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Consumer Protection

The Apex Building, headquarters of the Federal Trade Commission, in Washington, D.C.

Why Canceling a Subscription Still Isn't Easy

The FTC's click-to-cancel rule was struck down in 2025 and still hasn't come back — which is why quitting some subscriptions still means picking up the phone.

Business  · 24 Aug 2026, 09:11  · Priya Raman
A pile of U.S. pennies photographed in Washington, D.C. Photo: Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images.

Missouri's Penny-Rounding Law Kicks In Aug. 28. Here's What Changes

The U.S. Mint struck its last circulating penny in November. Now state legislatures are racing to write the rounding rules cash registers will actually use.

Business  · 20 Aug 2026, 19:42  · Priya Raman
A blue USPS collection mailbox on a U.S. street, the type of receptacle protected under the federal mailbox-access law.

The 1934 Law That Makes Your Mailbox Off-Limits

Congress made your mailbox federal territory in 1934, and the law criminalizing unstamped flyers is now central to the fight over privatizing the Postal Service. Here's what 18 U.S.C. 1725 actually says.

Politics  · 13 Aug 2026, 09:25  · Marcus Hale
The Marriner S. Eccles Federal Reserve Board Building in Washington, D.C., headquarters of the regulator behind Regulation CC.

Why Your Bank Can Hold a Deposited Check for Days

Regulation CC doesn't let banks hold your money as long as they want, it caps how long they can. Here's the real day-by-day schedule, the six exceptions that extend it, and the outer limit federal law allows.

Business  · 13 Aug 2026, 09:25  · Priya Raman
A stack of real estate closing documents, including a title insurance policy, on a desk.

Title Insurance Covers a Crime That Almost Never Happens

Most homeowners never file a title insurance claim. For the few who do, it can be the only thing standing between them and a multi-year lawsuit to reclaim a forged deed.

Business  · 12 Aug 2026, 09:25  · Priya Raman
Building 51, the main entrance to the FDA's White Oak campus headquarters.

Compounding Pharmacies, Explained: Why 'FDA-Approved' Is a Lie

Compounding pharmacies aren't FDA-approved, because that approval doesn't exist for them. Here's the regulatory split behind the copycat-Ozempic crackdown, and why claiming otherwise just got 25 telehealth firms in trouble.

Health  · 11 Aug 2026, 09:30  · Sara Lindqvist
A white Waymo-operated Jaguar I-PACE robotaxi driving on a street in San Francisco.

Who's Liable When Your Self-Driving Uber Crashes?

Waymo just told Uber it's building its own app for Austin and Atlanta. Behind the split is a messier question riders rarely think about: who pays when the car with no driver hits something.

Tech  · 11 Aug 2026, 09:30  · Daniel Okafor
A pharmacy counter where prescriptions are filled and step therapy rules often apply.

Step Therapy, Explained: Why Insurers Make You 'Fail First'

Four in ten drug policies require patients to fail on a cheaper medication first. A wave of 2026 state laws is starting to cap how long that can take.

Health  · 9 Aug 2026, 09:28  · Sara Lindqvist
A suburban house financed by a mortgage, the kind of property force-placed insurance covers.

Force-Placed Insurance, Explained: The Coverage You Never Chose

Miss an insurance payment and a mortgage servicer can buy its own policy and add the bill straight to your mortgage, coverage that protects the lender, not you.

Business  · 9 Aug 2026, 09:28  · Priya Raman
A display of prepaid gift cards for sale at a retail store.

Why Some Gift Cards Never Expire and Others Quietly Do

The CARD Act gives every gift card a five-year floor. What happens after that depends on which state you're standing in.

Business  · 8 Aug 2026, 09:24  · Priya Raman
A magnetic stripe hotel key card, the technology behind most key-card failures.

Why Hotel Key Cards Stop Working, and It's Rarely Your Phone

Blame usually lands on a phone in your pocket, but most hotel key card failures trace back to expiration timers, encoding mistakes and aging locks.

Culture  · 5 Aug 2026, 09:40  · Maya Calder
A pharmacist doing inventory behind the counter, where pseudoephedrine products are stored under federal purchase limits.

Why Pharmacies Cap How Much Sudafed You Can Buy

A federal tracking system logs every pseudoephedrine sale in real time. Here's why Sudafed sits behind the counter, what the purchase limits actually are, and when they start to matter.

Health  · 2 Aug 2026, 09:19  · Sara Lindqvist
A set of Epson inkjet ink cartridges, including cyan, magenta and yellow, alongside black.

Why Your Printer Needs Color Ink to Print in Black and White

Your black-and-white document didn't need cyan, but your printer used it anyway, and in some models an empty color cartridge stops every print job cold.

Tech  · 1 Aug 2026, 09:26  · Daniel Okafor
The Apex Building, headquarters of the Federal Trade Commission, in Washington, D.C.

The FTC's Click-to-Cancel Rule Is Dead. Your State's Isn't

A federal court vacated the FTC's click-to-cancel rule in 2025. Since then, Connecticut, New York City and half a dozen other states have passed their own versions.

Business  · 19 Jul 2026, 09:26  · Priya Raman
The Apex Building in Washington, D.C., headquarters of the Federal Trade Commission, which enforces the 2025 junk fees rule.

Drip Pricing Is Now Illegal — But Only in Two Industries

The FTC banned hidden fees on tickets and hotels last year. Everywhere else, from restaurants to airlines, the same trick is still perfectly legal.

Business  · 17 Jul 2026, 15:22  · Priya Raman
A stadium ticket booth window, representing the live-event ticket sales the FTC's junk fees rule covers.

The FTC Rule That's Supposed to Kill Surprise Ticket Fees

A federal rule now bans hiding mandatory fees until checkout for tickets and hotels. Here's what's covered, what's exempt, and how to tell it's working.

Business  · 17 Jul 2026, 09:28  · Priya Raman
A diner taps a credit card on a restaurant payment terminal as card fees increasingly get passed on as a surcharge.

Are Restaurant Credit Card Surcharges Legal? It Depends on the State

A record 34% of merchants now surcharge credit card transactions, but the legal limit changes wildly by state — banned outright in three, capped in a dozen others.

Business  · 15 Jul 2026, 15:15  · Priya Raman
Passengers waiting at an airport departure gate.

Why Airlines Sell More Tickets Than They Have Seats

An empty seat is revenue an airline can never get back once the door closes, which is why carriers deliberately sell a few more tickets than they have seats.

Business  · 12 Jul 2026, 05:16  · Priya Raman