Current Events in April 2019

Many consumers associate hospitals with the near constant spread of germs, and a recent study suggests that thought may not be too far off.

According to researchers from Michigan Medicine at the University of Michigan, hospital patients were found to have superbug bacteria on their hands and on the objects they touched regularly in their rooms.

“Hand hygiene narrative has largely focused on physicians, nurses, and other frontline staff, and all the policies and performance measurements have centered on them, and rightfully so,” said Dr. Lona Mody. “But our findings make an argument for addressing transmission of [multi drug resistant organisms] in a way that involves patients, too.”

Staying healthy and clean

The researchers were interested in seeing how bacteria was spreading between hospital rooms and patients, so they examined over 700 rooms at two different hospitals. Patients who were in intensive care or who were in the hospital because of surgery couldn’t be involved in the study, and the researchers were unable to test the rooms before patients were placed in them.

Over the course of the study, the researchers sampled both the patients and the objects and surfaces in their rooms that they touched regularly to determine if there was a bacterial presence and where it originated.

The researchers had a final head count of nearly 400 patients involved in the study; they found that 14 percent of them tested positive for superbug bacteria in the early portion of their hospital stay.

The study revealed that the hands and nostrils were most vulnerable to the bacteria, while objects like the nurse call button were also susceptible to the germs. It also showed that superbugs can manifest over time, as six percent of patients tested positive for the bacteria as their hospital stay progressed.

While this is concerning for many reasons, the researchers are concerned about the contamination of fellow hospital dwellers, as hospital patients aren’t confined to the four walls of their own rooms. The more surfaces and people they come into contact with, the greater the risk that someone can become infected.

“Germs are on our hands; you do not need to see it to believe it,” said Dr. Katherine Reyes. “And they travel. When these germs are not washed off, they pass easily from person to person and objects to person and make people sick.”

The researchers were unable to discern how the patients were contaminated with the superbug bacteria in the first place, but they hope that future studies will allow them to place a greater emphasis on germ prevention and cleaning practices.

“Infection prevention is everybody’s business,” said Dr. Mody. “We are all in this together. No matter where you are, in a healthcare environment or not, this study is a good reminder to clean your hands often, using good techniques -- especially before and after preparing food, before eating food, after using a toilet, and before or after caring for someone who is sick -- to protect yourself and others.”

Fighting superbugs

The threat of superbugs is dangerous, and researchers have proven the ways that these bacteria are harmful to consumers.

Recently, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) found a drug-resistant fungus that could be deadly and has already affected nearly 600 people nationwide. The superbug poses the biggest threat to healthcare facilities, where the researchers discovered it, and those with weak immune systems.

Last summer, researchers discovered a superbug that can withstand alcohol-based hand sanitizer. Despite the findings, healthcare experts aren’t planning on cutting ties with hand sanitizer anytime soon.

"Alcohol-[based] hand-hygiene programs have been highly successful, particularly at controlling MRSA [methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus], but also other types of hospital infections, and I would strongly advocate that we continue using hand sanitizer,” said researcher Paul Johnson.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk said on Twitter that consumers should be aware that the price of the Tesla’s Full Self-Driving package will increase “substantially” starting May 1.

“Please note that the price of the Tesla Full Self-Driving option will increase substantially over time,” Musk said on Saturday, without providing an estimate of how much the price will go up.

When a Twitter user asked, “As in a few thousand dollars increase? Something like +$3,000?”, Musk responded, “Something like that.” Currently, the full autonomy option costs an additional $5,000.

The upcoming price bump comes just a few days after Tesla announced changes to its Model 3 lineup. The electric automaker said on Thursday that all Tesla vehicles now come with Autopilot as a standard feature “for less than the prior cost of the option.”

“For example, Model 3 Standard Plus used to cost $37,500, plus $3,000 for the Autopilot option. It now costs $39,500, with Autopilot included,” Tesla said in a press release. The company added that it believes including Autopilot is “very important because our data strongly indicates that the chance of an accident is much lower when Autopilot is enabled.”

On its website, Tesla says its Full Self-Driving Capability equips cars with the ability to:

• Navigate on Autopilot. “Automatic driving from highway on-ramp to off-ramp including interchanges and overtaking slower cars;”

• Autopark in both parallel and perpendicular spaces; and

• Summon a vehicle. “Your parked car will come find you anywhere in a parking lot. Really.”

Later this year, the autonomous option will enable Tesla vehicles to recognize and respond to traffic lights and stop signs and automatically drive on city streets. The company is set to demonstrate its latest autonomous driving technology at an event for investors on April 22.

Lyft has removed several thousand of its electric bicycles in New York, Washington DC, and the San Francisco Bay area due to a braking issue experienced by a “small number” of riders.

"We recently received a small number of reports from riders who experienced stronger than expected braking force on the front wheel. Out of an abundance of caution, we are proactively removing the pedal-assist bikes from service for the time being," the company said in a blog post.

The ride-hailing firm said classic bicycles will take the place of the 3,000 bikes it removed from service. Lyft says a new pedal-assist bike will be released soon.

“We have been hard at work on a new pedal-assist bike, and are excited to bring that to you soon. The new bike model will be accessible just by scanning a QR code and overall will be more fun to ride. In the meantime, we will quickly replace the pedal-assist bikes with classic pedal bikes,” Lyft said.

Braking problems with e-bikes

Lyft’s decision to pull its e-bikes from three markets comes roughly two months after Lime -- an electric scooter service backed by Uber -- admitted that “some riders have been injured” due to a software glitch that caused its scooters to unexpectedly brake.

“...we diagnosed the issue in a laboratory environment and determined that in very rare cases -- usually riding downhill at top speed while hitting a pothole or other obstacle -- excessive brake force on the front wheel can occur, resulting in a scooter stopping unexpectedly,” Lime said in a statement published late February.

Lyft, which went public in March with a valuation of over $24 billion, wrote in an SEC filing that it’s seeking to offer consumers alternative transportation options.

“Consumers are seeking better ways to get around,” Lyft said in the filing. “They have grown accustomed to the convenience and immediacy of the on-demand economy and expect their experiences to be more simple and enjoyable. Existing transportation options have failed to meet this shift in consumer demand, creating the opportunity for a better solution.”

The company currently offers bike and scooter rentals, as well as ride-sharing and carpooling services.

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has brought charges against two telemarketing operations, accusing them of placing millions of illegal, unsolicited calls pitching educational programs to consumers who were looking for jobs.

The agency alleges Day Pacer, LLC and Edutrek, LLC had a relationship with websites that offered help to consumers in a variety of areas, including employment, health insurance, unemployment benefits, Medicaid coverage, and other forms of assistance.

The government is seeking financial damages and other unspecified items from the defendants.

According to the FTC, consumers hoping to avail themselves of these services were required to enter extensive personal information, including their telephone numbers. But instead of getting the help they expected, the FTC says consumers began receiving unsolicited calls from telemarketers selling vocational and post-secondary education products.

“Telemarketers have a duty to ensure that they are not placing calls to people on the National Do-Not-Call Registry,” said Andrew Smith, director of the Bureau of Consumer Protection, “And they cannot rely on affiliate websites that use fine print and other deceptive tactics to lure consumers.”

Connection between websites and telemarketers

Smith says the websites offering help were affiliated with the telemarketers, but details were contained in the fine print. He says consumers were fixated on headlines declaring “Jobs In Your Area” and “Thousands of Government Jobs In Your Area Are Looking to Hire Immediately,” in hopes of getting help landing a job.

The FTC said consumers who applied for the help did, in fact, consent to receive telemarketing calls about the educational products. But the agency said the consent was granted by clicking the “submit” button, and the fact that consumers were agreeing to receive telemarketing calls was contained in “a block of small text that is illegible without substantial magnification.”

The FTC said millions of consumers were affected by what it described as a lead-generation operation. There is nothing inherently illegal about selling leads as long as consumers are made aware of that relationship.

Consumers facing financial difficulties may be especially vulnerable. The FTC says consumers seeking free help should only turn to government agencies and well-known non-profit institutions. For-profit enterprises almost never offer anything for free unless there is some kind of string attached.

American Honda Motor Co., is recalling 322,897 model year 2014-2019 Acura MDXs and model year 2017-2019 Acura MDX Sport Hybrids.

Moisture may enter the tailgate lid lights, possibly causing a loss of the tailgate lid lights and the taillights.

Loss of the taillights reduces the vehicle's visibility, increasing the risk of crash.

What to do

Honda will notify owners, and dealers will modify the tailgate lid lights and install updated gaskets and a wiring sub-harness or will replace both tailgate lid lights. The repairs will be performed free of charge.

The recall is expected to begin on April 29, 2019.

Owners may contact Honda customer service at 1-888-234-2138. Honda's number for this recall is M49.

Denver Processing of Denver, Colo., is recalling approximately 13,865 pounds of raw pork and beef products.

The products did not undergo federal inspection.

There have been no confirmed reports of adverse reactions due to consumption of these products.

The following items, produced on April 9, 2019, are being recalled:

• Varying catch weight plastic wrapped trays containing “Pork Sirloin Boneless Chop” with “Sell By 04.18.19,” lot code 099, case code 60047, and all time stamps after 14:30.
• Varying catch weight plastic wrapped trays containing “Pork Boneless Loin Top Loin Roast” with “Sell By 04.18.19,” lot code 099, case code 60105, and all time stamps after 14:30.
• Varying catch weight plastic wrapped trays containing “Diced Pork Super Value Pack” with “Sell By 04.18.19,” lot code 099, case code 06385, and all time stamps after 14:30.
• Varying catch weight plastic wrapped trays containing “Pork Loin Boneless Chop” with “Sell By 04.18.19,” lot code 099, case code 60063, and all time stamps after 14:30.
• Varying catch weight plastic wrapped trays containing “Pork Loin Boneless Chops Family Pack” with “Sell By 04.18.19,” lot code 099, case code 19498, and all time stamps after 14:30.
• Varying catch weight plastic wrapped trays containing “U.S.D.A. Choice Beef Chuck Pot Roast Boneless” with sell by date “0418,” lot code 099, case code 69481, and all time stamps after 14:30.
• Varying catch weight plastic wrapped trays containing “U.S.D.A. Choice Beef Top Round London Broil” with sell by date “0418,” lot code 099, case code 69479, and all time stamps after 14:30.

The recalled products, bearing establishment number “EST. 6250” within the USDA mark of inspection on the case label and directly outside of the USDA mark of inspection on the product label, were shipped to retail locations in Colorado, Kansas, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming.

What to do

Customers who purchased the recalled products should not consume them, but discard or return them to the place of purchase.

Consumers with questions about the recall maycontact Adam Williamson at (303) 778-3168.

Here we are at tax season’s eleventh hour. If you haven’t filed your taxes yet, and you’re thinking about doing it using tax preparation software, heads up! Five minutes of your time to read up on the tax prep scams that RiskIQ has uncovered may prove to be a smart investment.

With 90 percent of Internal Revenue Service (IRS) returns prepared electronically, it’s a feast cyber scammers are licking their chops to pounce on.

“This scam is targeting tax professionals and firms, attempting to steal highly sensitive client information, and, frankly, it’s not surprising,” RiskIQ threat researcher Jordan Herman told ConsumerAffairs. “Cybercriminals very often leverage holidays, events, and other important dates in their threat campaigns, so it makes perfect sense that a group is capitalizing on the tax deadline coming up.”

To get their hands on tax filer’s data, Jordan says attackers are using the brand names of leading accounting firms and tax filing software to exploit consumers by creating fake mobile apps and landing pages.

“These facades fool consumers into downloading malware, using compromised sites, or giving up their login credentials and credit card information,” commented Jordan.

The findings

To get to the underbelly of how scammers work, RiskIQ went on a rather robust fishing expedition. It ran an analysis of sites in its Global Blacklist database against 2 billion site requests made by consumers, 40 million phone apps, and 600 million domain records looking for keywords related to the IRS and brand names of the major tax filing software companies.

“The findings confirmed that threat actors are using these well-known brands specifically to exploit tax season via both web and mobile,” Herman said.

Thanks to digital providers like Google tightening up its security features, cyber muggers are also having to change their game to pierce the veil of data security. RiskIQ says those scammers are pretty good at that game, too.

“Savvy threat actors will use convincing branding, language, and URLs to make phishing attempts more realistic and more difficult for users to quickly determine the email’s authenticity,” Jordan said.

“However, most brands have very little insight into how their branding is being used in threat campaigns across digital channels. This is a very bad thing because even though the legitimate brands, like the tax software providers in this instance, have nothing to do with the threat campaigns, many customers will still blame them. In general, people tend to directly associate the legitimate brands with the bad things that happen to them via the fraudulent use of their branded terms, seriously eroding trust."

How bad is this? In its analysis, RiskIQ found 1,235 instances of phishing attempts targeting online tax filers and 468 Blacklisted URLs. For one of the most common e-filing services, it found close to 20,000 instances of domain infringement targeting that platform.

How can you protect yourself while filing your taxes online? Here are RiskIQ’s best suggestions:

• Protect and secure any physical device on which you are preparing taxes with firewalls, anti-virus software, and anti-spyware software.

• Use a trusted Wi-Fi network or VPN to file your taxes -- never use public Wi-Fi.

• Before filing your taxes, answer these four questions:

  • Who owns the site?

  • Are they reputable?

  • How long has it been around?

  • Did I ask to be sent here?

Mobile analysis

The major plus for “official” tax filing mobile apps is that they’re incredibly secure -- there’s no way to store data on a consumer’s phone, and there’s added built-in security with tools like password protection, multi-factor authentication, and Touch ID account authentication.

That said, the cesspool of fake mobile apps pretending to be one of the brand name tax filing services is large -- 30 percent of the apps RiskIQ tested -- and alluring enough to trick consumers into downloading them. Once on a consumer’s phone, the fake apps have the potential to steal sensitive data or contaminate a user’s phone with malware or aggravating adware.

Scam app developers know no limits. What looks like something that came from H&R Block may have in reality come from some software snake in Siberia.

RiskIQ’s red flags for consumers to be on the lookout for are:

• No developer listed for the app

• The app came from someplace other than the official Google Play or the Apple AppStore

• The app requires many permissions that are intrusive and have nothing to do with the purported functionality of the app such as the ability to access the camera, record audio, download data without notification, and change settings.

“Essentially, this (kind of) app can spy on everything a user does, even if they are not actively using their phone, change any setting on their phone, and download anything it wants without the user's knowledge,” Herman said.

As vexing as that appears, there are some avenues consumers can take to keep from being victimized by a fake app:

• Be wary of applications that ask for suspicious permissions, like access to contacts, text messages, administrative features, stored passwords, or credit card info.

• Just because an app appears to have a good reputation doesn’t make it so. Rave reviews can be forged, and a high amount of downloads can merely indicate a threat actor was successful in fooling a lot of victims. Before downloading an app, be sure to take a look at the developer -- if it’s not a brand you recognize or has a strange appearance or spelling, think twice. You can even do a Google search on the developer for more clues about its reputation.

• Make sure to take an in-depth look at each app. New developers, or developers that leverage free email services (e.g., @gmail) for their developer contact, can be big red flags—threat actors often use these services to produce mass amounts of malicious apps in a short period. Also, poor grammar in the description highlights the haste of development and the lack of marketing professionalism that are hallmarks of mobile malware campaigns.

Don’t be fooled by fake IRS contacts

If and when the IRS needs to contact a taxpayer, it normally makes the first contact by letter delivered by the U.S. Postal Service and not by email or phone; the agency does not send text messages or ping you on social media.

ConsumerAffairs recently wrote a thorough examination of what the IRS does and doesn’t do. If you haven’t filed your taxes yet, it might be worth your time to check it out.

Carnival Cruise Lines, one of the largest lines serving the U.S., could find itself barred from entering U.S. ports.

U.S. District Judge Patricia Seitz held out that possibility this week after she heard allegations the company’s ships have violated the terms of their probation by dumping prohibited items at sea. Seitz said she will render a final ruling in June.

In a statement to the media, Carnival suggested its actions have been “mischaracterized” and that it plans to fully address the issues that were presented in court.

Previous charge

In 2016, Carnival subsidiary Princess Cruise Lines pled guilty to seven felony charges of deliberate pollution and cover-up. It paid a $40 million fine, the largest-ever criminal penalty involving deliberate vessel pollution and agreed to a probationary period.

The charges primarily focused on one ship, the Caribbean Princess, which routinely visited Florida, Maine, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Puerto Rico, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Texas, U.S. Virgin Islands, and Virginia.

At the time, the Justice Department relied on the testimony of a newly-hired engineer aboard the vessel who said he became aware that a so-called “magic pipe” was used to illegally discharge oily waste off the coast of England.

The engineer is said to have quit his job and left the ship when it docked in Southampton, reporting what he had spoken to both the U.S. Coast Guard and the British Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA).

The company has been on probation since the settlement. The Miami Herald reports that in the intervening time, court records claims the company has issued false reports, dumped plastic garbage in the ocean, and tried to alter the terms of its settlement.

CruiseFever reports Carnival is the largest cruise line in the world. The company owns 10 cruise lines and currently operates at least 25 ships.

Many studies have explored how beneficial sleep is at any stage of life, and now a new study is advocating for teens to get a little extra sleep and head to school later.

According to the researchers, pushing back school start times -- less than just one hour -- was found to significantly reduce driving accidents among students.

Emphasizing safety

The researchers’ primary efforts with this study were to see if safety could be improved among teen drivers by giving them more time to get to school in the morning. To see if teens were safer when they got a later start, the researchers evaluated both the average amount of time teens spent sleeping during a weeknight and general driving records and accident histories.

The researchers relied on the student participants -- all between the ages of 16 and 18 -- to self-report on their own sleeping habits. The team then utilized the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles for accident reports and the Fairfax County Youth Survey to see if and when teens were driving under the influence.

The study included data from two school years; the first (2014-2015) was used to gain an understanding of the average amount of sleep teens were getting, what time school started, and what their driving records looked like. For the 2015-2016 school year, the school district pushed back the start time of school by 50 minutes to see if teens’ driving improved with nearly an hour more time in the morning.

The researchers found that starting school at 8:10am as opposed to 7:20am improved the overall safety of teens’ driving. The number of alcohol-related driving accidents decreased by 20 percent over the two-year period, while distracted driving accidents decreased by nearly nine percent. Overall, the researchers found that the later school start time decreased all teen accidents by over five percent.

The researchers hope that legislators and school districts look at these findings and work towards implementing policies that would improve teens’ safety behind the wheel.

“Interventions in reducing sleep loss in young drivers such as delaying school start times may significantly reduce needless injuries and deaths due to drowsy driving,” said Dr. Saadoun Bin-Hasan.

Importance of sleep

Many recent studies have been devoted to emphasizing the importance of sleep -- particularly for teens.

Researchers have found that many teens aren’t getting enough sleep. Experts recommend that teenagers should get anywhere from eight to 10 hours of sleep per night, which isn’t the case for many teens.

Moreover, that lack of sleep was found to be the catalyst for many teens to engage in risky behaviors.

“We found the odds of unsafe behavior by high school students increased significantly with fewer hours of sleep,” said lead author of the study Matthew Weaver, PhD. “Personal risk-taking behaviors are common precursors to accidents and suicides, which are the leading causes of death among teens and have important implications for the health and safety of high school students nationally.”

At an “investor day” event on Thursday, Disney revealed additional details about its forthcoming streaming service called Disney Plus, which will compete with video streaming services such as Netflix.

Disney said its new ad-free service will cost $7 a month, or $70 a year. By comparison, Netflix charges a $13 monthly fee to consumers who subscribe to its most popular plan -- a recently announced increase of $2.

The company said Disney Plus, which will launch on November 12, will include all of Disney's kid-friendly classics, 18 of Pixar’s 21 movies, and new titles that will hit theaters this year.

The platform will also include some content that may be of interest to parents, including “Star Wars” movies and all 30 seasons of “The Simpsons” (the latter thanks to its acquisition of 21st Century Fox). Disney Plus will not, however, include any sports content.

“If consumers want sports, they can subscribe to ESPN+. If they want adult content, they can subscribe to Hulu, and if they want family, there’s Disney(+),” CEO Bob Iger said, according to CNBC.

Iger said the platform’s affordability compared to rival streaming services is intended to make the service “accessible to as many consumers as possible.” Disney forecasts that by the end of 2024, it will have amassed between 60 million and 90 million subscribers.

The company told investors that it expects to spend about $1 billion on original content for the service next year and $2 billion by 2024.

During an earnings call with analysts this week, Bed Bath & Beyond revealed that it will be closing 40 stores in 2019 and opening 15 new ones, according to USA Today.

"We expect to open approximately 15 new stores in fiscal 2019. This will be offset by a minimum of approximately 40 stores we expect to close," Robyn D'Elia, CFO and treasurer said on the call. "This number will grow unless we are able to negotiate more favorable lease terms with our landlords."

The home goods retailer joins other brick-and-mortar retailers that are struggling to adapt to changing consumer preferences. Payless, Toys R Us, Sharper Image, Abercrombie & Fitch, and JC Penney have all been forced to close locations in the last year amid declining sales brought by a number of factors, including a shift to e-commerce sales.

CEO Steven Temares insisted that Bed Bath & Beyond is in the midst of “enormous change” that could help the company get back on track.

“Our transformation began some 18 months ago and comprises a thorough overhaul of much of what we do to deliver on our commitment to improve revenue growth, enhanced gross and operating margins, and create sustainable shareholder value. We have been driving significant foundational change across our business,” Temares said.

D'Elia noted that the company initiated 21 “next generation lab stores” in 2018, in which it tested “new and different assortments and visual merchandising to reimagine the in-store experience."

Investors call for change in management

However, during the call, several shareholders suggested that management’s moves to align the company’s offerings with the needs of today’s shopper’s aren’t cutting it.

The investors said “management’s unsupported claims of progress serves as a stark reminder to us of how far removed from reality Mr. Temares and the Board have become. In our view, only the complete replacement of the Board and CEO will be sufficient to drive the necessary changes to produce lasting margin improvements and growth in earnings.”

CNBC’s Jim Cramer concurred, saying that Bed Bath & Beyond “still has a good balance sheet, $1 billion in cash, so I think it can be saved. But ... not with this management team.”

Two weeks after Lyft made its stock market debut, Uber released its initial public offering filing. The company said in the document released Thursday that it makes 14 million trips daily, has made 10 billion trips in total, and has paid out $78 billion total to drivers since first launching in 2009.  

CEO Dara Khosrowshahi said that despite the fact that the company has generated $11 billion in annual revenue, it’s just getting started.  

"Uber accounts for less than 1% of all miles driven globally," he wrote in an accompanying letter to investors. "We are still barely scratching the surface when it comes to huge industries like food and logistics and how the future of urban mobility will reshape cities for the better."

Never profitable?

In less positive news, Uber revealed in the filing that it has incurred “significant” losses since its inception. The firm said it lost $1.8 billion in 2018 and $4 billion in 2017.

The ride-hailing giant admitted that it may never be profitable, as its potential to turn a profit is being hampered by factors including cutting prices for passengers, spending to recruit drivers, and investing in businesses such as food delivery and scooters.

"We expect our operating expenses to increase significantly in the foreseeable future, and we may not achieve profitability," Uber said candidly. Khosrowshahi said the company’s future will be shaped by worthwhile investments.

“We will not shy away from making short-term financial sacrifices where we see clear long-term benefits,” he said in the letter.

Analysts say Uber could see a valuation of about $100 billion, which would likely make it the biggest IPO of 2019. Several other big companies are expected to go public, including Pinterest, Slack, and Postmates.

Uber is expected to provide a price range for its shares later this month. Its shares are set to begin trading next month under the “UBER” ticker symbol.

Over-the-counter (OTC) hand sanitizers can help block the spread of germs and reduce illnesses like colds and the flu. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued a new rule to make sure these products are safe and effective.

The rule makes clear that some ingredients are not allowed in these products, which are applied directly to the hands without the use of water. The FDA’s final rule also codifies the agency's safety and effectiveness evaluations to make sure they remain up to date.

"Our action today aims to help provide consumers with confidence that the over-the-counter hand sanitizers they're using are safe and effective when they don't have access to water to wash with soap," said Dr. Janet Woodcock, director of the FDA's Center for Drug Evaluation and Research.

28 active ingredients

The final rule identifies 28 active ingredients, including triclosan and benzethonium chloride, that don’t qualify under the FDA's OTC Drug Review for use in consumer antiseptic rubs.

“We've also reaffirmed our need for more data on three other active ingredients, including ethyl alcohol, which is the most commonly used ingredient in hand sanitizers, to help the agency ensure that these products are safe and effective for regular use by consumers,” Woodcock said.

Woodcock says the agency believes the industry has made good progress toward providing data, and the FDA will keep consumers informed as it reviews that data.

‘Hidden dangers’

Consumers use antiseptic hand sanitizers as an alternative when hand washing with plain soap and water is unavailable. These products have been under increased scrutiny in the last decade as questions have arisen about the safety of some of their ingredients.

A 2014 report by TheStreet.com said some ingredients hold hidden dangers, such as antibiotic resistance. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says washing hands with soap and water is the most important step consumers can take to avoid the spread of germs.

When soap and water are not available, the CDC recommends using an alcohol-based hand sanitizer that contains at least 60 percent alcohol.

Hand sanitizers are very different products than antiseptic soap, which is used with water. In 2016, the FDA banned the sale of antiseptic soap products containing triclosan and triclocarban, saying manufacturers failed to demonstrate that the products are safe and effective.

For many consumers who have experienced heart attacks, it can be difficult to return to work.

In a recent study, a group of researchers explored trends among consumers trying to do just that and found that a return to the workplace is possible as long as safety is taken into consideration.

“Patients who believe they can still do their jobs and want to go back will make a success of it,” said researcher Dr. Rona Reibis. “After a heart attack it is very rare for patients to be physically unable to perform their previous duties, including heavy work.”

Taking things slow

The researchers wanted to emphasize that going back to work was possible after a heart attack, despite many statistics of heart attack patients quitting soon after their initial return.

Past findings have revealed that the majority of heart attack patients go back to work after two to three months, but after the one-year mark, 25 percent end up quitting. Moreover, they found that men are more likely to stay at their jobs post-heart attack than their female counterparts.

They found that all patients are capable of returning to work if they choose to, though there are psychological factors -- like anxiety and depression -- as well as logistical factors -- like the need for a paycheck -- that could play a role in the final decision.

The researchers found that the type of work could also come into play, as physically-demanding jobs could be harder to come back to following a traumatic heart attack. However, the researchers also want heart attack patients to know that there are safe, medically approved ways to return to work.

For starters, keeping your manager abreast of your health situation is key to ensuring that the physical or mental demand isn’t too heavy following a heart attack. It can be beneficial to take it slow for some time to get back into the swing of the regular work routine, and to give your body the chance to get re-acclimated.

The researchers also suggest going to cardiac rehabilitation, as many patients skip this important step. This can not only get patients in better physical shape, but it allows them to work with healthcare professionals in a close, one-on-one setting.

Lastly, they recommend sticking with the job you have pre-heart attack.

“The best way is to return to the job you know,” said Dr. Reibis. “Patients who had a relatively small heart attack with complete restoration of blood flow, are consistently taking their medication, and don’t have an implanted device can do their work as before without any precautions.”

Gasoline demand has been rising so far this spring -- and it shot up to summer-like level last week, pushing prices at the pump higher.

The AAA Fuel Gauge Survey shows the national average price of regular gasoline in $2.81 a gallon, up nine cents since last Friday. That’s 33 cents more than a month ago.

The average price of premium is $3.35 a gallon, eight cents higher than a week ago. The average price of diesel fuel is $3.05, only two cents higher over the last seven days.

The Energy Information Administration (EIA) reports consumer demand for gasoline jumped last week to 9.8 million barrels a day, a huge increase over the previous week and about a half-million more barrels a day than the first week of April 2018.

California alone is doing more than its part to raise the national average for fuel prices. Patrick DeHaan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy, says gas stations in the Los Angeles and San Francisco markets now average $4 a gallon for regular while the statewide average has risen to $3.95 a gallon, up 25 cents in the last seven days.

“It’s the first time since 2015 LA has seen such a high average,” DeHaan said in a tweet.

California isn’t the only state to see dramatic increases in gas prices over the last week. The average price is up 13 cents a gallon in Nevada, 11 cents in Utah, and eight cents in Arizona. AAA says shrinking gasoline supplies amid high demand will likely contribute to increased pump prices in the weeks ahead.

The states with the most expensive regular gas

These states currently have the highest prices for regular gas, according to the AAA Fuel Gauge Survey:

• California ($3.95)

• Hawaii ($3.54)

• Washington ($3.32)

• Oregon ($3.22)

• Nevada ($3.16)

• Alaska ($3.10)

• Pennsylvania ($2.93)

• Arizona ($2.93)

• Illinois ($2.88)

• Michigan ($2.86)

The states with the cheapest regular gas

The survey found these states currently have the lowest prices for regular gas:

• Alabama ($2.47)

• Arkansas ($2.48)

• Mississippi ($2.48)

• South Carolina ($2.49)

• Louisiana ($2.52)

• Texas ($2.53)

• Virginia ($2.54)

• Missouri ($2.55)

• Tennessee ($2.56)

• Oklahoma ($2.56)