uSales Of Actual Pumpkins Down Amid Pumpkin Spice-Flavored Crazer

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  (ash™)

  By now you’d have to be living under a rock where everything smells like dirt and wet rocks not to be aware of the annual pumpkin spice frenzy that overtakes menus across the land every fall. But while it’s not shocking to hear that things that are flavored to taste like pumpkin and/or the spices we love — allspice, cinnamon, nutmeg, etc. — are selling like pumpkin spice hotcakes, it’s kind of sad to learn that sales of actual pumpkins are sliding.

  In a recent report from Nielsen, the data shows that the pumpkin flavor trend is nowhere near stopping, and has become a staple of the autumn season — 37% of American consumers bought a pumpkin-flavored product in 2014, accounting for $361 million in sales just in 2014, which is a 79% boost from 2011.

  The hottest sellers on the pumpkin market include pie filling ($134,786,923 in sales last year), pumpkin cream ($47,907,993) and pumpkin coffee ($32,655,566). Again, this isn’t news — everywhere you turn these days there’s pumpkin pet food, pumpkin gum, pumpkin spice Twinkies, pumpkin milk and even pumpkin dish soap.

  Fresh pumpkins are being left out of the fad fun, however, with sales declining every year in 2011, 2013 and 2014, Nielsen reports, accounting for 8.6 million fewer pumpkins going home from the pumpkin patch with a proud new owner.

  GET READY FOR THE GREAT PUMPKIN INVASION [Nielsen]

  
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by Mary Beth Quirk via Consumerist

uDriver’s Licenses From 4 States Could Soon Be Useless For Getting Through Airport Securityr

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  (frankieleon)

  At some point in the next year, millions of Americans may need to start carrying a second form of ID with them when they go to the airport, as driver’s licenses from four states and one U.S. territory are not currently compliant with federal security standards.

  Ten years ago, Congress passed the REAL ID Act, which set minimum security standards for state-issued driver’s licenses and photo IDs, but it wasn’t until the end of 2013 that the Dept. of Homeland Security announced the phase-in of its enforcement plan.

  If state IDs fail to comply with those standards, federal agencies can’t accept them as standalone proof of identification. The final phase of the DHS plan is access to commercial aircraft. According to the agency’s own timeline, full enforcement is due to begin “No sooner than 2016.”

  That means enforcement could start next year or it could not. DHS isn’t saying when, only that it will “ensure the public has ample advance notice before identification requirements for boarding aircraft change.”

  Only about half the states and U.S. territories impacted by these requirements are fully REAL ID compliant. Most others have valid extensions that will allow their residents to continue using their non-compliant IDs. However, as USA Today notes, there are four states — Louisiana, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New York — that are currently not in compliance with the rules, meaning travelers holding IDs from these states and American Samoa may need to start bringing second forms of ID with them when they travel.

  Not everyone in these states will be affected, as both Minnesota and New York offer enhanced IDs that are REAL ID compliant. A rep for the New York DMV tells WKBW-TV that it has received no guidance from DHS about when the state’s licenses will no longer be sufficient for boarding commercial aircraft.

  
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by Chris Morran via Consumerist

uMcRib Returning, But Only To 55% Of U.S. McDonald’sr

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  (davng)

  Last November, the McRib returned in all its glory to nearly three-quarters of McDonald’s U.S. locations. This year, however, the (real) meat patty with (fake) ribs will be a bit harder to find, as many franchisees have decided to forgo the limited-time item.

  The Associated Press reports that the Golden Arches has once again left it up to local franchise groups to decide whether or not their menu will include the McRib this fall, and as it turns out, many won’t.

  While in the past McDonald’s has put the McRib on the national menu, in recent years the chain used the item as a regional option to boost sales in the latter part of the year.

  CNBC reports that in all, just 55% or about 8,000 — of the company’s 14,350 restaurants will carry the McRib this year.

  A McDonald’s spokesperson says the company simply has “other national priorities,” adding that some areas of the U.S. have already started handing out the barbecue covered sandwich.

  The introduction of limited-time offerings from the Golden Arches has increased in the last year as part of the company’s strategy to turn around consistently sluggish sales.

  The plan was meant to keep customers interested in the fast food fare, but as the AP reports, executives with McDonald’s recently admitted the pace of introducing new menu items has put a strain on many franchise operations.

  Many McDonald’s Restaurants Skipping The McRib [The Associated Press]
  45% of McDonald’s restaurants skipping McRib [CNBC]

  
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by Ashlee Kieler via Consumerist

uAmerican Airlines Accidentally Sent A Plane To Hawaii That Wasn’t Certified For Long Flights Over Waterr

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  (benh57)

  As anyone who’s ever looked at a plane surely knows, not all aircraft are the same. There are some that are designed for short hops or longer trips, and others that are made for long haul flights over water. American Airlines has admitted it got its aircraft a bit mixed up last month, sending a plane on a flight from Los Angeles to Hawaii that wasn’t cleared to make that kind of trip.

  Aviation blogger Brian Sumers was the first to report the mistake on his blog, writing that an airline spokesman acknowledged the mix-up and that the carrier is now revising its internal procedures as a result of the mistake.

  The confusion was between two kinds of Airbus A321 planes — there’s the A321H, which has the proper certification to fly to Hawaii, and the A321S, which does not. That certification is called ETOPS, and requires an aircraft to carry more safety equipment than other planes. The special systems on an ETOPS-certified plane allows the aircraft to fly on one engine for as long as three hours, which is enough time to reach an alternate airport if it needed to.

  On Aug. 31, American Flight 31 from L.A. to Honolulu used an A321S, a spokesman told Sumers. Though the planes are basically the same and passengers likely weren’t in any danger — both aircraft are equipped with emergency life rafts required for a water evacuation — it’s big breach of federal guidelines.

  An American worker on the ground realized the switcheroo while the plane was already in the air, and American decided to let it continue on to its destination, the spokesman said. The return flight was then canceled and the plane was ferried back across the Pacific Ocean.

  “When we noticed it, we immediately undertook an internal investigation, and we alerted the FAA,”t he spokesman said. “We are checking our internal procedures, everything that led up to the departure. We are going to figure out what we can do better. We have gone back and made some changes to software systems.”

  The Federal Aviation Administration is reportedly looking into the matter as well.

  How American Airlines flew the wrong A321 to Hawaii [BrianSumers.com]

  
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by Mary Beth Quirk via Consumerist

uChicago Sued Over 9% “Cloud Tax” On Streaming Servicesr

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  (Mike Matney)

  
  Back in July, the city of Chicago started levying an unpopular new tax on its residents: cloud services, including streaming media like Netflix, suddenly cost 9% extra. Neither denizens of the Windy City nor the businesses who serve them are at all happy with this, however, and now the lawsuits have begun.

  The Chicago Tribune reports that a Chicago-area nonprofit representing a group of Chicago residents filed suit against the city late last week.

  The suit claims that the new tax on streaming services — including Netflix, Spotify, Amazon, and others — is out of bounds for two reasons. The first is procedural, having to do with Chicago’s process for changing the law on its books. The city aldermen did not vote on the changes, and the suit claims they should have been permitted to.

  However, the second claim in the lawsuit has greater implications for state and local governments nationwide. That claim says that the new tax violates the Internet Freedom Tax Act, a 1998 piece of law that prohibits local, state, and federal governments from enacting “internet taxes” like an e-mail or bandwidth tax.

  The city contends, however, that the 9% cloud tax is merely an extension of its existing Amusement Tax, and therefore well within bounds.

  “The City has not yet seen the complaint, but we are confident that the ruling is a valid application of the existing Amusement Tax,” a law department spokesman told the Tribune.

  Suit filed against Chicago Internet taxes [Chicago Tribune]

  
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by Kate Cox via Consumerist

uFacebook Reportedly Working On A Virtual Reality Video Smartphone Appr

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  (Raymond Bryson)

  Nearly a year and a half after Facebook paid $2 billion to buy virtual reality company Oculus, the online behemoth is apparently ready to bring some virtual reality technology to its social media platform.

  Citing people close to the matter, The Wall Street Journal reports that Facebook is working to bring virtual reality to consumers’ phones via a standalone app that would support 360-degree videos.

  Facebook’s spherical video format, which is typically compiled from multiple cameras and angles, would allow users to change their viewing perspective simply by tilting their Android- or iOS-powered phones.

  People with knowledge of the app say it’s currently in the early stages and it’s unclear when or if the app will actually launch.

  Facebook declined to provide comment on the potential app to the Wall Street Journal.

  Delving into the world of virtual reality isn’t exactly a surprise for Facebook: besides the aforementioned $2 billion purchase of Oculus, the company’s top executives have long alluded to the use of such technology.

  CEO Mark Zuckerberg has previously called virtual reality the next “computing platform.” The WSJ reports that back in March, he said Facebook would someday support spherical videos in its news feed, allowing users to move around inside a video, viewing it from different angles.

  While a mobile app version of virtual reality videos would offer a much less immersive experience than Oculus’ traditional headsets, it could help introduce the technology to a larger audience, the WSJ reports, perhaps leading more consumers to seek out Oculus’ Rift headset when it begins consumer sales next year.

  Facebook Looks to Bring Virtual Reality to Mobile Devices [The Wall Street Journal]

  
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by Ashlee Kieler via Consumerist

uSorry, You Can’t Pay The IRS With A Check For $100 Million Anymorer

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  (Adam Fagen)
  

  You there! The one ready to write a big, fat check to the Internal Revenue Service — drop that pen. The agency has announced that it will no longer accept checks for $100 million, so you’ll just have to write more than one check. So yeah, you can go ahead and pick that pen up again now.

  Though 90% of Americans pay their taxes electronically, if you’re one of the 10% who don’t, starting next year the IRS won’t take your money if it’s in the form of a check over the amount of $99,999,999, reports the Associated Press.

  The reason? Check-processing equipment at the country’s Federal Reserve banks just can’t handle checks with so many digits. Any check of $100 million or more has to be processed by hand, which increases the likelihood of theft, fraud and errors, the IRS and Treasury Department explained in recent memos.

  So if you’re forking over that much moolah at tax time, you’ll either have to write a few checks for less than $100 million each or send your payments electronically.

  While most of us aren’t worried by such a pronouncement, seeing as we’ll never write a check that large unless it’s for a joke or a Halloween costume where you’re dressed as a giant lottery check or something, the Treasury Department says it’s noticed an uptick in huge checks made out to the federal government. In 2015, the IRS accepted 14 checks for more than $99,999,99.

  Most commercial banks simply can’t process checks that have amounts that take up more than 10 digits, including cents. Federal agencies have been banned from depositing checks that size for years, but the IRS is just now getting onboard as well, apparently.

  It’s unclear who is writing these ginormous checks — whether they’re companies or individuals — but not many people pay that much in federal income taxes, so this very likely won’t affect you. At least, beyond the moment you tell someone that you read the IRS isn’t accepting $100 million checks.

  The fattest of the fat cats had an average income of almost $336 million in 2012, the year with the most recent data, and their average tax bill was $56 million.

  No checks, please: IRS no longer takes checks for $100M [Associated Press]

  
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by Mary Beth Quirk via Consumerist