пятница, 10 июля 2015 г.
uFDA Requiring Stronger Heart Attack & Stroke Warnings For Many Common Painkillersr
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The Food and Drug Administration is looking to make consumers more aware of potential risks for heart attack and stroke associated with a popular class of painkillers that many of us use on a frequent basis for everyday aches and soreness.
The warning labels for Advil and other ibuprofen-containing drugs will soon be updated to more accurately reflect concerns about heart attack and stroke risks. (photo: frankieleon)
Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are a class of prescription and over-the-counter medications that include ibuprofen (like you’d find in Motrin or Advil), and naproxen (most popularly used in Aleve). Aspirin is also an NSAID but the FDA is not including it in these label changes.
The labels for these drugs already contain information about the risk of heart attack and stroke, but the FDA is directing manufacturers to update their labels with more specific information in the coming months, including:
• The risk of heart attack or stroke can occur as early as the first weeks of using an NSAID. The risk may increase with longer use of the NSAID.
• The risk appears greater at higher doses.
• NSAIDs can increase the risk of heart attack or stroke in patients with or without heart disease or risk factors for heart disease.
• In general, patients with heart disease or risk factors for it have a greater likelihood of heart attack or stroke following NSAID use than patients without these risk factors because they have a higher risk at baseline.
• Patients treated with NSAIDs following a first heart attack were more likely to die in the first year after the heart attack compared to patients who were not treated with NSAIDs after their first heart attack.
• There is an increased risk of heart failure with NSAID use.
“Be careful not to take more than one product that contains an NSAID at a time,” says Karen M. Mahoney, M.D., deputy director of FDA’s Division of Nonprescription Drug Products. “As always, consumers must carefully read the Drug Facts label for all nonprescription drugs… Consumers should carefully consider whether the drug is right for them, and use the medicine only as directed. Take the lowest effective dose for the shortest amount of time possible.”
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uLawmakers Introduce Legislation That Would Give Legal Marijuana Businesses Access To Banking Servicesr
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One of the biggest challenges facing the new legal marijuana industry comes down to money: now that businesses in certain states have gotten the go ahead to sell weed, many of them are stuck in a tough spot when it comes to actually dealing payments for their products, since the drug is still illegal under federal law. A group of senators is seeking to change that, introducing a bill that would take the heat off legal marijuana operations and give them access to banking services.
The Marijuana Businesses Access to Banking Act of 2015 introduced by Oregon’s Sen. Jeff Merkley and Sen. Ron Wyden, Colorado’s Sen. Michael Bennet and Washington’s Sen. Patty Murray piggybacks on a previous bill of that name introduced in the House in April by Rep. Ed Perimutter of Colorado.
The situation is tricky for marijuana business operating under state laws that have legalized marijuana, either for medical or recreational purposes, as it’s still illegal to peddle pot under federal law.
And though the federal government previously released guidelines for banks and financial institutions that may do business with marijuana businesses, many still don’t have access to things like credit cards or bank accounts. That means they’re forced to do business on a cash-only basis, which can be a safety risk. It’s also harder to pay taxes that way — something states definitely have an interest in.
“Forcing businessmen and businesswomen who are operating legally under Oregon state law to shuttle around gym bags full of cash is an invitation to crime and malfeasance. That must end,” said Merkley in a press release. “The people of Oregon have spoken, and the federal government should make sure that legal marijuana businesses can operate properly within our banking system. It’s time to let banks serve these legal businesses without fearing devastating reprisals from the federal government.”
The bill would create a safe harbor from criminal prosecution and liability and asset forfeiture for banks that provide financial services to legitimate, state-sanctioned pot operations. Banks can still choose not to offer those services, however.
The legislation would also prevent federal banking regulators from a variety of activities:
• Prohibiting, penalizing or discouraging a bank from providing financial services to a legitimate state-sanctioned and regulated marijuana business;
• Terminating or limiting a bank’s federal deposit insurance solely because the bank is providing services to a state-sanctioned marijuana business;
Recommending or incentivizing a bank to halt or downgrade providing any kind of banking services to these businesses; or
• Taking any action on a loan to an owner or operator of a marijuana-related business.Previously: You Probably Won’t Be Able To Buy Marijuana With A Credit Card Anytime Soon
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u7-Eleven Isn’t Just Giving Away Slurpees For One Day This Year, It’s Creating A Week Of (Almost) Free Stuffr
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(scrappy!)
Who wants a free Slurpee? Well, good thing tomorrow is July 11 – otherwise known as 7-Eleven Day – a day in which the convenience store will once again bestow free sugary, icy drinks on customers at no cost. Not content to merely give away free frozen drinks this year, 7-Eleven stores are expanding their yearly celebration to an entire week.
Business Insider reports that 7-Eleven will mark its 88th birthday on Saturday by kicking off 7Rewards Week.
The company announced the super-sized free goodies week with an event on Facebook, asking customer to “raise a cup to 7Rewards Week! Because everyone loves free food and drinks, right? Obviously.”
The week-of-7-Eleven begins tomorrow when customers can stop by a store between 11 a.m. and 7 p.m. (their local time) to get a free small Slurpee.
Then beginning on Sunday – and continuing until July 18 – customers who buy a coffee, chillers iced coffee, Slurpee, or Big Gulp and scan the 7-Eleven app get a free item.
That free item is described as a 7-Select food or drink item under $2. A photo on the Facebook event shows bags of jelly beans, gummy bears, water, peanuts, breakfast bars, and popcorn as options.
7-Eleven is about to give away a ton of free stuff — here’s how you can get it [Business Insider]
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uWarn Your Parents And Grandparents About The Fake Grandchild Debt Scamr
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It seems like as soon as we warn the public about a nefarious phone scam, another slight variation sprouts up to vacuum more money from the pockets of innocent people. This new scam that we’ve learned about combines a focus on grandparents with the urgency and fear of the overdue taxes and jury duty scams that we’ve shared with you recently. What these scams have in common, of course, is that the problem can always be solved with the number from a prepaid debit card.
(Enokson)
We leraned about this scam variant from the Federal Trade Commission, who explained how it works: the caller tells the prospective victim that their grandchild has racked up some debt, and could be arrested, lose his or her job, or have their driver’s license taken away if they don’t pay up. The caller makes the debt seem urgent and wants to frighten the person on the other end on behalf of their grandkid.
Aggressive fake debt collectors are actually a separate category of scam, but combining this issue with senior citizens and the natural human desire to bail one’s grandkids out of trouble, and this is an especially dangerous scam.
One key thing to remember: if you didn’t actually cosign a loan or a credit acrd, no debt collector has the right to call you about anyone else’s debts at all. If you did, legitimate debt collectors usually don’t ask for prepaid debit cards from your local drug store.
Attention Grandparents: Watch out for phony debt collectors [FTC]
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uLawsuit Claims $12,500 Pink Sapphire Bought In 1999 Turned Out To Be A Fake Worth Only $30r
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A Delaware woman says she was upset to find out she’d been showing off a fake on her finger for the last 16 years, after an expert deemed the pink sapphire in the ring her husband had bought for her birthday was worth only $30, instead of the $12,500 the couple thought.
(via USA Today)
They’re now suing the jeweler who sold the stone for the diamond-and-sapphire ring to the husband in 1999, claiming the man paid $9,000 just for the stone alone, when its value was allegedly only $10, reports The News Journal (warning: link has video that auto plays).
The husband had the gemstone examined in December by the American Gemological Laboratories for insurance purposes. When the report came back, the results said the pink sapphire had been produced in a laboratory, court documents say. By now, the stone has appreciated to about $30 from the $10 it would’ve been worth in 1999, according to the lawsuit.
“I was extremely proud of that ring,” the woman said. “I wore it a lot and got an awful lot of compliments. And all these years, I was wearing that fake. I feel like a fool showing off that ring. I can’t get that out of my head. Here all that excitement and Sam spent all that money, and it’s a fake.”
The husband has sued the business and its owners, seeking $37,000 to replace the ring, plus another $2,500 that he paid in insurance over 15 years. The jewelers had offered to replace the stone, but the woman said she didn’t want another sapphire from them.
The lawsuit in Delaware Court of Common Pleas alleges the business owners engaged in deceptive trade practices and breached their contract to sell a natural pink sapphire.
The jewelers responded to the lawsuit saying the couple’s claim is barred by the statute of limitations, and that the owners extended no warranties to the man when he bought the ring. They say the claim is because of wrongdoing by a Pennsylvania appraiser, and have filed a third-party lawsuit against that company.
$12,000 pink sapphire a fake, lawsuit says [The News Journal]
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uUber Tells Court Its Drivers Are Happy Being Non-Employeesr
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Are Uber drivers independent contractors or employees of the popular ride-hailing service? The company has long maintained that Uber is just a platform for drivers — using their own cars on their own time — to connect with passengers, while others have contended that Uber drivers are treated like employees and should therefore not be responsible for all the costs of operating their vehicles. Yesterday in federal court, the company presented statements from drivers claiming to be just fine with their status as non-employees.
Uber is currently being sued [PDF] in federal court by three drivers seeking to represent a much larger class of 160,000 current and former drivers in California. The plaintiffs believe that Uber is depriving them of gratuities given by passengers and that they are incorrectly being treated as independent contractors who are responsible for all the maintenance, gas, and other costs associated with their vehicles.
But Uber is claiming that these plaintiffs don’t accurately represent Uber drivers. Yesterday, the company filed its opposition [PDF] to granting the complaint class-action status, and included declarations from 400 different employees to back up their side of the story.
“When I am using the Uber app, I am driving for myself and not for Uber,” reads one statement from a driver in the San Francisco area. “The best part of using the Uber app is the freedom and flexibility it gives me. In my experience, you give away your freedom when you become an employee, and that is something I have no interest in doing.”
“I am a partner with Uber; I don’t work for Uber,” says a driver who also works full time in human resources for a food distributor in the Bay Area. “I can turn my app on and off at any time. I don’t have any supervisors to report to or answer to.”
A former San Diego taxi driver declares that he left that gig to enjoy the flexibility he saw with being an Uber driver.
“When I was a taxi cab driver, you could not take a day off,” he writes. “Even if you were sick or wanted to visit your family, it was really difficult. I leased my taxi at a rate of about $65 to $70 a day on a weekly basis. That would make it very hard to take a day off. Now I can take a day off, spend time with family, think about going to school or taking another job, even clean my room.”
And they pretty much go on like that for a few hundred more examples. This PDF has 100+ pages of declarations submitted to court and it’s just gets through drivers whose last names begin with “A.”
Aside from presenting sunny stories to the court, Uber used these drivers’ declarations to make the argument that each driver’s interactions and use of the platform was different, thus making it difficult — in Uber’s eyes — for the plaintiffs to claim that they represent the interests of all the state’s drivers.
The plaintiffs’ attorney downplays the significance of these drivers’ stories.
“More than a thousand drivers have contacted our firm who are very unhappy with how Uber has treated them,” she told Reuters.
To the San Francisco Chronicle, the lawyer explained, “The mere fact that drivers can choose their hours does not make them independent contractors.”
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