VStock/Thinkstock(NEW YORK) -- New Jersey authorities are investigating 29 establishments for serving customers cheaper booze as a substitute for top-shelf liquor, including one that allegedly offered rubbing alcohol and food coloring as scotch.

“This alleged scheme is a dishonest ruse to increase profits, and it is a slap in the face to the consumer,” said state Attorney General Jeffrey Chiesa in a statement. “Consumers should have the peace of mind of knowing that they will get what they spent their hard-earned money on every single time -- no exceptions.”

A spokesman for the New Jersey Division of Alcoholic Beverage Control declined to name which establishment served rubbing alcohol, saying it is an ongoing investigation.

Among the 29 licensed bars and restaurants cited for phony booze in the crackdown, dubbed “Operation Swill,” are 13 TGI Fridays restaurants throughout New Jersey.

On Tuesday, investigators visited the establishments, inspected the bar areas and seized all opened bottles. About 1,000 bottles were seized and will undergo more testing by investigators and manufacturers. The investigators seized various brands of vodka, gin, rum, scotch, whiskey and tequila. Investigators also took statements from employees and served demands for sales records to the establishments, which have seven days to provide records of the brands of interest.

TGI Fridays issued a statement that said, “TGI Fridays was just made aware of this issue and is working closely with the franchisee and owner of the cited locations to review and investigate these serious allegations. We have one of the most extensive bar and beverage programs in the industry, which sets a very high standard in the quality and service of our beverages.”

A complete list of the 29 establishments and the alcohol being tested is listed on the State Attorney General’s website.

The investigation was sparked by information from confidential informants, consumer complaints and testing of samples.

In January and February, investigators took samples from 63 licensed establishments, some of which had complaints and others chosen at random, and “covertly” took 150 samples. Detectives ordered “neat” drinks with no ice or mixers

According to the New Jersey Division of Alcoholic Beverage Control, penalties for serving a drink other than the one ordered range from a five-day suspension for the first offense to a 15-day suspension for the third offense.

A mislabeled bottle of alcohol could have multiple violations based on the potential drinks that could have been poured.

Regulations from the Division of Alcoholic Beverage Control could also allow for a 30-day suspension for any illegal activity on the licensed premise. Locations could also face a 30-day suspension for not cooperating in the investigation.

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Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg via Getty Images(NEW YORK) -- A judge ruled on Wednesday that customers who hold $210.5 million in gift cards from the defunct Borders chain aren’t eligible for refunds.

About 17.7 million gift cards were outstanding when Borders began liquidating its stores in July 2011 after failing to attract offers for the company.

Judge Andrew Carter for the U.S. District Court in Manhattan upheld a decision from a U.S. Bankruptcy Court judge in August 2012, which said the card holders did not prove they met the requirements for an exception to Borders’ liquidation.

The District Court also decided the bankruptcy plan was too far along and that it would be unfair with respect to the remaining money and other general creditors.

“They are saying, ‘We didn’t give you notice and it’s too late now anyway even for the money that remains.’ We just disagree with that concept,” said Clinton Krislov, attorney for the gift card holders.

Borders, which at one time had 642 stores, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in Feb. 2011. In that year, it announced 6,000 layoffs on February 17 and 10,700 layoffs July 19.

Krislov said he and the three plaintiffs will likely appeal to the Federal Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit in New York.

The three plaintiffs sought legal representation at the end of 2011, after they discovered Barnes and Noble would not honor Borders gift cards. Barnes and Noble acquired some of Borders’ assets, including its brand trademarks and their customer list.

“On the first day of the bankruptcy filing, it was recognized that gift card holders existed and they were entitled to a priority in the bankruptcy. What happened then was that no one bothered to give them any reasonable notice that they could file a claim and there was a deadline to file that claim,” Krislov said.

That deadline was June 1, 2011, which was described in a notice published by Borders in the New York Times at least 28 days prior to the deadline, as ordered by the bankruptcy court.

“The notice didn’t even mention gift cards. It really was more a way to cut them off than to give them effective notice,” Krislov said. No proofs of claim were filed by any of the millions of gift card holders, the court decision on Wednesday states.

Borders began its gift card program in 1998.

While the company did not have a database identifying gift card holders, Krislov said the company could have notified the millions of customers in its database of customer email addresses.

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Tim Boyle/Bloomberg via Getty Images(NEW YORK) -- Target executives over the past few years have really thought outside the bargain box, teaming up with high-end designers like Missoni, Neiman Marcus and Prabal Gurung. Now the popular discount chain’s latest venture may have more people than ever saying “I do.”

Target is now offering affordable wedding wear, exclusively online, in their latest launch that targets nuptial necessities.

“It’s a huge industry,” Jennie Ma, fashion and beauty editor at The Knot.com, told ABC News. “It generates about $4 billion a year. We’ve seen a lot of online retailers enter this space.”

Target is offering four styles of wedding gowns, 10 bridesmaids dresses and two flower girl frocks in sizes 2 to 28 with prices ranging from $69.99 to $129.99.

The average wedding dress costs around $1,200, and for that amount, brides-to-be could purchase six wedding dresses and eight bridesmaids dresses at Target.

Newly engaged Taylor McGrann is on the hunt for her perfect dress, but at a bargain.

“It’s hard because you want it to be special, you want it to be perfect, you want it to be beautiful, but how much can you really spend on a dress that you wear one day, one time?” McGrann asked.

McGrann added that she'd consider buying a wedding dress from Target because “They’re so classic. They’re timeless, they’re simple and it’s really evident that you can make this your own.”

The bridal dresses are only available online and Target has no plans to carry them in stores. But if you order a dress and it doesn’t fit, the dress can be returned per the return policy.

Copyright 2013 ABC News Radio

iStockphoto/Thinkstock(NEW YORK) -- Accustomed to their gas-guzzling companions, many Americans are hesitant to buy an electric or hybrid vehicle. But dealers and government incentives are luring drivers into the fold.

John O’Dell, senior green car editor for Edmunds.com, has leased a Nissan Leaf with his wife for the last two years. He said he is not sure he would lease an electric car if the federal tax credit of up to $7,500 were not available.

In O’Dell’s home state of California, he also received a state rebate of about $5,000.

“The state rebate made it even sweeter,” O’Dell said.

Plug-in cars comprised less than one percent of total vehicle sales in the U.S. in the first four months of the year, according to Hybridcars.com. But plug-in sales figures are double those of the first four months of last year, with help from discounts and incentives, as first reported by the Wall Street Journal. The drawbacks of an electric car include limited battery life or power per charge and lack of charging stations in some parts of the country.

But the financial incentives are appealing.

People who purchase an electric car in or after 2010 may be eligible for the federal tax credit of up to $7,500, depending on the capacity of the vehicle’s battery. (The federal tax credit amounts per vehicle are described on the website FuelEconomy.Gov.)

Electric car buyers who owe less than $7,500 in taxes won’t get a full $7,500 in tax credits even if their electric car purchase is eligible for that amount. But some dealers who lease these cars are giving drivers a discount of the full $7,500 from the lease price.

Various states have different tax incentives. Among Georgia’s offerings, for instance, is an income tax credit to people who buy or lease a new zero emissions vehicle. The tax credit is 20 percent of the vehicle cost, up to $5,000.

At the time O’Dell leased the Nissan Leaf, it had a MSRP (manufacturer’s suggested retail price) of about $36,000. Today, its MSRP is about $35,200 before federal tax savings.

While O’Dell’s commute is 110 miles round-trip, he can take advantage of a charging station by his office. He also happens to have a solar-powered home, so his electric bill is only about $45 a month. For longer trips, he uses one of his family’s other three cars.

“The car pretty much pays for itself every month,” O’Dell said of the Leaf. He said leasing an electric car worked “wonderfully” for him, but he knows not everyone in the country will have the same situation.
But as the price of electric cars falls and battery technology improves, O’Dell said it makes more sense to lease an electric car than to buy one.

“Batteries have a finite life and no one knows what that is yet,” he said.

These days, he said monthly lease deals for electric cars can be as low as $199 a month, such as for the Fiat 500 EV. Cars like the Fiat 500 EV are only available in California, marketed there to meet the state’s stringent emissions standards.

“A lot of these eclectic cars are not available nationally,” O’Dell said. “They’re expensive to build with a limited market.”

Cars like the Ford Focus and Tesla S are marketed nationally.

Eric Evarts, senior associate autos editor with Consumer Reports, agrees that it is better to lease an electric car than to buy one.

“I would say electric cars are the one thing where we would unequivocally recommend people lease,” Evarts said, “especially with some of these low subsidized rates, depending where you live.”

Evarts’ advice extends to hybrids like the Toyota Prius, though he said the Prius has been around since 2000 and has a longer track record and higher resale value.

Evarts cautions drivers considering a lease to consider what they plan to do after their lease ends, which is typically two years.

“You can extend the lease, but it tends to be that longer leases are less financially good deals,” Evarts said, adding that eventually repairs and updates like tire changes can lead to more expenses for a leased car.

Copyright 2013 ABC News Radio

JOSEP LAGO/AFP/Getty Images(NEW YORK) -- Think back over the past few months to more than a few high-profile Twitter hacks.

Burger King's account was hacked to look like McDonald's. Then there was Jeep's account, which sent out plenty of nonbrand-friendly language. And finally, and more seriously, the Associated Press' account was taken over by hackers who told the media outlet's millions of followers that bombs had exploded at the White House.

Starting on Wednesday, though, Twitter users will have an added security feature intended to help prevent those types of hacks. The social network has rolled out a log-in, or two-step, verification process, which requires users to confirm their identity with two pieces of log-in information.

When you enable the feature through the settings area on Twitter.com, you'll be asked to input your phone number. Going forward when you try to log in to Twitter, you will enter your regular password, and then Twitter will send you a text message with a verification code. When you get that text message with that code, you will then have to input that string of numbers and letters to get in. The idea is that there are two pieces of information to confirm that you are who you say you are.

"Two factor is two ways of authenticating who you are," McAfee security expert Robert Siciliano told ABC News. "Two factor, generally, by definition is something you know and something that you have or you are." In this case, you know your password, and you have your smartphone.

The new feature will be available on Wednesday to all Twitter users, although it does require a working cell phone to get it going. Also, it is only really useful to those who run independent accounts, not shared accounts. For example, the AP or ABC News account is run by multiple users, who don't share one cellphone.

Twitter says it is also working on additional features.

"However, much of the server-side engineering work required to ship this feature has cleared the way for us to deliver more account-security enhancements in the future. Stay tuned," Jim O'Leary of Twitter's product security team said in a blog post.

But just this step has given many users and security experts what they wanted.

"This is what they should have been doing years ago," Siciliano said. "Now that Twitter has become the de facto social network of major news networks and law enforcement agencies to get the word out, this was required."

Copyright 2013 ABC News Radio

iStockphoto/Thinkstock(WASHINGTON) -- Sales of existing homes rose 0.6 percent in April to an annual rate of 4.97 million units. Sales are up nearly 10 percent over the past year.

“The market is in a solid recovery,” says Walter Malony of the National Association of Realtors. “Sales are now at the highest level in 3 1/2 years, back when the market was spiking in response to the homebuyers tax credit.”

That was a temporary tax credit.  Since then, tight lending standards by banks and limited inventory have kept the total lower than it would be.

Wednesday’s report is the latest sign of improvement for the housing market. Existing home sales account for about 9 out 10 home sales each month.

Copyright 2013 ABC News Radio

Virgin America(NEW  YORK) -- Planning on taking a vacation soon?  You may want to consider booking your flight with Virgin America.

The carrier is listed as the top-rated airline in a new Consumer Reports survey.

"Virgin America got very high ratings across the board.  In fact, it was some of the highest ratings we've seen on an airliner for years," says Mandy Walker, a Consumer Reports senior project editor.

"People were very happy with the check-in ease, they like the cabin crew's service, they liked how clean the planes were, baggage handling got high marks and they like the in-flight entertainment; you know they have those seat-back screens with all the different programs on it," she says.

Following Virgin America on the list is Southwest Airlines. JetBlue Airways came in third.

As for which airline came in last: "Well at the bottom of our list was Spirit Airlines.  It actually received one of the lowest ratings that we've seen in some time," Walker says.

Copyright 2013 ABC News Radio

iStockphoto/Thinkstock(NEW YORK) -- Dramatic scenes of tornado-wrought devastation and wrecked properties in Oklahoma this week are another potent reminder to renters and homeowners all across the country to take an inventory of everything they own before a storm hits. It can make a big difference if your household suffers major damage.

“Go through your house with your smartphone,” suggests Kimberly Lankford, contributing editor of Kiplinger’s Personal Finance magazine. “Smartphones make this so much easier. Just take pictures and video of everything, because if you do have a claim, you don’t have to piece together everything yourself.”

Smartphone apps can help you compile a complete list. “There’s one called knowyourstuff.org that makes it really easy to get that list of everything,” says Lankford.

This can really help when making a claim to your insurance company. “Especially in a situation where so much is destroyed you don’t have to go through and look and remember. Also, if you can then email that to the insurance company that puts you ahead of the people who are still waiting to put their list together,” Lankford says.

After a big storm, fire or earthquake many people are trying to get their claims paid at the same time. Putting your information on a secure site online can help you file a claim quickly and thoroughly.

“Anything you can do ahead of time can make a big difference,” says Lankford. “Getting your inventory squared away is a key thing.”

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