Last week, the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals overturned the conviction of a man who posted a threatening message online in 2008, calling for the assassination of then-presidential candidate Barack Obama. In a divided ruling, which overturned the man’s 2009 conviction, the written opinion declared that the threat would not have been taken seriously by a reasonable person. [More]
Government Policy
CFPB Launches Credit Card Complaint Portal
By 7.22.11
Yesterday, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau finally took down its “Coming Soon” sign and hoisted the “Open For Business” banner. And as part of its grand opening celebration, the CFPB kicked things off with the launch of its credit card complaint portal. [More]
Potential FAA Shutdown Could Mean Tax-Free Airfares For Travelers
By 7.22.11
Unless Congress can hammer out their issues over extending the FAA’s operating authority by midnight tonight, 4,000 agency employees will be temporarily out of a job, but travelers will be able to but airline tickets without paying federal taxes. [More]
Taxpayers Lost $1.3 Billion In Chrysler Bailout
By 7.22.11
The government bought a piece of Chrysler in a 2009 bailout that turned out to be a costly investment in an automaker deemed too big to fail. Now that the government has sold its remaining interest in the company to Fiat, the U.S. Treasury Department announced the arrangement cost taxpayers $1.3 billion. [More]
Got Questions For The Consumer Product Safety Commission? Ask Away
By 7.21.11
Later this afternoon, I’ll be meeting with Inez Tenenbaum, Chair of the Consumer Product Safety Commission to talk about everything from the process of determining whether or not to issue a product recall to the CPSC’s work in getting lead paint off kids’ toys to opponents’ attempts to gut the just-created recall database. [More]
TSA Begins Installing Software That Makes Scanners Less R-Rated
By 7.20.11
For travelers whose main concern about the TSA’s full-body scanners is the potential of having their naked form displayed or downloaded onto some screener’s thumb drive, this may be good news. The agency announced today that it has begun installing software that displays objects hidden beneath passengers’ clothes but not show detailed images of their nude bodies. [More]
L.A. Law: If Your Dog Chases Someone, It Can Be Seized, Killed
By 7.20.11
Los Angeles County residents will want to keep a tighter leash on their dogs due to a new law passed by the Board of Supervisors that loosens the definition of how officials determine dogs to be “vicious.” A dog that chases someone without causing an injury can now be reported, seized and possibly euthanized. [More]
FTC Sends Out $108 Million In Refund Checks To Overcharged Countrywide Customers
By 7.20.11
Earlier today, the Federal Trade Commission announced it is mailing out refund checks to the nearly half million American homeowners who were charged excessive fees on their mortgages by former Worst Company In America champ Countrywide Home Loans. [More]
Man Fined $2,000 For Not Watering His Beehive
By 7.20.11
While New York may be trying to raise revenue by cracking down on city beekeepers, this looks like one sting operation that got its stinger broken off in the wound: inspectors fined a Queens man $2,000 for “not watering his beehive.” [More]
Suit Can Proceed Against Restaurant For Serving Meat To Hindus
By 7.20.11
An appellate court has ruled that a lawsuit against a New Jersey restaurant that served meat to a group of devout Hindus can forward. The vegetarian dining party are suing the eatery for the cost it would take for them to travel to India and purify themselves in the Ganges River. [More]
Panel: Birth Control Should Be Covered By Insurance Without Co-Pay
By 7.20.11
Yesterday, an Institute of Medicine panel released its recommendations to the federal government about which services for women should insurance companies be obliged to cover. Chief among the eight recommendations was that birth control should be made available without need for a patient copay. [More]
"Secret" Way To Keep Buying Paper Savings Bonds After 2012 Deadline
By 7.19.11
The Treasury announced last week that, in order to save money, they’re going to stop selling paper saving bonds after Jan 2012. Gone will be the days when a grandparent could walk down to the bank and sock away $50 every year to make an ironclad investment for their grandchildren. But there is a bit of a “backdoor” way you can still buy them without having to go through their weird online “gift box.” It will also let you buy more bonds than the $5,000 limit. What you do is use your tax refund to buy them through the IRS using form 8888. [More]
Poll: Overwhelming Majority Of Voters Want A Strong, Undiluted CFPB
By 7.19.11
While Republicans in the Congress and Senate continue to grouse about the structure of the newborn Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, a new poll indicates that those politicians’ actions may not be a reflection of their constituents’ desires. [More]
Woman Gets Knife Past TSA Checkpoints Not Once, But Twice!
By 7.19.11
What with reports indicating a plethora of security breaches at U.S. airports, why not check out some of those statistics in action? Two such breaches may have occurred recently, as an Indianapolis woman claims she made it through security twice with a knife in her carry-on. [More]
Reader: TSA Agent Cracks Timothy McVeigh Joke That Would Probably Have Gotten Me Detained
By 7.18.11
For all the wise-cracking most of us do about the TSA and airport security procedures, we also know that when it comes time to actually pass through the checkpoint on our way to the gate, it’s probably not the best time to be a jokester. But, says a Consumerist reader, there is at least one TSA screener who thinks it’s perfectly fine for him to lightheartedly reference Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh. [More]
Liposuction Doctor Convicted Of 2 Murders, Manslaughter In Practice
By 7.18.11
Liposuction turned fatal for three Phoenix patients, and the allegedly sloppy doctor who worked on them was convicted of second-degree murder in two deaths, and manslaughter in another. He’ll be sentenced Aug. 19. [More]
Police Bust Tweens For Operating Unlicensed Lemonade Stand
By 7.18.11
It’s the middle of summer, and we all know what that means: adorable kids learning the basics of capitalism by running lemonade stands. Among those basics: you need to lay down a few hundred bucks at City Hall before you even think about buying lemons and paper cups. Three Georgia girls thought they would earn money for a trip to the water park by selling lemonade in their neighborhood. They were successful…until the police chief happened to drive by, and shut them down for selling lemonade without business and food vendors’ licenses totaling $180. [More]
Obama To Nominate Former Ohio AG Cordray For CFPB Director
By 7.18.11
After months of speculation and fighting over the leadership of the newborn Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the White House has announced that President Obama will not nominate Elizabeth Warren for the directorship, but instead will go with former Ohio Attorney General Richard Cordray. [More]
