Current Events in July 2017

Staying in the same school district while your child is young not only enables them to grow up surrounded by the same group of friends, it can help ensure you receive a high return on your home investment.

But deciding where to put down roots can be difficult for first-time homebuyers, who might not be sure which school to enroll their child in.

To help parents narrow down their search for the perfect school, Realtor.com did a little research to find out which public schools rank among the best in the nation.

Top 10 elementary schools

To come up with its ranking, the online real estate website analyzed ZIP codes within the top metropolitan areas in the country which contained at least one public school ranked eight out of 10 or higher by school ratings website GreatSchools.

The top 10 most affordable towns with great elementary schools were as follows:

• Aurora, Illinois: Homestead Elementary School, the Wheatlands Elementary School, and Wolfs Crossing Elementary School.
• Stone Mountain, Georgia: Wynbrooke Elementary School.
• Hampton, New Jersey: Union Township Elementary School.
• Royersford, Pennsylvania: Brooke Elementary School, Evans Elementary School, Limerick Elementary School, Upper Providence Elementary School.
• Kingwood, Texas: Deerwood Elementary School, Greentree Elementary School, Hidden Hollow Elementary, Shadow Forest Elementary School, Willow Creek Elementary School.
• Rosemount, Minn: Shannon Park Elementary School.
• Bowie, Maryland: Whitehall Elementary School, Yorktown Elementary School.
• Huntington Woods, Michigan: Burton Elementary School.
• Stow, Massachussettes: Center School. 
• Chandler, Arizona: Kyrene De La Mirada School, Kyrene De La Paloma School, Kyrene De Las Brisas School, Kyrene del Cielo School, Paragon Science Academy.

Key motivator

A previous study by Realtor.com found that living in a good school district is important to many first-time homebuyers.

Family needs were cited as a key motivator to enter the housing market by Millennial home shoppers, as well as those age 35-44. The desire to live in a better school district was found to be a primary reason for purchasing a new home.

"When searching for a new home, finding something affordable in a good school district with family-friendly features, such as large backyards, tops the list of homebuyer priorities," said Javier Vivas, manager of economic research for realtor.com.

Potential to build equity

The aforementioned markets offer strong public schools and affordable homes, says Vivas, “making them a great fit for homebuyers with elementary school-age children.”

Purchasing a home in a great school district can also make you more likely to stay put, which could lead to a better return on investment when you do decide to sell.

"Staying in your home for at least five to 10 years is one way you can ensure you receive a high return on your home investment," added Vivas. "With strong middle and high schools many of the markets on the list offer families the opportunity to put down roots while building equity in their home."

For families with older children, Realtor.com also ranked affordable towns with the best middle and high schools. Those rankings can be viewed here.

Scams revolving around utility bills are not uncommon. Utility bills are a major expense that every consumer has every month. Criminals are always looking for ways to exploit that.

Georgia Power now reports it has gotten wind of a new such scam. It says scammers are selling unsuspecting consumers Federal Reserve Bank routing numbers, along with instructions for using them to pay utility bills.

Paying your utility bill with non-existent money sounds too good to be true, and that should be the first tip-off you're dealing with a scammer. It just doesn't work.

Georgia Power notes that its system – along with systems used by other utility companies – may initially accept a Federal Reserve routing number to pay a bill, but the bogus payment will eventually be rejected. The customers who try this gambit will then face late fees and possibly disconnection.

“Federal Reserve routing numbers are used for sorting and processing payments between banks. Any video, text, email, phone call, flyer, or website that describes how to pay bills using a Federal Reserve Bank routing number or using an account at the Federal Reserve Bank is a scam,” the utility company warns.

Other utility company scams

This, of course, is just the latest in a long line of utility company scams. In the past, scammers have called victims, or even shown up at their door, claiming their service is about to be shut off for non-payment. The only way to avoid that is to make a payment immediately.

Georgia Power says it, and most other utility companies, will never ask for a credit card or pre-paid debit card over the phone. It says it does not send employees door-to-door to collect payments.

If you happen to get an email that looks like it is from a utility company demanding either immediate payment or personal information, that is also a tried-and-true scam. You should simply delete it, or forward it to your local utility company for action.

Safety advocates have long decried contact sports like hockey and football for causing irreparable, long-term damage to athletes at all levels. And a recent study from Boston University shows that they may be even more correct than previously thought.

After analyzing a sample of over 200 deceased athletes who played football, researchers found that 177 of them (87%) showed signs of a dangerous brain disease called chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE). The findings showed that prevalence of CTE increased accordingly with the level of competition, with 99% of former NFL players’ brains showing signs of severe trauma.

“In a convenience sample of 202 deceased former players of American football who were part of a brain donation program, a high proportion were diagnosed neuropathologically with CTE,” the authors write. “These findings suggest that CTE may be related to prior participation in football and that a high level of play may be related to substantial disease burden.”

CTE by level of play

This research represents the largest study ever conducted on individuals with CTE and shows just how dangerous contact sports like football may be. Participants who were examined for the study included an array of former athletes, including high school, college, semi-professional, and professional players.

The researchers found that the incidence rate of CTE increased dramatically from the high school level to the professional level. Examinations resulted in CTE diagnoses in three out of 14 former high school players (21%), 48 out 53 college players (91%), nine out 14 semi-professional players (64%), seven out of eight professional Canadian Football League players (88%), and a whopping 110 out 111 former NFL players (99%).

The researchers said that the severity of CTE symptoms seemed to primarily be based on how long players were active in the sport, with high school players tending to have mild pathology and college, semi-professional, and professional players having severe pathology.

However, even mild symptoms had a marked effect on certain aspects of players' lives. Of the 27 participants with a mild pathology, all but one had behavioral symptoms, mood symptoms, or both; 23 had cognitive symptoms; and 9 showed signs of dementia.

Of the 84 participants with severe CTE pathology, 75 had behavioral symptoms, mood symptoms, or both; 80 had cognitive problems; and 71 showed signs of dementia.

Concerning for parents and athletes

The researchers say they were shocked by their own findings and how pervasive CTE was among the study’s sample. They believe that the findings indicate that CTE is much more common in football players than previously thought.

While they caution that the results need to be verified and future study is warranted, they say that there is little doubt that playing football can be devastating to athletes’ brain health, no matter what level they’re playing at.

“It’s impossible to ignore this anymore,” said researcher Dr. Ann C. McKee in a Boston Globe report. “To me this says that this [is] a public health problem, something that should concern parents and athletes. All the participants were exposed to a relatively similar type of repetitive head trauma while playing the same sport.

The full study has been published in JAMA.

We’ve all heard the saying that money can’t buy you happiness, but a new study from the University of British Columbia and Harvard Business School suggests that might not actually be the case.

After surveying over 6,000 people from the U.S., Canada, Denmark, and the Netherlands, the researchers found that consumers were happier when they used their money to buy themselves extra personal time. While some people may balk at the idea of hiring a person to do their laundry, mow their grass, or take care of other chores and errands, lead author Ashley Whilans says that the reduced stress leads to greater happiness.

“People who hire a housecleaner or pay the kid next door to mow the lawn might feel like they’re being lazy,” she said. “But our results suggest that buying time has similar benefits for happiness as having more money.”

Greater life satisfaction

To further their findings, the researchers performed a field test that randomly asked some participants to spend $40 on a time saving purchase and $40 on a material purchase on consecutive weekends. Responses indicated that participants felt happier after spending money on the time saving purchase rather than the material purchase.

When asked to elaborate, respondents indicated that making purchases that saved time tended to increase life satisfaction, regardless of how much income they had to work with. The finding surprised researchers, who initially thought that only those with more disposable income would benefit from time saving purchases.

“The benefits of buying time aren’t just for wealthy people,” said senior author Elizabeth Dunn. “We thought the effects might only hold up for people with quite a bit of disposable income, but to our surprise, we found the same effects across the income spectrum.”

Buying out of unpleasant experiences

While the study indicates that spending money to save time is beneficial, the researchers point out that consumers rarely make these kinds of purchases on their own. An additional survey of 98 working adults found that only 2% would use an unexpected $40 windfall on a purchase that saved them time.

“Although buying time can serve as a buffer against the time pressures of daily life, few people are doing it even when they can afford it,” said Dunn. “Lots of research has shown that people benefit from buying their way into pleasant experiences, but our research suggests people should also consider buying their way out of unpleasant experiences.”

The full study has been published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Bacteria are getting stronger and more resistant to the miracle drugs that have fought infection and saved millions of lives over the last few decades.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has blamed the prevalence of antibiotics in the environment, with doctors overprescribing the drugs and livestock producers using too many of them in animals. Some healthcare providers may have cut back on the use of the drugs, but two studies suggest there's room for improvement.

Researchers at the University of Georgia have identified sinus infections as the biggest reason doctors write a prescription for antibiotics. They contend, however, that bacteria cause only about a third of sinus infections, so many patients are taking the drugs unnecessarily.

Bacterial vs. viral

“A lot of the signs and symptoms of a bacterial sinus infection can be similar to those of a viral respiratory infection,” said University of Georgia researcher Mark Ebell. “It can be difficult to distinguish between the two just using individual signs and symptoms.”

So Ebell developed new rules for diagnosing sinus infections, or acute rhinosinusitis. The rules integrate patient symptoms and lab tests to accurately detect when bacteria is the cause of the infection.

“We need to give physicians better tools to support their decision-making, and that can include clinical decision rules and point of care tests,” Ebell said. “Using these kinds of tools, we can hopefully reduce unnecessary antibiotic use.”

When patients are prescribed antibiotics, they are instructed to take all of the pills as directed, even if their symptoms disappear and they are feeling better. That's been the standard for decades.

Researchers writing in the British Medical Journal suggest that's a misguided policy that might be contributing to antibiotic resistance.

Reducing unnecessary use

"The relation between antibiotic exposure and antibiotic resistance is unambiguous both at the population level and in individual patients," the authors write. "Reducing unnecessary antibiotic use is therefore essential to mitigate antibiotic resistance."

The study suggests stopping antibiotic treatment before the entire amount of medication has been taken does not appear to increase antibiotic resistance. On the other hand, they say taking antibiotics for a longer period than necessary could contribute to the problem. Patients prescribed antibiotics, however, should continue to follow their doctor's instructions.

The WHO says antibiotic resistance is "one of the biggest threats to global health, food security, and development today." It has found that a growing number of infections, including pneumonia, tuberculosis, and gonorrhea have become harder to treat because they are becoming resistant to antibiotics.

From gourmet treats to doggy day spas, pet parents often go to great lengths to ensure their four-legged companions get nothing but the best. For Millennial pet owners, purchasing a home is just another opportunity to make sure Fido gets the very best.

A third of Millennials who purchased their first home (33%) said the desire to have a better space or yard for a dog influenced their decision to purchase their first home, according to a new survey commissioned by SunTrust Mortgage.

"For those with dogs, renting can be more expensive and a hassle; home ownership takes some of the stress off by providing a better living situation,” said Dorinda Smith, CEO of SunTrust Mortgage.

But while fenced in backyards tend to rank high on the list of desired home features among pet owners, ample outdoor space isn't all pet parents should seek out in a potential home.

Pet-friendly features

As the The Cat’s House authors Bob Walker and Frances Mooney put it, “It’s not just a matter of being pet-friendly, but rather a question of giving your pets environmental enrichment.”

To provide environmental enrichment for your furry best friend, consider looking for the following pet-friendly features in a home:

• Pet-resistant flooring. Your pet will likely be skittering across the floors in your home for years to come, so consider looking for floors that won’t be easily damaged by claws. Look for pet-resistant flooring material such as concrete or porcelain tile. The Animal Behavior College also recommends stone, vinyl, laminate or cork.
• Designated space for pet supplies. Cat owners should look for the presence of feline-friendly spaces -- an odor-isolating area for the litter box or a good place to put a cat tree or shelves, for example. Dog owners should check to see if there are ideal places to house toys, food, and beds.
• Entertaining outside views. If your cat enjoys birdwatching, look for a home with wide windowsills that also doubles as a place to sunbathe. Dogs may also enjoy a window with a view of the outside.
• Space for bathing. Dog-owning house hunters may want to look for a an outdoor shower, a laundry room with an industrial sink, or a second bathroom that can double as a built-in dog wash.
• A walkable neighborhood. Envision yourself walking your pup down the streets of your new neighborhood. Think about whether sidewalks, nearby parks, or dog waste stations are important to you. Additionally, try to get a feel for how friendly other animals in the neighborhood are.

Authorities usually frown on consumers who break into other people’s vehicles, but starting next month, it will be legal for Colorado residents to do just that. The catch? It can only be done to save the life of a child or pet, and only after every other option has been exhausted.

In a report by the Denver Post, author of the bill Rep. Lori Saine says that the new law is intended to combat hot car deaths during the sweltering summer months. However, it shouldn’t allow consumers free reign to go around smashing windows.

“It was written to make sure there were common-sense steps,” said Saine. “It was also to protect property owners so that people aren’t just breaking in because they’re angry.”

Meeting criteria first

Under the new law, a person is immune from any civil or criminal liability for any damage caused to another person’s car due to forced entry if they meet the following criteria:

1. The vehicle is not a law enforcement vehicle;
2. An at-risk person or animal is present in the vehicle and the person rendering assistance has a reasonable belief that the at-risk person or animal is in imminent danger of death or suffering serious bodily injury;
3. The person determines that the vehicle is locked and that forcible entry is necessary;
4. The person makes a reasonable effort to locate the owner or operator of the vehicle and documents the color, make, model, license plate number, and location of the vehicle;
5. The person contacts a local law enforcement agency, the fire department, animal control, or a 911 operator prior to forcibly entering the vehicle, and the person does not interfere with, hinder, or fail to obey a lawful order of any person duly empowered with police authority or other first responder who is discharging or apparently discharging his or her duties;
6. The person uses no more force than he or she believes is reasonably necessary; and
7. The person rendering assistance remains with the at-risk person or animal, reasonably close to the vehicle, until a law enforcement officer, emergency medical service provider, animal control officer, or other first responder arrives at the scene.

“To get to the point of smashing a window, there are an awful amount of steps involved,” Sen. Lois Court aptly points out. “People should do exactly what the law requires them to do before they take any action.”

Animal lovers

Denver Animal Protection field services manager Lt. James Sanborn believes that the change makes a lot of sense for the citizens of Colorado, saying that the state has become very “pet friendly” during his professional tenure. However, he points out that emergency services should be able to stop many forcible entries if consumers follow the law.

“The best thing you can do is call animal protection or call 911,” Sanborn said. “When we get [calls] we try to respond as soon as we can. You also have the police and the fire department if the dog is in that kind of distress. Their response time is pretty quick – within two or three minutes.”

“I just think Coloradans are animal lovers and know that it can get really hot,” Court said of her constituents. “Many Coloradans need to be reminded of how dangerous this can be for pets and for children.”

General Motors is recalling 40,683 model year 2014-2016 Buick Lacrosse and Chevrolet Spark EV, Caprice PPV and SS vehicles, model year 2014-2017 Buick Encore and Chevrolet Corvette, Silverado 1500 and GMC Sierra 1500 vehicles, Model year 2015-2016 Cadillac Escalade and Escalade ESV, Chevrolet Tahoe, Trax, Suburban and Silverado 2500 and 3500 and GMC Yukon and Yukon XL vehicles, and model year 2015-2017 GMC Sierra HD 2500 and 3500 vehicles.

While being previously remedied, the vehicles may not have received the complete software update necessary to remedy the recall condition.

Without the update, certain driving conditions may cause the air bag sensing and diagnostic module (SDM) software to activate a diagnostic test.

During this test, deployment of the front airbags and the seat belt pretensioners would not occur in the event of a crash.

Failure of the front airbags or seat belt pretensioners to deploy in the event of a crash increases the risk of injury to the driver and front passenger.

What to do

GM will notify owners, and dealers will reflash the SDM software. Vehicles that have had a previous airbag deployment will have the SDM replaced. These repairs will be performed free of charge. The manufacturer has not yet provided a notification schedule.

Owners may contact Buick customer service at 1-800-521-7300, Cadillac customer service at 1-800-458-8006, Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020, or GMC customer service at 1-800-462-8782. GM's number for this recall is 1728

Most people associate cleaning with time, effort, and an array of fancy spray solutions, but getting your home spic and span doesn’t have to take all day, or require the use of expensive products.

A few simple tricks can help take some of the hassle out of cleaning, according to the home experts at HouseLogic.com. They recently rattled off a few clever tips for taking a home from grungy to gleaming.

Many of the tips named by HouseLogic can be implemented using items you probably already have around the house.

Easy cleaning hacks

Loathe labor-intensive cleaning tasks? Then the following tips might prove to be useful additions to your mental collection of cleaning know-how.

• Freshen up naturally with plants. Skip the air freshener and opt for fragrant houseplants, such as citrus, sweet bay, orchids, or cuban oregano.
• Make a “go-cart” for mobile cleaning. Corral your cleaning supplies onto a cart with wheels for easy room-to-room transportation.
• Get rid of mattress odors with baking soda. To oust unpleasant odors emanating from mattresses, use a sifter or fine mesh strainer to sprinkle about a cup of baking soda directly onto your mattress. Let it sit for about an hour to soak up the odors, then vacuum it up.
• Give greasy stove burners an ammonia soak. Ammonia fumes can power through stubborn stove grease. Simply take ¼ cup of ammonia and seal it up with one of the burners in a large ziploc bag.
• Clear garage debris with a leaf blower. Leaf blowers can be handy tools for helping to clear away dust, cobwebs, and leaves from your garage.
• Use a drill brush on tub grunge. Retrofit your cordless drill with a scrubber to tackle tough stains in the tub.
• Spray shower doors with windshield rain repellent. Solutions like Rain-X can help to keep your shower door clean and dry by causing water to bounce right off.
• Clean dirty air vents in the dishwasher. Dirty dishes aren’t all your dishwasher can clean. Toss dirt-covered air vents in the dishwasher to get them looking as good as new.

Polaris Industries of Medina, Minn., is recalling about 16,800 RZR 170 recreational off-highway vehicles (ROVs).

The fuel tank neck can crack or the wiring harness can overheat or short circuit, posing fuel leak and fire hazards.

The company has received 102 reports of cracked fuel tank necks and 28 reports of burning, smoking, melted and/or shorted wires, including four reports of fires. No injuries have been reported.

This recall involves all model year 2015 through 2017 youth RZR 170 ROVs. The recalled ROVs have two seats and were sold in red, blue and white.

For model year 2015 ROVs, “Polaris” is printed on the front grill, “RZR” is printed on the rear panel, and “170” is printed on the front panel.

For model year 2016 and 2017 ROVs, “Polaris” is printed on the front grill and on the rear panel, and “RZR” is printed on the front panel. The VIN is printed on the frame on the driver’s side front wheel well.

The ROVs, manufactured in Taiwan, were sold at Polaris dealers nationwide from February 2015 through July 2017 for between $4,600 and $4,800.

What to do

Consumers should immediately stop using the recalled ROVs and contact Polaris to schedule a free repair. Polaris is contacting all known purchasers directly.

Consumers may contact Polaris at 800-765-2747 from 7 a.m. through 7 p.m. (CT) Monday through Friday, or online at www.polaris.com and click on “Off Road Safety Recalls” for more information. 

Coca-Cola is doing away with Coke Zero and replacing it with Coke Zero Sugar. It might sound illogical, or even silly, but it's not just a new name, it's actually a different drink. The change comes amid legal challenges that blame Coke and other drinks for contributing to an "epidemic of obesity." The company is also being criticized for hiring public figures to carry its message.  

As for the switch to Coke Zero Sugar, Coke Zero hasn't been selling all that well in the U.S. But in Europe, the Middle East and Latin America, Coke Zero Sugar has been a big success. So, as the company tells it, Coke is bringing Coke Zero Sugar to the U.S. in August and ditching Coke Zero.

The company says that Coke Zero Sugar tastes more like the original Coke and the can looks more like it too, with a red circle instead of Coke Zero's black design. Both drinks are sugar-free and contain the same artificial sweeteners. 

Coca-Cola launched Coke Zero in 2006 but it hasn't sold well enough to make up for losses in the sales of Diet Coke, which as its name implies is yet another Coca-Cola brand extension. 

The problem Coca-Cola and other drinkmakers face, of course, is that they have historically sold carbonated sugary drinks. Consumers are demanding less sugar, which makes it kind of tough to brew up a sugar-free sugary drink that appeals to consumer tastes.

"Epidemic of obesity"

Coke's upbeat marketing is fine but critics say the company should be held responsible for the widespread epidemic of obesity, diabetes, heart disease and related maladies.

A lawsuit filed earlier this month charges that the Coca-Cola Company and its trade association, the American Beverage Association (ABA), deceive consumers by denying and obscuring soda’s link to those diseases.

The complaint alleges that Coke covertly funded and publicized biased scientific research, substantially orchestrated a drumbeat of deceptive ABA press releases on science and health, and ran false and misleading advertising campaigns.  It cites a report in the New York Times that said that between 2010 and 2015 alone, Coca-Cola spent $120 million on research and other projects aimed at confusing consumers about, or denying, the science linking health risks to soda and other sugar drinks.

Bringing the action in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia were Reverend William H. Lamar IV, pastor of the historic Metropolitan African Methodist Episcopal Church in Washington, DC; Reverend Delman Coates, senior pastor of Mt. Ennon Baptist Church in Clinton, MD; and the Praxis Project, a nonprofit organization focused on building healthier communities. 

“For far too long, Coca-Cola has been convincing people, including children, that soda is a source of fun and happiness and that it is safe to drink,” said Rev. Coates in a statement issued by the Center for Science in the Public Interest. “But from my vantage point, Coca-Cola is devastating the African American community by fueling an epidemic of obesity and an epidemic of type 2 diabetes."

"I visit hospitals and homes, and officiate at funerals. I routinely encounter blindness, loss of limbs, strokes, and even death," Coates said. "Efforts to talk about the role of sugar drinks and advertising in these epidemics, including many of my own efforts, are hampered by the effects of Coca-Cola’s deceptive marketing.”

The lawsuit quotes Coca-Cola executive Katie Bayne’s much-publicized statement that “[t]here is no scientific evidence that connects sugary beverages to obesity” as representative of the kind of deception that Coke and the ABA publicly engage in. Sugar-sweetened beverage consumption is linked scientifically not only to obesity but also to type 2 diabetes and heart disease. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the federal government’s 2015 Dietary Guidelines for Americans,  the American Heart Association, the American Medical Association, and numerous other prominent medical and health authorities all acknowledge such links, the CSPI alleged.

“When industry wanted to sell more cigarettes, it used powerful advertising to make smoking seem glamorous, and it tried to muddy the waters and make it seem as if smoking’s link to lung cancer were in doubt,” said Rev. Lamar. “Soda might not be smoking, but the tactics of the companies are strikingly similar to me: Market heavily. Cast doubt on science. People need and deserve to know the facts about soda consumption."

Exercise isn't enough

A recent New York Times article focuses on Coca-Cola's recruitment of public figures to shift the blame for obesity from sugary drinks onto inactivity.

The newly named director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Dr. Brenda Fitzgerald, accepted $1 million from Coca-Cola to fight child obesity when she was the health commissioner of Georgia, the state with one of the highest rates of child obesity, the Times reported.

She used the money to finance a program called Power Up for 30, encouraging schools to give children 30 more minutes of exercise each day. Her appointment by President Trump puts her in charge of an agency that in 2013 broke its ties with Coca-Cola after concluding the company's mission was at odds with the CDC's public health mission.

Critics say the Power Up for 30 is an example of the company's attempts to shift the blame for obesity and illness from sugary drinks to inactivity.

In many cases when a consumer goes car shopping, he or she has pretty much settled on a make and model. What's left is to negotiate the price.

But what if you aren't sure what kind of car you want? Where do you start?

Kelley Blue Book (KBB) suggests you might consider the opinions of its automotive experts. Each model year is subjected to a full range of judging, with KBB editors putting cars into different categories and rating them.

Now, to put all those different categories of vehicles into one manageable list, KBB has reviewed all its awards announcements for the 2017 models and compiled a list of the top 10 most awarded cars.

Among the categories are the "10 Coolest Cars Under $18,000," "Best Family Cars," and "10 Most Comfortable Cars Under $30,000."

Honda is one and two

In the distilled list, Honda holds down the top two spots. The Honda Accord earned the most awards for 2017, including the "Lowest Five Year Cost To Own." KBB says it seemed to be on all the lists.

Second is the Honda Civic, which has driven away with "Small Car Best Buy" every year since the award has been given.

The Jeep Wrangler is third on the list, having previously won in the categories of "10 Most Fun SUVs," and "10 Coolest Cars Under $25,000."

The Hyundai Sonota is fourth, earning points for being one of the "10 Best Sedans Under $25,000. The Kia Optima is right behind, previously named one of the "Best Family Sedans."

The Prius and Prius Prime

The Toyota Prius and Prius Prime have been named as the "Best Hybrid" and "Plug-in Hybrid Cars Under $40,000," and earned "5-Year Cost to Own" awards, placing them at sixth on the list.

At seventh is the Chevrolet Impala, praised in the past for comfort and economy. The Kia Sportage finished eighth, making the "Small SUV Best Buy" list this year.

Honda shows up again at number nine, with the CR-V. It's been chosen as one of KBB's "12 Best Family Cars" and one of the "10 Best SUVs Under $25,000."

The Subaru Impreza rounds out the list, having a "Best Resale Value" award to its credit, not to mention being named one of the "10 Coolest Cars Under $18,000."

Jack Nerad, executive editorial director and executive market analyst for Kelley Blue Book's KBB.com, says the editors drive and review nearly every new car before making out the lists. He said they also evaluated independent data.

Congress has begun the process of unwinding a consumer's right to a day in court, as the House voted 231-190 along party lines Tuesday to block a rule recently implemented by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

Only one Republican, Walter Jones of North Carolina, crossed party lines to vote against the measure, which faces an uncertain fate in the Senate. 

Supporters of the rule, including consumer groups, say repealing it would hurt consumers.

"The arbitration rule makes it harder for companies to bury language deep in contracts that strips customers of their rights. It helps everyone, but is especially important for communities of color and students," said Vanita Gupta, CEO of The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights. "But some in Congress are in a desperate rush to undo this arbitration rule, and to force people into secretive, rigged proceedings when they have been ripped off by banks, credit card companies, student loan lenders, and other financial institutions.

The Trump Administration has said it “strongly supports” the Republican bill, saying that the CFPB’s rule would harm consumers and “benefit trial lawyers by increasing frivolous class-action lawsuits.”

But Lisa Gilbert, Vice President of Legislative Affairs at Public Citizen, said the House vote amounted to "a savage attack on American consumers."

"By voting to overturn the CFPB’s arbitration rule, Republicans in Congress are siding with predatory banks, payday lenders, credit card companies, and the financial industry against Main Street Americans, and are choosing to be on the wrong side of history," Gilbert said. 

"Unfair clauses hidden in the fine print of consumer contracts may be the single most pernicious tactic that the financial industry uses to escape accountability for cheating, conning, fleecing, defrauding and plundering consumers. Big banks, the financial industry and their allies in Congress are trying to overturn the CFPB’s rule because it will deprive them of a means to rip off consumers," Gilbert added. 

Business groups contend that forced arbitration is better for everyone.

"When it comes to resolving consumer disputes over credit cards, checking accounts, or peer-to-peer loans, consumers get more money, more quickly from arbitration than from class action lawsuits," said John Berlau of the Competitive Enterprise Institute.

Earlier this month, Chipotle temporarily closed one of its stores in Sterling, Virginia after reports came in that some of its customers were getting ill. Health officials said that the symptoms were consistent with norovirus, but the specific cause of the outbreak was not yet clear.

On Monday, health officials confirmed that a second person who visited the restaurant had norovirus. In all, 135 people have reported becoming ill after visiting the location between July 13 and July 16, but no such incidents have been reported since it reopened on July 19.

“Two ill patrons have tested positive for the same strain of norovirus. Based on symptoms reported and these preliminary laboratory results, the cause of the outbreak is believed to be norovirus, though the specific source of the norovirus has not yet been identified,” said Dr. David Goodfriend of the Health Department.

More bad news for Chipotle

While the investigation has not yet concretely tied the outbreak to Chipotle, this latest news will be a bitter pill to swallow for the beleaguered company. Back in 2015, a multi-state E. coli outbreak linked to the company infected 55 people in 11 states, leading to 21 hospitalizations.

While that was bad enough, another smaller E. coli outbreak in three states was soon tied to the company, which led to five illnesses and one hospitalization. Thankfully, no consumer deaths were attributed to either outbreak.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) points out that norovirus affects nearly 20 million people each year, and that it is usually contracted after close contact with infected people or by eating contaminated food. The agency says that 70% of cases from contaminated food can be attributed to infected food workers, but taking common food safety precautions and not working when sick can often mitigate the threat.

Sickness from norovirus usually manifests within 12-48 hours after a consumer has been exposed and includes symptoms such as nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, cramps, diarrhea, malaise, fever, and muscle pain.

The Loudon County Health Department encourages consumers who have these symptoms to report it immediately. Officials say that any person with questions or concerns about this particular outbreak can contact the department at health@loudon.gov.

Should you buy a home or keep renting? It's an often-asked question but one that doesn't have a simple answer.

Instead, the answer is usually "it all depends." It all depends on where you live, what your financial circumstances are, and more importantly, how long you expect to stay in one place.

The answer has been further complicated in recent months because the price of a home in many areas has risen sharply, while rents have mostly leveled off. So the answer might well have changed recently.

Real estate marketplace Zillow has an online rent vs. buy calculator, which looks at a number of different factors in your local area to quickly provide an answer.

Total cost of homeownership

First, it measures the total cost of homeownership. That includes the down payment, monthly mortgage payment, taxes, and insurance.

If you just compare the monthly mortgage payment to monthly rent, buying might always appear to be cheaper. But throwing in the down payment significantly alters the equation. It could take many months of saving money on the monthly payment to make up for the amount of the downpayment.

The calculator will give you a bottom line, telling you how long you would need to live in the average home you could purchase in your area to make it cheaper than renting.

States where it's cheaper to rent

Because home prices have risen at double-digit rates in some parts of the country, GoBankingRates.com now reports there are 11 states in the U.S., up from nine in 2016, where it makes more economic sense to rent instead of buy. Those states are:

• Arizona
• Colorado
• Washington, D.C.
• Hawaii
• Idaho
• Montana
• Nevada
• North Carolina
• Oregon
• Utah
• Wyoming

In all 11 states the average mortgage payment is higher, not lower, than the average rent payment. In Colorado, for example, the spread is $111.

Non-financial factors

Zillow also suggests consumers weighing their buy vs. rent option also consider some non-financial factors. It says would-be buyers need to be "emotionally ready" to make the numerous decisions that go into such a transaction.

Consumers also need to honestly assess their "homeowner skills." You need to be able to be able to do the numerous simple tasks that go into homeownership, such as changing the furnace filter and replacing a toilet flapper.

After all, when something breaks, there is no landlord to call.

A new study commissioned by a consumer group finds that 79 percent of Americans support higher federal fuel economy standards for cars, but the U.S. Transportation Department may be heading in the opposite direction.

The DOT said today that it may revise fuel efficiency requirements starting with the 2021 model year, a year earlier than expected, and may adopt lower standards through 2025. That's in response to a review ordered by President Trump.

The Obama administration negotiated new standards in 2011, aimed at doubling average fleet-wide fuel efficiency to about 50 miles per gallon by 2025. Auto manufacturers have been lobbying to have the standards relaxed ever since.

The Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers, a trade group, has argued that "facts need to drive public policy, including data on consumer sales, gas prices and costs of technology" in determining the final standards.

Consumers may differ

But the survey commissioned by the Consumer Federation of America (CFA) found that a large majority (79%) of those intending to purchase a motor vehicle in the future, said that the vehicle’s fuel economy is important in the purchase of their next vehicle and indicated that they would be willing to pay somewhat more for a car that helps them save money on fuel. 

In part, this concern may reflect the belief that gas prices will rise in the future, CFA said. When asked to guess the price of gasoline in five years, the average price given by all respondents was $3.90.  Today’s average price is only $2.27.

CFA also released an analysis of actual fuel efficiency and increases in miles per gallon (MPGs) among newly introduced vehicles. It shows that, for consumers, improvements in MPG more than pay for themselves and that consumers value fuel efficiency. 

“Rolling back the standards at this point would not only hurt America’s already financially beleaguered consumers, but they would hamper vehicle sales and put U.S. car companies at a distinct competitive disadvantage to the Asian car companies who will meet the standards,” said CFA's Jack Gillis. 

Major consumer expense

Higher fuel economy standards have already saved consumers "trillions of dollars" and helped grow the economy, CFA said. 

“Fuel economy standards are one of the biggest consumer pocketbook issues the Trump Administration faces,” said Dr. Mark Cooper, author of a CFA report, Pocketbook Savings, Macroeconomic Growth and Other Public Benefits of Fuel Economy Standards.

The report notes that gasoline and diesel fuel oil, the two sources of energy most directly affected by Department of Transportation regulations, are a major consumer expense, representing over 3 percent of total household expenditures. Typically, it is about the 6th largest household expense.

The higher standards under fire by the auto industry have saved consumers close to $500 billion, Cooper said.

Many consumers may remember with some chagrin how adamant Microsoft was when it came to getting computer users to upgrade to Windows 10. But now only a couple of years later, it looks like some PCs will be locked out of receiving future updates for the operating system.

According to a ZDNet report, owners of some of the first 2-in-1 PCs sold throughout 2013 and 2014 have been unable to receive updates since the March 2017 Creators Update, version 1703. When users try to install the latest version, they are met with a warning stating that “Windows 10 is no longer supported on this PC” and that they should “Uninstall this app now because it isn’t compatible with Windows 10.”

However, there is no app to uninstall; the problem is actually tied to the PC’s hardware and its incompatibility with the latest Windows 10 release.

Incompatibility issues

So, what’s causing the problem? Tech experts say that affected PCs were installed with the Intel Atom Clover Trail series central processing unit (CPU).

This chip type, which was first installed on machines meant to run Windows 8, apparently has a block that stops computers from upgrading to the latest Windows 10 Creators Update. As a result, machines that have these chips are unable to progress past Windows 10, version 1607.

This can be extremely dangerous for consumers since security updates are only viable on Windows 10 for a period of 18 months. Since version 1607 was released in August 2016, that would mean that it would lose Microsoft’s support in early 2018.

Of course, users would still be able to use their PCs, but without recent security updates, the machines would become increasingly vulnerable to bugs, malware, security holes, and other hacking attempts.

Other PC's affected?

Luckily, consumers can take some solace knowing that Microsoft has acknowledged the issue and will be extending the support deadline past 2018 to 2023. But what happens then? If Microsoft is unable to work with chip makers to address the incompatibility issue, then it might mean that affected PCs will become obsolete and they’ll need to be replaced.

That would be a huge blow to the company, but even more so to the millions of individuals who might need to shell out money for a safe and up-to-date PC. To make matters worse, no one knows whether other PC chips will face similar problems in the near future.

Experts point out that if your PC was originally designed to run Windows 8 or 8.1, then you’re in danger of your device losing official support. PCs that were designed for Windows 10 are safe for now, but even these machines could experience a similar setback by a future feature update.