For decades, the Thomas’ English Muffins have been bragging about the tasty nooks and delicious crannies of its breakfasts breads. They’re such a well-regarded company secret that only seven people at the company know the recipe. And now that one of those dudes is trying to jump ship to Hostess, it’s lawsuit time. [More]
Government Policy
BP Swears It's Going To Try A Little Harder
By 6.14.10
After getting a verbal boot in the butt from the U.S. Coast Guard about their lackadaisical attitude toward cleaning up their mess in the Gulf of Mexico, British Petroleum has come back with a slightly more aggressive schedule for mopping up the disaster. [More]
Obama Orders Govt To Pay You Via Direct Deposit
By 6.14.10
Now you can sit hitting refresh all day instead of looking out the window every 5 minutes to see if the red flag on the mailbox is down: the White House has ordered the government to switch to direct deposits for all payments to consumers. [More]
Johnson & Johnson Hired Fake Shoppers To Buy Up Bad Motrin, Avoid Public Recall
By 6.14.10
Ever since the FDA and Congress started asking Johnson & Johnson to explain why it keeps recalling medicine, there have been references to an unpublicized “recall” that happened in November 2008. Last month, at a hearing of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, a J&J executive swore that the company didn’t mean to mislead anyone. It turns out that wasn’t exactly accurate: Bloomberg has obtained emails from J&J’s company, McNeil Consumer Healthcare, that show executives knew the secret recall would trigger an FDA reaction if the agency got wind of its full scope. [More]
Is Comcast Choking My Bandwidth To Keep Me From Watching Too Much TV Online?
By 6.14.10
Gen fears Comcast is choking his bandwidth because he’s streamed too many TV shows. He keeps getting suspicious messages that say his internet connection has slowed when he tries to watch episodes of Law & Order: SVU. [More]
Coast Guard To BP: Hurry The Hell Up
By 6.13.10
Perhaps figuring that if a little forceful nudge from the federal government can get BP to stop dragging its feet on paying businesses hurt by the Gulf of Mexico oil spill, the U.S. Coast Guard has now told the oil giant that they really need to step up their actions with regards to both stopping the spewing crude and containing/cleaning up the mess that’s already been made. [More]
FDA Cracking Down on DNA-Test Providers
By 6.12.10
After scaring Walgreens out of the genetic-testing business, the FDA has now decided to crack down on the entire industry, and will be subjecting DNA tests to the same rules that it applies to medical devices such as blood-glucose meters. [More]
Study: Overwhelming Number Of Kids' Drinks & Snacks Contain Lead
By 6.11.10
In a newly released report from the Environmental Law Foundation, nearly 150 varieties of beverages and fruit snacks marketed to children were tested for lead levels — and the results were not exactly good. [More]
New Recalls Of Death And Dismay
By 6.11.10
Watch out for these products! They might kill or harm you, so they have been recalled. [More]
New Rules About Getting Paid When Airlines Bump You
By 6.11.10
Airlines routinely overbook passengers, resulting in passengers getting bumped and having their travel plans disrupted. Currently, you can get the full ticket price if you are bumped, or 2x the ticket if you’re not provided alternative transportation within a certain time frame to the next stop, up to a certain cap level. Newly proposed regulations would increase the amount passengers could get, but it’s not as simple as that. Airline expert Elliott has delved into the report to find out what’s being proposed: [More]
SEC Stops Looking At Porn Long Enough To Investigate Dell
By 6.10.10
While some SEC employees were up to their eyeballs in porn during office hours in recent years, apparently some have continued to do their job, as Dell announced today that it is nearing a settlement to a prolonged SEC investigation that could cost the computer company upwards of $100 million. [More]
Elizabeth Warren Wants To End Exploding Mortgages
By 6.10.10
Why does financial-reform advocate, Harvard professor and overall force of nature Elizabeth Warren want a Consumer Financial Reform Agency? It’s simple: “We stopped exploding toasters. We’re going to do the same with exploding mortgages and crazy credit cards.” [More]
15 Ways To Kick Ass When Testifying
By 6.10.10
If you are victimized by corporate behavior and asked to testify before a legislative body in order to tell your story and help get a pro-consumer bill passed, it can be really scary. You only have a few minutes to make your case. Are you gonna choke it, or clinch it? Just follow these 15 tips I just learned in a Consumers Union Activist Summit workshop: [More]
Ben Popken On WJLA Warning About Robocall Scammers
By 6.10.10
UPDATE: Here’s the video. If you live in the DC area, tune into ABC 7 tonight at 5:45 pm to see a Consumer Alert I shot with local reporter Kris Van Cleave. Apparently, this morning like six of their reporters all got scam robocalls on their cellphones with a recording saying their ATM card had been deactivated and they needed to call the bank back. Hello, scam! [More]
Ikea Recalls 3.36 Million Blinds Over Strangulation Risk
By 6.10.10
After receiving a report that a 1-1/2 year old child nearly strangled to death on a loose cord, Ikea — along with the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission and Health Canada — has issued a recall on all Roman and Roll-up blinds, as well as roller blinds that do not have a tension device attached to the bead chain, sold between Jan. 1998 and June 2009. [More]
Philadelphia No Longer A Total Buzz Kill For Marijuana Consumers
By 6.9.10
The city that brought the world the “blunt” has decided to chill out on folks who toke. As of yesterday, possession of 30 grams or less of marijuana has been downgraded to a relatively minor offense. [More]
Should People Be Allowed To Shop In Swimsuits?
By 6.9.10
It’s summer (at least in the northern hemisphere), which means people of all shapes and sizes wearing all shapes and sizes of bathing suit. That also means that some of these people in swimsuits will also attempt to enter stores and restaurants. But now, even in places with historically liberal views on showing skin, there’s a backlash against sporting a bikini anywhere other than the beach. [More]
Super Cool Pirates Of The Caribbean Bed Recalled Due To Not Cool Entrapment Hazard
By 6.9.10
As a child, I was always jealous of my friends who had really rad theme beds like racing cars, construction vehicles, planes and trains. So here’s a bit of good news for all the envious little ones out there: That cool Pirates of the Caribbean boat bed your friend sleeps on has just been recalled. [More]
