Current Events in August 2017

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    New mechanism helps determine if a product is the real deal or a counterfeit

    Researchers say the tool is extremely accurate and has verified $14 million worth of goods

    Want to know if the product you’re looking at is the real deal or a counterfeit? A new mechanism may allow you to do just that.

    Researchers led by Professor Lakshminarayanan Subramanian of New York University have developed a new device called Entrupy that uses machine-learning algorithms to determine if a product is the genuine article. In a presentation on August 14, the team demonstrated how the mechanism looks at the tiniest details of any product and cross-checks them with a catalogue of over 3 million product images to make its judgments.

    "The underlying principle of our system stems from the idea that microscopic characteristics in a genuine product or a class of products -- corresponding to the same larger product line -- exhibit inherent similarities that can be used to distinguish these products from their corresponding counterfeit versions," said Subramanian.

    $14 million worth of goods verified

    Unlike other counterfeit detection methods that can damage the goods they examine, the researchers say that Entrupy is non-invasive and is viable for detecting discrepancies in products such as leather, pills, electronics, toys, and shoes, to name a few. Best of all, reports show that the device is extremely accurate, with Subramanian noting that it has a classification accuracy of more than 98%.

    Thus far, the device has received $2.6 million in funding from investors and has authenticated around $14 million worth of goods. To see how it works and get more information, check out the demo video below and visit the company’s website here.

    Want to know if the product you’re looking at is the real deal or a counterfeit? A new mechanism may allow you to do just that.Researchers led by Profe...

    U.S. homes post annual and quarterly gains in April–June period

    Sales of new houses remain historically low

    Homes across the U.S. continued to rise in value during the second quarter of 2017.

    The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) reports its House Price Index (HPI) was up 1.6% from the previous three-month period and 6.6% from the second quarter of 2016.

    "U.S. house prices rose in most states during the second quarter," said FHFA Senior Economist William Doerner. "New home sales are climbing but, relative to the overall population, they still remain low from a historical perspective. The tight inventory is a major explanation for why house prices have been increasing every quarter over the last six years."

    Report highlights

    Home prices rose in 48 states and the District of Columbia between the second quarter of 2016 and the second quarter of 2017. The top five states in annual appreciation were: 1) Washington 12.4 %; 2) Colorado 10.4%; 3) Idaho 10.3%; 4) Florida 9.4%; and 5) Utah 9.2%.

    Among the 100 largest metropolitan areas in the U.S., annual price increases were greatest in the Seattle-Bellevue-Everett, Wash, where they rose 15.7%. Prices were weakest in New Haven-Milford, Conn., where they inched up just 0.1%.

    Of the nine census divisions, the Pacific division enjoyed the strongest increase in the second quarter, posting a 2.6% quarterly advance and a 8.9% increase since the second quarter of last year. House price appreciation was weakest in the Middle Atlantic division, where were up 0.8% from the last quarter.

    The HPI is calculated using home sales price information from mortgages sold to, or guaranteed by, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

    The complete report is available on the FHFA website.

    Homes across the U.S. continued to rise in value during the second quarter of 2017.The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) reports its House Price In...

    Chinese automaker to begin negotiations to acquire Jeep

    However, the move could be opposed by other automakers who want to snatch up the brand

    Last week, it looked likely that FCA had found a potential buyer for its Jeep brand after years of unsuccessfully trying to merge with another major partner. That report was denied but now, Automotive News reports that a Chinese automaker has indeed expressed interest in the subsidiary and will be pursuing an acquisition.

    The publication says that Chinese automaker Great Wall Motor Co. has reached out to connect with FCA in order to begin negotiations.

    “We are deeply interested in the Jeep brand and have paid close attention to it for a long time,” said Great Wall spokesman Xu Hui. “Our strategic goal is to become the world’s largest SUV maker. Acquiring Jeep, a global SUV brand, would enable us to achieve our goal sooner and better.”

    Possible opposition

    Although Great Wall is noticeably smaller than FCA – raking in only $14.76 billion annually to the larger automaker’s $131 billion – Hui says that the company is confident that it can raise enough revenue to execute a deal.

    “Great Wall has a strong track record in making good profits,” he said. “We are also listed in Hong Kong and Shanghai. We can make use of our accumulated profits as well as our access to the capital market to make the deal happen.”

    However, it’s likely that Great Wall’s attempt at slicing away Jeep from FCA won’t be met quietly by other players. Automakers like GM, which refused FCA’s offer to merge back in 2015, may see the brand as a viable replacement for Hummer, which it dropped back in 2010. VW may also express interest in Jeep in order to expand its footprint in the U.S.

    Becoming a global presence

    FCA has done a lot to build on the Jeep brand in recent years, building on the 500,000 vehicles it sold worldwide in 2008 to 1.41 million trucks in 2016. Morgan Stanley analyst Adam Jonas recently valued the brand at around $33.5 billion, compared to FCA’s overall value of $32 billion.

    Critics might point out that Jeep sales have been lagging in the U.S. in recent months, but reports show that sales have been soaring abroad in recent years. An expanded product line and increased global production has allowed the company to set a goal of 2 million sales globally for 2018, and new factories in Brazil, India, and China are bringing models like the Renegade, Cherokee, and Compass to new overseas markets.

    “If there is one brand out there that has the right to claim the ability to have one out of five – 20 percent of that [global market] belong to it – it’s Jeep,” said FCA CEO Sergio Marchionne of the brand’s success. Whether or not it will be enough for an automaker to bite on the $33.5 billion price tag remains to be seen.

    Last week, it looked likely that FCA had found a potential buyer for its Jeep brand after years of unsuccessfully trying to merge with another major partne...

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      How to make a device to safely view the eclipse

      It bears repeating -- don't look at today's eclipse with the unprotected eye

      The Great Solar Eclipse is just hours away in North America and millions of people have their special solar glasses at the ready.

      But chances are, many millions more don't. After all, they made just a certain number and you might be among the many who didn't get a pair.

      Under no circumstances should you look directly at the eclipsing sun without the protection of certified glasses or filter. Doing so will cause significant and permanent eye damage. Even really good sunglasses offer no protection.

      What to do

      However, there is a way to safely experience the spectacle, by making a device that will allow you to view the eclipse indirectly. By taking a piece of cardboard and cutting a small round hole in the center, you can hold it up to the sun and the hole will be filled with sunlight.

      Hold a sheet of white paper about 12 inches away from the cardboard and the circle of sunlight will be projected onto the white paper. As the moon begins to pass across the sun, you will see the circle of light begin to turn dark.

      A slightly fancier way to produce a homemade viewer is by using an empty cereal box. The folks at Kellogg's produced the brief video below to show how it's done.

      It goes without saying you can also experience the eclipse online, which might be helpful if you happen to be far outside the "zone of totality," which stretches across the center of the country.

      National Geographic says it is offering a full day of coverage of the eclipse, with visuals from the "zone of totality," along with live commentary.

      The Great Solar Eclipse is just hours away in North America and millions of people have their special solar glasses at the ready.But chances are, many...

      Feds end consumer measure that earned wrath of payday lenders, Republicans and sex industry

      The Trump administration says the banking policy allowed the feds to target merchants for political reasons

      The Department of Justice is ending an Obama-era policy that instructed banks to watch out for “high-risk” merchants that sought direct access to consumers’ accounts.

      The policy, according to the former administration, was intended to stop banks from allowing payday lenders to illegally garnish their borrowers' wages. Enacted in 2013, Operation Choke Point, as the feds called it, was supposed to “choke” illegal payday lenders and scam artists from doing business.

      But Republicans, the payday loan industry and some small business owners had claimed that Operation Choke Point allowed the administration to go after law-abiding businesses for politically motivated reasons.

      A letter obtained by Allied Progress, a consumer group that had supported the initiative, reveals that the Department of Justice is ceding to demands to end Operation Choke Point.  

      The operation is “no longer in effect, and it will not undertaken again,” Assistant Attorney General Stephen Boyd wrote in a recent letter to House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte, a Virginia Republican. “We share your view that law abiding businesses should not be targeted simply for operating in an industry that a particular administration might disfavor.”

      E-commerce and third party payments

      Operation Choke Point as it was written told banks to give close scrutiny to the “third-party payment processors” they were working with. 

      The term is used to describe anything from PayPal to an independent salesman or designer selling goods on peer-to-peer sites like Etsy. The third-party  merchants get their name because they are able to conveniently access a shopper’s account without, say, a credit card machine and a traditional relationship with a bank. This system has allowed small business owners working in the e-commerce industry to flourish.

      Payday lenders profit

      The problem, according to watchdogs, is that payday lenders, or companies that provide loans to poor people at high interest rates, have also made friends with some third-party payment processors. This relationship allowed the loan companies to directly access their customer’s accounts and garnish their wages, which is normally illegal to do without a court order. 

      Using subpoenas that they gathered under Operation Choke Point, the Department of Justice in 2014 fined a North Carolina bank $1.2 million for allowing payday lenders to illegally deduct $2.4 billion from consumers’ bank accounts. The bank itself made $850,00 in fees from the deductions, making this a rare instance in which a government fine on a bank over a fraud issue was steeper than the bank’s profits.

      In another case, Nascar driver and payday lender Scott Tucker was arrested and later ordered to pay the feds $1.2 billion in fines after the Department of Justice alleged that he had charged unlawfully high interest rates and raided the accounts of 4.5 million people. Tucker, according to the feds, initially avoided scrutiny by pretending that his online payday lending business was controlled by Native American tribes. 

      Firearms dealers and pornography workers cite setbacks

      But the wide-ranging definition of “third-party payment processor” gave payday lending companies and Republicans in Congress leeway to argue that legal yet controversial e-commerce industries, such as online gun dealers, were also targeted. E-commerce businesses that legally sold firearms agreed, publicly complaining that they were labeled “high-risk” and dumped by banks as a result of Operation Choke Point. 

      Though they did not generally attract the same sympathy from Republican legislators, sex workers had also complained about the measure. Those who work in online pornogarphy repeatedly said during the Obama administration that their bank accounts were getting shut down without warning.

      Porn star Teagn Presley and her husband recounted in 2014 that they had abruptly received a letter from Chase bank that their accounts were cancelled. They learned that they had been labeled as “high risk clients.”

      Another woman who tried to launch an e-commerce condom business said that Chase had also denied her an application for payment services, as she was also  “high-risk.” Their financial difficulties gave credence to concerns that Operation Choke Point would harm legal but controversial e-commerce industries and small business.

      In his letter to the House Judiciary Chairman, Assistant Attorney General Stephen Boyd acknowledges that investigations sparked by Operation Choke Point did lead the feds to find and prosecute unlawful financial activity. While he writes that the Department will continue to prosecute law-breakers, he says banks will no longer be instructed to stay away from high-risk third party merchants so that they do not target people who are not breaking the law. 

      The Department of Justice is ending an Obama-era policy that instructed banks to watch out for “high-risk” merchants that sought direct access to consumers...

      Researchers create cancer-fighting proteins

      New drugs kill 58 out of 60 cancer cells

      Health scientists have made huge strides in recent years in diagnosing and treating cancer.

      Some promising developments have panned out, but many others haven't. Researchers at Boise State University hope their recent discovery turns out to be one that puts science a step closer to a cure.

      The National Cancer Institutes (NCI) has what it calls the NCI-60 panel of cancer cells, a list of 60 different cancers that can affect nine organ systems in the human body. Boise State researchers have developed a series of drugs they say will kill 58 of the 60 cancer cells.

      Biological sciences professors Abdelkrim Alileche and Greg Hampikian identify the two drugs as 9R and 9S1.

      Absent protein sequences

      Over the last decade, the scientists have worked to identify a complete list of “shortest absent protein sequences for all sequenced life on earth.” Connecting the dots, they then determined that when these short sequences are absent, it can negatively affect the human genome.

      “We realized this is exactly how the human immune system works, looking for short sequences that don’t exist in the human genome – and killing them,” said Hampikian.

      So they started playing around with DNA, creating combinations that did not exist in nature. It might sound scary, but the scientists were convinced they were onto something.

      In the lab, the researchers experimented, using some of the absent protein sequences to try to kill human cancers. They say one worked very well, so they used it to create the two experimental drugs. The drugs, they say, have been shown to take out all but two of the types of cancer cells in the NCI panel.

      “There really is no similar type of protein, effective against solid tumor and blood cancers, from all nine organ systems in the NCI-60 panel – including kidney, ovary, skin melanoma, lung, brain, lung, colon, prostate and the hematopoietic system,” said Alileche. “While there are toxic effects against some normal cell lines, several cancers are more sensitive than normal cells.”

      Could hold promise

      That leads to hope that drugs harnessing the proteins could hold promise for combating cancer in humans.

      Previously, researchers have had some success using the body's immune system to attack and kill cancers. At the time, it represented a sharp departure from previous methods of treating cancer.

      This method represents yet another departure, and the two scientists say much more research will be required to tell if this development is as promising as they hope it is.

      While this treatment holds promise for fighting cancer in humans, the team is beginning new studies and predicts it will be a few years before testing advances to that stage.

      Health scientists have made huge strides in recent years in diagnosing and treating cancer.Some promising developments have panned out, but many others...

      Settlement wipes away student loan debt for 41,000

      Former Corinthian Colleges students will get an average $6,500 in relief

      Student loan debt is still a heavy burden for millions, but there are now around 41,000 former students whose debt has disappeared.

      In a settlement with federal and state agencies, Aequitas Capital Management, Inc., a financial services firm in receivership, will make refunds to the 41,000 students who borrowed money to attend the for-profit, and now defunct, Corinthian Colleges.

      The settlement is in the final stages and must win approval from the court in Oregon that is handing the Aequitas bankruptcy.

      “Thousands of New Yorkers signed up at Corinthian College to build the skills they need to compete in today’s economy,” said New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman. “But Aequitas Capital Management took advantage of their ambition and schemed with Corinthian to saddle these students with high-default loans at the now-bankrupt college. This was nothing more than a sham that victimized unwitting students and deceived the government and taxpayers.”

      Who gets a refund

      Under the terms of the settlement, students who borrowed money from Aequitas Capital to attend a Corinthian school, and were attending when it closed in 2014 -- or who defaulted on their loans -- will receive a full discharge of their student loans. That includes any accrued interest.

      A small number of borrowers won't receive a full discharge of their loans, but will have around 55% of the amount forgiven. Schneiderman says the average student loan borrower will get $6,000 and $7,000 in loan relief.

      Schneiderman says Aequitas Capital was brought into the picture when Corinthian was in danger of having too many of its students reliant on federal aid under Title IV. Students then got private student loans through Aequitas, which allegedly had a deal with Corinthian to buy back loans in default. Schneiderman says the purpose was to make it appear Corinthian was in Title IV compliance.

      'Sham loans'

      “These were sham loans used by for-profit schools and lenders to access federal taxpayer dollars to fund programs that did nothing to help students get ahead,” said Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan.

      Madigan says that after Corinthian could no longer make payments to Aequitas as agreed, the hedge fund was left holding a large inventory of loans that students could not repay. At that point, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) took notice and declared the arrangement a Ponzi scheme. Aequitas failed in 2016 and was taken into SEC receivership.

      If you are a former Corinthian student with student loan debt and believe you might be eligible for loan forgiveness under the terms of the settlement, contact your state attorney general to learn more. You can find your attorney general's contact information here.

      Student loan debt is still a heavy burden for millions, but there are now around 41,000 former students whose debt has disappeared.In a settlement with...

      Frail consumers living a sedentary lifestyle are at greater risk of death, study finds

      Researchers say doctors should focus on increasing activity to improve outcomes

      Doctors generally advise against a sedentary lifestyle, and recent findings show that it may be especially dangerous for some consumers.

      Researchers from the Dalhousie University and University College London say that sedentary time, such as prolonged sitting, can increase the risk of death for middle-aged and older people who also struggle with frailty – defined as having multiple health problems or decreased functional ability.

      "We found that in people who scored low on the frailty index, sitting time was not linked to risk of death. Prolonged sitting was associated with a higher risk of death only in vulnerable or frail people who did not meet the weekly recommendation for 2.5 hours of moderate physical activity," said lead researcher Dr. Olga Theou.

      Encourage activity

      For the purposes of the study, Theou and her colleagues analyzed data on 3,141 adults over the age of 50 who took part in the U.S. National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES). In that survey, participants were asked to use activity trackers to assess their level of frailty, with the results being catalogued into an index.

      The researchers found that participants who were frailer and had high amounts of sedentary time were at greater risk of death than those who were more active. They say that the results should help doctors focus more on reducing sedentary time to create better patient outcomes.

      "Physicians should stress the harms of inactivity with patients, similar to the harms of smoking, to encourage movement," said Theou. "Even something as simple as getting up and walking around the house with a walker or cane can benefit frailer people."

      The full study has been published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal.

      Doctors generally advise against a sedentary lifestyle, and recent findings show that it may be especially dangerous for some consumers.Researchers fro...

      Where $1 million in retirement savings goes farthest

      And the states where you'll burn through it the fastest

      Consumers nearing retirement most likely have been told over and over they need to be saving money for retirement, but exactly how much?

      Well, the answer to that is, "it depends." It can depend on a lot of things, including what other assets you have, whether and how long you plan to work in a "retirement job," and what the cost of living is where you live.

      The folks at GoBankingRates.com have addressed that last consideration, doing the math to determine the states where $1 million in retirement savings will last the longest and where you'll spend it in the shortest amount of time.

      Mississippi millionaires

      For example, if you have $1 million and retire in Mississippi, GoBankingRates estimates the money would last 26 years and four months. In Arkansas, it's estimated to last 25 years, six months, and 25 years, two months in Oklahoma.

      It should last an even quarter century in both Michigan and Tennessee.

      Taxes and housing costs are a factor in making the money go farther, and all five states are hospitable to retirees on those counts. But they work against you in the five states where $1 million goes fast.

      In Hawaii, $1 million might only last 11 years, 11 months. In California, it might last 16 years, five months, and 17 years in Alaska. It will last only a little longer in New York and Massachusetts.

      Big difference between Hawaii and Mississippi

      The editors at GoBankingRates conclude that the cost of living in Hawaii runs just under $84,000 a year but just under $38,000 in Mississippi. Healthcare is a big cost in retirement and Alaska's healthcare is the costliest -- $8,479 a year.

      Housing is expensive in California, but is nearly $16,000 a year less than housing costs in Hawaii.

      The editors conclude that the average retirement age is 63 and the average life expectancy is 85. AARP suggests retirees save $1 million for retirement, though some planners recommend a higher number.

      In reality, it appears that few retirees have joined the million dollar club. A 2016 BlackRock survey found that the average Baby Boomer between the ages of 55 and 65 had only saved $136,000.

      Consumers nearing retirement most likely have been told over and over they need to be saving money for retirement, but exactly how much? Well, the answe...

      Survey shows parents are divided when it comes to later school start times

      Researchers say allowing students extra time to sleep is a 'win-win for everyone'

      Over the years, many studies have focused on how important sleep is for growing children and adolescents. Some advocates have even gone as far as suggesting that schools start later in the morning to give students extra time to sleep.

      But a recent study shows that parents are pretty divided on that course of action. A nationally representative survey conducted by researchers at the University of Michigan shows that only 51% of parents support delaying school start-up times. However, the results reveal that many of these respondents are unaware of how much sleep their children should be getting.

      "We found that parents underestimated how much sleep their children needed, and only about half agreed with existing recommendations that school start times should be later," said lead researcher Dr. Galit Dunietz.

      Sleep-related problems

      The survey was administered to 554 parents with teens between the ages of 13 and 17, all of whom started school before 8:30 a.m. According to the results, many of these caregivers believed that middle- and high-school students needed only seven hours of sleep per night to function properly.

      However, recommendations from the American Academy of Sleep Medicine state that teens in this age range should get 8-10 hours of sleep per night, and that current school start-up times are causing sleep-related problems.

      "If their bodies don't tell them they're tired until 11 p.m. or later and then they have to be at school before 7:30 a.m., many of these teens experience a chronic sleep debt," says Dunietz. "Many teens would do fine if they could go to bed late and sleep late in the morning. But they can be late to school or become chronically sleep-deprived when classes start early every weekday," adds senior author and neurologist Dr. Ronald Chervin.

      "Win-win for everyone"

      Despite these shortcomings, nearly half of all parents in the survey opposed starting school at a later time. When asked for the reasoning behind their answers, many cited logistical concerns, such as transportation issues, adjustments to meal times, and the timing of after-school activities.

      However, the researchers point out that schools who have pushed back start times have seen no real negative effect resulting from the decision. Experts report that students are often much less tired in the classroom, and that the change could reduce the chance of mood disorders, obesity, and risky behaviors.

      "There's evidence that it's a win-win for everyone," says Dunietz. "We cannot change teens' biology to have them sleep earlier, so we should push the school start times back, in line with recommendations from the American Academy of Sleep Medicine and the American Academy of Pediatrics."

      The full study has been published in the Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine.

      Over the years, many studies have focused on how important sleep is for growing children and adolescents. Some advocates have even gone as far as suggestin...

      August's hot, so why aren't you in Maine?

      The state offers great food, scenic beauty, and cool temps

      When you think of Maine you probably think of lobsters. And why not, the tasty crustacean is plentiful in the state.

      But Maine is a whole lot more than lobsters, and its location on the Atlantic, next to the Canadian border, attracts travelers from warmer climes during August. While outdoor activities in southern states might be a bit unpleasant this time of year, travelers flock to Maine, largely for the great outdoors.

      And the pleasant climate. The average high temperature in Portland, Maine in August is around 77 degrees.

      Maine's Midcoast and Islands region is a mountainous area that offers plenty of hiking trails and ocean views, usually from the same spot. It's home to the towns of Belfast, Camden, Rockland, Wiscasset, Brunswick, Bath, and Damariscotta.

      Bath features the Summer Gazebo Concert Series, with jazz and traditional band concerts in Library Park, every Tuesday and Friday evening through August 28th. In fact, many of the towns and villages celebrate the arts with music during the summer months.

      Dining and entertainment hub

      The city of Portland, along Casco Bay, is a hub of arts, entertainment, and dining. Restaurants in the area have racked up a number of awards in recent years. Bon Appetit has given the city the title "America's Foodiest Small Town."

      Old beach towns lie along the coast just south of Portland, known for their dining as well as their spectacular views. Earlier this month, Open Table listed Joseph By The Sea as one of the most scenic restaurants in America.

      The section of Maine known as Downeast and Acadia has the distinction of being the eastern-most territory in the United States. It's an area of natural beauty that joins ocean, craggy coastline, and deep forests and streams. If you go to Maine to escape the heat and humidity, its one place you probably want to visit.

      Kennebec Valley

      To the west lies the Kennebec Valley, with the 170-mile Kennebec River slicing through it. Even further west you'll find Maine's Lakes & Mountains region, offering hiking, fishing, biking, camping, and just about any outdoor activity you can think of.

      The northernmost section of Maine, lying along the Canadian border is Aroostook County, for visitors who really want to get away from it all. It's the largest county east of the Mississippi, larger than Connecticut and Rhode Island combined.

      There are many different kinds of accommodations, depending on how you plan to spend your time in the state. Those who enjoy the outdoors might want to take use one of the many campgrounds or rent a cabin.

      If you plan to spend your time exploring quaint towns and poking into interesting shops, one of the many bed and breakfasts might work. If you plan to cover as much of the state as possible, then a hotel or motel might be the easiest accommodation. The official Maine tourism website can connect you with all types of accommodations and attractions.

      Of course, you don't want to visit Maine and not chow down on a lobster (unless you have a seafood allergy), and there are plenty of places to enjoy one. The folks at MaineToday.com, who live there year round, suggest a lobster shack.

      "The opporunity to crack one of those puppies open at a lobster shack, while sitting on a picnic table, with the sea sitting idly nearby and two dozen gulls taking turns diving for your fries...well, that's a summer-only sort of experience," the site advises.

      Getting there

      Portland International Airport is served by a large number of airlines for a small airport. Domestic airlines include Alaska Air, American, Delta, Frontier, Hawaiian, JetBlue, Southwest, Spirit, United, and Virgin America.

      Boston's Logan International has more flights, of course, and is located 114 miles south of Portland, with all of those airlines, plus more.

      By ground, destinations within Maine are reachable via I-95.

      When you think of Maine you probably think of lobsters. And why not, the tasty crustacean is plentiful in the state.But Maine is a whole lot more than...

      EpiPen maker Mylan agrees to pay states, feds $465 million

      Company was accused of misclassifying the EpiPen as generic

      Mylan, the drug company at the center of controversy over drug prices a year ago, has finalized a settlement with the U.S. Justice Department, which had charged it with violating the False Claims Act.

      Mylan Inc. and Mylan Specialty L.P. will jointly pay $465 million to resolve charges the companies knowingly misclassified the EpiPen as a generic drug to avoid paying rebates to Medicaid, the government's low-income healthcare program.

      “Mylan misclassified its brand name drug, EpiPen, to profit at the expense of the Medicaid program,” said acting United States Attorney William Weinreb. “Taxpayers rightly expect companies like Mylan that receive payments from taxpayer-funded programs to scrupulously follow the rules.”

      Resolves all claims

      Mylan says the settlement resolves all potential Medicaid rebate liability claims by the federal government, and those of hospitals and other covered entities that participate in the 340B Drug Pricing Program. The money from the settlement will go to the Medicaid programs of all 50 states and sets up a way to resolve all potential state Medicaid rebate liability claims within 60 days.

      "As we said when we announced the settlement last year, bringing closure to this matter is the right course of action for Mylan and our stakeholders to allow us to move forward,” said Mylan CEO Heather Bresch.

      Mylan was in an uncomfortable spotlight last year after if dramatically raised the price of the EpiPen, a device that injects an emergency dose of epinephrine into people having severe and life-threatening allergic reactions.

      Since then, the company has announced steps to increase distribution of the product, including the launch of an authorized generic version at a lower wholesale cost.

      The complaint

      According to the government's complaint, Mylan erroneously listed the EpiPen as a generic drug to Medicaid. Doing so, the Department of Justice charged, allowed it to “demand massive price increases in the private market while avoiding its corresponding rebate obligations to Medicaid.”

      Between 2010 and 2016, the government says Mylan increased the price of EpiPen by approximately 400%, but paid a rebate of only 13% to Medicaid during the same period.

      Mylan, the drug company at the center of controversy over drug prices a year ago, has finalized a settlement with the U.S. Justice Department, which had ch...

      Three scams that target seniors

      The grandparent scam, 419 email scam, and phony bank employee scam remain big threats

      Scammers love to prey on older victims. They often have money and they're usually very trusting. Easy pickings for the bad guys. There are three scams that seniors and their families need to be especially aware of.

      The first is the grandparent scam, which has become extremely widespread over the last five years. A young sounding scammer calls an elderly person, calls them “grandpa” or “grandma,” and hopes the victim will give them a name.

      After that, the scammer pretends to be a grandchild in distress, usually in a minor scrape with the law. The scammer pleads with the victim not to call the parents, but instead to wire money to pay a fire or post bail.

      Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette says in one case, Michigan grandparents wired $3,000 to someone they thought was their grandson after he called and claimed he was caught fishing without a license in Canada and needed to pay a $3,000 fine.

      They sent an additional $30,000 after the phony grandchild called back to say that alcohol and drugs were found in his boat and he needed $30,000 to post bond to get out of a Canadian jail.

      419 email scam

      A second danger scam for senior is the 419 email scam. It's been around almost as long as the internet.

      Named for a section of the Nigerian penal code dealing with fraud, this scam targets generous and goodhearted individuals, with a scammer pretending to someone who needs help – and money – to come to the United States.

      In the past the scammer pretended to need assistance moving a large amount of money, promising the victim a cut. These days, the scammers are more likely to appeal to their victims' goodness.

      Police in Marion, Ohio say a 73-year old woman there was bilked out of $150,000 by a scammer who was “desperate” to travel from Egypt to the U.S.

      "Hacked" account

      Meanwhile, police in Palm Beach County, Florida say several elderly residents have received calls from someone pretending to be an employee of a bank. The victim is told their debit or credit card account has been hacked and that the bank will send someone to their house to pick up the compromised card.

      While the scammer has the victim on the phone, he tries to learn to card's PIN. Needless to say, banks do not send employees around to customers' homes to pick up compromised debit cards. They simply mail new ones.

      Adult children should discuss these, and other scams with their elderly parents, urging them to never reveal private information to someone who calls or emails.

      Scammers love to prey on older victims. They often have money and they're usually very trusting. Easy pickings for the bad guys. There are three scams that...