uSouthwest Flight Diverted After Fight Breaks Out Between “Disorderly” Group Of Passengersr

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  (David Transier)
  

  A Southwest Airlines flight from San Diego heading to Chicago last night had to make an unplanned stop in Amarillo, TX last night, after police said a fight broke out on board among a group of passengers who were traveling together.

  The flight ended up diverting to Amarillo at around 10:30 last night, Southwest said in a statement (via the Associated Press), “after several passengers traveling together became disorderly and, subsequently, refused to obey instructions from the crew.”

  Once on the ground, six passengers were detained on suspicion of interfering with the flight crew, and six others deplaned at that time as well, as Southwest told CBS Chicago: “Additionally, six other members of the group chose to deplane and remain in Amarillo.”

  The AP reports that “a handful” of others were prevented from re-boarding the plane at the request of the crew, however, citing Amarillo police. In any case, the group left the plane, and the flight went on to Chicago at around 1:30 a.m., finally landing around three hours after it was originally scheduled to arrive, at 3:22 a.m.

  A police corporal said those involved in the brawl appeared to be in their 20s and 30s and were part of a larger group of people traveling together. It’s unclear exactly what the fight or disturbance was about, however.

  “We’re taking statements from everybody,” he told reporters. “But at this point, I don’t really have a lot other than, obviously, several passengers felt like they were definitely out of line, very vocal, very obnoxious-acting. Was it a disruption of the flight? That’s going to be up to the FBI to determine.”

  Flight to Midway diverted to Texas when fight breaks out on board [Associated Press]
  Six Men Detained In Texas After Disrupting Flight From San Diego To Chicago [CBS Chicago]

  
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by Mary Beth Quirk via Consumerist

uNext Up For McDonald’s Revamped Menu: McMuffins, Biscuits & Bagels With Real Butterr

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  (Morton Fox)

  A month after McDonald’s officially beefed up its Quarter Pounder, the fast food giant is poised to makeover a few other staples: the English muffin, bagel and biscuit, adding real butter to the ingredient list.

  NBC News, citing two sources close to the matter, reports that the switch to the upgraded breakfast items would occur once locations use up their supply of liquid margarine.

  While the Golden Arches hasn’t officially confirmed its plans to change the bread items, some stores have already started posting signs about the switch.

  A location in Manhattan reads: “We’re proud to cook breakfast items on the grill with real butter and we toast our English Muffins, biscuits and bagels with real butter, too.”

  One of the sources tells NBC News that the signs are meant to both highlight the use of real dairy products and warn customers who may have dairy allergies not to consumer them.

  McDonald’s has been on a roll lately, making changes to its menu. In addition to changing its breakfast breads and beefing up its Quarter Pounder, the fast food giant announced earlier this year it would toast buns and make changes to the way it sears its beef.

  The menu revamp is part of the company’s turnaround effort under new CEO Steve Easterbrook.

  McDonald’s Continues Menu Tweaks: This Time It’s the McMuffin [NBC News]

  
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by Ashlee Kieler via Consumerist

uStore-Brand Frozen Corn Recalled For Potential Listeria Contaminationr

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• Time to check your frozen vegetable stash: bags of frozen corn sold as store private-label brands that may be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes have been recalled by the company that packaged it. Some of the corn was distributed to Save-A-Lot discount grocery stores and to Market Basket stores, but two of the brands were not exclusive to any one retailer.

  No illnesses have been reported: the pathogen turned up during routine testing in Tennessee. Affected corn may have been distributed to New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Vermont, Massachusetts, Indiana, Ohio, Kentucky, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, Florida, Mississippi, and Louisiana.

  Here are the affected brands:

  Wylwood (Save-A-Lot) and Market Basket corn was distributed in 1-pound bags, with a “best before” date of June 2017.

  

  

  Bountiful Harvest and West Creek corn was distributed in 2.5-pound bags, with a “best before” date of June 2017.

  

  

  If you have the product in your home, throw it away, and contact the company, Bonduelle USA, at 1-877-990-2662 if you want a refund.

  Experts recommend heating food to an internal temperature of 160 degrees, which does kill Listeria. Freezing does not kill the bacteria, which is why it’s been such a nefarious presence in ice cream and in frozen vegetables this year.

  Listeriosis is especially dangerous to people who are very young, people who are elderly, people with compromised immune systems, and pregnant women. Symptoms include fever, headache, muscle stiffness, nausea, abdominal pain, and diarrhea.

  Bonduelle USA Recalls Frozen Corn Because Of Possible Health Risk [FDA]

  
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by Laura Northrup via Consumerist

uFiat Chrysler Offers $100 Gift Cards To Get Your Recalled Car Fixed Alreadyr

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• The federal government has fined Fiat Chrysler $105 million for its failure to address vehicle defects and active recalls, and perhaps they’ve concluded that customers will respond to a cash incentive, not a cash punishment. Taking a break from desperately hugging General Motors, today the automaker announced an offer: car owners get $100 if they bring their vehicle in for repair, and an extra $1,000 or $2,000 trade-in incentive to buy a new car instead.

  The company hopes that offering money or trade-in incentives encourages people who own affected cars to bring their vehicles in for replacement. If the owners traded in recalled Jeep Grand Cherokees from the ’90s or Jeep Libertys from the ’00s for brand-new vehicles, the company certainly wouldn’t complain.

  Part of the company’s punishment from NHTSA was for not making needed parts for the repairs available: if they’re bribing people to come in and get their cars fixed, the parts must be available now.

  To find out whether your vehicle is eligible for the program, grab your VIN and check the Fiat Chrysler site, or check NHTSA’s site, safercar.gov. Remember that if you’ve bought a used car recently, even if it was sold to you as “Certified,” check with the NHTSA database and with the manufacturer to make sure there aren’t any active recalls.

  Fiat Chrysler offers $100 debit cards to owners of recalled U.S. vehicles [Reuters]

  
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by Laura Northrup via Consumerist

uAt This Restaurant, Eat Quinoa With No Human Interactionr

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  (Eatsa)

  Would you eat in a restaurant where you don’t interact with the employees at all? There’s a new restaurant that’s either the next frontier in segregating our society by wealth, or an efficient way to grab a quick bowl of quinoa. Diners order and pay for their meals using tablet computers, then pick them up from glass cubbies, like a neo-automat.

  Time for a brief consumer history class: automats, are restaurants that consist solely of vending machines; they’ve existed in different forms in different countries, but the most familiar to Americans would be the Horn & Hardart chain in major cities. The automated cafeterias had high-quality meals and desserts in little cubbies behind glass doors, and customers bought them using coins for each individual item.

  Eatsa, a new restaurant in San Francisco, is the latest restaurant to revive the idea, using tablets to take orders, then serving the meals in cubbies with translucent screens on the front, where the customer’s name pops up.

  The future of dining at @eatsa http://pic.twitter.com/FJ6GjxXNr8

  — Lucas Matney (@Lucas_Matney) August 29, 2015

  SFGate calls it a “fully automated restaurant,” but it really isn’t. A fully automated restaurant would have robots making the food, and we’ll get there soon enough. At Eatsa, there are employees making the food. They stay invisible on the other side of the wall, though, so you can pretend that you’re in a robot-run establishment. The food is vegetarian, based on quinoa, and early visitors gave it good reviews, especially for the price. There are eight items on the menu each day, each of which costs $7.

  Fast food reinvented? Eatsa, a fully automated restaurant, opens today (via NPR)

  
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by Laura Northrup via Consumerist

uTennessee Authorities Investigating Allegations Of Animal Cruelty At Chicken Farm Dumped By Tyson, McDonald’sr

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  (Chris Goldberg)

  Last week, Tyson Foods and McDonald’s said they were cutting ties with a poultry farm in Tennessee that was accused by an animal rights group of mistreating and abusing chickens. Authorities in that state now confirm they’re looking into the allegations of criminal animal cruelty by operators of the farm.

  Tyson sourced the meat it sold to McDonald’s for chicken McNuggets from the farm in question. Last week the company announced it would no longer get its chickens from the Tennessee Farm, after Mercy for Animals published undercover video footage that reportedly showed chickens being beaten and stabbed with a pole that has a spike on it, as well as sick and deformed chickens mixed in with healthy birds in a huge, over-crowded holding area.

  Mercy for Animals had asked Tennessee authorities to prosecute the owners of T&S Farm for violation of state laws prohibiting animal cruelty.

  “The case is currently under investigation,” said Colin Johnson, assistant district attorney for Obion and Weakley County, where the farm is located, in a statement to USA Today.

  Both McDonald’s and Tyson issued statements last week decrying animal abuse.

  “We believe treating animals with care and respect is an integral part of a responsible supply chain and find the behavior depicted in this video to be completely unacceptable. We support Tyson Foods’ decision to terminate their contract with this farmer,” McDonald’s said at the time. “We’re working with Tyson Foods to further investigate this situation and reinforce our expectations around animal health and welfare at the farm level.

  Tenn. authorities investigating ex-McDonald’s chicken supplier for cruelty [USA Today]

  
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by Mary Beth Quirk via Consumerist

uIllinois Can’t Pay Its Lottery Winners Right Nowr

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  (frankieleon)

  Current lottery winners in Illinois might have to delay their joyful reactions for a little while. The state hasn’t passed a new budget, which means that they’re unable to pay lottery winners whose prizes are $25,000 or more. That’s a total of 29 lottery winners still waiting for their money since the current fiscal year started on July 1st.

  Without a state budget in place, lottery officials can’t legally pay out big prizes. Prizes under $25,000 can be paid at a person’s local lottery claim center, and prizes under $600 can be cashed in at a store that sells lottery tickets.

  It’s not the most serious consequence of the state budget crisis by any means, but frustrating for winners who have been handed a great big ceremonial cardboard IOU. The state comptroller’s office cuts checks for $25,000 or above, and lottery winners aren’t happy.

  “I bought the ticket, I should get the money when it’s due to me,” a man who won $250,000 on a scratchoff game told TV station WLS. “I shouldn’t have to wait for some budget to be settled.” Unfortunately, that’s not how bureaucracies work.

  Illinois lottery winners are in limbo [CNN]

  
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by Laura Northrup via Consumerist