With the U.S. coronavirus death toll surging past 425,000 and the rollout of genuine vaccines painfully slow, bogus Covid-19 promotions are still going strong. The Justice Department, which reported receiving more than 76,000 tips about coronavirus scams by the fall, has filed at least 33 criminal cases, along with 13 civil actions seeking to halt the sale of fake vaccines, treatments or testing. Read more»

Over the past decade, thousands of children have been treated at emergency rooms after swallowing high-powered magnets, according to Consumer Product Safety Commission estimates. Parents and doctors reported cases of children who were hospitalized with injuries such as perforated intestines and bowels. At least two children in the U.S. have died. Read more»

Workers complained early on in the pandemic about dangerous work conditions; the lack of response from OSHA is blamed in part for the spread of coronavirus and has now led to several lawsuits brought by workers. Read more»

Toxicologists in New Mexico and Arizona caught wind of a disturbing trend in May. Adults had been hospitalized after drinking hand sanitizer made with methanol. Read more»

As genetic testing companies increasingly pivot to medical and pharmaceutical ventures, a regulatory gap in consumer privacy protections is drawing calls for change and even legislative proposals. Read more»

Tiny plastic pellets, have escaped into waterways by the countless billions as a result of failures by the plastics industry, not consumers. Read more»

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is under fire for setting what critics say are near-impossible standards for quick, at-home Covid-19 tests that could provide a breakthrough in stemming the spread of the virus. Read more»

The FDA has repeatedly urged pregnant women to avoid medically unnecessary ultrasounds, saying it is aware of “several enterprises” in the U.S. that perform ultrasounds on pregnant women for entertainment’s sake and then sell the images as keepsake photographs and videos. Read more»

In its attempted crackdown on bogus coronavirus remedies, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has encountered an old nemesis: a “miracle” solution made of chlorine dioxide that experts say is akin to drinking bleach. Read more»

Over the last decade, consumer complaints against U.S.-based solar companies have multiplied. Among them are claims that salespeople misrepresented the terms of power purchase agreements or leases. Some homeowners say they were tricked and locked into 20-year contracts that can’t be broken, short of paying the solar company tens of thousands of dollars. Read more»

U.S. transportation officials are seeking to ease deployment of driverless cars by amending certain safety standards, drawing strong protest from groups who say the move is premature because the safety of self-driving technology is unproven. Read more»

In 1976, a few years after OSHA was created, Congress attached a rider to the agency’s budget that exempted farms with 10 or fewer employees from enforcement. It shields farm owners from accountability when their workers die in preventable accidents. Read more»

Americans are being told to limit public interactions during the coronavirus pandemic, and to stay at home as much as possible. They’re also being told not to denude grocery shelves by hoarding food and other essentials. Read more»

While the U.S. Department of Energy declares America to be in the midst of a clean energy revolution – one that is generating “hundreds of billions in economic activity” – fraudsters have definitely arrived at the revolution. And they, too, are cashing in. Read more»

Drunk drivers, motorcyclists and young or distracted motorists make up the majority of those involved in fatal vehicle crashes, and many states are failing to pass key safety measures that could prevent such deaths, according to a new report by a highway safety group. Read more»