A few weeks back, we wrote about a woman in Staten Island who filed a lawsuit against her plastic surgeon, claiming her breast enhancement surgery was so botched that she effectively ended up with “four breasts.” Well, her case must have been convincing, because a court has awarded her $3.5 million. [More]
Government Policy
New York Lawmakers Consider Outlawing Salt
By 3.11.10
Determined to match Utah in sheer craziness, the New York state assembly has turned its ire toward salt, considering a bill that would prohibit its use in cooking in state restaurants, with a $1,000 fine to slap violators. [More]
Join The Class Action Against AT&T's Slothly DSL Speeds
By 3.11.10
A class action has been filed against AT&T DSL for being too slow. Specifically, the suit alleges that AT&T set the maximum rate customers could get at a level that was lower than the advertised rate. The company denies these claims but has opted to settle instead of going to court. You’re eligible to join if… [More]
Gerber Machete Recalled Because It Could Cut You
By 3.11.10
Gerber Legendary Blades is recalling 149,000 machetes in its Gator line, because you could slice your hand open if it slides across the blade. Yeah, we kind of imagine that’s one of the things you’d want to watch out for if you’re carrying an 18-inch blade that’s razor-sharp on one side and saw-toothed on the other. Of course, it’s one thing to slash yourself because you’re off playing Indiana Jones without knowing what you’re doing, and quite another to have it happen because the knife’s handle wasn’t designed as well as it could have been. [More]
Cable Companies To Government: Make The Mean Old Media Companies Stop Pulling Channels
By 3.10.10
Time Warner Cable, DirecTV, Dish, and Verizon all want the FCC to force the media companies to stop pulling their channels during negotiations or disputes, removing their main bargaining chip from the table. [More]
Food & Entertainment Industries Get Failing Grade For Pushing Unhealthy Snacks On Kids
By 3.10.10
The folks over at the Center for Science in the Public Interest recently took a look at how 128 different food and entertainment companies market food to kids. And, perhaps not surprisingly, they gave failing marks to 95 of them for having either weak policies for marketing food products to children or having none at all. [More]
Scarves With Microwaveable Heat Packs Recalled Due To Fire And Burn Hazard
By 3.10.10
The Therma Scarf, a polyester/cotton blend scarf with pockets and microwaveable heat packs marketed by infomercial powerhouse Telebrands, has been recalled. The scarf’s heat packs, made of flaxseeds, pose a fire and burn hazard to wearers. In a related story, someone actually thought it would be a good idea to make a microwaveable scarf with pockets. [More]
Making The Most Of Medical Expense Tax Deductions
By 3.10.10
Kiplinger has advice on on how to maximize your medical expense deductions at tax time. You can only deduct out-of-pocket expenses that exceed 7.5% of your adjusted gross income, so you should try to bundle medical procedures in the same year if possible. [More]
Yet Another Toyota Prius Goes Rogue, Smashes Into Wall
By 3.10.10
Things went from bad to worse to downright awful for Toyota on Tuesday as yet another of their Prius hybrid vehicles was involved in an accident involving a stuck accelerator pedal. [More]
Mercedes-Benz Ordered To Pay $482k Over Lemon Car
By 3.9.10
Wisconsin’s lemon law for cars is pretty strict. If a customer demands a refund on a newly bought car that won’t run and can’t be repaired, the manufacturer has to comply within 30 days or pay double the purchase price plus legal fees. Marco Marquez has been fighting Mercedes-Benz for 4 years now over a $56,000 E 320 he bought in 2005 that immediately stopped working. He says the company deliberately stalled on giving him the refund in time, and last week a judge awarded him $482,000. [More]
Toyota Still At Loss For How To FIx Problem WIth Prius
By 3.9.10
A day after a 2008 Toyota Prius went rogue at speeds over 90mph on a California interstate, Toyota has admitted that, even though the Prius is on the current recall list, they don’t quite know how to fix the problem. [More]
LifeLock Settles With FTC For $11 Million Over False ClaimsIn Ads
By 3.9.10 — Updated: 11.21.16
For several years, LifeLock has been so brash about their skills at protecting customers from ID theft that they not only drove around a truck displaying their CEO’s Social Security Number in public, they also advertised his SSN on TV ads. But that hubris has come back to bite them on the rear, as LifeLock has just agreed to a $11 million settlement with the Federal Trade Commission over the bulked-up claims made in their ads. [More]
Colorado Teen Arrested For Overdue DVD
By 3.9.10
A 19-year-old was pulled over at a traffic stop in Colorado a few weeks ago and quickly found himself arrested on an outstanding warrant. The charge? Not drugs or murder or even tax fraud. No, the perp was picked up because of an overdue DVD from his local library. [More]
U.S. Airways Fined $40K For Not Properly Revealing Prices Online
By 3.9.10
For anyone who has ever been put off by an airline’s overly complicated explanation of their already cryptic fare schedule, there might be a slight, sweet taste of vengeance in this news: The Dept. of Transportation just slapped US Airways with a $40,000 fine for not disclosing their full ticket prices on their Web site. [More]
Amazon Cut Ties With Affiliates In Yet Another State Over Taxes
By 3.9.10
The ongoing debate about whether or not to levy sales tax on online purchases got another talking point yesterday, as Amazon.com reacted to one such law in Colorado by completely dropping all of its affiliates in the state. [More]
Toyota Prius Runs Wild At 90mph With Stuck Accelerator
By 3.9.10
This is probably not how Toyota wanted their week to start. Yesterday afternoon in Southern California, a man called 911 because he was unable to unstick the accelerator pedal of his 2008 Toyota Prius and continued to drive at speeds of over 90 mph until finally coming to a stop. [More]
Insurance Companies Want Fewer Policies At Higher Rates, Says Obama
By 3.8.10
At a speech today in Philadelphia, President Barack Obama set his sights on the insurance industry as the main stumbling block to the passing of a National Health Care plan, saying they would rather not insure the people who need insurance the most. [More]
Toyota Workers Say Bosses Have Ignored Safety Concerns For Years
By 3.8.10
Adding a bit of fuel to the anti-Toyota fire, six Toyota manufacturing employees now say they wrote a memo to company executives in 2006 voicing concerns about vehicle safety and long-term impact on the company, only to be completely ignored. [More]
