Current Events in September 2016

Chrysler (FCA US LLC) is recalling 1,425,627 model year 2011-2014 Chrysler 200s; 2010 Chrysler Sebrings; 2010-2012 Dodge Calibers; and 2010-2014 Jeep Patriots, Compass and Dodge Avenger vehicles.

The Occupant Restraint Control (OCR) module may short circuit, preventing the front and side air bags and seat belt pretensioners from deploying in the event of a crash.

If the air bags and seat belt pretensioners are disabled, there is an increased risk of injury to vehicle occupants in the event of a vehicle crash that necessitates deployment of these safety systems.

What to do

The remedy for this recall is still under development. The manufacturer has not yet provided a notification schedule.

Owners may contact Chrysler customer service at 1-800-853-1403. Chrysler's number for this recall is S61.

About a year ago, one Russian hacker showed how a tool that looks like a small USB drive could disable any electronic device with a USB port. This “USB Killer” worked by sending a high-voltage charge through a USB port, effectively frying the internal components.

Now, a Hong Kong company going by the name of USBKill.com has created a similar device called the USB Killer 2.0, and it is making it commercially available to anyone. The company is also releasing another product called the USB Killer Test Shield, which can be used to test devices to see if they are vulnerable to the first device.

The reason for releasing the product, company officials say, is to shine a light on the shortcomings of hardware manufacturers. They say that although the danger of these devices has been known for some time, little has been done to increase product safety.

“To this day, according to our testing, the only company that releases hardware protected against a USB power-surge attack is Apple, on their Laptop and Desktop ranges. This means – despite adequate warning, and time to respond – the majority of consumer-level hardware manufacturers choose not to protect their customer’s devices. We are disheartened by this lack of respect for customers,” said the company in a blog post.

USB Killer 2.0

The USB Killer 2.0 works in a similar way to the original model. After being plugged in, it quickly gains a charge through the USB power source and then discharges it back through the host device’s data lines. The process can take as little as one second and persists until it is removed from the machine.

The process effectively fries the inner components of any machine with a USB port, rendering it useless. The company is selling the USB Killer 2.0 for $49.95 and the Test Shield for $13.95; however, consumers can get free shipping and a 50% discount if they buy the products together.

“As is standard in the InfoSec industry, we are releasing the USB Killer 2.0 publicly, after one year of disclosure. We hope the attention will force manufacturers to respect a customer’s investment in their product, and work to resolve the issue,” the company said.

Protecting against attack

Current protections against this type of attack are lacking, but tech companies are trying to create new ways to counter the threat. For example, experts are currently working on USB Type-C Authentication, which would stop unauthorized devices like a USB drive from connecting to a host device. However, some experts say that it may not be the best solution.

“Nothing would stop a would-be attacker from duplicating a signature – and I would imagine that it would depend on the implementation. If the host device allows any type of communication via the data lines, this could be vulnerable to a power surge,” said Steve Benson of USBKill.com.

Instead, Benson says that a cheap component that is used on Apple devices, which are already safe from such attacks, provides the best means of protection.

“The ultimate solution, and that which vendors in the enterprise field (and Apple, in the commercial field) – have implemented – is the humble optocoupler: a plentifully available, cheap component – made exactly for this purpose.”

What to do

While these new additions may aid consumers in the future, many will probably be wondering how they can protect themselves now. Luckily, by following a few basic steps, anyone can ensure that their device is kept safe from these types of attacks.

First, consumers should never trust any piece of unknown hardware. Unless you’re certain about what a device does and it comes from a trusted source, you shouldn’t use it with any of your own belongings.

For those worried about others plugging malicious devices into their electronics, using a USB condom or capping the USB ports can ensure that they are protected from outside influences.

Sears Holdings is closing 64 Kmart stores in 28 states and laying off thousands of emloyees, according to a Business Insider report. The closings will start Sept. 22 and be complete by Christmas, the report said.

Sears has not yet confirmed the closings and, in fact, the press section on its website today features a release cheerily entitled, "The Holidays Ae Here and the Shopping Pros Know to Start at Kmart."

“We have been strategically and aggressively evaluating our store space and productivity, and are accelerating the closing of unprofitable stores as we have previously announced,” a Sears spokesman said in identical statements to all of the stores’ respective local news outlets, Consumerist reported.

Sears and Kmart have been endangered species for quite some time. In April, Sears announced that it would close 68 Kmart and 10 Sears stores.

Liquidity rating downgraded

The closings were foreshadowed a few days ago when Seritage Growth Properties, which owns stores leased by Sears and Kmart in many locations, filed an SEC document saying Sears expected to vacate 17 of its properties by the end of the year. 

Moody's last week downgraded Sears liquidity rating from "good" to "adequate," which is just one grade above the lowest, "weak."

"The ... rating reflects our view that Sears will continue to rely on external financing and the monetization of its alternative assets to fund its operating losses," said Moody's vice president Christina Boni. "We recognize the risks associated with relying on these sources and continued shareholder support to finance its negative operating cash flow which is estimated by Moody's to be approximately $1.5 billion this year." 

Stores named

Here’s the complete list of store closings, according to Business Insider:

Consumers may remember with dread how long airport security lines were this past spring. The problem got so bad that lawmakers greenlighted a TSA effort to hire more than 700 employees to get things moving at a reasonable pace.

While the stagnation eventually subsided, TSA officials are concerned that the long lines may return in October. TSA Chief Peter Neffenger stated that the agency may need to make job cuts if Congress isn’t able to come together on a new budget.

The cuts would result from a larger government shutdown that would occur on October 1, the beginning of the 2017 fiscal year. TSA took big steps in the summer to reverse the bad conditions during the spring. The agency hired 1,400 new security officers and converted 2,000 part-time workers to full-time positions.

However, Congress’ failure to create a cohesive budget would put the agency back in the position it was in during the spring. Neffenger was quoted as saying that TSA’s new staff would “all go home on October 1^st,” if Congress fails to act.

Congressional leaders have not been able to work out a new budget deal for the coming fiscal year thus far, but there are some positive signs. President Obama expressed “modest” hopes of a resolved budget before the October 1 deadline, and Neffenger went so far as to say that the TSA was receiving “good signals” and “strong support” from the administration.

Breast cancer screenings are an important preventative health measure. However, up to 50% of the time these tests can produce a false positive.

Now, scientists at the Houston Methodist Research Institute have developed artificial intelligence (A.I.) software that can predict women's breast cancer risk faster and more reliably than other tests.

The software boasts 99% accuracy, meaning the risk of false-positive results (and the unnecessary anxiety that follows) would be significantly lowered.

30 times human speed

The cancer-detecting AI, which scientists have not yet named, works by reviewing patient charts and converting them into diagnostic information.

In addition to its impressive rate of accuracy, the software also produces quick results. Manual physician evaluations can take up to 60 hours. The AI, on the other hand, runs at 30 times human speed.

Beyond shortening the time it takes to effectively predict cancer risk, the AI could help reduce the number of unnecessary biopsies, said lead researcher Dr. Stephen T. Wong of the Department of Systems Medicine and Bioengineering, per Breast Cancer News.

"This software intelligently reviews millions of records in a short amount of time, enabling us to determine breast cancer risk more efficiently using a patient's mammogram," Wong said in release.

The AI software successfully and efficiently evaluated the more than 500 in just a few hours, which saved doctors over 500 hours. It also helped researchers rate patients’ probability of being at risk for breast cancer.

"Accurate review of this many charts would be practically impossible without AI," said Wong.

A trip to the dentist is seldom fun, especially when it involves an injection to numb the pain of a procedure. But researchers at the University of Pennsylvania say a new spray-on anesthetic called Kovanaze may provide relief by substituting a simple nasal spray for the injection.

"There is really nothing else like this,” says Dr. Elliot Hersh, the study’s lead author at Penn Dental Medicine. “This is obviously a great thing for needle-phobic individuals, and it can reduce inadvertent needle-stick injuries in the clinic as well.”

Hersh and his team conducted a double-blind, randomized trial that combined local anesthetic tetracaine and the nasal decongestant oxymetazoline, used in products such as Afrin. They found the combination was effective at preventing pain during a single restorative procedure in an upper bicuspid, canine, or incisor in 88 percent of patients -- comparable to the success of commonly used injectable numbing agents.

The trial recruited 150 adults set to undergo a single dental filling in an upper bicuspid, canine, or incisor. One hundred patients were assigned Kovanaze and 50 were assigned a placebo spray.

The most common side effects were runny nose and nasal congestion; no serious side effects were reported.

FDA approval

Kovanaze was developed by St. Renatus, a small Colorado company, and received FDA approval June 29. 

"For more than 100 years, the dental industry has delivered dental anesthesia using a needle injection. Now, through the efforts of a dedicated team, we have developed a revolutionary needle-free method for delivering pulpal anesthesia," said Steve Merrick, CEO of St. Renatus.

To follow up on the study, Hersh says the company will likely pursue investigations to see if more invasive dental procedures can be performed using this anesthetic. It’s likely that further studies will also evaluate whether it can be safely administered to children. Current FDA approval is for a single maxillary restorative procedure in individuals weighing at least 88 pounds.

Over the weekend, there were lines at gas stations in Tennessee as many stations ran out of fuel. Meanwhile, gasoline prices soared in wide areas of the Southeast.

This flashback to the late 1970s comes courtesy of a leak in Line 1 of the Colonial Pipeline, which carries fuel between Houston and High Point, N.C. and supplies Georgia, Tennessee, South Carolina, North Carolina and Virginia.

It will be several more days before supplies return to normal, but in a Tweet over the weekend, Colonial reported that its crews had started construction of a bypass line to carry fuel around the leaking section, in an effort to restore service as soon as possible.

The supply interruption has had a dramatic impact on prices at the pump in the affected states, some more than others. While stations in the Nashville area completely ran out, prices at stations in Georgia surged over the weekend.

Georgia prices soar

According to the AAA Fuel Gauge Survey, the statewide average gasoline price in Georgia jumped from $2.19 a gallon on Saturday to $2.31 today. A week ago, Georgia motorists were paying an average of $2.10 a gallon.

In Atlanta, the price inflation is much worse. The average price in Atlanta is $2.46 a gallon, up from $2.17 a week ago.

Motorists in North Carolina have also seen a dramatic price movement. The statewide average gas price is $2.16 a gallon, up from $2.05 a week ago. Prices in the Charlotte area are up 16 cents a gallon in the last seven days.

Less severe in Virginia

Patrick DeHaan, senior analysts at GasBuddy, says the impact in Virginia will likely be less severe, but thinks the average price could go up as much as 15 cents a gallon if the supply interruption drags on.

“It won’t likely be an all-at-once spike, but rather a penny here and there, or maybe more,” DeHaan said in an email to ConsumerAffairs. “The extent should be a bit more limited than other areas, but much of the degree of severity of depends on events unfolding now.”

The pipeline leak underscores the fragility of the nation's fuel distribution system, and how issues at refineries or pipelines can affect the price at the pump, at least on a temporary basis.

States not dependent on the Colonial pipeline are currently enjoying falling fuel prices, but that could easily change in the next few days, since the gasoline futures market is currently soaring, raising the wholesale price of gasoline everywhere.

Builder confidence in the market for newly built, single-family homes was higher in September for a second consecutive month.

The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB)/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI) posted a reading of 65 -- a jump of six points from August and the highest level since last October.

“With the inventory of new and existing homes remaining tight, builders are confident that if they can build more homes they can sell them,” said NAHB Chief Economist Robert Dietz. “Though solid job creation and low interest rates are also fueling demand, builders continue to be hampered by supply-side constraints that include shortages of labor and lots.”

Taking the pulse

The NAHB/Wells Fargo HMI, derived from a monthly survey that's been conducted for 30 years, gauges builder perceptions of current single-family home sales and sales expectations for the next six months as “good,” “fair,” or “poor.”

The survey also asks builders to rate traffic of prospective buyers as “high to very high,” “average,” or “low to very low.” Scores for each component are then used to calculate a seasonally adjusted index where any number over 50 indicates that more builders view conditions as good than poor.

All three components moved higher in September. Sales expectations rose six points to 71, sales expectations in the next six months increased five points to 71, and the measure of traffic of prospective buyers posted a four-point gain to 48.

The three-month moving averages for HMI scores posted gains in three out of the four regions. The Northeast and South each registered a one-point gain to 42 and 64, respectively, while the West rose four points to 73. The Midwest was unchanged at 55.

“As household incomes rise, builders in many markets across the nation are reporting they are seeing more serious buyers, a positive sign that the housing market continues to move forward,” said NAHB Chairman Ed Brady. “The single-family market continues to make gradual gains and we expect this upward momentum will build throughout the remainder of the year and into 2017."

Graco Children's Products is recalling 8,240 Milestone child seats, model numbers 1910130, 1923980, 1926538, and 1926539, for failing to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard number 213, "Child Restraint Systems."

The affected child seat have labels that are missing the required phrase "Secure this child restraint with the vehicle's child restraint anchorage system (LATCH) if available or with a vehicle belt."

An improperly secured child seat may increase the risk of injury in the event of a crash.

What to do

Graco will notify owners and provide them with new labels that contain all of the required information, free of charge. The recall is expected to begin during September 2016.

Owners may contact Graco customer service at 1-800-345-4109.

It’s not fun to live out of a suitcase, but it's a necessity on some trips. If you’re not well organized, mornings are especially hectic, and finding and repacking your belongings can be a nightmare.

When planning for a trip where you’ll be on the move, choose clothing that doesn’t wrinkle, does double-duty (day and night), and is wearable multiple times. No one will remember what you’ve worn. On the other hand, pack enough essentials for every day, such as undergarments and socks. If your hotel stays are just one night, you won’t have drying time for hand laundry.

While I use a myriad of packing organizers in many sizes, I don’t find them useful for this type of trip. I stick to simple, everyday storage items when I’m unable to unpack my suitcase.

What I prefer is a lightweight suitcase with lots of pockets, hanging toiletry bag, jumbo zippered plastic bags, gallon plastic bags, quart and sandwich bags, shoe bags in different colors, and zippered pouches.

Packing strategies

• Pack one complete outfit in a large bag for your first day that you’ll store on the top along with whatever you plan to sleep in your first night.

• Group like items: short-sleeved tops, long-sleeved tops, pants, sweaters, outerwear such as gloves and scarves, accessories, undergarments, socks, etc.

• Fold items carefully and pack like items together in plastic bags, never overstuffing. If need be, use multiple bags.

• If you are bringing specific outfits for evening or another occasion, pack all of your items together in one plastic bag, such as: dress, belt, slip/hosiery/undergarments, wrap, dress bag or slacks, shirt, tie, belt, and socks.

• Use the zippered pouches to group like items, such as: hair styling products, shaving products, sewing kit, emergency kit, makeup, and makeup brushes. These pouches are useful for jewelry and medications; just place them in your carry-on bag.

• Organize all your toiletries in the hanging bag’s zippered compartments by type -- for example: dental, face, eyes, etc. -- and store this in an outside pocket.

• If possible, choose a different color shoe bag for each pair of shoes so they’re easy to locate.

• Pack a few empty plastic bags; you’ll find them useful throughout your trip.

Organizing your suitcase

1. Pack your heaviest items on the bottom, usually shoes.

2. Begin layering your bags, folding them to fit.

3. Continue to add your bags and pouches, placing lightweight shoes, travel umbrella, and thin pouches on the sides.

4. If you have bags with items that can crease, put those aside to either layer on the top or place in the zippered compartment on the upper inside.

5. Be wary of leaving anything loose. If you stick undergarments, socks, belts, etc. in small crevices, you’ll be hunting for them at every stop.

6. Pull your outfits together the night before and store the days worn clothing. Designate a plastic bag for dirty laundry.

7. It’s easy to forget an item if you are packing up each day, so do a double check before exiting your room.

This type of packing takes extra time, but you will be grateful you did it the entire trip.

If your dog spent the summer trekking through the woods, swimming in the river, or simply enjoying a bit more time outside than usual, his coat and skin may be feeling the effects.

Bringing your dog along on an outdoor adventure can be a great bonding experience — one which provides your four-legged companion with exercise and mental stimulation in spades. However, mother nature can often wreak havoc on a dog’s paws, skin, and fur coat.

For this reason, pet parents should cap off a fun-filled summer with a little grooming. Seizing the opportunity to address coat and skin issues now can keep matters from getting worse once cold weather sets in.

What to do before fall

Grooming is always beneficial to your pet’s health, but the end of summer is an especially important time to give your dog’s coat and skin some extra attention, says Traci Simo of at-home pet care provider Canine Company.

What can pet owners do to undo summertime damage? Simo recommends the following:

• Give your dog a deep brushing. All that romping around outside can lead to a matted coat, which can cause skin problems, irritation, and discomfort. Owners should carefully work out mats and tangles. If the matting is too severe, take your pup to a professional groomer who has the right tools and training to keep your dog comfortable during brushing.
• Perform a parasite check. Check your dog’s skin for signs of fleas, ticks, and other parasites that may have hitched a ride on your unassuming pooch. Keep up with your parasite prevention treatments through fall.
• Shampoo thoroughly. Bath time can help remove dust, dirt, mold spores, and parasites. After shampooing, pet owners can apply a conditioner to infuse moisture back into sun-damaged skin. When it’s time to dry off your dog, always use a towel instead of a hair dryer. (Home hair dryers may burn dogs’ skin.)
• Do an ear check. Swimming can cause ear problems. If your dog’s ears have an odor or if you notice redness or see your dog scratching them, have your pet’s ears cleaned by a professional veterinarian or groomer.
• Do a foot check. Your head-to-toe inspection should also include a look at your dog’s feet. Spread the pads and peek between the toes. If you see any signs of redness or irritation, your dog may have contact dermatitis or an allergy to lawn chemicals, hot asphalt, or grass seed. Have paws cleaned and treated, if this is the case. Lastly, trim your dog’s nails and any excess hair between the pads.

This week marked the eighth anniversary of the Lehman Brothers' bankruptcy, an event that triggered the financial crisis of 2008 and very nearly brought down the world financial system.

Since then, not a single banking executive or hedge fund manager has been prosecuted and critics charge that despite reforms, financial institutions are still engaging in risky behavior.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), a frequent critic of Wall Street, is calling on the U.S. Justice Department to release details of the investigation it conducted in the aftermath of the crisis. Specifically, she wants to know why not a single person has been held accountable.

New revelations

The question is especially relevant, she argues, since it was recently disclosed that the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission (FCIC) referred nine people and 14 companies to the Department of Justice (DOJ) in 2010, citing serious indications of violations of federal securities or other laws.

"The outcome of the referrals by the FCIC to the DOJ represents an abysmal failure,” Warren wrote in letter to the Office of Inspector General. “It means that key companies and individuals that were responsible for the financial crisis and were the cause of substantial hardship for millions of Americans faced no criminal charges. This failure is outrageous and baffling, and it requires an explanation."

The Lehman Bankruptcy stunned the financial world. The venerable institution collapsed because of its huge holdings in mortgage-backed securities, many of them subprime mortgages. When hundreds of thousands of those mortgages began to go into foreclosure in 2007, the securities became almost worthless.

Wants FBI documents released

Warren is also asking FBI Director James Comey to release the FBI's materials relating to the financial crisis investigation, especially any material on the nine individuals named in the FCIC documents. Since Comey released material relating to Hillary Clinton's email server investigation, Warren said it is only right that the public also get a look at what the FBI learned about the financial crisis.

"These new standards present a compelling case for public transparency around the fate of the FCIC referrals. I can think of no matter of ‘intense public interest' about which ‘the American people deserve the details' than the issue of what precisely happened to the criminal referrals that followed the 2008 crash." Warren wrote.

After the Lehman bankruptcy on September 12, 2008, other financial institutions also teetered on the brink. Congress approved $750 billion in additional government spending but the economy, already in a recession, plunged into the Great Recession, in which the unemployment rate surged past 10% in a matter of weeks.

Remember long distance? Back in the day, you had to pay extra to call out of town. Today, of course, nearly every landline phone has unlimited long-distance calling in the U.S., as do nearly all cell phones.

But there are still some consumers out there who buy a separate long-distance service, even when they don't want to. Using deceptive sales practices is against the Federal Communications Commission's rules and it has come down heavily on violators in recent years.

In the most recent action, the FCC levied $11 million in fines against three related long-distance carriers for “cramming” unauthorized charges onto consumer telephone bills, “slamming” consumers by switching their preferred phone carriers without authorization, deceptive marketing, and violating the FCC’s truth-in-billing rules.

The companies -- Central Telecom Long Distance, Consumer Telcom, and U.S. Telecom Long Distance -- are run as one operation by Data Integration Systems, Inc.

Not rocket science

“This isn’t rocket science: no consumer should be charged for phone services that they canceled or never requested in the first place,” said FCC Enforcement Bureau Chief Travis LeBlanc.  “Today’s fines make clear that we will aggressively prosecute those who ‘slam,’ ‘cram,’ or otherwise abuse consumers by unlawfully charging them for services they didn’t want or request.”

LeBlalnc said the Enforcement Bureau reviewed over 260 consumer complaints about the three California-based companies. In many cases, consumers said they had never heard of the companies. Others said they had not intended to sign up for the services.

Operating as a single enterprise, the companies’ telemarketers falsely claimed that they were calling on behalf of consumers’ real telephone carriers about a change in existing service. The companies then misused consumers’ answers to switch their long distance carriers to one of the companies, the FCC charged.

When customers realized what had occurred and returned to their preferred carriers, the three companies continued to charge them a recurring monthly fee. The companies also failed to clearly and plainly describe the charges included in their customer bills, as required by the FCC’s rules, the agency said.

Consumers are learning that it pays to be choosy about which credit card they use. Many now offer some type of reward or incentive, so instead of using a card that pays nothing, it's clear consumers should choose a card that offers some type of reward.

But what kind of reward? While there are many choices, a survey by Ally Bank shows most consumers prefer cold, hard cash.

Fifty-eight percent of the consumers in the survey chose cash back instead of miles, store promotions, and low introductory rates.

Ally Bank, of course, recently introduced a cash back card which has gotten some pretty good reviews. However, there are other cash back cards that offer attractive benefits as well.

First, let's take a look at the Ally CashBack Credit Card. The card, introduced in June, will provide a 2% cash back reward when the card is used for eligible gasoline and grocery purchases. It provides 1% cash back on all other purchases.

Having a bank account can add to rewards

The Ally credit card also pays an additional 10% bonus if earned cash back rewards are deposited into an Ally Bank non-IRA savings, interest checking, or money market account. That makes it similar to another attractive cash back card, the BankAmericard Cash Rewards Card.

The BankAmericard product pays 3% on gasoline purchases, 2% on groceries, and 1% on everything else, on spending of $2,500 per quarter. It too provides a 10% bonus when you redeem rewards into a Bank of America account.

While the BankAmericard caps rewards and the Ally card doesn't, the BankAmericard has the added benefit of a one-time cash bonus of $100 when you spend $500 in the first 90 days of account activation.

Meanwhile, the Chase Freedom Card is among the most generous of cash back credit cards. It pays 5% on up to $1,500 of purchases per quarter, with the categories eligible for the rewards changing on a quarterly basis. Still, if you managed to max out the purchases each quarter, you could earn $75 cash back.

Don't want to keep up with rotating categories? There are plenty of cash back cards that pay 1% to 1.5% on everything, with no caps.

When choosing a cash back rewards card, the important thing is to choose one with no annual fee. Otherwise, the rewards won't be quite so rewarding.

A pipeline leak in Alabama may bring back a bad memory from the late 1970s for consumers on the East Coast – surging gasoline prices and stations that run out of fuel.

The good news – the price spike shouldn't last that long. On the other hand, when speculators get involved, as they did after 2005's Hurricane Katrina, the long term effect on prices can be hard to predict.

Already the gasoline futures market has responded with a rise in prices. In a Tweet, GasBuddy senior analyst Patrick DeHaan predicted prices at the pump could rise between five and 15 cents a gallon in Georgia, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia, and as much as 20 cents a gallon in South Carolina. He says some station tanks may run dry.

Week-long shutdown

A week ago the Colonial Pipe, which is the main transporter of gasoline and diesel fuel from Houston to the East Coast, suffered a leak in rural Alabama and had to be shut down.

Now, engineers say it may be another week before the leak is repaired and the fuel can start flowing again. That could result in a significant draw-down in supplies in areas served by the pipeline, resulting in price hikes and possible shortages.

At the same time, Reuters reports BP will conduct major maintenance this weekend at its Whiting, Indiana refinery, reducing its output by as much as half. So, as oil prices have been fairly soft this week, the outlook is for gasoline prices to move in the other direction, at precisely the time they normally start to fall.

Low-priced states hit first

For consumers in the most-affected states, the saving grace is the fact they are starting out with some of the lowest gasoline prices in the country. South Carolina, expected to be the hardest-hit state, currently has the lowest prices in the nation, with a statewide average of $1.94 a gallon. The price is $2.02 in North Carolina and $1.98 in Virginia.

Meanwhile, Georgia Governor Nathan Deal has declared a state of emergency, allowing the suspension of federal rules and regulations that limit the hours of operation that commercial vehicles may be in use.

The government's Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose slightly in August as steady food and energy costs mitigated increases in rising shelter and health care prices.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reports the CPI was up a scant 0.2% last month, with prices over the last 12 months gaining 1.1%

Food costs hold steady

As it was a month earlier, the cost of food was unchanged in August, with food at home -- grocery store prices -- falling 0.2%. Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs were down 0.4%, the 12th decline in a row. The “other food at home” category fell 0.2%, and prices for nonalcoholic beverages dipped 0.1%. The remaining major grocery store prices were all unchanged in August.

During the past 12 months, food prices overall were unchanged -- the first time that's happened since the 12 months ending February 2010. Grocery store prices were down 1.9% over the past 12 months.

Energy costs unchanged

The price of energy held steady after declining in July, with gasoline and fuel oil down 0.9% and 2.5%, respectively. Natural gas, on the other hand, was up 2.1% after surging 3.1% in July. Electricity rose 0.5%, the same increase as in July.

Energy prices have declined 9.2%, with gasoline down a whopping 17.8% and fuel oil dropping 12.8%.

Core inflation

The costs of living excluding the volatile food and energy categories -- what's known as the “core” rate of inflation -- was up 0.3% in August, led by medical care (+1.0%) and shelter (+0.3%). Other increases came in prices for motor vehicle insurance (+0.5%), apparel (+0.2%), and tobacco (+0.7%).

Declining prices were seen for used cars and trucks (-0.6%), as well as household furnishings and operations, recreation, and airline fares (all -0.1%).

The core rate of inflation over the past 12 months was up 2.3%, led by motor vehicle insurance (+6.5%), medical care (4.9%), and shelter (+3.4%).

The full report may be found on the BLS website.