Hours after the Senate needed Vice President Mike Pence to break a 50-50 tie to move forward with debate on healthcare, the GOP’s controversial repeal-and-replace plan has come up several votes short of being accepted. Yet this is far from the end for this matter. [More]
if at first you don’t succeed
Senate Votes Down Controversial Repeal, Replace Plan For Obamacare; More Proposals To Come
By 7.25.17 — Updated: 7.26.17
Trump, GOP Senators Suggest Simply Repealing Obamacare Without Replacement
By 6.30.17
With Republican lawmakers unable to reach a consensus on how to replace the Affordable Care Act, President Trump and some influential senators are now calling for a straightforward repeal of the law, with any replacement to come at some later date. [More]
House Passes Obamacare Repeal Resolution
By 5.4.17 — Updated: 5.9.17
More than a month after Republicans decided to not vote on a budget resolution that would gut the Affordable Care Act, a revised version of that resolution finally came to the House floor for a vote this afternoon amid concerns that there is no estimate yet on what these changes will cost and how they will affect millions of Americans with pre-existing conditions. [More]
Rumors Swirling Again Over Possible Apple Peer-To-Peer Payment System
By 4.27.17
It’s like we fell asleep and woke up in 2015: Once again, the rumor mill is whirring along with claims that Apple is working on a Venmo-like peer-to-peer service that would allow people to transfer money to each other with the click of a button. [More]
McDonald’s Is Once Again Testing Chicken Tenders
By 3.7.17
If you’ve had a chicken finger-shaped hole in your heart ever since McDonald’s yanked its Chicken Selects tenders from menus nationwide, healing may be in sight: The chain says it’s once again trying its hand at chicken tenders. [More]
The Dream Is Still Alive For Alaska Pot Shop Smoking Lounge
By 2.7.17
Although an Alaskan retail marijuana shop’s efforts to get permission to open a pot lounge on the premises failed recently, there is still some hope for businesses in the state who are interested in providing on-site consumption. [More]
Walmart Trying To Cut Back On Calls To Cops By Offering Small-Time Shoplifters Chance To Reform
By 6.24.16
Police who work near any large retail store are probably all too familiar with responding to calls for shoppers caught trying to make off with a pack of socks or a pilfered Pepsi. A test program at Walmart aims to reduce these nuisance calls by giving small-time shoplifters a second chance. [More]
Is Facebook Trying To Scuttle Facial-Recognition Lawsuit By Changing Illinois Law?
By 5.27.16
Earlier this month, a federal court gave the go-ahead to a lawsuit alleging that Facebook’s photo-scanning, facial-recognition feature violated Illinois state law. Having lost that legal battle, it looks like Facebook may be trying to get out of the lawsuit by simply changing that Illinois law. [More]
7 Products By The Biggest Tech Companies That Failed Miserably
By 5.17.16
Hearing the news that Google is taking another stab at social media with a new group-chatting app dubbed “Spaces” may feel like deja vu for anyone paying attention to the tech giant’s previous, mostly unsuccessful efforts to gain traction in the social media world with Google+. But Google isn’t the only big name in the tech world that’s tried and failed to popularize a new tech product, not by a long shot. [More]
DOJ Still Pushing Apple To Unlock Drug Suspect’s iPhone, In Spite Of Judge’s Ruling
By 4.8.16
In February, while a federal court in California was pondering whether or not to compel Apple’s assistance in unlocking a terrorist’s iPhone, a federal magistrate judge in New York ruled — in a drug-related case — that the government couldn’t force Apple to defeat its own encryption. In spite of that ruling, the Justice Department now tells the court that it is going ahead with its effort to require Apple’s help. [More]
Man Arrested For Selling Stolen Gift Cards Re-Arrested For Allegedly Using More Stolen Gift Cards To Pay Lawyer
By 12.30.15
When you’ve been arrested for allegedly selling stolen gift cards and it comes time to pay for an attorney, there might be one predictable route to go — but it’s not likely to work out so well. [More]
Tesla Not Giving Up On Bringing Direct Car Sales To Connecticut
By 6.11.15
After a bill to bring direct car sales to Connecticut died, Tesla Motors says it’s not going to give up on a the idea of opening retail stores in the state. [More]
Bill Seeks (Again) To End Over-Use Of Antibiotics In Farm Animals
By 3.24.15
Antibiotic resistance is a big problem. Farmers know it. Consumer advocates know it. Doctors, the CDC, and the FDA all know it. You know it. And the largest contributor by far to the crisis is the 80% of antibiotics that are used in industrial farming. And Congress is, once again, taking a stab at making agricultural antibiotic abuse against the law before it’s too late. [More]
Charter Ready To Woo Time Warner Cable Again If Comcast Fails
By 11.20.14
Not even a year ago, Time Warner Cable was spurning the romantic advances of Charter Communications and its $37.3 billion offer of wedded bliss, all because it knew that Comcast was waiting in the wings with a more expensive proposal. But in case the Comcast/TWC marriage fails to get the blessing of federal regulators, Charter’s billionaire backer says he’s ready to be Time Warner Cable’s rebound relationship. [More]
Sprint Owner May Push T-Mobile Merger As Broadband Competition Solution
By 3.10.14
Since taking a controlling ownership in Sprint, Japanese telecom company SoftBank has made no attempt to hide the lust it has in its heart for fellow wireless company T-Mobile USA. Since then, federal regulators have basically told SoftBank to put its ardor on ice because there is already too little competition in the wireless market. But SoftBank may have a trick up its sleeve, coming at the deal through the lens of a market that is even less competitive — broadband. [More]
Judge Tries, Again, To Slap Wells Fargo With $203 Million For Overdraft Policy
By 5.15.13
It’s been nearly three years since a U.S. District Court first ordered Wells Fargo to pay out $203 milllion in refunds to settle a class-action suit involving the bank’s overdraft policies. Since then, the bank got a U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to set aside that mountain of cash, saying California law can not override federal banking laws. Now the original District Court judge is once again ordering the bank to fork over the $203 million. [More]
AT&T Tells Me I Can't Cancel Without Penalty, Until I Call Back And They Tell Me The Opposite
By 6.16.11
Jack thought he was getting a good deal when he signed up for $15/month DSL service from AT&T seven months ago. But in the short time since, he’s experienced a full month’s worth of outages and has quickly tired of constantly dealing with AT&T’s tech support (or lack thereof). Luckily, Jack reads Consumerist and was able to employ some tactics he’s learned over the years… and end up saving $140 in the process. [More]
Comcast Has Been To My House 12 Times, Still No Cable
By 4.6.11
We receive a ton of e-mails from Comcast customers (and customers of all cable/internet/phone companies) about having to spend multiple days waiting for techs to install or fix their service. But most stories end — either happily or with the customer just giving up — around the third or fourth visit. That’s why we were so blown over by the story of one customer in Washington state whose ordeal with the reigning Worst Company In America has gone on for over four years. [More]
