apparel maker's legal claims. While North Face asserts that South Butt is sewing confusion and mistake among consumers, and deceiving them, the parody company, intent on a 1st Amendment defense, insists that that "the consuming public is well aware of the difference between a face and a butt." The rest of the fun filing, inside... More »
USPS Delivery Confirmation Says My Packages Were Delivered -- They Weren't
By Phil Villarreal on February 1, 2010 10:30 AM
70 Comments
An anonymous reader says anonymous's mail isn't getting to Anonymous. Even though USPS's delivery confirmation service clearly says Anonymous received the package. More »
Check Out The Department Of Transportation's New Site For Airline Passengers
By Chris Walters on January 29, 2010 5:54 PM
10 Comments
If you've got a complaint about an airline, or you want to find out more about whether your complaint is valid, oh boy is there a treat in store for you! Earlier this month, the DOT launched a redesigned consumer aviation website at airconsumer.dot.gov. The goal of the site is "to make it as easy as possible for consumers to find the information they need to make their air travel experience as smooth and hassle-free as possible." More »
Bank Sues Victim To Avoid Replacing $200k In Stolen Funds
By Chris Walters on January 28, 2010 10:01 PM
99 Comments
What constitutes adequate security for a bank? PlainsCapital Bank in Lubbock, Texas says what it currently has is enough, and if after all that some crooks still manage to steal your money, it's not the bank's fault. The bank has preemptively sued a business customer, Hillary Machinery, to absolve itself from any liability on what it couldn't get back from the more than $800,000 that was stolen by foreign hackers last November. More »
(Photo: DoorFrame)
Is The State Of The Union Good For Consumers?
By Marc Perton on January 28, 2010 12:27 PM
119 Comments
The Obama Administration has been promoting its financial reform proposals almost since the inauguration, and most of the administration's plans, including the creation of a Consumer Financial Protection Agency, have wide support among consumer advocates.So, how are consumers doing, and what did the President say last night that might be good news? More »
Dating Site eHarmony Settles Same-Sex Class Action For $2 Million
By Chris Walters on January 27, 2010 2:24 PM
138 Comments
In 2008, eHarmony responded to complaints that it wasn't serving gay and lesbian customers by setting up a second website, Compatible Partners, and keeping those customers separate from the official site. Some users sued the company, saying anyone with bisexual interests were being forced to pay twice for the same service. Now eHarmony has settled the class action and will allow members of either site to participate on the other one without having to pay a second time. More »
(Photo: coneslayer)
Ohio Spends $1 Million Of Stimulus Money To Tell You It's Spending Stimulus Money
By Phil Villarreal on January 27, 2010 8:46 AM
68 Comments
At least Ohio isn't sitting on its stimulus funds. State senator Tim Grendell is raising a stink that the state is spending $1 million of stimulus money simply advertising the fact that it's spending funds on road projects, CNN reports: More »
(Photo: r0bz)
Los Angeles City Council Votes To Close 80% Of Marijuana Dispensaries
By Chris Walters on January 26, 2010 6:22 PM
51 Comments
Frustrated at the number of marijuana dispensaries that have sprouted up since voters allowed its legal medical use in 1996, the L.A. City Council today voted to shut down the majority of them and relocate the rest to the industrial zones. Mayor Villaraigosa will have to sign the ordinance before it goes into effect. More »
(Photo: kbilltv)
Bill To Tax Corporate Political Contributions At 500% Introduced
By Ben Popken on January 25, 2010 12:05 PM
154 Comments
Wildcat Rep. Alan Grayson has introduced a new bill that would tax corporate political donations at the eye-popping rate of 500%. The bill is called the "Business Should Mind Its Own Business Act." However popular among the proles, the question is if it would count as an abridgment on free-speech. In any event, "Business Should Mind Its Own Business" is fun to say. [HR 4431 IH]
(Photo: missyosgirl)
Fast Food Managers Abuse Power, Force Teenage Workers Into Sex
By Laura Northrup on January 23, 2010 9:00 AM
203 Comments
Supervising nubile teenagers in a fast-food establishment does not mean that you have an open invitation to abuse your authority and demand sex from them. This seems that it would be a self-evident rule of management. It is not. More »
TSA Employee Thought It Would Be Hilarious To Plant Fake Drugs On You
By Meg Marco on January 21, 2010 6:04 PM
117 Comments
So, a TSA employee allegedly planted a small bag of white powder in a college students carry-on, then pretended to "find it." As a joke! Or something! He's such a kidder! More »
(Photo: White House)
White House Proposes New Banking Rules, Wall Street Freaks Out
By Meg Marco on January 21, 2010 4:29 PM
87 Comments
So, we used to have this thing called the Glass-Steagall Act, which separated investment banking from commercial banking. Then we didn't anymore. Now the President has proposed new rules that would effectively restore some of the provisions of Glass-Steagall. Wall Street is like, so not cool with it, however. More »
(Photo:Great Beyond)
Twitter Defamation Lawsuit Dismissed
By Meg Marco on January 21, 2010 1:42 PM
16 Comments
The burgeoning Twitter libel defense industry was dealt a blow recently when the infamous Twitter defamation lawsuit was dismissed. Apparently, it is quite difficult to craft a Tweet that fits the legal requirements for defamation in this country. More »
Supreme Court Guts Corporate Campaign Spending Limits
By Ben Popken on January 21, 2010 11:08 AM
151 Comments
Corporations can now spend as much as they like on ads supporting or attacking political candidates, the Supreme Court ruled today. [AP]
(Photo: FDA)
Counterfeit Alli Won't Cause Runs, Might Raise Blood Pressure
By Marc Perton on January 19, 2010 1:35 PM
34 Comments
The Food and Drug Administration has warned shoppers to be on the lookout for counterfeit versions of the weight-loss drug Alli. The real version of Alli contains orlistat, a drug with side effects that include "an urgent need to defecate," as those with delicate sensibilities like to put it. The fakes are made with sibutramine, a controlled substance that has been linked to high blood pressure in some studies. More »
(Photo: ellievanhoutte)
FDA Wants Tobacco Companies To Submit Ingredients List By June
By Chris Walters on January 18, 2010 4:30 PM
44 Comments
"Tobacco products today are really the only human-consumed product that we don't know what's in them," the director of the FDA's Center for Tobacco Products said to the Associated Press. To address that, the agency has told tobacco companies to provide a list of the ingredients in their cigarette brands by June 2010. The FDA says it won't publicize a lot of the data in order to protect trade secrets, but that by June 2011 it will publish a list of "harmful and potentially harmful" ingredients, at which point tobacco companies will have to start listing the amounts of each one on their products. More »
(Photo: saebaryo)
Security Breach At JFK Airport Leads To Delays, Evacuations
By Laura Northrup on January 16, 2010 7:59 PM
71 Comments
Thousands of passengers were evacuated from the American Airlines terminal at New York's John F. Kennedy Airport after an unidentified person opened a door restricted to airline personnel and TSA officers. Like the Newark incident of a few weeks ago, the offender was caught on camera but has not yet been found. It remains unknown whether he was a criminal or a moron. [Reuters] [NYDN] (Thanks, GitEmSteveDave!)
(Photo: Bruno Girin)
Why A Pint Of Ice Cream Is Never Labeled "1 Serving"
By Laura Northrup on January 16, 2010 7:00 PM
86 Comments
"Serving size: 1 serving," a bag of frozen ravioli I bought recently read. A pasta Zen koan. It wasn't a single-serve bag, so could they give me the serving size in ounces? Number of ravioli? Just how arbitrary is this "serving size," anyway? Slate's Explainer explains: more so than you'd think. More »
Are Corporate Boards Ruining American Businesses? This Book Says Yes
By Chris Walters on January 15, 2010 4:54 PM
39 Comments
The new book Money for Nothing looks at corporate boards: how they're frequently hand-picked and ruled by the CEOs they're supposed to keep in check, how they're sidelined by various conflicts of interest and lack of accountability, and how the worst ones have massively screwed shareholders. More »
New, Better Website For Complaining To The Government About Airlines
By Meg Marco on January 15, 2010 12:53 PM
14 Comments
The Department of Transportation yesterday announced a new revamped website that will help you complain to them about your various terrible airline experiences. More »
Consumer Financial Protection Agency On The Chopping Block
By Chris Walters on January 15, 2010 11:09 AM
23 Comments
According to the Wall Street Journal, Senator Chris Dodd, a Democrat from Connecticut, has offered to abandon the Consumer Financial Protection Agency (CFPA) proposal in exchange for Republican support on other legislation. Nobody is saying anything official right now, but the WSJ reports that "the offer is conditional on the creation of a stronger consumer protection division within another federal agency." More »
(Photo: protohiro)
Tyson Chicken Settles Class-Action Suit, Will Pay $4.4 Million To Consumers
By Chris Walters on January 14, 2010 2:51 PM
64 Comments
If you bought Tyson chicken from 2007 to 2009, you may want to start keeping tabs on the new settlement being considered by Tyson to settle the class-action suit against it. The agreement was filed earlier this week, and a review is scheduled for tomorrow. If approved, approximately $4.4 million will supposedly be available to disburse to consumers. More »
(Photo: bradleypjohnson)
States To Consider Labeling Requirements For Printer Ink Cartridges
By Chris Walters on January 11, 2010 5:08 PM
46 Comments
At the National Conference on Weights and Measures later this month, some states are planning to talk about printer ink cartridge labeling and whether it should be more standardized. "It’s time to sort all of this out," the Florida Weights & Measures chief told the Kansas City Star. Of course, printer companies aren't about to go along with any changes quietly—Lexmark has already submitted a letter saying that displaying any information on the cartridges will only confuse consumers, because the cartridges are micro-machines and not just ink containers. More »
(Photo: The Searcher)
Gov To Hit Banks With New Fees
By Ben Popken on January 11, 2010 4:44 PM
62 Comments
The White House could be planning to start charging banks new fees as a way to trim the deficit, get paid back for the bailout, and teach bankers a lesson they hasn't sunk in yet. What?! A fee on banks? You're crazy. Only banks are allowed to make up fees. More »
Palm Coast Travel Sues Customer And A Blogger
By Ben Popken on January 11, 2010 12:56 PM
28 Comments
Travel blogger Elliott is not having a good year. First Homeland Security showed up on his doorstep with a subpoena demanding he name his sources, and now a travel agency is suing him for his reporting about their unauthorized sale of travel insurance. More »
(Photo: Shika Kaoin)
Idiot Disrupts Everyone's Air Travel For Goodbye Kiss
By Laura Northrup on January 10, 2010 8:00 AM
114 Comments
The man who went through security the wrong way, disrupting airline traffic at Newark and thus nationwide, was neither a terrorist nor a dumbass, as we had speculated last week. He was a romantic fool who wanted a kiss from his girlfriend. Okay, maybe that falls under "dumbass." More »
(Photo: 666isMONEY)
Lawsuit: Goldman's Bonuses Eclipsed Earnings
By Ben Popken on January 8, 2010 12:14 PM
46 Comments
Goldamn Sachs gave out more in bonuses than it earned in income last year, according to a lawsuit filed by a pension plan. The suit says that Goldman's revenue was inflated by government bailouts, yet it continued to pay out 50% of revenue as bonuses. [Reuters]
(Photo: MattHurst)
Apartment Complex Says "Use This Cable Company Or Pay Us $40 Per Month"
By Chris Walters on January 8, 2010 11:22 AM
121 Comments
The FCC has made it clear that apartment complexes can't force residents to use a specific cable company, but Amy Davis at KPRC in Houston reports that there's a sneaky way to get around this restriction. The residents of one Houston apartment complex don't have to go with the building's chosen provider, but if they opt out they'll have to pay an extra $40 per month for trash and water. More »
(Photo: chadwbecks)
IRS Opens Can Of Whoopass On Paid Tax Preparers
By Ben Popken on January 4, 2010 1:16 PM
83 Comments
Tax Cat here! Calling it a "game changing event for the tax system", the IRS announced in a press conference call, that they invited me, a tax cat, to that they're launching 6 sweeping regulatory reforms to clean up the paid tax prep industry. The IRS is not naming names but I'm growling at you, H&R Block and Jackson Hewitt. Numero uno: More »
(Photo: frankieleon)
Cash For Clunkers Customers Entitled To More Cash
By Laura Northrup on January 3, 2010 10:30 AM
45 Comments
Some customers who purchased cars during the 2009 CARS rebate program, popularly known as Cash for Clunkers, were entitled to a portion of the scrap value of their old cars, in addition to the government rebate of $3,500 or $4,500. What? And the dealerships didn't tell them? Gasp! More »
(Photo: playmobil)
TSA Withdraws Blogger Subpoenas, Offers New Computer
By Marc Perton on January 1, 2010 2:43 PM
38 Comments
The new year is starting off pretty well for bloggers Chris Elliott and Steve Frischling, who had been targeted by the Transportation Security Administration after they posted the TSA's bizarre Christmas Day Security Directive. Elliott reports that the agency has withdrawn its subpoena against him, and that Frischling, whose laptop was confiscated, is getting a new computer courtesy of Uncle Sam. More »
FCC Chair Spams Facebook Friends
By Ben Popken on December 31, 2009 5:14 PM
19 Comments
His account apparently compromised by a spammer's program, FCC chair Julius Genachowski sent out a message this morning to all his Facebook friends that said, “Adam got me started making money with this." Adam Smith perhaps? We'll never know, as the website Julius linked to is now unavailable. More »
(Photo: tsa.gov)
TSA Targets Bloggers Who Exposed Draconian Policies
By Marc Perton on December 31, 2009 12:59 AM
87 Comments
The Transportation Security Administration has discovered a major new threat, and is targeting it with all methods at its disposal. No, not terrorists. The agency is going after two bloggers, Steve Frischling and Chris Elliott, for exposing its whopper of a policy document, issued Christmas Day in the wake of that day's failed terrorist attack. More »
(Photo: Wowbagger,
the Infinitely Prolonged)
New Jersey Wants To Stop Unsolicited Text Message Ads
By Chris Walters on December 29, 2009 3:25 PM
28 Comments
New Jersey isn't content with going after unsolicited junk mail checks and credit card offers—it appears to be aiming for Least Friendly Junk Marketing State in the Union. The latest target: marketers who send out unsolicited text messages. More »
(Photo: Lee Jordan)
RC2 Agrees To Pay $1.25 Million Over Lead Toys
By Chris Walters on December 29, 2009 3:05 PM
8 Comments
The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) has just worked out another penalty settlement with a toy company over those lead-tainted toys that graced shelves from 2005 to 2007. Reuters says RC2 will pay a $1.25 million civil penalty to resolve allegations that it "imported and sold Thomas & Friends Wooden Railway toys with paints and surface coatings that contained lead levels above legal limits." About two years ago, RC2 settled a class-action lawsuit over the same toys. More »
(Photo: Furryscaly)
Make Debt Collectors Give You Money By Suing Them
By Laura Northrup on December 25, 2009 5:30 PM
92 Comments
This may not work for everyone, but it worked for Jeff. He tells Consumerist that after he filed Chapter 13 bankruptcy, Sallie Mae representatives continued to call him, which is sort of illegal. So his bankruptcy attorney sued them. And won a $4,000 settlement. More »
(Photo: bitsonwheels.com) [RIP]
Comcast Settles BitTorrent Throttling Lawsuit
By Laura Northrup on December 25, 2009 9:00 AM
39 Comments
Comcast has settled a $16 million class-action lawsuit accusing the Internet provider of preventing customers from sharing files via BitTorrent. The suit alleges that Comcast sold users "unlimited" internet access that was, in fact, quite limited. Comcast still admits no wrongdoing, and affected customers will receive up to $16 each as part of the settlement. Ka-ching! More »
(Photo: cliff1066™)
Senate Passes Health Care Reform Bill
By Chris Walters on December 24, 2009 10:32 AM
138 Comments
In case you missed it, Senate Democrats managed to succeed at their goal of pushing through some sort of health care reform bill before Christmas Day—the chamber voted this morning 60-39 along party lines and passed the bill. Up next: the Senate and House have to get together and negotiate some final version. If you want to compare what's in the House and Senate versions, the New York Times has put together an excellent side-by-side comparison tool. More »
(Photo: Eric Hauser)
FCC Commissioner Says She's Not Happy With Verizon's ETF And Billing Explanations
By Chris Walters on December 24, 2009 9:13 AM
25 Comments
At least one official with the FCC is not impressed by Verizon's latest explanations of its Early Termination Fees (ETFs) and Mobile Web billing practices. Commissioner Mignon Clyburn released a statement (pdf) last night where she called Verizon's explanation "unsatisfying" and "troubling," and she closed with the fighting words, "I look forward to exploring this issue in greater depth with my colleagues in the New Year." More »
Pay Czar Rules On Bailed-Out Executives' Salaries
By Laura Northrup on December 24, 2009 8:45 AM
5 Comments
The pay czar has spoken. Late yesterday, the Treasury Department's pay czar, Kenneth Feinberg, ruled on whether executives of bailed-out companies can receive higher salaries than the $500,000 limit. Rulings included exemptions for General Motors, GMAC, and Chrysler. Citigroup has repaid enough of its bailout funds that it will be exempt from pay caps in 2010. [Marketwatch]
(Photo: james_jhs)
If Wall Street Ran The Airlines
By Chris Walters on December 23, 2009 10:35 AM
16 Comments
The Baseline Scenario has written a pitch-perfect article that pretends financial industry types are now speaking for the airline industry. It's filled with appeals to the free market, and lots of threats about how the American Way of Life will collapse if we can't let passengers sit for more than three hours on tarmacs. More »
(Photo: jeffwilcox)
Microsoft Must Change Word Or Stop Selling It
By Laura Northrup on December 22, 2009 7:30 PM
56 Comments
A federal appeals court has ordered Microsoft to remove custom XML functionality from any copies of Word 2007 that go on sale after January 11th. The ruling struck down Microsoft's appeal of an earlier verdict that technology used in Office 2007 originated with the Canadian company i4i Software. More »
(Photo: Eric Hauser)
Verizon Denies It Charges You $2 Each Time You Mistakenly Press A Certain Button On Your Phone
By Chris Walters on December 22, 2009 11:33 AM
103 Comments
Last month, David Pogue at the New York Times published a tip from a self-described Verizon employee. The employee accused Verizon of deliberately rigging its system to trap customers whenever they accidentally press the "Get It Now" or "Mobile Web" buttons on their phones—even if they cancel the operation immediately, they're charged a fee of $1.99 each time. Both Pogue and the FCC asked Verizon to explain why this happens. Verizon's response: it doesn't, and Pogue and the hundreds of people who wrote in to confirm this practice are all crazy. More »
(Photo: SanFranAnnie)
Tarmac Imprisonment Limited To 3 Hours
By Ben Popken on December 21, 2009 11:20 AM
89 Comments
Airlines must let passengers stuck in airplanes stranded on the tarmac get off after 3 hours, the Transportation Department today ordered. They're also now only allowed to starve you for 2 hours, after which they must serve pizza or a reasonable facsimile. Toilets must be functional during the entire time as well. More »
Consumerist Interview: White House To Banking Lobbyists, "It's On."
Inside: Video and full transcript. More »
By Marc Perton on December 18, 2009 1:11 PM
13 Comments
We went back to the White House this week, for our second interview with Obama Administration economic advisor Austan Goolsbee. In a wide-ranging talk, Goolsbee discussed the Administration's plans to help small businesses get credit, said that the battle against bank lobbyists is on, and expressed amazement that people in DC use the weather as an excuse to miss meetings. "I'm from Chicago," he said, explaining that even blizzards don't stop normal activities there. "We aren't wimps in Chicago." Inside: Video and full transcript. More »