If you paid for meals, a hotel or another flight you're going to get paid By Mark Huffman of ConsumerAffairs July 26, 2024 Delta Airlines says it finally got back to normal operations on Thursday, nearly a week after a Microsoft global outage resulted in thousands of canceled flights. The airline said it plans to compensate stranded passengers for their out-of-pocket expenses during that time. Of all the airlines, Delta had the greatest struggle getting its operations back on track. Thursday was the first day that it had no canceled flights. In a major fence-mending initiative with its custom ..read more

More consumers than ever before will be able to access NBA and WNBA games By Kristen Dalli of ConsumerAffairs July 26, 2024 With streamers like Amazon, YouTube, and Netflix making plays for football broadcasts, the NBA and WNBA are joining in the streaming wars. The leagues have announced11-year streaming deals with Prime Video, Disney, and NBCUniversal. Each of the networks will pay the NBA upwards of $1 billion each year of the deal for streaming rights. Amazon is paying $1.93 billion, Comcast NBCs parent company is paying $2.45 billion, and Disney is paying $2.62 billion annually. Our new g ..read more

People writing fake reviews about pajamas? How low can they go? By Gary Guthrie of ConsumerAffairs July 26, 2024 The validity of product reviews on the wide-open internet is becoming increasingly difficult to manage because of the rampage of artificial intelligence (AI). In 2023 alone, Google took down an eye-popping 170 million fake reviews of businesses, hotels, and restaurants -- up 32% from 2022. A recent Fakespot study revealed that certain product categories have a high percentage of unreliable reviews, too -- with up to 75% of reviews for some products being deemed fake. Added together ..read more

Injuries rose 45% from 2017 to 2022 By Mark Huffman of ConsumerAffairs July 26, 2024 Electric scooters are highly popular, but they may not be the safest form of transportation. Researchers at the University of California San Francisco (UCSF) report that injuries to scooter riders have surged, coincidingwith scooter use. The researchers say the use of electric scooters grew 50-fold over the last decade. But their study also found that riders engaged in increasingly risky behavior, such as riding without a helmet, and even riding while intoxicated. Another factor is where scooters tend to be m ..read more

Diabetes has less of a chance, too By Gary Guthrie of ConsumerAffairs July 25, 2024 If you have GERD aka acid reflux you know how downright nasty it can be and how difficult it is to tie directly to a particular food or beverage.But, research shows that while hot brewed coffee can contribute to acid reflux, cold brewed (aka cold press) coffee can be much easier on your system. People who shop at serious coffee shops are no doubt aware that cold brew coffeehas zoomed in popularity -- a300% increase in sales since2016. Many coffee lovers enjoy its smooth, less bitter taste, and potent caffeine ..read more

The company has identified 70 HomePlus stores in 13 states for closing By Mark Huffman of ConsumerAffairs July 25, 2024 Conns, a home goods and furniture retailer, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection and announced it will close 70 of its HomePlus stores in 13 states. The companys financial struggles came to light earlier this year. In the first quarter of 2024, Conns reported its total revenue was down nearly 8% over the first quarter of 2023. It also reported a net loss of nearly $77 billion for its fiscal year. Here are the states where HomePlus stores will close: Alabama: 1 ..read more

They remain a little steep for a million-dollar starter home By Mark Huffman of ConsumerAffairs July 25, 2024 Mortgage rates barely budged this week. Freddie Mac reports the average 30-year fixed-rate mortgage rate this week is 6.78%, up from 6.77% last week. While the short-term trend has been a slow decline, mortgage rates remain a barrier for many buyers. Mortgage rates essentially remained flat from last week but have decreased nearly half a percent from their peak earlier this year, said Sam Khater, Freddie Macs chief economist. Despite these lower rates, buyers continue to pause, as ref ..read more

The airline says its read your reviews and is responding By Gary Guthrie of ConsumerAffairs July 25, 2024 Southwest Airlines says enough is enough, and after seeing the airline industry catch far too much flack over poor customer service, its making several new initiatives designed to elevate the customer experience. It plans to assign seats, and introduce get this -- redeye flights as part of its ongoing commitment to product evolution. The airline says that while you might not think they pay attention to every little thing travelers say about them, they do. And heres what they saw and what t ..read more

A worldwide event like this always attracts criminals By Mark Huffman of ConsumerAffairs July 25, 2024 Security is extremely tight at the Paris Olympics as officials remain vigilant for any threat of violence. Here at home, consumers should also keep their guard up, not so much against terrorists but against scammers. After all, whenever there is a high-profile event that dominates the news cycle, criminals usually try to cash in. For example, after a natural disaster, they can be expected to raise money for fake relief organizations. Here are some of the things to watch for: Merchandise: Its ..read more

Some recipients of the $10 Uber Eats gift card say it was rejected By Mark Huffman of ConsumerAffairs July 25, 2024 Now that the dustis beginning to settle from Fridays global software outage, caused by a glitch in a CrowdStrike software, the cybersecurity firm is reportedly trying to make amends to its partners that were thrust into a weekend of chaos. According to a report by TechCrunch, a technology news website, CrowdStrike emailed its partners a $10 Uber Eats gift card in recognition of the additional work that the July 19 incident has caused. A nice gesture to be sure, but according to ..read more