uAppellate Panel Grants FanDuel, DraftKings Another Stay, Allowing Them To Continue Operating In NYr

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• Back in December, DraftKings and FanDuel announced that despite a New York judge granting the state a temporary injunction that barred the daily fantasy sports (DFS) sites from operating in New York, they’d won an immediate stay that would allow them to keep their virtual doors open for business in that state. An appellate panel has upheld that stay, making it permanent.

  This new stay means the DFS sites can hold onto their customers for as long as it takes to have their appeal heard.

  “We are pleased with the Court’s ruling today,” DraftKings’ legal eagle David Boies said in a statement. “Daily Fantasy Sports contests are as legal now as they have been for the past seven years that New Yorkers have been playing them. As our litigation continues, we expect an appellate court to see what we have known since the outset: DFS is a game of knowledge and skill, one that builds community and whose competitive spirit has become important to the lives of millions of people. Our ongoing appeal will make clear that daily fantasy contests require just as much skill as season-long contests, which the Attorney General recognizes as perfectly legal under state law.”

  While DraftKings and FanDuel have argued that they offer games of skill, New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman says the sites are a game of chance, and therefore, constitute a form of gambling, in violation of state law. In November, his office sent letters to both DraftKings and FanDuel telling them to cease and desist selling their fantasy sports betting services in the state.

  “Our review concludes that DraftKings’/FanDuel’s operations constitute illegal gambling under New York law,” Schneiderman wrote in the letter.

  The state filed a lawsuit against the companies a week later, alleging violations of state laws that prohibit the promotion of gambling and “repeated or persistent fraudulent conduct.”

  Though a judge at first ordered DraftKings and FanDuel to stop doing business in New York, the companies won an emergency stay of that injunction. Today’s ruling upholds that stay.

  “We are engaged with legislatures and Attorneys General across the country, including in New York, to ensure that our fans are able to experience our contests in a fun and fair way with appropriate and thoughtful consumer protections in place,” Boies said Monday, echoing the statement he made in December, when he said the company has been talking to state legislators in New York about a potential resolution that would allow DFS sites to continue doing business with New York residents.

  
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by Mary Beth Quirk via Consumerist

uCrocs Brand Honors David Bowie In Least Fashionable Way Possibler

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• This afternoon, someone who does social media for the shoe brand Crocs had an amazing idea. What if they joined the rest of the Internet in remembering musician and all-around starman David Bowie publicly on Twitter? What if they took one of his famous makeup looks and applied it to a white Crocs shoe? Yes, this is a thing that actually happened.

  Whether it’s the death of an almost universally respected celebrity or the anniversary of an historic event, brands always want to hop on the Twitter trend train to visibility-town. At least in this case, the person behind the tweet was actually aware of who David Bowie was and tried to be on topic, but ended up making what looks like a very orthopedic Gatorade ad.

  We've reached the #brands level of public mourning http://pic.twitter.com/zcy03Ga5rA

  — Polly Mosendz (@polly) January 11, 2016

  The original tweet has been taken down, but multiple users preserved it for posterity in screen grab form.

  There, there, readers, it’ll all be okay. Here’s a rather video that serves as an aesthetic counterpoint to Crocs to soothe your eyes and soul.

  FURTHER READING:
  10 Examples Of Why Companies Should Just Avoid Twitter Altogether

  
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by Laura Northrup via Consumerist

uReport: Kohl’s Considers Going Private, Breaking Up Company To Prevent Takeoverr

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  Middle-class consumers just aren’t as into department stores as they used to be. Experts speculate that this is because off-price and outlet stores caught on during the recession, and shoppers simply don’t want to go back. Even staying open for 170 hours straight wasn’t enough to drag Kohl’s out of a slump, and the company’s leaders worry that they could be taken over while their stock price is low.

  An ever-mysterious “person familiar with the situation told the Wall Street Journal that the company is discussing its options. One possible solution would be to take the company private, with one investor buying up its shares and relieving leaders of the day-to-day pressure of the price of their publicly-traded stock.

  While sales are good at Kohl’s, the company is planning ahead while its stock price is relatively low and its recent growth spurt has slowed.

  Other department stores have their own solutions, like Sears renting, selling, or subleasing its stores to anyone who is interested, and Macy’s is closing stores as well as considering forming its own real estate investment trusts.

  It would also ward off activist investors, who might swarm in and try to change the chain and its leadership, and suitors for acquisition, who might be tempted to take over.

  The company’s CEO wants to change things around, offering more cosmetics, accessories, and shoes for women as well as offering more clothes from national brands instead of all private brands. Would that work? As long as receipts still tell people that they saved hundreds of dollars at the bottom, even if they didn’t necessarily, things should be fine.

  Kohl’s Weighs Next Steps, as Woes Mount

  
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by Laura Northrup via Consumerist

uREAL ID Standard Implementation At Airports To Start January 2018r

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  Hundreds of thousands of residents in five states and one U.S. territory will receive a two-year reprieve from having to use an additional form of identification when going through airport security, as the Department of Homeland Security extended the deadline for state drivers licenses to meet REAL ID standards. 

  Homeland Security secretary Jeh Johnson announced on Friday a schedule for the final phase of implementation of minimum security standards for state-issued driver’s licenses and photo IDs.

  Effective Jan. 28, 2018, air travelers with a driver’s license or identification card issued by a state that does not meet the requirements of the REAL ID Act must present an alternative form of identification acceptable to the Transportation Security Administration in order to board a commercial domestic flight.

  Of course, the Dept. also provided some exceptions, noting that if a state has been granted an extension to comply with the Act, the effective date may not apply.

  Currently, 23 states are fully compliant with the REAL ID Act, and the Department has used its authority to grant states extensions when they demonstrate steps toward compliance. The remaining 27 states and territories have been granted extensions for a period of time to become compliant.

  Six states and territories – Illinois, Minnesota, Missouri, New Mexico, Washington, and American Samoa – are noncompliant and do not currently have extensions.

  With the release of the timeline, these states and territories will receive a defacto extension until 2018.

  The requirements under the Act have been hotly debated in many states, with some claiming the law violates consumers’ privacy, even passing laws barring motor vehicle departments from complying with the law.

  Under the standards, licenses are required to be equipped with “machine readable” technology, like a chip or a magnetic strip, to store residents’ personal information.

  The information will eventually be shared through a system administered by the American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators, allowing states to access information from other states.

  While the federal government can’t force states to adopt identification standards, it can force their hands in other ways, mainly determining that current IDs aren’t sufficient enough to pass through airport security.

  If state IDs fail to comply with REAL ID standards, federal agencies can’t accept them as standalone proof of identification. The final phase of the DHS plan is access to commercial aircraft.

  The Department’s timeline is as follows:
  • Effective immediately: The Department of Homeland Security will conduct outreach to educate the traveling public about the timeline below, and continue engagements with states to encourage compliance with REAL ID standards.
  • Starting July 15, 2016: TSA, in coordination with airlines and airport stakeholders, will begin to issue web-based advisories and notifications to the traveling public.
  • Starting December 15, 2016: TSA will expand outreach at its airport checkpoints through signage, handouts, and other methods.
  • Starting January 22, 2018: Passengers with a driver’s license issued by a state that is still not compliant with the REAL ID Act (and has not been granted an extension) will need to show an alternative form of acceptable identification for domestic air travel to board their flight.
  • Starting October 1, 2020: Every air traveler will need a REAL ID-compliant license, or another acceptable form of identification, for domestic air travel.

  
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by Ashlee Kieler via Consumerist

uAmerican Airlines Should Not Have Told Family They Couldn’t Use FAA-Approved Safety Harnessr

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  Consumerist reader John and his wife were traveling with their two-and-a-half-year-old daughter on an American Airlines flight from New York to San Diego, and they’d brought along a special device to help keep their toddler safe, a CARES (Child Aviation Safety Restraint System) harness. Despite the fact that it’s approved by the Federal Aviation Administration, John says the flight’s pilot refused to take off while his daughter was using it in her seat.

  John hadn’t been expecting pushback: American Airlines’ policy allows for approved car seats, and FAA rules say that airlines must allow parents to use approved child-restraint systems, including CARES harnesses. But he says flight attendants informed them that the pilot had said the harness couldn’t be used during taxi and takeoff.

  “We informed the flight attendant that we had used the harness on 11 previous flight segments including five in the last two weeks and an earlier flight that day” on American flights from London to JFK, John wrote, as well as four different AA flight segments in October.

  “We also told the attendants that our toddler would not remain seated without the harness; she would release her seatbelt and squirm,” John told Consumerist, adding that they explained to attendants that the device was FAA-approved and that they believed the pilot was incorrect. He says one flight attendant accused him of jumping down her throat, and another crew member told them the pilot wouldn’t take off with the device strapped to the seat.

  “We had been in transit for over 20 hours, so in desperation my wife held our daughter during takeoff,” John says. “It’s the only way she’d stay secure without the strap.”

  “We believe the flight attendants and pilot are poorly trained, poor in customer service, and endangered our child,” John added.

  Consumerist asked the FAA if there were any restrictions on when the harnesses could be used, and a representative told us no, that travelers should be able to use them “during all phases of flight.”

  When we reached out to American last week, we were told the company was “looking into” the situation, and directed our attention to the FAA’s guidelines regarding child safety restraints, which says, again, that CARES safety harnesses are approved for all parts of a flight, including taxi and takeoff.

  Consumerist checked in again with American today to see if the airline had anything further to share regarding John and his family’s experience.

  “We continue to review these allegations. However, a Child Aviation Safety Restraint System (CARES) may be used during all phases of flight,” a spokesperson said by email, confirming what the FAA told us, adding that the device must have the below label, per the FAA — a label John says he showed to the flight attendants:

  

  So what should you do if you find yourself in a similar situation with a CARES harness? A spokeswoman for the FAA told Consumerist that parents should bring information from the agency’s site with them when they travel.

  Despite that, John said he did provide FAA information to the flight crew. He has yet to hear anything back from American, even after he gave us permission to share his contact information with the airline’s media relations team, which we did. He tells Consumerist he’s filed complaints both on the AA.com website and through the FAA complaint website.

  
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by Mary Beth Quirk via Consumerist

uNine Retailers Recall Store-Branded Children’s Cold Medicine Over Overdose Risksr

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  Nine retailers, including CVS and Rite Aid, have recalled two flavors of store-branded children’s liquid cold medicine over a potential overdose risk.

  The Perrigo Company medicine, sold nationally under a number of brand names, contains a dose cup with incorrect markings that could lead to an overdose, the manufacturer announced on Monday.

  The recall covers batches of children’s grape liquid and three batches of its children’s cherry liquid cough medicine sold in 4-ounce bottles with dosage cups.

  Sunmark, Rite-Aid, Topcar, Kroger, GoodSense, Dollar General, Care One, and CVS pulled the store-branded cough medicine from their shelves.

  Giant and Stop & Shop were the first retailers to remove the medication, under the Care One brand, last week.

  An overdose of the medication may cause hyper excitability, rapid eye movements, changes in muscle reflexes, ataxia, dystonia, hallucinations, stupor, and coma.

  Additionally, Perrigo warns that too much of the cold medicine can cause nausea, vomiting, tachycardia, irregular heartbeat, seizures, respiratory depression, and death can also occur with overdose.

  So far, Perrigo says it has not received any reports of overdoses related to the medication.

  “There have been no reports of adverse events to Perrigo as a result of the incorrect dosage markings,” Joseph Papa, CEO of Perrigo, said in a statement. “Perrigo is taking this action to maintain the highest possible product quality standards for our retail customers and consumers. We are taking this action because it is the right thing to do.”

  The recalled medication can be identified by the following labels, SKUs, and expiration dates:

  

  
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by Ashlee Kieler via Consumerist

uMan Caught On Camera In Pet Store Shoving Python Down Pantsr

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• A few years ago, we brought you a story about a pet store thief removing two puppies from a pet store by shoving them down his pants. Last week in Portland, OR, a pet store’s surveillance cameras caught a man on camera who used this method to conceal a pricey python and walk out of the store unnoticed.

  The store’s owner checked camera footage after an employee noticed that the python was missing, and eventually they spotted the alleged thief picking up the snake… and slipping it down his pants. The creature was a black pastel ball python that the shop sells for $200.

  The video shows the man casually walking around the store and then out the door, trying to act like a person who does not have a python stuffed down his pants.

  “He’s lucky it wasn’t feeding day,” observed the owner. “Feeding days are on Mondays. And they’re very hungry.” Pythons, as you may recall, suffocate their prey by squeezing them, and your pants probably isn’t an ideal place to keep one of them.

  Police : Pet Store Thief Put Snake Down Pants [FOX 29]

  
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by Laura Northrup via Consumerist