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A Bismarck man, George Demarrias, pulled a gun on a customer at McDonald’s after the customer refused to buy him a Big Mac and Happy Meal on Saturday. According to the arresting affidavit, the customer was going to the Burnt Boat Drive McDonald’s in Bismarck for lunch around 12:48 p.m. on September 30, when Demarrias approached him asking if the customer could buy him a Big Mac and a Happy Meal. The customer then told Demarrias to “go get a job” and walked into the restaurant. Demarrias followed the customer into the store (which was filled with innocent bystanders, some...

No one is happy all the time. That’s the message Burger King is trying to communicate with a lineup of burger meals focused on “real” moods to help raise awareness about mental health. Timed to Mental Health Awareness Month in May, the “Real Meals” include the Blue Meal, Salty Meal, Yaaas Meal and DGAF (Don’t Give a F---) Meal. They include a Whopper, french fries and a drink. “Burger King restaurants understands that no one is happy all the time. That’s why they’re asking guests to order a Whopper meal based on however they might be feeling,” an online release...

Here are a few things that are effectively legal in San Francisco: drugs, public defecation and shoplifting. And here are some of the things that are banned or will be banned in the City by the Bay. Straws. Fur coats. Bottled water. Eating at work. Vaping liquids. Upholstered furniture. Plastic bags. Pet stores. Electric scooters. Coffee cups and packing peanuts. Tropical fish. The McDonald’s Happy Meal. If you can think of something, San Francisco has already banned it. Or will be banning it soon. North Korea with a tech industry and some leftover Victorian architecture (which it’s banning tour buses...

On July 19, Lt. Governor Gavin Newsom tweeted that it is “easier to get a gun than a happy meal in California.” He based this statement on an earlier claim that there are twice as many gun dealers as McDonald’s restaurants in California. However, he overlooked that McDonald’s restaurants are not required to observe a ten-day waiting period on burger or fry purchases; gun sellers are.

Rapper Big Paybacc has been shot dead while eating his lunch in a McDonald's near Los Angeles. The star, whose 2011 track Gangsta Luv has been viewed more than 250,000 times on YouTube, was gunned down by an attacker who walked in and opened fire. Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department spokeswoman Deputy Guillermina Saldana said: "It appears to detectives that the victim was the intended target and that this was not a random shooting." The victim was identified officially as 38-year-old Habeeb Ameer Zekajj, the rapper's real name. Big Paybacc was connected to former G-Unit artist Spider Loc.

EAST LIBERTY, Pa. — A 26-year-old woman was arrested Wednesday after police said undercover agents purchased heroin from the woman while she was working at the East Liberty McDonald’s. According to Mike Manko, a spokesperson for Allegheny County District Attorney Stephen Zappala, authorities received information that heroin was being sold by an employee at the McDonald’s Restaurant on Penn Avenue in the Bakery Square section of East Liberty. Manko said several law enforcement officers set up a controlled buy at the restaurant Wednesday. Investigators said the customer looking for heroin was instructed to go through the drive-through lane and say,...

Children in California will still be able to get toys with their Happy Meals. A San Francisco judge has dismissed a proposed class-action lawsuit that sought to stop McDonald's Corp. from using toys to market its meals to children in the Golden State.

Absurd Laws: The nannies of San Francisco tried to take the fun out of McDonald's Happy Meal. But enterprising managers found a way to bring joy to the kids anyway. A city ordinance that prohibits fast-food restaurants from giving away toys with children's meals went into effect Thursday. San Francisco — of course — was the first big city in the country to pass such a law. The intent, according to the supervisor who sponsored the prohibition, was to increase awareness of the nutritional makeup of children's meals. That's Eric Mar's story and it seems he's sticking with it. But...

Beginning today, all McDonald’s (MCD) restaurants in the City of San Francisco are forbidden by law to give away toys with Happy Meals. McDonald’s response? Eat it, California. Though Policy Number 471.1 through 471.9 -- otherwise known as the "Healthy Meal Incentives Ordinance” -- will now, as noted by SF Weekly’s Joe Eskenazi, “require Happy Meal purchasers to make a 10-cent charitable donation to Ronald McDonald House in order to receive their coveted trinket,” the world’s largest fast food chain has pulled off a decisive, magnificent win. "This law is not what my customers wanted or asked for, but the...

Here’s a story that’ll tickle your McRibs. On December 1 a law seemingly banning McDonald’s Happy Meals went into effect in San Francisco. The “Healthy Meal Incentives Ordinance” prohibits restaurants from giving away toys with meals that do not meet with the city’s approval — namely, meals with too many calories, too much salt or fat, or insufficient fruits and vegetables. Just a few days before the ordinance took effect, SF Weekly reports, McDonald’s announced it had found a simple way around the statute: Charge customers extra for the toys. Now in order to obtain a Happy Meal toy, parents...

San Francisco -- McDonald's announced today that it would comply with San Francisco's ban on toy giveaways in kids' meals high in fat, salt and sugar by charging customers for the plastic trinkets. The Heathy Food Incentives Ordinance, which was passed by the Board of Supervisors and withstood a veto by then-Mayor Gavin Newsom last fall, goes into effect Thursday. Chain restaurants in San Francisco no longer will be able to give away toys with Happy Meals and other children's meals that don't meet the city's strict nutritional standards. The city drew scrutiny nationwide for passing the ban, with some...

The heart-warming story of a wayward emperor penguin that was rescued in New Zealand may not have a happy ending. Scientists who released the penguin back into the ocean say the signal from a tracking device has stopped and they fear the bird has been eaten. But they still are holding out hope that the device just fell off the penguin who has been dubbed "Happy Feet."

On Friday afternoon, Evansville Police say they stopped a vehicle at the intersection of Lodge and Riverside. Police say the female passenger in the car, 33-year-old Samantha Phillips, had an active misdemeanor warrant. Police also say they found meth in a child's Happy Meal bag, and the area that the vehicle was stopped was within 1,000 feet of a school. Phillips was taken to the Vanderburgh County Jail. Her bond is set at $5,500. She's facing charges of failure to appear and possession of meth.

McDonald's grimaces at Happy Meal lawsuit Photo 12:20pm EDT By Dan Levine SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - A lawsuit seeking to stop McDonald's Corp from offering toys with Happy Meals must be dismissed because parents can always choose not to buy the meals for their children, the hamburger giant said in a court filing late on Monday. The lawsuit accuses McDonald's of unfairly using toys to lure children into its restaurants. The plaintiff, Monet Parham, a Sacramento, California mother of two, charges that the company's advertising violates California consumer protection laws. The Happy Meal has been a huge hit for McDonald's...

Ban Happy Meals? Sure. They're bad for you, they exploit kids, get rid of 'em. This is government overreach. If you don't want a Happy Meal, don't buy one. Don't ban 'em, but do change 'em to be healthier.

From the Portland Tribune: Parents ask McDonald’s to ban Ronald Local parents and doctors took concerns about the health of their children to the source this week: McDonald’s.The fast-food giant’s unhealthy food and marketing targeted at children caused the group to gather 500 petition signatures from local parents. That petition was presented Wednesday morning to the Cedar Mill McDonald’s and representatives of Don Armstrong, who owns 14 McDonald’s restaurants in the Portland area. The group said they hope their message will make its way to the corporation. “There is no debate about whether the aggressive marketing of McDonald’s-style junk food...

Absolute must see....

...For at least half a century (if not longer) advertisers have been marketing directly to children by offering swell toys and prizes if only the kids will persuade Mom to buy items like those above. But Monet Parham of San Francisco is only suing McDonalds, oddly enough. Why not sue Pepsico, owner of Cracker Jacks, or Kelloggs, General Mills, or Post Cereals? In fact Ms. Parham, who is a regional program manager working for the state of California on child nutrition matters, is suing McDonald’s on behalf of her daughter to force them to stop offering toys with Happy Meals,...

Last week's elections may have seemed like a repudiation of liberalism, but the San Francisco board of supervisors appeared unfazed. The city's governing body went ahead and fired a bunker buster into the Happy Meal, decreeing that restaurants cannot put free toys in meals that exceed set thresholds for calories, sugar or fat. Libertarians are livid, parents are peeved and even advocates of healthier fast food think the ban will be counterproductive.

Fast food giant McDonald's said Wednesday it was "extremely disappointed" at a ruling by San Francisco authorities banning high-calorie Happy Meals, which entice children to eat with free toys. The response came after the Californian city's board of supervisors voted to forbid restaurants from giving gifts with meals that contain too much fat and sugar. "We are extremely disappointed with this decision. It?s not what our customers want, nor is it something they asked for," said McDonald's spokeswoman Danya Proud. Happy Meals, which typically come in a colorful cardboard box packed with a burger, a drink, fries and desert, are...