*By Tracey Cheek*
At a moment when public trust in media is at a low ebb and cries of "fake news" are rampant, Consumer Reports has managed to retain the trust of its 6 million consumer members ー and the ear of top CEOs.
Tech companies like including Tesla ($TSLA) and Facebook ($FB) have all made changes to their products or marketing thanks to investigations published by Consumer Reports.
The non-profit organization identified a security bug on Facebook's platform over the summer. They also worked with Tesla to correct a braking issue in the company's Model 3.
"We've been at this for 80 plus years, 60 plus labs; we test and rate over 8,000 products a year," Consumer Reports President and CEO Marta Tellado told Cheddar Thursday. "I think we've earned the trust of both manufacturers and consumers because of the rigor and evidence-based research that we use."
With the proliferation of product reviews online ー not all of which can be trusted ー Tellado said Consumer Reports is more important than ever.
"When they're in the marketplace making decisions, there's an imbalance of power. They don't have all the cards," she said, as well as online reviews that may not be trustworthy.
Throughout its long history, Consumer Reports has played a major role in shaping transportation safety, from seat belts to backup cameras.
As for the future of mobility, Consumer Reports will continue to monitor what's safe and what's not.
"We're seeing a lot of marketing that says 'self-driving' and that sends a message to the consumer that you don't have to pay a whole lot of attention ー you can take your hands off the wheel," Tellado said. "It's not self-driving yet. So we've come back around to some automakers and said that advertising is not safe, and they've responded to that."
For full interview [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/consumer-reports-in-the-digital-age).
A big-screen adaptation of the anime “Chainsaw Man” has topped the North American box office, beating a Springsteen biopic and “Black Phone 2.” The movie earned $17.25 million in the U.S. and Canada this weekend. “Black Phone 2” fell to second place with $13 million. Two new releases, the rom-com “Regretting You” and “Springsteen — Deliver Me From Nowhere,” earned $12.85 million and $9.1 million, respectively. “Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc” is based on the manga series about a demon hunter. It's another win for Sony-owned Crunchyroll, which also released a “Demon Slayer” film last month that debuted to a record $70 million.
The Federal Aviation Administration says flights departing for Los Angeles International Airport were halted briefly due to a staffing shortage at a Southern California air traffic facility. The FAA issued a temporary ground stop at one of the world’s busiest airports on Sunday morning soon after U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy predicted that travelers would see more flights delayed as the nation’s air traffic controllers work without pay during the federal government shutdown. The hold on planes taking off for LAX lasted an hour and 45 minutes and didn't appear to cause continued problems. The FAA said staffing shortages also delayed planes headed to Washington, Chicago and Newark, New Jersey on Sunday.
Boeing workers at three Midwest plants where military aircraft and weapons are developed have voted to reject the company’s latest contract offer and to continue a strike that started almost three months ago. The strike by about 3,200 machinists at the plants in the Missouri cities of St. Louis and St. Charles, and in Mascoutah, Illinois, is smaller in scale than a walkout last year by 33,000 Boeing workers who assemble commercial jetliners. The president of the International Association of Machinists says Sunday's outcome shows Boeing hasn't adequately addressed wages and retirement benefits. Boeing says Sunday's vote was close with 51% of union members opposing the revised offer.
The stunning indictment that led to the arrest of more than 30 people — including Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier and other NBA figures — has drawn new scrutiny of the booming business of sports betting in the U.S. The multibillion-dollar industry has made it easy for sports fans — and even some players — to wager on everything from the outcome of games to that of a single play with just a few taps of a cellphone. But regulating the rapidly-growing industry has proven to be a challenge. Professional sports leagues’ own role in promoting gambling has also raised eyebrows.
At the core of the ongoing government shutdown is a fight over the decision to end subsidies that let some 12 million Americans get health coverage.
Tesla, the car company run by Elon Musk, reported Wednesday that it sold more vehicles in the past three months after boycotts hit hard earlier this year, but profits still fell sharply. Third-quarter earnings fell to $1.4 billion, from $2.2 billion a year earlier. Excluding charges, per share profit of 50 cents came in below analysts' estimate. Tesla shares fell 3.5% in after-hours trading. Musk said the company's robotaxi service, which is available in Austin, Texas, and San Francisco, will roll out to as many as 10 other metro areas by the end of the year.
