Author: Chris Morran

Paper clips are really handy. You can use them for things like hitting that tiny reset button on your DVR and, well, clipping paper. And according to the Attorney General’s office in Massachusetts, one dentist was using them in patients’ mouths during root canals.

A grand jury in the Bay State have indicted a dentist who had once had a practice in Fall River, Mass., of using paper clips in place of stainless steel posts during root canal procedures. According to the indictment, he would then bill Medicaid for the steel posts and presumably pocket the difference.

Charges brought against the dentist, who now lives in Maryland, include assault and battery, larceny, submitting false claims to Medicaid and illegally prescribing prescription drugs. He is set to be arraigned on April 8.

The dentist in question was suspended by Medicaid in 2002, but the AG’s office alleges that the he got around this barricade by bringing on other dentists and then filing claims using their information.

Mass. AG: Dentist used paper clips in root canals [Boston Globe]

This weekend’s torrential downpours in the New York City area wreaked havoc on air travel, as flights were canceled, airports closed and planes rerouted. One such flight was Virgin America Flight 404, where passengers were kept cooped up in the plane, nibbling on rationed Pringles and sipping water, while it sat on the tarmac for nearly 7 hours.

The plane, which was supposed to have landed at JFK airport in NYC, eventually ended up about 80 miles up the Hudson River at Stewart Airport in Newburgh, NY.

And that’s where they stayed. For a very long time.

For nearly 7 hours, passengers grew increasingly irate as cabin fever set in and the food and beverage supplied dwindled to water and potato chips. “That’s all we got — four chips and half a cup of water,” one passenger said.

Another passenger, David Martin of Kontain.com, captured a lot of the ordeal on his phone.

“One guy said he had a question, and the flight attendant started shouting at this guy, ‘You are really getting on my freaking nerves! You need to shut the hell up!’” recalled Martin.

Ultimately it was JetBlue that came to the rescue of the stranded Virgin passengers, arranging for bus transportation to JFK.

They finally arrived at the airport around 2 a.m. (or 3 a.m., for those whose watches had already adjusted to the time change), 16 hours after departing Los Angeles.

According to Martin, he was contacted by Virgin America CEO David Cush who promised a full refund and $100 credit to all passengers.

A 16-hour flightmare [NY Post]

Donating a kidney or part of a liver is a risky proposition, even when you’re giving the donation to a loved one or family member. But a new study asks whether or not people would be more willing to part with an organ if tens, or even hundreds, of thousands of dollars were offered.

According to the survey, done by researchers at the University of Pennsylvania, respondents became more and more willing to donate as the money increased. But, contrary to some folks’ expectations, the increase in willingness appears to be steady across all economic classes.

“We were surprised to find that, contrary to what a lot of ethicists were concerned about, people were as able to discern risks in the face of a $100,000 payment as with no payment,” one of the Penn doctors involved in the research explained.

In their report, the Penn researchers claimed, “Theoretical concerns about paying persons for living kidney donation are not corroborated by empirical evidence.”

The study goes so far as to suggest “a real-world test of regulated payments for kidney donation… to definitively show whether payment provides a viable and ethical method” to increase the supply of kidneys.

Some of those who take issue with the study allege that the people who responded positively to the poll were possibly just saying what they thought they ought to say.

“We are seeing a lot of socially desirable answering,” says Lainie Ross of the University of Chicago’s MacLean Center for Clinical Medical Ethics.

Ross also took issue with the survey’s methodology. The polling was done on board commuter trains in the Philadelphia area, and she believes that only talking to these people overlooks “the poorest of the poor,” i.e., those for whom donating an organ would provide the biggest financial boon.

Study: Payments would increase organ donation [Philadelphia Inquirer]

Have you ever had McSpaghetti? How about a basket of piping hot, deep-fried chicken livers from your local KFC? These are just a few of the not-so-popular menu items that made ChicagoNow’s list of the 15 Worst Fast Food Fails.

Perhaps not surprisingly, McDonald’s is responsible for an overwhelming number of items on the list with 8 digestive disasters, including the above-mentioned McSpaghetti, the McLean Deluxe, and the Hula Burger. That last one was apparently’s McD’s founder Ray Kroc’s attempt to add another Lent-friendly menu option to the menu, by replacing the meat in a hamburger… with a pineapple.

Burger King has its fair share of failures on the countdown. There’s the obvious — Could they ever have thought anyone would want a BK Veggie Burger? — and the arguable — I have to admit my fondness as an adolescent for the BK Burger Bites. But the brunt of the hurt dished out on the King is for his mid-’90s stab at classing up the joint by adding restaurant-like table service, with free popcorn while you wait!

KFC gets a nod for those chicken livers. Taco Bell earns a spot on the list for thinking inside the bun with their “Bell Beefer,” which was really nothing but a Sloppy Joe. And then there’s Wendy’s sole entry, the Superbar. Writes ChicagoNow: “I never remembered people swarming around it like they did in the commercial. It always looked kinda gross.”

But for all the strangeness on the list, the winner for biggest food fail isn’t something exotic, but the rather bland Arch Deluxe. McDonald’s spent a ridiculous amount of money trying to get people to eat something not as tasty as their Big Mac. Shockingly, it didn’t work.

What do you think? Surely there are items that you think deserve to be on this list…

The 15 Worst Fast Food FAILS [ChicagoNow]

In a move designed to make sure their neighbors throw extra eggs at their houses, a handful of former AIG employees are threatening to sue because they haven’t received bonuses as quickly as they had expected.

Of special note is that these aren’t just any AIG employees who happened to have lost their jobs when the insurance giant collapsed in 2008. No, these people used to work for the Financial Products division, the unit for bringing the company to its knees.

AIG, which is now 80% owned by the U.S. government, is reportedly holding back $21 million from retention bonuses from current and former Financial Products employees while the company investigates the bonuses to make sure the amounts are legit.

Part of their research is making sure these former AIG employees are accurately reporting the income they’ve received since exiting the company. Anything earned since leaving AIG is to be deducted from the bonus money. But lawyers for the one-time AIG-ers say their clients are tired of answering questions.

“They have asked them a series of questions, explaining that this part of their due diligence,” the legal eagle explained. “But those same questions have been asked and answered before already… They’ve had several months to determine whether or not any payment should be offset. Unless there’s a very quick payment made of the balance 25 percent, I think [a lawsuit] is inevitable.”

Ex-AIG employees might sue over lower payouts [Reuters]

As some news sites — especially those belonging to national newspapers — move or consider moving behind pay walls as a way to increase revenue, a new study shows that an overwhelming number of online news readers have no interest in paying for content.

According to a survey by the Pew Foundation’s Project For Excellence In Journalism, the number of people getting their news from websites is now at around 53% of all American adults. But only 35% of those say they have a single, “favorite” site.

And, making matters even more dire for those considering the pay wall model, 82% of those with favorite news sites say they would not pay for content from that site.

That means — and please correct me if my math is wrong — only about 3.33% of all American adults would be willing to pay for news online.

Write the Pew peeps:

In sum, there appears to be only a very small cohort of voracious news consumers who have to have their news from a particular site, even if they have to pay for it. The vast majority of online news consumers, though, seem willing to browse for news from many sites, do not have a favorite online news source, and even if they do, are not willing to pay for that site’s content.

What do you think:

State of the News Media 2010 [Project for Excellence in Journalism]

The movie theater has never really been a place where people go for healthy eats, but the head of Sony Pictures thinks it could be.

Speaking at the ShoWest convention in Las Vegas on Monday, Sony Pictures CEO Michael Lynton said that, while the current fare offered at theaters is great, theater owners should be considering healthier alternatives.

“I don’t mean to close the window for popcorn, soda and candy. Audiences love them and should always be able to buy them at your theaters,” he said. But he added that “by bringing healthier snacks into your concession stands, you would be helping our country meet an urgent public health need,”

Lyton pointed to a survey Sony did of 26 theaters around the country. According to their findings, 42% of parents said they’d buy more food at the concession stands if healthier options were made available.

Among the foods Lynton suggested theaters offer were veggies and dip, fruit cups, yogurt and granola.

What’s your favorite thing to eat at the movies? And is there something less unhealthy you would eat instead?

Sony boss asks theater owners for healthier snacks [AP]

Remember those Northwest Airlines pilots who were too busy looking at their laptops to bother landing in Minneapolis? They have made a deal with the FAA to drop their appeal to have their licenses reinstated.

Under the agreement, the two pilots, whose licenses were revoked following the October 21 incident, will not contest the revocation, though they can reapply for licenses in 10 months.

In order for them to get their licenses back, the pilots would need to retake tests that are given to new pilots. They would also need to underogo simulator training before they can pilot commercial planes again.

“There’s no good excuse,” one of the pilots said in the aftermath of the scandal. “I let my guard down. I wish I could explain why.”

Pilots who overflew airport drop attempt to keep licenses [CNN]

The New York Times may still be the “paper of record,” but they’re no longer the only national newspaper available at Starbucks. The coffee giant has added USA Today to its 6,500 retails outlets nationwide.

“Consumer news is part of the coffeehouse experience,” said Chris Bruzzo, VP for brand content and online at Starbucks Coffee. “We’re delighted to be able to provide our customers with more selection in how they choose to source their news content and customize their Starbucks experience.”

USA Today had been available at Starbucks until 2000, at which point the Times made an exclusivity deal with the coffee company.

“Starbucks is a lot bigger now, with a lot more stores,” said Larry Lindquist, senior VP of circulation at USA Today about the paper’s reunion with Starbucks. “So it’s more important to us now than it was to us then.”

Putting on their poker face, the Times said they’re just fine and dandy with having a competitor at the ‘Bucks.

“We understand they are adding another newspaper in addition to The New York Times and other local papers, and that’s fine,” a rep for the paper said. “Customers will have more choices, just like they do online and on every newsstand… We have a strong affinity with our readers and believe they will continue to select The New York Times, just as they do now when they have a choice.”

It should be noted that licensed (i.e., not company-owned) Starbucks, which are found mainly in airports and malls, won’t be affected by this. These stores have been free to sell numerous newspapers and were never bound by the Times’ exclusivity deal.

New York Times’ Exclusive Run at Starbucks Ends [AdAge]

As the world grows more and more technologically savvy, thieves continue to have success with old-fashioned methods. First there was the guy who robbed a Walmart with their own crowbar and now comes report of a man who not only managed to burgle a McDonald’s through the drive-thru window, but who did it with a broken beer bottle.

The suspect pulled up to a McD’s in Dunedin, FL, last Friday in his Ford Explorer. He asked the cashier at the window to make change for his $1 bill. That’s when he started waving the busted bottle and demanding cash.

The cashier didn’t hand over any cash, but when they backed away from the window, the thief reached through the window and helped himself to the money.

The thief was able to get away from the McDonald’s, but was apprehended by police a short time later. According to reports, he threatened to injure himself with the bottle, but was ultimately taken into custody without doing so.

Dunedin man accused of robbing McDonald’s with bottle

In an effort to make sure that you can’t go anywhere without watching Netflix movies, software developers Vertigo recently unveiled the Netflix app they’re working on for the recently unveiled Windows Phone 7.

Like its counterparts on the Xbox 360 and other systems, users will be able to stream Netflix’s Watch Instantly offerings. They’ll also have access to their Netflix DVD queue so they can request new DVDs and move items around in their list.

There’s also been some recent talk of bringing Netflix to Nintendo’s DS system, since that allows for WiFi access.

No date was given on when Netflix would begin streaming video to Windows Phone 7 users.

Stream Netflix, Read Comics, Track Sports, Play Games With Windows Phone 7 [Kotaku]

Since Apple’s iPad, just like their iPod and iPhone products, doesn’t have a battery that can be replaced — at least without voiding your warranty — the company has said that, if your battery dies, they’ll give you a replacement iPad… for a service fee of $99.

On their site, Apple writes, “If your iPad requires service due to the battery’s diminished ability to hold an electrical charge, Apple will replace your iPad for a service fee.”

Whether or not that’s a good deal probably depends upon a few factors.

1) $99 is around the retail price for most laptop batteries, so that’s reasonable.

2) You have to send Apple your iPad to have it replaced. Are you willing to be iPad-free for however long it takes to get the replacement processed?

3) Apple says “You will receive a replacement iPad that will not contain any of your personal data… Before you submit your iPad for service it is important to sync your iPad with iTunes to back up your contacts, calendars, email account settings, bookmarks, apps, etc.” So basically you’re starting over again with a completely new iPad when you do get it back from Apple.

They also have this caveat for circumstances under which they won’t replace the battery for just the service fee: “Your iPad is not eligible for Battery Replacement Service if the product has been damaged, for example, as a result of an accident, liquid contact, disassembly, unauthorized service or unauthorized modifications, or if the product is not operating correctly as a result of a component failure.”

Apple Guarantees iPad Battery Life [Information Week]

Hungry Continental frequent fliers take note: The airline announced today that it’s going to stop serving free meals for coach passengers on all domestic flights.

That makes Continental the latest airline to get into the business of selling food to its passengers. The change over from free grub to menu service will begin in the fall and will also include some flights from the US to Canada and Mexico.

Business and first-class passengers need not worry; your meal is still included.

For those steerage coach passengers who choose not to dish out cash for airplane food, you’ll still be getting free snacks and non-alcoholic beverages.

Here’s how Continental spins it: “We are improving our economy meal service with a high-quality, industry-leading food-for-purchase program that is consistent with the strong brand image and high service standards for which our customers recognize us… Our traditional free-food model has served us well for many years, but we need to change to reflect today’s market and customer preferences.”

No more free lunch for Continental coach passengers [Houston Chronicle]

As part of a settlement in a privacy lawsuit filed against Netflix late last year, the video delivery service has called off their $1 million Next Big Thing contest that started the whole problem in the first place.

You might recall that last August Netflix launched their second go-around of their Next Big Thing contest, in which they challenged users to come up with ideas for significantly improving the site’s video recommendation engine, with the winner being awarded the $1 million prize.

To help contestants along, Netflix provided supposedly “anonymized” user data. The info didn’t include names or credit card info, but did give age, gender, zip code and rental history — sufficient info for a clever enough person to match up anonymized data with real accounts.

Once it was proven that it wasn’t impossible to connect the Netflix dots, it all ended up in court, with a closeted lesbian mom leading a class action lawsuit alleging that Netflix’s attempt at crowdsourcing could ultimately lead to the revelation of very private, and potentially harmful, personal information.

Well, today Netflix announced that they’d reach an agreement on the lawsuit with the Federal Trade Commission. And as part of the arrangement, they have given up on the current iteration of the Next Big Thing.

“The resolution to both matters involves certain parameters for how we use Netflix data in any future research programs,” wrote the company’s Chief Product Officer Neil Hunt in a statement.

Netflix settles privacy lawsuit, ditches $1 million contest [ArsTechnica]

In a move to cut down on paper and ID fraud, United Airlines has announced passengers can now opt out of paper boarding passes and have digital boarding passes sent to their Internet-ready phones.

Much like the paper passes, the digital ones will have a barcode that can be scanned at the gate. Passengers will still be required to show their ID, along with the digital pass, when passing through security.

In addition to saving a bunch of trees, United believes that the digital option will make it more difficult to fake a boarding pass. They also hope that it will decrease the amount of time spent in line at both security and at the gate.

What do you think? Will digital barcodes do anything to reduce the amount of time you spend in line?

Paperless Boarding Pass Coming For United Flyers [The Denver Channel]

The trend of chain restaurants posting calorie information alongside their food menu is about to go national. Panera Bread announced this week that they will be doing it at all of the chain’s company-owned stores starting on March 24.

In announcing the decision Panera execs claim they made the decision to go national based on two factors — 1) the fact that Congress is currently mulling the idea of mandatory calorie info; 2) positive customer reaction in areas where they’ve posted the calorie info.

“It puts everything out in the open, obviously,” said Panera Chief Concept Officer Scott Davis. “So when you look at making a choice between a soup with 100 calories and a sandwich with 300 or 400 calories, it puts it pretty clearly what’s in your best interest.”

The calorie information will go up in all 585 of Panera’s company-owned stores, including their Saint Louis Bread Co. and Paradise Bakery & Cafe outlets. The company hopes that their 1,380 franchised restaurants will follow their lead.

This makes Panera the first national chain to post calorie information. Yum Brands Inc., which owns KFC, Taco Bell, Pizza Hut, Long John Silver’s and A&W All-American Food, have previously stated that they will post calorie info in all of their company-owned restaurants by Jan. 1, 2011.

Is there a need for a national law requiring restaurants to post calorie information? Does having the information next to the items on the menu have an effect on what you buy?

Panera to post calories at corporate-owned stores [AP]

We all know what Botox is. But can you name any of the anti-wrinkle injection’s competition? That’s why the maker’s of competing drug Dysport are not only offering rebates to attract new customers, they’re also offering rebates on Botox if you’re unhappy with their product.

“We are so confident that we are literally willing to bet our money that patients will love their Dysport treatment,” said Jonah Shacknai, the chief executive of Medicis, the company behind Dysport.

The company is advertising their product in national magazines and on their site, offering new users a $75 rebate on their first treatment, which would usually cost between $300 and $500. If, a few months later, they decide to try a second treatment of Dysport, they’ll get a second rebate. And if they decide to try Botox instead, they still get a rebate.

Dysport’s rebate strategy, which runs through April 30, is raising some hackles among medical ethics types.

“I’m not fan of turning medicine into a consumer product,” Says University of Minnesota bioethics professor Dr. Carl Elliott. “But we are so far into it already that I don’t see the tide turning back.”

The folks at Medicis, which also handles skin-plumper Restalyne, shrug off the ethics issue by pointing out that these treatments, despite being potentially harmful, aren’t like most other drugs, which are intended to treat physical pain or illness.

Last year, Botox had worldwide sales of around $1.3 billion, so it’s easy to understand why Dysport would want a piece of that pie.

The question for you is — Is this the right way for them to go about gaining market share?

To Take on Botox, Rival Tries Rebate [NY Times]

Fast food’s cutest redhead is wooing the burger business’s West Coast bad boy, as a new report says the parent company of Wendy’s is cooking up a last-minute bid to buy Carl’s Jr. owners CKE.

Last month, CKE, who own Hardee’s in addition to Carl’s Jr., already reached a $928 million sale agreement with a private equity firm, but according to a story in the New York Post, Trian Fund Management, which already owns the Wendy’s/Arby’s Group, is thinking about making an offer twice that size. They have until April 6 to show their cards.

The story says some insiders are worried that the more family friendly Wendy’s customers might not be happy with the acquisition of a brand like Carl’s Jr., well known for its saucy and occasionally sexy ads featuring semi-celebrities like Paris Hilton and Kim Kardashian.

“It might be offensive to some of Wendy’s customers to combine the brands,” the story quotes a source as saying.

As for the reasoning behind a potential acquisition, the source explains that the allure of a company like Carl’s Jr. is its lower operating costs and higher profit margins.

Do you think a merger between these greasepit gods would be made in heaven? Or would it just be hamburger hell?

Where’s the Beef? [NY Post]

A Houston woman says she was attacked by a man wielding a knife inside her local Walmart and that the store security did nothing to stop the incident or to apprehend the attacker.

According to the woman, she went to the store around 6 a.m. to do some pre-breakfast grocery shopping when she claims a man put her in a chokehold and pulled a knife on her.

“I’m inside the store and all of the sudden I’m being robbed,” she told reporters. “I can’t describe what I’m feeling. I’m shocked. I’m seeing my life flash before me. I’m seeing my children.”

After giving her money to her alleged attacker, the woman says she followed him as he attempted to leave the store.

But, just like the burglar who robbed a Walmart using a crowbar he stole from Walmart, the woman claims her attacker strolled out the front door without being stopped by security or any store employees.

According to her recollection of the incident, the victim says she was told by the manager that the security guards are not permitted to get involved with robberies.

“He said even if the security guards had been inside the store, there’s nothing that they can do,” she said. “They are there to protect the store.”

In a statement to the press, Walmart explained their take on the situation:

When the customer made us aware, we immediately contacted police, who are the best equipped to respond to this type of situation,” spokeswoman Anna Taylor wrote in a statement. “We contacted the customer and her family to express our concern, and we worked with police in their investigation. When responding to a situation like this, we always take into consideration the safety and security of our customers as well as our associates.

Woman Robbed Inside Walmart [KPRC Houston via True Crime Report]

A man recently filed suit against Canadian airline Air Transat because the flight attendants refused to give proper medical attention… to his scrotum.

According to the suit, the plaintiff was flying from Montreal to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, when he went to the bathroom to check on a discomfort in his groin area, only to see spots of blood.

The passenger asked two different flight attendants — first a female and then a male — to get a closer look at his business to determine the exact nature of the spotting. Not surprisingly, both attendants passed on the opportunity and offered him some sanitary towels instead.

He then asked to see a doctor and the attendants told him they would contact a doctor if his condition worsened.

The passenger made his way to the hospital in Mexico and was diagnosed as having ruptured a vein in the area near his scrotum. It took three stitches to stop the bleeding.

In the suit filed against both the airline and the staff on that particular flight, the plaintiff charged that they failed to provide appropriate medical assistance and sought monetary damages.

However, the judge in the case found no merit in the suit and not only dismissed it outright, but ordered the plaintiff to pay the airline’s court costs.

“It was not incumbent upon a flight attendant to conduct the medical examination of a passenger, a measure reserved for the medical profession,” wrote the judge in her decision. “Nothing in the facts proves that that the situation was dangerous or worrisome to the point of requiring the immediate attention of a doctor.”

Man sues airline for not looking at his scrotum [Toronto Sun via Jaunted]