Current Events in October 2014

A new program of entry screening gets underway this week at 5 U.S. airports that receive most travelers from the Ebola-affected nations of Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone.

The program, run by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and Customs & Border Protection (CBP), will get underway Saturday at New York's JFK International Airport. In the 12 months ending July 2014, JFK received nearly half of travelers from the three West African nations.

The enhanced entry screening will be implemented next week at Washington-Dulles, Newark, Chicago-O'Hare, and Atlanta international airports.

"We work to continuously increase the safety of Americans," said CDC Director Tom Frieden, M.D., M.P.H. "We believe these new measures will further protect the health of Americans, understanding that nothing we can do will get us to absolute zero risk until we end the Ebola epidemic in West Africa."

CDC is sending additional staff to each of the five airports.

How the program works

After passport review:

• Travelers from Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone will be escorted by CBP to an area of the airport set aside for screening.
• Trained CBP staff will observe them for signs of illness, ask them a series of health and exposure questions and provide health information for Ebola and reminders to monitor themselves for symptoms. Trained medical staff will take their temperature with a non-contact thermometer.
• If the travelers have fever, symptoms or the health questionnaire reveals possible Ebola exposure, they will be evaluated by a CDC quarantine station public health officer. The public health officer will again take a temperature reading and make a public health assessment. Travelers, who after this assessment, are determined to require further evaluation or monitoring will be referred to the appropriate public health authority.
• Travelers from these countries who have neither symptoms/fever nor a known history of exposure will receive health information for self-monitoring.

Effectiveness demonstrated

Entry screening is part of a layered process that includes exit screening and standard public health practices such as patient isolation and contact tracing in countries with Ebola outbreaks. Successful containment of the recent Ebola outbreak in Nigeria demonstrates the effectiveness of this approach.

These measures complement the exit screening protocols that have already been implemented in the affected West African countries, and CDC experts have worked closely with local authorities to implement these measures.

Since the beginning of August, CDC has been working with airlines, airports, ministries of health, and other partners to provide technical assistance for the development of exit screening and travel restrictions in countries affected by Ebola. This includes:

• Assessing the capacity to conduct exit screening at international airports;
• Assisting countries with procuring supplies needed to conduct exit screening;
• Supporting with development of exit screening protocols;
• Developing tools such as posters, screening forms, and job-aids; and
• Training staff on exit screening protocols and appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE)

Outbound screening

All outbound passengers are currently screened for Ebola symptoms in the affected countries. Such primary exit screening involves travelers responding to a travel health questionnaire, being visually assessed for potential illness, and having their body temperature measured.

In the last two months since exit screening began in the 3 countries, of 36,000 people screened, 77 people were denied boarding a flight because of the health screening process. None of the 77 passengers were diagnosed with Ebola and many were diagnosed as ill with malaria, a disease common in West Africa, transmitted by mosquitoes and not contagious from one person to another.

Exit screening at airports in countries affected by Ebola remains the principal means of keeping travelers from spreading Ebola to other nations. All 3 of these nations have asked for, and continue to receive, CDC assistance in strengthening exit screening.

A group of Democratic U.S. Senators are calling on the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) today to adopt stronger warning labels for e-cigarettes, charging that big tobacco companies are not telling the whole story.

"Media reports have recently highlighted that in the absence of a clear federal standard, e-cigarette manufacturers owned by big tobacco companies are beginning to concoct their own health warnings about their products that lack uniformity and are not comprehensive in listing all of the health threats the products pose," the Senators wrote in today's letter to the FDA.

They said inadequate health warnings on e-cigarettes reinforce the need for the FDA to quickly finalize proposed deeming regulations that would expand the agency's regulatory authority over the nicotine-based products.

A recent New York Times story noted the inconsistent standard that currently exists in the unregulated e-cigarette industry, with manufacturers including warning labels on their products that fail to fully advise consumers of the well-established consequences of nicotine use.

"In FDA's proposed 'deeming regulation,' the agency includes a warning label for e-cigarettes that does not adequately warn consumers on the known dangers of nicotine use. The proposed label reads 'WARNING: This product contains nicotine derived from tobacco. Nicotine is an addictive chemical.' We support requiring a label on nicotine's addictive properties, but we ask the FDA pursue requirements for more extensive warnings that address health risks that e-cigarettes pose," the Senators continued.

Signing the letter were Senators Barbara Boxer (D-CA), Dick Durbin (D-IL), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Jack Reed (D-RI), Sherrod Brown (D-OH), and Edward Markey (D-MA).

In August, thirteen Members of Congress - including Boxer, Durbin, Blumenthal, Reed, Brown, and Markey - asked the FDA to move quickly to finalize a proposed rule on e-cigarettes within one year, and to include provisions that would limit youth access to the addictive products.

In February, Senator Boxer and her colleagues introduced the Protecting Children from Electronic Cigarette Advertising Act, a bill that would prohibit the marketing of electronic cigarettes to children and teens. The measure would permit the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to determine what constitutes marketing e-cigarettes to children and would allow the FTC to work with states attorneys general to enforce the ban.

WordSmart probably thinks it's pretty smart but it wasn't smart enough to avoid Federal Trade Commission charges that it deceived parents of school-age children.

At issue are TV infomercials featuring quiz show host Alex Trebek that deceptively marketed the company's programs to parents who wanted to improve their children's performance at school or help them get ready for standardized tests. 

A $18.7 million settlement order prohibits WordSmart and its president, David A. Kay, from misrepresenting the benefits of educational goods or services, and from violating the FTC’s Telemarketing Sales Rule (TSR).

The FTC’s complaint alleges that the defendants targeted parents who wanted to help their children get better grades and prepare for the SAT, ACT or other standardized test. They sold the programs via telemarketing and their website, charging between $15 and $300 for each program.

The defendants’ allegedly false and unsubstantiated claims included that, by using WordSmart for a total of 20 hours, students were guaranteed to improve letter grades by at least one GPA point, SAT scores by at least 200 points, ACT scores by at least four points, GRE and GMAT scores by at least 100 points, and raise IQ scores. They also falsely claimed they would provide a full refund within 30 days if the buyer was not satisfied, the FTC said.

In addition, the defendants allegedly repeatedly called consumers whose phone numbers are listed on the National Do Not Call Registry, refused to honor requests to stop calling, and failed to connect a consumer to a sales representative within two seconds after a consumer answered the phone, as required by the TSR.

The order imposes a $18.7 million judgment that will be suspended when the defendants have paid $147,400. The full judgment will become due immediately if they are found to have misrepresented their financial condition.

Drinking decaf coffee may be good for the liver. A new study finds that the benefits to the liver of drinking coffee apply regardless of whether the coffee is caffeinated or decaffeinated. 

In other words, say researchers from the National Cancer Institute, there's something in coffee other than caffeine that may help protect the liver by lowering abnormal enzymes.

Previous studies found that coffee consumption may help lower the risk of developing diabetes, cardiovascular disease, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, cirrhosis, and liver cancer.

 "Our findings link total and decaffeinated coffee intake to lower liver enzyme levels. These data suggest that ingredients in coffee, other than caffeine, may promote liver health. Further studies are needed to identify these components," said lead researcher Dr. Qian Xiao.

Highly prevalent

This could be one of those rare cases where something that's extremely popular actually turns out to be good for us. 

It's hard to find something more popular than coffee, with more than half of all Americans over 18 drinking on average three cups each day according to a 2010 report from the National Coffee Association.

Moreover, the International Coffee Association reports that coffee consumption has increased 1% each year since the 1980s, increasing to 2% in recent years. 

Study details

For the present study researchers used data from the U.S. National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. The study population included 27,793 participants, 20 years of age or older, who provided coffee intake in a 24-hour period. The team measured blood levels of several markers of liver function, including aminotransferase (ALT), aminotransferase (AST), alkaline phosphatase (ALP) and gamma glutamyl transaminase (GGT) to determine liver health.

Participants who reported drinking three or more cups of coffee per day had lower levels of ALT, AST, ALP and GGT compared to those not consuming any coffee. Researchers also found low levels of these liver enzymes in participants drinking only decaffeinated coffee.

Despite ads that promised "no strings attached" free checking, many customers of M&T Bank wound up with checking accounts that -- strings or not -- were anything but free, according to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB).

M&T will provide $2.9 million in refunds to the approximately 59,000 consumers deceived into paying fees and it will pay a $200,000 penalty for the violations under the terms of a consent order.

“Although M&T promised people free checking, tens of thousands of consumers ended up paying for a product they had thought was free,” said CFPB Director Richard Cordray. “This is an important reminder to all banks and credit unions that they cannot misstate to consumers whether a financial product or service is free. Today we are putting $2.9 million back in the pockets of consumers as a result.”

M&T Bank, headquartered in Buffalo, N.Y., has hundreds of branches in the northeastern U.S.

During a routine CFPB supervision exam, the CFPB found that M&T was advertising a “Free Checking” account, then converting many consumers into a fee-based “M&T First” account.

Banks and credit unions are prohibited from deceptively advertising deposit accounts. If an account is described as free or no cost, it cannot, for example, have any maintenance or activity fees, or any fees to deposit, withdraw, or transfer money.

Not much change in the past week in the number of people filing initial applications for state unemployment benefits.

According to the Labor Department (DOL), there were 287,000 new claims on a seasonally adjusted basis in the week ending October 4 -- down 1,000 from the week before. That week's total was revised up by 1,000 from 287,000.

The latest number came in well below the consensus estimate of 295,000 by economists surveyed by Briefing.com.

Analysts say the initial claims trends are pointing toward a solid improvement in labor market conditions and imply an economy at, or near, full employment.

The 4-week moving average, which is less volatile than the weekly number and considered a more accurate gauge of the labor market, was 287,750, a decline of 7,250 from the previous week.

The complete report is available on the DOL website.

Will your dog only eat YOUR food? You have tried everything to get him to eat food from the can or a colorful package of dry dog food, but no luck, he only wants the good stuff, and that's whatever you're eating!

There is only one person we can turn to for this. Head for the mirror because it's the owner -- yep, you and probably a few other members of your family.

It's easy when you have kids who don't want to finish their chicken and dumplings and happen to drop a few pieces under the table, letting your dog Ralph gobble it up. Problem is, those table scraps leave a taste that lingers in the dog's mind. If Ralph has a choice of what's in a can or what's under the table, table wins paws down.

Eating table scraps can cause health problems in your dog -- pancreatitis for one, and it can also give your dog diarrhea which can be messy and uncomfortable for both your dog and you. The table-scraps habit creates a dog that begs and that's not a becoming attribute for your little friend.

“Never let a dog associate your food with their food," says New York veterinarian Margaret Hoppe. “You have to keep it very separate. Otherwise they’ll start to think they can eat their food and their owner’s, too.”

Your dog should only eat food out of his bowl, and should never see food as coming from your plate or from something you’re preparing for yourself.

Too many snacks

Is your dog snacking during the day? Feeding too many treats can cause a dog to be full and not want to eat at the appropriate time, just like a human.

This next suggestion will require strength on your part. Put down the right amount of food at a certain time of the day. Leave it there for a while. If your dog doesn't eat it, pick it up and try again the next day. As long as your dog has water they will be OK without food for a day. (It's hard, I know -- you feel sorry for them.) Unless your dog has a medical condition like diabetes or some other illness, he should be fine. 

This should spark his appetite and soon he will get it that this is what he is eating and nothing else.

I'm sure you know the feeling of working out and sweating and as soon as you are done you have this appetite as big as a sumo wrestler's. Dogs work that way as well. You might want to take a stroll around the block, toss a ball and work up an appetite and then try feeding after the exercise.

If you do decide that maybe he just doesn't like this food. make sure you introduce a new food slowly -- otherwise you are back to that messy cleanup situation with diarrhea. Start off by combining the new and the old, gradually increasing the new a little bit each day. If you are going from a wet food to a dry, you can add water to the dry to make it palatable.

Above all be persistent and patient and you will win in the end if you can hold out and just give the dog his own food.

Be aware there are many illnesses that could be why your dog is refusing his food -- old age and joint pain to name a couple. Just walking to his bowl could be hard on him.Your only real method of knowing is a check with your vet if you suspect there could be a health component to the problem.

The leaves are going to start piling up soon and you need something to put them in so you can generate compost for your garden. A trash can will get the first batch done but what about the rest and besides a trash can with a lid that closes tight won't offer enough air to circulate.

Circulation is key -- if there is no air it slows down the decomposition process. Having a large compost pile builds more heat, which speeds up decomposition.

Here is an economical and roomy compost bin. Grab some pallets. Used pallets are free. Most stores have them stacked up in the back. They come stocked with merchandise and when they are unloaded they are just hanging around in the way. Make sure that your pallets are the same size, otherwise you will be lopsided.

Some pallets are treated with a chemical called methyl bromide. It kills insects, in order to prevent the spread of invasive species. You don't want those pallets -- you want pallets that have been heat-treated in a kiln or a oven. Look for a stamp on the pallet that says "HT" for heat treated rather than "MB" for methyl bromide.

You need five pallets for this. Put one on the floor. Stand the other pallets up, they will be your walls. Tie the walls together with clothesline and voila -- a compost bin.

You can add a PVC pipe so you can get more air to circulate in your bin. Just cut one so it's long enough that the pipes will stick out through the walls of the bin. Drill some holes in the pipe. Add some leaves or twigs or any kind of plant material to your bin and put PVC pipes on top of that. Add more plant material and put some pipes on top of that have them run in the opposite direction add more plant matter. (It's like lasagna without the sauce.)

There are alternatives in the creation process. Some are more complicated, but not much. You can find plenty of plans on the Internet. One good source is Growing a Greener World.  

You are now free to let the stink begin.

Oasis Brands of Miami, Fla., is recalling 12-oz. Cuajada en Hoja with a “Best By” date of 10/01/14-10/08/14 and 10/18/14.

The product may be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes

No illnesses have been reported to date.

Cuajada en Hoja, which was distributed in South Florida through retail stores, comes in plastic bags.

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 305.599.0225.

PAB Two of Wheeling, Ill., is recalling about 1,700 bed bug heat treatment systems.

The flexible, electrical conducting strip at the top of the heating element can break at the corners after multiple setups, posing an electrical fire hazard.

The company has received 4 reports of the flexible, electrical conducting strip breaking, including 1 report of a fire in a unit and 3 reports of units sparking. No injuries or significant property damage were reported.

This recall involves the ThermalStrike Expedition bed bug heat treatment system. Consumers place items inside the system to kill bed bugs that may be in the items. The system is made of white, corrugated plastic and has four pieces: a base, a folding four-panel wall, a lid and a temperature sensor. The base and the walls are held together by hook and loop fasteners.

When assembled, the unit is a box 31 inches long by 18 inches wide by 24 inches tall. The rear of the base has a power cord and the female connector of a power cable attached. The insides of the wall panels have a heating element composed of black heating film connected to a white, flexible electrical conducting strip. The male connector of the power cable is attached to the conducting strip and protrudes from the rear wall panel. The system is energized when the power cables are joined and the power cord is plugged into an electrical outlet.

The words "ThermalStrike" and "Bed Bug Heat Treatment" are on the front of the unit. ThermalStrike is also printed on the heating element on the interior of the unit.

The treatment systems, manufactured in the U.S., were sold at Bedbug Central, Bedbug Supply, Protect-a-bed, Univar, pest control companies and pest control product distributors nationwide and online at Amazon.com from December 2011, through May 2014, for between $189 and $199.

Consumers should immediately stop using and unplug the Expedition and register their unit online to receive an ASC Diagnostic Unit free of charge. The diagnostic unit will immediately turn off the system when it detects a break in the conducting strip.

Consumers may contact PAB Two toll-free at (866) 470-1755 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. MT Monday through Friday.

AT&T Wireless will pay $105 million to settle federal and state charges that it billed customers hundreds of millions of dollars in bogus charges for horoscopes, love tips and other effluvia that the customers had not ordered -- a practice known as "cramming."

In its complaint, the FTC alleges that AT&T kept at least 35 percent of the charges it imposed on its customers.

The lion's share of the payment -- $80 million -- will go to the Federal Trade Commission to provide refunds to consumers. Another $20 million in penalties is being paid to the 50 states and the District of Columbia and $5 million is going to a fine imposed by the Federal Communications Commission.

“I am very pleased that this settlement will put tens of millions of dollars back in the pockets of consumers harmed by AT&T’s cramming of its mobile customers,” said FTC Chairwoman Edith Ramirez. “This case underscores the important fact that basic consumer protections -- including that consumers should not be billed for charges they did not authorize -- are fully applicable in the mobile environment.”

In a statement, AT&T said other companies also offered third-party billing and said it had had "rigorous protections in place to guard consumers against unauthorized billing" but discontinued third-party billing last year.

"Today, we reached a broad settlement to resolve claims that some of our wireless customers were billed for charges from third-parties that the customers did not authorize," said AT&T spokesman Marty Richter. "This settlement gives our customers who believe they were wrongfully billed ... the ability to get a refund." 

What to do

Beginning today, consumers who believe they were charged by AT&T without their authorization can visit www.ftc.gov/att to submit a refund claim and find out more about the FTC’s refund program under the settlement.

If consumers are unsure about whether they are eligible for a refund, they can visit the claims website or contact the settlement administrator at 1-877-819-9692 for more information.

Under the terms of its settlement with the FTC, AT&T must notify all of its current customers who were billed for unauthorized third-party charges of the settlement and the refund program by text message, e-mail, paper bill insert and notification on an online bill. Former customers may be contacted by the FTC’s refund administrator.

In addition to the refund requirements, AT&T is also required to obtain consumers’ express, informed consent before placing any third-party charges on a consumer’s mobile phone bill. In addition, the company must clearly indicate any third-party charges on the consumers’ bill and provide consumers with the option to block third-party charges from being placed on their bill.

Many complaints

The FTC’s investigation into AT&T showed that the company received very high volumes of consumer complaints related to the unauthorized third-party charges placed on consumer’s phone bills. For some third-party content providers, complaints reached as high as 40 percent of subscriptions charged to AT&T consumers in a given month.

In 2011 alone, the FTC’s complaint states, AT&T received more than 1.3 million calls to its customer service department about the charges.

According to the complaint, in October 2011, AT&T altered its refund policy so that customer service representatives could only offer to refund two months’ worth of charges to consumers who sought a refund, no matter how long the company had been billing customers for the unauthorized charges.

Prior to that time, AT&T had offered refunds of up to three months’ worth of charges. At that time, AT&T characterized its change in policy as designed to “help lower refunds.”

In February 2012, one AT&T employee said in an e-mail that “Cramming/Spamming has increased to a new level that cannot be tolerated from an AT&T or industry perspective,” but according to the complaint, the company did not act to determine whether third parties had in fact gotten authorization from consumers for the charges placed on their bills.

In fact, the company denied refunds to many consumers, and in other cases referred the consumers to third-parties to seek refunds for the money consumers paid to AT&T.

Confusing bills

The structure of AT&T’s consumer bills compounded the problem of the unauthorized charges, according to the complaint, by making it very difficult for customers to know that third-party charges were being placed on their bills.

On both the first page of printed bills and the summary of bills viewed online, consumers saw only a total amount due and due date with no indication the amount included charges placed on their bill by a third party. The complaint alleges that within online and printed bills, the fees were listed as “AT&T Monthly Subscriptions,” leaving consumers to believe the charges were part of services provided by AT&T, as seen in this excerpt of an actual AT&T bill:

Excerpts from an actual AT&T bill showing cramming charges. (Image source: FTC) 

Carmakers have, in recent years, spent a lot of effort beefing up their entertainment systems, adding bluetooth connectivity to allow streaming from smartphones, as well as hands-free communication.

Consumers have reacted with approval. New car sales continue to rise each month and improved in-cabin technology may be one reason. But not everyone approves.

“Even though your car may be configured to support social media, texting and phone calls, it doesn’t mean it is safe to do so,” said University of Utah psychology professor David Strayer. “The primary task should be driving. Things that take your attention away make you a poor driver and make the roads less safe.”

Strayer and other researchers have studied these new systems to determine if they reduce distracted driving, or add to it.

Most distracting

One study found that using your voice to make phone calls and tune the radio with Chevrolet’s MyLink system distracted drivers the most. Mercedes’ COMMAND system, MyFord Touch and Chrysler’s UConnect were better, but all diverted attention more than a cell phone conversation, the study found.

Toyota’s Entune got the highest marks as least distracting. The researchers said using it took as much attention as listening to an audio book. Hyundai’s Blue Link was found to be a bit more distracting, but less than talking with a passenger.

In another study – both were sponsored by the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety – researchers looked at how drivers use iPhone's Siri. They conclude that using voice commands to interact with the phone was more distracting than any other voice-activated technology – even when it was modified for use as a hands-free, eyes-free device so drivers kept their hands on the wheel and eyes on the road.

The problem, it seems, is the attention required to operate voice-activated technology, especially when it doesn't always respond correctly.

Making it worse

“We are concerned we may be making distraction problems worse by going to voice-activated technology, especially if it’s not easy to use,” Strayer said.

But Strayer harbors no illusions that automakers are about to return to a time before connectivity and voice controls. His point, however, is that these systems need to be made as safe as possible.

The studies both conclude that the most advanced technology, like Siri, can in reality be highly distracting when you drive. For example, as these systems get to be more complex, sending text messages or posting to Facebook requires more mental capacity from the user. If the user happens to be driving, it can be dangerous.

“Technologies used in the car that rely on voice communications may have unintended consequences that adversely affect road safety,” said Peter Kissinger, President and CEO of the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety. “The level of distraction and the impact on safety can vary tremendously based on the task or the system the driver is using.”

Previous research classified listening to the radio as a Category 1 distraction – the lowest. Talking on a cell phone, either hand-held or hands-free, is considered a Category 2 distraction. Using a speech-to-text system, to listen to or compose emails or texts is a Category 3 distraction.

In April the National Safety Council raised similar concerns about cars' entertainment systems. David Teater, senior director of Transportation Initiatives at the National Safety Council, said at the time that the brain doesn't truly multi-task. Just as you can't read a book and talk on the phone, you can't safely operate a vehicle and talk on the phone, he says.

Bad news for anyone who reads e-books or e-documents (including those borrowed from public libraries) with Adobe Digital Editions e-reader: not only does the software allow Adobe to spy on your reading habits and preferences, it sends this data over the Internet in unencrypted plaintext — which means it's ridiculously easy for almost anybody else to spy on your reading habits, too.

Nate Hoffelder of The Digital Reader first discovered this on Monday (and Ars Technica independently confirmed Hoffelder's claims the next day).

On Oct. 6, Hoffelder informed his readers (bold print lifted from the original) that:

A hacker acquaintance of mine has tipped me to a huge security and privacy violation on the part of Adobe. … Adobe is gathering data on the ebooks that have been opened, which pages were read, and in what order. All of this data, including the title, publisher, and other metadata for the book is being sent to Adobe’s server in clear text.

I am not joking; Adobe is not only logging what users are doing, they’re also sending those logs to their servers in such a way that anyone running one of the servers in between can listen in and know everything,

But wait, there’s more.

Adobe isn’t just tracking what users are doing in DE4; this app was also scanning my computer, gathering the metadata from all of the ebooks sitting on my hard disk, and uploading that data to Adobe’s servers.

In. Plain. Text.

Similar evidence

No need to take Hoffelder's word for it; he also linked to two files which – for anyone who knows how to read computer code – clearly show that Adobe is tracking users and indexing Hoffelder's ebook collection.

Ars Technica offered similar evidence the next day, in its independent confirmation of Hoffelder's discovery, and explained that “Digital Editions (DE) has been used by many public libraries as a recommended application for patrons wanting to borrow electronic books … because it can enforce digital rights management rules on how long a book may be read for.”

In other words, Adobe is actually using a Digital Rights Management (DRM) to spy on its users (and make it easy for non-Adobe people to spy on them, too), all in the name of copyright protection.

In Hoffelder's original report about the spyware, he said that Adobe had not responded to requests for comment. The next day he published a new post announcing that Adobe did respond – with “half-truths and misleading statements.” Here is Adobe's actual statement:

Adobe Digital Editions allows users to view and manage eBooks and other digital publications across their preferred reading devices—whether they purchase or borrow them. All information collected from the user is collected solely for purposes such as license validation and to facilitate the implementation of different licensing models by publishers. Additionally, this information is solely collected for the eBook currently being read by the user and not for any other eBook in the user’s library or read/available in any other reader. User privacy is very important to Adobe, and all data collection in Adobe Digital Editions is in line with the end user license agreement and the Adobe Privacy Policy.

As Hoffelder noted: “I don’t see how sending a user’s reading history in clear text over the web could possibly be in line with a privacy policy.”

Eyes glaze over

Adobe's online Privacy Policy does offer an answer to the question “What information does Adobe collect about me?”

The answer is 706 words long and difficult to read without your eyes glazing over, but here are some possibly relevant quotes from it:

Adobe collects information that identifies you. This may include your name, company name, email address, or payment information. We may also sometimes collect other information that does not identify you, such as your job title or industry. …. We collect information about how you use our websites and applications, including when you use a desktop product feature that takes you online …. Adobe may collect information about how you use our websites and applications by using cookies and similar technologies ….

None of those 706 words specifically say anything about e-books or e-readers, though information about how “you use our … applications” might, technically, cover such details as collecting specific data about which exact book you read via Digital Editions, which pages you read and when and for how long — but certainly nothing about your full e-book library or any non-Adobe files on your computer.

Other questions Adobe answers on its Privacy Policy page include “How does Adobe use the information it collects about me?” and “Does Adobe share my personal information?” Again, neither answer says anything about collecting a user's reading history, or sending any information in plaintext.

At 6:43 p.m. (Eastern time) on Oct. 7, Ars Technica posted an update to say:

An Adobe spokesperson now says the company is working on an update. "In terms of the transmission of the data collected, Adobe is in the process of working on an update to address this issue," the spokesperson said in an e-mail to Ars Technica. "We will notify you when a date for this update has been determined."

If you translate Adobe's words from Corporate-speak into English, that means: “We're appalled that anyone discovered what we're doing. We will notify you as soon as we determine a face-saving way to extract ourselves from this embarrassing situation.”

There really isn't a “low cost” college education. Getting an undergraduate degree takes time and money, and in recent years, it has taken increasing amounts of the latter.

Student loan debt is now over $1 trillion and rising. With growing awareness of the problems taking on too much debt early in life can cause, many students are searching for less-expensive ways to get an education.

Fortunately there are more than there used to be, thanks to online education. Taking courses online was a practice pioneered by for-profit colleges. It was convenient but expensive.

Because for-profit schools were heavy advertisers and aggressive recruiters, many students selected these schools without doing much shopping for a cheaper alternative. Maybe there weren't that many alternatives in the past, but there are now.

State-supported schools

By far the cheapest college alternative are state universities that have embraced online education, in an effort to compete with for-profit schools. But since state supported schools offer lower tuition rates only to people who live in the state, you need to live in the right state to take advantage of these bargains.

For example, the University of Florida's online tuition for Florida residents is just $129 per credit hour. Assuming it takes 120 credits to obtain a bachelor's degree, the cost would be $15,480, a relative educational bargain.

But it you don't live in Florida the rate is $500 per credit hour, making the same education cost $60,000. If you aren't a resident of Florida, your first step should be to check all the state-supported colleges where you live to find out if they offer similar low rates for in-state students.

Private, non-profit schools

If you are unable to find a state university in your state that offers low-cost online courses, there are a few private, non-profit schools that have affordable programs, no matter where you live. Many of these schools started out as what were once termed “correspondence” schools, before the Internet came along.

Bellevue University is a private, non-profit university in Nebraska, founded in 1966. It focused on adult education from the outset and continues to do so today.

For the current academic year, Bellevue's posted tuition rate for its online courses is $250 per credit hour. That puts the cost of a 4-year degree at around $30,000.

Another private non-profit school catering to adult students is California Southern, founded in 1978. Its tuition rate for online courses is also $250 per credit hour.

Southern New Hampshire University is a private, non-profit college that in recent years has wholeheartedly embraced online education. Its tuition rate is $320 per credit hour but is reduced to $225 for active duty military and their spouses.

Arizona State University is a public college that has a single online course rate, regardless of whether you live in Arizona. Its tuition for online courses is $480 to $543 per credit hour.

Other considerations

Not all schools offer all courses and programs online, so before deciding on a particular school you should check out what is offered. Another important consideration is the school's accreditation. After all, if you are going to the expense of obtaining a degree, you want to make sure it actually means something.

If a school is accredited, it means an independent agency vetted by the Department of Education has reviewed the school's programs and faculty to make sure they meet and exceed standards of excellence.

Regional accreditation is the best. The Department of Education currently recognizes 6 regional agencies within the U.S.

Another way to judge a school is by its completion rate – the percentage of students who start their education and end up with a degree. The higher the the graduation rate the more you can assume the school supports its students, guiding them to completion of their chosen degree program.

If you have so many bills that you just can't remember to pay them all — it's possible you have too many bills, and both your memory and your finances would improve if you found ways to cut expenses, give up pricey voluntary subscriptions, and so forth.

If not, Google is offering to keep track of your bills for you, via a Google Now feature it announced on a publicly available Google+ post yesterday:

When you can't remember whether you've paid your bills—or you simply can't remember how much money you need to pay—you can now just ask Google. Tap the mic on the Google app (g.co/googleapp) and say, “Show me my bills” or “My bills due this week.” If you have the payment due date and amount in your Gmail, you’ll see a quick summary of upcoming and past bills. Pretty handy, huh?

Of course, as the Google announcement says, this service only works for bills sent to your Gmail account, which in turn encourages any user of this service to connect more of their regular bill payments to Gmail.

So far the tech-world response has been largely positive. “Awesome new Google Now feature helps you keep track of your bills,” said GreenBot. “Killer Google Now feature ensures you'll never miss paying a bill again,” said BGR.

More neutral

In contrast, the Wall Street Journal's tech blog took a more neutral tone, listing the useful aspects of the features and how they work, but also noting “the fact that Google is reading your bills via email may unnerve some users and worry privacy advocates.

This has happened in the past when Google rolls out new features like this — and the reaction was especially strong when the company first announced its method of mining Gmail for advertising.”

On the other hand: since Google is indeed scanning the content of private (as opposed to student, government or business) emails anyway, and is certainly aware of whatever bills you have connected to your Gmail address, one could argue it may as well turn some of that scanned data into a new service useful for Gmail users in addition to advertisers pitching to same.

United Parcel Service is expanding a service that lets consumers pick up packages at predetermined locations rather than having them left on doorsteps.

It's being promoted as a convenience for consumers who work and don't want to stay home to accept packages and as a way to cut down on theft of packages left on doorsteps.

It's also, not coincidentally, a way for UPS to save money by reducing the number of stops its drivers have to make each day.

Called "Access Point," the program has pick-up locations at convenience stores, pharmacies, dry cleaners and other spots in major cities. It's currently operating in New York and Chicago and will soon be rolled out to other cities, the company said.

UPS drivers, when unable to deliver a package at the consumer's residence, will leave a note informing them when they can expect to collect their package at a nearby UPS Access Point location. Consumers will go to www.ups.com and use the tracking number on the note to get the address. Consumers will need photo identification to receive their package. 

Advance notice

Consumers can also activate a vacation setting to have packages held and delivered when they return home.

Unique to the UPS My Choice service, consumers only enroll one time and never need to provide additional information to retailers or UPS to begin taking control of their UPS deliveries, the company said.

In January 2015, the company plans to add all 4,400 UPS Store locations throughout the U.S. to the UPS Access Point network.

We're still 3 weeks from Halloween and the National Retail Federation (NRF) is out with its forecast from sales during the Christmas shopping season.

The NRF says despite a turbulent start to 2014, it sees sales in November and December (excluding autos, gas and restaurant sales) jump 4.1% to $616.9 billion – up 1% from the 2013 increase.

Holiday sales on average have grown 2.9% over the past 10 years, including 2014’s estimates, and are expected to represent approximately 19.2 percent of the retail industry’s annual sales of $3.2 trillion. This would mark the first time since 2011 that holiday sales would be up more than 4%.

“Retailers could see a welcome boost in holiday shopping, giving some companies the shot in the arm they need after a volatile first half of the year and an uneventful summer,” said NRF President and CEO Matthew Shay. “While expectations for sales growth are upbeat, it goes without saying there still remains some uneasiness and anxiety among consumers when it comes to their purchase decisions. The lagging economic recovery, though improving, is still top of mind for many Americans.

Improving confidence

While consumer confidence has been unstable much of the year, improvements over the past few months in key economic indicators will give way to increased spending power among holiday shoppers. Retail sales, jobs and housing data all point to healthy gains.

“Though we have only seen consumer income and spending moderately -- and erratically -- accelerate this year, we believe there is still room for optimism this holiday season,” said NRF Chief Economist Jack Kleinhenz. “In the grand scheme of things, consumers are in a much better place than they were this time last year, and the extra spending power could very well translate into solid holiday sales growth for retailers; however, shoppers will still be deliberate with their purchases, while hunting for hard-to-pass-up bargains.”

Seasonal hiring to rise 725,000 – 800,000

With the increase in sales, there's likely to be more hiring during the holiday shopping season.

NRF expects retailers will hire between 725,000 and 800,000 seasonal workers -- potentially more than they actually hired during the 2013 holiday season (768,000). Seasonal employment in 2013 increased 14% over 2012.

“These holiday positions offer hundreds of thousands of people the opportunity to turn their seasonal position into a long-term career opportunity in retail,” said Shay.

Growth in online sales expected

Meanwhile, Shop.org says it expects sales will grow between 8 – 11% percent over last holiday season to as much as $105 billion during November and December.

That projection is based on government data including, consumer credit, disposable personal income, and previous monthly retail sales releases. Holiday non-store sales grew 8.6% last year.

After falling in the previous two weeks, mortgage applications are headed higher.

The Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey shows applications were up 3.8% during for the week ending October 3.

The Refinance Index, meanwhile, rose 5% with the refinance share of mortgage activity unchanged at 56% of total applications from the previous week.

The adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) share of activity increased to 7.8% of total applications.

Contract interest rates

• The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages (FRMs) with conforming loan balances ($417,000 or less) dropped 3 basis points -- from 4.33% to 4.30%, with points decreasing to 0.19 from 0.31 (including the origination fee) for 80% loan-to-value ratio (LTV) loans. The effective rate decreased from last week.
• The average contract interest rate for 30-year FRMs with jumbo loan balances (greater than $417,000) fell to 4.21% from 4.28%, with points increasing to 0.29 from 0.15 (including the origination fee) for 80% LTV loans. The effective rate decreased from last week.
• The average contract interest rate for 30-year FRMs backed by the FHA was down 7 basis points to 4.00%, with points increasing to 0.15 from 0.04 (including the origination fee) for 80% LTV loans. The effective rate decreased from last week.
• The average contract interest rate for 15-year FRMs fell to 3.48% from 3.55%, with points increasing to 0.32 from 0.26 (including the origination fee) for 80% LTV loans. The effective rate decreased from last week.
• The average contract interest rate for 5/1 ARMs plunged 11 basis points to 3.20%, with points decreasing to 0.37 from 0.51 (including the origination fee) for 80% LTV loans. The effective rate decreased from last week.

The survey covers over 75 percent of all U.S. retail residential mortgage applications.

Buddy’s Kitchen of Burnsville, Minn., is recalling approximately 62,488 pounds of meat and poultry products.

The products may be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes.

There are no reports of illnesses associated with consumption of these products.

The meat and poultry breakfast products were produced on various dates from July 16, 2014, through Sept. 25, 2014, and shipped to distributors, retail locations and airlines nationwide.

The following products are subject to recall:

• “Swiss Cheese and Mushroom Omelet with Seasonal Tid-Bit Potatoes & Turkey Buffet Sausage Link” trays with the production codes “07/16/14 9”, “08/08/14 9” and “08/27/14 9”.
• “Savory Scrambled Eggs with Seasoned Red Skin Potatoes and Turkey Buffet Links” with the production codes “09/19/14 9” and “09/22/14 9”.
• “Garden Omelet w/ Parslied Potatoes & Chicken Sausage Links” with the production codes “07/16/14 9”, “07/17/14 9”, “07/18/14 9”, “07/22/14 9”, “07/25/14 9”, “08/22/14 9”, “08/25/14 9”, “09/02/14 9”, “09/09/14 9” and “09/16/14 9”.
• “Fiesta Scramble Bowl with Sausage Links” with the production code “10I14 9”.
• “Breakfast Skillet Burrito with eggs, sausage and cheese” with the production codes “18G14 2”, “06I14 4”, “16G14 4”, “17G14 2”, “07H14 4”, “20H14 2”, “21H14 4”, “22H14 4” and “25H14 4”.

Case labels or packaging may bear the establishment number “EST. 4226” or “P-4226” inside the USDA mark of inspection.

Consumers with questions regarding the recall may contact Tom Webber, director of food safety, at (952) 894-2540 or by email at info@buddyskitchen.com.