uSweetener Used In Gum Blamed For Increase In Accidental Dog Poisoningsr

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  Keep your pooch away from your gum stash: experts are pointing the finger at xylitol, an ingredient used in sugarless gum, as the culprit behind a recent uptick in accidental dog poisonings.

  While the sugar substitute is completely safe for humans to ingest, experts say xylitol is extremely harmful to dogs — about 100 times as toxic than milk chocolate, according to a new report from the Wall Street Journal.

  Xylitol causes a sudden release of insulin in dogs, which causes low blood sugar and could lead to seizures, bran damage and liver failure.

  Animal poison-control centers have been handling a lot more xylitol cases these days, some that end in death for beloved pets.

  “We’ve seen a dramatic increase” in xylitol calls, Dr. Ahna Brutlag, senior veterinary toxicologist at the Pet Poison Helpline told the WSJ. In 2009 her center fielded just 300 calls about xylitol ingestion (whether confirmed or suspected). This year, they’ve had 2,800 sweetener-related calls.

  Pet owners simply aren’t aware of the dangers of xylitol, she says, or that something humans chew on every day could be toxic to pets, she adds. There’s no comprehensive data on the number of xylitol-related pet deaths, however, nor any solid evidence that it’s toxic for cats and other species.

  To call attention to the issue, some pet owners are urging for warning labels on products that contain xylitol, but others find that approach unrealistic. Instead, they suggest educating dog owners so they can take matters into their own hands and keep gum — and some mints, gummy vitamins, toothpaste, various specialty peanut butters and other products — away from their pets. If you’re batch-baking with xylitol, don’t let Rover near it, either.

  The good news is, if you can get your dog to the vet quickly after they’ve ingested the sweetener, they “tend to do quite well,” Dr. Tina Wismer, medical director of the Animal Poison Control Center at the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals told the WSJ.

  Sweetener in Gum Is Causing Surge in Accidental Dog Poisonings [Wall Street Journal]

  
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by Mary Beth Quirk via Consumerist

uPinterest Launches “The Pinterest Shop” To Buy All That Stuff You See Pinnedr

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• With Pinterest’s “buy” buttons now rolling out on the social network’s iOS and Android mobile apps, the company has decided to expand its e-commerce business a bit: launching a new store call The Pinterest Shop. 

  The shop features a hand-picked catalogue of items ranging from clothing to home furnishing products that can be purchased without leaving the Pinterest app, the company said in a blog post Tuesday. 

  Merchants featured on the page will be rotated out throughout the week. So far, Pinterest says there are more than 60 million buyable pins available.

  “In the Pinterest Shop, you’ll find merchants like Neiman Marcus, Nordstrom, Madesmith, and Ethan Allen in ‘Our Favorites’ shops and hundreds of Pins from hundreds of merchants in ‘Today’s Picks’ and ‘More of our favorites,’” a spokesperson tells Venture Beat.

  Users can access The Pinterest Shop by clicking on the explore/search icon and scrolling to the Shop category.

  Pinterest’s retail partners can have their Buyable Pins included in this section, with no fee for being featured.

  [via Venture Beat]

  
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by Ashlee Kieler via Consumerist

uApparently ‘Star Wars’ Clothing At Under Armour For “All Genders” Only Includes Men And Boysr

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• You don’t have to look very far to find a female who’s loves Star Wars (here’s where I raise my hand) but over at Under Armour, it seems the company thinks only members of the male population are into buying merchandise tied to the franchise. Its “Imperial Collection” of branded T-shirts and clothing lists two categories under “All Genders” — Men and Boys.

  A search for Star Wars clothing on the Under Armour site (h/t TechInsider) brings up results that are apparently aimed just at the male sex, with links for merchandise for grownup men or boys. Conspicuously absent? The other half of the population.

  It’s worth noting that once you’ve clicked on the Boys section, however, the merchandise is labeled as “Kids” Star Wars stuff.

  
  And of course, a woman could surely buy and wear a shirt that’s marketed to men. But therein lies the issue for many fans who are taking out their frustration at the brand on social media — if the clothing is unisex, why not label it as such, or at least include a section for women and girls?:

  WTF, @UnderArmour — no women’s section for the new Star Wars collection??!! Only “men’s” and “boy’s” options! 😡😠 not even linking to it. BS

  — Sara J. Martinez (@SaraMartinez) November 3, 2015

  Why does @UnderArmour only have #StarWars gear for men and boys? Girls like Star Wars too! https://t.co/qOKVCuzYej

  — kat calvin (@KatCalvinDC) November 3, 2015

  So Under Armour has Star Wars and I was all YAY! And then I looked at it and it’s all boys and mens…. Thumbs down. WTF UA?

  — Katee Robert (@katee_robert) November 3, 2015

  Hey @UnderArmour why isn't your star wars imperial collection available for women and girls???

  — Karina (@gottabe_KD2) November 3, 2015

  got excited about the new star wars under armour line and they only have a men/boys section. i should not be surprised at this point.

  — ice holmvik (@nattymoh) November 3, 2015

  Hey, @UnderArmour! I LOVE your stuff, by why did you only make Star Wars gear for men and boys?! https://t.co/nCwTVrPmIe #lame

  — Melissa Joulwan (@meljoulwan) November 3, 2015

  "All Genders" but actually just men and boys because I guess girls don't like Star Wars @UnderArmour? http://pic.twitter.com/ODPpqHDYNX

  — biracial af (@alyssakeiko) November 3, 2015

  We’ve reached out to Under Armour and will let you know if we hear back.

  
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by Mary Beth Quirk via Consumerist

uReport: Takata Hit With $70M Fine For Failing To Report Deadly Exploding Airbag Defectr

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  After more than a year of back and forth between regulators and Japanese parts manufacturer Takata over the slow response and notification related to shrapnel-shooting airbags, the two entities have reportedly reached a settlement in which the parts company will pay a $70 million fine for its failing related to the deadly defect. 

  The Wall Street Journal, citing people familiar with the matter, reports that the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is poised to impose a $70 million fine against the parts maker for its lapse in dealing with the defective airbags linked to eight deaths and hundreds of injuries.

  The fine is said to be part of a settlement between NHTSA and Takata related to the Japanese companies failure to notify regulators of the defect in a timely manner.

  Additionally, the settlement will reportedly assign an independent monitor to audit the company’s safety practices for several years.

  The company will face an additional $130 million penalty if it violates the settlements terms or other federal laws, the WSJ reports.

  News of the settlement comes just two weeks after NHTSA held a special meeting on how to best handle the safety defect.

  Recalls of vehicles with Takata-produced airbags began slowly in 2008, but gained traction over the last year, culminating in the recall of 33.8 million vehicles in May.

  The company and a plethora of investigators from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, as well as the 10 automakers affected by the recall have yet to identify what causes Takata’s airbags to rupture so violently. Because of this, it’s unclear whether or not vehicles already repaired are actually safe.

  In fact, company also plans to re-recall about 400,000 vehicles that have already been repaired.

  Takata announced it would change its use of the often volatile chemical ammonium nitrate in its safety devices and replace its batwing driver inflators.

  Federal Regulators Set to Hit Takata With $70 Million Fine [The Wall Street Journal]

  
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by Ashlee Kieler via Consumerist

uHealth Officials Suspect Chipotle E. Coli Outbreak Came From Vegetablesr

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  On Halloween, Chipotle closed 43 of their restaurants in Washington state and Oregon, “out of an abundance of caution” after people who had dined at six different Chipotle restaurants showed symptoms of E. coli infection. The restaurants remain closed while Chipotle and public health authorities figure out where the illness came from. Their preliminary declaration is that the bacteria hitched a ride on some vegetables.

  Verifying who has a foodborne illness and who doesn’t is complex, since it requires matching samples from patients to the pathogen known to cause the outbreak. Authorities have three confirmed E. coli cases so far from people who have eaten at Chipotle in the last few weeks, and are testing more. They expect that the wide publicity that the outbreak is receiving will cause more people to come forward.

  A spokesperson for the Oregon Public Health division says that they have no definitive ruling yet, but based on the information that the have, the outbreak most likely comes from contaminated produce.

  Analyzing accounts from people who have become sick (verified or not) researchers found some food items in common. While most items sold at Chipotle have a meat base, the culprit appears to be a produce item, maybe a vegetables, and not contaminated and insufficiently cooked beef or chicken.

  For older children and adults, E. coli is a miserable few das of diarrhea and abdominal pain. For children under 5 and adults who are elderly or already ill, complications from the illness can shut down the kidneys just a patient appears to be getting better.

  Oregon official: Chipotle E. coli likely due to contaminated produce [USA Today]

  
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by Laura Northrup via Consumerist

uHomeowner Goes Away For 8 Months, Returns To Find Town Has Demolished His Houser

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  When you leave home for an extended period, you probably lock the doors up tight, maybe turn on an alarm, and expect that the house will still be standing upon your return. Which is why one Long Island homeowner was shocked, to say the least, when he returned after eight months away to find his home had disappeared entirely.

  The 69-year-old man was in Florida for several months to recover from knee surgery, and discovered that while he’d been gone, the town had demolished his 1,570-foot house valued at around $423,072, reports CBS New York.

  He’s suing, after spending two months in a motel, claiming all his furniture, jewelry and other possessions had vanished along with the house.

  “How can somebody do this?” he said to the New York Daily News. “If you are going to take down someone’s house, have the decency to get in touch with them, call them.”

  Town officials said they considered the seemingly abandoned home dangerous, and that tearing it down was their way of keeping “zombie” homes from hanging around. Besides, officials said, they made every attempt to contact the homeowner about its impending doom, following “all proper procedures” and notifying him with repeated registered letters dating back to last October. The house was torn down in May.

  But he wasn’t getting his mail from New York in Florida, the man says, and besides, there are other methods of communication.

  “Somebody could have called me, somebody could have notified me and said ‘hey listen here is whats going on,’” he told CBS New York. “But the town, they took everything, it’s just gone.”

  His lawyer says there was no indication the home was zombiefied, either, despite his prolonged absence.

  “They went too far – this house should not have been demolished, and they went too fast,” his attorney said. “They had all the signs to know that someone was living here.”

  LI Home Thought To Be Abandoned Demolished, Owner Sues After Losing Everything [CBS New York]
  Long Island man returns from Florida to find the town destroyed his home [New York Daily News]

  
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by Mary Beth Quirk via Consumerist

uSensor-Based Emergency Braking Systems Added To List For Five-Star Ratings Starting In 2018r

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  If you plan to start shopping for a new car in 2018, you’ll have a longer list of recommended safety features to look for. Federal regulators are set to include automatic emergency braking as a recommended safety technology when distributing 5-star safety ratings starting in three years. 

  The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration announced Monday that it would update its 5-Star Rating System to include automatic emergency braking (AEB) technology – which includes two systems – to the list of recommended safety programs in new vehicles.

  “AEB can substantially enhance safety, especially with the number of distracted drivers on the road,” Anthony Foxx, Transportation Secretary said, noting that the systems can “save lives and should be widely accessible.”

  AEB technology works through two systems: crash imminent braking (CIB) and dynamic brake support (DBS). CIB applies the brakes in cases where a rear-end crash is imminent and the driver isn’t taking action to avoid the collision. DBS supplements a driver’s braking input if the driver isn’t applying sufficient force to avoid a rear-end crash.

  “We’re putting the brakes on rear-end crashes,” NHTSA Administrator Mark Rosekind, said in a statement. “Wherever possible, NHTSA will encourage and accelerate technological innovations that save lives.”

  Monday’s announcement caps more than two years of talks between NHTSA, the Department of Transportation and the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety to accelerate the spread of crash-avoidance technology.

  Back in May 2013, NHTSA first said it would consider requiring the technology in all future vehicles. At the time, regulators were in the process of conducting research on the systems that dynamically engage brakes without driver input to avoid impending crashes.

  Regulators say the sensor-based technology could help to save hundreds, if not thousands, of lives each year by warning inattentive drivers or by intervening to prevent crashes. According to NHTSA data, nearly 60% of fatal highway accidents are caused by inattentive drivers.

  Researchers found that one-third of police reported crashes in 2013 involved rear-end collisions; a large number of those crashes were a result of drivers not applying the brakes or not fully braking.

  The new 5-Star Rating recommendation comes two months after 10 automakers pledged to include the sensor-based AEB systems in their new vehicles.

  Audi, BMW, Ford, General Motors, Mazda, Mercedes Benz, Tesla, Toyota, Volkswagen and Volvo will work with the IIHS and NHTSA in the coming months to create a plan for implementing the system as a standard feature on vehicles.

  “We are entering a new era of vehicle safety, focused on preventing crashes from ever occurring, rather than just protecting occupants when crashes happen,” Transportation Secretary Foxx said at the time.

  To help prospective vehicle buyers understand the systems and their impact on the ratings system, NHTSA has created an information page and video depicting scenarios where AEB is used to prevent a crash.

  [via The Detroit Free Press]

  
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by Ashlee Kieler via Consumerist