As regulations requiring all restaurants with 20 or more outlets to label their in-restaurant menus with calorie info go nationwide, the CEO of Domino’s Pizza says the idea — as constructed by the federal government — just doesn’t fit a business like his, given the variable nature of pizza and its many toppings and the fact that store owners are paying for sign updates that most customers will never see. [More]
Government Policy
Domino's CEO: Why Put Calories On The Menu If 90% Of Our Customers Never Enter The Store?
By 8.16.11
Buffett Begs Congress To Raise His Taxes
By 8.16.11
Famous uberrich guy Warren Buffett has penned a NYT editorial begging Congress to please, please, raise his taxes. Last year, he writes, they were only 17.4 of his taxable income. He says folks like him, who make over $10 million a year, are treated by Washington “as if we were spotted owls or some other endangered species.” It’s time to stop the “coddling,” he says and make the super-rich pay their fair share. [More]
Former Cop Accused Of Using WiFi From Neighbors, Businesses To Get Child Porn
By 8.16.11
If you need motivation to encrypt your WiFi signal, consider the possibility that criminals may try to use your network for illegal activity. A former Tennessee police officer allegedly victimized churches, businesses and neighbors, using their WiFi to download child porn and share it with an online ring via a site he accessed at times while on duty. [More]
Judge Tosses Gorilla Coffee's Suit Against NYT For Posting Workers' Walkout Letter
By 8.16.11
A popular Brooklyn coffee shop’s lawsuit against the New York Times just got chucked. The paper’s City Room blog had reprinted the letter penned by eight employees who simultaneously quit over working conditions, and the owners of Gorilla Coffee felt that the Times’ action was defamatory and an “intentional infliction of emotional distress.” A judge disagreed. [More]
Ball Park & Oscar Mayer Square Off In Court Over Who Has The Best Wiener
By 8.15.11
“Let the wiener wars begin.” That’s what a judge in a legal battle between the nation’s two biggest hot dog brands declared earlier today, as the makers of Oscar Mayer and Ball Park franks each accused the other of misleading and deceptive advertising practices. [More]
60,000 Pounds Of Ground Beef Recalled Because E.Coli Doesn't Make For A Good Burger
By 8.15.11
The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced a recall of more than 60,000 pounds of ground beef because of possible E. coli contamination. The recalled meat was produced by the Kansas-based National Beef Packing Company and shipped to stores nationwide. [More]
Government Wants Organic Small-Batch Ice Cream Maker To Stop Making Organic Small-Batch Ice Cream
By 8.15.11
Nice Cream is a small ice cream company in Chicago that does something strange and daring in the modern food landscape: they make and sell ice cream using only ingredients with names that ordinary people can pronounce. Ingredients such as “cream,” “eggs,” and “pie.” The tiny company was a classic recession success story: a laid-off teacher experiments at home with her Cuisinart ice cream maker, and with hard work and creativity creates a delicious product that’s eventually sold at Whole Foods. But the state of Illinois doesn’t really see it that way, and Nice Cream will have to shut down or make drastic changes to its products and process in order to stay legal. They’re first, and other small-batch ice cream makers could be next. [More]
Cross-Dressing Thieves Disguised As Nurses Strike Denver Nursing Homes
By 8.15.11
A pair of male thieves who dressed as female nurses are accused of robbing residents of Denver-area nursing homes, making off with credit cards they used at big-box retail stores. Authorities say the alleged criminals, who wear nurse scrubs, made their move when victims are dining or participating in other activities. The crimes could be connected to a national ring with similar incidents in Louisiana, Georgia, Texas, Kansas and Alabama. [More]
Justice Department Says North Carolina Fails At Caring For Mentally Ill
By 8.15.11
According to gripes from the U.S. Department of Justice, the state of North Carolina is mishandling mental health patients, violating the Americans With Disabilities Act by failing to provide adequate housing. The DOJ may sue the state and force 1,200 mental health patients out of adult care homes — inadequate facilities which it says are operating as mental health care facilities. [More]
Rapper May Face Arrest After Tweeting Sheriff's Station Phone Number
By 8.15.11
Rap artist The Game pulled a Twitter prank Friday by posting the Compton sheriff’s station phone number, encouraging his 580,000 followers to call the department if they wanted to apply for an internship. The station was bombarded with hundreds of phone calls for hours, and is now working on an official complaint it will file with prosecutors. Potential charges are “annoying or harassing phone calls via electronic device or the Internet whether or not a conversation ensues, delaying or obstructing a peace officer in the performance of their duties, and disrupting or impeding communication over a public safety radio frequency.” [More]
GM Recalls 16,000 2012 Chevy Impala & Buick LaCrosse Vehicles
By 8.12.11
It isn’t even 2012 yet but General Motors is already recalling nearly 12,000 model year 2012 Chevrolet Impalas and more than 4,000 new Buick Lacrosse cars, each for different reasons. [More]
SunTrust Sunsets Free Checking
By 8.12.11
The next bank to do away with free checking is SunTrust, and they’ve got their own unique twist on it. [More]
Appeals Court Rules Mandatory Health Care Coverage Unconstitutional
By 8.12.11
The legal battle over health care reform continued this morning after an appeals court in Atlanta ruled that the portion of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act requiring Americans to have some sort of health insurance is unconstitutional. [More]
Taco Bell Worker Handcuffs Self To Coworker He Likes, Gets Arrested
By 8.12.11
It’s never a good idea to declare your infatuation with someone by handcuffing yourself to them. Doing so when both you and your victim happen to work for a prominent fast food establishment only adds the shame of national headlines to your embarrassment. [More]
Postal Service May Lay Off 120,000
By 8.12.11
The U.S. Postal Service continues to deliver awful news, proposing job cuts of as many as 120,000 workers in an attempt to temper costs in the wake of massive financial losses. Projecting to lose more than $8 billion for the second straight year, the USPS also wants to set up its own health plan, pulling employees out of the federal system. [More]
NY, Michigan Law Grads Sue Schools For Providing Allegedly Misleading Job Stats
By 8.12.11
Law school graduates in Michigan and New York who believe they were duped into making poor investments in their degrees have used their skills to take their alma maters to court in a pair of class-action suits. The grads say the schools misled them about their post-graduation job prospects, as well as their potential salaries. [More]
NYC Says 50K Residents Weren't Counted In Census
By 8.11.11
New York City officials formally challenged the Census Bureau, contending 50,000 residents of four neighborhoods in Brooklyn and Queens were overlooked in the 2010 Census. The challenge is too late to affect Congressional district lines, but could result in more federal aid. [More]
If You Want To Avoid TSA Screenings, Become A Pilot
By 8.11.11
Perhaps figuring that if you can’t trust pilots not to hijack their own flights, you may as well not let them fly in the first place, the Transportation Security Administration started allowing pilots to bypass security screenings Tuesday. Instead of being screened like everyone else, pilots show authorities their credentials. [More]
