When you bring in your recalled car to get a safety defect fixed, you might assume that the problem has been remedied. Yet owners of more than 342,000 previously recalled Kia Soul vehicles are finding out that their cars need to have the same issue repaired again. [More]
let’s try this again
Twitter Cracks Down On Nudity, Harassment & Violence… Again
By 10.18.17
For years now, Twitter has been rolling out tool after tool designed to combat harassment and abuse. While the company says these initiatives are working — despite a lack of data — it’s also doubling down on its efforts: Twitter will soon roll out another set of changes to protect users. [More]
Target Now Offering Curbside Pickup At Some Stores — Yes, Again
By 10.3.17
Three months after Target once again began testing curbside pickup with employees in the Minneapolis area, the perpetually-playing catchup retailer has expanded the program to actual customers. [More]
Determined To Get It Right, McDonald’s Testing Chicken Tenders Again
By 8.2.17
More than two years after McDonald’s brought back its Chicken Select tenders for a limited time, the Golden Arches is once again trying its hand at the chicken meal, this time with a crispy buttermilk version. [More]
With 30 Hot Car Deaths So Far This Year, Lawmakers Once Again Push For Alert Systems
By 8.1.17
More than 30 children have died in hot cars so far in 2017, and two of those deaths occurred just last weekend. In an attempt to prevent these tragedies from happening, a group of lawmakers have once again introduced legislation that would require cars to be equipped with technology — that already exists — to alert drivers that a passenger remains in the back seat when a vehicle is turned off. [More]
Some EpiPen, EpiPen Jr. Devices Now Being Recalled In U.S. Because They May Not Work When Needed
By 3.31.17 — Updated: 5.9.17
Mylan, the makers of the EpiPen emergency allergy treatment are expanding a previously announced overseas recall to now include EpiPen and EpiPen Jr. devices distributed in the U.S. over concerns they may not function properly when needed. [More]
Target Revamps Stores For Customers Looking For Convenience And To Stay Awhile
By 3.21.17 — Updated: 5.10.17
Every year, retailers test concepts in their stores in order to meet consumers’ changing shopping habits: from using scan n’ go, no check out lines, or toying with the idea of no shopping carts. Target’s latest version of this revamp will focus on catering to customers who are in a rush and those who want to just get away for a bit. [More]
Lawmakers Try Yet Again To Create Minimum Seat Size Requirement On Planes
By 3.10.17 — Updated: 5.10.17
If at first you don’t succeed, just keep proposing legislation: A group of lawmakers Thursday introduced a pair of bills that would create a seat-size standard for commercial airlines, as well as a minimum distance between rows of seats. [More]
Appeals Court Will Rehear Case Involving Constitutionality Of Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
By 2.16.17
Four months after a three-judge panel issued a 2-1 ruling that the structure of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is unconstitutional, the full Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit has agreed to rehear the issue. [More]
If FTC Can’t Resurrect Lawsuit Over AT&T’s “Unlimited” Data, Telecoms May Be Even More Untouchable
By 10.17.16
In August, an appeals court threw out the Federal Trade Commission’s lawsuit against AT&T over the way it marketed its “unlimited” data plans (which were anything but unlimited). Now the FTC is taking its case up the legal ladder, making the case that if it’s not allowed to sue AT&T, then all phone and internet providers can more easily get away with deceptive business practices. [More]
Anti-Robocall “ROBOCOP Act” Gets New Life In Senate
By 6.6.16
Two months ago, Rep. Jackie Speier (CA) introduced the ROBOCOP Act, a bill that would compel phone service providers to finally make it easier for customers to block automated and prerecorded robocalls. With that bill sitting idly in committee — and executives like AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson incorrectly claiming they need permission to deploy robo-blockers — maybe it’s time for ROBOCOP 2: The Senate Version. [More]
California Rejects VW Proposal To Fix Emissions-Cheating Vehicles
By 1.12.16
The California Air Resources Board has rejected Volkswagen’s recall plan for thousands of 2-liter vehicles sold in the state. The regulators also presented VW with a formal notice of air quality violations for its use of “defeat devices” to cheat on emissions tests in these cars. [More]
AT&T Brings Back Unlimited Plans. What’s The Catch?
By 1.11.16
Years after ditching the unlimited data plans that it used to convince so many consumers to switch from boring old feature phones to the iPhone (and other smartphones), AT&T has announced it is bringing back its “unlimited” offering starting at $100 a month. Oh, but it’s only for DirecTV and U-Verse customers. [More]
Disney Ordered To Rehire Workers Who Refused To Wear “Contaminated” Costumes
By 4.28.15
Three performers fired from Disney’s Animal Kingdom in Orlando last June after they refused to wear costumes dubbed “contaminated” by other sweaty garments will be given their old jobs back and get back pay. [More]
Citigroup Forgot To Compensate 23,000 Consumers For Abusive Foreclosure Practices, Sending Checks Now
By 3.4.15
Several years ago, Citigroup reached a deal with federal regulators that required the company to provide compensation for nearly 380,000 people affected by foreclosure abuse. Only the lender didn’t exactly follow through, failing to send checks to 23,000 consumers. [More]
Makers Of Slip-On iPhone Keyboard Sued By BlackBerry Release New Model
By 12.8.14
When the makers of a slip-on keyboard designed to give iPhone users the physical touch they craved were sued by BlackBerry over what the phone company claimed was a copy of its phones, they had to take the product off the market. Today the company — with Ryan “I Actually Look The Same In Real Life As I Do As A Character On The Simpsons” Seacrest as a major investor — says it has a new version of the keyboard that puts it in the clear, legally. [More]
Lawmakers To Try Undoing SCOTUS Hobby Lobby Ruling
By 7.9.14
In response to the recent Supreme Court decision that gave Hobby Lobby and other closely held private companies the ability to get around the Affordable Care Act’s contraceptive mandate by claiming a religious objection, a group of lawmakers are set to introduce legislation that would override that decision. [More]
Toyota Reissues Recall Because No One Wants Shrapnel Flying Out Of Their Airbags
By 6.11.14
No driver wants to encounter a piece of metal flying toward their heads, especially if that shrapnel is coming from a device meant to save your life. To cut down on that risk, Toyota is reissuing a 2013 recall of more than 700,000 vehicles. [More]
