Current Events in July 2014

A Minnesota man says he was removed from Southwest Airlines flight and forced to delete a critical tweet he'd made about a rude gate agent before being allowed to fly home. Southwest, for its part, released a statement confirming that the man was indeed removed from the flight, with no mention of why.

Duff Watson initially told a CBS affiliate in Minneapolis that the dispute started over boarding procedures: Watson is an A-list flyer with Southwest and says he is used to boarding with his children, but this time, a gate agent in Denver wouldn't let his 6- and 9-year-old kids have priority boarding status with him.

“In leaving I said, you know, ‘Real nice way to treat an A-list. I’ll be sure to tweet about it.'” So he did. “Something to the effect of, ‘Wow, rudest agent in Denver. Kimberly S, gate C39, not happy @SWA.'”

Watson and his children eventually boarded the plane, but before it took off, they were asked to leave the flight, allegedly because the gate agent said she felt threatened by Watson's tweet. Watson also said that the agent threatened to call police unless he deleted the tweet, so he did. (Watson's entire Twitter account has since changed to “protected” status, with access limited to confirmed followers.)

Watson's daughter Lucy said she was afraid her father would be arrested. “[The gate agent] said ‘I’m going to call the cops .… I like thought something bad was going to happen, like my dad being in jail.”

Once he deleted the tweet, he and his children were allowed back on board the plane.

Southwest has since reached out to Watson and offered him a $50 voucher for future flights, which Watson says he plans to donate to charity because “I’m not going to fly them again …. I wish I didn’t back down, I wish I didn’t delete the tweet. But under that quid pro quo situation, I did it.”

A U.S. District Court has ordered the operators of several international tech support scams to pay more than $5.1 million, acting on Federal Trade Commission charges that they masqueraded as major computer companies, tricked consumers into believing their computers were riddled with malware and then charged consumers to “fix” them.

The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York issued default judgments against fourteen corporate defendants and fourteen individual defendants that allegedly operated the tech support scams. The operations were mostly based in India and targeted English-speaking consumers in the United States and several other countries.

The FTC filed the complaints in September 2012 as part of a crackdown on tech support scammers. According to the complaints filed by the agency, the defendants claimed they were affiliated with legitimate companies, including Dell, Microsoft, McAfee, and Norton, and told consumers they had detected malware that posed an imminent threat to their computers.

The defendants then charged these consumers hundreds of dollars to remotely access and “fix” the computers.

A New York man, Yaakov Weingarten, has been convicted of felony tax fraud and ordered to pay a $520,000 civil judgment for soliciting donations to allegedly bogus charities.

Weingarten and his wife, Rivka, are alleged to have been the biggest beneficiaries of the scheme and are, under the judgment. About $360,000 of the funds from the judgment will go to two Israeli charitable organizations that carry out genuine programs similar to the causes for which Weingarten’s fraudulent solicitations raised donations.

“We are committed to fighting to protect everyday New Yorkers, particularly those who want to use some of their hard-earned money to support charitable causes, because there has to be one set of rules for everyone,” New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman said. 

According to the suit filed by Schneiderman, Weingarten and his associates raised donations for 19 sham charities from Jewish donors throughout North America, ostensibly for Israeli charitable causes such as emergency medical services and programs for sick children, terror attack survivors, cancer victims, and the poor.

Money withdrawn

Large amounts of the money raised -- an estimated $2 million -- was then withdrawn from charity bank accounts. Some of that money was used to pay workers operating Weingarten’s Brooklyn telemarketing boiler room. Other funds were used by Weingarten and his family to pay for personal expenses, such as mortgages, dentist bills, car loans, and home improvements.

The suit also detailed gross mismanagement of charitable assets by Weingarten, including extensive mixing of charitable and personal funds and of funds raised for one charitable cause with those raised for another, which is barred by law.

New York State Commissioner of Taxation and Finance Thomas H. Mattox said, “The defendant not only stole donations for charitable organizations, he also committed criminal tax fraud by failing to report income on his tax returns. Tax theft is a crime against all New Yorkers, and we will continue to work with the Attorney General and other levels of law enforcement to investigate and prosecute such perpetrators.”

Authorities in three countries have made seven arrests and handed down three additional indictments related to the StubHub cyber-theft case.

StubHub, which is owned by eBay, is an online secondhand marketplace dedicated to the resale of concert and other event tickets. On Tuesday, July 22, an unnamed law enforcement official said (and a StubHub spokesperson later confirmed) that authorities had discovered over 1,000 StubHub user accounts had been compromised, and used to fraudulently buy or sell tickets.

The thieves never actually managed to break into the StubHub database itself. Instead, they stole customers' password and login information from other sources — either hacking into less-secure retailer databases, or even installing keylogging malware on victims' personal computers.

Incidentally, this explains why “Don't use the same password across multiple accounts” is a standard online security rule; otherwise, a thief who hacks into one of your accounts also gains access to any additional accounts using the same password. That's what happened with the StubHub accounts.

6 indictments

Late on July 23, the office of Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance, working with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and police for the City of London, published a release announcing indictments against six people, in an international theft ring with members in Russia, Canada, the U.S. and the U.K. The suspects include three Russian nationals (Vadim Polyakov, Nikolay Matveychuk and Sergei Kirin) and three Americans (Daniel Petryszyn, Laurence Brinkmeyer and Bryan Caputo).

By the next morning, authorities in London, Toronto, New York State and Spain had all made arrests related to the case; as of Thursday afternoon, the number had increased to seven arrests, plus three indictments with arrests presumably forthcoming.

The total number of compromised StubHub accounts was just over 1,600. The thieves used those accounts to buy 3,500 tickets to expensive, high-demand events; DA Vance's office said these included “concerts featuring Elton John, Marc Anthony, Justin Timberlake and Jay-Z; athletic events including Yankees baseball games, Giants and Jets football games, Knicks and Nets basketball games, Rangers hockey games, and the U.S. Open; and Broadway shows, such as Book of Mormon.”

The tickets were then re-sold, with the money diverted into various PayPal accounts, or German and British bank accounts, which the thieves controlled. In all, the thieves managed to defraud StubHub customers of over $1 million.

StubHub, however, has reimbursed the affected customers rather than make them absorb the costs themselves.

First-time applications for state unemployment benefits have fallen to their lowest level in more than 8 years.

The Labor Department says initial jobless claims plunged by 19,000 in the week ending July 19, to a seasonally adjusted 284,000 -- a decrease of 19,000 and the lowest level since February 18, 2006, when they totaled 283,000.

Sterne-Agee Chief Economist Lindsey M. Piegza points out that despite the “impressive outsized decline,” the U.S. labor market remains under pressure. On the positive side, she notes, “initial jobless claims continue to trend down and headline job creation has gained momentum surpassing 200k for the past several months.”

The 4-week moving average, which is considered by analysts to be a more accurate gauge of the labor market because it is less volatile, fell 7,250 to 302,000 -- the lowest level since May 19, 2007, when it was 302,000.

The complete report can be found on the Labor Department website

Volkswagen Group of America is recalling 2,001 model year 2015 Golf and GTI vehicles manufactured January 27, 2014, to May 12, 2014.

The stabilizer link fasteners in the affected vehicles may come loose and possibly interfere with the steering of the vehicle, requiring additional effort to control the vehicle, increasing the risk of a crash.

Volkswagen will notify owners, and dealers will replace the front stabilizer links, free of charge. The recall is expected to begin in July 2014.

Owners may contact Volkswagen customer service at 1-800-822-8987. Volkswagen's number for this recall is 40K9/1W.

East Coast Cycle Supply of Farmingdale, N.Y., is recalling about 1,800 Trayl TRN hardtail mountain bikes.

The brakes can fail to stop riders within the distances required by federal regulation, posing a crash hazard.

The company has received one report of the braking system taking longer to stop than allowed by federal regulation. No injuries have been reported.

This recall involves all Trayl TRN 29-inch hardtail mountain bikes. The bike has a black and green frame with a white front fork. The word “Trayl” is in white on the underside of the down tube and in green on the top side of the down tube. The Trayl logo appears as the “Y” in the word.

The bikes, manufactured in China, were sold exclusively at Sports Authority between November 2013, and May 2014, for $650.

Consumers should immediately stop using the recalled bicycles and return them to Sports Authority for a free repair. East Coast Cycle Supply is contacting consumers directly.

Consumers may contact East Coast Cycle Supply toll-free at (844) 322-9253 from 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. ET Monday through Friday, or by email at customerservice@eccyclesupply.com.

Dream On Me of South Plainfield, N.J., is recalling about 2,800 Dream On Me Dinah high chairs.

The leg or side opening of the chair can allow a child’s body to pass through and become trapped at the neck or fall from the chair, posing a strangulation and fall hazard.

There are no reports of any incidents or injuries.

The recall includes Dream On Me Dinah high chairs made with a steel, powder coated tubing open-framed base with white plastic foot grips and black with white trim or red with white trim fabric seats. The chair has a white plastic tray, plastic footrest and a white fabric five point adjustable safety strap. “Dream On Me” is printed on a label attached to the front of the tray.

There is a color-coordinated black and white or red and white fabric storage bin attached to the bottom of the chair legs. The high chair can be folded for storage.

The high chairs, manufactured in China, were sold exclusively online by Walmart.com and Amazon.com from November 2012, to November 2013, for about $60.

Consumers should immediately stop using the recalled high chairs and contact Dream On Me to receive a free repair kit.

Consumers may contact Dream On Me toll-free at (877) 201-4317 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. ET Monday through Thursday and 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Friday.

General Motors is recalling 717,950 recent model vehicles in the U.S., including:

• 414,333 2011-2012 model year Chevrolet Camaro; 2010-2012 model year Chevrolet Equinox and GMC Terrain; 2011-2012 Buick Regal and LaCrosse; and 2010-2012 Cadillac SRX models in the U.S. equipped with power height adjustable driver or front passenger seat structures. In these vehicles, the bolt that secures the height adjuster actuator may become loose or fall out, allowing the seat to move up and down freely because it is no longer attached at the height adjuster. The vehicles are safe to drive, but customers should not use the power height adjustable feature until dealers can replace the height adjuster bolt. GM says it is aware of 1 crash and 3 injuries, but no fatalities related to this condition.
• 124,008 model year 2014 Chevrolet Caprice, 2014 Chevrolet SS, 2014-2015 Chevrolet Silverado LD and HD, 2013-2014 Cadillac ATS, 2014 Cadillac CTS, 2014 Cadillac ELR; 2013-2014 Buick Encore; and 2014-2015 GMC Sierra LD and HD vehicles. Certain vehicles manufactured between July 2013 and January 2014 may have an incomplete weld on the seat hook bracket assembly. If the weld is sufficient, no further action is necessary. If it is insufficient, dealers will replace the lower seat track at no charge. Less than 1% of welds are expected to require seat track replacement. GM says it is unaware of any crashes or injuries as a result of this issue.
• 120,426 2011-2013 model year Buick Regal and 2013 model year Chevrolet Malibus equipped with front turn signals that use 2 bulbs in each front turn signal. While the driver would get a rapidly flashing turn signal arrow in the instrument cluster if both bulbs in 1 turn signal were burned out; if only 1 bulb on either side burns out, there would be no signal to the driver. Dealers will reprogram the body control module to fix the condition. GM says it knows of no crashes, injuries or complaints related to this issue.
• 57,242 2014 Chevrolet Impalas equipped with belt-drive electric power steering. On certain vehicles, customers may experience reduced or no power steering assist at start-up or while driving, due to a poor electrical ground connection to the Power Steering Control Module. If power steering is lost, a warning message is displayed on the Driver Information Center and a chime sounds. Steering control can be maintained because the vehicle will revert to manual steering mode, but would require greater driver effort particularly at low vehicle speeds. Paint may have seeped behind the nut on the power steering control module ground stud. Dealers will inspect and clean paint from behind the ground nut, re-torque the nut and update the power steering control module software at no charge. GM says it is aware of 1 crash but no injuries or fatalities related to this condition.
• 1,919 2014-2015 Chevrolet Sparks imported from Korea that were assembled with a lower control arm bolt not fastened to specification. The condition could result in noise from the front suspension and separation of the lower control arm from the steering knuckle while driving, resulting in loss of steering control. Dealers will inspect the left and right hand lower control arm attaching bolts to assure they are tightened to specification. GM says it knows of no crashes, injuries or fatalities related to this condition.
• 22 2015 model year Chevrolet Tahoe/Suburban and GMC Yukon/Yukon Denali vehicles in the U.S. In these vehicles, the roof carriers may have been attached with the wrong retaining nuts, resulting in holes or tears in the roof rail air bags if they deploy. Eight of these vehicles are in dealer stock and will be repaired before being sold.  

Democratic members of Congress have introduced legislation in both the House and Senate to cap interest rates that could be charged on short-term consumer loans.

The Protecting Consumers from Unreasonable Credit Rates Act would cap rates at 36% APR and essentially put most payday and car title loan companies out of business.

The reason is simple. There is a huge difference between the triple-digit rates these companies charge and 36%, which is among the highest rates credit card companies charge.

Here's an illustration: many payday loan companies charge a fee of $15 per $100 borrowed. If a consumer borrowed $500, they would pay a fee of $75.

Length of term makes big difference

If the borrower had a year in which to pay back the $500, the interest rate would only be 15%. But with payday and car title loans, the consumer pays $75 to use the $500 for 2 weeks. That interest rate works out to 390% APR.

If these lenders were limited to charging 36% APR on a two week loan of $500 their fee would be $7 instead of $75. In states that have passed the 36% cap payday lenders have closed their doors and pulled out.

The problem is not so much the fees charged to borrowers but rather the short term nature of a loan. When a consumer borrows $500 from a payday lender it is usually because they have been confronted with some emergency expense and they don't have the money.

If they don't have the money on the day they borrow it, how are they going to have it in 2 weeks, when it is time to repay the loan? In nearly every case they don't, and therefore have to take out another loan – with another fee – to pay back the original loan.

Cycle of debt

Industry critics say by its very nature, a 2-week loan has the potential to trap consumers in a cycle of debt.

“A safe and sustainable loan is one that consumers can repay in full and on time without additional borrowing,” said Tom Feltner, Director of Financial Services at Consumer Federation of America (CFA). “Capping rates at 36% will protect consumers from the abusive practices common in payday loans, auto title loans and other high-cost credit products that often top 400 percent APR.”

The proposed legislation capping rates has widespread support among consumer advocates. A total of 38 organizations have endorsed the bill, saying it will go a long way toward ending predatory lending.

But the legislation's outlook is not all that promising since sponsors in the House and Senate are all Democrats. Democrats may control the Senate but Republicans control the House.

Bipartisan issue?

Rep. Matt Cartwright (D-PA), one of the House sponsors, is hopeful the legislation can attractive bipartisan support once all the facts about it are known. He notes clamping down on predatory lending is an issue all parties have supported in the past.

“Pennsylvania recognizes that predatory lending disproportionately harms economically disadvantaged individuals – people who are already struggling financially,” he said. “My consumer-friendly legislation would provide relief from exorbitant fees for many low-income consumers across the country. Capping interest rates and fees for all consumers will not only protect working families but also enable our economic recovery.”

Cartwright also notes that in 2006, when Republicans controlled both the House and Senate, Congress enacted a 36% annualized usury cap for certain credit products marketed to servicemembers and their families.

Cartwright says the bill would also encourage the creation of “responsible alternatives” to small dollar lending, by allowing initial application fees and for ongoing lender costs such as insufficient funds fees and late fees.

The small dollar loan industry will no doubt spare no expense in lobbying against the measure. But consumer groups that have lined up in support say they will make sure lawmakers hear from them too.

“High interest rates, no consideration of an ability to repay and direct access to a borrowers’ bank account sets in motion a cycle of debt that is difficult to escape.” CFA's Feltner said. “By capping interest rates, we can ensure affordable payments, better underwriting and fair repayment terms and take a big step forward toward ending the payday loan debt trap.”

Federal and state agencies today announced a sweeping round-up of alleged scam artists blamed for ripping off distressed homeowners across the country.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) is filing three lawsuits against companies and individuals that allegedly collected more than $25 million in illegal advance fees for services that falsely promised to prevent foreclosures or renegotiate troubled mortgages.

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has taken action against six mortgage relief operations. In each case, the FTC has sought an order stopping the illegal practices and freezing the defendants’ assets pending the outcome of the litigation.

Fifteen states working with the federal agencies have filed 32 legal actions aimed at stopping the deceptive practices and recovering fees paid by consumers.

“We are taking on schemes that prey on consumers who are struggling to pay their mortgages or facing foreclosure,” said CFPB Director Richard Cordray. “These companies pocketed illegal fees — taking millions of hard-earned dollars from distressed consumers, and then left those consumers worse off than they began. These practices are not only illegal, they are reprehensible.”

“Mortgage relief schemes like these target people who are already having financial problems and, all too often, inflict even further harm on them,” said Jessica Rich, Director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection. “We’re determined to stop operations that illegally charge up-front mortgage relief fees or make empty mortgage relief promises.”

Law firms named

The first CFPB lawsuit names Clausen & Cobb Management Company and its owners, as well as Stephen Siringoringo and his Siringoringo Law Firm. The second lawsuit is against The Mortgage Law Group, LLP, the Consumer First Legal Group, LLC, and attorneys Thomas Macey, Jeffrey Aleman, Jason Searns, and Harold Stafford. The third lawsuit is against the Hoffman Law Group, its operators, Michael Harper, Benn Wilcox, and attorney Marc Hoffman, and its affiliated companies, Nationwide Management Solutions, Legal Intake Solutions, File Intake Solutions, and BM Marketing Group.

The CFPB alleges that the scammers used deceptive marketing to persuade thousands of consumers to pay millions in illegal, upfront fees for promised mortgage modifications. Each of the scammers was a law firm or was associated with one.

The defendants disguised their false promises of foreclosure relief for struggling homeowners with claims that they were performing legal work. These tactics are used by foreclosure relief scams to attract victims, add credibility to their schemes, or exploit certain legal exemptions for the practice of law.

Illegal practices

The illegal practices alleged in the complaints include:

• Collecting fees before obtaining a loan modification: Companies cannot legally accept payment for helping to obtain a mortgage modification for a consumer before the consumer has a modification agreement in place with their lender.
• Inflating success rates and likelihood of obtaining a modification: The firms’ marketing materials misrepresented the likelihood that they would help consumers save substantial sums in mortgage payments. 
• Duping consumers into thinking they would receive legal representation: All of these companies allegedly used their status as attorneys to dupe consumers into thinking they would receive legal representation when many consumers never spoke with an attorney or had their case reviewed by one.
• Making false promises about loan modifications to consumers: During meetings, some consumers were misled into believing that they were eligible for a loan modification. Other consumers were promised that they would receive relief within a few months. In the end, many consumers learned that the defendants had not contacted their lenders or obtained any meaningful relief for them.

Ultimately, homeowners across the country lost thousands of dollars and suffered significant economic injury, including losing their homes.

FTC actions

Including the six cases announced today, the FTC has brought 48 actions against companies peddling fraudulent mortgage relief schemes since 2008.  The cases announced today include:  

• Danielson Law Group. The FTC has alleged that these Utah-based defendants touted a success rate that exceeded 90% and enticed consumers to pay hefty advance fees ranging from $500 to $3,900 – falsely promising that attorneys would negotiate loan modifications with substantially reduced mortgage payments using their special relationships with lenders or mortgage analysis reports produced by a proprietary software program. The defendants also urged homeowners to stop paying their lenders, and falsely promised full refunds if they did not obtain a loan modification, according to the FTC.
• FMC Counseling Services, Inc. The FTC has alleged that from at least February 2011, this Fort Lauderdale, Fla.-based operation made false claims that it was affiliated with the federal government’s Making Home Affordable assistance program, and that it would renegotiate consumers’ mortgages, reducing them by several hundred dollars. Deceptively using the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation’s logo and doing business as the “Federal Debt Commission,” the “Federal Mortgage Marketplace,” and the “Federal Assistance Program,” the defendants promised consumers their mortgage modifications would be completed quickly or that they could provide free mortgage refinancing.  The defendants also told consumers to cease communications with their lenders, and to turn over their mortgage payments while refinancing was pending.  Collecting more than $600,000 in payments from hundreds of consumers, the defendants did nothing for consumers and failed to apply any funds received from consumers to their existing mortgages. As a result, many consumers lost their homes as well as their mortgage payments.   
• Lanier Law. The FTC has alleged that from at least 2011, this Jacksonville, Fla.-based operation typically told consumers that they would get a loan modification or that their chances of getting one was 85% to 100%. The defendants typically collected an upfront fee of $1,000 to $4,000, or an ongoing monthly fee of $500 or more. In some cases, according to the FTC, they also told consumers not to pay their mortgages while their supposed loan modifications were pending, and that they would conduct an audit of consumers’ mortgage documents to find errors or fraud committed by the lender.
• Mortgage Relief Advocates. The FTC has alleged that from at least August 2010, this California-based operation sold fraudulent mortgage assistance services on its websites and through telemarketing. Charging an up-front fee of $1,000 to $3,200, the defendants are alleged to have rarely provided the promised mortgage relief.  
• Home Relief Foundation. The defendants allegedly told consumers to stop paying their mortgages – without disclosing that if they did so, consumers could face bankruptcy, risk losing their homes, or damage their credit ratings.  Charging advance fees ranging from $500 to $4,000, the defendants collected more than $500,000 during the course of their operation, according to the complaint.   
• CD Capital Investments. The FTC has alleged that from mid-2011, this Southern California-based operation often promised consumers would receive mortgage relief services within two to four months, and often claimed affiliation with the Obama Administration’s “Making Home Affordable Program.” 

As food recalls go, the recent stone-fruit recall from California-based Wawona Packing Company is arguably both better and worse than most: better in that there have been no confirmed reports of people getting sick from contaminated food, worse in that the scope of the recall keeps growing.

On July 19, the FDA first announced that Wawona was voluntarily recalling plums, pluots, white or yellow peaches, and white or yellow nectarines, due to fears of possible contamination by Listeria monocytogenes bacteria; Wawona released a 30-page list (in .pdf form here) of the block ID numbers of all potentially affected batches of fruit. Affected brand names include Wawona, Sweet2Eat and Harvest Sweet.

In Canada, the Food Inspection Agency posted a recall notice for that country on July 21.

Initial reports suggested Wegmans stores might have received contaminated stock, but since then the list has steadily grown to include Ralph's and Food4Less stores, ShopRite, Stop and Shop, Trader Joes', Walmart and Sams' Club, Costco, Krogers and more. (An all-inclusive list of stores is not available at this time; that list may yet grow longer.) Also, recalled products include not merely the fruits themselves, but any baked or processed goods made from it.

Anyone with fruit or food from the suspect batches should either return it for a refund, or throw it away.

Disposal isn't enough

The problem is that, due to the nature of Listeria contamination, merely disposing of recalled fruit isn't enough to protect yourself. FoodSafetyNews published a July 23 Q&A highlighting some of the nastier facts behind the Listeria recall.

Where food poisoning is concerned, Listeria has an unusually wide incubation window: an infected person might show symptoms in as little as three days, or as long as 70. It's even possible to be infected, yet show no symptoms at all.

The bacteria can migrate with relative ease, which is why you should not only throw away the contaiminated fruit, but also discard or sterilize anything it came in contact with:

Should I throw away any other fruit that has touched or been stored with the recalled fruit?

To be on the safe side, this is probably a good idea. Be sure to wash your hands with hot water and soap afterward.

Do I need to clean out my refrigerator or any other containers that have stored the recalled fruit?

This is also a good idea to be on the safe side. Clean out the refrigerator and any containers you had the recalled fruit in with a solution of 1 teaspoon bleach to one quart of water and then rinse with plain water. Also wash all food work surfaces and utensils with this solution, let it stand for a few minutes, and then either pat dry with paper towels or rinse with plain water and dry.

The Centers for Disease Control says that “Listeria is found in the environment and all people are exposed to it regularly. Therefore, there is no clinical value in performing laboratory testing on asymptomatic patients.” But you should see a doctor immediately if you do show symptoms of listeria: “If you become very sick with fever and muscle aches or stiff neck, or if you develop fever and chills while pregnant, consult your doctor immediately. A blood or spinal fluid test (to look for the bacteria) will show if you have listeriosis.”

Despite all this, it's important to remember that you, personally, are at little risk of catching listeriosis from the recalled fruit: the initial recall was a voluntary recall done as a preliminary precaution (rather than a mandatory recall after people started getting sick).

Remember also that not all stone fruits, nor even all stone fruits packaged by Wawona, are at risk; only those from the batch numbers on this .pdf list.

Good news for at least some California homeowners trying to conserve water and follow state law in the middle of a statewide drought of historic proportions: a new law prohibits homeowners' associations (HOAs) in the state from punishing residents who let their lawns turn brown during drought conditions.

For the past year, the state of California has been dealing with a record-breaking and still-worsening drought. The governor declared a state of emergency last January, and “directed state officials to take all necessary actions to prepare for water shortages,” according to the state government's official “Drought” webpage.

Given how much water is needed to keep residential lawns looking lush and green, urging residents to reduce their lawn watering was a natural step to take. “Brown is the new green” became a slogan for statewide anti-drought efforts, and just last week, on July 15, statewide restrictions on outdoor urban water use came into effect.

Lawn outlaws

Unfortunately, none of this has prevented homeowners associations and even city governments throughtout the state from fining or otherwise punishing people who let their lawns turn brown.

Last April, state legislators proposed a bill which, if passed, would prohibit HOAs in California from requiring residents to maintain water-intensive lawns during drought conditions.

On Monday, July 21, Governor Jerry Brown signed AB2100 into law, prohibiting HOAs from penalizing homeowners for brown lawns during established drought conditions. However, this new law applies only to HOAs in the state, not city governments, some of which still require lawns to look “healthy and green” or be in “healthy green condition.”

A married couple in Glendora faced a ridiculous legal Catch-22 the same day the statewide watering restrictions went into effect: California would fine them $500 if they watered their lawn, and Glendora would fine them $500 if their lawn stayed brown.

The city appears to have backed away from its “green” mandates, however; a couple hours news reports brought national attention to the story, the Glendora city website posted an update assuring everybody that “In extreme drought conditions, the City understands that lawns will have brown color.

However, a similar law restricting local governments from penalizing drought compliance is almost certain to be proposed and passed into law during next year's legislative session.

News that over 1,000 accounts at online ticket-seller StubHub have been hacked should serve to remind you of this important online safety rule: don't use the same password across multiple accounts.

The Associated Press first reported on Tuesday that “cyber thieves” managed to fraudulently access more than 1,000 StubHub accounts, and buy themselves tickets in the legitimate accountholders' names.

As hacks go, a mere thousand compromised accounts in a company as large as StubHub sounds like pretty small potatoes. Why was the damage so limited?

According to StubHub spokesman Glenn Lehrman, the thieves never broke into the StubHub customer database. Instead, they got customers' login and password information from other sources, either hacking into different retail databases or even putting keylogging software or other forms of malware on user's computer.

The thieves presumably know how commonplace is it for people to use the same passwords (and sometimes even login names) across multiple accounts, so if thieves have, for example, the password you use for your email, bank account, favorite web-discussion forum or any other password-protected thing you do, they'll also try plugging that password into your other accounts on the off-chance it will work. Where over 1,000 StubHub customers are concerned, it did.

A Senate measure, the "Hide No Harm" bill, could mean jail time for corporate executives who knowingly conceal information about safety hazards that lead to consumer or worker deaths or injuries.

The bill is in response to the massive General Motors ignition switch recalls, in which a defective switch has been blamed for at least 13 deaths. Documents released by a congressional committee showed that some GM officials knew about problems with the device as early as 2001.

Under existing law, while the company eventually could face criminal fines, individual officers who knew about the deadly defect – but did not inform the public or federal regulators – cannot face any criminal charges.

GM was fined $35 million in May but sponsors of the Hide No Harm bill say such fines often don't deter irresponsible actions that endanger the public. 

The bill was introduced by U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), co-sponsored by Sens. Bob Casey (D-Pa.) and Tom Harkin (D-Iowa), with backing from a number of public interest groups that announced their support for the bill.

“Our current fines and penalties are not tough enough to ensure that every business is playing by the same rules,” said Katherine McFate, president and CEO of the Center for Effective Government. “We have to make sure that the businesses that are willing to put the health of the American people at risk face heavy sanctions. The bad actors should not have a competitive advantage over responsible businesses that adhere to health and safety standards.”

Carfax is expanding its car accident report service, Crashdocs.org, drawing on information from police departments across the U.S.

Insurers, lawyers and others interested parties can order accident reports from all 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia through an easy-to-use online site, the company said.

Carfax said it does not add convenience fees to accident reports ordered through Crashdocs.org, in many cases making them the same price that's charged at the police station.

"Before using Crashdocs.org, obtaining car accident reports involved additional time, travel expense and long waits," said Wayne Rexrode, senior claims representative at Virginia Farm Bureau Insurance, in a statement provided by Carfax. "I either had to make trips to the various police departments for crash reports or I had to write away for the reports."

People who need information about a specific crash can now order the police accident report online through Crashdocs.org instead of taking time to visit the police station. 

"We're excited to make Crashdocs.org even more valuable to people who need police crash reports," said Tom Scheffer, Crashdocs.org manager. "We're rolling out expanded nationwide coverage to help anyone get the accident information they need more quickly and conveniently. In addition, police agencies have another powerful tool that helps reduce administrative costs and make their communities safer."

A company called Made in USA Brand, LLC has had a pretty good thing going. It charges companies $250 to $2,000 per year for the right to use its "Made in USA" seal and to be listed in its database of products supposedly made in the U.S.

But the Federal Trade Commission charged that the company did not independently evaluate the products before certifying them, and had no procedures to determine whether marketers complied with the FTC’s Made in USA standard.

In fact, the FTC charged that Made in the USA Brand has never rejected a company’s application to use its Certification Mark or terminated a company’s use of the mark. Instead, it awarded licenses to any company that self-certified that it was complying with the FTC’s standard.

The FTC’s Enforcement Policy Statement on U.S.-Origin Claims provides that products advertised or labeled as “Made in the USA” must be “all or virtually all” made in the United States. 

“Seals can be very helpful when consumers purchase products based on claims that are difficult to verify – like the Made-in-the-USA claim,” said Jessica Rich, Director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection. “When marketers provide seals without any verification, or without telling consumers the seal is unverified, consumers are deceived and the value of all marketers’ seals is diminished. This case makes it clear that the FTC will not let that happen.”

The FTC charged that the company deceived consumers by allowing companies to use the seal without independently verifying that their products were made in the United States.

Under an agreement with the FTC, the company agreed to stop making the deceptive claims.

Chrysler Group has announced the recall of an estimated 792,300 model-year 2006-2007 Jeep Commander and 2005-2007 Jeep Grand Cherokee SUVs.

The automaker says 649,900 of those are in the U.S., 28,800 are in Canada, 12,800 are in Mexico and 100,800 are outside the NAFTA region.

Preliminary investigation, according to Chrysler, suggests an outside force -- usually attributed to contact with the driver’s knee -- may move ignition keys from the “on” position. Such an occurrence may cause engine stall, reducing braking power and making steering more difficult. Safety features such as frontal airbags also may be disabled.

The company says it is unaware of any related injuries, but notes there has been a single reported accident and a relatively small number of complaints involving 0.015% of the vehicle population.

Engineers are working to develop a remedy.

The company expects to identify affected customers and advise them by mid-September when they may schedule service, the cost of which will be borne by Chrysler.

The automaker is advising owners of the above vehicles make sure there is clearance between their knees and the keys. As a further precaution, they are advised to remove all items from their key rings, leaving only the ignition keys.

Consumers may call Chrysler's customer information center at 1-800-853-1403.