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Consumers who purchased Skechers Shape-ups or other toning shoes made by the company will be eligible for a partial refund from a $40 million settlement that the company made with the Federal Trade Commission and 42 states with class action lawsuits. The settlement is being finalized Wednesday in a federal court in the Northern District of Ohio, according to the FTC. "Skechers put its foot in its mouth by making unwarranted claims," said David Vladeck, director of the FTC Bureau of Consumer Protection.

When you travel and have to leave your dog behind, you can call a kennel, hire a pet sitter — or find him a new friend online. The website DogVacay debuted in New York and Los Angeles in March and, just in time for the summer travel season, is now available throughout the United States and Canada. The site lets pet owners look up hosts in the area who will care for a dog in their own homes, giving a pet the food, exercise and attention you would give if you stayed home — sort of a doggy version of couch-surfing, for an average price of $25 to $30 a day. Hosts are...

With the school year winding down, Tufts University administrators met recently with students planning to study abroad, outlining what they should do before they leave and what to expect when they arrive. Above all, they stressed the risks - and ways to minimize them. But with an audience of young adults eager to see the world and seize adventure, it was hard to know whether the warnings truly hit home. "I think the message gets through," said Sheila Bayne, who directs the university's study-abroad program.

Yottaa Inc. , a Boston-based company providing Web optimization services, said Tuesday that it has closed $9 million in Series B funding. All existing investors, including General Catalyst Partners, Stata Venture Partners, and Cambridge West Ventures, returned for this round and were joined by additional undisclosed investors, Yottaa said. Yottaa describes its offering as an "easy-to-use cloud service that brings speed, scale, and security" to a business customer's website.

US Senator Scott Brown has turned questions over Democrat Elizabeth Warren's claims of Native American ancestry into a key strategy in his bid to retain his Senate seat. Almost every day for more than two weeks, the Brown campaign or a Republican surrogate has highlighted the latest bit of news to emerge on the subject, often citing articles on conservative websites in a bid to coax more coverage from the mainstream news media. Warren's failure to offer a full and concise answer on what role her ancestry has played in her professional career has left an opening that has allowed the questions to linger.

State officials have launched an investigation into an anti-racism website set up by the mother of a man who killed eight employees at a Manchester beer distribution warehouse. Lillie Holliday's site, http://www.ostmemorialfund.com , is set up as a memorial for her son, Omar Thornton and solicits donations to fight institutionalized racism. "As a mother, I do not want any other mother to experience what I did in losing a son as a result of the impact of racism in the workplace," she says in a statement on the website.

ATLANTA -- Home Depot is going the way of retailers like Crate & Barrel and Macy's by offering an online gift registry, but will brides and grooms be eager to snap up miter saws or pressure washers? Industry observers see it as a way for the Atlanta-based company to enhance its relationship with customers, even if it isn't a boon for the bottom line. The initiative will be formally launched today. The home improvement chain says it is banking on its research showing that more people are getting married later in life, perhaps for a second time, and...

This is the time of year when all the wonderful college students flock back to our fine metropolis, when the streets of Back Bay and the Fenway are clogged with so many vans, moving trucks, and Volvo station wagons that Boston becomes, for all intents and purposes, Mogadishu-on-the-Charles. If you think it's bad trying to negotiate your way down Bay State Road, that's nothing compared with standing in the middle of a U-Haul office, and that's where Joe Welch found himself the other day. Welch is a fine fellow, lives in Hingham, and two weeks ago went onto the U-Haul...

Priscilla of Boston, the high-end bridal boutique that got its start on Newbury Street in 1945 and shot to prominence after making Grace Kelly's wedding gown, is closing. Its parent company, David's Bridal, announced yesterday that it will shutter the store's 19 national locations, including its store on Boylston Street, on Dec. 31. A corporate office in Charlestown will also be closed. A David's Bridal spokesman said the stores are being shut so the company can invest more resources into its 307 David's Bridal stores.

Former House speaker Salvatore F. DiMasi has been diagnosed with cancer in his tongue and lymph nodes, his family confirmed Friday, a disease that can be fatal if not detected early. DiMasi, a onetime political power now serving eight years in a Kentucky prison for corruption, was diagnosed last month after he discovered a suspicious growth, a family friend said. It's unclear where DiMasi will be treated, but there is a prison medical facility specializing in cancer treatment in North Carolina.

The Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard will accept a Webby Award Monday. The institute won the award, which recognizes the best of the Internet, in the science category. Offer Wyss suggestions via Twitter ( @WyssInstitute ) about what it should say in its five-word acceptance speech, a Webby tradition, and see the show live at 4:30 p.m. Here's what the institute had to say about its website in an announcement earlier this month: The Wyss website combines a bold color palette, striking imagery and innovative content to capture the...

The town's Recreation Commission and the AtBats Training Center are partnering this summer on a program allowing local youths to attend the town's summer camp at Flerra Field for a half day and then go to the baseball and softball facility for the afternoon. The two camps operate separately but are being offered together as a convenience to families. Applications to both programs are available on the town's website, www.town.boxborough.ma.us.

St. Luke's Episcopal Church will host a free community supper Sunday at the church, 5 Washington St. The suppers are served twice a month. The chef's choice menu features casseroles, rolls, salads, vegetarian options, and desserts. The dinner is served from 5 to 6 p.m. Parking is available behind the Fire Station, two buildings to the right of the church. For more information, visit the church's website, www.stlukeshudson.org.

A monthly signature event and a featured itinerary are among the new offerings on a website promoting northern New Hampshire's attractions. This month's event profiles landlocked salmon fishing in Pittsburg, which runs through Memorial Day. The featured itinerary of the month is hiking the area's trails and summits. The information, plus other specifics about traveling and accommodations in the area, can be found on www.nhgrand.com.

MINNEAPOLIS — Delta Air Lines says a glitch that appeared to show different airfares to frequent fliers occurred because it was trying out a new company to power flight searches on its website. The airline has taken heat from customers after reports that people who logged into its website with their frequent flier numbers were offered higher fares than those who searched anonymously. Delta and other airlines use third-party companies to deliver results when customers search for flights.

HARTFORD - State officials have launched an investigation into an antiracism website set up by the mother of a man who killed eight employees at a Manchester beer distribution warehouse. Lillie Holliday's website, www.ostmemorialfund.com, is set up as a memorial for her son, Omar Thornton, and solicits donations to fight institutionalized racism. "As a mother, I do not want any other mother to experience what I did in losing a son as a result of the impact of racism in the workplace," she says in a statement on the website.

A controversial sports website based in the Boston area brought its national party tour to the House of Blues last night near Fenway Park, but not without vocal opposition from about 200 protesters who blasted the site for posting content that critics say is demeaning to women and makes light of rape. "We're down here because we want to let people know that the perpetuation of rape culture is not cool," said Northeastern University junior Anna Siembor, 21, one of the creators of the blog Knockout Barstool, which organized last night's protest at the nightclub on Lansdowne Street.

The state of Massachusetts is trying a novel tactic to protect consumers from online scam websites -- setting up its own phony websites, which will link unsuspecting consumers to informational websites that will tell them how they narrowly escaped being cheated. "You need to find a way to reach people where the scam artists are reaching them," said Barbara Anthony, undersecretary of the Office of Consumer Affairs and Business Regulation. The state's fake websites advertise free trips, work-at-home deals, immediate weight loss, debt relief, and other popular scam...