uChipotle Is Deep-Cleaning Closed Northwestern Restaurantsr

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  Here’s the thing with stocking your restaurant with fresh, additive-free ingredients: processing food and adding things like preservatives has an actual purpose, and that purpose is to eliminate or slowt he growth of food-borne pathogens. While their fresh-ingredients stance is an important part of Chipotle’s marketing, it’s also a handy way for nasty food-borne pathogens to sneak in.

  Now there’s a total of 37 people who have become ill from the outbreak of E. coli linked to Chipotle restaurants in the Seattle and Portland metropolitan areas.

  Chipotle has had three different outbreaks in the last few months: illnesses in California were traced to norovirus of unknown origin, and a Salmonella outbreak in Minnesota linked to tomatoes that were served at 22 different restaurants. While not connected to each other, the three incidents do show

  Restaurants in the affected areas are performing deep-cleaning, according to a press release from Chipotle. While there are 43 restaurants closed, only eight have illnesses linked to them. That could change, though, since E. coli can incubate for a long time before making you sick.

  Chipotle says that they are also cooperating with health authorities, and on their part are also testing every batch of ingredients in the area before tossing them out and starting over with new ingredients when the restaurants re-open.

  If you’ve eaten at a Chipotle in the month of October and experience bloody diarrhea and vomiting, public health authorities want you to visit a health care provider and mention this specific outbreak, so your provider can take samples and submit them to the authorities to verify that your illness was part of the outbreak. The majority of people who are sick with this strain of E. coli report eating at a local Chipotle restaurant, but not all of them.

  Oregon cases of E. coli linked to Chipotle now at 12 [Oregon Health Authority]

  
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by Laura Northrup via Consumerist

uNetflix Adds 5-Minute Videos For Kids To Give Parents A Bedtime Bargaining Toolr

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  If you’re a parent, you probably face bedtime with a grim determination to stick to your guns, stay firm and get that kid tucked in and the lights out when you say so. Not as easy as it sounds, as many of you likely know: kids are wily adversaries, armed with a seemingly endless arsenal of excuses and a knack for bargaining. Netflix wants to help parents compromise with their tiny foes, launching a collection of five-minute bedtime videos.

  To give parents a bargaining tool, Netflix is offering a new series of five-minute videos called Dinotrux 5 Minute Favorites. The idea here, it seems, is that agreeing to “just one more!” episode of your kids’ favorite show will only push bedtime back by five minutes, instead of the 20 or so minutes of a traditional TV show.

  Netflix trots out some figures from a recent survey of 7,000 parents from seven different countries to support the idea that kids are skilled manipulators at bedtime: 61% of parents experience kids who try to stall bedtime. Of those, 79% of parents are willing to compromise, spending up to 20 minutes a night trying to make a deal with their offspring. American kids turned out to be the most likely to try to delay bedtime through creative tactics. Shocking.

  Of course, there will always be those kids who then just demand to watch the same five-minute videos over and over again, which is nothing new in the YouTube era. “Just one more cat video, Mom! PLEASE.”

  
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by Mary Beth Quirk via Consumerist

uDealers Stop Sale Of New, Pre-Owned VW, Audi & Porsche Vehicles Covered In Latest Emissions Violationsr

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  Just a day after Volkswagen executives said the car company would not stop the sale of vehicles included in the Environmental Protection Agency’s newest notice of violation for emission standards, the manufacturer backtracked, and now says it will tell dealers not to sell certain VW, Audi and Porsche models. 

  The stop-sale covers more vehicles than the EPA and California Air Resources Board included in its latest notification of violation which found nearly 10,000 additional VW-made cars contain “defeat devices” aimed at cheating emissions tests, the Detroit News reports.

  The company on Wednesday directed dealers to halt purchases of new and certified pre-owned 3.0 liter, 6-cylinder model year 2013 Audi Q7 TDI; model year 2014 to 2016 Audi A6, A7, A8, Q5 and Q7; and model year 2013 to 2016 VW Touareg vehicles.

  Porsche, also owned by VW, announced on Tuesday that it had stopped the sale of 2014 to 2016 Cayenne SUVs.

  VW’s second stop-sale in two months comes just two days after the EPA and CARB announced that an ongoing investigation into the carmaker’s emissions scandal found additional Clean Air Act violations.

  “VW has once again failed its obligation to comply with the law that protects clean air for all Americans,” Cynthia Giles, Assistant Administrator for the Office for EPA’s Enforcement and Compliance Assurance, said during a press call on Monday. “All companies should be playing by the same rules. EPA, with our state, and federal partners, will continue to investigate these serious matters, to secure the benefits of the Clean Air Act, ensure a level playing field for responsible businesses, and to ensure consumers get the environmental performance they expect.”

  The following day, VW denied the new allegations, claiming the device found in the cars was “permissible, and declaring it had no plans to stop the sale of the affected cars.

  Regulators previously accused VW of installing the so-called defeat devices on about 482,000 diesel vehicles since 2008.

  Days later, the German carmaker admitted that nearly 11 million vehicles worldwide contained a “sophisticated software algorithm” programmed to detect when the car is undergoing official emissions testing, and to only turn on full emissions control systems – the temperature conditioning mode – during that testing.

  Just yesterday, the company announced that an internal investigation found nearly 800,000 other vehicles may skirt standards related to carbon dioxide emissions.

  VW issues stop-sale for Audi, Porsche SUV diesels [The Detroit News]

  
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by Ashlee Kieler via Consumerist

uSeattle’s Pike Place Market Cleaning Off Gum Wall For First Time In 20 Yearsr

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  While many businesses would be vigilant in cleaning chewed gum off the walls, Pike Place Market in Seattle has been lax on that front for 20 years… on purpose: the “gum wall” below the market has become a beloved character as visitors have passed by through the years. It’s time for a fresh start, however, as the Market says it’ll be scraping off gobs of hardened gum next week.

  It’s the first time the wall in Post Alley will get a scrub down, a cleaning session that the Market says was required because of sugar in the gum breaking down the bricks in the wall, reports KING 5 News.

  The steam cleaning is scheduled for Nov. 10 and is expected to take a few days to complete, because of the amount of gum stuck to the wall: the Market estimates there are about one million gum wads on the wall, covering a height of eight feet and a width of 54 feet. That’s approximately 150 pieces of gum per brick.

  The Gum Wall got its start in 1995, when people waiting in line for a late-night improv show apparently got bored and stuck their gum to the bricks. The rest is sticky history.

  Before the wall gets its spa day, Pike Place Market is urging fans to submit their best pics with it for a contest, with the winner getting the chance to have their name or a message engraved on a galvanized steel Market Charm, which will hang from the railing of the new MarketFront.

  Seattle’s Gum Wall getting a scrub down [KING 5 News]

  
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by Mary Beth Quirk via Consumerist

uAirlines Once Again Introducing Baggage Surcharges For Holiday Travelersr

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  Last year, Spirit Airlines showed passengers that it didn’t quite get the concept that holidays – especially those that fall in late December and early January – are meant to spread cheer and goodwill toward fellow humans, by increasing baggage fees for merry travelers. This year, the budget airline is once again utilizing those surcharges, and this time, it has company in Frontier Airlines. 

  The fee-happy airlines have sucked all of the upcoming holiday cheer out of the air by announcing they would increase their already hefty baggage fees for certain checked and carry-on bags, Time reports.

  As with last year’s increase, from Dec. 16 to Jan. 4, Spirit will tack on an additional $2 each way for standard-sized checked luggage.

  Some Spirit customers won’t see the extra surcharges: those carrying on bags won’t see an increase, while travelers in Spirit’s $9 Fare Club will continue to pay a non-hiked special members-only fee during the holidays.

  Spirit’s baggage fee schedule varries considerably depending on when and where you check your luggage. For example, the airline charges $30 for checking a bag when booking a flight, $35 before online check-in, $40 during online check-in, and $50 at airport check-in. Travelers can check fees for their particular flight on Spirit’s Bag-O-Tron.

  A spokesperson for the airline says that Christmas and New Year’s “is a very high demand period for Spirit.” Last year, the company said the fees were intended to “encourage customers to pack a bit lighter” for their travels.

  While the continuation of Spirit’s holiday fee increase isn’t all that surprising, the winter and spring “temporary price increases” at Frontier Airlines for both carry-on and checked baggage is new.

  The extra fees, which range from $5 to $10, first take effect for departures from Nov. 19, to Jan. 5.

  Under the temporary pricing system, carry-on bag prices increase $5 at booking and up to 24 hours before departure. The fee doubles to $10 at web check-in.

  Traveler’s first checked bag will cost an additional $5 on Frontier’s website, at booking and up to 24 hours before departure. It increases by $10 at the company’s call center, web check-in, and airport ticket counters or self-service kiosks. A second checked bag will incur another $10 fee.

  With the surcharges, checked baggage costs will range from $35 to $40 , while carry-on costs will range from $35 to $50.

  Here’s the airline’s current baggage fee schedule:

  

  The new fees at Frontier aren’t just a holiday thing, either. According to the company’s baggage fee information page, the increases are also in effect between Feb. 11 and April 4, and again from June 9 to Aug. 16.

  The 2 Most Fee-Crazed Airlines Are Raising Fees for Holiday Season Flights [Time]

  
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by Ashlee Kieler via Consumerist

uAmerican Airlines Flight Diverted After Passenger Allegedly Threatens The Plane, Other Travelersr

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  Another day, another disruptive passenger prompting an emergency landing for another flight: once again, an American Airlines flight was diverted because of an unsettling situation on board. This time, officials say a passenger allegedly made threats on a plane traveling from Phoenix to New York City.

  The flight heading to John F. Kennedy Airport in New York made an unscheduled stop in Wichita just before 7 p.m. last night, reports KSN.com, after a man reportedly said something on the plane that prompted the emergency situation. ABC 15 reports (warning: link has video that autoplays) that he allegedly made threats against both other passengers as well as the plane itself.

  Arrest records indicate that he was removed from the flight and charged with criminal threat, cause terror, and evacuation or disruption, and was booked into county jail.

  Though officials are staying mum on what happened on board, police say the FBI may bring charges against the passenger. The flight was delayed for about 40 minutes before continuing on its way to NYC.

  Indie rock band The Augustines happened to be on the same flight, and Tweeted a few messages about the incident, calling it a “bad scene” and writing that the suspect said he wanted to kill people:

  Whoa. Emergency landing in Witchita. Passenger threatening the plane that he wants to kill people. Bad scene.

  — AUGUSTINES (@WeAreAugustines) November 4, 2015

  The band Tweeted that marshals checked all the trash cans and bathrooms on the plane before removing the suspect.

  American Airlines flight diverted to Wichita due to disruptive passenger [KSN.com]

  
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by Mary Beth Quirk via Consumerist

uHonda Discontinues Use Of Takata Airbags In New Modelsr

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  After bearing the burnt of the Takata airbag defect, including the recall of millions of vehicles and having its models be responsible for all eight deaths linked to the safety devices, Honda says it will no longer use the company’s front-seat airbags. 

  Honda announced Wednesday that it would discontinue using the company’s airbag inflators in any new models under development and accused the supplier of manipulating test data, Reuters reports.

  The carmaker said in a statement that it was “deeply troubled” by evidence that suggested Takata “misrepresented and manipulated test data for certain airbag inflators.”

  The decision to drop Takata as a supplier comes just a day after the parts maker was fined $70 million by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration for its failure to properly alert regulators to airbag issues.

  The company has agreed to phase out the use of ammonium nitrate in its inflators by 2018 and faces an additional $130 million fine if it doesn’t comply with NHTSA orders or if new violations are found.

  Honda, which was Takata’s largest customer, made up about 10% of the part maker’s global sales.

  Officials with Honda declined to provide comment on whether the company would seek legal action against Takata or if the relationship could change in the future.

  “Once we determine an official cause of the defect, we plan to discuss issues of responsibility (with Takata),” Honda Executive Vice President Tetsuo Iwamura tells Reuters.

  While it’s unclear if other automakers will follow Honda’s lead and ditch Takata, both Toyota and Nissan have reportedly begun testing inflators from other companies.

  Dumped by Honda, air bag maker faces fresh questions over future [Reuters]

  
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by Ashlee Kieler via Consumerist