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ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — In a normal year for the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race, things would be getting dangerous right about now.

Within the first few days of the 1,000-mile trek across Alaska, mushers would be crossing a mountain range that is home to Mount McKinley, North America’s highest peak.

The expanse of wilderness is risky on its own, but last year poor trail conditions there led to many crashes.

Amid another dry winter, teams are following a different route this year, one that organizers hope will be safer. Here’s a look at what that means for competitors:

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GOODBYE, MOUNTAINS

Race officials decided to bypass the Alaska Range and moved the trail to a more northerly route, starting in Fairbanks.

The switch means no dog teams will be speeding through the cliffs and canyons of the Dalzell Gorge, where many mushers got hurt last year.

Racers also won’t be skirting exposed boulders and tree stumps in the Farewell Burn, or risking life and limb bouncing down the misnamed Happy Steps.

But they will be traveling nearly 600 miles on river ice as they head for the finish line in the Bering Sea coastal town of Nome.

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HELLO, ICE

Mushers expect it to be a very fast pace on the river ice, though others warn of unknown hazards as dog drivers and their teams test the new wilds of Alaska.

“The river can throw a lot of obstacles and hurdles and wind and even drifting,” two-time champion Mitch Seavey said. “We all expect a variety of conditions and prepare for that, and I think we’re going to be fine.”

Musher Lance Mackey noted that not one dog competing in the race has been over the new trail, which he called “kind of cool.”

“Everybody’s on the same playing field in that aspect,” the four-time champion said.

The winner is expected sometime early next week, and will pocket $70,000 and the keys to a new pickup.

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NEW CHECKPOINTS

Another difference this year is that many new Alaska Native communities are serving as checkpoints, such as Huslia, an Athabascan village of about 300.

That takes any edge veteran mushers have in judging how their teams are doing based on how many hours it took them in past races to get from one village to another.

“I think it will take a bit of an advantage away from mushers who are statistically aware,” said defending champion Dallas Seavey, a two-time winner like his dad, Mitch.

Instead, he believes it will come down to mushers’ ability and trust in their teams.

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ALTERNATING ROUTES

Changing the race isn’t totally taboo for the Iditarod.

Its competitive start typically takes place in Willow, but a portion of the trail alternates yearly between a northern and southern route.

Both sections are a part of the historical Iditarod Trail, the traditional mail and delivery path from central Alaska to Nome.

When the race first started, mushers traveled only the northern route, according to the Iditarod’s website. But after several years, officials learned the annual event was heavily affecting some smaller villages on the trail. That’s when they started alternating part of the route on even and odd years.

This year marked only the second time the Iditarod’s official start was in Fairbanks, about 225 miles north of Willow. Similar conditions moved it there in 2003.

Mackey thinks it’s time for another change for the Iditarod — allowing for a southern route, a northern route and a Fairbanks route.

The post A look at what Iditarod route change means for mushers, dogs appeared first on WTOP.

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — An Alabama prosecutor says two teens face cruelty charges after they were accused of beheading three puppies with a machete and posting video on social media.

District Attorney Michael Jackson of Alabama’s 4th Judicial Circuit says a caller alerted police after seeing the video Thursday on Snapchat.

Jackson said the Wilcox County Sheriff’s Department on Tuesday arrested 18-year-old Ashley Johnston and a 17-year-old who was not named because of his age. It was not immediately clear if Johnston had an attorney. Jackson says both teens are students at Wilcox Academy.

Snapchat automatically deletes postings after they are viewed. Sheriff Ernest Evans say investigators have not seen the posting, but have spoken to others who did.

Wilcox County is about 75 miles west of Montgomery.

The post District attorney: Teens arrested after beheading of puppies appeared first on WTOP.

HILO, Hawaii (AP) — Construction of one of the world’s largest telescopes is being delayed because of blizzard conditions on a Hawaii mountain summit.

The Thirty Meter Telescope will be built near the summit of Mauna Kea. If not for the winter storm, construction preparations would be getting underway at the site of the $1.4-billion project, Sandra Dawson, telescope spokeswoman, told Hilo newspaper Hawaii Tribune-Herald (http://ow.ly/Kae0Z ).

The Mauna Kea access road was closed Monday because of snow and wind. Because of frozen weather gauges, it was difficult to estimate snowfall and wind speeds, said Ryan Lyman, meteorologist for the Mauna Kea Weather Center. He’s expecting up to 2 feet of snow and winds of 50 mph to 70 mph, with a break Tuesday and then snowing again Tuesday night. Conditions may improve to reopen the road by Friday or during the weekend, he said.

“The winds are pounding,” he said. “Snow is all over the place.”

When telescope construction can begin will depend on when the weather clears, Dawson said. “We have to do some re-planning based on the weather,” she said.

Even though access to the construction site will be restricted, there are plans to accommodate protesters, Dawson said.

Some oppose plans to build the telescope near the summit of a mountain held sacred by Native Hawaiians. Protests disrupted a groundbreaking and Hawaiian blessing ceremony last year.

The telescope should help scientists see some 13 billion light years away for a glimpse into the early years of the universe. Astronomers say Mauna Kea is the ideal location for observing the most distant and difficult to understand mysteries of the universe.

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Information from: Hawaii Tribune-Herald, http://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/

The post Blizzard on Hawaii summit delays telescope construction appeared first on WTOP.

PITTSBURGH (AP) — A man whose fatal stabbing of a K-9 prompted Pennsylvania lawmakers to stiffen the penalty for harming police animals has been sentenced to up to 44 years in prison.

A judge on Tuesday decided John Lewis Rush should serve a minimum of 17 years, nine months in prison and said he must also serve eight years of probation after being released.

The 22-year-old Stowe Township resident was convicted in December of torturing a police animal, aggravated assault on the dog’s handler and three other officers, and other offenses.

Police say Rush stabbed the dog and wounded two officers trying to arrest him in January 2014 on warrants for violating probation and failing to register as a sex offender.

Rush says he stabbed the dog in self-defense.

The post Man who fatally stabbed K-9 gets up to 44 years in prison appeared first on WTOP.

WASHINGTON — A picture a Virginia photographer captured of a woman with a baby swaddled in an American flag is drawing controversy around the country.

Vanessa Hicks, a professional photographer in Virginia Beach, Virginia took a picture of her friend, a Navy veteran, holding her newborn child cradled in an American flag. When Hicks, a veteran herself, posted the photo on her business’ Facebook page Sunday, the photo went viral and got many people talking, TODAY reports.

Many people offered positive feedback, while others said the photo disrespects the flag and shows poor taste.

“As a military family I love this picture and it shows exactly what we sacrifice everything for,” wrote one person commenting on it.

A Facebook page called “You Call Yourself a Photographer?” had a different perspective.

“To use the American flag in such a way is disrespectful, rude, tacky, disgusting, and against the U.S. Flag Code,” a post says.

After mounting criticism, Hicks took to Facebook Tuesday addressing the cyber bullies who said she “disrespected our country by taking this picture.”

“I am very well aware of our U.S. Flag code. I also know exactly what desecration of a flag is. It’s when you pull into ports and you see protesters with our flag and have spray painted horrible things on it. It’s when you watch the news and you see other countries burning our flags, and you are a young Quartermaster scared because you know you are just a few nautical miles from that exact country,” she wrote in the post.

Hicks says she and the family like the picture — and that’s all that should matter. She says she will continue to stand up for the photo.

“To me, that is what being an American is about.”

The post Va. photographer captures controversial photo of baby wrapped in American flag appeared first on WTOP.

NORFOLK, Va. (AP) — A Norfolk-based sailor has been sentenced to 45 days’ confinement for wearing medals that he didn’t earn on his uniform.

Seaman Matthew Cottom also received a reduction in rank to seaman recruit. His pay will be cut in half for two months.

The Virginian-Pilot (http://bit.ly/1L16EQr ) reports that Cottom was sentenced Wednesday after pleading guilty in a court-martial to wearing unauthorized insignia and ribbons on his uniform. The medals included a Purple Heart.

One incident occurred during Military Appreciation Day at the University of North Carolina on Oct. 4, 2014. The other occurred in July 2014 while Cottom attended a church service in his home town, Saltillo, Mississippi.

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Information from: The Virginian-Pilot, http://pilotonline.com

The post Norfolk-based sailor sentenced for wearing unearned medals appeared first on WTOP.

WASHINGTON — Here’s another one for the marijuana-legalization critics: Pot can be a real buzz kill — at least for people with allergies.

A recent medical study published in the March issue of Annals of Asthma, Allergy & Immunology says that cannabis is indeed an allergen, and people can have mild to extreme reactions to it, ranging from itchy, watery eyes to deadly anaphylactic shock.

It’s a weed, after all, and scientists say marijuana allergies will naturally become more prevalent as pot laws relax and more people grow and use it out in the open.

“Currently we would treat it like any other allergy,” says Dr. Purvi Parikh, an adult and pediatric allergist and immunologist with the Allergy & Asthma Network. “Much like pollen and ragweed or grass … marijuana is a very allergic plant.”

The study, conducted by Dr. Thad Ocampo and Dr. Tonya Rans at the Wilford Hall Ambulatory Surgical Center at Lackland Air Force Base, in Texas, concludes that allergies associated with weed are being reported “with increased frequency,” mostly because medical and recreational use are on the rise.

The doctors studied 140 patients, including participants with predisposition to allergies and marijuana users with asthma symptoms. Over 50 percent had a cannabis reaction to the standard skin prick allergy test; 34 percent had a positive reaction to the blood serum test. Prevalence was highest among the pot users.

These findings agree with other studies, leading the doctors to conclude that “as expected with most plant aeroallergens, cannabis pollen inhalation has been noted to cause symptoms of allergic rhinitis, conjunctivitis and asthma.” Furthermore, exposure to the smoke can cause nasal congestion, sneezing, coughing, wheezing and dyspnea, according to the study.

Touching the plant can cause eczema; ingesting it can lead to the same scary reaction a person with a severe peanut allergy might experience after eating peanuts. The study included a report of a man who required an EpiPen (epinephrine) during an anaphylactic attack after eating hemp seed-encrusted fish.

“It’s the plant itself, but also the pollen the plant gives off, and the vapor. There are multiple ways you can be exposed to the allergen,” says Parikh, who says more research is necessary to find a cannabis-specific treatment to the allergy. Right now, the allergy is treated with the same over-the-counter and prescription medications one would get for hay fever or asthma.

The Ocombo-Rans study was released just as a bill was being readied in the U.S. Senate to federally legalize medical marijuana, which advocates believe can serve as an alternative treatment for a number of illnesses and conditions, including cancer, HIV-AIDS, seizures, nausea, multiple sclerosis and glaucoma.

Currently, 23 states allow medical marijuana, but a federal prohibition remains in place for both recreational and medical use. Meanwhile, a number of states have not only opened pathways to medical use but moved toward decriminalization of marijuana or legalizing it completely.

Colorado and Washington have been pot-legal for two years, and Oregon and the District of Columbia passed referendums ending bans in 2014.

The District, however, is fighting with congressional critics over whether it can follow through with its plans to make smoking, growing and distribution legal.

Opponents to legalization often use pot’s dangers to public health as a driving argument against use. Pointing to its allergy implications could be another plank in the opposition’s case.

“I’m sure it will be part of the debate about the health risks,” Parikh says. “Any health concerns are going to be brought to the forefront and should be.”

However, she adds, that argument could quickly be dismissed: “Because you can be allergic to anything.”

Mason Tvert, spokesman for the Marijuana Policy Project, an advocacy group for legalization, agrees.

“Just as some people can have allergic reactions to peanuts, fruits or chocolate, some people may have allergic reactions to marijuana. And like with those other substances, it can vary in terms of severity,” he says.

“But, like with other foods and products, everyone should be aware of the potential for an allergy. Simply telling everyone that marijuana is incredibly dangerous and must be illegal for everyone is not a very good approach, just as it wouldn’t be with peanuts.”

The post Add marijuana to the list of potentially dangerous allergens appeared first on WTOP.

A family in Indiana brought their bulldog, Bubba, to the local Petsmart grooming salon for a nail trim, and the pup never came home. What happened? It’s not really clear, but it appears that the dog collapsed and vomited, leaving him unable to breathe. Now the family is upset and wants justice for their pet, but what does “justice” in this case mean?

The case first reached the attention of local news from Reddit, where a picture of the dog and a summary of what happened attracted sympathy and stories of groomer harm from other pet owners.

The publicity around Bubba’s death is a good reminder for people: if pedicures are stressful for your pet, consider having them performed at the vet instead of a groomer, and performed under sedation. Some pets will even tolerate baths, haircuts, and nail trims at home if you learn how to perform them.

Petsmart acknowledges that the dog died under their care, and said in a statement that there is an “investigation” of the incident happening. As a short-snouted breed, bulldogs are at particular risk of breathing problems during stressful situations like air travel or grooming.

Petsmart released a statement to a local news station, which may not be good enough for the family since it doesn’t actually apologize or acknowledge that the groomers did anything wrong.

At PetSmart, the health and safety of the pets in our care is a top priority, and we are truly saddened by the loss of Bubba. An investigation is underway, but our initial review indicates that our associates acted appropriately by helping the pet parent find the nearest open pet emergency center. We require all of our pet groomers to complete an extensive training program and an annual safety certification. We believe that a continued focus on high standards is an effective way to hold groomers accountable and promote safety in our salons.

Back when high fructose corn syrup hadn’t yet been invented, the phrase “Mountain Dew” meant something very different. While that name now reminds us of a highly caffeinated soft drink, originally it referred to homemade corn-based booze, or moonshine. Mountain Dew’s new limited-edition product is supposed to evoke moonshine while removing corn from the beverage altogether.

The beverage comes in four-packs of glass bottles, and is clear and vaguely citrus-flavored. So it’s malt liquor, then? No. It’s Mountain Dew. Its trademarked name is Mountain Dew Dew Shine, but it contains no alcohol despite being named after two different classic homemade intoxicants. (Yes. “Dew dew.” We had the same thought.)

What we don’t know yet is whether this sort of Mountain Dew will contain caffeine. If it follows the pattern of the previous Mountain Dew “heritage” flavor, Johnson City Gold, in 2012, it will be caffeinated. Dew Shine is packaged like a craft-style soda, and sues cane sugar instead of high fructose corn syrup.

The beverage goes on sale later this month. We do not know how it tastes mixed with whiskey, which was the original purpose of the soft drink invented in Johnson City, Tennessee that eventually became the Mountain Dew that we know and either love or hate today.

New Mountain Dew “DewShine” to Hit Shelves Later This Month [Brand Eating]

Back in July, we shared the tragic story of a man being pursued for shoplifting from a mall in Maryland who hid in a drainage pond and drowned. A shoplifter in New Hampshire was saved from a similar fate by a police officer who is also a veteran of the Marines…but she was also the officer who pursued him to the river.

The man is accused of stealing over $2,000 in merchandise from the Macy’s store at the Pheasant Lane Mall in Nashua, New Hampshire. The local police officer pursued the suspect away from the mall and to train tracks near the river, which was partly frozen over. He fell in, and was fully underwater, appearing to be “under distress,” according to the officer.

She followed him into the water, hauling him to safety. Members of the local fire and rescue squad were there to greet them…and then the shoplifting suspect was arrested. He has been charged with felony theft.

Nashua police officer rescues shoplifting suspect from icy river waters [Union Leader]

No home is an island, especially when it shares walls with other houses. As such, a Superior Court judge in Washington, D.C. has issued a temporary order banning a man from smoking inside his home, after his neighbors filed a lawsuit claiming that the fumes were harmful to their health.

The court order says no one inside the home can smoke anything — from tobacco to marijuana — in the Northeast D.C. home that the man’s family has owned for 50 years, reports WJLA.com.

“We were floored,” the man’s sister says, saying she’s shocked that a lawsuit could dictate what the family does in its own home.

New neighbors who moved in next door claimed in a civil lawsuit seeking $500,000 in damages that they’re being harmed by smoke that they say comes in through a hole in their basement, specifically noting that they have one child and another on the way who could be affected adversely from the fumes. They say in court fillings that they tried to work with the man and his sister but filed the suit when mediation attempts failed.

“I think it’s an excellent precedent to start, so people can realize you can’t just ignore your neighbor,” real estate attorney and Washington Post columnist Benny Kass told WJLA, calling the decision “surprising.” “Your home is no longer your castle.”

But the family seems to view the injunction as a slippery slope, and have vowed to keep fighting the decision.

“If this judge has done this, who will be next? What other neighbor will be next?” the sister asked.

D.C. man can’t smoke in own home due to temporary, precedent-setting court order [WJLA]

Following the death of their young daughter, an Illinois family couldn’t bear the thought of following through with a long-planned spring break trip, so they asked American Airlines to refund the ticket purchased in their daughter’s name. While airlines have varying policies regarding refunds and deaths, the family says they were shocked when the airline refused the refund.

NBC Chicago reports that the family applied for a refund through the airline’s online system after deciding that the planned vacation would be too painful just five months after their daughter’s death.

But the family’s grief turned to disbelief earlier this week when American Airlines sent a fairly unsympathetic letter denying the refund request, saying the appeal didn’t meet the company’s exception requirements for non-refundable tickets.

“On behalf of American Airlines, please accept our sincere condolences,” the letter states. “After reviewing the documentation submitted, it has been determined the request does not meet our exception requirements. The ticket purchased is non-refundable so we cannot offer a refund, issue a travel voucher, or transfer this ticket to another person. The ticket will remain valid in our system for one year from the original date of issue, at which time it will expire and all value will be lost. The unused non-refundable ticket may be applied to future travel within that year as long as all travel is completed prior to the expiration date. As a one-time courtesy, authorization was documented in your reservation to waive the change fee assessed when a non-refundable ticket is changed. When you are ready to rebook your travel, just call our Reservations Center at 1-800-433-7300 and refer the agent to the ticket number mentioned above. Your new ticket will be subject to any additional collection, if necessary, as governed by the applicable fares and fare rules in effect at that time.”

Like with other airlines, American has final discretion when it comes to reimbursing tickets for extenuating circumstances. However, the airline’s policy outlines several exceptions that qualify for repayment of ticket prices, including the “death of the passenger, immediate family member, or traveling companion.”

Shortly after receiving the letter, the young girl’s mother posted the story on social media, where it received hundreds of comments, including one on Twitter from the airline.

NBC Chicago reports that late Tuesday the family received a bit of good news when American Airlines backtracked on their previous stance and refunded the ticket.

“We extend our deepest sympathies to the Cantrell family on the loss of their daughter,” a spokesperson tells NBC Chicago. “We fully refunded [her] ticket last night and apologized to [the family] for not doing so immediately when she first contacted us.”

Despite the airline’s apology, the ordeal seems to have certainly colored the family’s impression of the company.

“I know that I would never write this to someone,” the family’s 13-year-old daughter tells NBC Chicago. “I don’t know how someone could send this to another family. I would never want to be treated that way and I would hope no one would elver treat anyone else that way.”

Airline Refused to Refund Ticket After Daughter’s Death, Family Says [NBC Chicago]

While DirecTV may make people laugh (or cringe) with its multiple Rob Lowe ads, the thing that matters to many people when choosing between cable and satellite is price. But a new Federal Trade Commission complaint filed against the nation’s second-largest pay-TV service alleges that DirecTV is tricking consumers into believing they’re getting a better deal than they end up with.

According to the complaint [PDF] filed today in a federal court in California, the FTC alleges that DirecTV violated multiple federal laws by not adequately disclosing the terms of its pricing promotions.

Like many pay-TV providers, DirecTV uses low introductory rates for new customers that subsequently increase, by upwards of 70%, after the promotion ends. The satellite service is also fond of throwing in free premium networks like HBO and Showtime for a few months to sweeten the deal.

While DirecTV includes fine-print disclosures about the fact that the promo price is only good for 12 months but requires a 24-month contract — or that the free premium channels will cost you money after three months — the FTC alleges that these disclosures are “inadequate in terms of their content, presentation, proximity, prominence or placement such that consumers are unlikely to see or understand” them.

The complaint claims that DirecTV automatically enrolls new subscribers into a so-called “negative option continuity plan,” meaning that the customer must tell DirecTV they don’t want to continue with HBO and other promotional add-ons or else they will start being billed for them when the free period ends.

New visitors to the DirecTV website are shown in huge bright numbers the promotional pricing for the different available programming packages and there is the much smaller note that the price is good “For 12 months with 24-mo. agreement.”

But the FTC claims that this fails to disclose the significance of the price hike during the second 24 months of the contract or that subscribers could face hundreds of dollars in early cancellation fees if they leave before the end of the two years.

“This additional information would be material to consumers in deciding to purchase Defendants’ subscription services,” contends the FTC.

The complaint also alleges that the particular negative option marketing used by DirecTV for the premium stations is in violation of the 2010 Restore Online Shoppers’ Confidence Act. That law prohibits negative options unless the seller clearly and conspicuously discloses all material terms of the transaction before obtaining the consumer’s billing information, obtains the consumer’s express informed consent before making the charge, and provides a simple mechanism to stop recurring charges.

The FTC is asking the court to issue a permanent injunction prohibiting DirecTV from further violations of the FTC Act and ROSCA. The government is also seeking consumer redress from the satellite provider, which could mean everything from refunds to allowing subscribers out of their contracts.

“DirecTV misled consumers about the cost of its satellite television services and cancellation fees,” said FTC Chairwoman Edith Ramirez in a statement. “DirecTV sought to lock customers into longer and more expensive contracts and premium packages that were not adequately disclosed. It’s a bedrock principle that the key terms of an offer to a consumer must be clear and conspicuous, not hidden in fine print.”

Common sense would tell you that if your vehicle is wrecked while in the care of a AAA tow truck driver, either that driver’s insurance or AAA would be responsible for making you whole again. But if the tow driver is using their own personal truck at the time of the collision, you could be stuck holding the bill.

That’s what happened to a San Francisco-area family who called AAA after the tire on their boat trailer went flat on the highway.

The family advised AAA that it would need to send someone out with a flatbed to safely move the boat, and AAA told them that one was on the way. The family could not stick around to confirm this, as state highway patrol officers had asked them to relocate for their own safety and leave the boat behind on the roadside for AAA to retrieve.

But here’s where things go wrong. The tow truck operator says that she was not told she needed to bring a flatbed truck and that she was only dealing with a flat tire, so she drove out to the boat in her own vehicle. Once there, rather than calling for a flatbed, the driver repaired the tire and hitched the boat trailer to her truck.

At some point afterward, the driver was involved in a collision with another vehicle and the boat was totaled, as you can see in the video here.

So the tow driver’s insurance should cover the damage to the boat, right? Nope. The driver’s insurance, like many personal policies, has a clause saying the vehicle is not covered if used for commercial purposes. Because the driver was using her own truck, her insurance would not pay.

What about the car that caused the collision? Unfortunately, that vehicle fled the scene and you can’t make an insurance claim against a driver you can’t identify.

What about AAA? Even when the family pointed out that the tow driver was effectively uninsured because she was using a personal vehicle, AAA insisted that the driver did have insurance, and because the tow driver was not at fault, the family would have to seek payment from their own insurer.

Their insurance company did pay $10,000, but replacing the boat would cost $40,000. The tow company where the driver works offered to pay another $10,000, but in installments over several years.

That leaves the family out at least $20,000 on a boat that someone else is responsible for wrecking.

After CBS San Francisco’s ConsumerWatch got involved, a state Dept. of Insurance investigation confirmed that the driver, contrary to AAA’s assertion, was indeed uninsured at the time of the accident because she was using her a personal vehicle for commercial purposes.

AAA would not tell ConsumerWatch whether it has rules prohibiting drivers from using personal vehicles or if the service verifies that third party tow companies are sending out the proper trucks to tow sites.

However, AAA now says it will “review (further documentation) and provide the member with an updated assessment of this case.”

Rather than packing their kids onto a crowded bus in the morning or having to take time out of their morning schedule to get those students to school (or just making them walk, which is what legs were invented for), some parents are looking to ridesharing service Uber to ferry their youngsters around — even though it’s against the company’s own rules.

“It’s cheaper. It’s on-demand, so you only use it when you need it, as opposed to reserving somebody,” one suburban Maryland mom explains to the Washington Post. “Uber is just another tool for families to make it work.”

She says that traffic in her neck of the woods can be so bad in the after-school hours that it makes more sense to just send an Uber to fetch her teen daughters.

Problem is, Uber’s terms of service explicitly forbid hiring a car for unaccompanied minors.

“[Y]ou may not allow persons under the age of 18 to receive transportation or logistics services… unless they are accompanied by you,” reads the terms.

The company isn’t commenting on the increased use of its cars to chauffeur minors in violation of its own rules, but the Post notes that there are a number of newly launched services around the country that are specifically catering to parents who can afford to pay someone else to drive their kids around.

After reversing its initial approval of Palcohol last year, the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau has once again approved the powdered alcohol product, making it likely that it could appear on shelves in some stores this spring.

A spokesman for the bureau told the Associated Press that the issues with Palcohol’s label had been resolved, and the product is now approved. He notes that the bureau’s evaluation focuses on whether or not the labels accurately represent the ingredients in the product, rather than judging its potential for abuse.

The product’s maker confirmed the approval as well.

“Over the last 10 months I’ve been working with the TTB to work out all of the issues to make a powdered alcohol product conform to laws that classified alcohol as liquid,” Palcohol’s creator Mark Phillips told The Spirits Business. “It’s done. The FDA and TTB have reviewed and tested Palcohol every which way and they’ve given me the green light to sell it in the United States.”

However, as the bureau spokesman pointed out, states can also regulate alcohol sales — and many have already done so ahead of Palcohol’s approval: Alaska, Delaware, Louisiana, South Carolina and Vermont have banned it, while Colorado advanced legislation last month to temporarily halt its sale.

Lawmakers in Iowa, Ohio, Rhode Island and Utah are also moving to ban the product.

If it isn’t banned in your state, you could soon be mixing up a cocktail from powder, as the Food and Drug Administration won’t be stepping up against it, saying it doesn’t have the legal basis to block it after checking out the non-alcoholic ingredients in the powder.

Powdered alcohol gets federal agency’s approval [Associated Press]
PALCOHOL APPROVED FOR SALE IN THE US [The Spirits Business]

This week’s Reston Pet of the Week is Angus, a human-sized Great Dane.

Here is what owners Kara and Chris have to say about their pet:

Meet Angus, our 2-year-old Great Dane. We brought him home when he was eight weeks old and 25 pounds. Now he is a whopping 130 pounds. He is a great big goofball and still acts like a puppy. He is so entertaining to have around the house and always makes us laugh at his antics.

His favorite things are destroying toys, sitting on laps, chasing sticks, catching snowballs, playing in the snow and swimming. Most of the time he is just a big couch potato though and loves snuggling on the couch. He typically takes over an entire side of our sectional couch. If you want to sit on the floor, watch out because he will come and plop all 130 pounds on you because he thinks he is a lap dog.

Angus is so good with our 2-month-old daughter. He is always going to her swing or crib to check on her and loves licking her head. We love him to pieces and he is such a sweetheart. He has been such a blessing in our lives and can’t imagine life without him.

Want your pet to be considered for the Reston Pet of the Week?

Email news@Restonnow.com with a 2-3 paragraph bio and at least 3-4 horizontally-oriented photos of your pet.

Each week’s winner receives a sample of dog or cat treats from our sponsor, Becky’s Pet Care, along with $100 in Becky’s Bucks. Becky’s Pet Care, the winner of three Angie’s List Super Service Awards and the National Association of Professional Pet Sitters’ 2013 Business of the Year, provides professional dog walking and pet sitting services in Reston and Northern Virginia.

The post Reston Pet of the Week: Angus appeared first on WTOP.

This week’s Arlington Pet of the Week is Dewey, a rescue dog who gets his love of reading from his librarian owner.

Here’s what mom Jessica had to say about her academic animal:

Hi, I’m Dewey! My parents adopted me in September from Homeward Trails. The main antagonist of my storyline, the vet, says I’m about 9 months old. My mom was finishing getting her degree in library sciences from the University of Maryland at the time, so they named me Dewey (after the decimal system, naturally).

I told them to “call me Ishmael,” but whatever.

I’m just your run-of-the-paper-mill canine. My folks think I’ve got some Australian Shepherd in me, with a bit of mystery mixed in. I love the classics — visits from granny, belly rubs from mom, hopping on pop, and chewing on socks (that one’s still pretty novel to me). Mom and dad put me in day care, where I get to play with my best friends. The other guys aren’t much for reading, but they sure are a bunch of characters.

My favorite books include “Green Eggs and Ham,” “If you Give a Mouse a Cookie,” “Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs,” and “The Very Hungry Caterpillar.” You don’t have to be a Sherlock to figure this out, but since I’m still a young adult, I’m ALWAYS hungry. I can’t wait for it to be warm again so that I can stretch out on the grass with a one of my good reads, good snacks and a good scratch!

Want your pet to be considered for the Arlington Pet of the Week? Email office@arlnow.com with a 2-3 paragraph bio and at least 3-4 horizontally-oriented photos of your pet.

Each week’s winner receives a sample of dog or cat treats from our sponsor, Becky’s Pet Care, along with $100 in Becky’s Bucks. Becky’s Pet Care, the winner of three Angie’s List Super Service Awards and the National Association of Professional Pet Sitters’ 2013 Business of the Year, provides professional dog walking and pet sitting services in Arlington and Northern Virginia.

The post Arlington Pet of the Week: Dewey appeared first on WTOP.

Prince William County community calendar, March 12 to 18, 2015 Washington Post AARP income-tax preparation help For seniors and low-to-moderate income taxpayers, with trained volunteers. Thursday noon-8 p.m., Saturday 10 a.m.-2 p.m., Monday 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Bull Run Regional Library, 8051 Ashton Ave., Manassas. 703-792-4530. and more »

Police: Manassas massage parlor was front for prostitution ring Inside NoVA Two women have been charged with running a prostitution ring out of a Manassas massage parlor. Investigators with the Manassas police department and the Prince William County/Manassas/Manassas Park Vice Narcotics Task Force executed a search ...

Fairfax County Animal Watch Washington Post No incidents were reported by the Animal Control Division of the Fairfax County Police Department. For information, call 703-246-2253. FAIRFAX CITY. The following incidents were reported by the animal control section of the Fairfax City Police Department. and more »

HENRICO, Va. (AP) — Henrico County police say a raccoon that attacked a woman had rabies.

It’s the county’s first confirmed rabies of the year.

Police say in a news release that the woman fought off the raccoon after she was attacked on Saturday. The raccoon later died and its remains were sent to the Virginia Division of Consolidated Laboratory Services for testing.

Positive test results for rabies were confirmed on Tuesday.

The Virginia Department of Health says the raccoon attacked the woman as she was walking in Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden. She is undergoing post-exposure treatment.

The post Henrico raccoon tests positive for rabies, 1st case of year appeared first on WTOP.

WASHINGTON — Bird fever is taking flight and a nonprofit aimed at protecting the Chesapeake Bay is feeding the feathered frenzy with its new falcon camera in downtown Baltimore.

Beginning Tuesday, the public can get up-close and personal with Baltimore’s famous peregrine falcons with the click of a button, thanks to the new Chesapeake Conservancy camera. 

The camera gives a live feed a peregrine falcon nest located on the 33rd floor ledge of the Transamerica skyscraper at 100 Light St. in downtown Baltimore.

The falcon cameras comes after the nonprofit saw popularity with its osprey webcam, says Joel Dunn, executive director of the Chesapeake Conservancy.

“Our popular osprey cam had thousands of followers from all over the world. Now, we’re very excited to bring the wonder of these majestic peregrine falcons to the public,” Dunn said in a news release.

The camera also brings awareness to the species.

“Many people know Baltimore for our Ravens, but few realize that peregrine falcons have been living on the ledge of one of our most iconic skyscrapers for decades,” Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake said in a release.

The birds of prey have been living near Baltimore’s Inner Harbor for more than 35 years and prefer man-made structures for nesting. In addition to the 100 Light St. skyscraper, peregrine falcons have built nests on the Chesapeake Bay Bridge, Francis Scott Key Bridge and U.S. 301 Potomac River Bridge.

Click through the gallery above to see images of the falcon from the web camera.

The post Non-profit gives wings to falcon webcam in Baltimore (Photos) appeared first on WTOP.

WASHINGTON (AP) — A temporary order by a Superior Court judge is keeping a man from smoking inside his home in the District of Columbia.

WJLA-TV (http://bit.ly/1BrlPLl ) reports that Edwin Gray’s next door neighbors in northeast Washington have filed a civil suit claiming they’re being harmed by smoke that sneaks into their home through a hole in the basement. They are seeking an injunction and $500,000 in damages.

A judge issued a temporary injunction last week saying neither Gray nor any family or guests may smoke in the home the family has owned for 50 years. Gray’s sister, Mozella Johnson, says they will fight.

In court filings and a statement, the neighbors say they tried to work with Johnson and Gray, and filed suit when mediation attempts failed.

___

Information from: WJLA-TV, http://www.wjla.com

The post Order bars man from smoking inside his DC home appeared first on WTOP.

What information are you willing to give up to get a discount or other benefits from a retailer? The consulting company Accenture wanted to know how comfortable we are with all of this, and what information we might be willing to give up for rewards from merchants. Broadly speaking, it depends on what they’re offering.

In a world where a store’s marketing department knows that you’re pregnant before your family does and data brokers scoop up every piece of information on you that they can, it might feel like consumers no longer have anything to hide. 80% of survey participants agreed that total privacy is now impossible or obsolete, and 87% don’t think that companies that hold their personal data are taking precautions to protect it.

Surprisingly, though, a minority of people who took part in the survey believed that their data is for sale.

In the least surprising piece of news from this survey, while most people (93%) are fine with receiving e-mails from brands, only 25% said that they’re comfortable receiving phone calls. These must be the people who robocalls are for.

U.S. Consumers Want More Personalized Retail Experience and Control Over Personal Information, Accenture Survey Shows [Accenture]

Though the idea of eating something that’s been run over by a car and left on the side of the road might turn even some of the strongest of stomaches, the fact remains that there’s a lot of meat at stake, and there are those out there who are more than willing to pick up what others might not want and turn it into a tasty stew. But while you might be imagining a clumsy shovel and buzzing fly situation, in reality, says one avid roadkill aficionado, it’s a lot different.

NPR’s The Salt has a great profile of one such roadkill gatherer in Michigan, who shared his experience bringing in found meat from deer, pheasant, turkeys, you name it. In fact, he says, roadkill venison makes almost all of the red meat his family eats.

A few other things we learned about the practice of gathering roadkill that are worth sharing:

1. Even if it’s legal in your state, you still need permission: We actually knew a bit about this one, after Montana somewhat recently legalized roadkill collection for consumption. But it’s worth noting — in Michigan, for example, it’s finders-keepers, first-come first-served, year-round, as long as you report it to the police. There has to be a written record of when the roadkill was found and what it’s intended use is.

2. Roadkill is best collected cold: This isn’t a hard and fast rule, as again, Michigan and other states may allow for collection during any season. But at least so far as eating the animal is concerned, this particular collector only takes meat when it’s cold enough outside that fleas and ticks are all dead, and when the temperature can keep the meat from spoiling. Fresh meat is the best meat, he says.

3. No special equipment required: “The best thing is, you don’t need fancy tools,” he says, just “a pocketknife, once you develop the skill.” As for that skill — you’ll need a stomach strong enough to do some butchery work by the side of the road. This gatherer uses what he calls the poacher’s cut to quickly separate the meat he wants from a deer from the viscera, which if it’s damaged, could contaminate any muscles it touches.

4. Cleanup is relatively easy: Once he’s done, he simply drags the remainder of the carcass deep into woods on public land and lets nature take over from there.

5. Even kids like it: Though his kids weren’t quite thrilled with dad when he first picked up a pheasant along the road on their way to a vacation cabin, once he’d dressed the animal and built a fire at the cabin, the kids were on board.

“The kids had never eaten wild game before at that point, and they were skeptical,” he says. “I put the pheasant in foil, with carrots and onions and a little bit of garlic, salt and pepper, and in a couple minutes it was ready. They turned into barking seals. They were trying to snap it out of my fingers.”

The Accidental Hunter: For One Outdoorsman, Roadkill Is His Only Red Meat [The Salt]

This morning, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau released its final report on forced arbitration, showing how banks and credit card companies use contractual clauses to short-circuit class-action lawsuits from their customers. Now that the Bureau has done its research, consumer advocates are calling on regulators to use their authority to end the practice.

The CFPB report found that 75% of Americans don’t know if their credit card, checking account, student loan, or cellphone contract includes a forced arbitration clause. Even worse, of the tens of millions of consumers restricted by arbitration, fewer than 7% actually know that they no longer can sue these companies in open court.

Additionally, most arbitration clauses include a ban on class actions, even if the group of wronged consumers hope to seek joint arbitration. As the report pointed out, these bans have become an important tool for credit card companies who frequently cite their arbitration clauses as a way to preempt group litigation.

In recent years, these clauses have been repeatedly upheld by the nation’s highest court. First came the 2011 Supreme Court ruling in AT&T Mobility v. Concepcion, in which a narrowly divided court ruled that the inclusion of a few paragraphs of text in a cellphone contract that can’t be altered by the end user, but which is frequently altered by the wireless company, is a completely legal way to prevent consumers from joining together in a class action lawsuit.

In 2013, SCOTUS went even further in affirming the difficulty of challenging arbitration clauses. In the matter of American Express v. Italian Colors Restaurant, a group of AmEx-accepting merchants claimed that the only way they could afford to mount an antitrust lawsuit against the credit card giant was to pool their resources in a class action. On an individual basis, the costs would be too high and the rewards too little to justify the expense. But the SCOTUS majority held there was no “effective vindication” exemption, even if it allowed companies to break the law.

To the folks at Public Citizen, this effectively granted businesses a “license to steal” from their customers, at least in instances where it would be too expensive to prove a case in arbitration.

“The predatory practice is particularly severe in the consumer financial sector, where low-dollar abuses – such as illegal charges and add-on fees – are common,” explains Public Citizen in a statement. “Small-dollar illegal charges can lead to significant profits for companies because they affect large numbers of consumers. Class actions often are the only economically feasible way for consumers to seek remedies for these losses and systemic violations of the law.”

The group, along with several other advocates have called on the CFPB to follow up its report with meaningful action that makes arbitration a choice; not the only option.

“Basic legal protections have no meaning if companies can’t be held accountable under the law,” explains our colleague George Slover, senior policy counsel at Consumers Union. “We hope the CFPB will now use its authority to prohibit forced arbitration from being a pre-condition for getting a credit card or a bank account.”

National Consumer Law Center attorney David Seligman, says the CFPB findings on arbitration are “crystal clear.”

“These clauses are written by corporations to set up a secret and lawless process that prevents
consumers from holding corporations accountable for unlawful conduct” he says in a statement. “The CFPB should act quickly to ban forced arbitration in consumer financial contracts.”

The Financial Services Roundtable, which counts many of the nation’s largest banks and credit credit issuers among its members, has come out in defense of the process.

“Arbitration makes it possible for American consumers to resolve disputes in a cost-effective, fair and timely manner that often benefits all parties involved,” said FSR Senior Vice President of Legal and Regulatory Affairs Richard Foster. “This is an important tool for the customers of financial institutions that helps keep costs down and keeps financial products, including credit cards and checking accounts, affordable. While FSR is still reviewing the full report, we urge the CFPB to continue working with the industry to educate consumers about this important benefit.”

But, CU’s Slover has a counter argument: “Banks and other financial services companies claim that arbitration is somehow better for consumers than going to court. But if that were really true, the banks and lenders wouldn’t need to force consumers to agree to it.”

McDonald’s latest attempt to transform itself into a “modern, progressive burger company” that can attract a younger consumer base apparently includes adding everyone’s (okay, maybe not everyone) favorite superfood to the menu: kale.

Business Insider reports that the Golden Arches’ plan to add the leafy green is part of its push to embrace consumers’ evolving tastes.

Analysts with Janney Capital Markets revealed the addition of kale to the menu in a recent report, saying the vegetable could be used in salads or smoothies.

The analysts, who cite unnamed sources, say including kale could be a step in the right direction when it comes to consumers’ not-so-affectionate feelings for the fast-food company.

A spokesperson for McDonald’s was coy when asked to confirm the leafy vegetable’s forth-coming menu status.

“As we continue to listen to our customers, we’re always looking at new and different ingredients that they may enjoy,” the spokeswoman told Business Insider.

Over the past several years kale has gained popularity among health-conscious consumers because of its nutritional value and plethora of uses, where as McDonald’s has suffered slumping sales and challenges attracting younger generations.

According to Business Insider, McDonald’s reported embrace of kale is a stark contrast to the company’s previous standpoint on the vegetable.

Earlier this year, the company released an ad called “The Unapologetic Big Mac,” that shared a decidedly anti-kale attitude. The spot included jabs at foodies who prefer healthier food options like greek yogurt and kale.

McDonald’s is having a huge identity crisis [Business Insider]

Modern life means logging in to about a zillion different websites and apps every week, with about a zillion different accounts. But there are ways to streamline it all — for example, logging in to everything with your Facebook account, as millions do. That’s much more convenient not only for you, but for hackers who have a new way to target you: a free, easy-to-download tool that exploits a bug in those logins to let them hijack your account. Oops.

The researcher who discovered the bug and designed the tool set it loose in the wild last week, Vice’s Motherboard site reports, after claiming Facebook ignored his reports of the problem.

The tool basically works by allowing an attacker to worm their way into a user’s cookies for a specific website and then access their account on that site.

A representative for Facebook told Motherboard that the issue was indeed “well-understood” from last year, and that changes had been made in the past that should help prevent cross-site request forgery. However, Motherboard — with the aid of an outside security expert — tested the tool themselves on two different sites, with mixed results. In two instances it didn’t work; in a third, it did. As they explain:

To take over my account, Homakov [the researcher who wrote the tool] simply created a custom URL using the tool he created. He then he sent that link to me. I clicked on it, then clicked on “Start RECONNECT” on a page built by Homakov, and voila, my fake Mashable account was now linked to his Facebook account, giving him complete access to it. (The attack only works if the victim is logged into his or her Facebook account when clicking on the link, but that’s common for many people, who leave Facebook logged in at all times.)

The security expert Motherboard spoke with confirmed that the flaw is a serious issue, but there is good news: this vulnerability doesn’t just strike out of nowhere. In order to have their logins hijacked, users first need to have clicked on a malicious link, as in a phishing e-mail.

And so although this is a newly-reported vulnerability, age-old internet advice from twenty years ago still applies: be careful what you click. If it looks suspicious, assume it is.

Facebook-Linked Accounts Can Be Hijacked with This Tool [Vice Motherboard]

PotomacLocal.com

Petroleum product found in creek near Bull Run PotomacLocal.com Fire officials called the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality to the scene of a HAZMAT this morning outside Manassas. Prince William County authorities said a petroleum product was found in the Linden Lake storm water management pond, ...