Good news for Medicare enrollees who are on fixed incomes and counting pennies as well as pills: The price of prescription drug premiums in the program are expected to slightly dip next year. [More]
Government Policy
300,000 Dodge & Chrysler Minivans Recalled For Possible Airbag Problems
By 8.4.11
Chrysler has recalled 300,000 model year 2008 Dodge Caravan, Chrsyler Grand Voyager and Town & Country minivans in the U.S. over concerns that the airbags on these vehicles could inadvertently deploy, which is hilarious in slapstick comedies but potentially deadly in real life. [More]
California Environmental Nonprofit Says State Redesigned License Plate To Cut It Out Of Royalties
By 8.4.11
The California Coastal Commission unveiled a new license plate design featuring a whale’s tale tweaked slightly from the previous design, and an environmental nonprofit said the state did so because the artist who created the previous design asked for royalties to help fund the organization. [More]
Web Analytics Firm, 20 Clients Sued For Web Tracking
By 8.4.11
There’s big business in tracking web browsing, and temptation to grab more information than is legally acceptable. A lawsuit alleges a web analytics company and its clients stepped over the line in snooping on browsing habits, particularly of those who try to cover their tracks. [More]
Company Recalls 36 Million Pounds Of Possibly Salmonella-Tainted Ground Turkey
By 8.4.11
Salmonella-tainted turkey has killed one person and sickened dozens of others, leading Arkansas-based Cargill Meat Solutions Corporation to recall 36 million pounds of possibly dangerous ground turkey. [More]
CPSC Chair Tenenbaum: We're Not Trying To Play "Gotcha" With Manufacturers
By 8.3.11
Regular readers of Consumerist know that we cover a lot of recalls — from faulty booster seats to wine openers with potentially bloody consequences — many of them announced by the Consumer Product Safety Commission. We recently met with CPSC chair Inez Tenenbaum to discuss how the commission works with manufacturers on everything from the recall process to new standards on lead and drop-side cribs, and why some within the commission are attempting to scuttle its new products database. [More]
Elderly Couple Games Lottery To Win Big Money
By 8.3.11
Lotteries are said to be sucker bets for those who lack mathematical understanding, but some who understand systemic quirks can exploit them for huge gains. [More]
New Missouri Law: Teachers Can't Contact Students Via Social Networks
By 8.3.11
Determined to limit the possibility of inappropriate contact between teachers and students, the Missouri state government has forbidden teachers from messaging students via social networks. [More]
Police Continue Battle Against Kiddie Lemonade Stand Menace
By 8.3.11
Every year, the Des Moines Register’s Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa (RAGBRAI) pedals through towns across Iowa. Some children in Coralville, one of the ride’s host towns, wanted to participate in the event by selling lemonade in front of their houses for a quarter per cup. Police celebrated their entrepreneurial spirit by promptly shutting down at least three lemonade stands for not obtaining $400 vendors’ licenses and a health inspection. [More]
Detroit Bureau Uses Money Meant To Feed Poor To Buy $314 Trash Cans
By 8.2.11
Three stainless-steel trash cans with motion-activated sensor lids: $314.93 each. A 500-lb capacity ottoman for the cafeteria: $469. Mahogany-finished conference room table: $3,000. The line items sound extravagant enough on their own. When you learn that they were to makeover a Detroit city office that handles the federal money for feeding and clothing the poor, and the credenzas and sofas and such came out of that money, it’s time to get livid. [More]
Mom Fined $535 After Daughter Saves Woodpecker
By 8.2.11
A mother faces a $535 fine and possible jail time because her 11-year old daughter saved a baby woodpecker from the family cat. [More]
What The Debt Ceiling Bill Means For Your Wallet
By 8.2.11
You need a flowchart and a spreadsheet to understand all the different stages of the debt ceiling bill that passed the House yesterday and is likely to pass the Senate today. But let’s not get hung up on who does what to whom at what point, and when that super-awesome “sudden death mode” of spending cuts kicks in. Instead, let’s look at what the debt-ceiling bill means to you and your wallet. [More]
FCC Broadband Study Shows Which Companies Actually Come Close To Meeting Advertised Download Speeds
By 8.2.11
Today, at — of all places — a Best Buy in Washington, DC, FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski announced the results of the agency’s Measuring Broadband America study, which looked to put a more accurate number on what consumers should be expecting from their broadband providers. [More]
FDA Warns Evital May Be Counterfeit Morning-After Pill
By 8.2.11
According to the Food and Drug Administration, morning-after pills labeled Evital may be counterfeit and unsafe and ineffective at preventing pregnancy. The label of the counterfeit pill reads “Evital Anticonceptivo de emergencia, 1.5 mg, 1 tablet” by “Fluter Domull.” [More]
Debt Ceiling Deal Caves In On Some Subsidized Student Loans
By 8.2.11
As if debt-soaked grad students don’t have enough to worry about as they approach graduation, the federal government has provided them with another horrific prospect to go along with the fear of not being able to find a job — the responsibility of paying off student loans while still in school. [More]
What If Food Labels Looked Like This?
By 8.1.11
Maybe the real reason Americans are so fat is because our food labels are so ugly. If they were easier on the eye to read, maybe more people would read them and make better eating choices. That was the idea in mind behind a recent design contest at the University of California, Berkeley, School of Journalism aiming to give the standard government-mandated food label a much-needed makeover. The winning entry uses colored boxes for each ingredient that are sized in proportion to how much of each is inside the package. [More]
Hours Left Before Debt Ceiling Vote Deadline, So Read The Bill
By 8.1.11
There’s just a few hours to go before the deadline to vote on raising the debt ceiling and steer clear of a federal default. Late Sunday a deal was worked out and the House and Senate are expected to vote on it. Broadly, the deal raises the debt ceiling, reduces the deficit, and avoids a credit default. More specifically… everyone should read the 74 pages of the bill before making a comment about it. If you don’t have time for that, the White House has also released a 1,465 word fact sheet, a “TL;DR” document of sorts for the nation. [More]
Guy Files Class Action Against Hilton For Charging Him 75 Cents For Newspaper He Didn't Ask For
By 8.1.11
A man has decided to turn a minor annoyance, getting a newspaper at your hotel room door and getting charged for it, into a class action lawsuit. [More]
