Current Events in October 2010

Facebook is everywhere. The social networking site has grown from being just for college students to having over 500 million active members. The David Fincher film about Facebook's creation, "The Social Network" is currently topping the box office at 22.4 million dollars. It's only 8:30 in the morning and so far, I've heard the word "Facebook" said on TV at least three times. Facebook. Is. Everywhere.

So, it only makes sense to study the phenomena that seemingly everyone - from our best friends to our grandmas - are partaking in.

Christopher Sibona, a PhD student in the Computer Science and Information Systems program at the University of Colorado Denver has revealed his study of the top reasons for "unfriending" on Facebook - a first of its kind.

"Researchers spend a lot of time examining how people form friendships online but little is known on how those relationships end," Sibona said.

And they do end. And it's actually called "unfriending." "Unfriend" was named "word of the year" in 2009 by the New Oxford American Dictionary. To unfriend, to not unfriend, or to be unfriended (and then perhaps re-friended?) is always the question.

What's the number one way to go from having 342 friends to having 341? Sibona found, after surveying 1,500 Facebook users (on Twitter, ironically) that it's not talking about polarizing topics like politics or religion (that was number two) or even posting inappropriate, crude, or racist things (that was number three). It was "frequent, unimportant posts."

So, if you plan to live-blog sitting on the couch, waiting for the UPS guy to show up, you better make it entertaining.

The study delves further, citing that 57 percent of those surveyed unfriended for online reasons, while 26.9 percent did so for offline behavior. Sibona also found that those making friend requests stood a much higher chance of being unfriended while those doing the unfriending seemed to have the upper hand in the relationship.

Some of those surveyed were hurt when they got unfriended while others were simply amused.

"There are a wide variety of reactions depending on who did the unfriending and why," Sibona said.

Which makes sense; if that guy you met at a party who you have barely spoken to in two months unfriends you, no big deal. But if your mom and her whole side of the family unfriends you? Something's wrong.

What's a Facebook newbie to do to keep the friends she has and gain some new ones? Keep it simple, keep it light, and always err on the side of caution. Especially these days when 54.6 percent of recruiters look up potential employees on Facebook. The types of behavior that will get you unfriended on Facebook might also cost you that new job you interviewed for.

On the subject of unfriend-worthy behavior on Facebook, a new trend is cropping up this month where female Facebook users post status updates like "I like it on the floor" or "I like it on the couch." These cheeky statements are not a glimpse into these women's sexual proclivities, but rather an attempt to raise breast cancer awareness. October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

While the sentiment is nice, the action can be annoying (or creepy, depending on who posts what) but before you go on an unfriending spree, consider linking these ladies to any number of websites where they can donate to cancer research, or encourage them to get off the computer and take a walk, as exercise is a great way to combat cancer.

However, don't be shocked if you get unfriended for this.

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Sara Huffman likes it on the chair with her cat lying on top of it.

Verizon Wireless has agreed to provide up to $90 million in refunds to consumers who were wrongly charged for accessing the Internet with their mobile phones.

"In October and November, we are notifying about 15 million customers, through their regular bill messages, that we are applying credits to their accounts due to mistaken past data charges," said Mary Coyne, Deputy General Counsel, Verizon Wireless. "We will mail former customers refund checks. In most cases, these credits are in the $2 to $6 range; some will receive larger credits or refunds."

As smartphones began to become the standard in wireless devices, some consumers who simply wanted a phone for voice communications found themselves being charged for a service they didn't want or need.

Awad of Burke, Va., told ConsumerAffairs.com he purchased a phone after being assured by Verizon that it could be used for voice and text messaging only. He said he signed up for unlimited texting because he had two teen-agers.

"I still see over charges for this month and for previous month that I have received," he said. "I am getting tired for this billing system for Verizon. It is simply designed to take more money than the services provided to consumers."

Verizon says that after reviewing customer accounts, the company discovered that over the past several years approximately 15 million customers who did not have data plans were billed for data sessions on their phones that they did not initiate.

"These customers would normally have been billed at the standard rate of $1.99 per megabyte for any data they chose to access from their phones," Coyne said. "The majority of the data sessions involved minor data exchanges caused by software built into their phones; others included accessing certain web links, which should not have incurred charges. We have addressed these issues to avoid unintended data charges in the future."

FCC pressure

Verizon announced the refunds while in the midst of negotiations with the Federal Communications Commission, which is looking into the complaints about unauthorized charges. The New York Times quotes sources close to the talks as saying the agency is likely to press for additional penalties for Verizon's unauthorized charges.

The $90 million refund is the largest ever initiated by a telecommunications company.

Nvidia, a major manufacturer of graphics processing units (GPUs), has settled a class action lawsuit involving faulty GPUs installed in over 50 laptop models.

The lawsuit concerned the GeForce 8600M, the short-lived graphics processor with an unfortunate tendency to overheat.

The settlement marks the end of a long and bumpy road for Nvidia, which first acknowledged the problem back in July 2008. In a statement then, the company said the defect was due to "weak die/packaging material set in certain versions of its previous generation GPU and MCP products," and agreed to set aside between $150 and $200 million to pay for "anticipated warranty, repair, return, replacement, and other costs and expenses, arising from a weak die/packaging material set in certain versions of its previous generation GPU and MCP (multi-chip package) products used in notebook systems."

Nine class actions

At that point, litigation was already inevitable, and by September 2008, nine class action lawsuits had been consolidated in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California. The suits claimed, among other things, that Nvidia knew of the GPU defect long before it became public, with one action alleging that "Nvidia began troubleshooting these problems with major computer manufacturers beginning in August of 2007."

The problem mostly affected Dell, HP, and Compaq laptops, along with several MacBook Pro models.

A Dell blog posting from 2008 said that the problem led to, among other problems, "multiple images, random characters on the screen, lines on the screen, [and] no video."

At the time the defect became known, Dell issued a BIOS update that changed machines' fan speeds in an effort to regulate GPU temperature fluctuations. HP had issued a similar BIOS update in November 2007, which one lawsuit said was evidence that Nvidia knew about the problem long before it acknowledged it in mid-2008.

Other models, like the Sony VIAO owned by Andrew of Ramonda, Calif., were also affected. "The NVIDIA GeForce 8400M GT Graphic Card on my Sony Viao laptop(model VGN-FZ283BN) has failed twice in the two years following purchase," Andrew said. His extended warranty covered the cost of repairs but Andrew said he suffered much inconvenience as a result.

Not everyone was as lucky as Andrew. "Currently out of warranty, graphics card forcing blue screen of death on HP Pavilion dv900 laptop which was the GeForce 8M series graphics card which is giving a nvlddmkm.sys error which is associated with the Nvidia graphics card," said Jarrid of Concord, N.C., in one of hundreds of complaints to ConsumerAffairs.com.

Settlement provides replacement, reimbursement

Under the terms of the settlement, eligible class members will be entitled to a replacement GPU chip and/or reimbursement of previous expenses related to the defect, including previous chip repairs or replacements.

Among the affected models are the Dell Insprion, Dell Latitude, Dell Precision, Dell Vostro, HP Pavilion, Compaq Presario, 15-inch MacBook Pro, and 17-inch MacBook Pro. Consumers who wish to exclude themselves from, or object to, the settlement must postmark their request by November 5, 2010. The fairness hearing is scheduled for December 20. At that time, the court will decide whether the settlement is fair and adequate and, if it is, will issue final approval of the settlement's terms.

Consumers can visit the settlement website for more information, or to sign up for e-mail notifications. Consumers can also check here to see if their model is included in the settlement.

In court papers, Nvidia says that it "continues to deny ... all allegations of wrongdoing or liability."

Nvidia is the second-largest GPU manufacturer by market share, ahead of rival AMD/ATI but still well behind Intel, the clear market leader.

Read more about Nvidia

If you're one of the many homeowners who suffered property losses due to the effects of certain imported drywall installed in homes between 2001 and 2009, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has some good news for you.

Called Revenue Procedure 2010-36, new guidance from the IRS enables affected taxpayers to treat damages from corrosive drywall as a casualty loss and provides a "safe harbor" formula for determining the amount of the loss.

In numerous instances, homeowners with certain imported drywall have reported blackening or corrosion of copper electrical wiring and copper components of household appliances, as well as the presence of sulfur gas odors.

Noxious odors

"In October 2009 we discovered we had Chinese drywall," Carol of Birmingham, AL, writes ConsumerAffairs.com. She says a forensic specialist took samples and investigated and his report "proved we have a high concentration of gases that have corroded our coils in our air conditioners, pipes on our hot water heater, jewelry, silver service, etc."

In addition, she says, "We had been sick frequently, which seemed to puzzle our physician. I have asthma, which has gotten increasingly worse. The smell of the gas has gotten worse with time and I wonder if we will end up with our house on fire and have nothing left or if my life will be shortened due to the gases causing health issues. I have gotten acne all on my face and never have had a problem."

As far as economic consequences are concerned, Carol tells us, "We have lost the worth of our house at the age of 68. All the wiring is corroded in the house."

Guy from Pearland, TX, says he's complained about smell in his home for over three years and now has found out he has Chinese toxic drywall. He tells ConsumerAffairs.com his builder, Meritage Homes of Texas, LLC, "now admits it, but swears they did not know about it three years ago." The company, he says wants to "come in and completely gut the house, vent out the chemical and issue me a certificate that certifies that the house is now free of chemical. I do not want that as the house is so poorly built that I don't think it would ever be livable." Guy says he has joined a class action suit and "will just keep breathing the fumes and hope for the best."

In November 2009, the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) reported that an indoor air study of a sample of 51 homes found a strong association between the problem drywall, levels of hydrogen sulfide in those homes and corrosion of metals in those homes.

Tax Relief

Revenue Procedure 2010-36 provides the following relief:

· Individuals who pay to repair damage to their personal residences or household appliances resulting from corrosive drywall may treat the amount paid as a casualty loss in the year of payment.

· Taxpayers who have already filed their income tax return for the year of payment generally have three years to file an amended return and claim the deduction. The amount of a loss that may be claimed depends on whether the taxpayer has a pending claim for reimbursement (or intends to pursue reimbursement) of the loss through property insurance, litigation or otherwise.

· In cases where a taxpayer does not have a pending claim for reimbursement, the she may claim as a loss all unreimbursed amounts paid during the taxable year to repair damage to the her personal residence and household appliances resulting from corrosive drywall.

· If a taxpayer does have a pending claim (or intends to pursue reimbursement), a he may claim a loss for 75 percent of the unreimbursed amount paid during the taxable year to repair damage to the his personal residence and household appliances that resulted from corrosive drywall.

A taxpayer who has been fully reimbursed before filing a return for the year the loss was sustained may not claim a loss. One who has a pending claim for reimbursement (or intends to pursue reimbursement) may have income or an additional deduction in subsequent taxable years depending on the actual amount of reimbursement received.

For purposes of this revenue procedure, the term "corrosive drywall" means drywall that is identified as problem drywall under the two step identification method published by the CPSC and the Department of Housing and Urban Development in their interim guidance dated January 28, 2010.

A new article published in WorstPills.org, a monthly newsletter published by Public Citizen, highlights the widespread nature of drug-induced Parkinsonism and the need for patients and doctors to be aware of the potential to be misdiagnosed.

The article includes a list of 49 prescription drugs known to cause drug-induced Parkinsonism.

Recent information has established that as many as one of every 10 people who went to a Parkinson's disease center were found to have drug-induced Parkinsonism -- not the more serious disease for which it is often mistaken.

Misdiagnosis

The people were misdiagnosed as having the more common illness, Parkinson's disease, which is irreversible and has unknown causes. Drug-induced Parkinsonism, however, is reversible and is brought on by medication use.

"The bad news is that too many doctors do not know about the diseases' differences, are inadequately aware of drug-induced Parkinsonism and therefore do not get a careful history from the patient about what drugs they started before the onset," said Dr. Sidney Wolfe, director of Public Citizen's Health Research Group and editor of WorstPills.org. "Doctors then mistake drug-induced Parkinsonism for the more commonly occurring Parkinson's disease."

This means that instead of suspecting a drug-induced origin and stopping the offending drug, doctors may mistakenly treat drug-induced Parkinsonism with another drug -- as though they were treating Parkinson's disease -- while leaving the patient on the drug that caused the illness in the first place, Wolfe said.

Aging can make one prone to drug-induced Parkinsonism, and older people may be especially sensitive to drug-induced Parkinsonism from antipsychotic drugs. Also, almost 100 percent of people infected with HIV will get drug-induced Parkinsonism if given antipsychotic drugs, the article said.

Knowing the difference

Some symptoms of Parkinsonism that can distinguish it from Parkinson's disease include:

· Symptoms on both the left and right sides (with Parkinson's disease, the symptoms are typically on only one side);

· Symptoms end once the drug is no longer used (Parkinson's disease is chronic and progressive); and

· No degeneration in the brain (Parkinson's disease causes brain degeneration in a specific area).

The FBI and international law enforcement agencies have disrupted a large-scale, international organized cybercrime operation active in several countries that resulted in numerous search warrants and arrests.

Operation Trident Breach began in May 2009 when FBI agents in Omaha, Nebraska, were alerted to automated clearing house (ACH) batch payments to 46 separate bank accounts throughout the United States. Quickly realizing the scope of the crime, the Bureau partnered with local, state, and federal partners, cybercrime task forces, working groups, and foreign police agencies in the Netherlands, Ukraine, and the United Kingdom to go after those responsible.

Multiple targets

The cyber thieves targeted small- to medium-sized companies, municipalities, churches, and individuals, infecting their computers using a version of the Zeus Botnet. The malware captured passwords, account numbers, and other data used to log into online banking accounts. This scheme resulted in the attempted theft of $220 million, with actual losses of $70 million from victims' bank accounts.

"No one country, no one company, and no one agency can stop cybercrime," said FBI Director Robert S. Mueller, III. "The only way to do that is by standing together. For ultimately, we all face the same threat. Together, the FBI and its international partners can and will find better ways to safeguard our systems, minimize these attacks, and stop those who would do us harm."

The FBI including the New York Money Mule Working Group, the Newark Cyber Crime Task Force, the Omaha Cyber Crime Task Force, the Netherlands Police Agency, the Security Service of Ukraine, the SBU, and the United Kingdom's Metropolitan Police Service participated in the operation.

International cooperation

Assistant Director Gordon M. Snow of the FBI's Cyber Division said, "During this investigation, the FBI worked closely with our overseas counterparts to identify subjects who were instrumental in the development and control of the malicious software, those who facilitated the use of malware, and those who saw a means to make quick, easy money-the mules."

"The skill, dedication, and expansive cooperation provided by our local, state, and federal law enforcement partners in the U.S. and in the Netherlands, Ukraine, and United Kingdom were crucial to the success of this effort," Snow said. "The FBI appreciates the financial industry working groups and public-private partnerships that work tirelessly to inform the American public about this criminal threat and provide recommendations on how businesses can protect themselves."

The multi-agency partnership, including support from Internet security researchers, gave law enforcement the opportunity to gather intelligence about this scheme and significantly disrupt the activities of cyber criminals and money mules who took part in these crimes.

Pim Takkenberg, team leader of the National High-Tech Crime Unit, Netherlands Police Agency, said: "The National High-Tech Crime Unit's involvement in this international operation is representative of the commitment that the KLPD and the National Prosecutor's Office have made to the fight against cyber crime in addition to the need for worldwide cooperation among all partners."

In a previously issued statement, Deputy Chief Inspector Terry Wilson from the Metropolitan Police Central e-Crime Unit, said: "We believe we have disrupted a highly organized criminal network, which has used sophisticated methods to siphon large amounts of cash from many innocent peoples' accounts, causing immense personal anxiety and significant financial harm, which of course, banks have had to repay at considerable cost to the economy."

The FBI and the Ukrainian SBU have forged a strong partnership to target cyber criminals around the world. The SBU has combined its technical and investigative expertise with the FBI in joint pursuit of organized cyber criminals who inflict damage to international financial infrastructure.

On September 30, 2010, the SBU detained five individuals who were key subjects responsible for this overarching scheme. Additionally, eight search warrants were executed by approximately 50 SBU officers and its elite tactical operations teams.

If you're like most men, you probably don't like thinking about your prostate -- but it is worth doing once in a while.

The fact is, according to the newsletter NIH News in Health that problems with the small gland are common in men past the age of 50. The good news is that most prostate conditions can be treated successfully.

The prostate is about the size of a walnut. It wraps around the urethra, the tube that carries urine out of the bladder. During sexual climax, or ejaculation, the prostate adds fluid to sperm to create semen, which also leaves the body through the urethra.

Identifying the problems

For men under 50, the most common prostate problem is prostatitis. It can cause a burning feeling when you urinate or an urge to urinate more often. You might have a fever or just feel tired.

Prostatitis is caused by the prostate becoming inflamed or irritated. Some kinds are caused by bacteria. If you have bacterial prostatitis, your doctor can spot it by looking at your urine through a microscope. Bacterial prostatitis can usually be treated with an antibiotic.

But most of the time, there's no clear cause for prostatitis. Researchers have yet to identify a clearly effective treatment when the cause is unknown. You may have to work with your doctor to find a treatment that works for you. Changing your diet or taking warm baths may help. No single solution works for everyone.

For men over 50, the most common prostate problem is prostate enlargement, or benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH). The prostate naturally grows larger as you get older. As it grows, it squeezes the urethra. The pressure can affect bladder control.

BPH can lead to more serious problems, such as urinary tract infections. In rare cases, the constant urination problems can lead to kidney damage.

Several treatments are available for BPH. In recent years, scientists have developed medicines that can shrink or relax the prostate to keep it from blocking the bladder opening. Researchers have also developed devices that allow doctors to remove parts of the prostate without major surgery. The procedures can usually be done in a clinic or hospital without an overnight stay. More invasive surgery is also an option.

More serious problem

The symptoms of prostate cancer, in which cancer cells form in the tissues of the prostate, can be similar to those of BPH. However, most of the time patients are diagnosed with prostate cancer after results from a blood test prompt a prostate biopsy.

Prostate cancer is the most common cancer in American men after skin cancer. But most men with prostate cancer don't die from it. Many prostate cancers never even cause symptoms or become a serious threat to health. That's because prostate cancer tends to grow more slowly than many other cancers. A prostate tumor may grow for 30 years before it gets large enough to cause symptoms. Several treatment options are available.

Certain risk factors have been linked to prostate cancer -- for example, eating a high-fat diet. NIH-funded scientists are now looking at how prostate cancer can be prevented. NIH also has many research programs aimed at finding treatments for BPH and other prostate problems.

See your doctor right away if something doesn't seem right to you down there. And if you can't urinate at all, get medical help immediately.

When skeptics talk about 3D television, they inevitably get around to the requirement posed by those silly glasses. Who, they ask, wants to sit in their living room wearing special glasses, just so they can watch TV in 3D?

Toshiba says it has an answer, announcing that it will introduce a small screen 3D TV that viewers can watch, getting the full 3D effect, without wearing 3D glasses. The 12- and 20-inch sets will hit the market in December in Japan, though Toshiba did not say when they would be available in the U.S.

The initial price for the Glasses-less 3D REGZA GL1 will start at about 120,000 yen, with is roughly $1,400. The 20-inch model will cost about twice as much.

While Toshiba may have gotten rid of the glasses problem, technology blogger Jared Newman, of PC World, suggests consumers not get too excited. He notes that viewers must sit directly in front of the screen in order to get the 3D effect. That can limit how many people you invite over to watch the big game. And its a pretty hefty price tag, he points out, for such a small TV.

Toshiba, meanwhile, says "the new Glasses-less 3D REGZA GL1 series employ an integral imaging system and perpendicular lenticular sheet that can display natural and smooth high quality 3D images."

The company says the integral imaging systems is based on the principal of sampling and collecting form several directions the light reflected from an object, and then faithfully reproducing the light through the display to realize smooth, natural images. Until now, Toshiba says, conventional 3D technology without glasses has produced a fall off in image resolution and increased blurring that has prevented practical use.

Toshiba said it employs an LED backlit LCD panel specially designed for 3D content that systematically aligns pixels, and has also adopted a perpendicular lenticular sheet in order to realize precise rendering and natural, high quality 3D images.

Seven states today joined the U.S. Department of Justice in a civil antitrust lawsuit challenging rules made by American Express, MasterCard and Visa that prevent merchants from offering consumers discounts, rewards and information about card costs, ultimately resulting in consumers paying more for their purchases.

"When you see a sign on a cash register requiring a minimum purchase or extra fee for using a credit card, it's because of the unfair practice established by these companies," Ohio Attorney General Richard Cordray said. "Merchants are charged a 'swipe fee' for each brand of credit card — but they can't tell consumers what those costs are or otherwise reward consumers for using less expensive credit cards to make a purchase. Those agreements stifle competition at the cash register. And we all know how those 'gotcha' fees add up."

The attorneys general of Connecticut, Iowa, Maryland, Michigan, Missouri, Ohio and Texas also signed onto the litigation, which was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York.

Visa, MasterCard and American Express handled more than $1.6 trillion in transactions last year, Cordray said.

"Accepting credit cards costs U.S. merchants $35 billion each year. Clearly it is vital for small businesses to be able to conduct credit card transactions, but they should be able to use all the leverage they can to get the best deal for themselves and to pass the savings on to their customers."

Visa and MasterCard settled with the Department of Justice immediately after the complaint was filed. If approved by the court, the two companies will be required to allow merchants to offer discounts, incentives and information to consumers to encourage the use of payment methods that are less costly.

"With today's lawsuit, we are sending a clear message: We will not tolerate anticompetitive practices," said U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder. "We want to put more money in consumers' pockets, and by eliminating credit card companies' anticompetitive rules, we will accomplish that."

The proposed settlement requires MasterCard and Visa to allow their merchants to:

· Offer consumers an immediate discount or rebate or a free or discounted product or service for using a particular credit card network, low-cost card within that network or other form of payment.
· Express a preference for the use of a particular credit card network, low-cost card within that network or other form of payment.
· Promote a particular credit card network, low-cost card within that network or other form of payment through posted information or other communications to consumers.
· Communicate to consumers the cost incurred by the merchant when a consumer uses a particular credit card network, type of card within that network or other form of payment.

The proposed settlement allows any merchant that only accepts Visa and MasterCard to take advantage of the relief immediately.

Amex case continues

The ongoing litigation against American Express seeks to allow merchants that accept American Express to engage in the same kind of discounting and encouragement that the proposed settlement with MasterCard and Visa allows. Until American Express's restraints on merchants are lifted, the many merchants that accept American Express, as well as Visa and MasterCard, will not be able to take full advantage of their new options under the proposed settlement, according to the Justice Department.

American Express Company, the parent of American Express Travel Related Services Company Inc., is a New York corporation, with its principal place of business in New York City. Cardholders used American Express credit and charge cards for $419.8 billion in purchases in 2009. MasterCard is a Delaware corporation with its principal place of business in Purchase, New York. Cardholders used MasterCard credit and charge cards for $476.9 billion in purchases in 2009. Visa is a Delaware corporation with its principal place of business in San Francisco. Cardholders used Visa credit and charge cards for $764.2 billion in purchases in 2009.

There's more than one way to be No. 1. In the airline business, the most popular -- though not necessarily the most consumer-friendly -- strategy in recent years is to grow by gobbling up the competition. United Airlines pushed back into the top spot Friday by completing its merger with Continental.

The new company -- imaginatively christened United Continental Holdings, Inc. -- will be known on the New York Stock Exchange as "UAL." Those watching carefully will note that, like so many supposed "mergers," the deal amounts to waving a wand and making Continental slowly disappear.

United's move left Delta sitting on the tarmac in the No. 2 spot. Delta had wiggled its way into the top spot two years ago with its acquisition of Northwest Airlines, a merger that is still a long way from being complete. As is often the case, Delta and Northwest continue to operate virtually independently of each other, with different paint jobs, reservation systems and so forth.

The same is likely to be the case for United and Continental. Though now officially wed, they're not likely to display new wedding rings anytime soon. The two airlines will operate separately until they receive a single operating certificate from U.S. regulators and customers will continue using separate ticketing facilities until the spring of 2011, when the company expects to combine operations.

"We have a lot of hard work ahead as we begin to implement the integration plan, but our co-workers are enthusiastic about the opportunities this merger will bring them," said Jeffrey Smisek, who will head the new company. Smisek was formerly Continental's CEO. United Continental will be headquartered in Chicago but Houston will be its largest hub.

Smisek has about 90 days to reach definitive agreements with the many unions involved in the $3 billion deal. United veterans are eager to reclaim pay that they gave up during the three years that United was in bankruptcy and Continental's unionized workers of wary of how they'll fare by being submerged into the larger United.

But Smisek, a self-proclaimed "airline geek" says he's excited by the exercise.

"If you are an airline geek, it doesn't get any better than this: bringing these two carriers together," Smisek told The Los Angeles Times last week. "They are the perfect marriage, the perfect fit. I think we're creating a tremendous carrier here.""

How about lower fares?

Meanwhile in Atlanta, Delta is seeking to put the best face on its new secondary position by saying it will be putting its energies into improving customer service while United tries to successfully digest Continental.

"No one who flies is waiting for a bigger airline, they're waiting for one that's committed to making flying better," says an ad that's part of Delta's new campaign.

Cute, but we'd wager that what many consumers are really waiting for is a bigger Southwest Airlines. And they're about to get it. Southwest's AirTran gives low-fare Southwest entry into key markets -- like, oh, the East Coast -- that it has been locked out of for years. Its acquisition of AirTran will bring Southwest's low-fare structure to New York's LaGuardia, Washington's Reagan National and Boston's Logan.

When Southwest enters a new market or expands its presence in an existing market, the effect on other carriers is often both rapid and easily detected. Unlike Delta and United's vague promise of "making flying better," Southwest makes its cheaper, forcing legacy carriers to lower their fares.

Unlike the United-Continental-Delta-Northwest deals, which came as no surprise to anyone, the Southwest-AirTran deal was kept under wraps until the last minute. Employees of both carriers were as surprised as everyone else -- and some of them felt like it was Christmas in September. One AirTran pilot we talked with said his salary doubled in one day, as the new management informed him that, instead of his $37,000 AirTran salary, he would be making about $74,000 as a Southwest jet jockey.

Toyota says it has examined more than 4,000 vehicles and has found no evidence that its electronic throttle control is to blame for the cases of unintended acceleration repoprted by consumers. The company's findings are supported by government tests that have also uncovered no evidence of problems in Toyota's electronics.

In a conference call with reporters, a Toyota executive said the company "has not found a single case in which electronics would lead to sudden unintended acceleration." Steve St. Angelo said Toyota has reviewed 4,200 complaints so far.

Drivers, for years, have reported instances in which their car accelerated on its own and failed to stop, even when they applied brakes. In some cases, these reports of sudden acceleration resulted in crashes.

But for the better part of a year government safety investigators have probed the thousands of reports of sudden acceleration in some Toyota vehicles. In a preliminary report to Congress in August, they said they have uncovered no evidence of problems in the vehicles' electronics.

Toyota has insisted from the start that, whatever the reason for these anomalies, they weren't caused by hiccups in the vehicles' sophisticated electronics. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), in its preliminary report, said it had reviewed 58 of the more than 3,000 submitted cases, and found no evidence of an electronics flaw.

Toyota today said that complaints of sudden-acceleration incidents have dropped 80 percent since April.

The company also said it has added a "brake-override control" to 84 percent of the Toyota, Lexus and Scion vehicles now on sale in the U.S. and said it intends to be the first manufacturer to affer the safety technology in all of its models. The software is intended to ensure that, even if the accelerator sticks, pressing the brake will cause the accelerator to release.

"Toyota has made significant progress in recent months to help ensure that our customers can have complete confidence in the quality, safety and reliability of their vehicles, and our latest initiatives build on those accomplishments," said St. Angelo, Toyota's chief quality control officer for North America. "Toyota's continuous efforts to strengthen vehicle quality and safety, and to respond swiftly and thoroughly to our customers' concerns, are driven by our core values and will always be a fundamental part of our company. Our goal is to set new, even higher standards for quality assurance and customer responsiveness in both the factory and the market by continuing to put our customers first in everything that we do."

Since September 2009, Toyota has recalled about nine million vehicles to either replace floor mats or alter the design of accelerator pedals. The NHTSA report said investigators found only one case in which a floor mat trapped a gas pedal, pressing it to the floor, and no case in which the gas pedal became stuck.

The recession may be officially over, but for millions of Americans, 2010 is shaping up as a miserable year. For some, things just seem to be getting worse.

The evidence can be seen in the latest bankruptcy statistics. U.S. consumer bankruptcy filings totaled 1,165,172 nationwide during the first nine months of 2010, through September 30, according to the American Bankruptcy Institute (Abr>BI). That amounts to an 11 percent increase over the 1,046,449 total consumer filings during the same period a year ago.

Highest since 2005

The ABI analyzed data from the National Bankruptcy Research Center (NBKRC). The consumer filings for the three-quarters of 2010 represent the highest total since 2005, when Congress enacted the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act (BAPCPA) to try and stem the tide of filings.

"While the 2005 bankruptcy overhaul law aimed to reduce filings, overall consumer debt and continued financial stress have led to consumer bankruptcies climbing back to pre-BAPCPA levels," said ABI Executive Director Samuel J. Gerdano. "We expect that there will be nearly 1.6 million new bankruptcy filings by year end."

The overall September consumer filing total of 130,329 was 4.4 percent more than the 124,790 consumer filings recorded in September 2009. The September total also represented a 3.3 percent increase from the August 2010 total of 127,028 consumer filings.

Chapter 13 filings constituted 30 percent of all consumer cases in September, a slight increase from August.

Warnings

When Congress changed the bankruptcy law in 2005, there were plenty of warnings that it could take a harsh toll on consumers. The measure garnered bipartisan support, and had the objective of making it more difficult for consumers to walk away from debts.

Elizabeth Warren, at the time a Harvard professor and now President Obama's advisor for setting up the Consumer Financial Protection Agency, was one of those sounding a warning five years ago.

"This bill was designed to point a thousand daggers squarely at consumers in trouble ... it's like narrowing the doors to a hospital and expecting everyone to squeeze their way in," she said in opposition to the bill.

The number of obese teens receiving gastric bypass surgery in America is growing. So are the reasons why the popular weight-loss remedy may not be such an easy fix.

Diana L. Farmer, MD, Chief of Pediatric Surgery at UCSF Benioff Children's Hospital in San Francisco, California has been studying the possible link between gastric bypass surgery in teen girls and an increased link for neural tube defects in their babies. Farmer presented her study at the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) National Conference and Exhibition in San Francisco Sunday.

A neural tube defect (NTD) is an opening in the spinal cord or brain that occurs very early in development. In about the third or fourth weeks of pregnancy, specialized cells on the fetus's back begin to fuse and form the neural tube. When the neural tube does not close completely, an NTD develops. Spina Bifida is a well-known NTD.

One of the easiest ways for women to combat NTDs in their babies is to take pre-natal vitamins, especially those containing folic acid.

However, when gastric bypass surgery is involved, pregnant women must be even more diligent about taking their pre-natal vitamins, as the surgery makes it very difficult for the body to absorb important nutrients.

Teenage gastric bypass surgery recipients often don't receive the nutrients they need, as they tend to be forgetful or even rebellious when it comes to taking their vitamins, Farmer said.

"We postulate that the malabsorption of folate, poor compliance with nutritional supplements and a higher risk of unintended pregnancies places young women at an increased risk for pregnancies complicated with neural tube defects. Although obesity is epidemic in this country, we believe non-reversible gastric bypass surgery should be avoided in adolescent women given the potential increased risk of fetal neural tube defects," she said.

Farmer said that if gastric bypass surgery is performed on a teen-aged girl, "great efforts must be made to minimize the risks of both unintended pregnancies and nutritional deficiencies." She recommends extensive pre-surgery counseling and frequent post-operative follow-up, as well as consideration of a highly effective form for birth control, such as an intra-uterine device, or IUD.

Children, males and blacks are at increased risk for food allergies, a new study finds.

The research, which was funded by the National Institutes of Health and appears in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, estimates that 2.5 percent of the United States population, or about 7.6 million Americans, have food allergies. Food allergy rates were found to be higher for children, non-Hispanic blacks, and males, according to the researchers. The odds of male black children having food allergies were 4.4 times higher than others in the general population.

The research, which was funded by the National Institutes of Health and appears in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, is the first to use a nationally representative sample, as well as specific immunoglobulin E (IgE) or antibody levels to quantify allergic sensitization to common foods, including peanuts, milk, eggs, and shrimp.

The hallmark of food allergy is production of IgE antibodies to a specific food protein. Once IgE antibody is made, further exposure to the food triggers an allergic response. IgE levels are often high in people with allergies.

"This study is very comprehensive in its scope. It is the first study to use specific blood serum levels and look at food allergies across the whole life spectrum, from young children aged 1 to 5, to adults 60 and older," said Darryl Zeldin, M.D., acting clinical director at the NIH's National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) and senior author on the paper. "This research has helped us identify some high risk populations for food allergies." In addition to the identification of race, ethnicity, gender, and age as risk factors for food allergies, the researchers also found an association between food allergy and severe asthma.

Food allergy rates were highest (4.2 percent) for children 1 to 5 years. The lowest rates (1.3 percent) were found in adults over the age of 60. The prevalence of peanut allergies in children aged 1 to 5 was 1.8 percent and in children aged 6 to19, it was 2.7 percent. In adults, the rate was 0.3 percent.

The odds of patients with asthma and food allergies experiencing a severe asthma attack were 6.9 times higher than those without clinically defined food allergies.

"This study provides further credence that food allergies may be contributing to severe asthma episodes, and suggests that people with a food allergy and asthma should closely monitor both conditions and be aware that they might be related," said Andrew Liu, M.D., of National Jewish Health and the University of Colorado School of Medicine, Denver, and lead author on the paper.

The data used for the study comes from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 2005-2006. NHANES is a large nationally representative survey conducted by the National Center for Health Statistics, a part of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Zeldin and Liu note more research is needed to understand why certain groups are at increased risk for food allergy. The authors comment in the paper that food allergies may be under-recognized in blacks, males, and children, because previous studies relied on self-reporting and not food-specific serum IgE levels.

"Having an accurate estimate of the prevalence of food allergies is helpful to public health policy makers, schools and day care facilities, and other care providers as they plan and allocate resources to recognize and treat food allergies," said Linda Birnbaum, Ph.D., NIEHS director.

Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation has agreed to pay $422.5 million to resolve criminal and civil liability arising from the illegal marketing of certain pharmaceutical products, the Justice Department announced.

According to the agreement reached with the government, the East Hanover, N.J.-based company will plead guilty to a misdemeanor and pay a $185 million combined criminal fine and forfeiture for the off-label promotion of Trileptal in violation of the Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved Trileptal as an anti-epileptic drug, for the treatment of partial seizures, but not for any psychiatric, pain or other uses. Once a pharmaceutical is approved by the FDA, a manufacturer may not market or promote it for any use not specified in its new drug application. The unauthorized uses are also known as "unapproved" or "off-label" uses.

In addition to the criminal fine and forfeiture, Novartis has agreed to pay $237.5 million to resolve civil allegations under the False Claims Act that the company unlawfully marketed Trileptal and five other drugs, and thereby caused false claims to be submitted to government health care programs. Specifically, the civil settlement resolves allegations that Novartis illegally promoted Trileptal for a variety of uses, including psychiatric and pain uses, which were not medically accepted indications and therefore not covered by those programs.

In addition, the agreement resolves allegations that the company paid kickbacks to health care professionals to induce them to prescribe Trileptal and five other drugs, Diovan, Zelnorm, Sandostatin, Exforge and Tekturna. The federal share of the civil settlement is $149,241,306, and the state Medicaid share of the civil settlement is $88,258,694.

"This resolution demonstrates the Department of Justice's ongoing dedication to taking action against pharmaceutical fraud in all its forms," said Tony West, Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Division of the Department of Justice. "Unlawful off-label promotion and providing illegal inducements to health care professionals undermine the integrity of our health care system and we will continue to pursue these types of violations."

"Off-label marketing can undermine the doctor-patient relationship and adversely influence the clear judgment that a doctor's patients have come to rely on and trust," said Zane D. Memeger, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. "Pharmaceutical companies have a legal obligation to promote the drugs they manufacture only for uses that the Food and Drug Administration has deemed are safe and effective. That legal obligation takes priority over a company's bottom line.

The civil settlement resolves four lawsuits filed under the qui tam, or whistleblower, provisions of the False Claims Act, which allow private citizens with knowledge of fraud to bring civil actions on behalf of the United States and share in any recovery. The four cases are: U.S. ex rel. Austin v. Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation; U.S. ex rel. McKee v. Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation; U.S. ex rel. Copeland v. Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation; and U.S. ex rel. Garrity v. Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation. As part of today's resolution, the whistleblowers, all former employees of Novartis, will receive payments totaling more than $25 million from the federal share of the civil recovery.

"This settlement represents a landmark victory in our district's continuing battle against health care fraud. We intend to bring to justice any pharmaceutical company that attempts to cloud physicians' medical judgment through kickback practices and illegal promotional activities," said A. Brian Albritton, U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Florida.

Senior citizens who are black are more likely to be the victims of psychological and financial abuse as elders of other races.

According to a new survey, published in The Gerontologist African American elders could be up to five times more susceptible to being cheated financially. The survey is among only a few that focus on race as a specific factor in elder mistreatment, says Scott Beach, assistant director of Center for Social and Urban Research (UCSUR) at the University of Pittsburgh.

The population-based survey collected information directly from senior citizens through face-to-face and telephone interviews -- the most effective way to document unreported abuse, he says. Typically, elder mistreatment data is gathered from complaints filed with Adult Protective Services.

The National Research Council (NRC), in its 2003 report, Elder Mistreatment, described existing elder abuse research as having "a number of weaknesses," including a lack of clear, consistent definitions and an absence of population-based data.

Reliance on self-reporting

The team interviewed 903 adults -- a statistically large sample -- aged 60 and older living in Pennsylvania's Allegheny County about instances of psychological abuse and financial exploitation occurring within the past 6 months and since they had turned 60.

The sample contained 210 blacks, or 23.2 percent of respondents, which is nearly twice the proportion of African Americans living in Allegheny County, Beach says.

Psychological mistreatment includes being yelled at or insulted, having personal property destroyed, and receiving threats of injury, stoppage of care, or being sent to a nursing home.

Incidence of mistreatment

Among black seniors, 24.4 percent reported being abused since turning 60 and 16.1 percent reported psychological mistreatment within the past six months. Around half as many non-blacks reported abuse with 13.2 percent claiming psychological abuse since turning 60 and 7.2 percent saying it happened within the previous half-year.

Interestingly, blacks were usually less upset by aggressive behavior, yet more of them reported being "extremely upset" when deliberately insulted or when their belongings were destroyed.

Older black people reported even higher instances of financial exploitation, which was defined as having checks stolen, having money tampered with, and being made to sign documents they did not understand.

Only 8.4 percent of non-black elders reported being cheated since turning 60 and a mere 2.4 percent said it happened within the past six months. On the other hand, 23 percent of African Americans claimed that someone meddled with their money since they turned 60 and 12.9 percent said it occurred recently.

No explanation

Most striking about the results was that the racial disparity in mental abuse or financial exploitation was not explained by additional factors such as education, health, age, or socioeconomic status, Beach says.

On average, blacks in the survey tended to be slightly younger, less educated, and more likely to be single, divorced, or widowed.

Nonetheless, non-African Americans of similar means, years, schooling, and marital status were still less likely to report mistreatment or financial deceit.

Beach says he plans to follow up on the survey by including seniors from other parts of the country, interviewing the perpetrators, and developing more standardized definitions of the various types of psychological mistreatment and financial exploitation.

Consumers found gas prices returned to normal in the last week after a pipeline leak last month caused a temporary price spike, especially in the Mid-west.

The national average price of self-serve unleaded fell to $2.692 a gallon today, down from $2.710 last Friday, according to AAA. The price is almost back to its level of four weeks ago.

The price of diesel fuel is $2.975 a gallon, up a fraction of a cent from last week.

The outlook for the fall suggests oil prices remaining in the narrow range they occupied throughout the summer, which should keep gasoline stable.

Weak demand

"There continues to be little evidence to suggest that the economy is set for a rapid recovery," said Andrew Delmege, AAA's manager of regulatory affairs. "Many economists and market watchers believe the domestic economy has a long road back to substantial growth and, consequently, increased demand for energy. This can help to explain why oil prices have remained in a $70-$80 price range since Memorial Day."

The U.S. Energy Information Administration reported this week that U.S. stockpiles of both oil and gasoline were down a bit in the last week, but both remain near 20 year highs. U.S. refineries have reduced their output by two percent, and are now operating at about 85 percent capacity.

The states with the most expensive gasoline today are:

Alaska ($3.484)
Hawaii ($3.421)
California ($2.993)
Washington ($2.991)
Idaho ($2.969)
Oregon ($2.913)
Utah ($2.886)
Montana ($2.884)
New York ($2.821)
Illinois ($2.818)

The states with the least expensive gasoline today are:

New Jersey ($2.499)
South Carolina ($2.507)
Missouri ($2.534)
Texas ($2.549)
Tennessee ($2.551)
Mississippi ($2.555)
Virginia ($2.558)
Alabama ($2.560)
Georgia ($2.575)
Louisiana ($2.578)