Each state’s Department of Motor Vehicles keeps a list of letter and number combinations drivers are prohibited from having, whether because they’re offensive or for various other reasons known only to those DMVs. But one New Hampshire man disagrees with what his state’s DMV deems as a “no-no,” and is taking his fight for the right to have “COPSLIE” on his license plate all the way to the state’s Supreme Court. [More]
Transportation & Infrastructure
Another Tesla Model S Catches Fire After Hitting Road Debris
By 11.7.13
In the third fiery incident since October, another Tesla Model S electric car caught fire after hitting road debris. This time the blaze erupted in Tennessee after the car ran over a tow hitch on the interstate, possibly damaging the undercarriage and sparking an electrical fire. [More]
Snoopy Sno-Cone Machines Recalled Because “Brass Rivet” Is Not A Very Tasty Flavor
By 11.1.13
LaRose Industries, the company that made the Snoopy Sno-Cone Machine that your kid used once and is now sitting in a closet somewhere, has recalled the gadget over concerns that a brass rivet in the machine might fall into a shaved-ice treat. [More]
There Should Be A Kitten Delivery Service In Every Town Across This Country
By 10.29.13
When our readers tell us they want more of something — in this case, stories about cats because who can ever get enough of those? — we listen. And we want that same listening spirit to extend to whoever might be able to set up a service that brings kittens to your door for some playtime and cuddly cat times in every town across this great country we call home. [More]
Reser’s Fine Foods Listeria Recall Now Includes 22,800 Pounds Of Lunch Meats
By 10.28.13
Mmm, listeria! Last week, Reser’s Fine Foods recalled 109,000 cases of refrigerated ready-to-eat salads, dips, slaws, and other items that you generally serve cold and don’t reheat enough to kill off all bacteria. Now they’ve expanded that recall to include meat-containing products like chicken and ham salad and baked beans with beef. [More]
Consumer Reports Pulls Recommendations For 3 Toyotas & An Audi Over Crash-Test Results
By 10.28.13
Our cohorts at Consumer Reports do an awful lot of testing on the cars they rate, but one thing they can’t do is crash-testing. That’s why, following the results of recent crash tests from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (better known as the people that crash cars into walls), CR has pulled its recommendations on three Toyota models and one Audi vehicle. [More]
Spoiler Alert: Kraft Recalls 735,000 Cases Of String Cheese Because It Might Go Bad Early
By 10.28.13
Kraft Foods Group isn’t stringing anyone along — pun intended, obviously — with a voluntary recall of certain varieties of Kraft and Polly-O String Cheese and String Cheese Twists. The problem is that no one likes eating processed cheese that’s past its time, and about 735,000 cases might be doing just that. [More]
Toyota To Pay At Least $3 Million In Sudden Acceleration Wrongful-Death Suit
By 10.25.13
Only two weeks after a California jury sided with Toyota in a wrongful-death lawsuit related to claims of sudden unintended acceleration in one of its vehicles, a jury in Oklahoma City has found that the car-maker is to blame for a separate incident that killed a woman in 2007. [More]
Crate And Barrel Recalls 19K Hanging Lamps Because No One Wants Fire To Rain From Above
By 10.24.13
The Consumer Product Safety Commission has announced a Crate and Barrel recall of 19,000 of its hanging lamps. The thing is, it’s great to have light shining down on whatever you’re doing but it’s not so nice when that light is coming from a fiery light fixture hanging above you. [More]
Woman Has No Choice But To Arrive At The DMV On A Horse To Get Her License Back
By 10.24.13
When you need to get where you’re going but can’t drive, it’s awfully handy to own a horse. A Virginia woman who had her driver’s license suspended during a paperwork mix-up decided to take matters (and the reins) into her own hands when she hopped atop her trusty steed and rode straight to the DMV to hand over her proof of insurance. Other non-car methods: Hoverboards, roller skates or hopping on the back of a trolley. [Associated Press] [More]
October Recall Roundup: Never Trust An Ant
By 10.22.13
The federal government shutdown meant that our friends over at the Consumer Products Safety Commission weren’t diligently posting recalls to their website as usual, but that doesn’t mean that there were no dangerous products recalled since our last Roundup in September. Nope. [More]
Jury Says Toyota Wasn’t To Blame In Wrongful-Death Lawsuit
By 10.11.13
A California jury handed down a big decision for Toyota, saying that the car company wasn’t responsible in the 2009 crash of a Camry that accelerated out of control and killed the driver. Instead, the jury placed the blame squarely on another driver in the crash, saying it was the catalyst that set the whole accident in motion. [More]
Are CDC’s Detectives At Work During Shutdown While Salmonella Outbreak Sickens Hundreds?
By 10.8.13 — Updated: 10.9.13
Often when we hear news of a food-borne disease, the worst has passed and the government works to educate consumers on which products have been recalled. However with 278 people in 18 states sickened by a salmonella outbreak linked to raw chicken products from California, no recall has been announced and the United States Department of Agriculture says “the outbreak is continuing.” But are any of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s elite food detectives at work during the government shutdown to trace track down the source of the contamination? [More]
California City Requires All New Homes Be Wired For Electric Vehicle Charging Stations
By 10.1.13 — Updated: 10.2.13
Electric vehicles like the Chevy Volt or Nissan Leaf may be the future of automobiles (personally, I’m holding out for someone to create the Mr. Fusion), but one city in California’s Silicon Valley is betting on EVs by requiring that all newly built homes be wired for EV charging stations. [More]
September Food And Supplement Recall Roundup – 40 Garlic Cloves, 2 Undeclared Allergens
By 10.1.13
Our monthly Recall Roundups have grown so expansive that we’ve had to separate them into two separate roundups: one for consumer goods, and one for consumables. [More]
September Recall Roundup: The Training Wheels Are Off
By 9.24.13
In this month’s Recall Roundup, board books attack children, toy spiders grow in human stomachs, and motorcycle training wheels fall off mid-ride. [More]
Baby Jogger Recalls 30,000 Stroller To Car Seat Adaptors
By 9.6.13
It’s very convenient to take your child’s car seat and mount it directly on a stroller…unless the adaptor that lets you do so is faulty. There have been 47 reports that adaptors for Baby Jogger strollers have failed: specifically, the part that connects the bars that support the car seat to the stroller frame comes loose, and the car seat hits the floor. [More]
