The United States Department of Transportation has finally warned airlines: Most people don’t like to go for more than 24 hours without brushing their teeth and changing their underwear.
Government Policy
Founder Of FlyersRights Says Delta Hacked Her Email Account
By 10.14.09
Kate Hanni, the founder of the passenger advocacy group FlyersRights.org, has filed a lawsuit against Delta Airlines in which she claims they hacked her email account and acquired personal email messages sent between her, some journalists, and a guy who was at the time working for Metron, a company hired by the FAA to investigate Delta.
4.5 Million Flammable Fords Recalled
By 10.14.09
Ford and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) have announced a recall of 4.5 million vehicles spanning back to 1992. A mixup in the manufacture resulted in the “self-immolation” button being labeled “cruise control.” In all seriousness, though, a vehicle fire could occur on these models, so be sure to check this out.
Brewer Sued By Monster Energy Drink Asks America For Help
By 10.14.09
Matt Nadeau, the owner of a tiny Vermont brewery being sued by the makers of the Monster energy drink for brewing a beer called “Vermonster,” has taken his case to the people. He says that trademark attorneys keep telling him the law is with him, but that he should just give up because it will be too expensive to litigate. “This is just about principle,” Nadeau told the AP. “Corporate America can’t be allowed to do this, in this day and age. It’s just not right.”
Fortune Teller Arrested For Selling Thousand Dollar Body Wash At The Mall
By 10.13.09
Fortune tellers are sort of like the con-artist version of the website Significant Objects—the more interesting the story, the higher the price you can fetch for an otherwise cheap piece of crap. Unless, of course, the police arrest you for “fraudulent accosting” at the mall and ruin your con.
FTC Wants Your Input On How To Improve AnnualCreditReport.com
By 10.12.09
The problem with annualcreditreport.com—other than its name—is that getting your reports from the site is a little like dealing with GoDaddy: you have to deal with upsells and side-sells at every step. You can indeed get your free credit reports from the site, but you’ll also have to keep turning down other offers from the three participating bureaus. Hell, there are even ads (sorry, “sponsor” links) on the home page, the one place where you’d hope for the least consumer confusion.
Maine's Supreme Court To Decide If Consumers Should Be Compensated For Hannaford Security Breach
By 10.12.09
If a retailer doesn’t protect your credit card data and it gets stolen, should you be compensated? Not for any unauthorized charges, which are already covered under banks’ zero-liability protection, but for the time lost dealing with the problem, for the anxiety it causes, and for any future credit history/score issues it might cause?
Robber Walks Through Walmart Receipt Check With $200,000 Cash
By 10.10.09
You and I can’t get past Walmart’s receipt checks with a 12-pack of toilet paper, but one criminal made it past the greeter with a cart full of cash. $200,000 from the store’s safe, to be precise. How does that happen?
Angry Customer Shoots Taco Bell Employee Because They're Closed
By 10.9.09
So, you roll into Taco Bell at 3:30 am. They’re closed. Sure, you’re upset, but do you need to shoot the person working there? One guy in Miami thinks so, and he’s apparently still at large after shooting a Taco Bell employee in the leg simply because the restaurant wasn’t open.
Man Sues Coors Over Invalid Contest Codes
By 10.9.09
An Illinois man has filed a class-action lawsuit against MillerCoors because the “Silver Ticket Sweepstakes” code on the case of beer he recently bought turned out to be invalid. The man says he tried entering the code online and over the phone, but it was rejected each time—not because it wasn’t a winning code, but because it wasn’t a legitimate sweepstakes entry code to begin with.
Air Compressor Company Re-Recalls 700,000 Products After Continuing To Receive Injury Complaints
By 10.9.09
In 2006, DeVilbiss recalled nearly 700,000 pressure washers and air compressors to replace the pneumatic tires, which were sometimes bursting on models that used plastic rims. Apparently not enough consumers responded then, because the complaints keep rolling in, so they’ve announced a do-over.
Make 'Monster' Pun With Beer, Get Sued By Makers Of Monster Energy
By 10.9.09
Just in case you didn’t know, Hansen Natural, makers of Monster Energy, owns all the rights to the letters “M O N S T E R” when they’re in that order. Or at least Hansen’s lawyers think the company does, because it’s going after a Vermont brewery for calling a beer “Vermonster.”
Oprah's Dr. Oz Sues Resveratrol Anti-Aging Scam Companies
By 10.8.09
Amazing pills that will make me look younger and lose weight? And it comes as a free trial, you say? Of course I’ll try it! Here’s my credit card number. What could possibly go wrong?
The 10 Riskiest Foods That Aren't Meat Or Poultry
By 10.8.09
This list of the 10 riskiest foods might surprise you at first, because there’s no mention of any sort of meat or poultry. But that’s because it’s from the FDA, which doesn’t regulate those two food categories. When it comes to produce, dairy, eggs and seafood, here’s what to watch out for, listed in order from most outbreaks to least.
Senate Protects Employee Rights With Forced Arbitration Ban
By 10.7.09
Yesterday, the Senate adopted an amendment that will prevent federal funding from going to any contractor that requires its employees to use mandatory binding arbitration, instead of court, for sexual assault and civil rights claims against the company.
Toyota: 911 Call Of Family's Fatal Lexus Crash Due To Gas Pedal Stuck On Floormats
By 10.7.09
Warning: This audio is graphic and shocking. Before Toyota could be bothered to recall 3.8 million Toyota and Lexus cars that they had known for two years had a problem, an off-duty state trooper and three members of his family had to die in fatal car crash when the gas pedal got stuck on the floormat. This is the recording of their 911 call moments before they crashed into the end of the freeway at 120 mph.
FBI Charges 100 People In Phishing Investigation
By 10.7.09
Since 2007, the FBI and authorities in Egypt have been running an investigation they’ve called “Operation Phish Phry,” sigh, and this week it paid off with 53 charges against U.S. defendants and 47 against people in Egypt. Three of the 53 in the U.S. have been arrested, and the FBI are looking for the other 50. To prove you’re not one of the remaining 50, please send the FBI your login credentials to your bank. Ha ha, we kid.
Diet Ads No Longer Able To Use "Results Not Typical" To Get Away With BS-ing You
By 10.6.09
We were taking a look at the new FTC guidelines governing endorsements and testimonials when we noticed something interesting. Advertisers will no longer be able to get away with showing only amazing results from consumer testimonials and presenting them as typical. Under the old rule, they could exclusively show spectacular results if they added the phrase “results not typical.” This is no longer the case, according to the FTC. Now, if they use such testimonials, they will also have to disclose the results that consumers can reasonably expect.
