Though it’s not uncommon to hear that someone shoved an ungodly amount of cocaine nose-ward, it’s an entirely different story when it’s 31 pounds of the stuff that’s been hidden in the nose gear of a commercial airliner. [More]
just say no
Pizza Shop Customer Claims Daughter Received Medication From Toy Machine
By 10.25.16 — Updated: 10.31.16
It’s always a surprise as to what you’re gonna get when you pop quarters into a toy vending machine, but there are some prizes that no parent wants dispensed to their kid. Say, blood pressure medication. [More]
Probably Avoid These Skin Care Products If You Don’t Want Mercury Poisoning
By 8.5.16
Mercury poisoning doesn’t sound fun, but it also doesn’t necessarily sound like something the average consumer runs into a lot in modern cosmetic aisles, what with federal regulations banning dangerous levels of the stuff. However, there are a slew of illegal skin care products for sale out there that contain mercury, and the Food and Drug Administration doesn’t want folks slathering them on their bodies. [More]
Maintenance Workers Find Three Kilos Of Cocaine Hidden Inside Two JetBlue Planes
By 7.28.16
A few JetBlue planes were apparently carrying some extra cargo, unbeknownst to the airline, after maintenance workers discovered three kilos of cocaine stashed inside compartments on two aircraft recently. [More]
Rio Drug Dealers Peddling Olympic-Themed Cocaine
By 7.27.16
Tourists in Rio de Janeiro will no doubt have their pick of Olympic merchandise to bring home as souvenirs — whether it’s an officially licensed product, or sold out of the back of someone’s truck. But amid the plethora of hats, T-shirts, and sporty knick-knacks, there are other, more dangerous offerings for sale. [More]
Maintenance Workers Find 26.2 Pounds Of Cocaine Stashed On American Airlines Plane
By 12.2.15
If you left a package containing a bunch of bricks of cocaine on an American Airlines jet, law enforcement in Tulsa, OK would like to speak with you. [More]
Drug Abuse Prevention Advocates Not Cool With Novelty Pens That Look Like Hypodermic Needles
By 10.15.15
In the midst of a nationwide heroin and opioid drug crisis, some parents, teachers and drug abuse prevention advocates are up in arms over novelty pens that look like hypodermic needles that are selling right now at multiple retailers during the Halloween holiday. [More]
Store-Branded Credit Cards Charge Upwards Of 29% Interest
By 10.15.15
It can be so incredibly tempting: You’re at the cashier (or about to check out online) with a substantial purchase and you’re presented with the offer to save money now if you just apply for a store-branded credit card. But if you don’t pay off that balance right away, you could be looking at interest rates nearly double the national average. [More]
Why Some Pro-Pot Ohioans Are Against An Initiative To Legalize Marijuana
By 9.3.15
Although the issue of marijuana legalization can seem straightforward in many ways — either you want medical and recreational to be bought, sold and consumed legally or you don’t — a current initiative in Ohio that would amend the state’s constitution to allow legal pot is meeting resistance from some of the people who are usually in favor of the stuff. [More]
Potent New Brand Of Synthetic Marijuana Linked To 120 NYC Hospitalizations In One Week
By 5.14.15
Lest you think health officials have been overreacting to the dangers of synthetic marijuana, a recent spate of hospitalizations may change your mind: In New York City area, one particular new brand of potent synthetic cannabis has sent 120 people to the hospitals in the last week. [More]
Health Officials Issue Warning Over Uptick In Hospitalizations Linked To Synthetic Marijuana
By 4.24.15
One of the biggest dangers involved with using so-called designer drugs? One tweak to one chemical and something that’s illegal and potentially unsafe could slip past regulators and into the hands of consumers. Such is the case for a form of synthetic marijuana known as “spice,” that’s been linked to an uptick in illnesses and hospitalizations that has health officials and experts around the country worried. [More]
Credit Cards From Amazon, Office Depot, Staples, Best Buy, Toys R Us Have Highest APRs
By 8.7.14
It can be so tempting — You’re about to make a big purchase at a retail store when the cashier says you can save all sorts of money by applying for a store credit card. But what they rarely make clear to you is that the card you’re applying for often comes with a sky-high interest rate — and those rates are going higher. [More]
The FDA Asks That You Please Not Ingest Pure Powdered Caffeine
By 7.18.14
People have been drinking caffeinated beverages for centuries, and popping caffeine pills for decades, and the Food and Drug Administration currently puts no hard limit on caffeine content in food. But the recent death of an Ohio teen who ingested the pure powdered form of caffeine has the FDA warning consumers against the incredibly potent stimulant. [More]
Police: Hey, Knuckleheads — The Bathroom Of Chuck E. Cheese’s Is No Place To Be Smoking Heroin
By 7.11.14
Not that there’s anywhere you should be doing illegal drugs, but public places are exceptionally awful venues for such activities And ratcheting up the inappropriate level to 11? Smoking heroin in the bathroom of a Chuck E. Cheese, as police say two “knuckleheads” decided to do in California. [More]
FCC Could Use Mergers To Force Net Neutrality, But Shouldn’t
By 5.23.14
It’s a big year for the FCC. It’s got two huge mergers to review — Comcast/Time Warner Cable, AT&T/DirecTV — while also trying to reinstate the recently gutted net neutrality laws without ticking off the entire Internet. These related issues put the FCC in a position to force some cable operators to accept stricter net neutrality, but that’s really just kicking the can down the road. [More]
Why Sprint’s Case For T-Mobile Merger Is Logical But Bad For Consumers
By 2.12.14
Japanese telecom giant SoftBank owns a controlling share of Sprint and has made no attempt to hide its desire to acquire T-Mobile USA and merge the two companies into one. It’s a plan that makes sense from a business point of view, but could be a disaster for consumers. [More]
Study: Taking On The “Cinnamon Challenge” Could Severely Mess Up Your Lungs
By 4.22.13
Perhaps you’re the kind of person who finds the idea of eating large amounts of cinnamon in order to impress your friends intriguing. Before you take on the so-called “cinnamon challenge” however, you should know that some researchers are finding that not only is it dangerous while you’re doing it — with effects like choking, gagging, a burning sensation — but it could damage your lungs in the long-run. [More]
Consumer Advocates To Senators: American Airlines & US Airways Merger Would Hurt Fliers
By 3.19.13
Today American Airlines and its betrothed, US Airways had to defend their proposed merger in front of a Senate hearing and several consumer advocates. Citing higher fares, reduced service to smaller communities in the U.S. and a loss of competition among carriers, opponents of the impending nuptials testified at a Judiciary Committee hearing that such a joint venture would hurt consumers. [More]
