uStudy Spoiling 4th Of July Fun Says Fireworks Release Harmful Particulates Into The Airr

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  (Scott D. Rogers)

  Just in time for the Fourth of July comes some news that might put a damper on your celebrations: A new study says exploding fireworks create toxic air pollution that could be harmful to your health. Happy Independence Day, everyone.

  A study by federal scientists from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration published in the journal Atmospheric Environment says the thousands of Fourth of July firework celebrations we set off around the country is contributing to air pollution, releasing tiny particles called particulates into the atmosphere.

  Those particulates can affect your health because they travel into your respiratory tract and enter the lungs. Other particulate matter includes dust, dirt, soot smoke and liquid droplets, notes USA Today. They’re measured in micrometers, which is one-millionth of a meter.

  In this study, particulates from fireworks were 2.5 micrometers in size. Whether you’re breathing them in often or only in the short-term, the particulates are linked to health effects like coughing, wheezing, shortness of breath, asthma attacks and even heart attack and stroke. It could contribute to premature death in people with heart or lung disease, the study says.

  When it comes to the Fourth of July, the air will be at its most particulate-laden between 9 and 10 p.m. — which makes sense as that’s when it gets dark in the summer and many cities around the nation shoot off their fireworks. By noon on July 5, levels drop back down.

  “These results will help improve air quality predictions, which currently don’t account for fireworks as a source of air pollution,” said Dian Seidel, NOAA scientist and study lead author. “The study is also another wake up call for those who may be particularly sensitive to the effects of fine particulate matter.”

  
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by Mary Beth Quirk via Consumerist

uPolice: Man Who Took 300-Mile Cab Ride Jailed Because He Couldn’t Pay $749 Farer

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  (ian.poley)

  Can you take a cab on a cross-state ride? Sure. But you better be able to pay for it when you reach your destination, or you could face jail. One New York man found that out the hard way, after police say he didn’t have the money to pay his cab driver after a 700-mile journey.

  Police in Pennsylvania say a Brooklyn man and his children took a cab from Philadelphia to Uniontown, reports the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, so he could surprise his fiancée.

  Instead, his cab driver called the police to report that his passenger refused to pay after the 304-mile journey. According to police, the passenger said he’d taken the trip to surprise his loved one, but didn’t have the fare when it came time to settle up.

  “I asked [the passenger] to pay the driver for the fare, and he stated he did not have the money and that his credit card was maxed out for the day,” the patrolman on duty said in police records.

  Because no one else had the money to pay up, the man was taken into custody and charged with theft of services.

  Again, if you’re planning on a long trip, make sure you’ve got the money to pay for it or your destination could be a jail cell.

  Brooklyn man’s cross-state taxi ride leads straight to jail in Uniontown [Pittsburgh Tribune-Review]

  
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by Mary Beth Quirk via Consumerist

uVictims Of Debt Collection Scam To Start Receiving $4M In Refunds From FTCr

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  (Earth2Kim)

  More than a year after the Federal Trade Commission settled charges with a massive debt collection operation that extorted payments from consumer using false threats, those affected by the deceptive practices are finally seeing a bit of restitution in the form of checks totaling $4 million.

  The FTC announced today that it is in the process of returning $4 million to the victims of Asset Capital and Management Group’s illegal debt collection operation.

  Last May, Asset Capital and Management Group settled FTC charges that it used a sprawling network of intertwined companies and dozens of fictitious names to illegally extract payments from consumers for credit card debt that it had purchased from creditors.

  According to the FTC’s complaint [PDF], the company posed as process servers in calls to consumers and third parties, falsely threatened consumers with lawsuits, wage garnishment, seizure of their property, and arrest, and disclosed debts to consumers’ employers, colleagues, and family members.

  In addition to paying $4 million in restitution, the company was banned from the debt collection industry.

  People who receive checks from the FTC – through Analytics Consulting LLC – are asked to deposit or cash them within 60 days.

  Consumers who receive checks and have questions can contact Analytics at 1-855-312-3324. More information about the FTC’s refund program is available on the FTC’s website.

  FTC Returns Almost $4 Million to Consumers in Debt Collection Scam [Federal Trade Commission]

  
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by Ashlee Kieler via Consumerist

uApple Is On The Hook For $450M After Losing Federal Appeal In E-Book Price-Fixing Caser

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  (afagen)

  Though Apple’s alleged co-conspirators have long since settled and gone about the process of making good for the price-fixing they did not legally admit to committing, the elecronics company had held out in its fight to clear its name, taking the case to a federal appeals court late last year. It seems the electronics company will have to give up that battle, after the court upheld a 2013 decision that found Apple liable for conspiring with publishers to raise the price of e-books.

  Apple is expected to pay more than $450 million — much of that to consumers by way of refunds, with the rest going toward fees and other fines, reports the Wall Street Journal.

  Quick background for those unfamiliar: In 2012, the Dept. of Justice sued Apple and many of the nation’s largest book publishing companies for allegedly conspiring to set high prices on the e-book market. Part of Apple’s argument before the federal appeals court in December was that it was just trying to snap the stranglehold Amazon had on the e-book market, but that apparently didn’t convince the court.

  In a 2-1 ruling by the Second U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan [PDF], the judges sided with the lower court’s decision to hold Apple to the November agreement with private plaintiffs and 33 states that joined the Justice Department’s 2012 lawsuit.

  “We conclude that the district court correctly decided that Apple orchestrated a conspiracy among the publishers to raise e-book prices,” wrote Second Circuit Judge Debra Ann Livingston. The conspiracy “unreasonably restrained trade” in violation of the Sherman Act, the federal antitrust law, the judge wrote.

  Prosecutors had argued that Apple and publishers had ganged up to fight Amazon’s aggressive discounts by agreeing to use an agency model of pricing, wherein the publisher sets the price of books and the retailer gets a cut. Under the alleged agreement, if another retailer was selling an e-book for a lower price, the publisher would have to match that price in Apple’s store.

  E-mails from Apple executives, including company co-founder Steve Jobs, were used against the iPhone maker in court to demonstrate that the goal of agency pricing was to increase what people paid for e-books.

  “Throw in with Apple and see if we can all make a go of this to create a real mainstream e-books market at $12.99 and $14.99,” wrote Jobs in one message to News Corp, the parent company of HarperCollins.

  The publishers had the leverage they’d need to fight Amazon with this new model, Justice Department lawyers said, and prices on many e-books increased immediately. Apple’s legal team had said the company didn’t realize it was leading the publishers’ charge against Amazon.

  But the Second Circuit majority said evidence showed Apple knew exactly what it was doing.

  “Apple understood that its proposed contracts were attractive to the publisher defendants only if they collectively shifted their relationships with Amazon to an agency model — which Apple knew would result in consumers facing higher e-book prices,” Judge Livingston wrote in a decision joined by Judge Raymond J. Lohier Jr.

  Apple had no immediate comment to the WSJ. It can now either ask the Second Circuit to hear the case or ask the U.S. Supreme Court to take it up.

  
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by Mary Beth Quirk via Consumerist

uDelaware Becomes The Only State Without Commercial Air Travel After Frontier Airlines Flies Awayr

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  (Dendroica cerulea)
  

  While flying is often the easiest and quickest way for travelers to get from one place to another, the nearly one million residents in Delaware will have to find a different mode of transportation in their home state — unless they want to fly privately. That’s because the state’s lone commercial airline servicer quietly exited the market last week.

  Forbes reports that Frontier Airlines flew relatively under the radar last week when it discreetly pulled the plug on its service from Wilmington’s New Castle Airport, citing a lack of profit.

  The company – which began service at the airport just two years ago – initially announced in April that it would discontinue flights to and from the airport on a seasonal basis.

  The Denver-based airline’s move means that Delaware is the only state in the U.S. that doesn’t have direct commercial airline service.

  A number of airlines – including United, Delta and U.S. Airways – have attempted to provide flights at the airport since the 1960s, but all eventually dropped their service.

  According to Forbes, New Castle Airport won’t be sitting vacant amidst Frontier’s departure. The airport sees a healthy dose of private air travel.

  Of course, residents of Delaware aren’t exactly being shut out of air travel. The city of Wilmington is less than 70 miles away from two major airports: Philadelphia Intentional Airport (28 miles) and Baltimore-Washington International Airport (65 miles).

  Additionally, the city is teeming with Amtrak options, as it serves as a thoroughfare between Washington D.C. and New York and other places, Forbes reports.

  Delaware, Key To Corporations, Is Now The Only U.S. State Without Air Service [Forbes]

  
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by Ashlee Kieler via Consumerist

uHyundai, Nissan Dealerships In Las Vegas Settle Deceptive Advertising Complaintsr

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  (Eric Norris)

  Back in March, federal regulators teamed up with their Canadian counterparts to crack down on auto dealers’ deceptive, fraudulent practices. While that operation culminated in six enforcement actions resulting in more than $2.6 million in judgments and consumer refunds, that wasn’t enough for the Federal Trade Commission, as the agency has now charged two Las Vegas auto dealers with similarly misleading practices.

  The FTC announced this week that two auto dealers in Las Vegas have agreed to settle charges they used deceptive ads to promote the sale or leasing of their vehicles, including advertising heavily discounted prices that were not actually available to customers.

  According to the complaints against TC Dealership (doing business as Planet Hyundai [PDF]) and JS Auotworld, Inc. (doing business as Planet Nissan [PDF]) the companies regularly ran ads that misrepresented the purchase price or leasing offers of their vehicles and the amount due at signing.

  Since about 2014, Planet Hyundai has allegedly misled customers by prominently advertising a vehicle price for “$0 DOWN AVAILABLE.” But that deal wasn’t actually obtainable for many prospective buyers, as the fine print for the ad noted that customers must turn in a vehicle with a trade-in value of at least $2,500.

  

  In another instance, the company promoted offers for vehicles as “50% OFF” in newspaper ads. The FTC charges that the deal wasn’t actually available to consumers unless they met a very specific set of requirements noted in the “minuscule” print at the bottom of the advertisement.

  “A consumer can qualify for the advertised prices only if the consumer meets certain qualifications for incentives, rebates, or discounts, such as being a recent college graduate, being a member of the military, owning a currently registered Hyundai, or trading in a qualifying vehicle,” the complaint states.

  Additionally, the FTC says the dealership failed to disclose other information in its ads such as whether or not a security deposit was required.

  In the case of Planet Nissan, the FTC alleges the dealership prominently showcased ads of “PURCHASE! NOT A LEASE!” when, in fact, the vehicles shown were only available through leases.

  

  Another allegedly deceptive ad includes the “NOW” pricing of vehicles. According to the FTC, the newspaper ads featured images depicting cars available at discounts with a prominent “NOW” price.

  For example, one ad for a 2015 Nissan Versa shows the “WAS” price of $12,888 cut to “NOW” $9,977. While that would certainly be a great deal, the FTC says that the fine print in the ad suggests buyers must receive both a military and college discount to get the vehicle for the discounted price.

  The owners of both Planet Nissan and Planet Hyundai have agreed to settle the FTC charges of deceptive advertising.

  Under proposed consent orders, the dealerships are prohibited from misrepresenting the cost to purchase or lease a vehicle and are required to comply with the Consumer Leasing Act and Regulation M and the Truth in Lending Act and Regulation Z.

  These cases are part of the Commission’s continuing efforts to protect consumers in the auto marketplace. The FTC provides a variety of resources for consumers buying or leasing a vehicle, including Are Car Ads Taking You For A Ride?

  Two Las Vegas Auto Dealers Settle FTC Charges They Deceptively Advertised the Cost of Their Cars [Federal Trade Commission]

  
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by Ashlee Kieler via Consumerist

uNot Content To Remain In The Burger Realm, Wendy’s Expands The Baconator Brand To Friesr

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• The thing about bacon is, once you’ve put it on one thing, everyone expects you to dump it all over everything else. Which is just fine with Wendy’s, as the chain is extending the Baconator brand from its burgers to its new bacon-and-cheese fries.

  The menu item is a limited time offer, but in the short time it’ll be available, the $1.99 Baconator Fries don’t skimp on toppings: Wendy’s natural-cut fries are drizzled with warm cheddar sauce and topped with bacon, before shredded cheddar is added as the cheesy cherry on top.

  Wendy’s knows that people like bacon, simply put, citing bacon sales at an all-time high and the 50 or so bacon festivals planned for 2015 in its announcement. But Wendy’s wants customers to know its bacon is different from all the other bacon out there, noting that the chain cooks its bacon fresh in restaurants every day.

  “Others use factory cooked bacon and reheat it in a microwave because it’s easier, but that just isn’t the Wendy’s way,” said Kurt Kane, Wendy’s chief concept officer in a press release. “When you walk into a Wendy’s and smell the bacon cooking, then you know we treat it with the respect that bacon lovers deserve.”

  Or just the respect bacon deserves in general. Because mmm, bacon.

  
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by Mary Beth Quirk via Consumerist