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]
Government Policy
US Economy Grew 2.5% In Third Quarter, Department of Commerce Report Says
By 10.27.11
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]
Pushing Your Way Onto A Plane Without A Ticket Is A Good Way To Get Arrested
By 10.27.11
Usually when we write about the cops being called to an airplane, it involves a ticketed passenger being forcibly removed from the jet. But in a nice change of pace, here’s the story of a man who allegedly thought he could just push his way onto a Southwest flight sans ticket. [More]
Government Finds $6.6 Billion It Thought It Lost In Iraq
By 10.27.11
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 10.26.11
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 10.26.11
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 10.26.11
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 10.26.11
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.
Man Arrested After Trying To Bail Out Of Mid-Air Flight
By 10.26.11
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 10.26.11
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]
Bill Proposed To Felonize Selling Fake Maple Syrup As Real
By 10.25.11
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 10.25.11
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 10.25.11
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 10.24.11
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]
Loaded Gun Falls Out Of Checked Bag; TSA Says, Not Our Problem
By 10.24.11
Hey, you know how you have to take your shoes off at the airport and it’s really annoying? Isn’t it more annoying that all those safeguards/hassles in place that are supposed to protect you still let a loaded gun slip come flying out of a bag? Yeah. That happened. [More]
Bill Introduced To Let You Keep Your Account Number When You Switch Banks
By 10.21.11
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 10.21.11
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]
Hacker Admits To Splicing Porn Into Comcast's Super Bowl Broadcast
By 10.21.11
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]
