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]
Government Policy
Seven Former Players Sue NFL Over Concussions
By 8.19.11
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]
Texas AG Accuses Gas Station Chain Of Diluting Fuel
By 8.18.11
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]
Toilet Paper-Plagued Idaho River Finally Flushed Clean
By 8.18.11
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]
SEC Lawyer Says Agency Illegally Destroyed Documents
By 8.18.11
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 8.18.11
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 8.17.11
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]
54,000 Clip-On Chairs Recalled For Failing To Clip On To Table Tops
By 8.17.11
The Consumer Product Safety Commission and phil&teds USA Inc, of Fort Collins, Co. announced the recall of the company’s metoo Clip-on Chair. The baby seats, designed to attach to table tops, have clamp parts that may fail. Children seated in the chair may fall or possibly have their fingers crushed or amputated by the failing mechanism. [More]
Proposed New Health Insurance Forms Seek To Make Sense Of It All
By 8.17.11
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 8.17.11
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 ZombiesEvery Year
By 8.17.11 — Updated: 10.17.13
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 8.17.11
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 8.17.11
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 8.17.11
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 8.17.11
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]
Homeowners Steamed After Utility Rips Up Old Trees To Install Power Lines
By 8.16.11
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]
Radio Flyer Recalls 165,000 Scoot 'N Zoom Riding Toys
By 8.16.11
The Consumer Product Safety Commission and Radio Flyer in Chicago announced the recall of 165,000 Scoot ‘n Zoom riding toys today because the red plastic toy can tip over while being ridden and that is apparently not the original point of the toy. [More]
Judge Tells Madoff Investors They Won't Get All Their Fake Money Back
By 8.16.11
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]
