Current Events in May 2014

U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx has refused a request from two U.S. senators that General Motors be ordered to tell owners of recalled cars to stop driving them until their ignition switches can be replaced.

Sens. Edward Markey (D-Mass.) and Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) had formally asked Foxx to take the action but in a written response, Foxx said federal safety regulators had determined it wasn't necessary. 

A federal judge reached the same conclusion in April. 

Judge Nelva Gonzales Ramos of the U.S. District in Corpus Christi, Texas, said federal safety regulators are better able to manage the massive recall than the courts as she refused a request that General Motors issue a "park it" order until the ignition switches in 2.59 million recalled cars can be replaced.

No judge has ever issued such an order.

Switch can slip

Ignition switches in the recalled cars can slip out of the "on" position, shutting off the engine and cutting power to air bags, power steering and other systems.

At least 13 deaths have been linked to the problem and GM has admitted knowing about the problem for at least a decade prior to the recall.

GM's advice to owners of the recalled cars -- mostly Chevrolet Cobalts and Saturn Ions -- is that they remove everything except the ignition key from their key rings, to lessen the weight that's exerted on the ignition switch. Also, drivers should avoid bumping the switch with their knee.

This sounds fine to Foxx.

"NHTSA is satisfied that for now, until the permanent remedy is applied, the safety risk posed by the defect in affected vehicles is sufficiently mitigated by GM's recommended action," the letter says.

It doesn't sound so great to Markey and Blumenthal.

“We remain extremely concerned that GM and NHTSA are not doing enough to convey the seriousness of this defect to owners of the affected cars, unnecessarily putting more lives at risk," the two said in a statement and they charged that in his response, "Secretary Foxx has raised more questions than he has answered."

"We are encouraged that NHTSA has analyzed data GM provided on the affected vehicles, but Secretary Foxx’s letter again emphasizes that drivers must take extraordinary precautions to ensure the safety of passengers still driving the recalled cars," they said. 

Even before its release tomorrow, the food industry is pushing the panic button over "Fed Up," a Katie Couric-narrated documentary that portrays the excessive use of sugar in food as Public Enemy No. 1.

Three years in the making, "Fed Up" tells the story of several young people struggling with obesity intercut with experts, politicians and health advocates who blame the U.S. diet for the country's declining health, indicting everyone from food manufacturers to the federal government.

The hard-hitting film is causing a serious case of indigestion at the Grocery Manufacturers Association (GMA), the powerful lobbying organization for the food industry. It has set up a website and prepared a blizzard of press releases to respond to the documentary's charges.

“Rather than identifying successful policies or ongoing efforts to find real and practical solutions to obesity, it adopts a short-sighted, confrontational and misleading approach by cherry-picking facts to fit a narrative, getting the facts wrong, and simply ignoring the progress that has been made over the last decade in providing families with healthier options at home and at school,” said GMA CEO Pam Bailey in a statement.

But before it goes completely over the top with its PR counter-attack, the food lobby might want to consider how its public relations efforts are portrayed in the film.  

"The PR sector of the food industries come off especially bad in footage of them shamelessly defending their focus on children as young as infants, the most outrageous being a McDonald’s spokeswoman arguing to Congress about the magic and wonder of Ronald McDonald as if he were Santa Claus," said film industry trade publication Indiewire.

So alarmed is the GMA that it put together a long list of actions the food biz has taken to "allow Americans to achieve and maintain a healthy lifestyle," including:

• Full-calorie soft drinks were voluntarily removed from schools and total calories available from beverages in schools have been cut by 90% in the last decade.
• Supported the 2010 Healthy, Hunger Free Kids Act, which ensured both fruits and vegetables were offered to students daily; increased consumption of foods rich in whole grains; limited calories based on age to ensure proper portion sizes; and eliminated full-fat milk options.
• Worked through the Children's Food and Beverage Advertising Initiative to voluntarily adopt\ strict nutrition criteria so that 100% of CFBAI participant ads seen on children's programming promote healthier diet choices.
• Began putting key nutrition information on the front of packaging through the Facts Up Front program.
• Food and beverage CEOs formed the Healthy Weight Commitment Foundation, through which the food industry removed 6.4 trillion calories from the U.S. marketplace since 2007.

Overwrought?

There are those who think the grocers and their allies are getting a little too fired up about what may turn out to be, well, just another documentary rather than another "Fast Food Nation," which covered much of the same ground back in 2006.

"You’ll probably want to skip the popcorn if you go see director Stephanie Soechtig’s sobering chronicle of our country’s obesity epidemic. Despite the film’s worthy goals, there are some empty calories. Katie Couric’s narration and Soechtig’s uninspired style make it feel more like a TV special than a feature documentary," wrote New York Daily News film critic Elizabeth Weitzman in a review today.

"The film also presents too many of its obvious claims — Exercise is good! Sugar is not! — as stunning exposés. But there’s definite value to its outrage, especially when turned toward the lobbyists and government cowards who are dedicated to drowning our kids in corn syrup, among many other unhealthy culprits," said Weitzman.

If you hear someone describe a gathering place as “a wretched hive of scum and villainy” it can indicate one of two things: a Star Wars fan quoting what Obi-Wan Kenobi said about Mos Eisley, or anybody else responding to the latest “seedy side of Craigslist” story.

Like this piece by CBS New York, offering an unusually cynical take to the usual pre-Mother's Day media pieces: if you're not a mother-to-be yet want people to think you are, you can buy positive pregnancy tests online!

Granted, the CBS piece relied entirely on anonymous quotes and secondhand information (no surprise that anybody who does buy or sell such things would prefer to remain anonymous): an unnamed mother in Dallas who sold positive tests to a woman hoping to trick her boyfriend into marrying her, another unnamed woman in New Jersey last year, who posted a Cragslist ad offering tests for sale and adding “Wanna get your boyfriend to finally pop the question? Play a trick on mom, dad or one of your friends? I really don’t care what you use it for.”

Prices vary by location 

Interestingly enough, despite Washington, D.C.'s overall reputation for dishonesty, a May 8 search for “pregnancy test” (not even with the added word “positive”) on the Washington, DC-area Craigslist yielded only three possibly outdated offers to sell a positive test, specifically for “a prank” or “April Fools,” rather than hopes of tricking a man into a fraudulent marriage likely to fail once the expected kid never actually arrives. All three asked for $20, though one offered to arrange a discount for multiple purchases.

By contrast, on the New York City Craigslist boards, positive pregnancy tests were much more commonplace, at a going rate of $35. On the other side of the country, in Los Angeles, prices ranged from $60 to $70.

If you, for whatever reason, are actually tempted to buy somebody else's urine-soaked medical waste, there is no point in shopping around to hunt for bargain prices; your best bet is to completely abandon any plan requiring a false-positive pregnancy test to succeed.

A popular topic of conversation these days seems to be, “How are your allergies?”

Nearly everyone is sneezing, has itchy eyes and is feeling just plain miserable. But seasonal allergies are more than just a talking point or a nuisance -- they're real diseases that can interfere with work, school or recreation, and can range from mild to severe.

If you're a sufferer, you may be in luck. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has recently approved many allergy treatment options that could bring you some relief. Among them are three sublingual (under the tongue) prescription products to treat hay fever (also called “allergic rhinitis”) -- with or without eye inflammation (called “conjunctivitis”) -- caused by certain grass pollens and short ragweed pollen.

The new products -- Grastek, Oralair and Ragwitek -- can be taken at home, although the first dose must be taken in a doctor's office.

These things called allergies

An allergy is a heightened immune system reaction to a substance that your body has identified as an invader. If you have allergies and encounter a trigger -- called an “allergen” -- your immune system fights it by making antibodies, which cause your body to release chemicals called histamines.

These are what are responsible for symptoms such as repetitive sneezing and itchy, watery eyes.

Allergic rhinitis affects more than 30 million children and adults in the U.S. and more than 500 million people worldwide. It may be seasonal or year-round.

The seasonal allergy, often called “hay fever,“ typically occurs in the spring, summer or fall. If you have this, you may suffer from repetitive sneezing, and stuffy or runny nose and itching in the nose, eyes or on the roof of the mouth. Eye inflammation can occur when your eyes react to allergens with symptoms of reddening, itching and swelling.

Plant pollens usually cause seasonal allergies. Pollen allergies are common, and allergy-causing pollen can come from trees, weeds and grasses, according to the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. Trees and grasses are typical spring culprits, while ragweed and other weeds ramp up in late summer and early fall.

Think you're safe if you stay indoors? Think again. Dust mites often cause the year-round type of allergies, and molds can cause seasonal and year-round allergies.

Getting yourself tested

If you suspect you have an allergy, see your health care provider, as conditions such as upper respiratory infections, sinus infections and eye infections can have similar symptoms.

“The first step is to get appropriate testing to determine what you’re actually reacting to,” says Jay Slater, M.D., an allergist and director of FDA’s Division of Bacterial, Parasitic and Allergenic Products.

Your health care provider can test you using injectable allergen extracts, sterile liquids made from natural substances such as molds, pollens or animal hair. FDA has licensed these products. Tests include:

• a skin prick test, which involves placing the allergen extract on your skin and pricking so it goes under the skin’s surface. Your skin is studied for swelling or other signs of a reaction, which usually occurs in about 15 minutes.
• an injection of a small amount of an allergen, or
• a blood test, which can detect and measure antibodies to certain allergens.

Allergy meds for symptoms

“After testing, you need to sort out results with your health care provider,” Slater says. “Take the results of the test and combine it with reflective thinking about when and where you’re experiencing symptoms. Then determine the best course of action.”

For instance, if you have a spring oak tree allergy you can try to avoid the allergen by limiting outdoor activities on high pollen-count days and keeping your windows closed. But airborne pollen can be hard to avoid, so your doctor may also recommend prescription or over-the-counter medications to relieve symptoms.

Antihistamines reduce or block symptom-causing histamines and are available in many forms, including tablets and liquids.

“There are several different antihistamines. First-generation antihistamines include medications such as diphenhydramine, marketed under the brand name Benadryl. They have been available over the counter for a long time,” says Narayan Nair, M.D., a medical officer at FDA. “Newer second generation antihistamines have not been available over the counter as long. They include medications such as fexofenadine and loratadine, which are marketed under the brand names Allegra and Claritin, respectively.”

When choosing an over-the-counter antihistamine, patients should read the Drug Facts label closely and follow dosing instructions, Nair says. “Some antihistamines can cause drowsiness and interfere with the ability to drive or operate heavy machinery. The drowsiness can be made worse by taking sedatives or consuming alcohol,” he explains. “Also, patients with chronic conditions such as glaucoma, or an enlarged prostate should talk to their health care provider before taking certain antihistamines.”

In addition to the antihistamines, nasal sprays and eye drops can help improve some allergic symptoms. “Nasal sprays can help relieve nasal symptoms but they should only be used for a limited time without talking to a health care provider. If some nasal sprays are used longer than intended they can make the congestion worse,” Nair notes.

Medications to attack the allergy

If you don’t respond to medications to relieve symptoms, you may be a candidate for allergen immunotherapy, often given via “allergy shots” that have small amounts of the allergen. These shots can decrease sensitivity to inhaled allergens.

Patients can receive weekly injections from a health care provider for two to three months, during which time the dose increases. After the maximum dose is reached, treatment can continue monthly for three to five years.

The prescription sublingual treatments approved in April -- Grastek, Oralair, and Ragwitek -- also are an immunotherapy option. “These medications have the potential for dialing down the immune response to allergens, doing more than just treating the symptoms of allergies,” says Slater. Sublingual therapy should start three to four months prior to allergy season so, depending on your geographic location, it may be something to explore in the next year.

Allergenic treatments can result in reactions such as swelling in the place where they are administered, or systemic reactions that can affect the airway. “For injection therapy, local side effects like itching and swelling can be annoying but not life-threatening,” Slater explains. But for the medications taken under the tongue, you must be especially careful to pay attention to side effects such as swelling.

Due to the potential for serious complications, you must take the first sublingual treatment under medical supervision. After that, you can take treatments daily at home, and your health care provider must prescribe an autoinjectable epinephrine device in case you need it for a severe reaction. You should read the medication guide that is distributed with Grastek, Oralair and Ragwitek each time you fill a prescription.

“For sublingual therapy, the fact that it’s not an injection will be an advantage to some individuals,” Slater says. “And the fact that, aside from the first visit, it doesn’t require follow-up office visits will also be an advantage.”

A company that used online ads to lure consumers looking for a home mortgage will pay $225,000 to settle Federal Trade Commission charges that it deceived consumers about the terms of the mortgages.

“Buying a home is one of the most important financial decisions a consumer can make,” said Jessica Rich, Director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection. “When companies deceive consumers about the true cost of the mortgages they offer, and consumers take on a mortgage they can’t afford, the harm can last a long time. The FTC’s message is clear: Mortgage advertising must be truthful.”

The FTC charged that GoLoansOnline.com, a Houston-based lead generator that operates several websites,, advertised low interest-rate loans as fixed-rate mortgages, when in fact they were adjustable-rate mortgages that could become more expensive for borrowers over time.

The company also allegedly failed to include important disclosures, such as the annual percentage rate, amount of downpayment, and repayment terms that figure into the advertised payment amounts and interest rate. 

Unlike fixed-rate mortgages, adjustable-rate mortgages carry an interest rate that fluctuates based on credit markets, so the cost to borrowers can increase and decrease over the course of the loan.

The complaint charges GoLoansOnline.com with violating the Federal Trade Commission Act and the Mortgage Acts and Practices Advertising Rule, or “MAP” Rule and Regulation N, by deceptively advertising variable interest rate mortgages as having fixed interest rates.

Type 1 diabetes is generally regarded as genetic, but new experiments on mice show that mouse mothers can protect their pups from developing type 1 diabetes by eating a gluten-free diet and reseachers at the University of Copenhagen say the findings may apply to humans.

"Preliminary tests show that a gluten-free diet in humans has a positive effect on children with newly diagnosed type 1 diabetes. We therefore hope that a gluten-free diet during pregnancy and lactation may be enough to protect high-risk children from developing diabetes later in life," said assistant professor Camilla Hartmann Friis Hansen from the Department of Veterinary Disease Biology, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences.

The findings have recently been published in the journal Diabetes.

Findings from experiments on mice are not necessarily applicable to humans, but the study's co-author, Prof. Axel Kornerup, says that may not be the case with diabetes.

"Early intervention makes a lot of sense because type 1 diabetes develops early in life. We also know from existing experiments that a gluten-free diet has a beneficial effect on type 1 diabetes," he said.

Experiments of this type have been going on since 1999, originally initiated by Prof. Karsten Buschard from the Bartholin Institute at Rigshospitalet in Copenhagen, another co-writer on the study.

"This new study beautifully substantiates our research into a gluten-free diet as an effective weapon against type 1 diabetes," Karsten Buschard explains.

Gluten-free diet affects bacteria

The experiment showed that the diet changed the intestinal bacteria in both the mother and the pups. The intestinal flora plays an important role for the development of the immune system as well as the development of type 1 diabetes, and the study suggests that the protective effect of a gluten-free diet can be ascribed to certain intestinal bacteria.

The advantage of the gluten-free diet is that the only side effect seems to be the inconvenience of having to avoid gluten, although more research is needed to be certain.

"We have not been able to start a large-scale clinical test to either prove or disprove our hypothesis about the gluten-free diet," Buschard said.

They are often referred to as the “golden years.” But if you're carrying a lot of debt -- particularly a big mortgage -- they can seem pretty tarnished.

According to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), a growing number of older consumers are facing mortgage debt challenges including less affordable housing and greater risk of foreclosure.

If you're appropaching retirement, thinking about your mortgage pay-off date and your retirement income and expenses should be a top priority.

“A home can be a place of security for older Americans in their retirement years -- a roof over their heads as well as a valuable asset,” said CFPB Director Richard Cordray. “But as more seniors carry significant mortgages into retirement, they put themselves at risk of losing their nest eggs and their homes.”

The CFPB Snapshot of Older Consumers and Mortgage Debt shows approximately 80% of the 41 million U.S consumers age 65 and older own their home. They have the highest homeownership rate among all age groups.

But while their rate of homeownership has remained constant over the last decade, the percent of older homeowners holding mortgages has increased. Much of the increase can be attributed to the refinancing boom of the 2000s. Other factors include a general trend among Americans to buy their first home later in life, provide small down payments on home purchases, and borrow against their home equity to pay for a variety of expenses.

Seniors with debt

Highlights of the report, which used data from the Census Bureau, the Federal Reserve, and consumer complaints submitted to the CFPB -- among other sources -- include:

• More senior homeowners with mortgages: Older consumers are carrying more mortgage debt into their retirement years than in previous decades. For homeowners age 65 and older, the percentage carrying mortgage debt increased from 22% to 30% from 2001 to 2011. Among those aged 75 and older, the rate more than doubled during that same time period, from 8.4% to 21.2%.
• Median mortgage debt for seniors increased: From 2001 to 2011, the median amount older homeowners owed on mortgages increased 82% -- from about $43,300 to $79,000. In addition to carrying increased mortgage debt, many older consumers have also accrued less home equity than their age group did a decade ago. This decline in home equity may have an outsize impact on seniors, for whom home equity is frequently their primary or even only asset. The result is less financial security and greater financial risk.
• Less affordable housing: More than half of the 4.4 million retired homeowners with mortgage debt spend 30% or more of their household income in housing related costs. Because housing affordability is threatened when housing costs exceed 30 percent or more of a homeowner’s income, this puts older consumers at greater risk of financial harm.
• Senior delinquency and foreclosure rates on the rise after financial meltdown: From 2007 to 2011, the percentage of homeowners age 65 to 74 who were seriously delinquent in paying their mortgage -- meaning they were more than 90 days late or in foreclosure -- increased from 0.85% to 4.96%. For those over 75, it increased from 1.01% to 5.87%. While delinquency and foreclosure rates have fallen since 2012, foreclosure among older homeowners is still a significant problem. Among other things, older consumers have greater difficulty recovering from foreclosure than their younger counterparts due to their increased incidences of health problems, cognitive impairment, and difficulties returning to the work force.

What to do

Because mortgage debt is such a significant issue for senoirs, the CFPB has issued an advisory highlighting three issues that they should consider while managing mortgage debt in retirement:

• Mortgage pay-off date: Because mortgage debt can be a consumer’s most costly monthly expense, consumers should carefully consider the burden of mortgage payments while living on a fixed, retirement income.
• Home equity: Dipping into the equity already built in a home can carry risks. The money put into a home can be an important asset and security, especially considering we are living longer and often face large health expenses in later life. Older consumers should carefully consider their options before taking out a home equity loan or refinancing.
• Retirement income and expenses: Generally, people have less income when they retire. Consumers should know their retirement income and expenses -- especially if they are retiring with a mortgage.

The old saying, “use it or lose it” is especially appropriate when it comes to a healthy heart.

A study in the American Heart Association journal Circulation found that maintaining or boosting your physical activity after age 65 can improve your heart's electrical well-being and lower your risk of heart attack.

In heart monitor recordings taken over five years, researchers found that people who walked more and faster and had more physically active leisure time had fewer irregular heart rhythms and greater heart rate variability than those who were less active.

Heart rate variability is the difference in time between one heartbeat and the next during everyday life.

"These small differences are influenced by the health of the heart and the nervous system that regulates the heart," said Luisa Soares-Miranda, Ph.D., lead author of the study and a researcher at the Harvard School of Public Health in Boston and the Faculty of Sport at the University of Porto in Portugal. "Early abnormalities in this system are picked up by changes in heart rate variability, and these changes predict the risk of future heart attacks and death."

Study findings

The researchers evaluated 24-hour heart monitor recordings of 985 adults (average age 71 at baseline) participating in the community-based Cardiovascular Health Study, a large study of heart disease risk factors in people 65 and older.

During the study, they found:

• The more physical activity people engaged in, the better their heart rate variability.
• Participants who increased their walking distance or pace during the 5 years had better heart rate variability than those who reduced how much or how fast they walked.

Cutting the risk

"Any physical activity is better than none, but maintaining or increasing your activity has added heart benefits as you age," Soares-Miranda said. "Our results also suggest that these certain beneficial changes that occur may be reduced when physical activity is reduced."

The researchers calculated that the difference between the highest and lowest levels of physical activity would translate into an estimated 11% lower risk of heart attack or sudden cardiac death.

"So if you feel comfortable with your usual physical activity, do not slow down as you get older -- try to walk an extra block or walk at a faster pace," Soares-Miranda said. "If you're not physically active, it is never too late to start."

First-time applications for state unemployment compensation dipped last week, falling below the level many economists were expecting.

Government figures show claims were down by 26,000 during the week ending May 3 -- to a seasonally adjusted 319,000. The consensus from economists surveyed by Briefing.com was for 325,000.

Sterne Agee Chief Economist Lindsey Piegza points out that against the backdrop of last Friday's report of an “outsized rise in nonfarm payrolls” for April, there is plenty of reason for an improved assessment of labor market conditions heading into the second quarter. “Of course,” she adds, “there are also plenty of reasons to be pessimistic as well. Hiring, while positive, has been neither sufficient to translate into a rise in labor participation nor wage growth.”

Other analysts say that with the volatility surrounding the Easter holiday period coming to an end, initial claims are likely to stabilize between 320,000 and 330,000 as labor conditions show moderate improvement.

The 4-week moving average, which is less volatile than the weekly number, and considered a more accurate gauge of the labor market, rose 4,500 from the previous week -- to 324,750.

The complete report is available on the Labor Department website.

Traveling with your dog has become easier over the years. First a few – then many more – hotels began to allow pets to stay with their owners in the room.

While the sleeping arrangements were getting easier, there was still the matter of dining. Many travelers and their pets found food choices limited to restaurants with drive-thru windows.

But just as it took a while for hotels to become friends with pets, some restaurants are only now beginning to embrace four-legged customers. The latest edition of the AAA PetBook includes a chapter on restaurants.

Dining information

"For more than 15 years The AAA PetBook has been helping travelers plan getaways that include pet-friendly places to stay and play," said Bill Wood, vice president, AAA Publishing and Travel Information. "We are excited to expand that offering with dining information. For travelers who consider their pets as part of the family, the newest AAA PetBook makes it easier to include the whole gang in all aspects of the vacation."

Your furry friend won't be sitting down at a dining room table with you, or even lurking beneath it. Rather, an increasing number of restaurants – especially those located along heavily traveled routes – are accepting pets in their outside dining areas.

For example, there are 42 restaurants in Las Vegas that accept dogs, according to BringFido.com. While many of the restaurants listed on the site are casual sandwich shops, one of the 42 restaurants is an Italian restaurant, Spiedini's, that was said to welcome dogs on its patio.

Disconnect

However, Connie of Northern California, in a post on BringFido.com, said she and her pooch got a different reception.

“Though we called ahead to ensure we would be welcome with a dog, we got a different story once we arrived: they said no dogs allowed!” Connie wrote in her review.

PetFriendlyRestaurants.com, as the name implies, is a site with listings of restaurants where your pet can join you for a quick bite. Alameda Wine Company, in Alameda, Calif., won a rave review from a diner named Cybele Chang.

“Dogs are treated like royalty at this little wine bar next to the historic Alameda Theater,” she wrote. “Each dog gets no less than a stainless steel bowl of water, many healthy dog treats, and with pet owner's permission, first class salami and cheese.”

Policies can change

While pet-friendly restaurant directories are helpful, remember that restaurant management and policies can change overnight. The welcome mat for pets can be put away so it's usually a good idea to call ahead to confirm your dog will be allowed to join you for lunch or dinner.

Meanwhile, AAA says its PetBook provides detailed listings — including pet policies, amenities and fees —for more than 13,000 AAA Approved and Diamond Rated hotels, along with more than 800 pet-friendly campgrounds.

To help you plan a trip the book also lists national public lands and attractions that allow pets and 300 dog parks in U.S. and Canadian travel destinations.  

Just when you were getting used to ordering diapers and paper towels online, FedEx Ground is changing its pricing. Instead of charging by weight alone, packages will be priced according to size.

News of the change was buried in a Friday press release that dealt mostly with the company's fuel surcharge.

"Effective January 1, 2015, FedEx Ground will apply dimensional weight pricing to all shipments.  Currently, FedEx Ground applies dimensional weight pricing only to packages measuring three cubic feet or greater," the company said. "This change will align the FedEx Ground dimensional weight pricing with FedEx Express by applying it to all packages."

The company gave no reason for the change, other than to say that it is a common practice in the shipping industry.

"Dimensional weight"

If United Parcel Service follows suit, as it's likely to do, it will create a major headache for Amazon, Zappos and other companies that routinely ship large -- but light -- packages at little or no cost to the consumer.

The Wall Street Journal calculated that the change would result in a 37% increase in the cost of shipping a 32-pack of toilet paper and a 6% increase in the cost of shipping a pair of men's running shoes.

Anyway you look at it, the change will add hundreds of millions of dollars a year to the shipping costs of online retailers and, coupled with the imposition of sales tax on online purchases, could make e-commerce less competitive with neighborhood stores and shopping malls.

It also gives Amazon, Google and other online retailers added incentives to develop their own delivery networks. Amazon has been experimenting with various delivery methods and Google has been recruiting couriers to deliver merchandise purchased through its Google Shopping Express service.

Large FedEx Ground customers will no doubt be able to negotiate sweeter rates but the higher delivery costs will be a cruel blow for start-ups and smaller online ventures.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) has introduced the Bank on Students Emergency Loan Refinancing Act, which would allow those with outstanding student loan debt to refinance at the lower interest rates currently offered to new borrowers.

"Exploding student loan debt is crushing young people and dragging down our economy," Warren said. "Allowing students to refinance their loans would put money back in the pockets of people who invested in their education. These students didn't go to the mall and run up charges on a credit card. They worked hard and learned new skills that will benefit this country and help us build a stronger middle class and a stronger America."

Many borrowers with outstanding student loans have interest rates of nearly 7% or higher for undergraduate loans, while students taking out new undergraduate loans pay a rate of 3.86% under the Bipartisan Student Loan Certainty Act passed by Congress last summer, she noted.

The Bank on Students Emergency Loan Refinancing Act would allow students and young people to pay back their outstanding loans at the same rates that Senate Republicans overwhelmingly embraced just last summer as appropriate for new borrowers, Warren said.

"It is outrageous that students can't refinance at these historically low interest rates,"said Senator Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.), one of the bill's co-sponsors. "This legislation gives students the same fair shot as other borrowers have when interest rates decline."

GOP reluctance

While the bill had no trouble attracting co-sponsors among Democrats, it's not likely to be as popular with Republicans, especially given the financing method Warren's bill contemplates: raising taxes on millionaires by eliminating certain deductions -- the so-called Buffett Rule.

President Obama included the Buffett Rule in a tax plan he proposed in 2011. It would apply a minimum tax rate of 30% on taxpayers making more than $1 million per year. The White House has said it would directly affectd 0.3% of American taxpayers.

Pressures of a midterm election year could put enough pressure on many GOP legislators that they may at least look the other way, some observers said.

"I would consider it — we've got to do something about that debt," said Sen. Johnny Isakson (R-Ga.), a member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, the Wall Street Journal reported. 

The 23 Democrats co-sponsoring the measure were less equivocal in their support of it. 

"For too many of America's young people, pursuing a college education has become a one-way ticket to a lifetime of student loan debt.," saidSen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), author of the Student Loan Borrower Bill of Rights Act. "Giving student loan borrowers the option to opt into a lower interest rate by allowing them to refinance their loans will be a financial relief to millions of families in Illinois and America."

The car insurance marketplace continues to get more crowded. There's Progressive, Allstate, State Farm, Liberty Mutual and Nationwide, along with newcomers Esurance and Elephant.

Add to the list the nation's largest retailer. At the end of last month Walmart  announced a partnership with AutoInsurance.com to offer car insurance to online shoppers. The company that promises to have lower prices pledges lower insurance rates as well.

While Walmart isn't actually selling the policies it stands to profit by providing the way for consumers to comparison-shop for insurance. While Walmart pulled back from entering the bank business a few years ago, this foray into insurance gives the retailer more exposure in financial services.

Big savings reported

The service launched after a pilot project in Pennsylvania last year won favorable reviews from customers, who Walmart says reported average annual savings over their old policies by $1,168 per year.

“Our business is driven by a commitment to taking products and services that are complex and pricey and making them easy and affordable,” said Daniel Eckert, senior vice president of services for Walmart U.S. “Our customers too often have to settle for auto insurance policies that aren’t the best fit and cost more than they want to spend. With AutoInsurance.com, we're helping our customers save money on one of their largest household expenses in a new, quick and easy way.”

Independent agents skeptical

Among the early skeptics of the venture are local, independent insurance agents, who already have to face pretty stiff competition. The National Association of Professional Insurance Agents (PIA), the trade group representing local insurance agents, isn't buying the $1,168 savings claim.

"As an average saving, that figure sounds unrealistic," said PIA National Executive Vice President & CEO Mike Becker. "Walmart says that the system it is using compares rates on an existing policy with rates on policies with the same coverage. If that is the case, we are skeptical that the average price difference for the same level of coverage can be that large."

While Walmart says its new service allows consumers to shop around for the best rate, Becker says independent agents do the same thing. But he says that when it comes to insurance, consumers should remember that price is just one factor.

The Insurance Information Institute (I.I.I.) advises that consumers should select an insurance company that has a good reputation for settling claims promptly, has good customer service and is financially stable.

Few shop online for insurance

AutoInsurance.com has conducted research it says indicates that only 1 in 5 consumers shops for car insurance, even though 90% say they comparison shop online for other types of products.

“We want to make comparison shopping for auto insurance much simpler and faster for everyone who wants to save money on their premiums,” said Joshua Kazam, founder of AutoInsurance.com. “We believe strongly in the power of comparing. It’s how you know you got a great deal on auto insurance.”

Here's how it will work: when consumers visit the website they enter their name, address, date of birth and contact information.

Next they can opt-in to have the site retrieve their current auto insurance policy. This allows AutoInsurance.com to automatically auto-fill most of the necessary coverage information and provide a direct apples-to-apples comparison.

Then the customer receives multiple quotes from participating insurance carriers. Coverage may be customized, including raising or lowering deductibles, and changes are immediately reflected in the quotes.

If satisfied, the consumer can purchase the policy online. If they have questions, they can call a toll-free number and speak with a licensed agent.

Lending its name

Walmart's role in this venture appears to be mostly branding. The company will not sell the insurance directly but will direct consumers to the AutoInsurance.com site through Walmart.com and in-store signage.

Consumers in only 8 states – Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, and Texas – can purchase policies right away. But both companies say they plan to expand the business nationwide within months.

Here's some random, all-purpose predictions guaranteed to come true, every day, somewhere on planet Earth: “Today, cumulonimbus clouds will pile up into an electrical storm from which lightning bolts strike the ground. Various adorable babies will take their first tentative toddling steps. And countless con artists using varying forms of bait will try to scam money out of unsuspecting people.”

And here's a random statistic underscoring that last prediction: on May 7, a Google search for news stories posted in the previous seven days and containing the words “police,” “warn” and “scams” yielded eight pages of results.

Most of the scams will be familiar to regular readers of this website's scam coverage; only the names, dates and places change. For example: in early April, we mentioned how various police forces in Michigan, North Carolina and Illinois all warned residents of their respective municipalities about a particular scam targeting local people and businesses: scammers fraudulently posing as utility-company representatives threatened to cut off electricity immediately unless the victims coughed up large (and untraceable) payments.

So it's no surprise the utility scam is still going on. Police in Cedar Falls, Iowa issued a warning on May 6: watch out for phone calls from scammers posing as collection agents for MidAmerican Energy. That was almost identical to the May 4 warning from police in Frederick, Maryland, about scammers posing as agents of Potomac Edison, which sounded similar to the warning from police in Vineland, New Jersey about faux collection agents pretending to represent Vineland Municipal Electric Utility, which sounded very much like the police warning elsewhere in that state, to residents of Jackson targeted by scammers pretending to be from Jersey Central Power & Light.

Other versions of the scam this week were mentioned by officials in Cornelius, North Carolina; Alcoa, Tennessee; and in Washington State, where the Burien police department and Seattle City Light both issued anti-scam warnings to local residents.

Jury duty

While the utility scam generated lots of police interest throughout America this week, it was far from the only one. The jury duty scam raised its ugly head across the country as well. That's the one where scammers pretending to represent your local police or sheriff's office call and threaten to arrest you for having missed jury duty — though they'll let you off the hook if you wire them some cash or give them a pre-paid money card right now.

A partial listing of police departments, sheriff's offices or other American legal authorities that issued warnings about the jury duty scam this past week include police in Prince George's and Howard counties in Maryland; Cherokee County, Georgia; Henderson, Nevada; the city of Portsmouth and county of Fairfax in Virginia; Broward County, Florida; DeKalb County, Alabama; Weber County, Utah; and a statewide warning issued by Hawaii's Department of Public Safety.

Of course, scam victims are not limited to America. Last month we warned you about the particularly odious kidnapping scam: the scammer does enough online research to learn your name and the names of your immediate family, then calls to say that (for example) your child has been kidnapped, and terrible things will happen unless you pay up right now.

It's still happening all across the country — this week's American examples include victims or would-be victims ranging from Hopewell County, New Jersey to Decatur, Georgia — and on the other side of the Pacific Ocean, where police in the island nation of Singapore warned citizens and residents to be especially wary of this scam, which has snared a growing number of Singaporeans in the past year.

So that's three types of scam — utility, jury-duty and kidnapping — picked more or less at random from the hundreds of varieties of scam in existence. Three scams limited to a single seven-day period, and there still wasn't room enough to list them all in a single article like this one.

And here's a depressing prediction: if you pick any three well-known scams and try a similar seven-day news search next week, next month or next year … you'll get the same result. All you can do is stay on guard so none of those future scam-news stories are written about you.

Since the first colleges were opened, administrators have been complaining about rowdy behavior and excessive drinking by students. But that's just the beginning -- a new study says the majority of college students engage in unhealthy behavior that could raise their risk of cancer later on.

The study from Northwestern Medicine and Northeastern Illinois University found that the majority of college students are engaging in unhealthy behaviors, with minority students running up an even greater risk, especially African Americans and Native Americans.

A shocking 95% of college students fail to eat the recommended amount of fruit and vegetables (five or more servings a day), and more than 60% report not getting enough physical activity (three or more days of vigorous exercise for at least 20 minutes or five or more days of moderate exercise for at least 30 minutes a week).

“Changing unhealthy behaviors in college students now could be a way to reduce the risk of cancer as well as other diseases later in life,” said Brian Hitsman, a Northwestern professor and principal investigator of the study.

Published online May 5 in the journal Preventive Medicine, the study is the first to evaluate cancer risk behaviors and conditions in college students and how they vary by race and ethnicity. Data for the study comes from the fall 2010 wave of the National College Health Assessment, a self-reported survey of a diverse group of more than 30,000 college students in the United States.

The majority of all college students surveyed reported low fruit and vegetable consumption and low physical activity. Other unhealthy behaviors or conditions -- alcohol binge drinking, tobacco use and obesity/being overweight -- appear to cluster differently among college students depending on their race, the scientists found.

For example, tobacco use and alcohol binge drinking seem to go hand in hand for all subgroups except black students. For black students, tobacco use co-occurred with being overweight/obese.

“Tobacco use and obesity are two health issues that have been vying in the last five years for first place as the major health problem in the United States,” said Joseph Kang, lead author of the study and assistant professor in preventive medicine-biostatistics at Feinberg. “It’s frightening that those behaviors seem to co-occur in black students.”

Native Americans were the only racial group in which there were students who engaged in all five unhealthy behaviors/conditions (alcohol binge drinking, tobacco use, insufficient fruit and vegetable consumption, low physical activity and obesity/being overweight). The finding was surprising and even more frightening than the profile for tobacco use and obesity in black students, Kang said.

We're entering the time of year that often leads to the most unthinkable of tragedies: the death of a child left unattended in a hot vehicle.

Because it doesn't take long for a child to die of heatstroke if left unattended in a parked car, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has launched a national radio and Internet campaign, "Where's Baby? Look Before You Lock," to reach parents, caregivers, and grandparents about the importance of this issue.

A “disturbing trend”

Data from the San Francisco State University Department of Geosciences show a disturbing trend. At least 44 children in the U.S. died last year after being left in unattended motor vehicles, and an unknown number of others were moderately to severely injured.

The average number of U.S. child heatstroke fatalities per year since 1998 is 38, and there have already been 2 such deaths reported this year.

It happens fast

It doesn't take much for a child to die of heatstroke. When outside temperatures are in the low 80's, the temperature inside a vehicle can reach deadly levels in only 10 minutes -- even with a window rolled down 2 inches. Children's bodies in particular overheat easily, and infants and children under four years old are at the greatest risk for heat-related illness.

Heatstroke death and injuries often occur after a child gets into an unlocked vehicle to play without a parent or caregiver's knowledge. Other incidents can occur when a parent or caregiver who is not used to transporting a child as part of their daily routine inadvertently forgets a sleeping infant in a rear-facing seat in the back of the vehicle.

More often than you think

According to a new study by Safe Kids Worldwide, 14% of parents say they have left a child alone inside a parked vehicle despite the risk of heatstroke. Based on the U.S. population, that number is projected to be nearly 2 million parents transporting more than 3.3 million children who say they have intentionally left their infants, toddler, and kindergarten child alone in a parked vehicle.

For parents of children 3 and under, the percentage increases to 23%. Dads are almost 3 times more likely than moms to leave a child alone in a parked car -- 23% versus 8%.

Young children are particularly at risk because their bodies heat up 3 to 5 times faster than an adult's. When a child's temperature reaches 107 degrees, he or she dies.

What to do

NHTSA, Safe Kids, and its safety partners urge parents and caregivers to take the following precautions to prevent heatstroke incidents from occurring:

• Never leave a child unattended in a vehicle -- even if the windows are partially open or the engine is running and the air conditioning is on;
• Make a habit of looking in the vehicle -- front and back -- before locking the door and walking away;
• Ask the childcare provider to call if the child doesn't show up for care as expected;
• Do things that serve as a reminder that a child is in the vehicle, such as placing a purse or briefcase in the back seat to ensure no child is accidentally left in the vehicle, or writing a note or using a stuffed animal placed in the driver's view to indicate a child is in the car seat; and
• Teach children that a vehicle is not a play area and store keys out of a child's reach.

In addition, NHTSA and Safe Kids urge community members who see a child alone in a hot vehicle to call 911 or the local emergency number immediately. A child in distress due to heat should be removed from the vehicle as quickly as possible and rapidly cooled.

There doesn't seem to be any end in sight to the year-over-year string of rising home prices.

Property information provider CoreLogic says its March Home Price Index (HPI) shows that home prices nationwide -- including distressed sales (short sales and real estate owned (REO) transactions) -- increased 11.1% in March from the same month a year ago. That makes 25 months of consecutive year-over-year increases in home prices nationally.

On a month-over-month basis, home prices nationwide were up 1.4%.

At the state level, only Arkansas (-0.3%) showed a decline. Additionally, Colorado, the District of Columbia, North Dakota, South Dakota, Texas and Wyoming all surpassed their previous home price peaks in March 2014. In all, 23 states and the District of Columbia are at or within 10% of their peak home price appreciation.

When distressed sales are excluded, home prices nationally shot up 9.5% from March 2013 and 0.9% from the month before.

Credit and inventories cited

“March data on new and existing home sales was weaker than expected and is a cause for concern as we enter the spring buying season,” said Dr. Mark Fleming, chief economist for CoreLogic.

“Interest rate-disenfranchised potential sellers are adding to the existing shadow inventory,” he noted, adding, “while buyers who can't find what they want to buy are on the sidelines creating a new kind of 'shadow demand.' This supply and demand imbalance continues to drive home prices higher, even though transaction volumes are lower than expected.”

Report highlights

The March HPI report also shows:

• Including distressed sales, the five states with the highest home price appreciation were California (+17.2%), Nevada (+15.5%), Georgia (+12.4%), Hawaii (+12.3%) and Oregon (+12.2%).
• Excluding distressed sales, the five states with the highest home price appreciation were California (+13.2%), Nevada (+11.8%), Florida (+10.9%), Maine (+10.6%) and Hawaii (+10.6%).
• Including distressed sales, the United States has experienced 13 consecutive months of year-over-year, double-digit growth.
• Ninety-eight of the top 100 Core Based Statistical Areas (CBSAs) measured by population showed year-over-year increases in March. The two CBSAs that did not show an increase were Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway, Ark., and Rochester, N.Y.

What's in store

The CoreLogic HPI Forecast indicates that home prices -- including distressed sales -- are projected to increase 0.8% month over month from March 2014 to April 2014 and by 6.7% from March 2014 to March 2015.

Excluding distressed sales, home prices are expected to rise 0.6% month over month from March 2014 to April 2014 and by 5.7% year over year from March 2014 to March 2015.

There has always been a search for the Fountain of Youth, a way to live longer. While it has never been found, increased longevity may have been obtainable all along.

That's because every year some 900,000 Americans die from just five causes of death – heart disease, cancer, chronic lower respiratory diseases, stroke, and unintentional injuries. All, it turns out, are preventable.

Doctors at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have analyzed the mortality data and concluded that 20% to 40% of these deaths are preventable. The people who died could have lived many more years.

These 5 causes of death accounted for 63% of all U.S. deaths in 2010. The CDC report analyzed people who died before age 80 from each cause from 2008 to 2010 and noted the states in which they lived.

The authors then calculated the number of deaths from each cause that would have been prevented if all states had same death rate as the states with the lowest rates.

Nearly 250,000 preventable deaths

If all states matched the states with the lowest death rates, nearly a quarter of a million people who died could still be alive. The CDC says it would have been possible to prevent:

• 34% of premature deaths from heart diseases
• 21% of premature cancer deaths
• 39% of premature deaths from chronic lower respiratory diseases
• 33% of premature stroke deaths
• 39% of premature deaths from unintentional injuries

"As a doctor, it is heartbreaking to lose just one patient to a preventable disease or injury – and it is that much more poignant as the director of the nation's public health agency to know that far more than 100,000 deaths each year are preventable," said Tom Frieden, MD, MPH.

Doctors plan to use this data to try to reduce the number of preventable deaths. Working with at-risk patients, they say they will try to reduce risk factors.

Reducing risks

For example, heart disease risks include tobacco use, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, type 2 diabetes, poor diet, overweight, and lack of physical activity.

Cancer risks include tobacco use, poor diet, lack of physical activity, overweight, sun exposure, certain hormones, alcohol, some viruses and bacteria, ionizing radiation, and certain chemicals and other substances.

Patients can reduce chronic respiratory disease risks by not smoking and avoiding second-hand smoke exposure, other indoor air pollutants, outdoor air pollutants, allergens, and exposure to occupational agents.

To reduce stroke risks patients will be encouraged to control blood pressure, high cholesterol, heart disease, diabetes, weight, previous stroke, tobacco use, alcohol use, and get more physical activity.

Unintentional injury risks include lack of seatbelt use, lack of motorcycle helmet use, unsafe consumer products, drug and alcohol use, including prescription drug misuse, exposure to occupational hazards, and unsafe home and community environments.

Things you can do

The Mayo Clinic offers these tips for men and these tips for women for avoiding preventable deaths. They are virtually identical, stressing exercise, nutrition and avoiding tobacco.

Many of these risks identified in the CDC data are within the control of the individual. They can be avoided, doctors say, by making changes in personal behaviors.

"We think that this report can help states set goals for preventing premature death from the conditions that account for the majority of deaths in the United States," said Harold W. Jaffe, MD, the study's senior author and CDC's associate director for science.

And how do the states stack up when it comes to preventable deaths? Where you live does seem to matter when it comes to longevity.

Southeastern states had the highest number of preventable deaths for each of the five causes. The study authors suggest that focusing preventive efforts in those states could sharply reduce the number of deaths in the U.S. each year.