Current Events in October 2012

Xtra Airways has been fined $300,000 for violating rules protecting passengers when their public charter flights were suddenly canceled. At the same time it levied the fines, the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) ordered the carrier to cease and desist from further violations. 

Xtra was one of several carriers operating flights for Direct Air, a charter operator also known as Myrtle Beach Direct Air & Tours, which ceased operating in March. Direct Air arranged charters from a number of cities in the Midwest and Northeast to Myrtle Beach, SC, and cities in Florida. 

Charter rules 

Public charters differ from scheduled flights in that they operate only for a specific time period and are usually sold by a charter operator rather than an airline. DOT has specific rules applying to public charters, including a requirement that the charter operator have a security arrangement, such as a bond or letter of credit and an escrow account to protect consumers’ money if a flight is canceled, and a ban on canceling flights less than 10 days before departure unless it is physically impossible to operate the flight. 

“Airline passengers should not have to worry about last-minute charter flight cancellations or being stranded in the middle of their trips,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood. “Our rules were put into place to protect passengers’ rights, and we will continue to take enforcement action against airlines and charter operators when they violate those rules.” 

Flights canceled 

Xtra Airways stopped flying charters for Direct Air on March 13, 2012, after Direct Air failed to pay the carrier all the money it was owed for operating flights that departed on or after March 3. Payments for several flights prior to March 3 were also late. 

Many passengers did not receive the service they paid Direct Air for when Xtra Airways canceled the remaining flights it was scheduled to operate for Direct Air. 

In issuing its fine against Xtra Airways, the Department’s Aviation Enforcement Office said the carrier violated rules requiring that it be paid prior to operating a public charter flight and prohibiting the cancellation of such flights less than 10 days before their scheduled departure. In addition, the carrier providing the transportation is required to ensure return flights for all round-trip passengers who have flown the outbound leg of their trip. 

Carriers also are required to make a reasonable effort to ensure that the charter operator for which they are providing flights is complying with the public charter rules. The Enforcement Office noted that the late payments should have prompted Xtra Airways to look into whether Direct Air was following the rules. 

This is the second penalty issued by the DOT related to Direct Air. On July 27, the Department assessed a $180,000 penalty against World Atlantic Airlines https://www.consumeraffairs.com/news04/2012/07/direct-air-shutdown-draws-fine-for-world-atlantic-airlines.html , another carrier operating flights for Direct Air.

The shutdown of Direct Air remains under investigation.

So do you care whether that tomato you're eating has been genetically modified? After all, your dog would be a wolf if it weren't for genetic tinkering.

On the other hand, dogs evolved naturally, while those big red apples, bright yellow corn and yummy papayas owe their current state of apparent perfection to the likes of Monsanto rather than anything described by Darwin.

You can find plenty of scientists who will tell you that genetically engineered food is just fine -- that it resists insects, ripens faster, keeps longer and tastes better. Of course, many of these scientists work for companies like Nestle, Kellogg and Coca-Cola. 

On the other side are organic food activists who fear that tampering with the genetic make-up of nature's handiwork opens us up to unforeseen health risks and could lead to contamination of "legacy" plants.

The competing claims are currently being hashed out in California, that cauldron of consumer protection, social change, big-money politics and a seemingly endless stream of propositions that crowd the ballot everytime there's an election.

Californians don't have to worry about being driven mad by endless television and radio ads for the Messrs. Obama and Romney; it's assumed the state's 55 votes will go for Obama. The drama swirls instead around down-ballot measures and, in particular, something called Proposition 37, which would require food manufacturers and retailers to label all fresh produce and processed foods that contain genetically engineered ingredients.

This is, after all, the state whose every spare inch is covered by a sign warning of the danger of potential carcinogens. Similar labels could soon adorn the apples, broccoli and asparagus and tomatoes that line supermarket shelves as well as roadside stands and farmers market booths.

A precedent

If approved by voters Nov. 6, as polls predict it will be, the measure would make California the first state in the nation to require such labeling and would likely put it on Congress' menu in short order. Big food companies' lobbyists would flood the hallowed halls, pumping legislation to pre-empt California and block other states from trying anything similar. 

But don't expect to consumers to back down easily on this one. The framers of the California proposition -- a coalition of organic farmers, retailers, manufacturers and consumer leaders -- were careful to frame their measure so that it is hard to attack.

After all, all that Prop. 37 requires is a label identifying food that has been genetically modified. It doesn't make it illegal, doesn't say it's unhealthy, doesn't make any value judgment. It just protects the public's right to know -- one of the few remaining sacred cows in American politics.

A recent poll found 61% of registered California voters supported the measure, while only 25% opposed it, the Los Angeles Times reported. The others were too laid-back to have an opinion.

Leading the fight against the measure is -- who else? -- Monsanto, the St. Louis chemical company that looks at corn the way a record producer looks at U2, as something to be molded, copyrighted, packaged and sold. As of a week or two ago, Monsanto had kicked in $7.1 million to sponsor ads saying that Prop. 37 would be the end of life as we know it. The Yes on 37 campaign had raised about $3.5 million, according to Maplight.org, which tracks campaign spending. 

But big ad budgets don't always fuel the winning race in California. After all, Tinseltown knows fantasy and California voters have little trouble spotting the men behind the curtain, so most of the smart money is betting the measure passes.

After all, how much harm could a little label do?

Suddenly, there's one more tablet for consumers to consider. Even though it has been on the market for quite a while, the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 is now available to U.S. consumers for the first time in more than a year.

That's because a federal court in California has lifted the temporary sales ban, obtained by Apple, that had kept the tablet out of the hands of U.S. consumers. Apple received the injunction after claiming the device infringed on patented technology.

The court previously found in Apple's favor in its patent dispute against Samsung and imposed a $1 billion fine against the Korean electronics firm.

"We are pleased with the court's action today, which vindicates our position that there was no infringement of Apple's design patent and that an injunction was not called for," Samsung said in a statement.

The ban on the Galaxy Tab 10.1 was put in place before Apple's patent suit against Samsung went to trial. While the jury found that Samsung had violated Apple's patents in a number of its devices, it said the Galaxy 10.1 had not violated an Apple design patent as charged, which was the basis for the injunction banning Galaxy Tab 10.1 sales in the U.S.

Back to court

Samsung went back to court and argued that the ban on the tablet should be lifted. And that's not all.

Samsung this week filed a motion in court claiming that Apple's new iPhone 5 violates Samsung patents. The company indicated it is considering a suit aiming to block the sale of the iPhone 5 in the U.S.

The Galaxy Tab 10.1 is an Android tablet introduced in February 2011, a year after the the first iPad. It comes in two models -- both both featuring a 1 GHz dual-core processor, 1 GB of RAM and a 3-axis MPU-3050 gyroscope from InvenSense. It's a full-sized tablet with a 10-inch screen.

Apple targeted the tablet soon after it was released. In August 2011 a German court temporarily banned sales in the European Union. A U.S. court imposed the U.S. sales ban in June 2012.

No one is happy with their smartphone battery life these days but the release of iOS 6 and the iPhone 5 has increased the complaints from iPhone users. Not just users of the new iPhone 5 but from those using older models, who have installed the new operating system.

It turns out iOS 6 is taking a toll on batteries in the iPhone 4 and iPhone 4S. Eric Zeman, a technology writer for Information Week, reports testing the iPhone 5 for 10 days and finding the battery life to be very good. He credits it to a larger battery and efficient power management in the A6 processor.

But when he installed the new operating system on older iPhones, it was a different story.

Noticeable change

“With Wi-Fi on, but cellular data turned off on the 4 and 4S, neither device lasts 24 hours any more,” he writes. “They used to--and still should--last several days at a minimum.”

But not everyone is as happy with their iPhone 5 battery life as Zeman is. Jim Tanous, writing in the MacObserver, says a strong LTE signal will run down the iPhone 5 battery faster than a weak signal, or when connected via 3G.

“While all cellular devices experience decreased battery life when cellular signals are weak, the relatively few areas with strong LTE signals means that iPhone 5 users may see less than half of Apple’s advertised running time,” he writes.

Other headaches

Apple's new iOS 6 appears to be causing other types of headaches as well. Jean, of Milford, PA, reports her daughter's iPhone 4S has been unable to connect via WiFi since she installed iOS 6.

“Her phone worked fine with iOS 5.1 but once she updated to iOS 6.0 then no WiFi,” Jean wrote in a ConsumerAffairs post. “We tried everything, but all failed.”

Jaime, of Ironton, Ohio, has an even older iPhone, the 3GS. She reports that her phone locked up when she updated it with iOS 6.

“I attempted to restore my phone with iTunes, this did not work as my phone continued to be locked up,” Jaime posted on ConsumerAffairs. “I called AT&T, my Wireless Service Provider, they called Apple Customer Care, they suggested I try and do the restore again because their servers were bogged down with all the IOS6 problems. I tried to restore again with no luck.”

Just get a new phone

Jaime said an Apple rep's suggestion to her was spending $149 and getting a new iPhone.

“Why should I have to spend money to replace my phone, when they created the problem in the first place,” she asked.

Meanwhile, Adam Engst, writing on the Apple news site Tidbits, thinks he's stumbled across another possible reason for the rapid battery drain on phones running iOS 6. He traced his problem to corrupted bookmarks in his phone's browser.

“Since I don’t really use Safari, I’d never worried about the fact that the bookmarks had been imported from multiple other systems years ago and horribly duplicated through who knows what syncing services,” he writes. “Despite this, they’d never caused problems in previous versions of iOS.”

Microsoft is getting the holiday spirit a little ahead of schedule this year. The stodgy and somewhat portly software giant is launching a bunch of "pop-up" stores to help the launch of Windows 8 and its new Surface RT tablets.

The stores will open Oct. 26 and will stay open through the holiday season.

Microsoft currently has about two dozen stores around the country, admittedly a paltry collection compared to Apple's more than 300 worldwide.

Then again, Apple has always been in the retail business -- selling its software and hardware as an integrated package -- where Microsoft has for the most part just sold software. 

Microsoft Stores sell Windows PCs, Windows Phones, Microsoft and third-party software, games, peripherals and more. Microsoft also is going to sell its recently announced Surface PC/tablets through its Microsoft Stores in the U.S. and through select online Microsoft stores, as well.

The pop-up stores will be in Atlanta, Miami, San Francisco, Vancouver, and elsewhere.  Microsoft says that over the next year or so, it will have 44 permanent stores in place.

Attention Apple lovers: Don't laugh too hard at the idea of Microsoft having its own stores.  Yes, they do look remarkably like Apple stores but the ones we've visited have drawn pretty good crowds. After all, they offer the opportunity to try out different brands of hardware all running the same software. That's something Apple can't say.

Also, if you buy a device at a Microsoft store, it comes with the Microsoft Signature package -- software without the bloat. There are no annoying trial programs and Signature includes its own anti-virus package, something Microsoft should have done long ago.

Facebook has taken a lot of heat from Wall Street for not fully exploiting its assets. But, as the saying goes, be careful what you wish for. The Wall Street Journal reports today that Facebook is making more use of the massive amount of data it has about each of its 900 million users

Now, Facebook would tell you that they're just trying to provide more personalized service. But the Journal says Facebook may be getting a little close to the line that separates market research from privacy violations.

Some of the new techniques Facebook has been trying out are fairly mundane -- letting advertisers target users based on their email address and phone number, for example

But others are more likely to raise eyebrows. For example, the Journal says Facebook is using its huge database to study how Facebook ads match up with users' buying habits.

In the aggregate

In theory, the information is supplied to advertisers in the aggregate -- meaning it's not broken out individually. But even so, the Journal and various privacy advocates say Facebook may be close to ignoring some of the promises it had made to respect its users' privacy.

In June, Facebook reached an agreement with California's attorney general in which it agreed to strengthen privacy controls for consumers who use online applications on their smartphones, tablets and other electronic devices.

The agreement extends the reach of California’s privacy protections beyond mobile apps to include social apps in Facebook’s App Center, used by millions of consumers worldwide. The agreement is designed to increase compliance with California law requiring apps that collect personal information to have a privacy policy.

In November 2011, Facebook settled federal charges that it deceived consumers by divulging their private information nd promised not to do it again.

In its settlement with the Federal Trade Commission, Facebook promised that from now on, it will give consumers clear and prominent notice and obtain consumers' express consent before their information is shared beyond the privacy settings they have established.

Helping marketers

In the advertising business, what may appear questionable to outsiders is regarded as just in a day's work, so Facebook and other Web publishers must try to balance keeping the clients fed and watered without chasing off their users.

"We have been working to make it easier for marketers to reach the right people at the right time and place," the Journal quoted a Facebook executive, Gokul Rajaram, as saying in the umpteenth rendition of the party line.

Facebook insists it is not selling information about individual users and says its new practices are not much different from the ad-tracking that Google and Yahoo have used for years.

Last month a bioengineering professor at Georgia State University announced development of an iPhone app that could help diagnose a child's ear ache. Researchers at the Mayo Clinic predict that's just the beginning.

The Mayo study confirms the use of smartphone medical images to evaluate stroke patients in remote locations through telemedicine. The study, the first to test the effectiveness of smartphone teleradiology applications in a real-world telestroke network, was published in Stroke, a journal of the American Heart Association.

“Essentially what this means is that telemedicine can fit in our pockets,” said Bart Demaerschalk, M.D., professor of Neurology, and medical director of Mayo Clinic Telestroke. “For patients this means access to expertise in a timely fashion when they need it most, no matter what emergency room they may find themselves in.”

Big city care in a small town

With a smartphone, a patient in a remote, rural area can be in touch with the most sophisticated diagnostic technology. This may be especially important for people at high risk of stroke.

Mayo Clinic was the first medical center in Arizona to do pioneering clinical research to study telemedicine to serve patients with stroke in non-urban settings. Today, Mayo Clinic is the hub in a network of 12 other centers, all but one in Arizona.

In telestroke care, the use of telemedicine platforms or robots located in a rural hospital lets a stroke patient be seen in real time by a neurology specialist who usually is working from a desktop or laptop computer in Phoenix. The Mayo Clinic stroke neurologist, whose face appears on a computer screen, consults with emergency room physicians at the rural sites and evaluates the patient.

If a patient is showing signs of a stroke she can be examined by the neurologist who can also view scans of the patient's brain to detect possible damage from a hemorrhage or blocked artery. If necessary patients can be administered clot-busting medications within the narrow window of time necessary to minimize permanent injury to the brain.

Comparing images

How good are the smartphone images? Pretty good. The study compared the quality of medical images using a particular smartphone application to the same types of information and images typically viewed via desktop computers. Mayo Clinic neurologists worked with emergency physicians and radiologists at Yuma Regional Medical Center to compare brain scan images from 53 patients who came to that medical center with stroke.

The scans were reviewed by radiologists in Yuma and a separate adjudication panel of stroke neurologists to determine the level of agreement between these traditional interpretation routes and new images and scans on smartphones interpreted by telestroke doctors. The study shows there was a high level of agreement – 92 to 100 percent -- among all the reviewers over the most important radiological features.

“Smartphones are ubiquitous, they are everywhere,” Demaerschalk said. “If we can transmit health information securely and simultaneously use the video conferencing capabilities for clinical assessments, we can have telemedicine anywhere, which is essential in a state like Arizona where more than 40 percent of the population doesn’t have access to immediate neurologic care.”

A federal court has imposed a judgment of more than $163 million on the final defendant in the Federal Trade Commission's (FTC) case against an operation that used computer “scareware” to trick consumers into thinking their computers were infected with malicious software, and then sold them software to “fix” their non-existent problem. 

The court order also permanently prohibits the defendant, Kristy Ross, from selling computer security software and any other software that interferes with consumers’ computer use, and from any form of deceptive marketing.

In 2008, the FTC charged Ross and six other defendants with conning more than one million consumers into buying software to remove malware supposedly detected by computer scans.

The FTC charged that the operation used elaborate and technologically sophisticated Internet advertisements placed with advertising networks and many popular commercial websites. These ads displayed to consumers a “system scan” that invariably detected a host of malicious or otherwise dangerous files and programs on consumers’ computers.

The bogus “scans” would then urge consumers to buy the defendants’ software for $40 to $60 to clean off the malware.

The U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland subsequently ordered a halt to the massive scheme, pending litigation.  Under a settlement announced in 2011, defendant Marc D’Souza and his father, Maurice D’Souza, were ordered to give up $8.2 million in ill-gotten gains. Two other defendants previously settled the charges against them; the FTC obtained default judgments against three other defendants.

There has yet to be a single federal prosecution in connection with the financial meltdown triggered by the collapse of the market for mortgage-backed securities. But at least one state has been on the case.

New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman has filed suit against J.P. Morgan Securities LLC -- formerly known as Bear Stearns & Co. Inc. -- JP Morgan Chase Bank, N.A., and EMC Mortgage LLC for making fraudulent misrepresentations and omissions to promote the sale of residential mortgage-backed securities (RMBS) to investors.

Specifically, the suit alleges that Bear Stearns assured investors that it had carefully vetted the residential mortgages contained in the securities and would continue to monitor their performance. The suit charges the company didn't do either.

Insecure securities

During the housing bubble, banks bundled residential mortgages into securities and sold them to investors, including other banks and hedge funds. When many homeowners who purchased homes with subprime mortgages began to default, it virtually destroyed the value of mortgage-backed securities because it was hard to tell which securities held the defaulting loans.

When Bear Stearns collapsed in early 2008, it incurred losses that have totaled approximately $22.5 billion to date.

Schneiderman's suit was brought under the Martin Act, which gives the New York Attorney General extraordinary power to prosecute financial crimes, and was executed as part of a joint state-federal task force set up to investigate those responsible for misconduct contributing to the financial crisis. To date, no one has been held responsible.

Accountability

“This lawsuit will bring accountability for the misconduct that led to the crash of the housing market and the collapse of the American economy,” Schneiderman said.“Our lawsuit demonstrates that there is one set of rules for all -- no matter how big or powerful the institution may be -- and that those rules will be enforced vigorously. We believe that this is a workable template for future actions against issuers of residential mortgage-backed securities that defrauded investors and cost millions of Americans their homes.”

Schneiderman says several federal agencies worked on the case, specifically the Federal Housing Finance Agency Inspector General, who provided investigators and lawyers. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission collaborated and assisted with the case, while the Department of Justice provided resources from U.S. Attorney’s offices around the country to assist with interviews and depositions.

“Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac purchased residential mortgage-backed securities from the defendants and were allegedly misled about the quality of the loans supporting those securities. Actions like this contributed to the financial crisis and those who engaged in such activities should be held accountable,” said FHFA Inspector General Steve Linick.

ADS Inc., of Bremerton, WA, d/b/a SwingSetMall.com and PlaysetParts.com, is recalling 63 Cyclone swing seats. 

The plastic swing seats can break during use, posing a fall hazard to children. The firm has received two reports of incidents involving the swing seats breaking. No injuries have been reported. 

This recall involves green, blue or yellow plastic, disc-shaped Cyclone swing seats. The swings are about 12 inches in diameter and have a cone-shaped plastic piece in the middle to hold the swing's rope. Only swings with date codes "2012 5 18" through "2012 6 25" stamped on the underside in black are included in this recall. 

The swing seats, manufactured in China, were sold online at the firm's Websites SwingSetMall.com and PlaysetParts.com from May 2012 through June 2012 for about $15 without a rope and $30 with a rope. 

Consumers should immediately stop using the recalled swings and contact the firm to receive a full refund or a replacement swing. The firm is contacting consumers who purchased the recalled swings. 

For more information, contact the firm at (800) 985-7659 between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. PT Monday through Friday.

There has been an increase in medical studies in recent years suggesting moderate alcohol consumption holds health benefits. In particular, an ingredient in red wine is cited as helpful against heart disease and even cancer.

But not so fast, say researchers at McMaster University in Canada. Their study concludes that moderate alcohol consumption isn't always so benign. They say it increases the risk of atrial fibrillation, or irregular heart beat, in older people with heart disease or advanced diabetes.

“Moderate alcohol intake, with or without episodic binge drinking, is associated with an increased incidence of atrial fibrillation in older and high risk cardiovascular disease or diabetes patients,” said Dr. Koon Teo, an author of the study and a professor of medicine at the Michael G. DeGroote School of Medicine at McMaster University. “Among moderate drinkers, the effect of binge drinking on atrial fibrillation risk is similar to that of habitual heavy drinking.”

Stroke risk

Atrial fibrillation is a concern because it increases the risk of stroke.

In the study moderate alcohol consumption was measured as one to 14 drinks a week for women and one to 21 drinks a week for men. Binge drinking was classified as five or more drinks a day.

The incidence rate of atrial fibrillation rose to 6.3 percent of the low intake group, 7.8 percent in the moderate and 8.3 percent in the high intake groups. The increase in atrial fibrillation cases linked to higher alcohol consumption was found in each age group.

The findings go against the grain of recent research that has told consumers moderate alcohol use is not harmful and might even be healthy. While that may be true for people in good health, it might not be for people at risk of a stroke.

Risk to some may be considerable

The Canadian study said that since moderate drinking is common for more than a third of the population, these findings are significant. If you're older than 50 and have cardiovascular issues, the effect of increased alcohol consumption, even in moderate amounts, may be considerable.

The researchers also cite data from other studies they say indicates that binge drinking in healthy people may increase the risk of atrial fibrillation, although moderate drinking in healthy individuals does not appear to be linked to increased risk.

“Recommendations made about the protective effects of moderate alcohol intake in patients at high risk of cardiovascular disease may need to be tempered with these findings,” the report said.

That means it's a good idea to discuss your alcohol use -- even moderate use -- with your doctor.

We all know what premium means, right? It means expensive. So what does "freemium" mean? Well, according to a new company called FreedomPop, it means "free" broadband for your mobile Apple devices -- up to 500 MB of free 4G wireless data each month, in fact.

So what's the catch, or catches?

First of all, the most-portable version, which uses a "sleeve" is only good with the iPod and iPhone at the moment. And second, it's just data -- no phone calls. Of course, with that free bandwidth, you can always use Skype or another Internet phone service to make calls. Third, it's not yet available everywhere.

Fourth, 500 MB (half a gigabyte) isn't all that much data but FreedomPop says it will sell one additional gigabyte for $10 a month, or five gigabytes for $35 a month. It has a pricing plan that's simple as dirt compared to the big guys.

And fifth -- but you already knew this -- it's not really free of course, unless you choose the most basic plan and keep an eye on your usage. Oh, and also, it will cost you $99 for a "sleeve" that wraps around your iPhone or iPod Touch.

If you want to use another device, you can pay a deposit and get a portable wi-fi "hot spot" -- just like the ones available from other carriers -- to put in your home or office, or to carry around with you.

Timing may be right

FreedomPop is the latest low-cost wireless plan to hit the U.S. market and it comes at a propitious time -- just as carriers are getting ready to push their monthly bills up another notch or two by offering faster Web browsing. (Faster browsing is great but, ahem, it eats up more of those pricey MBs, as many consumers learn to their sorrow as they slice open the monthly bill).

A single smartphone can already cost more than $100 a month and families with multiple devices are finding ever-increasing slices of their budget being eaten up by wireless bills, although if anybody's concerned about it, it's not showing up in cancellation rates at AT&T and Verizon, which are steadily gaining market share as they continue to roll out their 4G networks.

So how does this work exactly? 

Technically, FreedomPop is a reseller. It contracts with existing 4G networks to sell excess bandwidth. Nothing exotic about that, although how long other carriers will be willing to play ball with FreedomPop and other resellers is an open question.

Sprint, the perennial No. 3, has been leasing space to lots of resellers and is on board with FreedomPop, according to press reports, as is Clearwire, which covers only a portion of the country.

A less-wired world

Your average consumer most likely still associates cable TV and home Internet service as originating with a wire that runs into the home but the big telecom carriers, having spent untold billions laying fiber to a relatively small portion of the nation, are increasingly looking towards their 4G wireless networks as the future.

Sure, Verizon's FiOS is blazing fast and generally more reliable than earlier cable services but it's not likely Verizon wants to continue digging up streets to expand it to less profitable neighborhoods.

The development of  4G, which rivals the speed of home cable connections, theoretically allows carriers to expand their market at much lower cost -- and less local regulation -- than laying cable. 

A complex deal completed only recently gives Verizon a huge new cache of bandwidth that it can use to "wire" the country without using wire. How eager it will be to resell any of that capacity is another question. 

Some see Sprint moving increasingly towards becoming a wholesaler, concentrating on building and operating its network and letting resellers handle the marketing. 

Whatever model takes hold, it's likely that history will show that FreedomPop and other nervy start-ups had a good idea, and that maybe they had it at just the right time. We'll see. 

An alarming report from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says an estimated 16,290 persons died in traffic crashes from January to June of 2012. This is a 9 percent increase from just a year ago when there were an estimated 14,950 fatalities during the same period.

NHTSA’s report shows that the startling increase represents the largest number of traffic fatalities during the first half of a given year since it first began collecting data in 1975. In the first quarter of the year, there was a 13.4 increase in traffic fatalities from January to March over the same time period in 2011. There was a 5.3 percent increase in the second quarter.

“This news is very disturbing,” Mahlon G. “Lon” Anderson, Managing Director of Public and Government Affairs for AAA Mid-Atlantic said of NHTSA’s report. “We’ve worked decades to reduce fatalities in America. We’ll have to wait and see the complete numbers for 2012, but this is a serious shot across the bow – a warning that as we drive more, our roads may not be as safe as we thought they were.”

Anderson predicts that the jump in crashes may be linked to an improving economy. “During the great recession which began in December 2007, there were fewer cars, trucks and less traffic on the roads because of various factors such as unemployment and reduced vacation driving.

“Another likely contributing factor to these fatalities,” Anderson noted, “is the continued deterioration of highways and deferral of needed maintenance and improvements by federal and state governments.  Operating and maintaining safe roads is extremely expensive and for years our local departments of transportation have had funding crisis and thus have not been able even to do necessary maintenance.”

The report released by NHTSA’s National Center for Statistics and Analysis shows that the number of vehicle miles traveled (VMT) increased by about 15.6 billion miles in the first six months of 2012 – a 1.1 percent increase from this same time period last year. Also, the traffic fatality rate (number of people killed in traffic crashes per 100 million VMT) increased from 1.04 during the first months of 2011 to 1.12 covering the same time period this year.

AAA Mid-Atlantic says NHTSA’s early data underscores the need for Congress to quickly allocate funding for behavioral safety grant programs – recently established in the federal highway bill (MAP-21) to help states address issues such as driver distraction impaired driving and teen and senior safety driving.

Knee replacement surgery, also known as total knee arthroplasty (TKA), is becoming one of the most common surgeries in the U.S., with about 600,000 performed each year.

Not surprisingly, it's mostly older people who are getting them. Researchers at the University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine found that, over a 20-year period, the biggest increase in the number occurred in the Medicare population.

With the first wave of the baby boom generation now entering senior-hood, that number is expected to swell, along with the cost. The average cost of the procedure is around $15,000.

“For policy makers, a main finding of the study was the dramatic growth we saw in the number of first time TKAs done in this population of Medicare patients,” said Peter Cram, M.D., UI professor of internal medicine and lead study author. “The growth was driven by an aging population -- there simply are many more adults over age 65 now than there were 20 years ago -- and within this population, demand of this procedure has doubled.”

Many reasons for increase

There can be many reasons for the increase, beyond the number of older adults now living in the U.S. Baby boomers tend to have been more active throughout adulthood and suffered more joint wear and tear.

Then there's the obesity epidemic. Carrying extra weight year after year can also put extra strain on knee joints.

But Cram says there is also another reason. There are more and more of these procedures because they have proved successful, helping many patients regain mobility and escape chronic pain associated with walking.

Effective procedure

“This is an incredibly effective surgery,” he said. “Although it is a major surgery, it is extremely well tolerated and it allows people to remain active as they age. But the increase in numbers means that this procedure represents a major health care expense for Medicare program. Our findings highlight the challenge of controlling costs in an ageing population that wants the highest quality care possible.”

In their study, the Iowa researchers looked at more than 3.2 million Medicare patients who underwent a total knee replacement surgery. They found that the number of first time knee replacements increased more than two and a half times from 93,230 in 1991 to 243,802 in 2010.

Some American Express cardholders are about to get a refund. As a result of a coordinated regulatory action, the financial services company is paying $113 million in fines and restitution.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC), Office of Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) and the Utah Department of Financial Institutions participated in the investigation.

“Our investigations found that when consumers were shopping for credit cards, one American Express company sent potential customers misleading credit card offerings in the mail,” Richard Cordray, director of CFPB wrote in a summary of the case. “When consumers applied for cards, the same company engaged in practices that unlawfully discriminated on the basis of age. In connection with consumers paying their bills, American Express companies violated consumer financial laws. For example, we found that these American Express companies charged consumers excessive late fees.”

Refunds total $85 million

As a result of the the case 250,000 consumers will receive up to $85 million in refunds from America Express. American Express will return the money directly into the accounts of the affected consumers. If the consumer no longer holds the American Express card, American Express will mail a check or credit any outstanding balance.

• Customers who were promised $300 for signing up for a Blue Sky Credit Card will get the $300.
• Consumers who paid an illegal late fee will be reimbursed, with interest.
• Consumers who paid old debt in response to deceptive promises to report payment to credit bureaus will be reimbursed the money they paid plus interest.
• Consumers who were promised their debt would be forgiven but were denied new American Express cards because the debt was not really forgiven, will receive $100 and a pre-approved offer for a new card with terms we and the FDIC find acceptable. If the consumer already paid the waived or forgiven amount in order to get a new card, they will be refunded that amount plus interest.

How do you know if you have money coming to you?

No action on your part is needed

“The American Express subsidiaries will identify those consumers, notify them, and make sure they get their money back,” Cordray said. “The burden will not fall on customers to pursue their refunds. To ensure compliance with all terms of the agreements, the companies will hire independent auditors to verify that the orders are being carried out.”

This brings up another issue. Whenever there is a prominent news story about money coming back to consumers, scammers seeks to exploit the situation. If you are one of the consumers affected by the order, American Express will notify you directly.

They are responsible for notifying any affected consumers and you should not pay any fees to anyone to help recover the refund or provide any personal information. The CFPB says any entity that offers to help reclaim your money is likely a scam.

It wasn't so long ago that most Americans sat down after work to get caught up on world events by watching the evening newscast on ABC, CBS or NBC. Some still do but a lot more stay up-to-date with their smartphone or tablet.

A detailed survey by the Pew Research Center's Project for Excellence in Journalism (PEJ) in collaboration with The Economist Group, finds that half of all U.S. adults now have a mobile connection to the Web through either a smartphone or tablet. That's up sharply from just a year ago.

Now, instead of waiting for a scheduled broadcast on TV or cable, consumers are watching video clips on their mobile devices. The survey suggests the explosive growth of tablets is driving the trend.

Nearly a quarter of U.S. adults -- 22 percent -- now own a tablet device, double the number from a year earlier. Another three percent of adults regularly use a tablet owned by someone else in their home. And nearly a quarter of those who don't have a tablet -- 23 percent -- plan to get one in the next six months.

44 percent now have smartphone

Those who don't have a tablet are more likely now to carry a smartphone. The survey shows 44 percent of adults now carry phones that allow them to access the Internet, up from 35 percent in May 2011.

Despite all the games and entertainment apps available on these devices, 64 percent of tablet owners and 62 percent of smartphone owners say news is their preferred content, accessing news on their devices at least once a week. And they aren't just checking headlines. Seventy-three percent of adults who consume news on their tablet read in-depth articles at least sometimes, including 19 percent who do so daily. Fully 61 percent of smartphone news consumers at least sometimes read longer stories -- 11 percent regularly.

The findings suggest consumers are not cutting back on the amount of news they consume but are increasing it. Four out of ten mobile news consumers say they are getting more news now and nearly a third say they are adding new sources.

The survey also finds that consumers have yet to embrace certain features that mobile devices offer. While mobile technology allows people to get news anywhere and any time, most people get news on these devices when they are at home -- and roughly half of mobile news users get news on their device just once a day.

Prefer to use a browser

And when they access news, they tend to bypass apps and simply use the browser on their devices, just like they would on their PC at home. That's bad news for publishers, who hoped news apps would allow them to charge for access to news content. More mobile news users have print-only subscriptions than have digital ones. Just 24 percent say they are considering exchanging their print subscription for a digital one.

Pew concludes the mobile revolution has done nothing to lessen consumer's interest in news content, but in fact has increased it. It's just changed the way consumers prefer it to be delivered.

The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) has fined British Airways (BA) $250,000 for violating DOT rules on full-fare advertising as well an international treaty on reimbursements for mishandled baggage. The department also ordered the carrier to cease and desist from further violations. 

“Consumers deserve fair treatment from airlines when it comes to price advertising and being reimbursed for lost, damaged or stolen baggage,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood. “To surprise consumers at the last minute of the purchase process with additional unadvertised costs is deceptive and unacceptable.” 

Several violations 

DOT’s Aviation Enforcement Office found that British Airways violated a number of the department’s original price advertising requirements that were in place prior to the strengthened full-fare advertising rule that took effect in January 2012. The carrier promoted award travel in emails and on websites without providing disclosure of taxes and government fees through a hyperlink or other appropriate method. 

It also failed to include carrier-imposed charges, such as fuel surcharges, in the award prices. For example, one promotion in connection with British Airways credit cards advertised two tickets to London without disclosing that, in order to obtain reward travel tickets, passengers were required to pay mandatory surcharges imposed by the carrier that could total as much as $600 per person. 

British Airways also published a number of advertisements about one-way fares that were available only by purchasing a round-trip ticket. In some ads, the notice of the round-trip requirement was in small type and beneath an illustration. This violated the DOT’s enforcement policy stating that notices of round-trip purchase requirements for each-way fares must be clear and conspicuous and be placed next to the advertised fare the first time it is shown. 

British Airways also violated the Montreal Convention, an international agreement setting rules for international air travel, by its stated policy not to pay compensation for loss, damage or theft from checked baggage of certain fragile or valuable items such as money, jewelry, electronic devices or silverware. 

The Convention allows carriers to limit their liability for lost baggage or items in baggage to just over $1,700 per person in U.S. dollars, an amount that fluctuates based on currency conversion rates, but also states that carriers are liable for loss or theft of all types of checked baggage. 

Today’s penalty follows a notice issued by the Enforcement Office on March 26, 2009, reminding carriers of the requirements of the Montreal Convention.

Worried about the safety of your food? Reporting problems with meat, poultry and egg products is a simple as a mouse click. 

The new online Electronic Consumer Complaint Form unveiled by the U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) can be used report such things as illnesses, allergic reactions, injuries, improper labeling and issues with foreign objects to the Consumer Complaint Monitoring System (CCMS). 

"Consumers are an important source of the information that FSIS needs to ensure that America's supply of meat, poultry and egg products is safe," Under Secretary for Food Safety Dr. Elisabeth Hagen said. "This new tool empowers consumers to report problems directly to FSIS, enhancing our current surveillance of the food supply and our ability to prevent foodborne illness." 

Launching a probe 

Once an incident is reported to CCMS, the agency can determine what public health implications are associated with the incident, if other people are reporting similar issues, and if FSIS inspectors have identified problems in an establishment that could have caused the issue. On a case-by-case basis, FSIS may conduct additional follow up with complainants, especially if the problem indicates a potentially widespread or severe public health hazard. 

CCMS facilitates the detection of public health threats in the nation's food supply and enables FSIS to respond rapidly to mitigate those threats. The system was created in 2001, and cases primarily have been reported to FSIS district offices, through state and local health departments, or through calls to the USDA's Meat and Poultry Hotline (1-888-MPHotline), which is open on weekdays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. ET. The new online form makes it possible for consumers to enter complaints after business hours and on weekends, and the predefined fields ensure that each incident report is thorough, accurate and in a format consistent with other entries. 

Alternative reporting 

Consumers who want to submit an incident to CCMS by talking to a live representative or who have food safety questions are encouraged to call the toll-free USDA Meat and Poultry Hotline. Consumers also can "Ask Karen," the virtual food safety representative available 24 hours a day at AskKaren.gov or via smartphone at m.askkaren.gov. Ask Karen's live chat services are available Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. ET. 

The ECCF is part of FSIS' efforts to implement value-added business processes, methodologies, or technologies that contribute to serving its mission, as outlined in Goal 8 of the agency's Fiscal Year 2011-2016 Strategic Plan. 

The plan, will guide the agency through September 2016 in ensuring that food produced under FSIS' authority is safe for the American public.

Its eight specific, measurable goals all support three interlocking strategic themes: Prevent Foodborne Illness, Understand and Influence the Farm-to-Table Continuum, and Empower People and Strengthen Infrastructure.  

Millions of consumers have spent the last four years working to get a handle on credit and debt issues. Some have been more successful than others.

Recent data show that credit card debt declined slightly immediately after the start of the recession but has begun to climb once again. Consumers have been trying to function with less access to credit and to better manage their debt.

Some consumers are hampered in these efforts because they simply don't have a good grasp of how credit and debt works. In some cases they may believe things that just aren't true.

According to Money Management International, a non-profit credit counseling agency, there are six primary myths about credit and debt that get consumers in the most trouble:

Myth #1: There is an easy way to fix bad credit

No person or company can legally remove accurate items from your credit reports for a fee. The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) states that delinquent account information can remain on a consumer's credit bureau file for a seven-year timeframe that starts 180 days after the account becomes delinquent.

Myth #2: Bankruptcy discharges all debts

Debts not dischargeable in bankruptcy will generally include back taxes less than three years old, student loans, alimony, child support and debts incurred through fraud. The Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2005 requires a bankruptcy counseling certificate before you can even file.

Myth #3: A collector can't call others about your debts

This might be one of the more unpleasant realities of debt. The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA), while provides many important protections to the consumer, does in fact allow a debt collector to contact other people. They are only supposed to do this to find out where you live, what your phone number is and where you work. Fortunately, the collector may not divulge the reason for the call to anyone other than you or your attorney. Also, if you don't tell them otherwise, they can even call you at work.

Myth #4: A divorce decree matters to your creditors

It doesn't. Your divorce decree is an agreement between you and your spouse, not your creditors, on how your debts and assets will be divided. Since your creditors were not involved in the settlement and had no input on the results, the contracts you signed with your creditors have not changed and cannot be changed by the divorce decree.

Whoever signed the original contract with the creditor will still be obligated to pay the debt after the divorce. That means you are still obligated on these debts and the creditors can report the derogatory status of these accounts on your credit bureau file.

Myth #5: Your creditors cannot change your interest rate

The CARD Act of 2009 added some important consumer protection. However, credit card issuers can make key contract changes to your account terms and agreement, including rate increases, with 45 days' notice. You should also know that many creditors will now raise your interest rates if your credit score declines, even if you have paid their particular account on-time and as-agreed, and it's within their rights to do so.

Myth #6: If my car is repossessed that ends my responsibility

Not really. After a vehicle is repossessed, the lender will most likely sell it at auction to the highest bidder and apply the proceeds of the sale to the balance owed on the car. If the sale price is not sufficient to pay the balance due, there will be a "deficiency balance" remaining. You would then be legally obligated to pay this deficiency balance.

"Fortunately, making financial decisions doesn't have to be a confusing experience," said Jo Kerstetter, vice president of financial education for MMI. "Educating yourself about money is the best defense against costly mistakes."