Government Policy

Washington State Consumers To Get $2 Million In E-Book Price Fixing Settlement

Washington State Consumers To Get $2 Million In E-Book Price Fixing Settlement

One of the first settlement amounts to be announced in a nationwide agreement between various states and a group of three of the country’s largest book publishers comes today, as Washington state says e-book consumers will receive $2 million over allegations of e-book price fixing. [More]

(a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/tonyjcase/2476579776/in/photolist-8HAhf2-nShyBF-o7HJwf-e8oyw3-6JbLJE-9NuvP4-bC5iAv-o9Ff77-5oUvGf-7Q4NxU-bxbiQe-82rcTY-6dQ9L9-9C7dfv-NzTms-65XapG-9NwqX2-4LR7Tj-8yTqgN-8h6Wy5-8h717W-4ULBeJ-cEN31C-f5kUUh-5R4zNQ-8SfL2c-6BzL3z-81f1MG-8KMezw-6J7Cg2-deGcJW-6vpdTw-6HKcTC-9NwiJY-8C9pA-3QtUVw-9NxdGh-6HKAXJ">Great Beyond)

EPA Announces New Fuel Efficiency Standards American Automakers Must Institute By 2025

While many American automakers are already shifting toward more fuel-efficient vehicles to please consumers aiming to save at the gas pump, the White House has made an official move in that direction. A new rule announced by the Environmental Protection Agency and Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood today says the U.S.’ fleet of vehicles must average 54.5 miles per gallon by 2025. [More]

Misleading Mailer Shows Why DISH Needs To Rein In Third-Party Sales Agents

Misleading Mailer Shows Why DISH Needs To Rein In Third-Party Sales Agents

DISH Network is already in hot water with regulators because it and the third-party businesses that sell the satellite TV service allegedly ignore the Do Not Call list. But DISH’s authorized agents aren’t just bad at telemarketing; some also appear intent on filling customers’ mailboxes with misleading mailers that only serve to annoy potential customers. [More]

'Your Baby Can  Read' Charged With False Advertising Because It Didn't Prove Your Baby Can Actually Read

'Your Baby Can Read' Charged With False Advertising Because It Didn't Prove Your Baby Can Actually Read

Since 2008, the makers of the Your Baby Can Read! learning system have made $185 million from parents who hoped that the product could indeed help their infant get a head start on becoming a voracious reader. Now the company has to forfeit all that money (well, sort of) after the FTC filed false advertising charges against it, its former CEO and its creator. [More]

TSA Calls Out 6 Boston Bag Screeners For Being Too Distracted By Cellphones To Actually Screen Bags

TSA Calls Out 6 Boston Bag Screeners For Being Too Distracted By Cellphones To Actually Screen Bags

The Transportation Security Administration is gearing up to fire six bag-screening officers at Logan International Airport because they were a bit too distracted on the job to actually perform their duties of carefully checking to make sure said bags weren’t filled with bad stuff like explosives. An additional 14 will be suspended for inattention to duty. [More]

Man Behind Fake-Cop Debt Collection Scam Could Get To Know Some Very Real Convicts

Man Behind Fake-Cop Debt Collection Scam Could Get To Know Some Very Real Convicts

We write a lot about multimillion dollar settlements over alleged frauds and scams, but it often seems like there is an inverse relationship between the amount of money involved and the amount of time spent in jail by the perpetrators. So we’re glad to hear that the man in the center of a debt collection scam that involved callers pretending to be police officers, and which defrauded American consumers out of millions, now faces criminal charges. [More]

The FCC Thinks It Might Want To Start Collecting Taxes On Broadband Internet Service

The FCC Thinks It Might Want To Start Collecting Taxes On Broadband Internet Service

Here’s something you might have missed — there could soon be a new tax on your broadband Internet service, if the Federal Communications Commission has its way. The proposed tax would go toward ensuring more people have access to the Internet, along the lines of the taxes already consumers pay for landlines and cellular phone service. [More]

California Slaughterhouse Gets The Okay To Reopen After Cattle Controversy

California Slaughterhouse Gets The Okay To Reopen After Cattle Controversy

The California slaughterhouse accused of abusing cows has apparently gotten the go-ahead to resume operations, after a temporary shutdown last week by the United States Department of Agriculture. When a controversial video reportedly showing ill treatment of cows hit the media, including footage of some cows that seemed unable to walk, big customers like the USDA itself, McDonald’s and In-N-Out Burger announced they weren’t using beef from that plant any longer. [More]

TSA Can't Get Fancy Footwear Scanners To Work So We'll Keep Shuffling Around Barefoot

TSA Can't Get Fancy Footwear Scanners To Work So We'll Keep Shuffling Around Barefoot

If there’s nothing you hate more than doffing your shoes to walk barefooted or shuffle in your socks through security screenings at the airport, well, we hate to be the ones to tell you, but that’s going to be your reality for awhile. The Transportation Security Administration has been shelling out millions to test not one but four different scanners that would let us keep our shoes on at security checkpoints, and none of them are doing well enough to be used. [More]

I Upgraded My MagicJack, Lost Years Of Prepaid Service

I Upgraded My MagicJack, Lost Years Of Prepaid Service

DL likes MagicJack phone service, and prepaid for five years in advance. That was probably a really good deal until he decided that he would rather have a MagicJack Plus. That model doesn’t need to be connected to a computer. Much more convenient, but one problem: DL’s prepaid years wouldn’t transfer. Now he wants to sue them in small claims court, but they won’t tell him where to serve the papers. He turned to us for help. [More]

Red Vines Black Licorice Twists Recalled For All That Unsavory Lead

Red Vines Black Licorice Twists Recalled For All That Unsavory Lead

You might love it, you might hate it, or you might think it’s redundant to call it black licorice because really, as my dad says “red licorice” is just red chewy stuff and black licorice is just licorice. In any case, if you’re not in the mood to ingest lead, you shouldn’t eat Red Vines Black Licorice Twists. The company that makes it issued a voluntary recall yesterday for its 1-pound bags, after an investigation found high levels of lead. [More]

Court Tells 82-Year-Old She Wasted 8 Years Fighting For Right To Bury Husband On Her Property

Court Tells 82-Year-Old She Wasted 8 Years Fighting For Right To Bury Husband On Her Property

Eight years ago, a woman in Connecticut buried her late husband on their 8-acre property, where previous owners had been interring the dead for generations. But her subsequent attempt to make sure this was all okay with local authorities has led her on a legal wild goose chase all the way to the state Supreme Court — and now all the way back to where she started. [More]

FTC Sues Dish Network Over 'Do Not Call' Violations

FTC Sues Dish Network Over 'Do Not Call' Violations

Even if a consumer isn’t on the National Do Not Call Registry, when they ask a telemarketer to stop calling them, said telemarketer is legally obliged to honor that request. According to a new lawsuit filed by the Federal Trade Commission, the folks at Dish Network (allegedly) ignored this request from millions of annoyed Americans. [More]

Ab Circle Pro Hit With $15-25 Million Settlement Because 3 Minutes A Day Won't Give You A Six Pack

Ab Circle Pro Hit With $15-25 Million Settlement Because 3 Minutes A Day Won't Give You A Six Pack

Have you ever seen those ads for the Ab Circle Pro and said to yourself, “Maybe it will help be get rock hard abs with only a few minutes of workout a day”? Well, it apparently doesn’t, as the company behind the device has agreed to pay up to $25 million in a settlement with the Federal Trade Commission over allegations of deceptive advertising. [More]

Man Sues Firing Range Over "Ladies' Day" Promotion

Man Sues Firing Range Over "Ladies' Day" Promotion

The notion of a “ladies drink free” night at a bar or club is certainly not unheard of, but a man in Maryland says a local firing range is breaking the law by hosting days where females — and only females — are allowed to shoot without having to pay. [More]

August Recall Roundup – Bye Baby Strangulation Bunting

August Recall Roundup – Bye Baby Strangulation Bunting

Welcome to the Recall Roundup! This month, we have lead-contaminated licorice, overly snappy snap bracelets, flaming dryers and dishwashers, and machetes endorsed by Bear Grylls that can turn around and cut you instead. [More]

Advocacy Groups Claim Companies Are Using Online Games To Turn Kids Into Tiny Marketers

Advocacy Groups Claim Companies Are Using Online Games To Turn Kids Into Tiny Marketers

Playing a game online might seem like an innocent enough activity for a kid, but what if said game is run by McDonald’s and asks for the child’s email address at the end, while encouraging them to share the experience with their friends? That sounds a lot like marketing to kids and using them as tiny marketers without parental consent. So say advocacy groups that are urging the Federal Trade Commission to crack down on companies soliciting email addresses from kids. [More]

Beef Plant Accused Of Abusing Cows Supplied Meat For In-N-Out, U.S. School Lunch Program

Beef Plant Accused Of Abusing Cows Supplied Meat For In-N-Out, U.S. School Lunch Program

A California meat plant that was temporarily shut down this week had some pretty big name clients, including In-N-Out (if you aren’t familiar, just ask any one who has ever been to California and will swear up and down that “oh, man, they have the best burgers in the whole entire universe”) and the U.S. school lunch program. From what an animal rights group is alleging, it sounds like cows were having an awful time at the plant. [More]