To avoid bag check fees, travelers are routinely opting to carry on their bags, but the TSA says that the cost is just getting shifted to tax payers, to the tune of $260 million a year. That’s because the more bags that don’t get checked, the more bags the TSA has to inspect by hand at security checkpoints. Now the TSA is looking to get a cut of some of the checked baggage fees the airlines collect. [More]
Government Policy
Botched Paperwork Delays Law Capping Gas Tax
By 3.4.11
As gas prices have continued to rise in recent weeks, the people of Suffolk County in New York must have been so happy they passed a law that would cap sales tax on gas. The regulation was supposed to have kicked in on March 1, but, well… someone goofed. [More]
Former Spam King Released From Prison, Vows To Spam No More
By 3.4.11
A man who launched 10 trillion spam messages before he was sent away to federal prison is out after serving four years, and he’s allowed back online. He promises he’s a changed man and will no longer shower your inbox with unwanted solicitations. [More]
Judge: NFL's TV Contract Won't Fly
By 3.4.11
If it didn’t seem fair to you that the NFL would be allowed to collect TV revenue while it locked out players, take heart, because a federal judge felt the same way. [More]
FCC To Reconsider Rules For Negotiations Between Broadcasters And Cable Companies
By 3.3.11
In recent years, the disputes between cable companies and broadcasters have gotten especially ugly as boardroom squabbles have spilled over onto the airwaves and online. And in the end, it’s always the subscribers who get hurt with blackouts and eventual price hikes. That’s why the FCC voted today to reinvestigate the rules and its role in these negotiations. [More]
Mazda Recalls 65,000 Cars… Over Spider Webs
By 3.3.11
We’ve heard of bananas in the tailpipe and sugar in the gas tank, but “spiders in the evaporative canister vent line” is a new one for us. And yet, it’s the reason Mazda is recalling 65,000 Mazda6 cars in North America. [More]
Get $150 In Dell Inspiron "Deceptively Designed" Class Action
By 3.3.11
A class action lawsuit claims Dell “deceptively designed” its Inspiron laptop series to have “1) inadequate cooling systems, (2) a power supply system that prematurely fails when used as intended, and (3) motherboards that prematurely fail when used as intended.” If you had one of these laptops and paid Dell for a repair, you could be eligible for a $150 payout. [More]
Groupon Sued Over Expiration Date Issues
By 3.3.11
Online coupon site Groupon.com now finds itself the subject of a lawsuit claiming the expiration dates on its deals violate existing gift card laws regarding expiration dates. [More]
Could Backscatter Scanners Be Coming To City Streets?
By 3.3.11
The TSA’s rollout of full-body backscatter scanners at airports hasn’t pleased too many people (other than the manufacturers of said scanners). Now a handful of newly uncovered documents show that the Dept. of Homeland Security has been considering bringing that invasive technology out of the airport and out to the public realm. [More]
Chrysler Recalls 250,000 Vehicles For Engine Stalling Issues
By 3.3.11
Proving that American car companies can make recall-worthy vehicles just as well as anyone else, Chrysler has announced a recall on a total of 250,000 vehicles from its Dodge Caravan, Dodge Grand Caravan and Chrysler Town & Country lines because the engine could stall out unexpectedly. [More]
Feds Investigating TSA Agents For Allegedly Failing To Screen Luggage
By 3.3.11
According to a federal probe, at least 27 TSA agents in Honolulu took it easy on the job, routinely letting un-screened baggage through on early-morning flights. [More]
Wellness Recalls Canned Cat Food For Low Thiamine Levels
By 3.3.11
Wellness is a higher-end brand of dog and cat food that’s now even carried at Petsmart. After discovering that some flavors didn’t contain enough thiamine (Vitamin B1), an absolutely essential nutrient for cats, the company announced a voluntary recall of all canned cat food manufactured between certain dates. [More]
USPS: We'll Be Out Of Money By October
By 3.3.11
USPS is in crisis mode, stuck in an unsustainable business model that threatens to run the service into the ground by the end of the fiscal year in October. [More]
Government Says It Has A Stupidly Large Number Of Buildings It Doesn't Need
By 3.2.11
On Whitehouse.gov today there’s a post declaring that the government has a stupidly large amount of real estate that taxpayers are paying to maintain — but that it doesn’t really need. [More]
Did You Know Doctors Are Prescribing Non-FDA-Approved Drugs? They Didn't Either.
By 3.2.11
Awhile back the FDA cracked down on OTC cold medicines that were potentially harmful to children under 2. As part of that effort, the agency has now “ordered the removal from the market of more than 500 prescription drugs used to treat colds, coughs and allergies because the medications had never gone through a federal review of their safety and effectiveness,” says the NYT Prescriptions Blog. [More]
Man Sues Strip Club, Claiming Dancer Broke His Teeth With Flying Shoe
By 3.2.11
If one day strip clubs start to offer patrons mouthguards, or have dancers wear bunny slippers rather than stilettos, you might be able to trace it back to a lawsuit filed in Indiana, in which a man says he got his teeth kicked in by a projectile flung from a high-kicking dancer. [More]
Passenger Goes Through JFK Security With 3 Boxcutters In His Bag
By 3.2.11
A JetBlue flight from JFK Airport to the Dominican Republic was grounded for three hours over the weekend after a flight attendant discovered three boxcutters in the carry-on bag of a passenger — three boxcutters that no one at the security checkpoint seemed to notice. [More]
Making The Case For Elizabeth Warren & The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
By 3.2.11
The new U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau isn’t even up and running yet, and already it seems its funding could be in trouble. Prof. Elizabeth Warren, the champion of the bureau, is trying to protect her project in the face of a conservative House majority. [More]
