How Does McDonald’s Ensure Burger Safety?
NORTH BALTIMORE, Ohio – The hamburger you buy at McDonald’s may look just like the hamburger you cook at home. But, in terms of safety, the two burgers are not close. Not unless you buy your own meat directly from a packing plant that you’d not only inspected yourself but was also inspected by a [...]
Airliner Plot Raises Gitmo Worries
WASHINGTON – The alleged Christmas Day plot to blow up a Detroit-bound airliner further complicates President Obama’s decision to close the Guantanamo Bay detention center and send some of the 198 terrorism suspects held there back to their own countries. National security experts and members of Congress are calling on the White House to halt [...]
Appliance Rebates Off to a Slow Start
Rebates to buy energy-efficient appliances, announced by the U.S. government in July, are so far available only in Delaware and won’t be offered in many states until spring. The $300 million “cash for appliances” program, funded by the federal economic stimulus, is being rolled out gradually, state-by-state. In contrast, the popular “cash for clunkers” car [...]
New Florida Mortgage Rules Kick In Friday
Starting Friday, companies that provide loan modification services must be licensed or face a fine under a law that kicks in to further protect consumers from fraud when they refinance or renegotiate a loan. Facing a rash of complaints from already cash-strapped consumers, lawmakers earlier this year made changes to the Florida Mortgage Brokerage and [...]
National Consumer Confidence Grows, Floridians Remain Wary
Consumers in Florida remained wary this past month despite a growing optimism nationally, according to separate measures of consumers’ moods released Tuesday. Florida’s overall consumer confidence remained unchanged at 69 in December, according to a survey from the University of Florida. Despite a rosier view of things to come, Florida respondents remain spooked by high [...]
McCollum to Investigate Federal Health Plan
Expecting some form of national health care package to surface from Washington, Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum on Tuesday said he’s ordering his staff to conduct a legal review. Responding to request from two Republican state House members to investigate whether anticipated provisions would violate Florida’s Constitution, McCollum said he’s concerned that any provision requiring [...]
Obama Points to ‘Systemic Failure’
A “systemic failure” of the nation’s intelligence gathering and analysis allowed a Nigerian man to board a flight to Detroit on Christmas Day in an alleged attempt to blow up an airliner, President Obama said Tuesday. The suspect’s father had warned U.S. officials weeks earlier about his son’s extremist views, but an unnamed intelligence agency [...]
Hotel Guests Gobble Up Free Meals
More guests are flocking to free hotel breakfasts and buffets, bypassing pricier restaurants, according to a research group that tracks the restaurant industry. The number of free meals or snacks eaten at hotels this year inched up 1% as of Sept. 30 over the same period in 2008, even as the number of people staying [...]
Laid Off to a Rude Awakening
HILLSBOROUGH, N.J. – As chief financial officer of a top New York advertising agency, Jeff Boose boasted annual pay exceeding $400,000, a spacious office and a lifestyle to match. Boose and his family live in a sprawling house in this affluent suburb, belonged to a country club and took numerous lavish vacations each year. But [...]
Dick Clark Still Having a Ball for New Year’s
America’s oldest teenager, Dick Clark, actually turned 80 in November. Despite lingering effects from a stroke in 2004, the former American Bandstand host will be back to roll in the new year on ABC’s Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve With Ryan Seacrest 2010. Clark talked via e-mail with USA TODAY’s Gary Strauss. Q: How [...]
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