It’s been a week since a dozen people were killed and 58 others were injured at a late-night showing of The Dark Knight Rises in Aurora, Co., and folks from around the world have been looking to donate money to help those affected by the tragedy. But before you hand over any cash, be sure it’s a legitimate charity. [More]
Government Policy
Some Retailers Pull Magnetic Desktop Toy Buckyballs After CPSC Files Complaint
By 7.27.12
The Consumer Product Safety Commission has dealt a swift blow to the makers of desktop magnetic toys Buckyballs after filing an administrative complaint against them earlier this week. The agency says it’s already convinced 10 retailers, including Amazon.com, to stop selling the tiny yet powerful magnets over concerns that children are swallowing them. We’ve already heard from one reader who had a Groupon deal refunded because of the CPSC’s filing. [More]
USDA Upsets Meat Lovers By Posting Internal Memo Pushing “Meatless Mondays” On Its Website
By 7.26.12
Encouraging your employees to go vegetarian one day a week might not seem like that big of a deal — unless you’re the United States Department of Agriculture, the agency tasked with promoting all agriculture products, including meat. The USDA said a post about “Meatless Monday” on its website was from an internal newsletter that went up without proper clearance. [More]
Report: Supreme Court Ruling Means Affordable Care Act Will Be Cheaper But 3 Million Will Go Uninsured
By 7.25.12
The Congressional Budget Office has been busy crunching numbers since President Obama’s health-care initiative was upheld by last month’s Supreme Court ruling, and it seems there’s a little bit of both good and bad news as a result. The bulk of the Affordable Care Act was upheld in the ruling and it turns out it’ll be cheaper to execute than previously thought, but the decision also means it will leave millions of people without insurance. [More]
Chick Fil-A Claims Henson Toy Recall Unrelated To Same-Sex Marriage Controversy
By 7.24.12
As you have probably already heard, the Jim Henson Company announced last Friday that it was severing ties with restaurant chain Chick fil-A because its leadership has recently affirmed its stance against same-sex marriage. Now there is murmuring on the Internet that Chick fil-A pulled its existing inventory of Henson toys from stores, claiming an unrelated safety recall. [More]
Probation For Lottery Winner Who Continued To Collect Food Stamps
By 7.24.12
Remember the Michigan woman who was charged with fraud because she continued to collect welfare and food stamps even after she won the lottery? Well, a decision has been reached in the case and she has been sentenced to six months’ probation. [More]
Would “Do Not Track” Kill The Internet Or Make It A More Consumer-Friendly Place?
By 7.24.12
Talks between the White House and the Internet industry over a “Do Not Track” tool for consumer use on websites have been going on for almost a year now, but it seems neither side can exactly agree on what should be involved. Would giving consumers the power to keep their data from being collected end up killing Internet business or simply increasing privacy for those surfing it? [More]
A La Carte Cable Channel Pricing Is Coming… To Canada
By 7.24.12
Today’s media consumers are so picky. They’ve come to resist the idea that they must pay hundreds of dollars every year to receive three hundred cable channels when they only watch maybe five of them. A recent government regulatory board decision means that consumers will have more choice over which specific channels they subscribe to and pay for in the near future. The bad news: It’s the Canadian government. [More]
FTC: Wireless Customers Should Be Able To Block All Third-Party Charges To Phone Bill
By 7.23.12
While the FCC has recently enacted rule changes that make it more difficult for predatory third-party businesses to cram unwanted and unauthorized charges on consumers’ landline phone bills, it is still in the process of considering what to do about bill-cramming for wireless customers. For what it’s worth, the folks at the Federal Trade Commission have chimed in with their suggestion: Wireless providers should be required to give customers the option to block all third-party charges from their bills. [More]
Ford Issues Immediate Recall Of 2013 Escape SUV Because Fire Is Scary
By 7.20.12
Fewer than 5,000 model year 2013 Ford Escape SUVs have been delivered to customers so far, including one to our colleagues over at Consumer Reports Cars for testing. But Ford has already announced a recall of the vehicles, ordering dealers to stop selling and offering test drives on the 1.6 liter engine base model. Ford has also asked Escape owners to stop driving their vehicles immediately. Why? The engine compartment fuel line might split and leak. If the engine is started or already running when a leak occurs, the vehicle could catch fire. [More]
Good To Know: Stripping In The Airport Security Line Is Totally Cool With The Constitution
By 7.19.12
Do you ever get so angry that you just start tearing off your clothing in public? No? Us either, but one Oregon man was upset enough by Transportation Security Administration measures he found invasive, he stripped down to his birthday suit while in line at Portland’s airport. Luckily for him, a judge thinks that’s just fine. [More]
Passenger Says TSA Handled Her Feeding Tube During Strip Search
By 7.19.12
A woman with a 4″ feeding tube surgically implanted in her abdomen says she makes frequent trips between her home in Texas and the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota. And while the tube always draws some extra attention at airport security checkpoints, TSA screeners at Dallas Love Field recently went too far in investigating the issue. [More]
Unwitting Smugglers Had No Idea Delightful Chocolate Eggs With Toy Surprises Inside Are Illegal
By 7.19.12 — Updated: 3.14.13
We can picture the scene perfectly: Two guys on the way home from a trip to lovely Vancouver approaching the U.S./Canadian border. Suddenly, there’s a current of fear when guards search the car and inform them they’re smugglers. Each man pictures the other cackling evilly while shoving drugs or laundered money into a secret compartment in the car. But wait! It’s just illegal candy with a toy inside. Whew. [More]
Capital One To Refund $140 Million To Customers Misled Into Buying Unwanted Add-Ons
By 7.18.12
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau says the barbarians and/or vikings at Capital One went too far in pressuring and misleading the bank’s credit card customers into paying for add-on products like payment protection and credit monitoring. Thus, around two million Cap One customers will be sharing in a refund of $140 million. [More]
Why Do So Many Servicemembers Not Receive Mortgage Protections They Have Legal Right To?
By 7.17.12 — Updated: 3.4.13
The Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA) includes a number of protections for members of the armed forces who took out a mortgage before going on active duty. But as we have learned in recent years, there are at least 15,000 instances where banks failed to follow those guidelines — and hundreds — perhaps thousands of times where lenders have illegally foreclosed on servicemembers’ homes. [More]
Porsche Recall Shows That Even $173,000 Cars Can Sometimes Catch On Fire
By 7.17.12
If you plunk down $173,000 for a car, you would hope that — in addition to all the luxurious finishes — the vehicle wouldn’t have a defect that could cause your pricey plaything to go up in flames while the rest of the world tries to contain its schadenfreude. [More]
TSA Flags Man With World’s Largest Penis For Additional Crotch Screening
By 7.17.12
Jonah Falcon of New York City is an actor and hosts a public-access show about the Yankees, but he isn’t famous for that. He’s famous for a quirk of nature: he has the largest recorded penis in the world. He’s appeared on lots of talk shows and even in a documentary, but evidently his fame hasn’t reached the TSA workers at San Francisco International Airport. There, the large bulge in his pants caught the notice of a guard, who presumed it was some kind of weapon. He was subjected to a (brisk and professional) extra patdown and tested for explosive residue. [More]
FDA Finally Decides That BPA Doesn’t Belong In Baby Bottles
By 7.17.12
Nearly four months after deciding not to listen to science or common sense and ban the use of controversial chemical bisphenol-A (you may call it BPA around your household) in food packaging, the Food and Drug Administration has decided that we should at least keep BPA out of the mouths of babies. [More]
