GameStop Will Open On Thanksgiving This Year Because… Employees Want To?

For the last few years, GameStop, likely owner of your local AT&T store, has decided not to take part in the Thanksgiving Day retail frenzy in much of the rest of the mall. This year, though, there’s a new Nintendo console to sell, and employees asked the chain to open up on the holiday. Wait, what?

No, really, that’s what the company said. Kotaku learned about the policy shift from employees who took part in the conference call where this was announced, and the company confirmed that it’s shifting back to staying open “for a shortened and limited time” on the holiday. Because customers and employees asked for it.

“Many of our store associates and guests have asked for this,” the comany said in a statement. “We have heard their requests and are making an adjustment to our previous position on this topic.”

Remember that GameStop began its store closing policy in 2014, saying at the time that it would stay closed until the wee hours of Black Friday “out of respect for our store associates and their families and friends.”

Do you work for GameStop? Are you the person who asked to work on Thanksgiving Day? Some people do like working on the holiday, and we respect that. If there’s anything you want Consumerist to know, though, our mailbox is open.

by Laura Northrup via Consumerist

Starbucks Isn’t Bad At Acquiring Businesses: It Just Doesn’t Want Them

Starbucks went on something of a buying binge five or six years ago, buying a healthy-lunch chain, an unhealthy-pastries chain, and a loose tea retailer. Since then, the coffee chain has shuttered all of these businesses, which it paid hundreds of millions of dollars for. Is Starbucks just really bad at picking companies to acquire?

Nope, says Jonathan Maze over at Nation’s Restaurant News. Starbucks didn’t throw away the $620 million that it spent acquring Teavana, or the $100 million that it paid for the bakery chain La Boulange.

That’s because Starbucks wasn’t out to acquire a bakery chain or hundreds of stores that sell tea in malls. It wanted these companies’ products, and their established brands to a lesser extent.

Last week, when the chain reported its earnings and broke the news about Teavana, CEO Kevin Johnson also shared that its tea sales are up 40% across the whole chain, and that they’re up 60% in China.

The company’s goal with Evolution Fresh and La Boulange wasn’t to run those companies’ restaurants, but to bring in the companies’ products and their employees’ expertise. Along the way, Starbucks has increased its business among people who actually want to eat lunch.

Running a small bakery chain isn’t efficient, and running a retail tea business during an ongoing retail apocalypse isn’t a good idea. A few hundred Teavana stores have closed, but tens of thousands of Starbucks stores are pushing fruit-infused iced teas based on the company’s products, and selling their teas. Teavana-branded products will be sold in grocery stores across the country.

by Laura Northrup via Consumerist

With 30 Hot Car Deaths So Far This Year, Lawmakers Once Again Push For Alert Systems

More than 30 children have died in hot cars so far in 2017, and two of those deaths occurred just last weekend. In an attempt to prevent these tragedies from happening, a group of lawmakers have once again introduced legislation that would require cars to be equipped with technology — that already exists — to alert drivers that a passenger remains in the back seat when a vehicle is turned off. 

The legislation — dubbed The Helping Overcome Trauma for Children Alone in Rear Seat Act (HOT CARS Act) — directs the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to require cars come equipped with technology to alert the driver to check the back seat when the car is turned off.

The measure, like many before it, seeks to prevent the dozens of deaths that occur when children are unknowingly left in hot cars each year.

Hot Car Deaths

According to KidsAndCars.org, an average of 37 children die each year from heatstroke after being left behind in cars. Since 1990, the organization has recorded 793 deaths of children in hot cars.

Last year, 39 children died from vehicular heatstroke. That figure could be surpassed in 2017, as 30 children have died so far this year.

Jackie Gillan, President, Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety, warned Monday that the number of vehicle heatstroke deaths will likely continue to grow this year with temperatures climbing over the next few months.

Eleven deaths occurred in July alone, with two taking place last weekend. ABC News reports that two infants died in separate incidents in Arizona on July 28 and July 29.

A seven-month-old boy died Friday after being left in a vehicle parked in his home’s driveway after the child’s usual daycare drop-off routine didn’t occur. The next day, a one-year-old boy was discovered deceased after his father made two roundtrip drives between the family’s home and a church.

Police, who have not filed charges against any of the people involved in the Arizona incidents, say they are investigating the cases.

KidsAndCars notes that in an overwhelming majority of these very sad incidents, the child was unknowingly left by a parent or guardian.

Of the 793 child vehicular heatstroke cases tallied by KidsAndCars, 55% or 436 fatalities occurred when a child was unknowingly left in the vehicle.

Pushing For Changes…Again

To reduce the chance that a child is unknowingly left in a vehicle, lawmakers are once again pushing for legislation that would require car manufacturers to equip vehicles with sensors to detect if a child is the back seat.

The Helping Overcome Trauma for Children Alone in Rear Seat Act (HOT CARS Act) was reintroduced Monday by Senators Richard Blumenthal (CT) and Al Franken (MN), aiming to ensure that an alert system is standard equipment in cars.

Such technology is already available in some vehicles, including many of GM’s 2017 and 2018 models, the lawmakers noted.

In June 2016, GM debuted a new rear seat reminder feature that sounds a warning tone and alerts drivers to “Look In Rear Seat,” with a message flashing in the center of the vehicle’s speedometer.

But one carmaker isn’t enough, the lawmakers say, noting that this technology should be standard in all vehicles.

“A simple sensor could save the lives of dozens of children killed tragically in overheated cars each year, and my bill would ensure such technology is available in every car sold in the United States,” Blumenthal said in a statement.

In addition to requiring NHTSA to mandate such sensor systems in vehicles, the legislation directs the agency to work with a third-party to conduct a study on how to best retrofit existing vehicles with such systems.

This study would provide recommendations to manufacturers to make sure products perform as intended; and to consumers on how to select the right technology.

The Senate’s HOT CARS Act comes nearly two months after Representatives Tim Ryan (OH), Peter King (NY) and Jan Schakowsky (IL) introduced companion legislation, the Helping Overcome Trauma for Children Alone in Rear Seats (HOT CARS) Act of 2017.

by Ashlee Kieler via Consumerist

Ford Adds Mute Button To New Mustang So You Don’t Drive Your Neighbors Crazy

To many car enthusiasts, the familiar vrooming rumble of the engine is half the appeal of a car. Your neighbors, however, may not feel particularly enamored of your showy V8 waking them up of a morning. And so in its latest line of Mustangs, Ford has included a surprising new feature: quiet mode.

The idea for making the 2018 Mustang GT take a walk on the quiet side came to the head of Ford’s user experience team from a real-life experience, CNN Money explains. He started up his Ford Mustang Shelby GT 350 — a slightly louder and more race-tuned model of the Mustang GT — and his neighbors called the cops about the noise.

That inspired him to see about putting a quiet mode into the cars: No noise, no awkward conversations with the local constabulary and the folks down the street.

While the Mustang may be a classic brand, though, your modern muscle car isn’t quite what it used to be: You turn on then new “quiet mode” with the on-board touch-screen car menu. Because even your all-American new flashy car is a computer with wheels on it.

The concept — and toggle — is a lot like your cell phone, really. Mustang drivers can toggle quiet mode on and off from the menu directly, or program the car to start in quiet mode automatically at certain times of day — like, say, between 10:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m.

Ford Mustangs, CNN Money notes, have long since had a “sport exhaust” mode to make them extra loud; this is basically the flip side of the coin.

With quiet mode enabled, the Mustang’s signature roar will be cut in half from its usual default.

by Kate Cox via Consumerist

President’s Commission On Opioid Crisis Says Death Toll Is Like 9/11 Happening Every Three Weeks

We hear a lot about the “opioid crisis” or “opioid epidemic,” to the point that people may be tuning out those words and ignoring the seriousness of the situation. That’s why the President’s Commission on Combating Drug Addiction and the Opioid Crisis has an urgent recommendation. It wants the President to declare a national emergency.

Giving the crisis an official designation as a national emergency would prompt Congress to allocate more funding to fight drug abuse. The question is, what would the Commission do with that funding? It lays out plans in its preliminary report [PDF] In its preliminary report, the Commission — assembled by President Trump and chaired by New Jersey Governor Chris Christie — lays out its plans in an ideal, better-funded world.

While we stereotype opioid abuse and misuse as a rural problem, it’s a national issue that has migrated from isolated areas to suburbs and cities as well.

1. There are 147 deaths related to various opioid drugs every day across the country. That’s like the September 11 attacks happening every three weeks, or a full jetliner crash every three days.

2. More people now die every year from drug overdoses (of all kinds) than from gun homicides and automobile crashes combined.

3. How did we get here? As it became harder for people to obtain pain pills in large quantities and without a valid prescription, users have turned to heroin.

4. Heroin sellers in turn have switched to cutting their drugs with imported illegal versions of drugs like fentanyl, as well as drugs that aren’t available in a medical setting.

5. While 21 million Americans report having some kind of substance abuse disorder, only 10% of them are receiving any kind of treatment.

6. Of those 21 million people, 40% have an underlying mental health problem, but only 20% of them are receiving any kind of help for either issue, let alone both.

Advocates for drug policy are concerned, however, that a state of emergency would have other, unintended consequences. Some of the solutions to drug abuse that President and Attorney General Jeff Sessions have in mind involve stepping up law enforcement, building a wall to prevent drugs (and people) from crossing the border with Mexico, and restoring mandatory minimums in drug sentencing.

These ideas were not part of the Commission’s recommendations.

Instead, they focus on increasing treatment capacity, eliminating the Medicaid exclusion that keeps federal funds from being spent on treatment for mental health disorders (including substance abuse.)

The Commission also calls for better training for doctors and dentist on treating acute and chronic pain, expanding addiction treatment that uses medications that prevent drug abuse, and greater distribution of naloxone and wider training on how to use it.

The Commission makes sure to use the September 11 comparison as an example of another national crisis that brought Americans together to achieve a common goal.

“After September 11th, our President and our nation banded together to use every tool at our disposal to prevent any further American deaths. Your declaration would empower your cabinet to take bold steps and would force Congress to focus on funding and empowering the Executive Branch even further to deal with this loss of life,” the Commission wrote in its preliminary report, addressing President Trump.

by Laura Northrup via Consumerist

Hundreds Of Thousands Of Glittery Phone Cases Sold At Major Retailers Recalled After Burning People

Slapping a glittery, shiny case on your smartphone might give the device a bit more pizzazz — and possibly protection — but it could also burn you. At least that’s the case for 263,000 iPhone cases being recalled by MixBin Electronics.

MixBin announced the recall today, following at least 24 reports of users being burned or suffering from skin irritation after the cases broke.

According to a post with the Consumer Product Safety Commission, the cases — which fit the iPhone 6, 6s, and 7 — contain liquid and glitter that are floating in the plastic case. If the liquid glitter leaks from the case, it could leave users with burns or other skin irritations.

So far, MixBin says it is aware of 24 reports worldwide of skin irritation and chemical burns related to the cases. Of those reports, 19 occurred in the U.S. One customer reported permanent scarring from a chemical burn, while another experienced chemical burns and swelling to her leg, face, neck, chest, upper body, and hands.

The devices, which came in a variety of designs, were sold at Henri Bendel, MixBin, Nordstrom Rack, Tory Burch, and Victoria’s Secret stores nationwide and online, as well as on Amazon, from Oct. 2015 to June 2017 for between $15 and $65.

iPhone users who have the cases are urged to immediately stop using them and contact MixBin Electronics for a full refund. MixBin can be reached at 855-215-4935 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. ET Monday through Friday, or online at phonecaserecall.expertinquiry.com or www.getmixbin.com.

The following phone cases are covered by the recall:

Retailer(s)	Model Number/UPC Code	Description
Amazon/MixBin/Nordstrom Rack	MBH17-050-C1 / 856472006930	Rose Gold
Amazon/MixBin/Nordstrom Rack	MBH17-050-C3-O1 / 56472006947	Clear
Amazon/MixBin/Nordstrom Rack	MBH17-050-C3-O2 / 56472006923	Silver
Amazon/MixBin/Nordstrom Rack	MBH17-050-C2 / 856472006916	Black
Henri Bendel	1000281939 / 400000648538	Party Girls
Henri Bendel	0000300133 / 400001881675	Girl with Heart
Henri Bendel	0000300729 / 400001992357	Center Stripe
Tory Burch	36246 / 190041337545	Island Confetti
Victoria’s Secret	22981035 / 667540177601	Holiday Snow
Victoria’s Secret	23136828 / 667541590553	Bombshell Ombre Snow
Victoria’s Secret	23142231 / 667541621530	Snow
Victoria’s Secret	23141657 / 667541763834	Star
Victoria’s Secret	23244791 / 667542590262	Clear Sparkling
Victoria’s Secret	23239365 / 667542590255	Gold
Victoria’s Secret	23186945 / 667542076001	Waterfall Pink
Victoria’s Secret	23186946 / 667542076018	Waterfall Pink (larger)
Victoria’s Secret	23273349 / 667542836421	Lip Snow
Victoria’s Secret	23273348 / 667542836414	Stripe + Pink
Victoria’s Secret	23305194 / 667543128648	Paris Snow
Victoria’s Secret	23305192 / 667543128624	Leopard Snow
Victoria’s Secret	23305195 / 667543128655	XO Victoria Multi
Victoria’s Secret	23305191 / 667543128617	Electroplated Silver
Victoria’s Secret	23305193 / 667543128631	Icons
Victoria’s Secret	23314726 / 667543220533	Electroplated Silver (larger)

 

by Ashlee Kieler via Consumerist

Can You Sue Your Insurance Company Over A Data Breach If Your Info Hasn’t Been Used By ID Thieves?

With data breaches now a daily occurrence for businesses large and small, there’s a good chance that at least some of your information has been compromised by cybercriminals at some point. But should you be able to sue a company for failing to keep your data safe when the stolen information hasn’t (yet) been misused?

Back in 2015, health insurance provider CareFirst revealed that more than 1 million customer accounts had been accessed by hackers for nearly a year. While the attack compromised a range of customer info — including names, dates of birth, email addresses and member identification numbers — it did not give the attackers access to the most sensitive data like payment account information or medical records.

Even though their purloined data had apparently not yet been exploited, several CareFirst customers sued the insurer in 2015 [PDF], alleging breach of contract, negligence, fraud, unjust enrichment, and multiple violations of specific Virginia and D.C. consumer protection statutes.

But in Aug. 2016, a federal judge in D.C. dismissed the lawsuit [PDF], ruling that the CareFirst customers had not shown there was a substantial risk that their stolen data would be exploited.

“[M]erely having one’s personal information stolen in a data breach is insufficient to establish standing to sue the entity from whom the information was taken,” explained D.C. District Court Judge Christoper Cooper.

Today, the Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit overturned that ruling, saying that Judge Cooper had given “an unduly narrow reading” to the CareFirst customers’ complaint, and that he incorrectly dismissed the case at a stage when the plaintiffs only needed to demonstrate that their allegations are plausible.

The lower court had concluded that the plaintiffs had not shown sufficient “injury in fact” resulting from the CareFirst data breach. Two of the plaintiffs have claimed that their tax return went missing, but Judge Cooper felt that it was too far of a logical leap to connect that incident with the stolen data. If the CareFirst breach did not include Social Security numbers, how could data thieves have obtained tax refunds that require the use of a Social Security number, asked the judge.

However, the three-judge appeals panel found that Cooper based his conclusion on the incorrect premise that the plaintiffs had not alleged the theft of Social Security or credit card numbers in the data breach.

The appeals court notes that the plaintiffs alleged that the stolen data exposed “all of the information wrongdoers need” to “open new financial accounts… “incur charges in another person’s name,” and commit other financial misdeeds. Additionally, the plaintiffs had explicitly included “patient credit card… and social security numbers,” in its description of the sensitive information stored on the CareFirst servers. That doesn’t necessarily mean this info was stolen; just that the plaintiffs did indeed allege it had been compromised, contrary to Judge Cooper’s conclusion.

Separately, the plaintiffs allege that while birth dates, email addresses, names, and CareFirst account numbers might each be of little use to an ID thief on their own, the combination of these pieces of data “creates a material risk of identity theft.”

The appeals panel found that this allegation was also plausible, agreeing that there is the possibility this data could open the door to “medical identity theft.” That’s when someone uses your insurance account info to illegally obtain medical care.

But wouldn’t the only one harmed in that case be the insurance company that pays for a doctor’s visit for an impersonator? Not necessarily, says the appeals court, which said the plaintiffs had plausibly alleged that medical ID theft could harm the genuine account holder by injecting inaccuracies into their health records that could possibly make them ineligible for life insurance, or even disqualify them from certain types of employment.

This sort of possible harm does not rely, in any way, on the ID thieves stealing Social Security or credit card numbers, notes the panel.

In response to the plaintiffs’ appeal, CareFirst had argued that if anything bad happened as a result of the data breach, the thieves, and not the insurance company, would be the cause of that misuse. The appeals panel was not bowled over by this claim.

“It is of course true that the thief would be the most immediate cause of plaintiffs’ injuries, should they occur, and that CareFirst’s failure to secure its customers’ data would be one step removed in the causal chain,” explains the ruling, which goes on to clarify that the law doesn’t require that CareFirst is the “most immediate cause, or even a proximate cause, of the plaintiffs’ injuries; it requires only that those injuries be ‘fairly traceable'” to CareFirst.

This question of liability for potential harm is still a matter for some debate. In 2013, the Supreme Court ruled in Clapper v. Amnesty International [PDF] that the human rights organization lacked legal standing to challenge the federal government’s surveillance authority because the potential harm done to Amnesty International was purely speculative, or in the words of Justice Samuel Alito, “based on their fears of hypothetical future harm that is not certainly impending.”

The D.C. appeals panel in the insurance data breach cash found that the risk posed by the CareFirst breach is “much more substantial” than that theorized in Clapper, since “an unauthorized party has already accessed personally identifying data on CareFirst’s servers.”

Why, asks the court, would someone break into CareFirst’s servers and steal account information for more than a million customers? It answers, that a “substantial risk of harm exists already, simply by virtue of the hack and the nature of the data that the plaintiffs allege was taken.”

And so the lawsuit has been remanded to the District Court for further consideration. As the case moves forward, the plaintiffs’ allegations will face increasing scrutiny from the court, so it’s entirely possible that the matter will be dismissed again before ever coming to trial or settlement.

A similar lawsuit filed against CareFirst in federal court in Maryland was also dismissed at the District Court level for lack of standing. That decision was appealed to the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals, but quickly dropped by both parties.

We’ve reached out to CareFirst for comment on this story and will update if we receive a response.

by Chris Morran via Consumerist

Is A Content Bubble Responsible For Netflix’s $20B In Debt?

You’ve got to spend money to make money. That appears to be the mantra over at Netflix, where the DVD-by-mail service turned mega-streaming outlet has racked up nearly $20 billion in debt expanding its platform to new areas, producing original content, and buying the rights to show other company’s movies and TV shows.

The Los Angeles Times recently took a look behind Netflix’s financial curtain, detailing how the streaming service has changed over the years and how its transformation has added to the company’s debt load.

From investing tens of millions of dollars in new original programing to spending billions of dollars to enter new markets in Asia, Netflix doesn’t appear to be worried about its spending habits.

The L.A. Times offers a more granular look at Netflix’s spending spree in recent years, but here are a few things we found interesting.

Growing Debt

Netflix’s subscriber base isn’t the only thing growing at a quick pace. While subscriptions for the streaming service has nearly quadrupled in five years to 104 million people, so has the company’s debt.

But to keep those subscription numbers up — and in turn make money — Netflix is spending more. The L.A. Times reports that Netflix has amassed $20.45 billion in long-term debt and obligations in recent years.

For instance, the company has $4.8 billion in long-term debt and $15.7 billion in other obligations as of 2017. Just four years ago, Netflix had just half a million dollars in long-term debt and a little more than $5 billion in other obligations.

Expanding Content

In order to continue bringing in new customers, the L.A. Times reports that Netflix is spending billions of dollars on new content.

This year alone, the company is expected to shell out nearly $6 billion in self-produced original series, including spending an estimated $100 million on a Martin Scorsese project and $90 million on a Will Smith movie.

By investing in these programs now, Netflix executives believe they will reap the benefits in the future.

“That’s a lot of capital up front, and then you get a payout over many years,” Chief Executive Reed Hastings said in a recent investor call, as reported by the L.A. Times. “The irony is the faster that we grow and the faster we grow the owned originals, the more drawn on free cash flow that we’ll be.”

Still, some of these “original” shows will cost the company even more. For instance, a large chunk of change goes toward licensing TV series and movies from other studios, including those that are considered to be “Netflix Originals,” such as Orange Is The New Black or House Of Cards.

But not all of these investments pay off. The L.A. Times reports that Netflix has recently canceled several original shows.

“Some of them work out great, some of them work out not so great, and we can learn from every single one of them,” said Ted Sarandos, chief content officer, in an investor call this month, as reported by the L.A. Times.

Global Spending

Another large portion of Netflix’s spending comes as the company continues to expand its reach outside of the U.S.

For instance, the L.A. Times reports that Netflix’s global long-term debt levels has doubled to $4.84 billion in the last year. Of that debt, $1.84 billion came by way of notes on the European market.

Still, the company isn’t able to branch out into one of the largest markets, China. Because of regulatory issues, Netflix is instead concentrating on places like Japan and India.

More Debt Coming

Netflix executives have said they want to create a platform with 50% of its offerings self-produced originals. To do this, the company will continue to spend. But that’s worrisome for some analysts, who believe a Netflix bubble could be brewing as the company continues spending to compete with rivals like Amazon.

Amazon’s spending appears to done a smaller scale, however, as Axios reports the company has shelled out $4.5 billion into content this year.

“Nobody is ever the dominant player forever,” Mike Vorhaus, president of Magid Advisors, a media and digital video consultancy, tells the L.A. Times. “I think they’re going to need some luck in not drowning in debt in the ultimate slowdown of growth.”

Another analyst tells the L.A. Times that the company’s spending will eventually catch up to it.

Despite this, Netflix contends that its debt is lower when compared to stockholder value when compare to rivals.

by Ashlee Kieler via Consumerist

Report: Takata Airbag Repairs Are Going Slowly, Might Not Meet First Deadline

So far, more than 46 million shrapnel-shooting Takata airbag inflators have been recalled by more than a dozen automakers. With more airbags being added to the recall list, it might come as no surprise that carmakers are having a difficult time keeping pace with repairs. But a new report suggests that the replacement of the most dangerous airbags is taking too long, and millions are still likely to be waiting for a fix as a year-end deadline comes and goes.

A recent Associated Press analysis of documents filed by automakers with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration — the agency in charge of the Takata recall — suggests that efforts to expedite the repairs of the most dangerous Takata airbag inflators aren’t working as regulators had hoped.

In fact, the analysis found that about 10 million of the highest risk airbags — those with the greatest risk of rupturing during a crash or that have been in high humidity areas for many years — are still on the roads.

For those unfamiliar, Takata’s airbag inflators use an ammonium nitrate propellant. If the device is exposed to humidity and related temperature swings over a period of time the chemical can combust violently, rupturing the inflator when the airbag deploys in the event of a crash.

Priority Groups

The large nature of the recall means tens of millions of new inflators were needed at once. To address the massive campaign, NHTSA issued a consent order in November 2015 that outlined the handling of the recall, breaking repairs into prioritization groups [PDF].

The groups were created [PDF] based on risk factors such as vehicle age, geography, climate, and inflator position — whether it was in the driver’s side or passenger side — and presence of two recalled inflators.

“Regardless of these circumstances, every defective air bag inflator must be — and will be — replaced,” NHTSA says on its Takata recall website. “We ask for your understanding while the air bags that pose a higher risk to their vehicle’s drivers and occupants are replaced first.”

Read More: Why Is Subaru Telling Me To Keep People Out Of The Passenger Seat For The Next Year?

That first group, deemed to have a much greater risk of rupturing, includes vehicles with older inflators that have experienced prolonged exposure to hot and humid conditions.

As part of the priority grouping, NHTSA ordered vehicle manufacturers to ensure that they had sufficient remedy parts on hand by March 31, 2016 for the first group, and to have all fixes completed by Dec. 31, 2017.

Falling Behind

But that might not happen, the AP analysis found, noting that of the 15 highest-priority Takata recalls, few had a replacement completion rate of more than 50%.

The Ford Ranger pickup truck, for example, has already been directly linked to a Takata-related death — and yet it has a completion rate of just 1.1%.

Honda, which has been linked to at least 11 Takata-related deaths, has a completion rate of 63% for priority one vehicles. But that still leaves 3.3 million inflators left to be repaired, the AP reports.

Reports filed as of March 31 show that BMW, Fiat Chrysler, Daimler, Nissan, Mazda, and Mitsubishi all have completion rates under 50%.

In all, NHTSA says that automakers have replaced 16 million airbags, which accounts to about 40% of those affected by the recalls.

These rates could shift soon, however, as additional Takata airbags have been recalled in recent weeks. Last month, NHTSA announced that 2.7 million airbags would be recalled in Ford, Mazda, and Nissan vehicles.

Consequences

Automakers who fail to meet NHTSA’s deadline for replacing the airbags likely will face consequences. When NHTSA released its list of priority recalls and a timeline for repairs, it also suggested that it could fine or otherwise penalize manufacturers for failing to complete the remedies.

A rep for NHTSA tells the AP that the agency is monitoring compliance with the recall remedy schedule, and “will take further action as appropriate.”

As for automakers, they are working to complete repairs as soon as they can, but note that there has been difficulty in obtaining new parts or getting vehicle owners in the door.

A rep for Ford, which has a low completion rate for the Ranger truck, said the company is replacing inflators in the techie in higher risk areas first. However, these replacements are just an updated version of the currently defective airbag inflator.

“We are working with our suppliers to expedite final remedy parts for these vehicles and expect those to be available in early fourth quarter 2017,” the rep said.

by Ashlee Kieler via Consumerist

Amazon Reports Selling Stuff To Iranian Embassies, Person On Terrorism Watch List

Amazon — the “Everything Store” to most of the world — sells to just about anyone, anywhere. Problem is, it’s not supposed to do that. The company has revealed it’s under federal investigation for selling items to customers linked to the Iranian government (including its embassies), and also to someone on the terrorism watch list.

Under 2012’s Iran Threat Reduction and Syria Human Rights Act, publicly traded companies that have done business with Iran have to report the transactions. That might be difficult for a company like Amazon, though, which sells all over the world and to pretty much anyone with a credit card.

In a report to the Securities and Exchange Commission, Amazon notes that the items sold to customers linked to Iran’s embassies or to its government included “books, music, other media, apparel, home and kitchen, health and beauty, jewelry, office, consumer electronics, software, lawn and patio, grocery, and automotive products.” That’s a nice selection of items.

The breakdown was:

• $24,700 worth of merchandise was purchased by an Iranian embassy in an unspecified country that isn’t Iran
• $8,100 worth of merchandise was bought by people who may have been acting on behalf of five unspecified Iranian embassies
• $600 worth of merchandise sold to people who may have been working for entities controlled by the Iranian government
• $60 worth of merchandise to people who may have been working for entities on the terrorist watch list with links to Iran
• $300 worth of merchandise to a person on the terrorist watch list

“We are unable accurately to calculate the net profit attributable to these transactions,” Amazon noted with a straight face, since this was a quarterly report in which the online retailer reported an average of $7.5 billion in net sales per month in North America alone. Still, these transactions had to be reported, and could result in fines.

(via Washington Post)

by Laura Northrup via Consumerist

Your “Anonymous” Web Browsing History Totally Isn’t

Using Your Phone While Crossing The Street In Honolulu Could Cost You As Much As $99

Looking at one’s phone while walking might not seem like too difficult of a task, but every once in a while it proves to be a painful endeavor, take the woman looking at her phone who tripped over a door in the sidewalk and fell into a utility room. The city of Honolulu wants to prevent these types of incidents by becoming the first major city in the U.S. to make it illegal to text while crossing the street.

The so-called Distracted Walking Law [PDF] will take effect Oct. 25 following the Honolulu city council’s 7-2 vote passing the measure.

Under the law, pedestrians are prohibited from using or looking at their phones, cameras, laptops, or video gaming devices while crossing the street.

The measure, which does include an exemption for those making emergency services phone calls, is intended to keep these pedestrians safe and free of injury by stepping into traffic.

In the three months before the law takes effect, the Honolulu Police Department will take part in training and a warning period for pedestrians.

After the law takes effect, violators can be fined $15 to $35 for their first offense, $35 to $75 for a second offense in the same year, or $75 to $99 for a third offense in the same year.

NPR notes that while Honolulu became the first major city to outlaw distracted walking, Fort Lee, NJ, also banned texting-while-walking in 2012.

by Ashlee Kieler via Consumerist

You Can Have Cheap Airfare Or Arrive On Time, But Not Both

While sometimes it seems like discount airlines are about to impose a fee for not being punched in the face, it’s true that ultra low-cost carriers do have to cut corners somewhere. It turns out that it’s really expensive to get planes full of people anywhere on time.

Frontier, which stranded customers in the wrong cities after not canceling enough flights before a blizzard, is not especially worried about strict adherence to its schedule.

“[W]e don’t necessarily believe that it’s cost-effective to end up in the top quartile for on-time performance,” Frontier senior vice president Daniel Shurz told Bloomberg News. Frontier ranks tenth out of all U.S. carriers, if you’re wondering.

Spirit, meanwhile, is still in negotiations with its pilots, which means that every day flights are canceled because there’s no pilot available. The company has accused its pilots of a deliberate work slowdown.

The third ultra-discount carrier, Allegiant, is transitioning to a new fleet of planes after a history of terrifying mechanical failures.

Comparing its records to other airlines that use the same planes, Allegiant’s planes broke down more, a sign of possible poor maintenance. It will be a few years until all of the old MD-80s are out of circulation, and mechanical problems also mean delayed and canceled flights.

by Laura Northrup via Consumerist