Stuff to Blog About and More: In the News, October 13, 2008

The Latest Polls

Barack Obama is leading rival John McCain 53 percent to 43 percent among likely voters, according to a Washington Post-ABC News opinion poll . Nearly a third of voters have a better opinion of the Illinois senator because of his debate performance while eight percent have a lower opinion of him, the poll found.
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McCain will Visit Letterman

Three weeks after his last minute cancellation, John McCain is slated to make an appearance on David Letterman's show this Thursday.

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Chestnut reigns with Pizza

Handschuh/News

Competitive eaters Dave Goldstein, Adam Gertler, Crazy Legs Conti, Bob Shoudt, Joey Chestnut, Pat Bartoletti, Juliet Lee, Eric "Badlands" Booker, Tim Janus, Pat Philbin, Eric Livingston plow through pizza pies in Times Square Sunday.

Joey Chestnut has done it again.
Joey Chestnut, the hot dog eating champ, has wowed the crowd with his pizza eating skills. The competitive eater downed 45 slices in 10 minutes to win the first-ever Famous Famiglia World Pizza Eating Championship in New York's Times Square. Chestnut says he fasted for more than a day to prepare.

Chestnut won Coney Island's July Fourth hot-dog eating contest in 2007.

FTC: Your Rights: Credit Reporting

The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) requires each of the nationwide consumer reporting companies — Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion — to provide you with a free copy of your credit report, at your request, once every 12 months. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the nation's consumer protection agency, has prepared a brochure, Your Access to Free Credit Reports, explaining your rights under the FCRA and how to order a free annual credit report.

A credit report includes information on where you live, how you pay your bills, and whether you've been sued, arrested, or filed for bankruptcy. Nationwide consumer reporting companies sell the information in your report to creditors, insurers, employers, and other businesses that use it to evaluate your applications for credit, insurance, employment, or renting a home.

How do I order my free report?

You can order your free annual credit report online at annualcreditreport.com, by calling 1-877-322-8228, or by completing the Annual Credit Report Request Form and mailing it to: Annual Credit Report Request Service, P.O. Box 105281, Atlanta, GA 30348-5281.

When you order, you need to provide your name, address, Social Security number, and date of birth. To verify your identity, you may need to provide some information that only you would know, like the amount of your monthly mortgage payment.

A Warning About "Imposter" Sites

The FTC advises consumers who order their free annual credit reports online to be sure to correctly spell annualcreditreport.com, or link to it from the FTC's website to avoid being misdirected to other websites that offer supposedly free reports,but only with the purchase of other products. While consumers may be offered additional products or services while on the authorized website, they are not required to make a purchase to receive their free annual credit reports.

For more information on free annual credit reports, read Your Access to Free Credit Reports.