Current Events in April 2014

Spring is traditionally the time people who want to sell their homes put them on the market. For young families, the moving schedule usually revolves around school.

If you plan to move you'd ideally like to sell your house by late June and be in a new home no later than early August. For that reason “for sale” signs sprout like dandelions in April and May.

In its latest Housing Trends Report, real estate listing site Realtor.com shows the inventory of homes is growing (good for buyers) and so is average days on the market (bad for sellers).

But overall, the company says the national real estate market is healthier than it was this time last year.

More to choose from

The number of homes for sale going into the spring selling season is up 9.5% over 2013. The median price of $199,900 is up 5.3% from last year.

A growing inventory is good for buyers because it increases the competition among sellers. That usually translates into more affordable prices for both first-time and move-up home buyers.

Steve Berkowitz, CEO of Move, says the situation is a reverse from last year, when a lack of inventory made sellers more aggressive when they priced their homes. As a result, a lot of consumers who wanted to buy, couldn't.

"Bidding wars in many markets last year frequently elevated offer prices beyond the reach of first-time buyers who could scarcely save for the down payment," Berkowitz said. "While inventory is still low, the continuing annual lift in the number of homes on the market that we've seen over the first months of 2014 is an indicator that buying conditions this year may be notably improved from the frenzied pace of last spring."

These are all positive signs, but the fact remains that home sales activity remains sluggish. The National Association of Realtors (NAR) Pending Home Sales Index for February 2014 showed a 10.5% decline from February 2013, the eighth-straight monthly drop.

More heads above water

Meanwhile, there is a bit a good news for homeowners who bought near the top of the housing bubble and have found themselves “underwater” on their mortgages for the last 6 or 7 years. There are fewer of them who owe more than their homes are worth.

In its U.S. Home Equity & Underwater Report for the first quarter of 2014, foreclosure marketplace RealtyTrac says 9.1 million residential properties are “seriously underwater.” That's a big drop from last year.

The recent peak in negative equity was the second quarter of 2012, when 12.8 million U.S. residential properties representing 29 percent of all properties with a mortgage were seriously underwater.

Daren Blomquist, vice president at RealtyTrac, explains the implications in the video below.

Recovering equity

“U.S. homeowners are continuing to recover equity lost during the Great Recession, but the pace of that recovering equity slowed in the first quarter, corresponding to slowing home price appreciation,” Blomquist said. “Slower price appreciation means the 9 million homeowners seriously underwater could still have a long road back to positive equity.”

But for those whose heads are finally back above water, they are finally able to sell their homes, if they choose, adding to the inventory of available homes. They may also be able to refinance mortgages that have been stuck at 6% to 7% for the last few years.

More importantly, being underwater is less of a factor in foreclosure risk. RealtyTrac notes that in Orange County, Calif., of 40,000 underwater properties, only 3,000 are in a distressed sale situation.

The states with the highest percentage of underwater properties are areas where the housing market has suffered the most. Nevada leads the list at 34%, followed by Florida with 31%, Illinois with 30%, Michigan with 29% and Ohio with 27%.

Not that you'd have any use for such a service, but a developer has created a search engine for illegal items — like Google, only for the black market.

Grams is not affiliated with Google although they look similar, with the same multicolored font against a plain white background.

The other difference is that Google searches the mainstream Internet whereas Grams searches the Dark Net, which might be described as the Internet's secret evil twin — though not particularly well-known in mainstream circles, it's been around since the World Wide Web was still ARPANET, and you can't even log on to the Dark Net unless your computer's outfitted with anonymizing software.

Once you're on the Dark Net it's still hard to find anything, since the web addresses change all the time (if you're running an illegal market, you don't want to stay in one place for too long). Hence, Grams the search engine.

When the developer discussed Grams on his (or her?) blog, the sample screenshot showed search results for MDMA, the illegal drug also known as ecstasy. That was a clever PR move on behalf of Grams' developer — after all, though MDMA is undeniably illegal under U.S. law, there are many who believe “Taking MDMA (or other illicit drugs) is a victimless crime, and should therefore be legal.” From that perspective, a presumably secret search engine like Grams strikes a blow for liberty, in the “help evade unjust laws” sense of the word.

Problem is that apparently, Grams can also be used to commit crimes with genuine victims — such as, searching for stolen credit card numbers to commit identity theft.

Media outlets ranging from SFGate to Ars Technica listed stolen card numbers among the types of items Grams can help you find.

That said, it's not certain if Grams will last, as it might be illegal in two different ways: one, for helping to facilitate illegal activities and two, for using a style and color scheme that's an obvious ripoff of Google's.

Good news for fans of General Mills food products — the company has backed down from its earlier attempt to insist that any and all customers who use a discount coupon or sign up for a promotional offer waive their right to sue the company should their food prove to be tainted or anything.

The short-lived controversy started early in April, when General Mills quietly made some changes to its online legal and privacy policies. Between April 2 and last week, if you visited General Mill's website and read through all the privacy policies and legal disclaimers and all other fine print, you would have discovered that

These terms are a binding legal agreement (“Agreement”) between you and General Mills.  In exchange for the benefits, discounts, content, features, services, or other offerings that you receive or have access to by using our websites, joining our sites as a member, joining our online community, subscribing to our email newsletters, downloading or printing a digital coupon, entering a sweepstakes or contest, redeeming a promotional offer, or otherwise participating in any other General Mills offering, you are agreeing to these terms. 

Of course, your decision to do any of these things (i.e., to use or join our site or online community, to subscribe to our emails, to download or print a digital coupon, to enter a sweepstakes or contest, to take advantage of a promotional offer, or otherwise participate in any other General Mills offering) is entirely voluntary.  But if you choose to do any of these things, then you agree to be bound by this Agreement.

And what, exactly, were the “terms” of this capital-A “Agreement”?

ANY DISPUTE OR CLAIM MADE BY YOU AGAINST GENERAL MILLS ARISING OUT OF OR RELATING TO THIS AGREEMENT OR YOUR PURCHASE OR USE OF ANY GENERAL MILLS SERVICE OR PRODUCT (INCLUDING GENERAL MILLS PRODUCTS PURCHASED AT ONLINE OR PHYSICAL STORES FOR PERSONAL OR HOUSEHOLD USE) REGARDLESS OF WHETHER SUCH DISPUTE OR CLAIM IS BASED IN CONTRACT, TORT, STATUTE, FRAUD, MISREPRESENTATION, OR ANY OTHER LEGAL THEORY (TOGETHER, A “DISPUTE”) WILL BE RESOLVED BY INFORMAL NEGOTIATIONS OR THROUGH BINDING ARBITRATION, AS DESCRIBED BELOW. 

Despite the bold-print all-caps underline font, this new and presumably improved legal policy General Mills decided to inflict upon its customers went largely unnoticed until Wednesday, April 16, when TheNew York Times first reported the changes.

"Widely misread"

That story sparked an international firestorm of outrage, enough that by Saturday, the company backtracked. On April 19, “Taste of General Mills” (the company's official blog) put up a post saying “We've listened—and we're changing our legal terms back.” What had the General Mills official blogger to say about the brouhaha?

“As has been widely reported, General Mills recently posted a revised set of Legal Terms on our websites. Those terms – and our intentions – were widely misread, causing concern among consumers.

“So we’ve listened – and we’re changing them back to what they were before.”

Hmm. The word “misread” suggests some sort of misunderstanding or false impression, among those who thought “This whole thing sounds like a fantastically bad idea for consumers.” The blogger went on to explain:

“We rarely have disputes with consumers – and arbitration would have simply streamlined how complaints are handled. Many companies do the same, and we felt it would be helpful.

“But consumers didn’t like it.”

True, “many companies” do the same, because it is indeed helpful to a company looking to reduce its liability costs. In 2011, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of AT&T, basically allowing the company to put fine print in its service contracts mandating forced arbitration rather than class-action suits should customers have any complaints or disputes. An attorney for Public Citizen called the decision “a shield against corporate accountability.”

This in turn likely explains why consumers don't like it, as the General Mills blogger noted. It's also possible that consumers, when buying food for themselves and their families to consume, might for health-and-safety reasons have much, much stricter standards than when they're buying cell phone plans.

Who would have thought?

Either way, General Mills and its official blogger were surprised by the backlash:

“We’ll just add that we never imagined this reaction.”

It's possible they never expected anyone would notice. General Mills didn't exactly go out of its way to promote its new policies — a thin gray bar atop the General Mills online privacy-policy page is easy for the average person trying to download a coupon off a Betty Crocker page to overlook.

Still, at the end of the blog post, General Mills did say this:

On behalf of our company and our brands, we would also like to apologize. We’re sorry we even started down this path. And we do hope you’ll accept our apology. We also hope that you’ll continue to download product coupons, talk to us on social media, or look for recipes on our websites.

Our legal terms? You’ll find them right on our website. You’ll also find they’re back to what they always were.

That's true, and there's no longer any mention of forced arbitration. Instead, the “Choice of Law and Enforcement” section says this:

Your access to the Website as well as the terms and conditions and the agreement they create are governed and interpreted by the laws of the United States without regard for conflict of laws provisions.

A U.S. company subject to U.S. law – sounds fair. Though the legal terms also say this: “We reserve the right to change these terms and conditions at any time without notice. Please check back often to ensure you are aware of any updates or changes to these terms.”

Indeed. Last time General Mills changed its terms without notice, they tried attaching a forced-arbitration clause to it.

Is there anything you can't make in a Keurig? As far as we know, you still can't make lasagna but, besides coffee, tea and hot chocolate, the list of menu items keeps growing. Campbell's is making a line of soup for the Keurig, and Coca-Cola says it's working on soft drinks that would be produced in a cold-water Keurig. 

And now the latest: oatmeal.

General Mills, lately reviled for its short-lived you-can't-sue-us policy, says it is brewing up a batch of Nature Valley oatmeal that you can heat up in your nearest Keurig machine.

Is this really necessary? You can already brew up a batch of oatmeal by adding hot water to the contents of a single-serve envelope. How much easier can it get?

General Mills thinks it can get a lot easier. But, as it explains in this video, making oatmeal in a Keurig won't be quite as simple as making coffee:

The company says that consumers are already using the Keurig to heat water for their instant oatmeal, so it thinks Nature Valley Bistro Cups Oatmeal will make the process a little simpler.

Maybe so but the K-cup version will include a packet of oatmeal, another packet of nuts and fruit and a flavor capsule that is mixed with the oats when hot water filters through the machine. Is that really so simple? We'll see, I guess.

General Mills says large packages of Bistro Cups will go on sale this week on Amazon.com, with smaller packages arriving on supermarket shelves in the fall.

There's been a turnaround of sorts in some of the complications suffered by people with diabetes.

According to a study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), rates of five major diabetes-related complications among U.S. adult diabetics have declined substantially in the last 20 years.

The study, published in the current issue of the New England Journal of Medicine, found that rates of lower-limb amputation, end-stage kidney failure, heart attack, stroke, and deaths due to high blood sugar (hyperglycemia) all declined.

Cardiovascular complications and deaths from high blood sugar decreased by more than 60% each, while the rates of both strokes and lower extremity amputations -- including upper and lower legs, ankles, feet, and toes -- declined by about half. Rates for end stage kidney failure fell by about 30%.

A long way to go

“These findings show that we have come a long way in preventing complications and improving quality of life for people with diabetes,” said Edward Gregg, Ph.D., a senior epidemiologist in CDC’s Division of Diabetes Translation and lead author of the study. “While the declines in complications are good news, they are still high and will stay with us unless we can make substantial progress in preventing type 2 diabetes.”

Because the number of adults reporting diabetes during this time frame more than tripled -- from 6.5 million to 20.7 million -- these major diabetes complications continue to put a heavy burden on the U.S. health care system.

Nearly 26 million Americans have diabetes and an additional 79 million have prediabetes and are at risk of developing the disease. Diabetes and its complications account for $176 billion in total medical costs each year.

CDC researchers used data from the National Health Interview Survey, National Hospital Discharge Survey, U.S. Renal Data System, and Vital Statistics, to examine trends in the occurrence of diabetes-related complications in the United States between 1990 and 2010.

Although all complications declined, the greatest declines in diabetes-related complications occurred for heart attack and stroke -- particularly among people aged 75 years and older.

The study authors attribute the declines in diabetes-related complications to increased availability of health care services, risk factor control, and increases in awareness of the potential complications of diabetes.

Kraft Foods Group of Columbia, Mo., is recalling approximately 96,000 pounds of Oscar Mayer Classic Wieners because the products may contain Classic Cheese Dogs in the Classic Wieners’ packages.

The product labels are incorrect, as they do not reflect the ingredients associated with the pasteurized cheese in the cheese dogs. The products were formulated with milk, a known allergen, which is not declared on the product label.

There have been no reports of adverse reactions due to consumption of these products.

The following products are subject to recall:

• 16 oz. packages –individual consumer packages– of “Classic Wieners Made with Turkey & Chicken, Pork Added” with “USE BY 16 Jun 2014” date and product code “044700000632”
• Cases of 16 oz. packages –distributed to retailers– of “Classic Cheese Dogs Made with Turkey & Chicken, Pork Added, and Pasteurized Cheese Product” with “USE BY 16 Jun 2014” date and case code “00447000005300”

The products were produced on March 2-3, 2014, and bear the establishment number “Est. 537H” inside the USDA mark of inspection. They were distributed nationwide.

Consumers with questions about the recall may contact Kraft Consumer Relations at (855) 688-4386.  

Nissan North America is recalling 3,065 model year 2013 Pathfinder vehicles manufactured April 18, 2012, through October 3, 2012, and equipped with a continuously variable transmission (CVT).

The internal oil cooler (ITOC) hose in the affected vehicles may detach from the cooler due to inadequate clamping force, allowing transmission fluid to leak. The loss of transmission fluid could cause the transmission to function improperly and the vehicle to stop accelerating, increasing the risk of a crash.

Nissan will notify owners, and dealers will install an oil hose repair kit, free of charge.

The recall will begin in May 2014. Owners may contact Nissan at 1-800-647-7261.

Prime Pak Foods of Gainesville, Ga., is recalling approximately 24,000 pounds of fully cooked breaded chicken breast products.

The products were formulated with egg and wheat, known allergens, not declared on the product label.

There have been no reports of adverse reactions due to consumption of these products.

The following products are subject to recall:

• 2, 5-lb. bags in a 10-lb. box of “Sugar Lake Farms Fully Cooked Breaded Chicken Breast Tenders” with the product code 77422 printed on the box.
• 2, 5-lb. bags in a 10-lb. box of “Sugar Lake Farms Fully Cooked Spicy Breaded Chicken Breast Chunks” with the product code 77448 printed on the box.

The products were produced from Dec. 12, 2012, to March 21, 2014. The products bear the establishment number “P-9165” inside the USDA mark of inspection. The products were distributed to hotels, restaurants and institutions nationwide.

Consumers with questions about the recall may contact John Appling at (770) 536-8708, ext. 1105 or by e-mail at: jappling@primepakfoods.com.

Nature’s Universe is recalling all lots of old Thinogenics product (product sold prior to February 6, 2014, hereinafter the “Old Product”).

FDA analysis has revealed that it contained sibutramine, an appetite suppressant that was withdrawn from the U.S. market in October 2010 (due to increased risk of seizures, heart attacks, arrhythmia and strokes).

The company is now selling a new, reformulated Thinogenics that does not contain sibutramine (hereinafter referred to as the “New Product”).

These products are used as weight loss aids and are packaged as capsules in bottles.

The Old Product contains 30 capsules per bottle, and was distributed worldwide via Internet sales through website at www.shopnaturesuniverse.com disclaimer icon and www.easy2loseweight.com disclaimer icon .

Customers are advised to discontinue use of the Thinogenics Old Product purchased prior to February 6, 2014, and return the product to Nature’s Universe, 2817 West End Avenue, Nashville, Tennessee 37203 for the new, replacement product which has been reformulated and does not contain sibutramine.

Consumers with questions regarding this recall should contact Nature’s Universe customer service at 1-800-405-7817 Monday – Friday 8am to 6pm CT or via e-mail at naturesuniverse@gmail.com.

Now that April 15 is behind us, you probably either have your federal income tax refund or will get it soon. So, what do you plan to do with it?

When pollsters asked that question recently, they got an intriguing glimpse of America's evolving consumer culture. Instead of immediately spending their refund, a surprising number are socking it away.

The survey, commissioned by GoBankingRates.com found around 58% of those questioned were getting a tax refund. Of those, 68.7% said they were going to save at least part of it.

The trend has been growing since 2008, when the financial crisis created a wave of layoffs and changed consumer spending habits. Between then and now, the number of taxpayers saying they will save their refund has grown by more than 31%.

Most financially savvy generation

While the survey doesn't provide a demographic breakdown, older adults and younger adults may be responsible for this trend.

First, there are the Baby Boomers, newly retired or approaching retirement. This generation fueled the consumer economy for decades and many of its members, in their day, could be big spenders. Now, these senior citizens are more concerned about having enough money for a long retirement.

At the other end of the age spectrum are the Millennials, adults 18-29 years old. They came of age since the financial crisis and their financial habits appear to have been affected as a result.

A study commissioned by Northwestern Mutual surprisingly found Millennials to be among the most thrifty Americans. If anyone is going to hang onto their refunds, the survey suggests it's these folks.

Risk averse

You won't find many Millennials day-trading or engaging in other risky financial behavior either. Only 14% said they are seeking to speed up the growth of their investments.

They also demonstrate some patience, with 30% favoring “slow and steady” as their financial planning approach while another 30% saying they would prefer to be more cautious but feel they have a lot of catching up to do.

In other words, Millennials are more like their grandparents than their slightly older peers.

Retro approach

“While not quite putting money in the mattress, Gen Y definitely takes a more retro approach to how they handle their finances,” said Greg Oberland, Northwestern Mutual executive vice president. “I’m guessing they’re making a lot of grandparents very proud.”

While Boomers and Millennials seem to have their financial act together, the rest of us appear to have some catching up to do.

Financial literacy gaps

A recent Harris Poll of 2,000 U.S. adults finds the population as a whole has some sizable gaps in financial literacy.

“This year’s survey once again confirms what we already know: the need for financial education is great,” said Susan C. Keating, president and CEO of the National Foundation for Credit Counseling (NFCC), which commissioned the survey.

Where do Americans fall short? The survey found gaps in knowledge about budgeting, saving, and understanding credit reports and credit scores - all key areas related to successful money management.

Specifically, Americans overall appear to have done a poor job of saving money. The top two concerns among respondents were not having enough money to meet emergencies and not being able to save enough to retire.

You already know that, thanks to General Mills' new updated legal terms, you should avoid online interaction with the company (including subscribing to any General Mills email-promotional offers), because those legal terms now state that if you so much as “like” the Facebook page or download a coupon for a General Mills product, you waive any right to sue the company “regardless of whether such dispute or claim is based in contract, tort, statute, fraud, misrepresentation, or any other legal theory.”

Instead, should you find yourself the victim of General Mills-based fraud, misrepresentation or what have you, your complaint “will be resolved by informal negotiations or through binding arbitration.”

So you don't want to be a General Mills email recipient, lest you find yourself subject to binding arbitration most likely via an arbitrator chosen and paid for by General Mills.

Come to find out you also don't want to send General Mills any emails, either (except, perhaps, an email opting out of its new legal terms), because if you do send any such email, General Mills says:

All comments, suggestions, ideas, notes, drawings, concepts, recipes or other information disclosed or offered to General Mills by this site or in response to solicitations in this site shall be deemed and shall remain the property of General Mills.... Without limitation, General Mills shall exclusively own all now known or hereafter existing rights to the suggestions of every kind and nature throughout the Universe and shall be entitled to unrestricted use of the comments for any purpose whatsoever, commercial or otherwise without compensation to the provider of the suggestions.

Throughout the Universe, with a capital “U”! Though perhaps this is to be expected, not only for basic legal-boilerplate-language reasons but because the sheer awfulness of ideas like “You can't sue us no matter what” and “we own your comments, can use them in ads and don't owe you a thing” is simply too vast to be confined to a lone planet as small as the Earth.

Just last month the U.S. government finally issued a rule that will require new cars and light trucks to have backup cameras with screens in the dash to help prevent accidents in which drivers accidentally back over pedestrians, pets and stray items.

For years many automakers had provided the cameras as an option. Honda recently made then a standard feature.

It's an example of how technology can make a car safer to operate. Nissan is taking that concept a step further, creating what it calls its Smart Rearview Mirror.

Mirror is also an LCD screen

It looks just like a standard rearview mirror but, when the driver throws a switch, the mirror is replaced by an LCD screen that shows the same rear view, minus the heads of backseat passengers or cargo.

The concept was introduced at this week's New York International Auto Show. The video below, produced by Nissan, demonstrates how the mirror screen works.

"Smart Rearview Mirror will give our customers the best possible view no matter how tall the passengers in the back seat or how bad the road conditions," said Andy Palmer, Chief Planning Officer and Executive Vice President of Nissan. "It also offers the possibility of new and exciting designs for our upcoming models, ensuring that appearance no longer has to be compromised for visibility and functionality.”

Similar to backup camera

The technology is very similar to the back-up screen system. A high-resolution camera mounted on the rear of the vehicle transmits a clear, unobstructed view of the rear sections of the vehicle.

Gone from the view are the traditional rearview obstructions like the vehicle's C-pillars. Nissan says the camera's image is a wider and clearer view than the one provided by the standard mirror – though the driver still has that option.

A switch function, operated by a control located at the bottom of the mirror, allows the driver to access either the traditional rearview mirror system or the Smart Rearview Mirror.

The system is being installed in vehicles in Japan this spring and in Nissan race cars. However, U.S. drivers will have to wait for the global rollout, expected in 2016.

Michaels arts and crafts stores confirmed this week that there was definitely a security breach involving certain card-payment systems used by the company (and its subsidiary Aaron Brothers), though it is not yet known whether the breach compromised any customer data.

The Michaels breach took place between May 8, 2013 and Jan. 27, 2014, whereas the Aaron Brothers breach was between June 26, 2103 and Feb. 27 of this year.

If you used a credit, debit or prepaid card to buy things at the affected stores during the relevant time periods you'll definitely want to keep a closer-than-usual eye on your financial accounts, although it's still not certain whether any customer data was compromised at all; Michaels has said in a statement that there's no evidence of such.

Does ragweed make you miserable? Help is on the way.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved Ragwitek, the first allergen extract administered under the tongue (sublingually) to treat short ragweed pollen induced allergic rhinitis (hay fever) in adults 18 years through 65 years of age.

Ragwitek, which contains an extract from short ragweed (Ambrosia artemisiifolia) pollen, is a tablet that is taken once daily by placing it sublingually, where it rapidly dissolves. Treatment with Ragwitek is started 12 weeks before the start of ragweed pollen season and continued throughout the season.

The first dose is taken in a health care professional’s office where the patient is to be observed for at least 30 minutes for potential adverse reactions. After the first dose, patients can take Ragwitek at home.

“The approval of Ragwitek offers millions of adults living with ragweed pollen allergies in the United States an alternative to allergy shots to help manage their disease,” said Karen Midthun, M.D., director of the FDA’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research.

A common ailment

Individuals with allergic rhinitis with or without conjunctivitis may experience a runny nose, repetitive sneezing, nasal itching, nasal congestion, and itchy and watery eyes. Short ragweed pollen is one of the most common seasonal allergens and is prevalent during the late summer and early fall months in most of the United States. Allergies induced by short ragweed pollen are generally managed by avoiding the allergen, medications to relieve symptoms, or with allergy shots.

The safety of Ragwitek was assessed in approximately 1,700 adults. The most commonly reported adverse reactions by patients treated with Ragwitek were itching in the mouth and ears and throat irritation.

Of the 1,700 adults, about 760 were evaluated to determine effectiveness. Some patients received Ragwitek; others received an inactive substitute (placebo). The patients reported their symptoms and additional medications needed to get through the allergy season.

During treatment for one ragweed pollen season, patients who received Ragwitek experienced approximately a 26% reduction in symptoms and the need for medications compared with those who received a placebo.

The Prescribing Information includes a boxed warning to inform that severe allergic reactions, some of which can be life-threatening, can occur. Ragwitek also has a Medication Guide for distribution to the patient.

Amazon has been taking heat for raising its annual Prime membership to $99 from its previous $79. The $99 gets you free two-day shipping, access to thousands of video titles and e-books from its lending library.

Those who think $99 is a lot for everything Amazon offers should take a look at Harris Teeter's new Express Lane Online Shopping fee -- $99.95 per year.

And this gets you what, exactly? Groceries delivered to your home? Not quite. As we understand it, you go online and select the items you want and then, four hours later, drive to the store, where an employee plops the stuff into your car.

“Our shoppers love the convenience of [the] online shopping service. While they are running kids to and from soccer practice and managing their busy lives, we take care of the shopping," said Harris Teeter spokesperson Danna Jones. "Our Express Lane experts not only hand-select the highest quality and freshest items available but they also load the groceries into the shopper’s car and process payments curbside.”

Currently, the supermarket chain charges $4.95 per order or $16.95 per month for home delivery. The online shopping program has been around since 2000 and has gradually spread to 150 Harris-Teeter stores.

A bargain?

It may be handy, but is it a bargain? Amazon, after all, is stocking a growing number of grocery items, which are covered under the Prime umbrella.

Giant's Peapod delivers items to your door, not just to your car. It charges a sliding fee based on the size of your order; last time we checked, it was $6.95 for an order over $100.

Chobani may be finding the Greek yogurt field a little crowded lately, as competitors flood supermarket shelves with the gooey dairy product. So, starting in June, the company will roll out some new products, including:

• Chobani Greek Yogurt Oats, strained Greek yogurt mixed with ripe fruit and whole grain steel-cut oats. In traditional flavors such as Banana Maple, Apple Cinnamon, Blueberry and Cranberry, it's Chobani's take on oatmeal.

• Chobani Indulgent is the brand’s first dessert product, containing full-fat Greek yogurt, featuring real cream, dark chocolate and ripe fruits.

• Chobani Kids is a high-protein, low-sugar snack that comes in flavors aimed at kids -- grape, watermelon, vanilla chocolate dust among others.

• Chobani Seasonal is a seasonal twist to the core line. The limited flavors will refresh each season, kicking off this summer with Watermelon and Pink Grapefruit.

• ChobaniSimply 100 Greek Yogurt in Key Lime and Pineapple Coconut will deliver new low-calorie options for weight managers looking for light yogurt.

• The introduction of 4% whole milk Chobani Kitchen answers what Chobani says is consumers’ call for full-fat dairy products -- for recipes or a single-serve occasion, for use in toppings, on a baked potato or other dishes.

Beyond breakfast

The company said the changes will "push Greek yogurt beyond breakfast and provide better food for more people throughout the day."

“We’ve always believed that if we can’t do something better, we won’t do it at all. With our new products and innovations, we are extending the way people enjoy Greek yogurt in America and bringing better food to more people,” said Hamdi Ulukaya, Chobani Founder and CEO, Chobani. “We're just getting started.”

There's still plenty of room for growth in the yogurt category, Ulukaya said.

USDA estimates per capita consumption of yogurt has leapt from roughly two pounds in 1975 to about 14 pounds today. That, however, remains well below the approximately 40 pounds consumed in countries such as Germany and France or even the 20 pounds in Canada.

The changes aren't just innovation for its own sake. Ever since a series of incidents in 2013 that sickened consumers who complained of a "funny taste" in the yogurt, Chobani has been feeling the pressure as General Mills, Danon and others muscle into the Greek yogurt business.

The problem was eventually blamed on mold.

Whole Foods elbowed Chobani aside earlier this year, saying it wanted to make room for yogurts made with milk that had not been genetically modified. Chobani promotes its product as "natural" but many critics say the company uses milk from cows that are fed with genetically modified feed.

We're always hearing that social media can cause depression, anxiety and so forth, but a new studyfinds that, at least for seniors, the Internet can be a lifeline that lifts them out of the depression and loneliness that often affect older Americans.

The research project followed the lives of thousands of retired older Americans for six years – and it found that Internet use among the elderly can reduce the chances of depression by more than 30 percent.

“That’s a very strong effect,” said Shelia Cotten, a Michigan State University professor of telecommunication, information studies and media who led the project. “And it all has to do with older persons being able to communicate, to stay in contact with their social networks, and just not feel lonely.”

Cotten and her colleagues analyzed the data collected by the Health and Retirement Survey, a survey collecting information from more than 22,000 older Americans every two years. This particular sample included more than 3,000 respondents.

Others inconclusive

Other smaller studies have been inconclusive about the role Internet use and technology, in general, play in helping people overcome depression.

One way in which this study was different is it took into consideration the subjects’ depression levels before they began using the Internet. The researchers wanted to know if past depression affected current depression.

What they found is yes, some people did remain depressed despite Internet use, although it wasn’t substantial. “Internet use continues to reduce depression, even when controlling for that prior depressive state,” Cotten said.

The researchers also confirmed what was found in other studies that for older people who live alone, Internet use had a greater impact on their levels of depression.

Cotten said it all comes down to how you choose to use your technology. As with most things in life, moderation is best.

“If you sit in front of a computer all day, ignoring the roles you have in life and the things you need to accomplish as part of your daily life, then it’s going to have a negative impact on you,” Cotten said. “But if you’re using it in moderation and you’re doing things that enhance your life, then the impacts are likely to be positive in terms of health and well-being.”
This research is published in the Journal of Gerontology: Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences.

Bolzano Artisan Meats of Milwaukee, Wis., is recalling approximately 5,723 pounds of salami products because they were produced without the benefit of federal inspection.

Products produced under the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade, and Consumer Protection (WDATCP) inspection program are eligible for sale within the state of Wisconsin when they bear the Wisconsin state inspection shield on the immediate package.

The products being recalled, however, incorrectly bear the Cooperative Interstate Shipment (CIS) program version of the USDA Mark of Inspection, which requires federal acceptance into the program.

Because the establishment is not part of the CIS program, products they produced and distributed bearing the CIS program version of the USDA Mark of Inspection cannot be sold through interstate commerce.

The products subject to recall include:

• 6-oz. or 12-oz. packages of “Bolzano Artisan Meats All Natural Uncured, Old School Salami,” 6/6-oz. or 3/12-oz. packages per case (UPC 7935 7389 6360)
• 6-oz. or 12-oz. packages of “Bolzano Artisan Meats All Natural Uncured, Pamplona Runner Salami,” 6/6-oz. or 3/12-oz. packages per case (UPC 7935 7389 6353)
• 6-oz. or 12-oz. packages of “Bolzano Artisan Meats All Natural Uncured, Fin Oh Kee Oh Na Salami,” 6/6-oz. or 3/12-oz. packages per case (UPC 7935 7320 3564)
• 6-oz. or 12-oz. packages of “Bolzano Artisan Meats All Natural Uncured, Pig Red Salami,” 6/6-oz. or 3/12-oz. packages per case (UPC 7935 7320 3571)
• 6-oz. or 12-oz. packages of “Bolzano Artisan Meats All Natural Uncured, Pitzotl Salami,” 6/6-oz. or 3/12-oz. packages per case (UPC 7935 7322 1698)
• 6-oz. or 12-oz. packages of “Bolzano Artisan Meats All Natural Uncured, RauchZwiebel Salami,” 6/6-oz. or 3/12-oz. packages per case (UPC 7395 7320 3588)

The recalled products were produced between Sept. 20, 2013, and March 15, 2014, include batch numbers 1208 to 1214, and bear the CIS program version of USDA Mark of Inspection with the establishment number “EST. 692SEWI.”

Cases containing these products may bear the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade, and Consumer Protection (WDATCP) inspection label, but the individual product packages may be misbranded with the CIS program version of the USDA Mark of Inspection.

Products bearing the Wisconsin state inspection shield on the immediate package are not subject to this recall.

The recalled products were distributed for institutional and retail sales nationwide as well as sold over the Internet.

Consumers with questions about the recall may contact Scott Allen Buer at (414) 238-4874.

Rocky Brands of Nelsonville, Ohio, is recalling about 6,800 pair of Georgia Boot steel-toed work shoes.

When compressed, the steel toe cap in the shoes can fail to protect the wearer’s feet.

No incidents or injuries have been reported.

The recalled shoes are six-inch tall, brown leather, steel-toed shoes with dark brown padding at the ankles sold under the Georgia Boot brand name. On the outward side, the boots have a tag with the words “Met-Guard” at the stitching and the Georgia Boot logo near the heel.

A white label on inside of the tongue of the recalled boots has the Georgia Boot logo, the product number “G9075” on the left side, a date code between 01-12 and 10-13 in the MM-YY format on the right side, and the words ‘Men’s Georgia Metatarsal 6” Brown.’

The shoes, manufactured in China, were sold at Lehigh Outfitters stores, traveling ShoeMobiles, online at www.lehighoutfitters.com and www.lehighsafetyshoes.com, and through client websites nationwide from January 2012, to November 2013, for about $150.

Consumers should stop wearing the recalled shoes immediately and contact Rocky Brands for a free pair of replacement steel-toed shoes in a similar style.

Consumers may contact Rocky Brands at (866) 245-2159 from 8 a.m. to 12 a.m. ET Monday through Friday and 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, or by email at clientservices@lehighoutfitters.com.