The way could soon be clear for the country’s largest cable TV provider (and reigning Worst Company In America) to acquire a majority share of the country’s fourth-ranked broadcast TV network, as reports claim the FCC will be voting today to approve the joining of Comcast and NBC Universal. [More]
Government Policy
Oregon Sues J&J For Secretly Recalling Motrin
By 1.14.11
Instead of issuing a recall, after Johnson and Johnson discovered its Motrin caplets were defective, they hired a contractor to go around the country buy up all the drugs. It was a “secret recall” that left the bad medicine on shelves for months for consumers to buy. Now the Oregon AG is suing J&J. The story broke when one of the guys hired to do the buying faxed regulators the instructions J&J gave him. [More]
Kardashians Sued For Fee-Drenched Debit Card, By The Card's Makers
By 1.14.11
The Kardashians have been sued over their Kardashian Card, a pre-loaded debit card they agreed to put their faces and names on and help promote. The card was slammed by critics and an AG almost as soon as it came out for the high hidden fees it hoped to extract from the teen audience it was targeting. But the plaintiff isn’t a government body or members of a class action, it’s the Kardashian’s former business partners. [More]
When You Call A Candy Bar "Toxic Waste," You Probably Shouldn't Be Shocked It Has Lead In It
By 1.14.11
Unlike McDonald’s Fruit and Maple Oatmeal, which has angered some over its lack of real maple syrup, Toxic Waste brand Nuclear Sludge Chew Bars live up to their name by containing more than twice the tolerable limit of lead. [More]
FDA Asks Prescription Drug Companies To Limit Amount Of Acetaminophen
By 1.13.11
Worried about the possibility of liver damage from over use, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has asked manufacturers of prescription drugs containing acetaminophen to limit the amount of acetaminophen to no more than 325 mg in each tablet or capsule. [More]
LAX Is A Hotbed For Animal Smuggling
By 1.13.11
Apparently due to wealthy Hollywood types’ yearning for exotic pets, Los Angeles International Airport — its friends call it LAX — has long been known as animal smuggling central. In the most recent high-profile incident, Japanese passengers were busted for sneaking 55 live tortoises and turtles in luggage. [More]
Feds Sue New York City For Overbilling Medicaid
By 1.13.11
Saying it’s caught New York City’s hand in the Medicaid cookie jar, the federal government has sued the city, claiming it billed Medicaid for “at least tens of millions of dollars” more than it was legally allowed. [More]
Sony Goes After Alleged PS3 Hackers, Wants Them To Hush Up
By 1.12.11
Hackers have apparently shredded the security innards that stop people from messing with PlayStation 3 firmware, so Sony is wielding its legal katana. [More]
U.S. Seizes Killer Chocolate Eggs At Canadian Border
By 1.12.11
The Kinder Surprise is a delicious chocolate egg that contains a small toy. They’re available pretty much everywhere….except the United States, which has banned them because the tiny toys present a choking hazard to small children. And people who like to swallow chocolate eggs whole, we guess. The CBC reports that a Winnipeg woman didn’t know this, and was almost fined $300 for attempting to bring a single $2 egg into the country. [More]
TSA: Trying To Fool Scanners With Clever Clothes Will Just Lead To A Pat-Down
By 1.11.11
You might remember our story from July on Flying Pasties, the stickers that purported to hide your private bits from airport scanners. Those are just one of many products released in recent months attempting to cash in on travelers’ anti-scanner attitudes. However, the TSA has made it pretty clear that all you’re really doing when you walk through security carrying or wearing one of these products is asking for a pat-down. [More]
Banks Lose Foreclosure Case Over Bad Docs, More Could Come
By 1.11.11
In a potential foreshadowing of things to come, Massachusetts’s Supreme Court upheld the voiding of two home seizures this week because the banks couldn’t prove they owned the mortgages at the time they foreclosed. [More]
NJ Cracks Down On Cops Juicing
By 1.11.11
After a damning Star Ledger investigation exposed how a local doctor was the steroid dealer for “hundreds” of New Jersey cops and firefighters, lawmakers there have put forth a bill to crack down on the practice. The law would add steroids to the list of drugs law enforcement is randomly tested for and personnel would need to get a health checkup before they could be prescribed anabolic steroids and growth hormones. However, anecdotal evidence suggests that the problem is not limited to the Garden State. [More]
New Law Says Pentagon Must Buy American Solar Panels
By 1.11.11
Sorry, Chinese solar panel salesmen, your days of racking up commissions from sales to the American military are over, because a new federal law forbids the Pentagon from buying non-American panels. [More]
Man Says Penis Enlarger Never Worked, Even After 500 Hours Of Use
By 1.10.11
What with all that free healthcare and those easygoing natures up north in Canada, there’s not much to get upset about. So why not sue over a penis enlarger to stir stuff up? [More]
Thief Tries To Buy $3K Worth Of Chicken Sandwiches With Stolen Credit Card
By 1.10.11
You’re a thief who has just exercised your criminal genius to swipe two credit cards from an unsuspecting victim. You know you probably have only a few hours to use your golden tickets to fulfill your dreams before the cards are rendered worthless. What do you do? Try and buy as many chicken sandwiches as possible, of course. [More]
Pay Movers A Fuel Surcharge Fee? Get Money Back
By 1.7.11
If you hired movers and paid a fuel surcharge fee, you could be up for getting some cash back in a recent class action action. [More]
Can Bedbugs At The Waldorf-Astoria Actually Give You An Anxiety Disorder?
By 1.6.11
The bedbug lawsuits are flying… or maybe they’re crawling. Anyway, Gothamist has a post about the most recent customer to point a calamine-scented finger at the Waldorf-Astoria. [More]
