Current Events in April 2017

Don't look now, but Congress is about to play chicken with the White House over keeping the lights on once again. This time, the shoe is on the other foot.

In the most recent past, government shutdowns occurred when Republicans controlled Congress and the Democrats controlled the White House. Back in the mid 1990s, the GOP-led Congress locked horns with the Clinton White House on spending. After neither side would budge, the government shut down -- twice in three years.

Now there is a Republican in the White House and Republicans control Congress. So what's the problem?

The problem is the GOP is divided and the Democrats are in no mood to help. Congress has to pass a budget, or a continuing resolution (CR), by Friday or the government can't spend money.

Except, it sort of can.

Essential services continue

In past government shutdowns -- and there have been plenty of them -- essential services continued. The FBI and Department of Homeland Security stay on the job. Social Security checks also still go out.

At the same time, if you're still waiting for your tax refund from the Internal Revenue Service and the government shuts down, you might have to wait a while longer, until it's back up and running.

Consumers receiving food stamps will continue to receive them. That's an entitlement that doesn't get its money from the annual budget.

But if you're planning a visit to a National Monument or Park next week, you might have to change your plans. These venues will close if the government does.

If you're applying for a passport for an international trip, a government shutdown could interrupt the process and might require you to postpone your trip.

Why the threat?

Why is there even a threat of a government shutdown? One reason, really. President Trump had insisted that the spending bill contain appropriations to begin building a wall along the border with Mexico. Democrats in Congress said they would oppose any spending measure containing funds for that purpose. Trump would need eight Democrats to pass the spending measure in the Senate.

Earlier this week, Trump backed away from his demand, saying he could wait until October for the wall money. That could allow some Democrats to vote in favor of the spending measure and avert a government shutdown. Only, they might not.

As the deadline approaches, the odds of a shutdown are going down. But with partisan bitterness still simmering in the nation's capital, nothing is certain.

Scanning the real estate horizon for a larger home? The extra square footage might cost more than you think.

According to a recent study by Zillow, families moving from a two-bedroom to a three-bedroom home in the same zip code can expect to spend an additional $447 per month ($5,364 per year) on their mortgage.

Leaving a one-bedroom home for a two-bedroom home will cost buyers an extra $192 per month, while upgrading from three to four bedrooms will cost $612 more per month. And move-up buyers may face even higher costs in pricey housing markets, such as those along the California coastline.

Cost varies by location

Trading up to a larger home comes with the highest price tag in San Jose, California. The study found that moving from a two-bedroom home to a three-bedroom home in this city costs families an additional $2,224 per month.

Upgrading from two bedrooms to three in San Francisco could potentially cost buyers an extra $1,600 per month. In Los Angeles, the same upgrade typically costs buyers an extra $1,033 in housing costs.

“Those in hot, coastal markets could expect to spend upwards of $500 more per month,” the report stated. “In the notoriously expensive California markets of Los Angeles, San Francisco, and San Jose, high and rapidly growing home values likely weighed heavily on the cost of moving up.”

The cost of moving up isn’t usually as steep for buyers in the Midwest, South, and Southwest. In Chicago, Cincinnati, and St. Louis, families can expect to spend just $150 more on their monthly mortgage when upgrading from a two to a three-bedroom home.

Cost of an extra bathroom

Buyers on a quest for an additional bedroom might also desire another bathroom. However, a home's bathroom count can also impact its price.

In its Cost of Moving Up Analysis, the real estate listings website noted that upgrading to a house with the same number of bedrooms, but with one extra bathroom, can cost buyers between $386 and $838 more per month.

"While deciding whether to move is a personal choice, understanding how certain characteristics like size, location, or number of beds and baths, can impact a home's price can be hugely important when determining if a particular home is the right fit for you and your family," said Svenja Gudell, Zillow chief economist.

An auto lender that specializes in making car loans to servicemembers is in trouble with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) again. The CFPB today fined Security National Automotive Acceptance Company (SNAAC) $1.25 million for violating an earlier consent order.

In 2015, the CFPB ordered SNAAC to pay both redress and a civil penalty for illegal debt collection tactics, including making threats to contact servicemembers’ commanding officers about debts and exaggerating the consequences of not paying.

SNAAC violated the 2015 order by failing to provide more than $1 million in refunds and credits, affecting more than 1,000 consumers, the CFPB said. Today’s consent order requires SNAAC to make good on the redress it owes to those consumers and pay an additional $1.25 million penalty.

"This company violated a Bureau order when it failed to get money back to servicemembers it had hounded with illegal debt collection tactics,” said CFPB Director Richard Cordray. "We are making sure this company finally rights its wrongs."

SNAAC, based in Mason, Ohio, operates in more than two dozen states and specializes in loans to servicemembers, primarily to buy used vehicles.

In June 2015, the CFPB sued SNAAC for aggressive collection tactics against consumers who fell behind on their loans. It charged that if servicemembers lagged behind on payments, SNAAC’s collectors would threaten to contact—and in many cases did contact—their chain of command about their debts.

The CFPB alleged that SNAAC’s aggressive tactics, which took advantage of servicemembers’ special obligations to remain current on debts, victimized thousands of borrowers.

"Although SNAAC disagreed with the CFPB’s interpretation of the 2015 Consent Order, the company offered to pay all the disputed amounts in order to move forward," the company said in an unsigned statement. "The CFPB declined the offer and began an inquiry. SNAAC fully cooperated and responded quickly to all requests for data, reports and testimony." 

Last October, a class action suit was filed against Comcast in which plaintiffs said they were charged $10 extra per month for “broadcast TV” and “regional sports” fees that put their monthly bills over what they agreed to pay in their contracts. The class said that the charges were disguised as government-imposed taxes.

In its defense, Comcast said that the fees simply covered the cost of transmitting associated programs and that Congress had “encouraged” it to list those costs on subscribers’ bills under the Cable Television Consumer Protection and Competition Act, which was passed in 1992. The company moved to dismiss the case, and things looked promising after presiding U.S. District Judge Vince Chhabria called the claims “sketchy.”

Still, as they say, it’s not over ‘til the fat lady sings. Courthouse News reports that Chhabria granted Comcast’s motion to the dismiss the case on Tuesday but gave two groups of claimants a leave to amend – basically a period of time to revise their suit and resubmit it.

“It appears possible that the complaint could be amended to state a claim with respect to at least some of the counts,” Chhabria said in his ruling.

Leave to amend

Chhabria stated that out-of-state plaintiffs failed to establish personal jurisdiction over Comcast in stating their case, but he granted leave to amend because “the law regarding personal jurisdiction over the claims brought by the out-of-state plaintiffs is in flux.”The decision affects two classes of consumers designated in the case – one group representing consumers from California and one group representing out-of-state plaintiffs. California plaintiffs will have 21 days to amend their suit and clearly explain how Comcast tricked them over the additional fees.

He points to a separate Supreme Court case that will be decided in June that will set a precedent of whether out-of-state plaintiffs can sue an out-of-state company for injuries suffered in another state. If the Supreme Court decides with the out-of-state plaintiffs in that case, then Chhabria said that the out-of-state plaintiffs in the Comcast case will have 30 days to amend their suit after the decision.

Despite the dismissal, representatives of the class called the decision a positive one that may have rattled Comcast.

“Judge Chhabria’s order was very positive for plaintiffs; no claims were dismissed without leave to amend, and Judge Chhabria indicated that a repleaded complaint would survive a motion to dismiss. Comcast’s high-power attorneys left the courtroom in a huff, very clearly upset with the ruling,” said class counsel Dan Hattis.

So, you’ve decided to go on a diet. That’s great news, and it really should help you get healthier and shed some pounds. But what are you going to eat? If you plan on making the switch to certain so-called “diet” foods, then you might be in trouble.

A new study from the University of Georgia shows that many of these products tend to be high in sugar content. When they mimicked the make-up of these foods and fed them to rat specimens, they found that it led to higher body fat mass, as well as liver damage and brain inflammation.

"Most so-called diet products containing low or no fat have an increased amount of sugar and are camouflaged under fancy names, giving the impression that they are healthy, but the reality is that those foods may damage the liver and lead to obesity as well," explains lead investigator and associate professor of veterinary biosciences Krzysztof Czaja.

Generating body fat

Over a four-week period, the researchers monitored three groups of rats – a group fed on a high-fat, high-sugar diet, a group fed on a low-fat, high-sugar diet, and a group fed on a “normal” or balanced diet. Caloric intake and body composition for all groups was tracked for the duration on the study.

After the test period concluded, the researchers found that the high-fat, high-sugar and low-fat, high-sugar groups showed increases in liver fat and significant increases in body weight and body fat when compared to the balanced diet group. Czaja pointed out that the increase in liver fat is especially concerning since it could lead to non-alcoholic fatty liver disease.

"What's really troubling in our findings is that the rats consuming high-sugar, low-fat diets didn't consume significantly more calories than the rats fed a balanced diet. Our research shows that in rats fed a low-fat, high-sugar diet, the efficiency of generating body fat is more than twice as high -- in other words, rats consuming low-fat high-sugar diets need less than half the number of calories to generate the same amount of body fat," Czaja said.

Permanent damage

Additional findings showed that the non-balanced diets induced chronic inflammation in the intestinal tract and brain, changes that could cause lasting and permanent harm. "The brain changes resulting from these unbalanced diets seem to be long term, and it is still not known if they are reversible by balanced diets," Czaja said.

Consumers looking to start a healthy diet should always consult with their doctor or nutritionist first to get the best advice. Some healthy staples that have passed the test of time include vegetables, fruits, whole grains, and certain fat-free or low-fat dairy products.

The full study has been published in Physiology & Behavior. 

Consumers with high blood pressure are often told that they should cut back on their salt intake. But is taking that step really helping in the long run?

Researchers from the Boston University School of Medicine don’t seem to think so. In a 16-year study following more than 2,600 men, Lynn L. Moore and her colleagues found no evidence that reducing salt affected blood pressure.

"We saw no evidence that a diet lower in sodium had any long-term beneficial effects on blood pressure. Our findings add to growing evidence that current recommendations for sodium intake may be misguided," she said.

Less salt doesn't equal lower blood pressure

The findings are quite a reversal from our current notions on how to treat high blood pressure. The 2015-2020 Dietary Guidelines for Americans suggests that consumers limit their sodium intake to 2,300 grams per day. However, the researchers found that doing so didn’t necessarily lead to healthy blood pressure levels.

At the beginning of the study period, all 2,632 male participants between the ages of 30 and 64 had normal blood pressure levels. But in the following 16 years, the researchers found that those who were able to keep their salt intake below 2,500 milligrams per day still had higher blood pressure than participants who consumed more sodium.

"Our new results support. . . other studies that have questioned the wisdom of low dietary sodium intakes in the general population," said Moore.

Revising guidelines

So, what should consumers with high blood pressure do to stay healthy? Moore points out that consuming higher levels of other minerals, such as potassium, calcium, and magnesium, have been correlated with lower blood pressure levels and better overall cardiovascular health.

"This study and others point to the importance of higher potassium intakes, in particular, on blood pressure and probably cardiovascular outcomes as well,” said Moore.

“I hope that this research will help refocus the current Dietary Guidelines for Americans on the importance of increasing intakes of foods rich in potassium, calcium and magnesium for the purpose of maintaining a healthy blood pressure.”

Besides spring cleaning, this is the season for home improvement projects. If you've priced some of the more popular ones -- like a kitchen or bathroom update -- you know they can come with sticker shock.

But it doesn't have to be that way. And if you are trying to put the best face on your home before trying to sell it, the National Association of Realtors (NAR) has some effective improvement suggestions that can be done on a low budget.

For example, adding a fresh coat of paint to walls or woodwork can brighten a room. Professional painters will do a good job, but doing it yourself will save a lot of money. But how can you make your DIY project look more like a pro's?

Here are some tips:

Keep paint brushes soft after the first day of painting. To do that, rinse them out thoroughly with soap and water, then soak them in fabric softener. A good mixture is a half cup of fabric softener to one gallon of warm water.

Keep some plastic wrap handy while painting. Painter's tape is effective for protecting joints between walls and ceilings, but plastic wrap can cover large items that can't be moved.

Painting around hardware can be a challenge. Smear some petroleum jelly on the metal and if any paint gets on the screws or hinges, it won't stick.

Inexpensive kitchen update

If your kitchen is a little outdated, you don't have to tear out your old cabinets. Instead, consider painting the doors.

To complete a dramatic and inexpensive face lift, consider replacing the old knobs with designs that are new and exciting. This video shows some examples.

Outdoor space

Don't neglect your home's outdoor space. Take that bland, concrete patio for example. To add some life and style, try painting it a bold, bright color, or a combination of colors in an interesting pattern. At a minimum, consider a fresh coat of concrete stain.

While you're at it, make sure your patio furniture doesn't detract from your home's appearance. Plastic chairs and tables just need a good scrubbing, but metal and wood furniture might need a fresh coat of paint.

The sour taste of Chipotle's food-borne illness problems still lingers, and now there's another fly in the salsa. The chain's payment system has been hacked.

Chief Financial Officer Jack Hartung revealed news of the hacking during a conference call with Wall Streeters. He said it was apparently going on between March 24 and April 18 before the company found out about it.

“Because our investigation is continuing, complete findings are not available, it’s too early to provide further details on the investigation,” Hartung said, according to published reports.

That's about all the company is saying so far. Hartung did promise that the company will notify customers who may have been affected by the breach once it learns more about specific restaurants that may have been affected and the exact timeframe for each. 

Perhaps hoping to sweeten the otherwise sour news, Chipotle CEO Steve Ells said the chain will soon begin testing a new dessert -- buñuelos, a fried tortilla strip with honey, cinnamon, and sugar. It will be served with an apple caramel butter dipping sauce.

He didn't say where the tests would take place.

Tesla has had a rather rocky relationship with Consumer Reports. At times, Tesla models have been top picks by the magazine's experts, but the romance doesn't always last.

The latest incident concerns Tesla's Models S and X. Consumer Reports is lowering the cars' ratings because the automaker has not enabled the new models with the Automatic Emergency Braking (AEB) safety feature it said would come as standard.

Tesla says it is working through some software issues. But the process has stretched on for six months, leaving owners without the safety feature they thought they were getting. 

Earlier models had it

The previous Model S and Model X came with functioning AEB as standard. Models produced between late Oct. 2016 and now do not. In a statement to Consumer Reports, Tesla says it expects the software update to come Thursday.

Consumer Reports gives extra rating points to cars that offer AEB as a standard feature, placing value on the braking technology because of its potential to prevent crashes and reduce injuries. Consumer Reports encourages companies to offer the technology standard, without requiring consumers to pay thousands more for a higher option package.

“When we purchased our latest test car, we were assured automatic emergency braking would be enabled by the end of 2016,” said Jake Fisher, director of Consumer Reports’ Auto Test Center in Colchester, Conn. “We’ve been waiting for this important safety feature, which is standard equipment on much cheaper cars.”

Cancer is a dreaded disease. Though survival rates have improved in recent years, the treatment is long, painful, and expensive.

The recent focus on the high cost of prescription drugs has included specialty drugs to treat cancer. In 2015, researchers at the MD Anderson Cancer Center conducted an analysis of drugs used to treat blood cancer and concluded the costs could not be justified, even when they prolonged a patient's life.

Last year, researchers at the University of North Carolina found that a month's worth of treatment with the newest cancer drugs, on the market since 2014, were, on average, six times more expensive than the launch prices of similar drugs introduced in 2000, even after adjusting for inflation.

But it gets worse. As the cost of treatment goes up, researchers at the University of Georgia (UGA) found that when a husband or wife is diagnosed with cancer, the household income declines an average of 5%.

That's often because the caregiver's income goes down too. For men, it's an average decline of 5%. For women it's 9%.

Losing $5,000 to $9,000

“The average annual household income for the working-age couples we studied was about $100,000, so the loss of income per family is about $5,000 to $9,000, which is a pretty substantial decline,” said Vincent Pohl, assistant professor of economics at UGA . “In a situation where one household member has a devastating diagnosis, it leads to the whole household suffering economically.”

Often the person who has cancer can't work as much. But Pohl says the "caregiver effect" is when one one family member reduces his or her employment in order to support another.

“We thought that the household’s lessened income could happen in one of two ways,” Pohl said. “One is that the person who is diagnosed might not be able to work because they are getting treatment or they’re too sick to work. The second is what happens to their spouse: Does the spouse work more to make up for the lost income or does the spouse also reduce his or her labor supply in order to take care of the spouse that is diagnosed with cancer?"

The researchers found it's the latter. Pohl says spouses reduce their labor supply and therefore have lowered income levels, which leads to the household having lower income levels as well.

Contributor to bankruptcy

Before the passage of the Affordable Care Act, the largest contributor to bankruptcy was medical bills -- and in many cases it was bills for the treatment of cancer. Pohl says policymakers need to think about the implications of illness -- particularly chronic diseases like cancer.

He says disability insurance might cover the person with cancer, but it doesn't help the spouse who sacrifices his or her career.

“It doesn’t take into account that family members might have to take care of an individual and therefore might also lose their job or reduce their working hours and thus their income,” he said.

Zutano Global of New Bedford, Mass., is recalling 38,000 infant Cozie booties.

The non-slip rubber grips on the bottom of the booties can detach, posing a choking hazard.

The firm has received two reports of the detached rubber “Z” grips found in infant’s mouths.

This recall involves infant fleece gripper Cozie booties that are 70% and 30% polyester and have rubber grippers in the shape of a “Z” on the bottom.

These booties were sold in sizes 12 - 18 months in 13 solid colors; chocolate, gray, heather gray, hot pink, pool (aqua), apple (light green), cream, fuchsia, lime, mandarin, navy, pagoda (turquoise blue) and periwinkle and in multi-colors.

Only booties with the following tracking labels sewn under the care label are included in this recall:

• FALL161-03/16
• FALL166-03/16
• FALL166-06/16
• FALL167-06/16
• FALL168-07/16
• FALL169-07/16
• FALL1610-08/16
• FALL1611-09/16
• FALL1612-07/16

The booties, manufactured in China, were sold at G Willikers (Portsmouth, N.H.), Kid Dynamo (Berkeley, Calif.), Magic Beans (Hyde Park, Mass.), Magpie Kids (Somerville, Mass.), Pacifier (Minneapolis, Minn.), The Animal Kingdom (State College, Penn.), The Pump Station (Santa Monica, Calif.), Tip Toes (Holland, Mich.), and other stores nationwide and online at www.amazon.com and www.zutano.com from May 2016, through March 2017, for between $22 and $24.

What to do

Consumers should immediately stop using the recalled booties, take them away from children and contact the firm for a full refund in the form of a merchandise credit.

Consumers may contact Zutano Global toll-free at 866-314-8688 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. (ET) Monday through Friday, by email at recall@zutano.com or online at www.zrecall.com for more information.

Frito-Lay is recalling select Jalapeño Flavored Lay’s Kettle Cooked potato chips and Jalapeño Flavored Miss Vickie’s Kettle Cooked potato chips.

The products may be contaminated with Salmonella.

No illness related to this matter has been confirmed to date.

All sizes of the following two products have a “guaranteed fresh” date of JUL 4 or prior printed on the front upper panel of the package:

• Jalapeño Flavored Lay’s Kettle Cooked potato chips
• Jalapeño Flavored Miss Vickie’s Kettle Cooked potato chips

All of the following multipack offerings have a “use by” date of JUN 20 or prior printed on the multipack package:

• 12 count Lay’s Kettle Cooked Multipack Sack
• 20 count Frito-Lay Bold Mix Sack
• 30 count Miss Vickie’s Multipack Tray
• 30 count Lay’s Kettle Cooked Multipack Tray
• 32 count Miss Vickie’s Multipack Box

A “guaranteed fresh” date of JUL 4 or prior is printed on the front upper panel of the individual recalled product packages inside each multipack offering.

What to do

Customers who purchased the recalled products should not consume them. For product reimbursement, visit www.jalapenochiprecall.com.

Consumers with questions may contact Frito-Lay consumer relations at 866-272-9393 from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. (EST). Representative product images can be found at fritolay.com. For product reimbursement, consumers can visit www.jalapenochiprecall.com.

Spring cleaning can unearth quite a few items to sell at yard or garage sales. But while one man’s trash may be another man’s treasure, second-hand buyers should be aware that certain used items can pose safety risks.

Before jumping at the chance to snag a bargain on children’s items or electronics, consumers should look for signs that the item may be unsafe. Getting a great deal shouldn’t come at the cost of safety and quality.

Children’s items and electronics “tend to be ‘big gets’ at yard sales, but require caution and recall research,” said the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection (DATCP) in a recent newsletter.

Here are a few safety tips to keep in mind while shopping at yard, garage, or thrift sales.

Children’s items

Budget-conscious families should cautiously evaluate children’s items for potential problems. Cribs, toys, and other children’s items are frequently recalled, and shoppers are ultimately responsible for discovering if an item has been recalled.

“When it comes to products offered through rummage or yard sales, the assessment of an item’s safety is the responsibility of the buyer,” said Frank Frassetto, Administrator for DATCP’s Division of Trade and Consumer Protection.

“You may not be able to return a defective or problematic purchase, so if an item looks unsafe, put it back. The cost savings are not worth the risk.”

To ensure the safety of the second-hand toy, look at the following:

• The toy’s condition. Make sure it’s sturdy and doesn’t have any broken, loose, or missing parts.
• Batteries. Check that batteries in electronic toys are securely enclosed and inaccessible to kids.
• Recall alerts. Make sure the item hasn’t been recalled by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission by visiting the CPSC website and doing a search for the product.

Electronics

Yard sales are also a great place to find deals on battery-powered items, such as tools and electronics. But before bringing home used electronics, the DATCP recommends checking the battery compartment for signs of corrosion.

When buying electrical items, steer clear of items with frayed wires or questionable repair jobs on cords.

“If you are able to test these items on-site, run them through their paces before you turn over your cash,” the DATCP says.

Car buyers often assume that the dealer has taken care of any outstanding safety recalls on the car they're buying, but that is frequently not the case and, often, no one does anything about it.

But New York Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman recently corralled 104 car dealers into a settlement that requires them to alert consumers that their cars may have unrepaired safety recalls.

Schneiderman said the dealers have been selling cars without disclosing that they had unfulfilled recalls for problems including unintended acceleration, airbag problems, vehicle fires, and steering and brake loss.

“The safety recalls we uncovered were serious — and potentially deadly," said Schneiderman. “Consumers deserve to know of any unresolved safety issues before buying a car for themselves or their family."

Dealers agree to guidelines

As part of the settlements, the 104 dealers are required to adhere to a set of guidelines in order to alert consumers that their vehicles may have unrepaired recalls, including the following:  

Dealers that advertise used vehicles online must include information that enables consumers to check the recall status of advertised vehicles; that information includes the SaferCar.gov website operated by NHTSA.

Dealers who advertise in print or other media must also disclose in the advertisement that the vehicle is subject to a safety recall.  

Dealers must place a decal notice in the window of used cars that include information that allows consumers to check the recall status of the vehicles, including the SaferCar.gov website and mobile application operated by NHTSA.

Two days prior to any sale, dealers must provide consumers with a copy of the NHTSA recall status report for a vehicle with an unrepaired safety recall, and obtain a written acknowledgment from the consumer.

Dealers must send notices to customers who have purchased vehicles with unrepaired safety recalls that are still unrepaired, from January 2016 to present. Manufacturers’ franchise dealers must also cover up to five days of a loaner car for consumers if their vehicle requires repairs that will take longer than one day.

Each auto dealer will also pay a fine of $1,000 to New York State.

It would be great if you could buy an over-the-counter drug online that would cure cancer, but it's not quite that simple, despite the claims of some unscrupulous companies.

Fourteen such businesses are getting letters today from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration warning them that they are illegally selling more than 65 products that fraudulently claim to prevent, diagnose, treat, or cure cancer.

The products are marketed and sold without FDA approval, most commonly on websites and social media platforms.

“Consumers should not use these or similar unproven products because they may be unsafe and could prevent a person from seeking an appropriate and potentially life-saving cancer diagnosis or treatment,” said Douglas W. Stearn, director of the Office of Enforcement and Import Operations in the FDA’s Office of Regulatory Affairs.

“We encourage people to remain vigilant whether online or in a store, and avoid purchasing products marketed to treat cancer without any proof they will work. Patients should consult a health care professional about proper prevention, diagnosis and treatment of cancer.”

It's illegal to sell any product that claims to prevent, diagnose, treat, mitigate, or cure diseases without first demonstrating to the FDA that the products are safe and effective for their labeled uses.

The illegally sold products cited in the warning letters posted today include a variety of product types, such as pills, topical creams, ointments, oils, drops, syrups, teas, and diagnostics (such as thermography devices). They include products marketed for use by humans or pets that make illegal, unproven claims regarding preventing, reversing, or curing cancer; killing/inhibiting cancer cells or tumors; or other similar anti-cancer claims.

The FDA has requested responses from the 14 companies stating how the violations will be corrected. Failure to correct the violations promptly may result in legal action, including product seizure, injunction and/or criminal prosecution.

The companies receiving the warning letters and their products are:

Scientists at George Washington University used a sophisticated genetic measurement technique to study seafood prepared at various restaurants in the nation's capital.

According to their findings, 33% of the seafood collected from six Washington, D.C., restaurants was mislabeled. What was on the plate wasn't the species listed on the menu.

Even though the researchers say the substitute species were closely related or considered an acceptable alternative, it reflects a trend found previously in other cities. Restaurants, knowingly or unknowingly, are substituting fish, and in some cases, the substitute is not that closely related to the fish on the menu.

Keith Crandall, PhD, director of the Computational Biology Institute at George Washington and leader of the new study, says there have been cases where diners in other cities ordered an expensive tuna but ended up with a cheaper fish, or even one on the endangered species list.

DNA barcoding

Crandall said that led him to undertake his study of DC restaurants. The researchers used DNA barcoding on a dozen seafood samples they obtained by eating at six restaurants. While there were some discrepancies, Crandall says they weren't egregious.

“Diners who ordered tuna got tuna, although maybe a slightly different type of tuna,” Crandall said. “We didn’t see the kind of outright seafood fraud that has been reported in other cities.”

Last September, the environmental group Oceana issued a report charging that 20% of seafood produced in 55 countries was mislabeled. In 54 of the countries, Oceana said it found mislabeling in every link of the supply chain -- retail, wholesale, distribution, import/export, packaging/processing, and landing.

If that were the case, it might be difficult for restaurant operators to know that the fish they were serving was not exactly what was on the menu.

Opportunities for fraud

“The path seafood travels from the fishing boat or farm to our dinner plates is long, complex and non-transparent, rife with opportunities for fraud and mislabeling,” Oceana senior campaign director Beth Lowell said at the time the report was released. “American consumers deserve to know more about their seafood, including what kind of fish it is, how and where it was caught or farmed, and they should be able to trust the information is accurate. The fight against seafood fraud must include all seafood and extend from boat to plate.”

Crandall says his study found no cases of fraud at D.C. restaurants. Of the 12 samples tested, the Chilean sea bass, two tuna and one rock shrimp had been mislabeled.

The team identified only one sample that was a concern -- one of the tuna was actually thunnus obesus, a species of tuna that is listed as “vulnerable” by international environmental authorities.

Earlier this month, the Department of Education took a big step towards deregulating the student loan repayment process. Under new Secretary Betsy DeVos, the agency rolled back guidelines designed to protect student loan borrowers by directing federal agencies to judge student loan servicers based on their past records when issuing new contracts.

DeVos said that the decision was meant to shore up “shortcomings” that put an undue burden on student loan servicers and led to “deficiencies in service,” but critics immediately called the notion preposterous and said that the rollback rescinded commonsense consumer protections that had led to a higher level of service for borrowers.

It seems that many attorneys general agree with that assessment. In a letter delivered yesterday, attorney generals from 21 states sent a letter to DeVos expressing their concern and discontent with the Department’s decision.

“We, the undersigned Attorneys General . . . write to express our profound concern regarding the Department of Education’s revocation of critical student loan servicing reforms. The memoranda withdrawn by the Department on April 11, 2017 provided guidance designed to reform the student loan servicing industry in order to protect student loan borrowers and help these borrowers find affordable ways to repay their debts and avoid default,” the letter reads.

“At a time when the need for common-sense federal student loan servicing reforms is undeniable, the Department’s decision to roll back essential protections imperils millions of student loan borrowers and families.”

“Abdicating its responsibility”

The AG’s point out that the guidelines allowed student loan borrowers to manage their loans, save money, and make informed decisions about their repayment options. However, with their repeal, the AG’s say that consumers have become “mired in ambiguity and inconsistency that the servicing reforms were intended to prevent.”

The letter points to several cases where consumers were misled or misguided by servicers, including recent cases brought against ACS Education Services in Massachusetts and Navient in Washington and Illinois. “Investigations and enforcement actions undertaken by the state attorneys general have repeatedly revealed the havoc that student loan servicers’ poor practices and servicing failures wreak on the lives of borrowers,” the AG’s said.

In summation, the AG’s say that one of the primary roles of the Department of Education is to create and enforce standards that protect student loan borrowers, but they believe that the recent actions go in the opposite direction and ultimately fail consumers.

“The Department’s stated rationale does not justify summarily denying student borrowers basic protections. . . The guidance revoked by the Department was expressly designed to protect borrowers and correct pervasive student loan servicing failures that harm student loan borrowers and their families. By revoking these critical protections, the Department has abdicated its responsibility to student loan borrowers.”

“We urge you to reconsider immediately,” the letter concludes.

The letter was signed by the attorneys general of Massachusetts, Illinois, California, Connecticut, Hawaii, Iowa, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Minnesota, Mississippi, New Mexico, new York, North Carolina, Oregon Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, and the District of Columbia, as well as by the executive director of the Office of Consumer Protection of Hawaii.

A full transcript of the letter can be found here.

Regardless of what you see on your Facebook feed, Lowe's is not giving away $50 gift cards for Mothers' Day.

Scammers are posting a fake coupon on Facebook for $50 off of merchandise at the home improvement stores to celebrate Mothers' Day. The coupon declares that the offer can be redeemed by any consumer.

It's a nice sentiment, but it's all a gambit to steal consumers' personal information. In several posts on Facebook, Lowe's says consumers need to disregard it.

"Please be careful when responding to any pop up ad either online or via social media; as, more often than not, the offer of gift cards or other prizes to customer’s in the guise of a specific company are set up to get your personal information for nefarious purposes," the company wrote.

Phishing scheme

The phony coupon is a lure in a simple phishing scheme to persuade consumers to reveal information they shouldn't. Consumers who click on the coupon are asked to take a survey in order to get the $50 discount.

If they click on the survey link, they go to a site that looks very much like it could be part of Lowe's website. It isn't.

At the site, consumers are asked to enter personal information in order to use the coupon. That, in itself, should be a dead giveaway. Companies these days are very careful about the information they request from consumers.

What to do

In addition to ignoring the coupon, consumers should be wary of other types of offers that show up on Facebook and appear to be too good to be true. Here's how a savvy consumer could have figured out the Lowe's coupon wasn't for real.

They first would have gone to Lowe's Facebook page and looked for the offer. Surely, if Lowe's was giving $50 off to every customer who walked through the door it would have been promoting it on Facebook.

Had they also gone to Lowe's website, they would have also seen the coupon there. Of course, it wasn't in either place because it was a fake.

Had they still not been convinced, they could have gone to Google News and searched "Lowe's Mothers' Day." They would then have seen numerous news stories warning that the $50 discount offer was a scam.

Disruption is all around us, from Amazon changing the face of retail to media moving from radios and TVs to mobile devices.

Add this to the list: science is finding simple, free, or cheap things can improve our health without expensive prescription medication.

As we recently reported, researchers have concluded that walking up and down stairs for 10 minutes boosts energy levels better than coffee or energy drinks that contain caffeine. It's not only free, it can also improve heart health.

Now, researchers at Wake Forest have come up with another disrupter -- simple exercise and drinking juice made from beet roots may be the closest thing yet to a Fountain of Youth.

A more youthful brain

Writing in the Journals of Gerontology: Medical Sciences, the researchers claim the combination improved brain function in older people to more closely match that of a much younger adult.

Beets have long been considered a health food because they are rich in dietary nitrate, which the body converts to nitrite and then nitric oxide. Nitric oxide is particularly efficient in the body because it increases blood flow and targets areas that need it.

The researchers say exercise is good because it increases blood flow to the brain. The shot of nitric oxide from the beet juice just boosts the effect.

The researchers site a number of previous studies that link nitrate in beets to better physical performance among people of all ages. It's credited with helping people who suffer from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), diabetes, and hypertension. This is the first time, however, that scientists have suggested beet juice might counter some of the effects of aging.

Yuck!

There's just one problem the researchers acknowledge. Beets are not exactly a culinary delight. At least, not everyone thinks so.

“No one loves beet juice,” said Daniel Kim-Shapiro, physics professor, director of the Translational Science Center at Wake Forest and co-author of the study. “Well, I do. I down the stuff.”

For those who are not so fond of straight beet juice, the Wake Forest researchers have thoughtfully pointed us to some recipes that might make getting that nitric oxide shot a little more palatable.

• Bright, beautiful and easy breakfast

• Fresh and delicious salad

• Pizza’s healthier cousin

• Hearty and earthy main dish

• Elegant enough for a dinner party