TSA Finds Large Knife Ruining A Batch Of Perfectly Good Enchiladas At California Airport

Just enchilada sauce, don’t worry. (TSA)

Just like my second cousin twice removed Hildy used to say — a sure way to ruin a tasty batch of enchiladas is by hiding a huge knife in it and then trying to get through airport security. At least, she would’ve said that if she existed and knew someone tried to do just that at a Sonoma airport recently.

A Transportation Security Administration officer at the Sonoma Airport said he found a knife with an over eight-inch long blade tucked inside an enchilada in a female passenger’s carry-on bag, reports KTVU.com.

That made for quite a gory looking photo, but don’t worry — the red stuff is just sauce. In any case, it’s very much against TSA rules to bring blades that length on a plane.

The woman was on her way to catch an Alaska Airlines flight, and said she had no idea how the knife got in there.

“This item turned out to be an eight-and-a-half inch knife that was inside of a wrapped enchilada,” explained a TSA spokesman. “The woman said she had made the enchilada over the weekend and she really didn’t know how the knife got into the bag.”

She was eventually cleared for travel, but could be facing a fine if the TSA decides to issue one. Fines for concealed items can range up to $10,000, but the agency usually works it out with the passenger to avoid fees.

Lesson learned — next time that knife goes in a checked bag, or just eat the enchiladas at home beforehand to make sure you didn’t put any weapons in them. That’s what I would do. Eat all the enchiladas and save none for whoever I’m flying to see.

Sonoma airport security find knife smuggled in enchilada [KTVU.com]

by Mary Beth Quirk via Consumerist

Sriracha Makers Mull Factory Move Over Odor Ordeal

(tedeytan)

Days after being declared a smelly “public nuisance” by the California town it calls home, Huy Fong Foods — makers of the spicy Sriracha sauce loved by many a person — may be packing up its peppers and moving.

The L.A. Times reports that Huy Fong owner David Tran has invited the various politicians and business leaders from around the country who have said they would welcome the factory to come check out the Irwindale, CA, facility to see first-hand if they believe the odors would present a problem.

Huy Fong has been locked in a battle with the Irwindale town council for months over claims that the factory releases fumes into the neighborhood that smell bad and cause some people to experience eye irritation.

The town has already filed a lawsuit over the issue, but that won’t come to trial until next fall at the earliest.

The plant was temporarily shut down last November, but resumed production in January. The recent public nuisance declaration by the town council will give the company a 90-day period in which to further mitigate the odor issue.

Tran says he is not dead set on moving, but that he has to consider it because he feels the council is unlikely to accept any proposal he makes and that some residents will continue to complain regardless of mitigation efforts.

“[City officials] tell you one thing, but think another,” Tran explained. “I don’t want to sit here and wait to die.”

While places as far away as Philadelphia have offered to give Huy Fong a new home, the biggest problem isn’t setting up a new factory; it’s the distance to the peppers that are the core of the product.

Huy Fong uses peppers from a single nearby source and puts them through the grinder on the same day they are harvested. Relocating would mean finding a new grower. It would also mean that anywhere between 60 to 200 employees would need to be replaced or relocated.

“I have had the bad luck to move into a city with a government that acts like a local king,” Tran said.

by Chris Morran via Consumerist

Free Chicken Big King Only An Illusory Dream

The Big King is Burger King’s version of a two-patty burger with vegetables, cheese, and “King Sauce,” and it is totally not a clone of the Big Mac. Nope. On Saturday, Burger King introduces a new member of this royal family: the Chicken Big King, with two breaded chicken patties. Reader Adam lives in a test market where he had early access to this burger. It was not, however, free.

The Big King might seem like a Big Mac clone, but in an interview with the fab site Burger Business, Alex Macedo, president of Burger King North America, says that they really don’t care if you accuse them of copying their bigger rival. “There’s no point in not offering your guests something they like and appreciate,” he points out. Besides, triple-bun double-decker burgers actually date back to the Great Depression, thirty years before the Big Mac was even a sesame seed in its inventor’s brain.

Anyway, back to Adam’s adventures with menu boards. He sneaked this photo of what he saw behind the counter:

“No,” writes Adam, “they did not honor their advertisement.” Maybe the price was zero because the sandwich wasn’t officially on the menu yet, even as a test item. Or maybe it was a silly typo, but he still found it disappointing.

We asked Burger King’s media relations people whether they know what the deal was here, and will post when we hear something back.

by Laura Northrup via Consumerist

Newborn Kittens Survive Accidentally Getting Packed In A Box And Shipped 130 Miles

Aaaaaaaaaaaaah so cute. (ABC 10)

Warning: If you are prone to squees of delight and shrieks of adoration, the below story might not be safe for your coworkers’ ears. Because how could you not utter at least one “aww!” when faced with tiny newborn kittens named Mouse and Wifi that survived traveling 100 miles packed in a box shipped to a warehouse?

Two kittens so young they still had the umbilical cords attached were found in a box shipped to Cox Communications in Los Angeles from Chula Vista, which is about 130 miles away, reports ABC 10 News.

A worker who watched as his fellow employee unpacked that box says they’re lucky they’re surviving and now thriving.

“They were very, very lucky that they didn’t fall out of it in transport or when we were unloading the truck,” he said, adding that he’d thought he’d seen it all in his 34 years at the warehouse.

He called his nephew, who coincidentally is an investigator with the San Diego Humane Society, and the kittens were taken there to recover. And lest you be looking around for a bad human to blame, look instead to the kittens’ mom.

“What we think happened was the mom had the babies and she put them in a safe spot … and she left,” says one of the Humane Society workers who’s been taking care of the kittens, and helped with their telecom-inspired names. “Then they got boxed up and they got shipped.”

The kittens are extra lucky in this case — if they’d ended up in another city, there might not have been the resources to care for such young animals.

“We’re actually one of the only around-the-clock kitten nurseries in the country,” explains

a San Diego Humane Society spokeswoman. “Most shelters don’t have the resources to provide around-the-clock care that kittens need.”

These two fortunate siblings are on the mend though, and will spend the next few weeks growing fat and happy in the nursery before heading to a foster home. Once they’re eight weeks old, they’ll be ready for adoption.

Now for that video that might prompt a few shrieks of delight:

Kittens accidentally packed in box, shipped from Los Angeles to San Diego [ABC 10 News]

by Mary Beth Quirk via Consumerist

GM Test Drivers Knew Of Ignition Problem In 2006

(Van Swearingen)

Another data point on the General Motors ignition recall timeline has been filled in with the latest revelation that test drivers for the car maker’s Cadillac division spotted the problem eight years ago, possibly leading to a hush-hush design tweak in the switch.

According to the Wall Street Journal, newly uncovered documents related to the defect that has led to at least 13 fatalities and the recall of 2.6 million vehicles show that test drivers of the pre-production 2007 Cadillac SRX noted that the vehicle’s ignition switch could turn off — disabling power steering, brake-assist, and air bags — if bumped by the driver’s knee.

This may explain why, in April 2006, a GM engineer quietly gave the go-ahead to the third-party manufacturer of the defective switch to update the design to prevent this problem; an issue the car company had been made aware of as far back as 2001.

The problem with that redesign is that GM did not change the part number. Thus, the new, more robust ignition switches have been stocked alongside the old defective ones.

The engineer in charge of this ignition switch is believed to be one of the two GM employees recently suspended by the company.

As we mentioned yesterday, GM is attempting to use its recent bankruptcy to shield itself from the new lawsuits related to this defect, as the problematic switch was a creation of the “old GM” from before the company was bailed out when the economy collapsed.

by Chris Morran via Consumerist

United Flight From NYC To D.C. Grounded After Security Finds Bomb Threat On Twitter

(Adam Fagen)

Earlier this week a Dutch teenager landed in hot water after sending a threatening tweet to American Airlines. While the teen says she was joking, the airline took the threat seriously, as it should have. After a number of copycat tweets, nearly all airlines have been keeping a close eye on social media. That vigilance resulted in a temporarily grounded United Airlines flight Wednesday evening.

A United flight slated to travel from JFK International in NYC to Dulles International outside of D.C. was evacuated after the airline received a threatening tweet, reports the New York Daily News.

According to Port Authority Police Department officials, United Airline’s corporate security saw a tweet posted at 7:05 p.m. that read: “There is a bomb on a United Airlines Flight from JFK to Dulles.”

The flight, which was scheduled for a 7:40 p.m. takeoff, was already boarded when the tweet was spotted. All 49 passengers on board were evaluated and the FBI searched the plane for explosives.

Authorities were unable to locate any explosives and the flight eventually took off about two hours late.

United Airlines flight temporarily grounded at JFK Airport by bomb threat made on Twitter [New York Daily News]

by Ashlee Kieler via Consumerist

After Being Called Out Publicly, Joe’s Crab Shack Says It Should Be 100% Trans Fat-Free This Summer

The Joe’s Crab Shack menu states that no trans fats are used, but the CSPI claims that some locations are using margarine that contains high amounts of the controversial ingredient.

Yesterday, restaurant chain Joe’s Crab Shack was called out by the Center for Science in the Public Interest for continuing to use margarine with a high level of trans fat, in spite of claims made on the eatery’s menu that Joe’s doesn’t use the controversial oils. In response, the company says it plans to get rid of this last bit of trans fat in the coming months.

“Prior to the CSPI’s report, we had made consistent progress in our goal to remove all trans fats from our menu,” reads a statement from Jim Mazany, president of Joe’s Crab Shack, sent to Consumerist. “This means that, to date, there are zero trans fats in our frying oil system-wide; some of our restaurants are already fully trans fat-free; and within 90 days, we intend to be completely trans fat-free in all restaurants.”

The CSPI report did find that in areas where restaurants’ use of trans fat-containing ingredients is restricted, Crab Shacks were indeed using real butter instead of the margarine that sometimes provides customers more than a week’s worth of the maximum recommended amount of trans fat.

Given that the company said back in 2007 that it would rid its menu of trans fats, and the “zero trans fat oils” statement printed in the menu, CSPI pointed out that the restaurant was putting itself in a precarious legal position by still using the trans fat-containing margarine at some locations.

by Chris Morran via Consumerist

Will Easter Egg Nog And Jellybean Milk Ever Catch On?

Here at Consumerist, we love and hate holiday mashups. Here’s one that has been around for a while, but was new to us: easter egg nog. Makes sense, doesn’t it? A holiday for which the decorations include brightly-colored eggs, and a festive, occasionally boozy, holiday beverage. Yet it seems so very wrong.

This product came to our attention through one of our favorite blogs, and we just had to check into it. These new products are from Hiland Dairy Foods and Prairie Farms, but it turns out that Easter egg nog is nothing new: Turkey Hill also markets a springtime nog, and dairy giant Dean Foods has apparently been selling it since at least the ’90s. Promised Land also sells Easter nog, along with other baffling milk flavors like “cookies ‘n’ cream” milk and chocolate nog.

Even if we begrudgingly accept this expansion of nog into other seasons, much as we have come to accept Reese’s peanut butter eggs and marshmallow Peeps being available more or less year-round, the other seasonal milks raise many questions. Isn’t jellybean milk just milk with a bunch of sugar and fruit flavoring in it? Doesn’t that make it simply what milk tastes like after all of your Froot Loops are gone? Someone has already covered that concept, except without the holiday spin.

by Laura Northrup via Consumerist

Walmart Continues Its Foray Into The Financial Industry With New Money Transfer Service

(Ron Dauphin)

Walmart’s one-stop-shop just gained new ground. Instead of traipsing to Western Union or another money transfer storefront, you can just send dear old grandma a few bucks once you’ve finished grocery shopping at the superstore.

Walmart-2-Walmart allows shoppers to transfer money to and from 4,000 Walmart stores nationwide for up to 50% less than competitors, Forbes reports.

The service, which will be operated by electronic payment company Euronet, comes with two pricing tiers, officials with Walmart say. Customers can transfer up to $50 for $4.50 and up to $900 for $9.50.

Walmart has been dipping its feet in the financial game for quite a few years, with a number of products.

The new service will compete with MoneyGram, who operates Walmart’s current money transfer service. It’s unclear what’s in store for the future of the contract between Walmart and MoneyGram.

Walmart also operates Walmart MoneyCenters where customers can cash checks for $3 at local stores and manage reloadable Walmart MoneyCards online.

Additionally, the company partnered with American Express to offer alternative debit and checking accounts called Bluebird. The accounts come with no minimum balance requirement and no monthly maintenance, activation or annual fees, and target customers who are fed up with increasing fees at traditional banks.

Walmart Unveils ‘Walmart-2-Walmart’ Money Transfer Service Between Stores With Euronet [Forbes]

by Ashlee Kieler via Consumerist

City Officials Flushing 38 Million Gallons Of Water After Teen Pees In Portland Reservoir

There he goes. (YouTube)

The reason cranky adults yell things like “Get off my lawn!” at teenagers isn’t just to protect that lawn. No, we’ve learned in our wise old age that it’s just easier than yelling “Please think about your decisions and how they will affect those around you before you do something just because you think it’s funny!” Case in point: A 19-year-old who’s wasted 38 million gallons of drinking water just because he apparently thought it’d be hilarious to pee in it.

Water bureau officials in Portland, OR are beyond peeved at the teen who they say was caught urinating through an iron fence at a water reservoir in the wee hours of Wednesday, reports NBC News. Two others are seen on camera trying to scale a fence.

And rather than cross their fingers and hope that those millions of gallons of treated drinking water are just fine — usually a little bit of pee in so much water wouldn’t pose a risk to the public — officials decided it’s better to drain than be sorry. Just imagine dumping out 57 Olympic-sized swimming pools.

“Our customers have an expectation that their water is not deliberately contaminated. We have the ability to meet that expectation while minimizing public health concerns,” David Shaff, Portland Water Bureau administrator, said in a statement.

There will still be plenty of water to drink, he added, and that particular reservoir has been taken offline during testing.

The suspects have been cited for trespassing, with the alleged peer getting an additional citation for public urination. The county district attorney’s office is mulling whether to press criminal charges as well.

You can see the kid pretty clearly cozying up to the fence to do his business, it would seem, around the 2:00 mark in the surveillance video below.

Portland Reservoir to be Drained After Teen Pees in Water [NBC News]

by Mary Beth Quirk via Consumerist