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]
Government Policy
Secret Memo Reveals Which Cellphone Carriers Store Your Data The Longest
By 9.28.11
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]
You Can Get $500 If An Autodialer Calls Your Cellphone
By 9.28.11
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]
Robber Tries To Hold Up Clerk With Toy Gun, Foiled When Coworker Pretends To Be Cop
By 9.28.11
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]
131,000 Pounds Of Ground Beef Sold At Kroger Recalled Because E. Coli Doesn't Make For Good Seasoning
By 9.28.11
Tyson Fresh Meats is recalling approximately 131,300 pounds of ground beef products sold at Kroger because of possible E. coli contamination, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) announced today. [More]
Reebok Spent At Least $64 Million On Deceptive EasyTone Ads
By 9.28.11
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 9.28.11
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 9.28.11
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]
Saggy Pants Fines Bring City $3,916.49
By 9.28.11
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 9.28.11
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 9.28.11
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 9.28.11
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]
Did FTC Spoil Its Own Surprise Announcement?
By 9.27.11
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 9.27.11
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 9.27.11
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 9.27.11
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 9.26.11
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]
Scientists Translate Brain Activity Into YouTube Videos
By 9.26.11
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]
