It's a blanket. It has sleeves. And it's becoming a stalwart on gift lists everywhere. ...more

December 18, 2009

The Federal Trade Commission is trying to outwit the catchy FreeCreditReport.com commercials with its own ads touting a government-sponsored free service. ...more

March 27, 2009

The DVR takeover of America's living room continues briskly, and more Americans looked at the January launch of shows like "Lost," "24" and "American Idol" and decided to watch later. Sometimes a week or two later. ...more

March 12, 2009

Hospital officials in Ohio say a Connecticut woman mauled by a chimpanzee two weeks ago lost her hands, nose, lips and eyelids and may be blind and suffering brain damage. ...more

March 5, 2009

For years, prosaic consumer products sought to puff up their appeal by boasting they contained "secret" ingredients that improved their performance. Colgate toothpaste had Gardol, Dial soap had AT-7 and Certs breath mints had Retsyn. ...more

February 21, 2009

Some stuff I'd like to know: Has anyone ever seen proof that all those well done TV commercials that succeeded in getting rid of Diane Rowden and Chris Kingsley were really paid for by Blaise Ingoglia's personal funds? ...more

February 19, 2009

A highly trained 200-pound chimpanzee who once starred in TV commercials for Old Navy and Coca-Cola was shot dead by police after a violent rampage that left a friend of its owner badly mauled. ...more

February 17, 2009

James Whitmore, the many-faceted character actor who delivered strong performances in movies, television and especially the theater with his popular one-man shows about Harry Truman, Will Rogers and Theodore Roosevelt, died Friday, his son said. He was 87. ...more

February 6, 2009

"The Billion Dollar Game," by Allen St. John (Doubleday, $25) ...more

January 18, 2009

After the hurricanes of 2004, citrus growers were philosophical. Sure, 175 million boxes of citrus were just 58 percent of what they had produced seven years ago, but if the supply went down, and demand remained the same, prices would go up. Profits would even out. ...more

January 14, 2009