Camouflage is meant to help conceal, but there's no hiding the fact that camo has become a costly matter of pride among the different branches of the U.S. armed forces.

The Washington Post reports the U.S. military went from just two types of camouflage uniforms in 2002 -- green for forests and brown for the desert -- to at least 10 now.

And according to a Government Accountability Office study commissioned by the Senate Armed Services Committee, America's military has collectively spent about $12.5 million just on the development of the new camouflage patterns since 2000, with millions more budgeted for purchasing and supply.

 

As investors start to realize hoarding precious metals isn't such a great play anymore and consumers start flocking to whatever shiny cast-offs they can find, the U.S. Mint is putting the plug in its piggy bank.

 

After running out of 0.1-ounce gold bullion coins last month, the Mint is now limiting dealers' purchases of its 5-ounce "America the Beautiful" silver bullion coins when they go on sale next week. It just tightens the squeeze the Mint put on coin sales after gold plunged to a two-year low and investors sold off their silver holdings last month.

 

When the coin becomes available for sale on May 13, the Mint will distribute half of its inventory equally among its authorized dealers, and the other half based on each dealer's volume of "America the Beautiful" coin sales in the past two years, it said on Wednesday.

 

Grab those spare dollars, because the Powerball is calling yet again.

The jackpot now stands at $270 million after no one won Wednesday night's drawing. And that's fueling some big dreams in 43 states, Washington, D.C., and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

The newest prize is the latest in a year of big jackpots, which should tell you how unlucky we all are. The jackpots keep growing because no one's winning, people!

But that isn't stopping folks from imagining the possibilities. One Twitter user said that "$270M would look amazing in my account right about now." Well, it wouldn't actually be $270 million because there's that tiny matter of taxes to contend with, but go ahead and dream. 

Officials in Cleveland are reviewing the conduct of the 911 operator who handled the call from kidnapping victim Amanda Berry for displaying what they considered to be a "lack of empathy," according to The Cleveland Plain Dealer.

The dispatcher's behavior has been lambasted on social media. "Is it just me or does the dispatcher have all the empathy of a brick?" one Twitter user asked.

Even the city's public safety director, Martin Flask, told the newspaper that the operator, a four-year veteran, didn't take the call from neighbor Charles Ramsey seriously and failed to remain on the line with Berry until police arrived. 

A Virginia carpet cleaning company wants to find out the identities of seven people who posted negative reviews about it, which it says are false and defamatory, on Yelp (YELP). But the consumer review site isn't passing along those names.

Over Yelp's objections, a court in Alexandria, Va., ordered it last year to provide the information requested by the carpet cleaner, which also alleges that its online critics probably are working for competitors, according to Consumerist. Other reviewers had posted similar complaints about the plaintiff and were not sued.

"Yelp has yet to oblige but has asked the plaintiff to name any reviewers it believes were employed (by) or connected to competitors so that it might investigate," Consumerist says.  "However, the carpet cleaner has not taken Yelp up on this offer." A spokesperson for Yelp couldn't be reached for comment. 

The consumer shipping market is fraught with peril between Point A and Point B. Disreputable delivery agencies could abscond with packages. Items left on doorsteps could just disappear, as they do just about every holiday season.

Yet Amazon.com (AMZN) seems to think a warehouse full of temporary workers could be the leakiest piece of its package pipeline, so it makes those employees wait up to half an hour just to get through security checkpoints. Employees at a Nevada warehouse are suing Amazon's hiring company for making them wait -- unpaid -- in lines that are sometimes a hundred people deep at the end of their shifts.

 

It seemed like another sign of the times when Wrigley introduced a caffeinated gum last month. After all, consumers can already buy caffeine-boosted drinks like Jolt Cola, energy bursts like Monster Beverages' (MNST) products and even jelly beans. 

But now Wrigley is temporarily pulling its Alert gum from store shelves "out of respect for" the Food and Drug Administration, The Associated Press reports. The decision comes after the Mars-owned gum company had discussions with the agency. 

The move may be just the tip of the caffeinated iceberg, however. It turns out all those laced food products -- such as potato chips and water -- have drawn the FDA's attention. The government agency plans to review the safety of caffeine in food products, especially regarding how they affect children and teens. 

 

National Basketball Association superstar Kobe Bryant, whose Los Angeles Lakers were swept in the first round of the playoffs by the San Antonio Spurs, is in the midst of an equally embarrassing legal dispute over money and memorabilia with his mother, Pamela Bryant.

The family spat is about 900 items worth about $1.5 million that she wants to sell through an auction. Included are high school basketball jerseys worn by the NBA Hall of Famer and two championship rings he gave his parents, according to the Los Angeles Times.

According to the Philadelphia Inquirer, Pamela Bryant claims her son left the items in her suburban Philadelphia home. He counters that he never authorized his mother to sell his belongings.