Today In Weird Clothing Trends: Wearing Jeans Infused With Jade To Beat The Heat

http://ift.tt/1JDP12R

(Lee brand on YouTube)

Because no one likes having heavy fabric clinging to sweaty, suffocating legs when it’s hot outside, many people turn to a clothing innovation known as “shorts” to give those limbs some breathing room when the weather is hot. But over in China, Lee jeans has decided to push another option — denim infused with crushed jade stones, a method that theoretically keeps wearers cooler.

The Jade Fusion line launched in Hong Kong in May and is now spreading to the rest of China, reports Bloomberg, where customers may have a hard time getting their hands on a pair, as they’ve sold out in the first seven weeks.

Here’s how it works: The jade fabric pulls sweat away from the body, where it quickly dries, creating a cooling sensation, Stephen Dull, vice president of strategy and innovation for VF Corp, the parent company of Lee, explained to Bloomberg. Or as the brand calls it, “denim refreshment.”

“It’s not magic,” Dull said. “But it takes away of a lot of the smelly, icky, sweaty, sticky feeling you get when you wear denim in the heat.”

This is part of Lee’s efforts to get people out of their soft and stretchy yoga pants and other leisure wear that’s become popular and back into jeans, even when it’s a bajillion degrees outside and the last thing you might want is heavy fabric smothering your legs into a sweaty denim hell.

For now the Jade jeans are only going to be sold in China, Lee says. But who knows, the gemstone jean craze could eventually make its way to America. Not everyone likes wearing shorts no matter how hot it is, after all. Especially when the bright glow of pale legs finally seeing the light of day after a long winter in the dark is not something every person is uncomfortable inflicting on the world.

Forget Shorts, Jeans Made With Jade Help Chinese Beat the Heat [Bloomberg]

by Mary Beth Quirk via Consumerist

Chrome Extension Lets Gmail Users Set Their Messages To Self-Destruct

http://ift.tt/1DCJ3gN

(Dmail)

In a world where sending instant messages is commonplace, the dark side of communicating at the touch of a button means we often regret the decision to send a photo or email, and just wish it would disappear. Although Gmail recently unveiled an “Undo send” option, for some that might be not be enough. For those folks, there’s a new Chrome extension that gives users the ability to have their emails self-destruct.

The idea behind the extension, dubbed Dmail, isn’t new — Snapchat, for example, sends photos and videos into the Internet ether once they’ve been viewed for a certain amount of time — but it’s an attractive one, as it gives the sender control over how long their missive can be read.

The extension adds a “Send with Dmail” button next to the usual “Send” button in Gmail, which differs from “Undo send” in that it allows users to set the time limits on their email as long as they want. Undo send only gives users up to 30 seconds to retract whatever message they regret immediately after sending.

So if you don’t want your high school crush to be able to read that message you penned late one night after a few too many hard ciders for more than a minute, you can set that email to go poof after 60 seconds. Want it to linger for say, a day or a week? You can pre-set that timing too.

If you’re not sure if you’re going to regret it (come on, you know you will) you can set it to “never” self-destruct, but then revoke it at a later date if you want.

Dmail claims it will also unlock a feature that won’t allow forwarding, meaning only the person you sent your message to will be able to see it. That is, unless the recipient is familiar with copy and paste, and gets wise to your use of Dmail.

by Mary Beth Quirk via Consumerist

It’s Official: FCC Gives Blessing To Marriage Of AT&T, DirecTV

http://ift.tt/1w9IkD6

(jetsetpress)

After the announcement earlier this week that the FCC commissioners were reviewing and set to vote on deal that would grant regulatory approval to the merger of AT&T and DirecTV, the agency made it official this afternoon by giving its conditional blessing to this $49 billion marriage.

But like all marriages, this one will require compromise. Among the conditions put on the merger by the FCC:

• Increased Fiber Deployment:
AT&T is required to expand its fiberoptic service to 12.5 million customer locations, an increase of about 10 times that network’s existing footprint. The expansions are to occur in areas where AT&T had operated pay-TV services that competed with DirecTV.

• Gigabit Service to Eligible Schools & Libraries:

In areas where AT&T deploys fiber networks, it must also offer gigabit broadband service to schools and libraries eligible to receive money from the Schools and Libraries Program of the Universal Service Fund.

• No Using Data Caps Unfairly:

Now that AT&T owns a pay-TV provider with around 20 million customers, it might be tempted to use data caps on broadband services to limit users’ access to streaming video services that compete with DirecTV’s business. The FCC is requiring the merged companies to refrain from imposing discriminatory usage-based allowances or other discriminatory retail terms and conditions on its broadband Internet service.

• Internet Interconnection Disclosure Requirements:

Though Internet service providers like to pretend they carry all your data from the source to your computer, they really only carry it the so-called “last mile” and rely on other networks to do the heavy lifting for most of that trip.

But because ISPs control that last stretch of highway to the end user, they can effectively hold data hostage until content providers are willing to pay extra for it to reach the consumer in a timely manner. Just look at how Netflix speeds ground to a halt until it paid for better connections to multiple providers.

As a condition of the merger, AT&T will have to submit its Internet interconnection agreements to the FCC so that the agency can review and monitor these deals to determine whether the merged company is denying or impeding access to its networks in anticompetitive ways.

• Discounted Broadband for Low-Income Subscribers:

AT&T will be required to offer an affordable, low-price standalone broadband service to low-income consumers in its broadband service area.

by Chris Morran via Consumerist

Comcast To Begin Testing Super-Fast Cable Broadband This Year

http://ift.tt/1Hsmn9q

(honeylamb)

Most talk of new high-speed broadband has revolved around Internet service providers laying new networks of fiberoptic cable to deliver download speeds of 1Gbps or more, but Comcast says it plans to start testing a system that could provide upwards of 10Gbps over coaxial cable lines.

In yesterday’s call [transcript PDF] to discuss Comcast’s quarterly earnings, the company said it will begin “trialing and ultimately deploying DOCSIS 3.1 in our network, which will provide significant added capacity and lay the groundwork for future speed increases for our broadband customers.”

DOCSIS (short for Data Over Cable Service Interface Specification) allows for high-speed transfer of data over existing cable lines. DOCSIS 3.1 is the latest version, released in 2013, and supports speeds of nearly 10 times the current 3.0 standard.

As DSLreports.com notes, it’s highly likely that Comcast won’t push DOCSIS 3.1 to the limit but will instead use it to offer gigabit broadband service that is closer to what Google Fiber and AT&T’s Gigapower services are providing in the few markets they serve.

Brian Roberts, Comcast’s CEO, labeled DOCSIS 3.1 a “quantum leap forward.” Comcast Cable president Neil Smit said the testing of this faster cable broadband will begin in the last quarter of 2015. The company says it plans to continue building out its fiber network.

The question is going to be price. Comcast recently announced initial pricing for its Gigabit Pro fiber service: $300/month, plus upwards of $1,000 in installation and activation fees, which seems a deliberate statement to customers that this is a product intended for businesses and users willing to plunk down significant cash. We won’t know for some time if Comcast will target a similar market with its pricing for higher speeds achieved through DOCSIS 3.1.

by Chris Morran via Consumerist

Apple Once Again Removes The Competition, Yanks Nest Thermostats From Retail & Online Stores

http://ift.tt/1In4Yht

(SimonQ錫濛譙)

As is Apple’s usual M.O. when it comes to launching products similar to those made by other companies but already being sold in its retail stores, the tech giant is cleaning house and removing the competition. In this case, it’s ditching Google’s Nest thermostat to make room for a device of its own. 

Mashable confirmed today that Apple has removed Google’s Nest products from its online and retail stores as it prepares to start selling its web-connected home devices for the HomeKit platform.

Now occupying the space once filled by Nest — you guessed it: Ecobee 3, Apple’s own HomeKit-enabled thermostat.

Apple says it actually started to pull Nest from its arsenal earlier this month after nearly four years of carrying the device.

The move also comes soon after Google announced it would create its own HomeKit-like platform called Brillo, Mashable reports.

This, of course, isn’t Apple’s first time removing competing products from its lineup.

Back in March, the company began ditching other fitness and health wearables like Jawbone Up and Nike+ FuelBand to make way for the Apple Watch. The company did the same thing last October when it began removing Bose products from stores after the purchase of Beats.

Apple yanks Google’s Nest smart thermostat from website and retail stores [Mashable]

by Ashlee Kieler via Consumerist

SEC Investigating Beverage Giant Diageo Over Allegations It Artificially Boosted Sales Figures

http://ift.tt/1IjdbP8

(Ben Sutherland)

When a company says it’s moving a whole lot of products, that could mean that its sales are booming. The thing is, just because a business might be shipping a lot of products, that doesn’t necessarily mean it actually sold as much as it’s sending to distributors. To that end, the Securities and Exchange Commission is investigating beverage giant Diageo — the company behind brands like Smirnoff, Guinness, Johnnie Walker and more — for allegedly artificially boosting its sales by shipping excess inventory to distributors.

Sending cases that distributors never ordered would allow the company to report increased sales and shipments, people familiar with the SEC’s inquiry told the Wall Street Journal.

Diageo confirmed the SEC’s investigation with the WSJ, saying it had received an inquiry regarding its distribution practices in the U.S.

“Diageo is working to respond fully to the SEC’s requests for information in this matter,” a company spokeswoman said.

Though Diageo is a British company, North America is its largest customer, accounting for about a third of the company’s $15.9 billion in sales in 2014.

SEC Investigating Smirnoff Maker Diageo [Wall Street Journal]

by Mary Beth Quirk via Consumerist

Appeals Court Revives Texas Bank’s Lawsuit Challenging Constitutionality Of CFPB

http://ift.tt/1FF9DMg

Adam Fagen

This week, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau celebrates its fourth anniversary of protecting consumers from harmful practices and shady characters in the financial sector. But instead of buying the regulatory arm a big ol’ birthday cake, a federal appeals court is gifting the Bureau with a revived lawsuit challenging its constitutionality.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit reversed a trial court’s ruling that threw out a lawsuit filed by a Texas bank arguing the structure of the CFPB is unconstitutional.

State National Bank, which originally filed the suit in June 2012, claims that independent government agencies must be headed by multiple members, rather than a single director.

The CFPB, created as part of the 2010 Dodd-Frank Act following the financial crisis in 2008, is headed by a single director – in this case Richard Cordray – who was appointed to the position by President Barack Obama in 2011.

The panel of three judges ruled [PDF] Friday that State National Bank had legal standing to proceed with its case challenging the formation and operation of the Bureau, because the bank is subject to the agency’s oversight and regulations.

“The Supreme Court has stated that ‘there is ordinarily little question’ that a regulated individual or entity has standing to challenge an allegedly illegal statute or rule under which it is regulated,” Judge Brett Kavanaugh, wrote in the opinion.

“The Bank is not a mere outsider asserting a constitutional objection to the Bureau. The Bank is regulated by the Bureau. Under the Dodd-Frank Act, the Bureau ‘shall regulate the offering and provision of consumer financial products or services under the Federal consumer financial laws.'”

Despite the court’s ruling that the bank’s challenge had standing, the Wall Street Journal notes, it did not consider the merits of the bank’s constitutional claims, saying that a trial court should consider it first.

The revived suit also challenges the constitutionality of Cordray’s initial appointment to the CFPB directorship. In early 2012, while the Senate was in recess, President Obama appointed Cordray to the post, bypassing the usual Senate confirmation process for high-level federal officials. In 2013, Obama renominated Cordray, who subsequently received Senate approval.

One portion of the lawsuit that did not survive the appeals court was a challenge to the constitutionality of the Financial Stability Oversight Council, which monitors the stability of the U.S. financial system. The appeals court found that State National lacked legal standing to issue this challenge, as the bank has not been designated as “too big to fail,” which would have made it subject to additional regulation.

 

[via The Wall Street Journal]

by Ashlee Kieler via Consumerist

Apple Music Is Worse Because You Can’t Delete It From Your iDevice

http://ift.tt/1JDukUL

(William Hook)

My friend Gretchen has a folder on her iPhone’s home screen called “Crapple.” It’s where she sticks all of the apps that Apple adds to her device that she doesn’t use. As Apple has forced apps for their smart watch, HealthKit, bookstore, a separate podcasts app, their own maps app, and now their streaming music store on users, all of these come with apps that you can’t get rid of.

There’s a problem with pushing too many apps on users: anything that they don’t actually use is just burdensome and takes up hard drive space. For the makers of hardware and software alike, “spotlighting your own apps only works as well as the apps themselves do,” points out Brian Barrett in Wired. Part of the reason why some people switched to the iPhone in the first place was the relative lack of bloatware.

We’ve written before about the challenges that come along with trying to disentangle yourself from Apple services that you do use, like when iPhone users switch to another phone platform and their text messages still get redirected to iMessage.

Here’s the problem, which is specific to the current generation of Apple devices: the apps that you can’t get rid of gobble up 3 GB of space, and they still sell a 16 GB phone. If they want their customers to use these apps, they should create something superior instead of making something that people are stuck with forever and ever.

Apple Music’s Worst Feature? You Can’t Delete It [Wired]

by Laura Northrup via Consumerist

Prosecutors Recommend Life Sentence For Peanut Co. Exec Involved In Salmonella Outbreak

http://ift.tt/1RYtETL

(Great Beyond)

Stewart Parnell is the former owner of Peanut Corporation of America, the company behind a salmonella outbreak that sickened hundreds and killed nine people in 2008 and 2009. Last year, a federal jury convicted him of knowingly shipping tainted peanut butter, and this week prosecutors in the case recommended he receive a life sentence for his crimes.

Parnell is scheduled to be sentenced in September, so the U.S. Probation Office has been busy writing up pre-sentencing reports.

According to a brief [PDF] filed by prosecutors with the court earlier this week, the Probation folks’ calculation “results in a life sentence” recommendation for Parnell.

Per sentencing guidelines, the Probation Office bumped up Parnell’s offense by six levels because there were more than 250 financial victims. But lawyers for the former peanut exec questioned this recommendation, claiming that the government only produced sufficient evidence of 31 financial victims. Parnell’s team also asserted that prosecutors failed to establish that any individual sustained bodily injury as a result of his conduct.

In response, prosecutors point to testimony from Dr. Ian Williams, Chief of the Outbreak Response and Prevention Branch at the Centers for Disease Control, in which he explained that 714 illnesses had been tied directly to the Peanut Corp. outbreak through the CDC’s PulseNet.

And these aren’t merely anecdotal, “I ate some peanut butter and felt sick afterward” incidents. In order to be included in that 714 figure, a patient had to go to a doctor and provide a stool sample. That stool sample would then not only have to be tested and diagnosed with salmonellosis, but also be forwarded to a PulseNet certified lab and run through a different process before the data is uploaded to PulseNet, reviewed and certified by a CDC technician.

Thus, Dr. Williams figured that for every case of salmonellosis reported to PulseNet and confirmed by the CDC, there are approximately 30 other cases of salmonellosis that aren’t reported. In his testimony, the doctor explained that this outbreak may have left “as many as 20,000 ill people across the United States.”

Prosecutors also point to a New England Journal of Medicine article, “Salmonella Typhimurium Infections Associated with Peanut Products,” that links the 714 reported illnesses and nine deaths to this outbreak.

“No fewer than 24 epidemiologists, scientists, and foodborne outbreak experts signed off on this article,” write the prosecutors, who say that objections raised by Parnell and his fellow defendants are “nothing more than an attempt to change the facts that were presented at trial and that the jury found in deciding to convict.”

In a statement to the AP, Parnell’s attorney calls the life sentence recommendation “truly absurd,” adding that “We hope the judge will see that Stewart Parnell never meant to hurt anyone. He ate the peanut butter himself. He fed it to his children and to his grandchildren.”

Even a lawyer representing victims of the outbreak acknowledged that “Life in prison, especially in a food case, it’s frankly unprecedented… But the case itself, on a factual basis, is unprecedented.”

by Chris Morran via Consumerist

Fiat Chrysler Recalling 1.4M Vehicles Amid Concern Over Remote Hack Attacks

http://ift.tt/1fs9fVr

(Ralph Krawczyk Jr)

With the steely eye of the government fixed firmly on Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV, the company agreed today to recall 1.4 million vehicles that could be susceptible to remote hack attacks. This, a few days after researchers teamed up with a reporter to show how a Jeep Cherokee could be controlled wirelessly from miles away.

FCA issued a software patch for its Uconnect onboard system on Thursday, though at that time it didn’t directly acknowledge the Wired.com report of what it was like to be inside a hijacked Jeep.

The recall includes a software update that addresses certain radios that could be the subject of cyber hacking. FCA notes in a statement on the recall that no vehicles outside the United States are impacted and says the company hasn’t received any related complaints, warranty claims or accidents outside of the media demonstration.

“The recall aligns with an ongoing software distribution that insulates connected vehicles from remote manipulation which, if unauthorized, constitutes criminal action,” FCA said in a statement.

Furthermore, FCA says the network-level security measures it implemented as of July 23 prevent “the type of remote manipulation demonstrated in a recent media report.”

“These measures – which required no customer or dealer actions – block remote access to certain vehicle systems and were fully tested and implemented within the cellular network on July 23, 2015,” FCA says.

Customers affected by the recall will receive a USB device that they may use to upgrade vehicle software, which provides additional security features independent of the network-level measures.

Vehicles included in the recall are equipped with 8.4-inch touchscreens among the following populations:
• 2013-2015 MY Dodge Viper specialty vehicles
• 2013-2015 Ram 1500, 2500 and 3500 pickups
• 2013-2015 Ram 3500, 4500, 5500 Chassis Cabs
• 2014-2015 Jeep Grand Cherokee and Cherokee SUVs
• 2014-2015 Dodge Durango SUVs
• 2015 MY Chrysler 200, Chrysler 300 and Dodge Charger sedans
• 2015 Dodge Challenger sports coupes

Drivers can also visit FCA’s software update site to input their Vehicle Identification Numbers (VINs) and determine if their vehicles are included in the recall.

FCA is under a lot of pressure from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration right now, in light of the company’s handling of almost two dozen recalls covering 11 million vehicles, notes the Detroit News.

Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx didn’t have much to say on that front when asked during a reporters round table if a settlement with FCA was coming, saying only, “Give us time.”

But Foxx did say that the Obama administration will be pushing hard to make sure the nation’s 250 million cars and trucks are not susceptible to cyber hacking.

“We will push as hard as we can to ensure the security of vehicles is air tight,” Foxx said during the breakfast meeting sponsored by the Christian Science Monitor Friday morning.

“It’s an issue,” he added, noting that this may become a bigger issues as connected vehicles grow on the nation’s roads. “The time to get on this is right now.”

In the meantime, senators Ed Markey and Richard Blumenthal introduced an automotive security bill on Tuesday to set new digital security standards for cars and trucks called the Security and Privacy in Your Car, or SPY Act.

The measure would direct NHTSA and the Federal Trade Commission to establish federal standards to secure cars and protect drivers’ privacy, as well as establishing a rating system — or “cyber dashboard” — that informs consumers about how well the vehicle protects drivers’ security and privacy beyond those minimum standards.

Statement: Software Update [Fiat Chrysler Automobiles]
Fiat Chrysler will recall vehicles over hacking worries [Detroit News]

by Mary Beth Quirk via Consumerist

Court Says Facebook Can’t Challenge Search Warrants For User Data

http://ift.tt/1ImLZDK

(Christoph Aigner)

If a company like Facebook receives a subpoena for user data in a civil lawsuit, it can make its case to the court about why it should not have to oblige. But when that information request is in the form of a search warrant in a criminal investigation, Facebook doesn’t have that option.

That’s according to a New York appeals court, which ruled earlier this week that Facebook lacks legal standing to challenge a batch of 381 search warrants seeking data on users related to a criminal disability fraud investigation.

Facebook went public with its fight against these warrants last year, saying the company had only agreed to comply with the warrants after facing contempt charges.

The Manhattan District Attorney’s office was seeking detailed user data, including Facebook posts and photos, for more than 100 users, including some retired police officers and firefighters suspected of having feigned mental illnesses in the wake of September 11, 2001.

Because warrants have to go through the process of having a judge determine whether there is probable cause, their validity can not usually be challenged before the warrant is executed.

After a lower court found that Facebook lacked standing to fight the warrants, it appealed, claiming that because the warrants were served on Facebook and not directly on the users, they were no different than subpoenas and therefore eligible to be disputed in court before being executed.

But the appeals court labeled this a “distinction without a difference,” explaining that while “the manner in which the materials are gathered may deviate from the traditional, Facebook’s reason for seeking to quash the warrants does not. What Facebook ultimately seeks is suppression of the materials obtained from it, a determination that would necessarily impact the subsequent criminal actions.”

The court points out that if it were to accept Facebook’s argument, law enforcement would only be able to serve search warrants on physical locations. The inclusion of Facebook in the warrant process is necessary because the police have no other way of obtaining the evidence they seek to obtain for their investigation.

“It is… hard to imagine how a law enforcement officer could play a useful role in the Internet service provider’s retrieval of the specified online information,” writes the court.

Facebook also contended that the Stored Communications Act gives the company the right to challenge these warrants. However, the appeals court held that the SCA only gives Facebook the standing to fight subpoenas and court orders, and that the law “specifically distinguishes these disclosure devices from warrants.”

The court notes that an order or subpoena obtained pursuant to the SCA requires only that the government show “specific and articulable facts” that there are “reasonable grounds to believe” the information sought will be “relevant and material,” but a warrant requires the government to demonstrate probable cause.

“Here, a finding of probable cause was made by the reviewing judge, and thus the warrants are akin to SCA warrants, not SCA subpoenas or orders,” explains the court. “Thus, Facebook’s argument that it has the right to contest the warrants based upon the SCA is contradicted by the express terms of the SCA.”

The court acknowledged the spirit of Facebook’s attempt to challenge these warrants.

“Our holding today does not mean that we do not appreciate Facebook’s concerns about the scope of the bulk warrants issued here or about the District Attorney’s alleged right to indefinitely retain the seized accounts of the uncharged Facebook users,” reads the ruling. “Facebook users share more intimate personal information through their Facebook accounts than may be revealed through rummaging about one’s home. These bulk warrants demanded ‘all’ communications in 24 broad categories from the 381 targeted accounts. Yet, of the 381 targeted Facebook user accounts only 62 were actually charged with any crime.”

In a statement to Ars Technica, Facebook said it continues “to believe that overly broad search warrants — granting the government the ability to keep hundreds of people’s account information indefinitely — are unconstitutional and raise important concerns about the privacy of people’s online information.”

The company is exploring its legal options.

[via Ars Technica]

by Chris Morran via Consumerist

Five Airlines Being Probed For Price-Gouging Following Amtrak Accident

http://ift.tt/1AnRWMx

(Eric Spiegel)

Five airlines are at the center of a newly opened federal investigation into price-gouging for their actions in allegedly raising airfares following the May derailment of an Amtrak train in Philadelphia that killed eight people and injured 200 others.

The U.S. Department of Transportation sent letters to JetBlue, Southwest, Delta, United and American airlines today seeking pricing information for air travel routes most likely affected by the temporary shutdown of rail travel along Amtrak’s Northeast Corridor.

“The idea that any business would seek to take advantage of stranded rail passengers in the wake of such a tragic event is unacceptable,” U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx said in a statement on the DOT website. “This Department takes all allegations of airline price-gouging seriously, and we will pursue a thorough investigation of these consumer complaints.”

Service on Amtrak’s Northeast Corridor was halted for several days in the wake of the May 12 crash. Trains began to fully servicing the corridor again on May 19. However, the Department is seeking information on airfare prices for each day between April 28 to May 26, 2015.

USA Today reports that the Department’s inquiry was initiated after receiving anecdotal evidence from consumers and a request from Connecticut Senator Christopher Murphy following the derailment.

Murphy sent a letter to the DOT in May saying that many of his constituents had noticed raising airfare prices coinciding with the rail travel interruption.

“If this drastic and sudden increase in ticket prices is an effort to make money from desperate travelers impacted by this tragedy, you should fully exercise the enforcement powers vested in your agencies,” he wrote at the time, noting that in one instance a ticket from New York’s LaGuardia airport to Washington, D.C., was priced at $2,309.

The DOT’s letter to the airlines asks for information to be returned within 30 days.

A spokesperson for American tells USA Today that the airline added capacity but kept the same fare structure in the days following the crash.

“We are cooperating with the DOT and are confident that there will be no finding of wrongdoing by American,” the airline said.

Southwest said they had been notified about the investigation and were fully cooperating.

The three remaining airlines did not return USA Today’s request for comment.

U.S. DOT Requests Information on Airline Pricing Response to Amtrak Derailment [DOT]
DOT to investigate airlines for gouging after Amtrak crash [USA Today]

by Ashlee Kieler via Consumerist

Converse Gives Chuck Taylor Sneakers A Makeover For The First Time In 98 Years

http://ift.tt/1LBDzLe

(Converse)

What’s old is new again: Converse has updated the design of its signature Chuck Taylor sneakers for the first time in the shoes’ 98 years on this planet.

Though hardcore sneaker fans might be gasping for breath and casting about wildly for a chair to sit down in, rest assured that the Chuck Taylor All Star II shoes don’t really look all that different: they’ve still got the Chucks style –“unique white foxing, rubber toe-cap and statement All Star patch,” the press release says, but at the same time they promise to “deliver a comfortable and versatile premium sneaker.”

Which is promising, as anyone who’s actually tried exercising in Chucks knows, comfort isn’t exactly high on the list of the shoe’s qualities.

The Chuck II revamp uses Nike technology (the company bought the Converse brand in 2003), featuring “innovative updates” like Nike Lunarlon sockliner (“for superior full foot cushioning and arch support”), a “foam padded collar and non-slip gusseted tongue for 360-degree comfort” and a perforated micro suede liner “for breathability during extended periods of wear.”

There’s also the “on-trend foxing,” which is that line where the rubber sole meets the shoe’s fabric. If there’s anything the kids are into these days, it’s surely foxing (?).

It will also change not only what your feet look like, but EVERYTHING YOU KNOW ABOUT EVERYTHING.

“The Chuck Taylor All Star is one of the most legendary and iconic sneakers of all time,” said Jim Calhoun, Converse President and CEO. “The launch of Chuck II is a ground-breaking moment for Converse as we continue to move the brand forward through creativity and innovation, ushering in not just a new sneaker, but a completely new way of thinking.”

Fans can get the new Chucks starting July 28 in black, white, red and blue for a suggested price of $70 for low-top and $75 for high-top. In comparison, regular Chucks go for about $50, or $55 for the high-top now.

by Mary Beth Quirk via Consumerist

Banks Run Free Classes For Rich Kids On How To Be Super-Rich

http://ift.tt/1DBYXI4

(Cavale Doom)

Being a young adult who will inherit billions of dollars isn’t all fabulous parties, designer clothes, and supercars. It also means learning responsibility: at minimum, you’ll be responsible for caring for your own billions, and you could also end up running the family business or a foundation. There’s no degree, not even in business administration, that can prepare you for life as a billionaire, but some banks would really like to help.

Banks? Yes, banks all over the world have classes like these for young scions of the .01%, because even growing up with wealth and a good education doesn’t necessarily mean that you know how to, say, invest your money responsibly so you’ll have billions to leave to your own children.

Banks, of course, would really like to hold on to the business of the world’s wealthiest families, and one thing that might help with that is offering classes that are relevant to their actual lives.

For example, a Bloomberg reporter sat in one one of Citibank’s classes, about investing in the art market. Sure, art is a thing that you hang on your wall, but it’s also a long-term investment…if you choose well. Students had an imaginary $100,000 to spend at an imaginary auction of real artworks that had sold recently.

They chose poorly, spending most of the fake money on a tapestry of model Kate Moss, but one hopes that they learned some important things that they’ll remember when buying artworks for their own mansions one day.

by Laura Northrup via Consumerist

Salmonella Outbreak Linked To Recalled Tuna Sickens 62 People In 11 States

http://ift.tt/1DBWv4h

(Morton Fox)

At least 62 people in 11 states have become infected in the year’s latest Salmonella outbreak, this one concerning recently recalled frozen raw tuna widely used by restaurants and grocery stores serving sushi.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported this week that 11 of the 62 people infected in the now widespread outbreak have been hospitalized.

The illnesses linked to this particular strain of Salmonella occurred between March 5 and July 7 of this year. Affected consumers ranged in age from a few months old to 83.

Additional cases of infection may be likely, as the CDC says it takes an average of two to four weeks between when a person gets sick to when the agency receives information about the illness.

So far, the illnesses have been reported in Arizona, California, Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, New Mexico, South Dakota, Virginia, Washington, and Wisconsin.

According to the CDC, most of the people who have become ill from the outbreak strain of Salmonella reported eating sushi made with raw tuna in the days before coming sick.

Earlier this week, California-Based Osamu Corporation voluntarily recalled two different kinds of tuna shipped from an Indonesia-Based processing plant after a sample was discovered to be contaminated with Salmonella bacteria.

The recall covers all frozen tuna and one lot of frozen yellowfin tuna chunk meat under the AFC label sold to restaurants and grocery stores throughout the U.S. between May 9, 2014 and July 9, 2015.

Only two of the reported illnesses have been tied to the single lot of tuna chunk meat under the AFC label. The connection to that specific tuna was made after the Minnesota Department of Health and Department of Agriculture isolated the outbreak strain from samples of unopened frozen raw tuna collected from a Minnesota grocery store where an ill person in this outbreak reported eating tuna sushi.

The company tells NJ.com that they don’t believe customers were able to purchase the product directly. Rather, the meat was sold in bulk to the stores and restaurants for preparation in their sushi meals, which were then sold to consumers.

The tuna in question can be identified by four-digit purchase order numbers 8563 through 8599 located on each product carton box.

While some people have no symptoms from Salmonella infections, others will typically have fever and abdominal distress for four to seven days, but children, the elderly, and people with compromised immune systems can become more seriously ill and should seek medical attention.

Multistate Outbreak of Salmonella Paratyphi B variant L(+) tartrate(+) Infections Linked to Frozen Raw Tuna [CDC]
Restaurant sushi recalled over Salmonella fears [NJ.com]

by Ashlee Kieler via Consumerist

Walmart Selling Car Seat That Alerts Parents When A Child Is Left Behind

http://ift.tt/1DBRMjf

(Evenflo)

Every summer, we can’t help but wonder why there aren’t more product solutions to the disturbing, but all too familiar, incidents involving children left behind in hot cars, often resulting in death. There’s at least one new product on the market this season that uses technology to alert parents before they accidentally leave their child in the vehicle, a car seat that’s now being sold online by Walmart.

The Evenflo Advanced SensorSafe Embrace infant seat uses a wireless receiver that plugs into a car’s on board diagnostic port, and syncs with a chest clip that goes around the baby (other companies’ products rely on Bluetooth or cellular technology, Evenflo points out).

Once the car turns off, if the chest clip is still buckled, a series of tones will ring out and alert the driver.

The product sells for $149.88 and is only being sold online now — though as of Friday morning, it appeared that all of the new Evenflo car seats with the hot car alert system are out of stock on Walmart.com. It’ll hit Walmart store shelves next month.

The company says it’s the only alert system that’s been crash-tested by Evenflo and will be exclusive to Walmart.

“There are millions of cars in our parking lots every day and we put a challenge out to the industry,” said Diana Marshall, vice president for baby at Walmart told the New York Post. “Evenflo stepped up with a first-of its kind product aimed at vehicular heat stroke.”

On average, 38 children die in hot cars each year from heat-related deaths after being trapped inside vehicles, according to KidsAndCars.org.

Just this week, strangers prevented a potential hot car death in Kansas, when the manager of a shoe store and others bashed open a car window to free a crying toddler locked inside.

And if you need a reminder of what it’s like for a child to be trapped in a hot car, there’s always this video of a father filming himself inside a vehicle with temperatures soaring.

by Mary Beth Quirk via Consumerist

Comcast Reportedly Looking To Buy Vice Media, Or Maybe BuzzFeed, Or Maybe Vox…

http://ift.tt/1RXQYkz

(YayAdrian)

Now that Comcast is done crying itself to sleep every night about its forced breakup with merger partner Time Warner Cable, the company is getting back to doing what it does best: No, not providing adequate cable/Internet service (don’t be silly!), but acquiring other businesses.

The Wall Street Journal reports that Comcast’s NBCUniversal division is looking around at, and having some chats with, a handful of new(ish) media ventures about maybe becoming part of the Kabletown team.

Among those the company has talked to are Vice Media, BuzzFeed, and Business Insider. NBCUniversal already owns about 14% of Vox Media and may up its investment in the company.

The idea appears to be to acquire the online media resources that younger consumers are increasingly choosing over traditional TV. These properties’ websites have large, varied readerships, giving any buyer a built-in audience to market to and data-mine. Some, most notably Vice, have existing TV presences.

Vice would likely be the most difficult acquisition, as a handful of other major media companies — like 21st Century Fox, A+E Networks, and Time Warner — already invested in the multimedia brand.

It’s possible, notes the Journal, that Vice could actually end up buying one of NBCUniversal’s many cable channels and turning it into a Vice-branded property.

Comcast does face the risk of being lured in by the temptation of paying for something new and different that may, in the long run, not pay off.

“Several of the potential targets on its list are fast-growing but unprofitable and could run into systemic issues of their own, such as pressures in the online advertising marketplace,” explains the Journal. “And it is unclear how the buccaneer-style culture at many of these new media outfits would fare inside a relatively conservative conglomerate like Comcast.”

by Chris Morran via Consumerist

Anthem Buying Cigna For $54B In Yet Another Mega Insurance Merger

http://ift.tt/1zQXO0S

(Anthem)

What a difference a month makes: Just a few weeks ago, Cigna rejected Anthem as a suitor, citing things like the major data breach the company suffered earlier this year and turning down its $47 billion merger bid. It seems Anthem has been busy a-courtin’, as the company announced this morning that it’s reached a deal to buy Cigna for $54 billion, effectively creating an insurance giant.

It’s the latest move by insurers looking to carve out a big chunk of the market for themselves through mergers — Aetna has also been in the buying mood lately, snapping up rival Humana early in July. Cigna had flirting with Humana for a bit as well, before rekindling talks with Anthem.

Now, Anthem says it’s buying Cigna in a deal worth $54 billion (including debt) that will create the nation’s largest health insurer by enrollment, with about 53 million U.S. patients falling under that umbrella, reports the Associated Press.

If the deal goes through, health care in the United States will be transformed, with five of the biggest health insurance companies morphing into just three, including UnitedHealth Group. The mergers come at a time when insurers are figuring out the national health care overhaul under the Affordable Care Act.

Mergers are good for these companies because larger insurers can hold more sway and negotiating power when settling on rates with care providers. But because what’s good for for-profit companies isn’t always good for consumers, these two mega deals still need to pass muster with antitrust regulators, to make sure that the insurers don’t grow so big that they can dominate the market.

Consumers won’t feel any effects from the mergers for at least a year, as companies have already set most of their plans for coverage that begins in January. Mergers could lead to fewer choices and some price changes for consumers, of course, which will depend on where they live and which companies already offer plans in their market.

The Wall Street Journal pointed out earlier in July when Aetna announced its merger with Humana that antitrust regulators were ready to look closely at any combinations among the biggest health insurers. According to WSJ analysis, the Aetna-Humana merger will increase the number of U.S. counties where at least 75% of Medicare Advantage customers are in the hands of a single insurer by about 180.

Anthem’s merger with Cigna will mean the company has a much broader base over which to spread costs and expenses, a point the company focused on in its first bid for Cigna in June. It’ll also allow it to make technology investments over the industry’s biggest customer pool.

At this point the deal is slated to close in the second half of 2016; Cigna stockholders have to approve the agreement first, and Anthem shareholders will have to approve the issuance of shares in the transaction: Cigna stockholders will receive $103.40 per share in cash and 0.5152 shares of Anthem stock for each of their shares.

Cigna’s President and CEO David Cordani will serve as president and chief operation officer of the new combined business, while Anthem’s Joseph Swedish will be chairman and CEO.

“We are very pleased to announce an agreement that will deliver meaningful value to consumers and shareholders through expanded provider collaboration, enhanced affordability and cost of care management capabilities, and superior innovations that deliver a high quality health care experience for consumers,” Swedish said in a statement. “We believe that this transaction will allow us to enhance our competitive position and be better positioned to apply the insights and access of a broad network and dedicated local presence to the health care challenges of the increasingly diverse markets, membership, and communities we serve.”

Anthem bids $48 billion for rival Cigna to create insurance giant [Chicago Tribune]

by Mary Beth Quirk via Consumerist

Couple Says They Ordered A McDonald’s Double Cheeseburger, Got A Rag Instead

http://ift.tt/1Ir33ds

An Illinois couple claim they received this rag instead of a burger from a local McDonald’s restaurant.

When placing an order at a fast food restaurant it is, unfortunately, not entirely uncommon to receive the wrong – but still edible – item. However, one Illinois couple visiting McDonald’s this week says that was not the case.

The pair tell ABC7 WLS in Chicago that the double cheeseburger they ordered at a local McDonald’s restaurant turned out to be a wet rag instead.

The couple ordered their meal from the drive-thru at the Golden Arches and headed home to eat. After unwrapping the not-so-delicious meal, they called the restaurant.

“He just says, ‘Come in, I’ll give you another McDouble.’ Well, you know, that’s not the point,” the woman recalls. “I got a rag, no apology, no nothing.”

The manager of the restaurant – who did eventually apologize to the couple – tells WLS that he is taking the matter seriously and currently looking into the claim.

Elk Grove Village McDonald’s Served Rag In A Burger Wrapper, Couple Says [ABC7 WLS]

by Ashlee Kieler via Consumerist

On Going Power Outage At LaGuardia Airport Delays Some Flights Three Hours

http://ift.tt/139Y2lT

(edward.valio)

While a planned strike earlier this week by contracted baggage handlers and security workers was canceled, saving travelers from experiencing travel disruptions at two of New York’s airports, those passengers coming in and out of LaGuardia faced an interruption of their own on Friday morning when a terminal in the airport lost power. 

CNBC reports that a power outage was reported at about 6 a.m. Friday causing delays of up to three hours for many flights arriving at the airport.

“Due to current power outages affecting airlines operating in Terminal C, Parking Lots 4 and 5, flight disruptions may result,” LaGuardia Airport said in a notification to passengers. “Please check with your airline to determine if your flight is affected.”

The airport did not immediately provide information on what caused the power outage or how long it might last.

This is the fourth time in recent months that flights have been delayed because of issues with power or technology. Last week, Spirit Airlines suffered a computer glitch at O’Hare International Airport in Chicago, before that United Airlines grounded all flights from taking off for about an hour because of automation issues.

Power outage at LaGuardia Airport causes 3-hour delays [CNBC]

by Ashlee Kieler via Consumerist

Consumerist Friday Flickr Finds

http://ift.tt/1RXsI1S

Here are ten of the best photos that readers added to the Consumerist Flickr Pool in the last week, picked for usability in a Consumerist post or for just plain neatness.

(andy briggs)

(Jason Cook)

(pjpink)

(Patrick)

(Great Beyond)

(Jack Deem)

(Adam Fagen)

(Gilbert Mercier)

(Jason)

(andy briggs)

Want to see your pictures on our site? Our Flickr pool is the place where Consumerist readers upload photos for possible use in future Consumerist posts. Just be a registered Flickr user, go here, and click “Join Group?” up on the top right. Choose your best photos, then click “send to group” on the individual images you want to add to the pool.

by Laura Northrup via Consumerist