The cost of one man’s Las Vegas bachelor party could end up being a lot higher than airfare, hotel and gambling expenses if a Chicago woman gets her way. Claiming breach of promise, she’s suing her former fiance for at least $62,814 in wedding expenses after he got caught sowing his wild oats in Sin City. [More]
Government Policy
Insurers Dodge Payouts By Claiming Accidental Deaths As Suicides
By 3.18.11
Thanks to loopholes, some insurers are erroneously denying insurance claims for accidental deaths by claiming they’re suicides, reports Bloomberg Markets Magazine in a new in-depth investigation. [More]
FDA Panel Recommends Ban On Menthol Cigarettes
By 3.18.11
If you like your cigarettes minty fresh, you might want to start stocking up now. Earlier today an FDA panel announced that a ban on menthol smokes would be a good thing for the public health. [More]
Bill Introduced To Delay Swipe Fee Reform
By 3.18.11
Bills were introduced in both the House and Senate to delay “swipe fee reform” by at least a year and they call for a study of its potential effects. The new rules, scheduled to take effect July 21, would cap the fee banks can charge merchants for processing debit card fees at 12 cents per transaction. [More]
House Votes To Stop Funding NPR
By 3.18.11
Although it’s unclear whether the government will actually stop funding National Public Radio and place the public news source in jeopardy of shutting down, the U.S. House of Representatives took a step in that direction Thursday, voting to strip the organization of federal funding and forbidding radio stations from using public grants to pay NPR. [More]
Man Wins $5,000 Suing Debt Collectors, Thanks To Google Voice
By 3.17.11
Reader PJ sued a bunch of harassing debt collectors and won $5,000, and Google Voice made doing it really easy. Someone had put down his work cellphone number on their credit applications and ran up a bunch of debts and collectors started calling him multiple times per day. He told them he wasn’t the guy and asked them nicely to stop, but that only made it worse. [More]
Sony Can Sift Through Alleged Hacker's PayPal Records
By 3.17.11
In it’s all-out legal quest to stomp an alleged hacker who released a PS3 jailbreak, Sony continues to seem to get whatever information it wants via legal channels. After being allowed to collect the IP addresses of anyone who visited the alleged hacker’s site, Sony has now been given the go-ahead from a federal magistrate to collect the man’s PayPal records. [More]
Mom Sues Preschool For Failing To Prep Tot For Harvard
By 3.16.11
A Manhattan mother has filed a class action suit against her 4-year-old daughter’s $19,000 a year Upper East Side preschool for not properly preparing her child for a top-tier university. [More]
SEC May Go After Former Freddie Mac Chief
By 3.16.11
The Securities and Exchange Commission may file a civil action against former Freddie Mac chief executive as it concludes an investigation of Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae’s disclosure practices. [More]
Price Of Premature Birth-Preventing Drug Goes From $10 To $1,500 Per Dose
By 3.15.11
After the Food and Drug Administration granted KV Pharmaceuticals sole rights to produce progesterone, a drug that prevents premature births in mothers, the company has begun charging $1,500 per dose of a drug that formerly cost $10. [More]
Blogger Must Pay $60K To University Employee Fired Because Of Post
By 3.15.11
A Minnesota jury decided a blogger must pay $60,000 in damages to a former University of Minnesota employee who was fired after the blogger’s posts exposed the former employee’s alleged involvement in a mortgage fraud. [More]
Man With 4th Amendment Written On His Chest Sues The TSA
By 3.15.11
This 21-year-old was on his way to Wisconsin for his grandmothers funeral when he was handcuffed and held for 90 minutes on a disorderly conduct charge. Why? He opted-out of the “naked scanner” and instead chose the pat-down — at which point he began removing his clothes to expose a message written on his chest in marker. The message, of course, was the 4th amendment. [More]
Denny's Customer Accused Of Firing Gun To Protest Slow Service
By 3.15.11
Waiting for slow service at a restaurant can be frustrating, but that’s no excuse to go firing off your gun like Yosemite Sam. A frustrated Florida Denny’s customer was allegedly irritated past the point of reason when he stepped outside and shot off his gun three times. [More]
U.S. Investigating Morgan Stanley Subsidiary For Unlawfully Foreclosing On Military Families
By 3.14.11
A Morgan Stanley unit is under investigation by the Justice Department for foreclosing on nearly two dozen military families without a court hearing, a violation of Federal law meant to protect active duty service members. [More]
Forgiven Credit Card Debt Over $600 Is Taxable Income
By 3.14.11
Did you negotiate a debt settlement in 2010 on your credit card? If the amount you knocked off is more than $600, LowCards notes, the IRS considers it income and you’ll have to pay tax on it. Sorry Charlie, you’re not out of the woods yet. [More]
21 Airlines Fined $1.7 Billion In Price-Fixing Scheme
By 3.11.11
The Justice Department has fined 21 airlines in a massive global price-fixing scheme. British Airways, Air France-KLM and Virgin Atlantic were among the airlines indicted. Even four executives have gone to jail. What did they do? The JD charges that the airlines colluded to artificially inflate fuel surcharges for passengers industry-wide, as well as cargo surcharges. The case probably wouldn’t have been broken if Luthansa and Virgin Atlantic hadn’t come forward and confessed under the Justice Department’s amnesty program that provides leniency for finking. In an interesting turn, the scheme was so codified that various airlines had entire committees and sub-committees devoted to managing it. [More]
Get Breaking Texts About Product Recalls That Impact Kid's Lives
By 3.11.11
You could have recalled products in your home or school that put children’s lives at risk. But by texting “SAFE” to 76666, Consumer Reports will text you a daily digest of the latest breaking and relevant product recalls right to your mobile device. With it, you’ll never be the last one at the punch bowl to know about the latest salmonella-tainted peanut butter or strangulation hazard sweatshirt drawstring. The service has no charge, but message and data rates from your wireless provider may apply. [More]
Government To Take Control Of Three Tylenol Plants
By 3.11.11
Following a slew of recalls that seemed to have pulled just about every Tylenol product from store shelves, three Johnson & Johnson plants responsible for the recalled goods are being put under the supervision of the FDA. [More]
