Loading...
Browsing Category

News

Good Luck Returning Stuff at These 5 Stores with Worst Policies

annapolis-shopping-hero

For the next few days, people will be heading to the malls and department stores returning gifts that they don’t like, don’t fit or just want to return for any number of reasons. It’s not going to be an easy task if the item you have to return will be going back to one of these 5 stores that GOBankingRates determined last year has the worst return policies.

Here is what they have in common: They have short time limits on returns, often don’t accept returns without a receipt and have other terms that make returns trickier. The worst store, in fact, doesn’t offer refunds at all — returns are only eligible for exchange or store credit.

1. Forever 21 Return Policy

Forever 21’s return policy is the worst of the retailers surveyed, and makes it harder for customers to get back their money once it’s spent. Forever 21 only allows 21 days for returns, and purchases can only be exchanged for other items or refunded in store credit, not in the original form of payment. Items must also be unworn, unwashed and unused with tags still attached. Forever 21 will be extending its return window for the holidays this year, so ask the cashier about this at checkout.

For online returns by mail, Forever 21’s policy is slightly better. It extends the return window to 30 days, and will refund the purchase to the credit card used to pay. The Forever 21 return policy also noted that final sale items, cosmetics and gift cards cannot be returned for a refund or exchange, except to correct a defect or error.

2. Kmart Return Policy

Kmart (SHLD) allows just 30 days for customers to return items, and does not accept returns made without a receipt. Customers making a return with a gift receipt can receive an exchange for store credit only.

Many items will not be eligible for return if their packages are opened — including music, movies, video games and software. Kmart has no plans to offer an extended holiday return window this year, the retailer confirmed via Twitter.

3. Barnes & Noble Return Policy

The window for returns allowed by Barnes & Noble (BKS) is the shortest on our survey, at just two weeks (14 days). Items must be unopened and returned in their original condition, per the Barnes & Noble return policy, though refunds will be issued in the original form of payment.

The bookseller will not issue returns without a receipt or other proof of payment, and returns made with a gift receipt will receive refunds via store credit. Barnes & Noble did extend its return window last holiday season, CNBC reported.

4. GameStop Return Policy

GameStop (GME) allows just 30 days for returns, and will make no returns without a receipt. Items returned with a gift receipt qualify only for exchanges or refunds in store credit.

Pre-owned items can be returned for a refund within seven days, or for an identical exchange within 30 days. GameStop’s return policy requires that all items be returned with original packaging and in “sellable condition,” and reserves the right to refuse returns of opened items.

5. Sears Return Policy

Sears (SHLD) has a worst return policy that does not allow returns without a receipt. The department store will only make returns for which the customer can provide a receipt or other proof of purchase within 30 days. Sears’ return policy on gift receipts is to provide only exchanges or refunds via gift cards.

However, Sears will extend its return on windows for the holidays, allowing items purchased by Dec. 24 to be returned through January 24, 2016. The original packaging is required for the return to be accepted, and some items will carry a 15 percent restocking fee which will be deducted from the refund. Sears will not accept any returns of Christmas season items after December 25.

Methodology: GOBankingRates surveyed the return policies of 31 major retailers popular during the holiday shopping season to determine the best and worst. GOBankingRates ranked each policy on (1) the return window provided, (2) whether the retailer accepted returns without a receipt, (3) the condition required for returns, and (4) whether the store typically offered extended holiday returns. Other return policy terms unique to retailers were considered in the rankings, as they benefited the customer.

This article originally appeared on GoBankingRates.

Japan Reverses Pregnant Syrian Refugees Ban

A Japanese program aimed at accepting a small number of refugees from war-torn Syria promised Wednesday to remove language from documents which implied that pregnant women are not welcome to apply.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe announced in May that immigration-shy Japan, with a population of about 127 million, would accept up to 150 Syrian students over five years from 2017.

That number compares with vastly higher figures in other countries. Norway, with a population of about 5.1 million, has pledged to accept some 9,000 Syrians.

Abe separately pledged at a refugee summit hosted by US President Barack Obama in September that Japan was also prepared to “warmly welcome” family members of the students.

continue reading 

Pregnant American Women Are Smoking Weed to Cure Morning Sickness

flowers-1845902_960_720

U.S. women are increasingly using marijuana during pregnancy, sometimes to treat morning sickness, new reports suggest. Though the actual numbers are small, the trend raises concerns because of evidence linking the drug with low birth weights and other problems.

In 2014, almost 4 percent of pregnant women said they’d recently used marijuana, up from 2.4 percent in 2002, according to an analysis of annual drug use surveys.

Dr. Nora Volkow, director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse, said the results raise concerns and urged doctors and other health care providers to avoid recommending the drug for pregnant women. Volkow commented in an editorial published online Monday with the study in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

A separate study in the same journal found that almost 10 percent of adult marijuana users in the United States — 3 million people — have used it at least partly for medical reasons; 20 percent of these users live in states where medical marijuana isn’t legal.

continue reading

Florida Woman Sells Her Positive Pregnancy Test to Pay College Tuition

false-positive-pregnancy-test

A Florida woman said she is paying her way through college by selling her positive pregnancy tests and urine on Craigslist, according to UPI.

The ad, found on a Jacksonville-area Craigslist page, offers “positive pregnancy tests or urine” in an “absolutely no questions asked type of deal.”

She offers a discount to customers that have to travel who over 60 miles to get to her. They can get two positive tests for $35. Everyone else must pay for a positive test of urine for $30 each.

Specifically, the Craigslist post reads:

“Very self explanatory I am 3 months and I am providing a product in which the consumer is able to purchase positive pregnancy tests or urine for your own use. Whether you are using it for your own amusement such as a prank, or to blackmail the ceo of where ever who you are having an affair with I DON’T CARE AT ALL this is an absolutely no questions asked type of deal tell me what you need I provide it for monetary exchange. I will not overcharge for the urine test but I will not be low balled either do not contact me if you are going to be cheap and difficult.

Email me then I will exchange phone contact due to scammers I removed my number.

Feel free to contact when you need to i check my email every HR for those traveling over 60 miles I will give 2 tests for $35.00.

Thank-you. :)”

WJAX/WFOX sent an undercover intern to make a purchase. The woman told the intern that she was inspired to start the business while browsing the Internet looking for jobs she could perform at home while pregnant.

“I saw from other women and their experiences that it’s very easy,” the woman said.

She said she makes “$200 in a day off something I have to do no matter what.”

The woman said she using the money to fund her college education.

“Me being in college working on a bachelor’s and needing all this money to pay for a degree, this was a no-brainer,” the woman said.

A legal expert told UPI that there is a gray area regarding legality.

“This is the kind of thing that makes legislators go ‘we need to pass a law that says you can’t do this,” Dale Carson said.

He said there are no laws against selling urine, but a buyer seeking to fake a pregnancy could be subject to fraud charges.

There have been several instances over the  years of women pretending they are pregnant then kidnapping an actual baby or harming a pregnant woman to steal her baby to cover up a lie. Therefore, this woman can also be an unwilling apprentice to a crime.

 

These are 2016’s Most and Least Sinful Cities in America

img_1100

The holiday season is among us and one of the things it is known for is over indulgence like opulent spending, overeating, and coveting earthly possessions.

Some may see signs of the seven deadly sins often this time of year. Personal finance website Wallet Hub released its report on 2016’s Most Sinful Cities.

To determine the darkest places in America, WalletHub’s data crunchers compared the 150 most populated U.S. cities based on seven key vices: Anger & Hatred, Jealousy, Excesses & Vices, Avarice, Lust, Vanity and Laziness. 

Here is the breakdown of the most and least sinful cities according to its data:

2016s-most-sinful-cities-wallethub-study-jj-bellyitchblog-com-bellyitch-blog-mail

 

Most vs. Least Sinful

Wrath

St. Louis has the highest violent crime rate per 1,000 residents, 18.17, which is 33 times higher than in Irvine, Calif., the city with the lowest at 0.56.

Greed and Envy

Salt Lake City has the most thefts per 1,000 residents, 95.75, which is 8.2 times more than in Yonkers, N.Y., the city with the fewest at 11.74.

Gluttony

Mobile, Ala., has the highest share of obese adults, 36.1 percent, which is 2.4 times higher than in San Francisco, the city with the lowest at 14.8 percent.

St. Louis has the highest share of adult smokers, 25.5 percent, which is 2.8 times higher than in San Jose, Calif., the city with the lowest at 9.0 percent.

Lust

Las Vegas has the most adult entertainment establishments per 100,000 residents, 32.54, which is 92 times more than in Plano, Texas, the city with the fewest at 0.35.

Pride

Scottsdale, Ariz., has the most plastic surgeons per 100,000 residents, 46.44, which is 131 times more than in Newark, N.J., the city with the fewest at 0.35.

Sloth

Jackson, Miss., has the highest share of physically inactive residents, 28.8 percent, which is 2.3 times higher than in Denver, the city with the lowest at 12.3 percent.

For the full report and to see where your city ranks, please visit Wallet Hub here.

Ohio Just Passed a ‘Heartbeat’ Abortion Ban

abortion-law-1

Ohio’s Republican-led House and Senate passed legislation Tuesday night that would ban abortions as soon as a fetal heartbeat can be detected― as early as six weeks into a pregnancy.

The measure was attached at the last minute as an amendment to an unrelated child abuse bill. It has no exceptions for rape or incest.

If it’s passed into law, physicians could face a year in prison if they perform an abortion after a heartbeat is detected or if they fail to check for one before a procedure.

The measure is the most extreme abortion restriction in the country, effectively banning the procedure before most women even realize they’re pregnant, pro-abortion rights advocates said.

“After years of passing anti-abortion laws under the guise of protecting women’s health and safety, they lay bare their true motives: to ban abortion in the state of Ohio,” said Dawn Laguens, a spokesperson for the Planned Parenthood Action Fund.

Ohio lawmakers have been trying to pass the “heartbeat bill” since 2011, but some activists feared that it was so extreme and unconstitutional that it could lead courts to overturn other, less stringent abortion restrictions. The Supreme Court refused to review Arkansas’ 12-week abortion ban earlier this year, which lower courts had blocked. The high court ruled in Roe v. Wade in 1973 that states are not allowed to prohibit abortions before the fetus is viable, usually around 22 to 24 weeks into the pregnancy.

continue reading

Eco Friday: Kohls’s Cares Offer Perfect Stocking Stuffers that Give Back

unnamed

If you’re looking for a stocking stuffer or unique gift for a co-worker, god child or co-worker, consider heading down to your local Kohl’s and picking up one of this new holiday season’s collection of Kohl’s Cares items.

They are priced between  $5 and $8 each, with 100 percent of the net profit supporting children’s initiatives nationwide. The collection is available now  through December 27 at Kohl’s stores nationwide and on Kohls.com. The new Kohl’s Cares giftables include:

Christmas Movie Trivia, Orig. $5

Color and Create Your Own Cards, Orig. $5

3 pack travel edition of adult coloring books, Orig. $8

Crayola Winter Adventure Creativity Kit, Orig. $8

Night Before Christmas book and plush bundle, Orig. $8

kc_merch_holiday_2016


The current Kohl’s Cares holiday collection features beloved hardcover books and classic characters including Curious George, Paddington, Madeline and Corduroy are available now through the end of December for just $5 each. More incredible than the price, 100 percent of net profit supports children’s initiatives nationwide.

We received a box and will include a collection in our upcoming End of the year Big Giveaway that launches next week! Stay tuned! In the meantime, check out our unboxing!

So the Hanukkah Tree and Stockings Continue to be a Thing

A Pew Research survey released  in 2013 found that 32% of Jews said they had a Christmas tree in their home the previous year.

It’s common especially in interfaith families among Jews married to non-Jews.  The survey found that 71% said they put up a tree.

More and more Jewish families are adopting Christmas holiday traditions like  putting up Hanukkah bushes and trees, and even Menorah trees in their homes.

With Christmas being such a major celebrated holiday and season in the United States, many parents of Jewish children have found a way to meld the festivities with their own religious practices.

51xa8m-n6ml

You can get a Menorah tree for about $300 on Amazon.com

Recently, we’ve noticed many Jewish families hanging Hannukah stockings, and integrating the traditional festival of lights with the customs of Christmas. After all, much of the traditions aren’t really related to Christianity and some elements of Christmas trace back to pagan practices.

My mother is Roman Catholic and my father Muslim and more than anyone in the family, he looked forward to decorating the tree and exchanging presents.Over the years, it could easily be argued that the Christmas season has become secular to a certain extent.

That’s exactly what those who are critical say.  The reason it’s easy for non-Christians to adopt Christmas traditions is because the holiday has become  an excuse to get caught up with the consumerism that has taken over Christmas.

It has become less about the birth of Jesus Christ and more about an excuse to go crazy in the mall. Well….

Viral: Kids Narrating thisNativity  Story is The Best Thing Online



Cutest thing you’ll see in a long time this Christmas humorous video season:

The Southland  Christian Church of Lexington, Kentucky released a  very cute and funny video portrayal of the nativity story.

They had kids narrate the story and a team of actors perform it with the children narrators as voice overs, complete with their mispronunciations, modern twists and spin. Since being published

Check it out. It’s worth it!

Report: America Continues to Lag Behind East Asian Nations in Math, Science

classroom-15593_960_720

American students have strides to make when it comes to math and science, where they lag behind a solid block of East Asian countries, according to results released Tuesday from an international exam.

Eighth graders in the United States improved their scores in math over the last four years, up nine points. Scores for science, however, were flat. In fourth grade, scores were unchanged in the math and science tests.

“The results do suggest a leveling out in the most recent cycle,” said Ina Mullis, an executive director of the TIMSS & PIRLS International Study Center at Boston College, where researchers helped coordinate staff to administer the assessments. “One always prefers to see improvement, but holding one’s own is preferable to declining.”

Singapore topped the rankings, taking first place in both grades for math and science on the tests, known as the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study, or TIMSS. The tests are administered every four years to a random sampling of students in dozens of countries.

Hong Kong, South Korea, Taiwan and Japan also dominated the lists for each grade in both subjects.

The United States placed 10th in fourth-grade science as well as in eighth-grade math. In eighth-grade science, the U.S. tied with Ireland in 10th place. It ranked 14th for fourth-grade math, just behind Portugal and Kazakhstan.

While the short-term trend for American students overall wasn’t glowing, scores over the last 20 years have improved considerably. Math and science scores for eighth graders had sharp gains, as did scores for fourth-grade math. Science scores for fourth graders showed no statistical change over the last two decades.

Matt Larson, president of the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, said the results show there’s work to be done, but that he’s encouraged overall by the growth since the mid-90’s.

“This may reflect an increased focus on mathematics in the early grades and could be a longer-term effect of standards reform and the implementation of research-informed instructional practices in more schools.”

continue reading

Batman138 Bro138 Dolar138 Gas138 Gudang138 Hoki99 Ligaciputra Panen77 Zeus138 Kilat77 Planet88 Gaspol168 Sikat88 Rupiah138 Garuda138 Gacor77 Roma77 Sensa138 Panen138 Slot138 Gaco88 Elanggame Candy99 Cair77 Max7 Best188 Space77 Sky77 Luxury777 Maxwin138 Bosswin168 Cocol88 Slot5000 Babe138 Luxury138 Jet77 Bonanza138 Bos88 Aquaslot Taktik88 Lord88 Indobet Slot69 Paus138 Tiktok88 Panengg Bingo4d Stars77 77dragon Warung168 Receh88 Online138 Tambang88 Asia77 Klik4d Bdslot88 Gajah138 Bigwin138 Markas138 Yuk69 Emas168 Key4d Harta138  Gopek178 Imbaslot Imbajp Deluna4d Luxury333 Pentaslot Luxury111 Cair77 Gboslot Pandora188 Olxtoto Slotvip Eslot Kuy138 Imbagacor Bimabet