Current Events in April 2014

For Popeye, it was spinach that got the credit for his big bulging muscles. but a new study finds that green tomatoes may actually be the key to strength and endurance.

Using a screening method that previously identified a compound in apple peel as a muscle-boosting agent, a team of University of Iowa scientists has discovered that tomatidine, a compound from green tomatoes, is even more potent for building muscle and protecting against muscle atrophy.

Muscle atrophy, or wasting, is caused by aging and a variety of illnesses and injuries, including cancer, heart failure, and orthopedic injuries, to name a few. It makes people weak and fatigued, impairs physical activity and quality of life, and predisposes people to falls and fractures.

It's a big problem, affecting more than 50 million Americans annually, including 30 million people over age 60. It's often the factor that forces people into nursing homes or rehabilitation facilities.

"Muscle atrophy causes many problems for people, their families, and the health care system in general," says Christopher Adams, M.D., Ph.D., UI associate professor of internal medicine at UI. "However, we lack an effective way to prevent or treat it. Exercise certainly helps, but it's not enough and not very possible for many people who are ill or injured."

More muscle, less fat

In a new study, published online April 9 in the Journal of Biological Chemistry, Adams searched for a small molecule compound that might be used to treat muscle atrophy. He zeroed in on tomatidine and discovered that tomatidine generates changes in gene expression that are essentially opposite to the changes that occur in muscle cells when people are affected by muscle atrophy.

After identifying tomatidine, Adams and his team tested its effects on skeletal muscle. They first discovered that tomatidine stimulates growth of cultured muscle cells from humans.

"That result was important because we are looking for something that can help people," Adams says.

Their next step was to add tomatidine to the diet of mice. They found that healthy mice supplemented with tomatidine grew bigger muscles, became stronger and could exercise longer. And, most importantly, they found that tomatidine prevented and treated muscle atrophy.

Interestingly, although mice fed tomatidine had larger muscles, their overall body weight did not change due to a corresponding loss of fat, suggesting that the compound may also have potential for treating obesity.

Designing healthier foods

An attractive aspect of tomatidine is that it is a natural compound derived from tomatoes. It is produced when alpha-tomatine, which is found in tomato plants and in green tomatoes in particular, is digested in the gut.

"Green tomatoes are safe to eat in moderation. But we don't know how many green tomatoes a person would need to eat to get a dose of tomatidine similar to what we gave the mice. We also don't know if such a dose of tomatidine will be safe for people, or if it will have the same effect in people as it does in mice," Adams says. "We are working hard to answer these questions, hoping to find relatively simple ways that people can maintain muscle mass and function, or if necessary, regain it."

In an effort to accelerate this research and translate it to people, Adams and his colleagues have founded a biotech company called Emmyon. The company recently received funding from the National Institutes of Health to develop strategies for preserving muscle mass and function during the aging process. The company is also using tomatidine and ursolic acid as natural leads for new medicines targeting muscle atrophy and obesity.

Safeway has argued in courts of law that it has no obligation to let its customers know if they've bought tainted or recalled food, but this week a federal judge in San Francisco rejected this claim, leaving the way open for a class-action lawsuit against the chain.

Courthouse News Service reports that

Dee Hensley-McLean and Jennifer Rosen are the lead plaintiffs in a class action that alleges Safeway failed to let them know that it sold them "tainted" food subject to federal recalls. They say the store can easily contact members of its Club Card loyalty program since it has their personal information on file. “They claim that, under various California consumer protection statutes and California common law, Safeway is legally obligated to notify its Club Card members of the Class I recalls,” U.S. District Judge Richard Seeborg explained Monday.

However, this might only apply to Safeway customers in California, since Seeborg's ruling focused mainly on specific aspects of that state's law. For example, Safeway's contention that it shed responsibility once certain purchases were made cuts no ice because, as Seeborg wrote, “California negligence law imposes a general duty of ordinary care and Safeway has not shown either a statutory or public policy exception justifying a post-sale, no-duty rule ….Moreover, numerous California decisions have explicitly or implicitly recognized that a seller's duty under negligence may extend beyond the point of sale.”

For those Safeway customers who are not Californians, and whose state laws might be more in lines with Safeway's interpretation, it is worth bearing in mind that if you buy food from Safeway and it's later recalled for health or safety reasons, the store figures that's your problem, not theirs. Either way, check out our frequently updated list of recalled food products here.

The world has lots of problems -- climate change, deadly viruses, struggling economies and general weirdness. But it's hard to think of anything that affects as many people as the plain old runny nose.

Not the common cold, mind you. Just the runny nose. Millions and millions of us have it, sometimes because of allergies or an infection. But other times, our nose drips for no particular reason at all.

You can call it the sniffles or use the medical term, non-allergic rhinitis. It doesn't matter what you call it. It's about as annoying as anything and because it's relatively harmless, you get no sympathy from anybody.

A clue

But now researchers at the University of Colorado School of Medicine say they have figured out what may be going on, which could be the first step in doing something about it.

Thomas Finger, PhD, and his team, supported by a National Institutes of Health grant and working with a Danish colleague, report in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences that they found cells lining the noses of mice that may be key.

These cells – called solitary chemosensory cells (SCCs) -- detect potential irritants in the air and pass along the alert to pain-sensing nerve terminals.

The nerves then release a substance that triggers the body's defenses, called an inflammatory response. The result -- among other things, a runny nose and difficulty breathing.

"Understanding how this works can help researchers try to figure out how to prevent this response," Finger says. "What if we could deaden the pathway that the body takes to fight off an attack that, in this case, is not really threatening?"

It's not yet certain that the process is identical in humans, Finger says. But if it is, and if some people are responding to substances or smells that appear to be a threat but actually are benign, then additional research could find a way to help millions of people to, literally, breathe easier.

Until then, keep that Kleenex box close by.

Facebook's purchase of WhatsApp for $19 billion was widely hailed as a stroke of genius, a stupendously strategic move and other superlatives, but the Federal Trade Commission is worried that consumers' privacy could be a liability of the acquisition.

The FTC's Bureau of Consumer Protection is warning Facebook and WhatsApp that they are obligated to protect the privacy of their users if and when the acquisition is completed.

In a letter to the two companies, Bureau Director Jessica Rich noted that WhatsApp has made clear privacy promises to consumers, and that both companies have told consumers that after any acquisition, WhatsApp will continue its current privacy practices.

“We want to make clear that, regardless of the acquisition, WhatsApp must continue to honor these promises to consumers. Further, if the acquisition is completed and WhatsApp fails to honor these promises, both companies could be in violation of Section 5 of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Act and, potentially, the FTC’s order against Facebook,” the letter states.

2011 settlement

In 2011, Facebook settled FTC charges that it deceived consumers by failing to keep its privacy promises. Under terms of the settlement, Facebook must get consumers’ consent before making changes that override their privacy settings.

The letter notes that before making any changes to how they use data already collected from WhatsApp subscribers, the companies must get consumers' consent. The letter also recommends that consumers be given the opportunity to opt out of any future changes to how newly-collected data is used.

Do you still trot down to the mailbox to send in your federal income tax return?

If so, you are in a distinctly shrinking minority

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) says that as of March 28, it has received 82 million returns through e-file -- roughly 91% of returns filed this year. That means only 8.3 million of you, or 9%, are filing on paper.

The tax agency says it expects to receive about 148 million individual income tax returns this year and projects that only 23 million will be on paper -- down 7% from last year’s total of 25 million paper returns.

More efficient filing

IRS says e-file has accomplished many goals, including reducing the amount of paper the government must process, allows it to be more efficient and use valuable resources to address other critical work.

The agency notes that e-file is the safest, fastest and easiest way to submit individual tax returns.

Since 1990, taxpayers have e-filed more than 1 billion Form 1040 series tax returns safely and securely.

Tax facts

Following is a summary of how the 2014 tax season is shaping up.

Consumers who are fed up with the long winter will likely welcome the Easter Bunny with open arms this year. But, will that translate into open wallets?

Not necessarily.

According to the National Retail Federations' (NRF) Easter Spending Survey conducted by Prosper Insights & Analytics, consumers will spend an average of $137.46 on apparel, food, candy, gifts and more -- slightly less than the $145.13 spent last year. Total spending is expected to reach $15.9 billion.

“The winter doldrums left consumers with a lot of pent-up demand, and though many Americans may take a cautious approach to spending on Easter items this year, retailers are anticipating that warmer weather will easily put consumers in the mood to buy bright clothes, holiday decorations and more,” said NRF President and CEO Matthew Shay. “As one of the biggest holidays of the year, retailers are looking forward to increased customer traffic in stores and online, and will roll out promotions on everything from garden supplies and patio sets to apparel and grocery items as they help their customers prepare for the holiday.”

Tradition rules

Though fewer people are expected to celebrate this year (80.3% vs. 83% last year), families are still looking forward to their traditional Sunday meals. Those who do plan to celebrate will spend the most on a grocery bill for a family dinner or Sunday brunch out. According to the survey, 85.7% of those celebrating will spend an average of $43.18 on a holiday meal -- totaling $5 billion.

Since the holiday traditionally marks the ceremonial start to spring, 42.9% will purchase new spring attire, such as bright Easter dress clothes for their children, spending an average of $22.71. Total spending on apparel is expected to reach $2.6 billion.

Additionally, nine in 10 (89.3%) of those celebrating will stock up on Easter candy, spending a total of $2.2 billion on their children’s favorite sweet treats. Families will also spend on gifts ($2.4 billion), flowers ($1.1 billion) and decorations ($1.1 billion).

“Americans are eager to dip their toes in the fresh green grass this Easter and celebrate the day with friends and family,” said Prosper Insights and Analytics Director Pam Goodfellow. “Though they are planning to trim their budgets in terms of spending on food, clothes and gifts, most will look for personal and fun items that won’t break the bank in order to enjoy the day.”

How they shop

The survey also found that many will use smartphones or tablets to check off their Easter shopping list.

Of those who own smartphones, nearly one in four (23.4%) will use their device to research products or compare prices. Just 12.2% will make an actual purchase with their smartphone.

Nearly 1 in 5 (19.2%) tablet owners will make a purchase on their device, but most will simply research holiday gifts, apparel and other items (30.2%).

Chris Christie is shedding pounds and getting down to fighting weight but New Jerseyans trying to follow his lead often run afoul of health clubs that don't play by the rules.

Seeking to level the playing field, the New Jersey Division of Consumer Affairs has taken action against 53 health clubs, slamming them with a total of $283,500 in fines for allegedly failing to comply with consumer protection laws.

“When consumers pay for a gym membership, they need to know the gym will be held accountable for maintaining its side of the contract. That is the purpose of our registration laws and other requirements,” Acting Attorney General Hoffman said. “We are citing these health clubs for their alleged failure to comply with these consumer protection laws.”

The Division of Consumer Affairs tracked down 31 unregistered health clubs in the Garden State, where the law requires that all health clubs which devote at least 40 percent of their floor space to physical fitness services must register with the Division of Consumer Affairs and provide information about their ownership and operations.

Pressing on, the Division of Consumer Affairs issued Notices of Violation to 22 health clubs that are registered but allegedly violated state law by selling longer-term contracts to consumers without maintaining a required security bond or letter of credit.

Under state law, any health club that offers contracts for longer than three months must post a security bond or letter of credit with the Division of Consumer Affairs. This requirement assures a source for refunds to consumers, should the health club cease business or violate their contracts.

“With better weather finally approaching, many New Jerseyans may feel inspired to 'hit the gym' and get in shape. These consumers deserve the assurance that their health club is operating in compliance with the law – and that they won't lose money on a long term contract if the health club goes out of business," said New Jersey Division of Consumer Affairs Acting Director Steve Lee.

More information about individual clubs caught in the round-up can be found online.

First-time applications for state unemployment benefits have fallen to their lowest level in nearly seven years.

Figures released by the government show 300,000 people filed initial claims in the week ending April 5 -- down 32,000 from the week before, the largest decline since december, 2012. The last time claims were this low was May 12, 2007 when they were 297,000.

The plunge came as a surprise to economists at Briefing.com who were expecting a total of 325,000 first-time claims. While impressed by the sizeable decline, they say poor seasonal adjustments could cause the initial claims level to spike up and down for the next couple of weeks before stabilizing back in the 320,000 – 330,000 range by the beginning of May.

Sterne Agee Chief Economist Lindsey Piegza says the big decline suggests there could be marked improvement in the labor market in April, adding that thtoday's number "certainly raises the bar of expectations for the April NFP (nonfarm payroll) number."

The 4-week moving average, which is less volatile than the weekly nmumber and is consider a better gauge of the labor market, was down 4,750 from the previous week to 316,250.

The full report is available on the Labor Department website.

The Robert Abady Dog Food Co., of Poughkeepsie, N.Y., is recalling its 2-lb, 5-lb and 15-lb boxes of "Abady Highest Quality Maintenance & Growth Formula for Cats.”

The product has the potential to be contaminated with Salmonella.

No illnesses have been reported to date in connection with this problem.

The recalled product, distributed nationwide in retail stores and through mail orders, comes in a 2-lb, 5-lb and 15-lb, corrugated boxes with plastic liners marked with lot # 14029/21 stamped on the right side top of the box.

Production has been suspended wpending an investigation into the source of the problem.

Consumers who have purchased the recalled product should return it to the place of purchase for a full refund.

Consumers with questions may contact the company at 1-845-473-1900, Monday – Friday, 8:30am - 5:00pm, ET.

Lisy Corporation of Miami, Fla., is recalling Lisy Sweet Basil (Albahaca), 6 oz jar, Item #1132, Lot #'s A013 0518 & A014 0518.

The product has the potential to be contaminated with Salmonella.

No illnesses have been reported to date in connection with this recall.

Distribution of the recalled product began on 01/15/2014 in retail stores in New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island and Maryland.

Consumers who have purchased Lisy Sweet Basil (Albahaca) are urged not to eat the product, and dispose of it or return product to the place of purchase for a replacement or for a full refund.

Consumers with questions may contact Henry Rosen at 305-836-6001 ext. 233 Monday through Friday from 8:00 am – 5:00 pm EST.

Nissan North America is recalling 468 model year 2014 Infiniti QX80 vehicles manufactured December 2, 2013, through January 27, 2014, and equipped with 20 inch wheels.

In the affected vehicles, the Certification label incorrectly lists the Gross Axle Weight Rating (GAWR) as 4,497 lb instead of the correct 4,343 lb. An incorrect GAWR listing may result in the vehicle being overloaded which may increase the risk of a crash.

Nissan will notify owners, and will mail owners a corrected Certification label, free of charge. The recall is expected to begin in April 2014.

Owners may contact Infiniti at 1-800-662-6200.

Problems ranging from faulty airbags to defective windshield wipers have reportedly prompted Toyota to issue a recall of more than 6 million vehicles worldwide.

Toyota says approximately 1.3 million vehicles are in the U.S. including certain modelyYear 2009-2010 Corolla, 2009-2010 Matrix, 2008-2010 Highlander, 2009-2010 Tacoma, 2006-2008 RAV4 and 2006-2010 Yaris vehicles.

Detailed information is available to customers at www.toyota.com/recall, the Toyota Customer Experience at 1 800-331-4331, www.lexus.com/recall and Lexus Customer Satisfaction (1 800-255-3987). 

Recall timing

Reuters quotes Toyota spokesman Brian Lyons as saying the recalls were announced simultaneously, even though they are unrelated, due to the timing of the investigations.

This latest recall comes less than a month after the automaker agreed to a pay a penalty of $1.2 billion in connection with unintended acceleration in its vehicles.

Recall breakdown

A Reuters report lists the latest recalls and their causes as follows:

• Faulty spiral cables for driver’s air bags: 3.5 million
• Possible locking problems on seat rails: 2.32 million
• Failing steering column brackets: 760,000
• Windshield wipers with drainage problems: 160,000
• Possible fire hazard in starter motors: 20,000

In these vehicles, the driver’s airbag module is attached to a spiral cable assembly with electrical connections that could become damaged when the steering wheel is turned. If this occurs, the air bag warning lamp will illuminate. In addition, the driver’s air bag could become deactivated, causing it to not deploy in the event of a crash.

The automaker is currently preparing the remedy for this condition. For all involved vehicles, a Toyota dealer will replace the spiral cable with an improved one. Once preparations are complete, Toyota will send an owner notification letter by first class mail and the remedy will be provided at no charge.

General Motors has suffered another setback in its attempt to limit the damage from allegations that it was too slow to recall cars with a faulty ignition switch.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) wrote GM a letter yesterday (April 8) imposing a $7,000 a day fine for the company's lack of answers to a 107-question query the agency sent the company last month.

“GM did not respond to over a third of the requests in the special order by the April 3 deadline,” NHTSA Chief Counsel Kevin Vincent said in the letter, according to Automotive News. The fine now totals $28,000.

GM, which has said it is cooperating with NHTSA, issued a statement in response to the letter saying that it has worked “tirelessly from the start to be responsive to NHTSA’s special order and has fully cooperated with the agency to help it have a full understanding of the facts.”

The company said it has produced more than 271,000 pages of documentation spanning more than a decade. The documents are intended to help NHTSA trace the process by which the faulty ignition switch was designed, then later replaced when GM engineers became aware of incidents in which the switch had failed.

The problem with the switch is that it could be bumped into the "accessory" position inadvertently, cutting the engine and shutting off the air bags, power steering and power brakes. At least 13 deaths have been attributed to the problem. 

GM is recalling 2.2 million vehicles to replace the defective switches. The actual replacement of the switches is expected to begin later this month.

GM CEO Mary Barra testified before Congress last week and declined to answer many questions, saying that the company has hired an outside law firm to investigate the sequence of events. 

The company apparently took the same approach with NHTSA. The agency said that GM had claimed it needed more time to answer some of the 107 questions.

Good news for identity thieves, malware/virus writers and other dishonest hacker-types, though potentially bad news for everyone else: as of yesterday (April 8), Microsoft no longer supports its XP operating system.

What does this mean for XP users? It means that your computer today and beyond will work just as well as it did on April 7 and before — except Microsoft will no longer provide security updates, which means that the next time some hacker discovers an exploitable weakness in XP, Microsoft won't fix it.

Even that won't cause problems for you if your XP computer is a self-contained hermit entity – never connects to the Internet, never receives an email or text message, never installs new software or makes any use of its USB ports.

However: you're reading this article now, which means you're probably online. And if you're here via a computer or tablet running on XP — watch out. Henceforth, every time you click a link, open an attachment or visit a website, it's kind of like having unprotected sex with someone: if your partner is clean and virus-free, you won't catch any diseases. But if your partner (or that link, website, attachment et al) has something nasty and contagious ….

Still at risk

Only here's where the sex analogy breaks down: even if your computer/Internet browsing device is 100% updated, hackerproof and XP-free, and your own online activities 100% protected and responsible, you're still at risk if you interact with any remaining XP users still out there, including (at last estimate) between 75 to 95% of all American ATMs, 10% of all U.S. government computers, 85% of computers in the U.K.'s National Health Service, and up to half of all the computers in China.

So you could, for example, have a nice secure computer and thoroughly responsible online experience, and still have a hacker clean out your bank account after you visit an ATM, or put false charges on your credit card after you use the online option to renew your state DMV paperwork.

Why is Microsoft doing this? Its own website says:

Microsoft provided support for Windows XP for the past 12 years. But the time came for us, along with our hardware and software partners, to invest our resources toward supporting more recent technologies so that we can continue to deliver great new experiences.

As a result, technical assistance for Windows XP is no longer available, including automatic updates that help protect your PC.

Unfair criticism

It's tempting to snark “Great new experiences? Sure, like the experience of planned obsolescence and you Microsoft guys having a greattime cashing the big checks you'll get after selling all those expensive new operating systems, right?”

But honestly, that's not a fair criticism to make, because 12 years is a looong time in software/technological terms. Computer ages are measured in dog years, only moreso: a 12-year-old human is still just a kid, whereas a 12-year-old dog is downright elderly.

This is scant comfort for those who maybe can't afford to upgrade their operating system right now — or those who interact with financial, insurance or governmental agencies which won't bother upgrading. You'll need to be not merely vigilant but hyper-vigilant: do your bank's ATMs use XP? What about your local or state-level government websites — is it safe to pay taxes or registration fees online, or is it safer to mail checks, or visit offices in person?

Expect to see a lot more “hackers breach database; steal consumer information” news articles in the near future.

Review your options: we outline a few in this article

A software flaw in a server extension called "heartbeat" is creating data leakage, dubbed "heartbleed," which in turn is causing severe heartburn for hundreds of thousands of web and email server administrators worldwide.

The flaw afflicts servers that use a package called OpenSSL, one of several extensions that enable SSL -- secure socket layers -- to encrypt data moving to and and from their sites. 

What that means for consumers is that personal information -- including passwords, account numbers and other sensitive data -- can be, and perhaps already has been, exploited by hackers.  

Sites ranging from the FBI to Yahoo and everything in between have been affected. The flaw also potentially affects ATM machines that communicate via the web. Google is not affected by the problem and data on Google servers is safe, several experts agree.

What to do

So, what's a consumer to do? Unfortunately, the answer is "not much." Experts say that this would be a good time to take a few days off from doing your banking and e-commerce chores, to avoid revealing your password and other data to anyone who hasn't already stolen it.

Unfortunately, other experts say this would be a good time to reconcile your bank and investment accounts daily. 

If you must use an ATM, it's safest to use one at your bank, rather than an out-of-network machine. While this may not eliminate web-based data transfers, it should at least minimize them.

This is not the time to change your user ID and password. It's best to wait a few days until the vulnerability has been patched. Changing your password now simply makes the new one vulnerable to thieves.

Ironically, SSL is used to secure websites, by encrypting data traveling between the user and online sites. Normally, sites that use SSL are much more secure than sites that don't. 

This is one of those times when the front door is locked tightly but the back door is open and swinging in the wind. 

Sites around the world are racing to update their server software but it's not an easy fix and it may take several days for larger sites to have everything locked down again.

Common server operating systems that may be affected by the problem include Debian, CentOS, RedHat, SUSE Linux and Ubuntu.

Nearly 5 years after the end of the Great Recession the economy has yet to gain much traction. Consumers who normally drive economic growth have seen their incomes stagnate.

Even though economists are hopeful that 2014 will bring stronger growth, there is growing concern about the economic health of the consumer. The people at U.S. and Canadian banks, whose job it is to measure risk, are growing more pessimistic.

In its latest quarterly survey, FICO, an analytics software company, found 44% of the risk managers it surveyed expect delinquencies on credit cards to increase in the next six months.

More troubling, perhaps, is the 35% who expect delinquencies on car loans to increase. Auto sales have been one of the recovering economy's few bright spots.

Rising risk?

This appears to be part of a troubling trend since it's the fourth straight quarter of rising pessimism about consumers' ability to pay their auto loans and credit card bills.

"We've seen concerns about delinquencies creeping up for a few quarters," said Andrew Jennings, chief analytics officer at FICO and head of FICO Labs.

Not alarmed

But Jennings isn't ready to sound an alarm. He suggests rising delinquencies may simply mean that more consumers are now able to borrow money and that a certain percentage will always have trouble paying it back.

"This can be interpreted as a healthy sign after lenders spent much of the past five years constricting credit availability and being risk-averse,” he said.

The FICO survey also shows banks expect consumers to increase their borrowing over the next 6 months. A record 65% of respondents expected average balances on credit cards to increase. At the same time, 61% of the bankers polled said they expect the amount of new credit requested by consumers to increase.

What we can learn from debt

Economist Joel Naroff says a distinction should be made between car loans and credit card purchases. Big-ticket purchases like cars have a need requirement to them and vehicle sales are a huge driver of growth

“Credit card purchases are a good indicator of spending activity – most is paid down monthly -- but also consumer confidence,” Naroff told ConsumerAffairs. “Since growth is measured by changes in levels, it is the combination of the two that can make a major difference. Total consumer debt is growing at a pace similar to what we saw in the 2000s, which is a sign that confidence is returning.”

The Federal Reserve has also been keeping an eye on growing consumer debt. It reported last year that non-revolving debt – things like car loans – increased by 8%. Of greater concern, however, was the 61% jump in college loan debt since 2010.

In its most recent report, for February, the Fed found student loans and auto loans continued to be the main objects of consumer borrowing, with both categories rising by the largest amount in 12 months.

Total consumer borrowing for the month rose $16.5 billion, up from $13.5 billion in January. Credit card debt, meanwhile, declined.