Current Events in February 2017

Numerous law enforcement agencies descended on the Standing Rock Sioux reservation Thursday to evict the self-styled water protectors who had camped out for months in opposition to the Dakota Access Pipeline.

The target of the federal and local agencies is the Oceti Sakowin camp, which is directly next to the reservation but on land that authorities claim belongs to the Army Corps of Engineers. While many protesters have agreed to cross the frozen Cannonball River to the reservation side, others have pledged to passively resist the federal orders and remain at Oceti Sakowin until the end.

The Army Corps of Engineers, which late last year promised to open a new environmental review of the Dakota Access Pipeline and began that review process this month, has since abandoned those plans, and on February 7 granted Energy Transfer Partners its necessary easement to drill under Lake Oahe. At the same time, the Corps also issued a February 22 deadline for people to leave the Oceti Sakowin camp, citing spring flooding. 

Arrests began Wednesday as promised, but police left before the Oceti Sakowin camp was cleared, reports on the ground indicate. Late Thursday afternoon, heavily armed police entered Oceti Sakowin again and finished their raid. Footage posted by protesters and independent media shows law enforcement pointing guns at a tipi and at a person kneeling in prayer. Witnesses say that veterans, reporters, and water protectors are all being swept up in arrests.

“The people are unarmed, singing and praying in front of police with guns drawn,” writes Ruth Hopkins, who has been covering the #NODAPL environmental and spiritual movement for Indian Country Today. 

Citizen journalist says officers broke his hip

On Wednesday afternoon, one person filming from the front lines of the police raid, from a public Facebook account called Eric Poemz, captured himself getting tackled by law enforcement officers.

Before his arrest, Eric Poemz was filming officers as they blocked the road. Facing the line of officers, Poemz tells them he is unarmed and repeatedly tries convincing them to join his cause. He notes that they do not have identification badges on. "By law, you're supposed to have a badge on, and none of you do."

Later, one officer in particular captures his attention. "You're an honorable man,” Eric Poemz tells the officer. “I know you have a job to do and a family to provide for. But why do it protecting oil? That’s all we're trying to do, sir, is protect the water. I know you're looking at me and you just shook your head, ‘Yes,’ because I know you have a heart you have a soul.”

"Why don’t you be honorable and set down your badge now, in front of 6,100 people,” Poemz adds, referencing the number of people watching his live stream. 

But whatever perceived connection he finds with the officer vanishes as people are suddenly seen running, and the phone appears to land roughly on the ground. Suddenly, the video’s narrator is screaming in pain and telling the officers on top of him that he has a broken hip. 

The officers agree to call an ambulance for him but reprimand Poemz for being there. “You had a deadline and you violated it,” one cop says, referencing the federal eviction deadline. 

"Nice and comfy"

Another cop then sounds as if he is taking a photograph of Poemz, and asks a fellow officer to pose with him. A voice is heard saying: "I’m going to get a picture of you two, you want to lay down nice and comfy next to him or should we get him up? He says he has a broken hip."  

The officers later promise to get him help but not without lecturing him, revealing yet again a deep ideological divide between the protesters and law enforcement. "Listen, if you quit playing games, we're not here to hurt you, just cut your stupid shit,” an officer says. 

"My hip is probably broken, sir, I’m not playing,” Poemz responds. 

"If that’s the case you’ll get medical attention, you’ll be treated with respect, so why don’t you start treating us with some respect? You've been disrespecting this whole area, you've been disrespecting your state and us for six months. Knock it off."

On the telephone, Morton County Sheriff’s spokesman Rob Keller tells ConsumerAffairs he does not know why an officer would pose for a picture next to an injured person being arrested, but he would not comment on the specifics of the video because he says he had not yet viewed it.

In an email, Morton County spokesman Maxine Kerr offers this explanation: “It is very difficult to tell who is being told to lie down and be comfy. It is typical for LE (law enforcement) to try to make injured arrestees comfortable until the ambulance arrives. Sometimes LE does have a picture taken with an arrestee if it is a mass arrest to help document arresting officers. However, photos like this were not done yesterday because there were not that many arrests and LE clearly knew who was doing the arrests.” 

It's not clear whether the officers came from Morton County or a different local agency, as officers from other municipalities and neighboring states were also participating in the raid. 

Limited coverage of casino arrests and raid

Mainstream news presence at the raid itself appeared to be minimal, as any person who remains at the Oceti Sakowin camp risks arrest. A small, nonprofit news site called Unicorn Riot was live-streaming the raid. Mainstream news networks, however, have for the most part remained in a separate staging area that is approved by law enforcement, reporters on the ground say.

“They had little tents set up in their microwave trucks [trucks that broadcast television news],” says Dennis Ward, a reporter with Canada’s Aboriginal News Network, describing the media staging area. “By the time people actually did anything yesterday all of those microwave trucks were gone.”

Ward says his own network also had media credentials which would have allowed him and his coworkers to report from the protected staging area. But they instead opted to report from the camp itself, sleeping in their news truck over the course of eight days.  

The Standing Rock Sioux’s Prairie Knights Casino, where people for months have huddled in the lobby to take a break from the cold, has become another unlikely battle ground between protesters, media, and police. On Wednesday night, after eight days of reporting from the Oceti Sakowin camp, Ward says he and his crew booked a hotel room at the casino. As they enjoyed a warm dinner, Ward says, a group of law enforcement suddenly approached a table of people eating next to them and escorted them all outside to make arrests.

“It looked like the BIA [Bureau of Indian Affairs],” making the arrests, Ward says, though, with so many agencies swarming, “it’s getting hard to tell who’s who down here.” Why the diners next to him were getting arrested remained unclear, Ward says. The Bureau of Indian Affairs, which had announced earlier this month that it was sending agents to evict protesters from the encampments, has not yet returned a message from ConsumerAffairs.

In another confrontation in the casino lobby Wednesday, captured and posted on Facebook, a group of officers surrounded two men and accused them of passing something to each other. "We got a call from security and surveillance saying we've seen you guys passing something around,” an officer says. The officers order one of the men, who claims to be a veteran, to turn around so they can arrest him. The vet raises his arms but hasn’t yet turned his back when the officers suddenly shoot him with a Taser gun.

Federal authorities and local police promised to return to the Oceti Sakowin camp Thursday morning to finish their so-called clean-up. By the afternoon, water protectors watching the camp from across the Cannonball River, safely on the reservation side, reported that authorities had entered Oceti Sakowin and were making more arrests of the protesters who remained in passive resistance.

“They have entered camp.. Sound cannon, weapons, helicopters, snipers, heavily armed (LIVE ROUNDS),” says one post.  “Many arrest are happening. I stayed as long as I could & hold it down for the people.” The Seattle Times reported on Thurday that a total of 39 hold-outs had been arrested. 

The American Southwest as we know it today would not exist without the Colorado River. Spanning 1,450 miles through the region, the river irrigates farms, creates hydro-power, provides drinking water to millions and is a source of fun and beauty in federally-recognized recreation areas and parks along the route.

“We couldn’t inhabit the Southwest, with its large areas of desert, without a big river running through the middle of it,” according to to the author of a two-year-old report which found that the river is responsible for $1.4 trillion worth of economic activity.

All of which is to say, government agencies need to act fast if they want to preserve the economy of the Southwest. New research from the University of Arizona and Colorado State University shows that warming temperatures are causing the Colorado River to shrink.

A 21st-Century Decline

In the 21st century, from 2000 through 2014, the river’s flow reached only 81 percent of its 20th century average, the researchers found. They attributed that change in flow to warming temperatures, saying this is the first study of its kind to trace a direct link between global warming and the decreased Colorado River flow.

"The future of Colorado River is far less rosy than other recent assessments have portrayed,” co-author Bradly Udall told ScienceDaily. “A clear message to water managers is that they need to plan for significantly lower river flows." 

Not that previous assessments of the Colorado River have actually been rosy. A longtime drought has diminished water in the region since 2000. Government officials and researchers have warned that the agriculture industry will need to dramatically cut back on its water usage in the years to come as a result. And the Bureau of Reclamation this month forecast that there is a 34 percent chance the river will not be able to fulfill the needs of all the states depending on it in 2018.

But the drought has only accounted for two-thirds of the river’s decline, according to the latest research from the Colorado and Arizona researchers. The remaining third of the loss, they say, is literally caused by climate change.

Warmer temperatures have been causing the moisture in the river basin’s waterways to evaporate, according to their research. The findings mean that even an end to the drought may not restore the river to previous levels. “We can’t say with any certainty that precipitation is going to increase and come to our rescue,” Udall explained in another interview.

Conservationists sue to prevent drilling

Yet even as farmers, the real estate industry, and consumers anticipate cutbacks, conservationists worry that other industries may want to build new infrastructure along the Colorado River Basin and get their share. The Bureau of Land Management’s resource management plans currently allow for oil and gas drilling in the Colorado Basin area.

Last fall, the Center for Biological Diversity threatened to sue the BLM if the agency would not promise to block all new oil and gas development in the upper basin of the river. Part of the concern, Center for Biological Diversity attorney Wendy Park tells ConsumerAffairs, is that fracking or drilling in the basin would require companies “to use tremendous amounts of water,” water she worries would likely come from the Colorado River.

But there have been some hopeful developments. Since being threatened with the suit, the BLM has agreed to do a new evaluation into the effects of industry in the region, called a programmatic biological opinion, which Park anticipates will be ready in the spring. 

Travel back in time and explore our country’s history by visiting the James River Plantations along scenic Route 5 in Charles City County, Virginia. It is here that Benjamin Harrison, signer of the Declaration of Independence, and Presidents William Henry Harrison and John Tyler were born and lived.

Established in 1619, Charles City County boasts plantations and farms that survived the Revolutionary War, the War of 1812, and the War Between the States (as the Civil War is still known in much of the South). Meticulously restored properties dot the highway and nearby you’ll find the Jamestown Settlement, America's first permanent English colony, and Colonial Williamsburg, Virginia's 18th-century colonial capital and the world's largest living history museum. While there is much to do, don’t miss these presidential highlights:

Berkeley Plantation

The Georgian mansion, built in 1726, is the oldest three-story brick house in Virginia and the first with a pediment roof. It’s also the birthplace of Benjamin Harrison V, signer of the Declaration of Independence and three-time governor of Virginia. It’s also the birthplace of William Henry Harrison, ninth president of the United States, and ancestral home of his grandson, Benjamin Harrison, the twenty-third president.  

Fun Facts:

The estate was occupied during the Civil War by General George McClellan’s Union troops.

“Taps,” the ceremonial bugle call for fallen soldiers, now a standard component to military funerals, was composed here in 1862 by General Daniel Butterfield.

Special tours are offered seasonally, such as: James River Plantations Historic Garden Week; Hauntings Tales & Tours featuring the spirits and mysteries of the three historic Edgewood, Berkeley, and Shirley plantations; Twilight Ghost Tour; a Candlelight Christmas; and a Presidents’ Day Weekend celebration highlighting one of the most popular presidential campaigns of American history, which coined the memorable campaign slogan “Tippecanoe and Tyler Too”.  

The mansion and its 10 acres of formal gardens are open daily with seasonal hours, except on Thanksgiving & Christmas.

The admission fee includes a film, museum tour, house tour guided by docents in period costumes, and self-guided tours of the grounds and garden.

Sherwood Forest

Sherwood Forest Plantation became the home of our 10th U.S. President John Tyler in 1842. He lived there until his death in 1862 and the plantation has been a continuous residence of the Tyler family ever since.

A native Virginian, Tyler served twice as Governor of Virginia, a U.S. Senator, a member of the U.S. House of Representatives, a Virginia state senator, and member of the Virginia House of Delegates. He assumed the presidency following the death of President William Henry Harrison, who died just one month into his presidency. William Henry Harrison was born right down the road at Berkeley Plantation. Tyler was the first vice president to assume the presidency due to his predecessor’s death.

Fun Facts:

Tyler purchased the home and its surrounding 1,600 acres from his cousin, Collier Minge. Rumor has it that he renamed the plantation Sherwood Forest, alluding to his notoriety as a political outlaw.

The house, built circa 1720, is over 300 feet long and known as the longest frame house in America. The house survived the Civil War but was damaged by Union soldiers; marks on woodwork and doors are still visible.

The grounds include twenty-five acres of terraced gardens, lawns, and tranquil woodlands. The formal garden was used by Civil War troops.

Sherwood Forest Plantation's grounds are open 9:00 am-5:00 pm daily. There is a fee for a self-guided grounds tour that encompasses the exterior of the house and 21 numbered stations representative of a 19th century plantation; descriptions and history are detailed in a pamphlet.

House tours are available by appointment only.

There’s more to see in Charles City County, Virginia. Check it out here.

Electronics retailer hhgregg has long been short of capital letters and is becoming increasingly short of the kind of capital you can take to the bank, having lost money for the last three years.

The company says it is hoping to avoid a bankruptcy filing, but wise consumers will dig out any hhgregg gift cards they may have stuffed in the sock drawer and rush to redeem them, just in case.

Gift cards don't carry much weight in a bankruptcy filing. They sometimes lose all of their value and, even if they don't, consumers may find their money is tied up for months or years while other creditors pick the bones clean.

There's no official word from the company just yet. In a statement, CEO Robert Riesbeck said he was trying to keep the doors open.

“We’re focused on continuing to execute our business strategy, as planned, and returning this company to profitability,” he said in a prepared statement.

A familiar problem

The malaise affecting hhgregg is the one that retailers are all too familiar with -- too much competition from online retailers and discounters. In hhgregg's case, it's made worse by the likes of Lowe's and The Home Depot bringing their considerable muscle to appliance sales.

Even J.C. Penney recently got back into appliance sales, although today's announcement that Penney would be closing up to 140 stores may not do much to bolster its image as a giant of appliance retailing.

Earlier this month, hhgregg said that it was exploring "strategic initiatives ... to improve liquidity and return to profitability."

"We are committed to improving our results through our business strategy, including investments made to shift our focus to appliances and furniture, and additional expected cost reductions," Riesbeck said. "As the company undertakes this exploration process, we are focused on the execution of our business strategy and remain fully committed to serving our customers' needs."

The owner of a for-profit college chain has been ordered to pay $22 million and will face prison time after defrauding the federal government and submitting false information to acquire federal aid. Now defunct FastTrain College, which operated seven campuses across the state of Florida, was charged with processing numerous unqualified students in order to collect money from the government.

The complaint states that FastTrain, and its owner Alejandro Amor “encouraged(ed) students to lie on their individual loan applications in order to appear to be more attractive loan candidates. . . FastTrain then intentionally submits numerous false individual claims to the government via student loan applications.”

Federal prosecutors explain that FastTrain aggressively lied on federal forms and pushed through many false applications, sometimes by assuming the identities of students who were illiterate or unable to fill out the forms themselves.

“FastTrain also completes loan paperwork on behalf of illiterate students, and unlawfully assumes these students’ identities when signing on their behalf. FastTrain submits these false applications to game the system, with which it is very familiar, to have students appear to be eligible, or more attractive loan candidates to obtain Pell grants and other assistance. Through these practices, FastTrain is committing a fraud on the government,” the suit reads.

“Abhorrent and far-reaching” scheme

U.S. District Judge Marcia Cooke submitted a final judgment on February 15 that specified the payment of 12 million in damages and $10 million in penalties. The owner also faced additional criminal charges of conspiracy to steal government funds and 12 counts of theft of government. In November, 2015, he was sentenced to 97 months in prison.

Cooke stated that students caught up in the scam were “especially vulnerable,” and were often just looking for a way to obtain a decent-paying job without having educational credentials.

“Realizing there are few jobs one can obtain without a high-school diploma or equivalent degree, they turned to FastTrain, hoping to learn marketable skills to improve their chances of making a decent living. FastTrain aggressively recruited these students, and then used fraud to make the government think they were eligible for federal aid and loans,” she said.

As a result of Amor’s scheme, Cooke concludes that many students ended up carrying debt that will be “enormously difficult” to pay off. “The effects of Amor’s fraudulent acts are thus abhorrent and far-reaching,” she concluded.

It's the last mile that's the most difficult. That's true whether you're running a marathon or trying to figure out how to build a profitable broadband network. The most popular solution at the moment is a wireless link to make the last curb-to-home hop.

Google, which has largely backed off its ambitious Google Fiber project, is the latest to adopt the wireless last-mile strategy, rolling out something called Webpass to connect a Denver apartment complex to the internet with gigabit speeds.

Verizon, AT&T, Comcast, and others are doing the same, some more rapidly than others.

The problem with running fiber-optic cable to every single home and office in America is that it is simply too expensive, and not even possible in some remote areas. So companies like Webpass, which Google bought recently, build a network hub in or near a neighborhood or housing complex and use a wireless signal to serve nearby customers. Construction cost is minimal compared to fiber and operating costs are comparable.

Webpass and others are operating in the 3.5 Ghz spectrum recently opened up by the Federal Communications Commission. It had previously been used by naval radar systems which have moved to other frequencies. 

J.C. Penney reported its first annual profit since 2010 today but in the next breath announced that it will close about 130 stores and two distribution centers as it tries to contend with falling store traffic.

Like other shrinking retailers, including Macy's and Sears, J.C. Penney said it will continue to build its online presence as strolling shoppers become an endangered species. In a press release, the company referred to the closings as "optimizing" its retail operations.

"We believe the relevance of our brick and mortar portfolio will be driven by the implementation of these initiatives consistently to a larger percent of our stores. Therefore, our decision to close stores will allow us to raise the overall brand standard of the Company and allocate capital more efficiently," said Marvin R. Ellison, chairman and CEO, in a news release.

It's not just Amazon and other online merchants who are strangling traditional department stores; it's also off-price retailers like TJ Maxx and Marshall's, both owned by TJX Cos., which this week said it would be opening about 1,800 stores.

Will remain competitive

Ellison said that even after the closings, J.C. Penney would remain competitive in the brick-and-mortar field. 

"Maintaining a large store base gives us a competitive advantage in the evolving retail landscape since our physical stores are a destination for personalized beauty offerings, a broad array of special sizes, affordable private brands and quality home goods and services. It is essential to retain those locations that present the best expression of the JCPenney brand and function as a seamless extension of the omnichannel experience through online order fulfillment, same-day pick up, exchanges and returns," Ellison said.

Could be, but not all shoppers find the experience quite so seamless.

"Amazon is killing these stores online and these idiots have no clue why?" said Adrian of Chicago, in a recent ConsumerAffairs review. "You don't have speed delivery, you don't even email a tracking number to your customers, and you don't even have ALL YOUR PRODUCTS ONLINE."

Nor does the in-store experience always win kudos from shoppers.

"I took my children shopping on Jan. 2nd at the Parks Mall in Arlington, TX as they had Christmas money they wanted to spend," said Kaylene of Ovilla, Texas. "My teenage son chose a Nike jacket he wanted and proceeded to go stand in the line which only had one cashier working. After waiting on him for at least 20 minutes or more and there were still 5-6 people in front of him, I told him just to put it back, we didn't have that kind of time."

Ellison, however, sees a bright spot, insisting that he has found the answer to high delivery costs.

“While many pure-play e-commerce companies are experiencing dramatically increasing fulfillment costs, we are pleased with the double-digit growth of jcpenney.com and how leveraging our brick and mortar locations is enabling us to offset the last-mile delivery cost,’ he said. “We believe the future winners in retail will be the companies that can create a frictionless interaction between stores and e-commerce, while leveraging physical locations to minimize the growing operational costs of delivery.”

Being one baby tooth poorer usually translates to being a few bucks richer in the morning, and kids these days are getting higher monetary payments from the Tooth Fairy than ever before.

A new survey from Delta Dental has found that the Tooth Fairy’s cash payouts have risen to an all-time high over the past year, up to an average of $4.66 compared to $3.91 in 2015.

Experts say this unlikely-but-accurate economic indicator could signify that the economy is headed in a good direction. The Original Tooth Fairy Poll has tracked with the movement of Standard & Poor’s 500 index (S&P 500) for more than a decade, and this year’s poll shows Tooth Fairy payouts are right on target.

Regional differences

Last year, the Tooth Fairy shelled out more than $290 million for lost teeth, up nearly 14% from 2015. Per usual, she’s been a bit more generous in exchanges involving a first lost tooth; cash payouts for a child’s first lost tooth are up nearly 10% at $5.72.

Regional differences can also determine how much green kids get in exchange for their pearly whites. The study found that Tooth Fairy payouts are highest in the West, at $5.96 (almost $7 for the first tooth). In the Northeast, payouts are an average of $5.08. In the South and Midwest, the Tooth Fairy leaves around $4.57 and $4.04, respectively.

But losing a tooth does more than raise a child’s net worth. The event marks the imminent arrival of grown up teeth, which can open the door to conversations about the importance of good brushing habits.

Strengthening oral health habits

"In addition to the excitement a visit from the Tooth Fairy brings, she also delivers lessons in finance and good oral health," said Jennifer Elliott, vice president of marketing for Delta Dental Plans Association.

"Having conversations with children about good oral health habits, from an early age, can help establish strong habits for a lifetime, and the Tooth Fairy can be a great way to help spark those conversations," Elliott added. 

Additional findings from the survey showed that cash isn’t the only form of payment used by the Tooth Fairy. In addition to money, she often leaves gifts such as toothbrushes (38%), dental floss (21%), and toothpaste (22%).

Nearly 60% of parents said the Tooth Fairy can be a little forgetful, neglecting to pick up their child’s tooth on the first night.

Volkswagen has paid billions of dollars in fines, penalties, and buyback costs related to its "dirty diesel" scandal. But that's not much help to Oliver Schmidt, a VW engineer who at one time headed the automaker's emissions compliance department.

Schmidt, 48, has been in jail in Detroit awaiting trial on 11 felony counts, and a federal judge Thursday refused to release him on bond, saying he presented an extreme flight risk. Schmidt was arrested at Miami International Airport Jan. 7 as he attempted to fly home to Germany after a family vacation. He faces up to 169 years in prison if convicted. 

Other VW executives have been warned to stay in Germany, where they are safe from arrest and extradition, at least for now, since Germany rarely extradites its citizens to foreign countries.

Schmidt was allegedly the author of a damning memo written in April 2014 when researchers at West Virginia University discovered that VW diesels exceeded federal standards and used a software program to reduce emissions when a car was being tested, Automotive News reported.

 “It should first be decided whether we are honest. If we are not honest, everything stays as it is,” Schmidt allegedly wrote to a colleague.

Schmidt is only the second VW employee to feel the brunt of the scandal. James Liang, a Volkswagen engineer based in California, entered a guilty plea last September to conspiring to defraud regulators. He has been cooperating with investigators and is scheduled to be sentenced in May.

Volkswagen has agreed to pay $4.3 billion in fines to various U.S. agencies as well as conducting a recall and buyback program that is expected to push the total cost in the U.S. and Canada beyond $23 billion.

Scammers increasingly exploit your computer to rip you off. The latest gambit is to convince you that your computer has a technical problem.

Ironically, if you fall for these scams, it most definitely will have one.

One of the latest schemes revolves around the popular Google Chrome browser. When a user goes to a compromised site, he or she will see a pop-up informing them of a glitch. Specifically, it says "The HoeflerText font wasn't found."

The pop-up then provides a link where the supposedly missing font can be downloaded. Only the link is really connected to malware, which is downloaded onto your device. Now, your computer really does have a problem.

If you've already been infected with this malware, the Malware Tips blog has advice for removing it.

Tech support scam

Another scam exploiting your computer is the tech support scam, which has been around for a while. That's when someone calls you up, or sends an email, claiming to be from "tech support" and has noticed your computer has been infected with a virus.

There are many variations as to what happens next, but Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi has recently been on alert. She's filed a grievance against one company, Fast Fix 123, accusing it of operating a tech support scam.

“This scam was designed to trick consumers, some of them seniors, into believing their computers were severely compromised and scare them into buying unnecessary protection software,” Bondi said.

Bondi is asking a judge to stop the alleged scam and require the company to compensate victims.

Legitimate-looking warning

Bondi says computer users would see a pop-up window that appeared to be a legitimate warning from an operating system or web browser. The warning advised users their machines were at risk and instructed consumers to call a toll-free number for help.

Bondi says the sales agents on the other end of the line pitched expensive security services the consumers didn't need.

These scams are easily avoided if you'll remember that no IT professional will be able to randomly detect issues with your computer unless he or she has carefully examined it. It can't be done remotely unless you have given them access to your computer.

Pop-ups that say you need to download a particular font or program update should also be viewed with a high degree of suspicion.

Calphalon Corp., of Atlanta, Ga., is recalling about 2 million Contemporary Cutlery knives sold in the U.S. and Canada.

The blade on knives can break during use, posing a laceration hazard.

The company has received 27 reports of finger or hand lacerations including four injuries requiring stitches. In addition, the firm has received about 3,150 reports of broken knives.

This recall involves Calphalon Contemporary Cutlery carving, chef, paring, santoku and utility knives sold individually and in sets made between August 2008, and March 2016.

The following models are included in the recall:

The knives, manufactured in China, were sold at J.C. Penney, Kohl’s, Macy’s and other stores nationwide and online at www.Amazon.com from September 2008, through December 2016, for $25 for a single knife to $300 for a knife block set.

What to do

Consumers should immediately stop using the recalled cutlery and contact Calphalon for a replacement cutlery product.

Consumers may contact Calphalon at 800-809-7267 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. (ET) Monday through Friday or online at www.calphalon.com and click on “Customer Support” at the bottom of the page then “Recalls” for more information.

Aches and pains are a common ailment for many consumers, but a new study suggests that some types of pain may actually be putting us in an early grave.

Researchers from the University of Sydney have found that people with back pain have an increased risk of dying from all causes. This is especially worrying since nearly 700 million people suffer from the condition worldwide and many think it’s relatively harmless.

"Our study found that compared to those without spinal pain (back and neck), a person with spinal pain has a 13 per cent higher chance of dying every year. This is a significant finding as many people think that back pain is not life-threatening," said senior author Paulo Ferreira.

Impacts longevity and quality of life

The study analyzed nearly 4,400 Danish twins over the age of 70 to see if spinal pain had any marked effect on all-cause and disease-specific cardiovascular mortality. The researchers found that participants who suffered from back pain were 13% more likely to die on an annual basis.

Ferreira explains that the findings should serve as a warning that back pain is not something that should be taken lightly. He and his fellow researchers admit that they aren’t precisely sure why back pain and mortality are associated, but they theorize that its presence may point to “a pattern of poor health and poor functional ability, which increases mortality risk in the older population.”

“Back pain should be recognised as an important co-morbidity that is likely to impact people’s longevity and quality of life. . . With a rapidly growing aging population, spinal health is critical in maintaining older age independence, highlighting the importance of spinal pain in primary health care as a presenting symptom,” Ferreira said.

Treating back pain

Current methods of treating back pain mostly include various medications, anti-inflammatory drugs, and surgery options for more severe cases. However, the researchers state that these measures aren’t doing enough. They say that the best things consumers with back pain can do is become more active and practice living a healthier lifestyle.

"Medications are mostly ineffective, surgery usually does not offer a good outcome -- the best treatment for low back is a healthy lifestyle, including physical activity. People need to get moving," Ferreira concluded.

The full study has been published in the European Journal of Pain.

A group of state attorneys general are asking Education Secretary Betsy DeVos and Congressional leaders not to declare "open season" on students by rolling back regulations governing for-profit colleges.

"Over the past fifteen years, millions of students have been defrauded by unscrupulous for-profit post-secondary schools," said the nine-page letter signed by 18 attorneys general, who said they had been forced to step in to stop some of the worst abuses because accreditors had been "asleep at the wheel."

Regulations governing for-profit schools and their accrediting agencies were tightened over the past several years after a series of abuses, but the new chair of the House Education Committee -- Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-N.C.) -- has vowed to "do everything we can" to roll back the regulations.

"Now that Mr. Trump is the president-elect, I think [we’ll approach things] quite differently than the way we might have if it had been Mrs. Clinton," Foxx said in a November 2016 interview with Inside Higher Education.

Asked if she sees the federal government taking action to lower the cost of education, Foxx said she did not.

"No. Why should we? We have a $20 trillion debt," she said. "Why should we go into debt to pay for what the states should be doing? Have you read the Constitution lately? If you find the word "education" in there as a responsibility of the federal government, then I might change my mind."

Serious cases

The AGs listed some of the most serious cases, including American Career Institute; Ashford University/Bridgepoint Education, Inc.; Corinthian Colleges, Inc.; Career Education Corporation; Education Management Corporation; Daymar College; DeVry University; ITT Tech; National College of Kentucky; and Westwood Colleges, noting that students and taxpayers have lost millions of dollars paying for substandard programs, certificates, and degrees.

Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan and the other AGs pointed to a number of protections they believe should remain intact, including the Gainful Employment Rule, which ensures students who attend career training programs will qualify for employment and be able to repay their federal student loans once they graduate.

The AGs are also pushing to keep vigorous federal oversight of accreditors that are tasked with providing prospective students with quality assurance.

Loan forgiveness

In addition to today’s letter, Madigan has repeatedly called on the U.S. Department of Education to immediately forgive federal loans of students who attended fraudulent for-profit schools. Madigan reached a $15 million settlement with Westwood College in 2015 that forgave private debt owed by students of Westwood’s criminal justice program. 

Madigan’s investigation into Everest College, which was operated by Corinthian Colleges Inc., revealed widespread misrepresentations made to prospective students, supporting the Department of Education’s own findings of fraud.

Madigan was also the first attorney general in the country to take action against a new industry of student loan debt relief scams. These scams target student loan borrowers who are desperate for help to avoid defaulting on their loans and end up getting scammed into paying money that does not help with their debt. Once these scammers illegally take upfront fees from borrowers, they do little to help them with their payments.

"Deceptive and abusive"

"These schools, and others like them, engaged in a variety of deceptive and abusive practices," the letter said. "Some promised prospective students jobs, careers, and further opportunities in education that the schools could not provide. Many schools inflated job placement numbers and/or promised career services resources that did not exist. Many nationally accredited schools promised that their credits would transfer, even though credits from nationally accredited schools often do not transfer to more rigorous regionally accredited schools."

"Many students were placed in loans that the schools knew from experience their graduates could not pay back. The schools were overseen by accreditors who failed to take action to protect students or the taxpayers who funded their federal student loans, despite ample evidence of these and other problems. In short, the entire for-profit education system was failing students and taxpayers," the letter continues.

Joining Madigan in sending the letter were attorneys general from Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Iowa, Kentucky, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington, and the District of Columbia, as well as the Executive Director of the Office of Consumer Protection of Hawaii.

Travel between the U.S. and Europe isn't exactly cheap. That is, unless you get booked on one of Norwegian Air's newly-approved flights between the U.S. and Ireland and the UK, for $65 one-way.

The Trump administration has given the green light for the low fares after a protracted political battle. The application, which the Obama administration called one of the most complicated ever, was bitterly opposed within the airline industry and took three years to complete. The Obama administration gave preliminary approval to Norwegian Air late last year.

Norwegian says the low fare service will begin this summer and go to $99 one-way after the introductory promotion.

New York to Ireland

On its website, Norwegian Air is currently promoting $65 fares to Dublin, Shannon, Belfast, Cork, and Edinburgh, Scotland. Flights depart in the U.S. from New York, Hartford, Conn., and Boston/Providence.

The airline said it plans to expand its schedule in the future, which may be one reason its rivals and unions opposed the approval. According to The Hill, aviation insiders have accused Norwegian Air of attempting to skirt tougher regulations in Norway by establishing its hub in Ireland. It's also accused of trying to slash labor costs by hiring pilots in Asia, where salaries are lower.

Norwegian Air denies it, saying it plans to use mostly U.S.-based crews and U.S.-built plans. Still, unions representing pilots and flight attendants said they are considering litigation to overturn the approval.

With the arrival of spring comes an explosion of beautiful blooms, but the splendor of a spring day may be missed on seasonal allergy sufferers. If pollen-filled spring days often find you sneezing, wheezing, or reaching for the tissues, you’re not alone.

More than 50 million Americans suffer from allergies each year, according to the American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology (ACAAI). Luckily, there are a few simple ways to combat many of the allergy symptoms that come in the spring.

“People think they’re doing everything they can to battle spring allergies,” said Dr. Stephen Tilles, president of the ACAAI. “But many still find themselves under siege from pollen and other allergens that appear once the weather starts to warm up.”

“What they don’t realize is that by following a few simple rules they can make life a lot more pleasant and their allergies more bearable,” he says.  

Tips for easing symptoms

Spring allergy sufferers don’t have to feel powerless in the face of pollen, says Tilles. Here are a few things seasonal allergy sufferers can do to make springtime less of a nuisance to their nasal passages.

• Clean your home. Cobwebs, pet fur, mold, and other allergens can accumulate over the winter. Give your home a deep scrub to eliminate existing allergens and get rid of mold, which can build up in basements and bathrooms and flourish in rainy spring weather. To clear pet-related allergens, vacuum frequently and wash upholstery and pet beds.
• Skip the ionic air filter. Tilles explains that ionic air filters can change the charge on a particle of pollen or dust, making the particle more likely to stick to the next thing it comes into contact with. For allergy sufferers, he recommends using a HEPA room air cleaner rated with a Clean Air Delivery Rate (CADR). Additionally, be sure to change your air filters every three months.
• Keep windows closed. While it may be tempting to let in the fresh air, allergy sufferers may be wise to keep their home sealed up during allergy season. Opening your house or car windows allows pollen to drift inside and settle into your carpet, furniture, and upholstery. Instead, use your air conditioning with the new filter you just put in.

Is it asthma?

You might think you’re dealing with allergy-related symptoms, but that’s not always the case. Tilles says many people who chalk up their symptoms to allergies are actually dealing with asthma.

See an allergist if you can’t shake your cough or if you get winded easily, as these symptoms may be indicative of asthma. Once you know you have asthma, you can begin to identify the source and treat your allergies to improve symptoms.

An allergist may suggest medications or recommend allergy shots (immunotherapy) to alleviate your allergic suffering.

With the leading edge of the huge Baby Boom population entering their retirement years, retirement planning is a big deal. But this phase of life can take many forms.

Planning to tour the country pulling an Airstream trailer? Your needs will be different than if you plan to launch a new career in retirement.

When talking about retirement, the discussion almost always starts with money. Not going to work every day means you won't be bringing home the same sized paycheck. So the first question is how you will make up the difference.

Can't depend completely on Social Security

Social Security will provide a source of monthly income, but not a very big one. You'll likely need other sources of income, such as a pension – which is pretty rare these days – or a retirement savings account.

According to the Labor Department, fewer than half of Americans know how much they need to save for retirement, but in fairness that number is hard to pin down until you decide how you plan to spend retirement.

If you plan to downsize, moving into a home that you can purchase with no mortgage, in a low cost-of-living area, you'll need less money each month than if you plan to spend half the year traveling.

That said, it is easy to underestimate your needs. The government says you'll probably need 70% of your pre-retirement income to keep up.

Is a part-time job the answer?

That's why a growing number of early Baby Boomer retirees are still working in some form or another. After a successful career, they have a lot of knowledge and expertise. Often, their former employers are eager to tap into that on a part-time basis.

Of course, after 40 or more years working in a profession or at a job you really didn't like, the prospect of continuing it, even on a part-time basis, might not seem that attractive. But many retirees take the opportunity to try their hand at something new. The website NewRetirement.com has some advice for finding the right fit.

Growing optimism

The good news is people approaching retirement are a lot more optimistic today than they were just after the Great Recession. A new study by T. Rowe Price shows 47% of Baby Boomers and Gen Xers believe their ideal retirement is “very attainable,” suggesting they have either given it serious thought and have their ducks in a row or have no idea of what's involved.

The subjects in the study were mostly investors, suggesting they have been building wealth. When it comes to visualizing their retirement years, the majority see it as “a time to relax.” Only 38% plan on “reinventing themselves.”