- McDonald’s is testing DVD rental kiosks at 14 Washington, DC, area locations. The Washington Post reports this morning that the kiosks are being installed outside the units, and represents an expansion of a test that began in San Francisco.
The machines, called TikTok DVD Shops, accept only credit cards and charge customers 99 cents to $1.50 per day. Customers can keep the movies for up to a week, or two weeks in some cases. Those who don't return a movie on time are charged the entire cost of the DVD.
- The British government is under fire because of allegations that it tried to “bury” a report that showed that genetically modified crops could contaminate non-GMO crops in adjacent fields. The BBC reports that the government has denied trying to downplay the report, though a spokesman did admit that releasing it on Christmas Eve was a bit of unfortunate timing.
In a phrase that could only be uttered with a straight face by an Englishman, the British environment minister, Michael Meacher, reportedly described the Christmas Eve publication as “another case of cock-up rather than conspiracy.”
