Current Events in October 2019

Blue Bell Ice Cream is recalling a select lot of half gallon containers of Butter Crunch Ice Cream.

A consumer reported the presence of a piece of a plastic tool in the product.

There are no reports of injuries due to consumption of this product to date.

The following item, produced on a specific line on August 26, 2019, in its Sylacauga, Ala., is being recalled:

• Butter Crunch Ice Cream half gallons, Code Date: 082621222

The recalled product was shipped to parts of Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia.

What to do

Customers who purchased the recalled product may return it to the place of purchase for a full refund.

Consumers with questions may call (979) 836-7977, Monday–Friday 8 am– 5 pm (CST).

Consumers affected by the Yahoo data breaches that occurred between 2013 and 2016 may be able to claim a cash payout from the company, pending approval of a settlement by California courts. 

In 2013, Yahoo suffered a data breach that is said to have exposed the personal information of all three billion of its users. A second breach occurred the following year, affecting around 500 million accounts. Information compromised in the breaches included names, birthdays, email addresses, encrypted passwords, and more. 

It wasn’t until two years later that Yahoo finally disclosed the two massive breaches. Now, Yahoo users can file a claim to receive a portion of the $117.5 million class-action settlement related to the breaches. 

To be eligible to file a claim, users must have: 

• Had a Yahoo account between January 1, 2012 and December 31, 2016

• Received a notice about the data breaches

• Be a resident of the U.S. or Israel

Payout or credit monitoring

Users impacted by the breaches can get up to $358 or two years of free credit monitoring services by AllClear ID. In order to claim a cash payment, users must be able to verify that they already have credit monitoring or protection services and will keep them for at least a year.  

As was the case with the Equifax data breach settlement, the amount of cash impacted users can expect to receive will likely be less than $358 if a large number of users submit claims. 

“Payment for such a claim may be less than $100.00 or more (up to $358.80) depending on how many Settlement Class Members participate in the Settlement,” the settlement website states.

However, some consumers could receive up to $25,000 by providing proof of out-of-pocket losses or loss of time during the data breaches.

“As to documented lost time, you can receive payment for up to fifteen hours of time at an hourly rate of $25.00 per hour or unpaid time off work at your actual hourly rate, whichever is greater,” says the settlement website. “If your lost time is not documented, you can receive payment for up to five hours at that same rate.” 

Filing a claim

Eligible Yahoo users can file a claim at this website. Alternatively, users can download and print the claim form and mail it in with any supporting documentation. 

The deadline to file a claim on the website, or send one in by mail, is July 20, 2020. Payouts won’t be distributed until after a Final Fairness Hearing has taken place in April 2020. 

As the saying goes, there’s no such thing as a free lunch. The Trump administration’s Department of Agriculture (USDA) seems to be doing its best to prove that point.

Rep. Bobby Scott (D-VA), chairman of the Committee on Education and Labor, let it be known on Tuesday that his delegation is not happy with the USDA’s proposed changes to the Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program (SNAP). The agency’s proposed rules would result in nearly one million children losing automatic access to free school meals. 

“The internal analysis released by the Department of Agriculture shows that the impact of its proposed rule would be even worse than we had feared,” Scott said. “According to its own projections, the proposed changes to SNAP eligibility would eliminate automatic access for free school meals for nearly one million children, and roughly half of those children would no longer be eligible for free school meals at all.”

Scott’s committee will examine the USDA’s proposed cuts in an open hearing on Wednesday.

What’s proposed vs. what’s opposed

The essence of the USDA’s proposed changes are household income-based. By the department’s calculations, about 545,500 households with school-aged children -- potentially as many as 982,000 children -- may no longer participate in SNAP under the proposal. And, as you might imagine, there’s money tied to this: changes to SNAP could reduce costs for the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) and School Breakfast Program (SBP) by roughly $90 million annually. 

Specifically, the USDA’s proposed changes play out like this:

• “About 45 percent would no longer be asset-eligible for SNAP but would still be eligible for free school meals because their household income is 130 percent or less of the Federal poverty level, the income threshold for free meals in NSLP and SBP.  

• The other 55 percent would no longer be income eligible for free school meals. However, roughly 93 percent of these households, or about 51 percent of all affected households, would be eligible for reduced price meals due to their household income of 185 percent or less than the federal poverty level, the income threshold for reduced-price meals in NSLP and SBP.”

The USDA does leave the door open a little for families who feel that they’re being left out as a result of the changes. It says that households “seeking free or reduced-price meals would need to submit an application to do so.”

Is there anyone listening?

So far, the USDA appears to have turned a deaf ear to the Committee on Education and Labor's push for sanity. Earlier this year, the committee wrote to Sonny Perdue, Secretary of Agriculture, to note that his department’s proposed changes gave no consideration at all to the “rule’s impact on free school meal eligibility.”

U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) also entered the fray over the summer, tacking on a psychological argument to the nutritional one by way of the No Shame at School Act. “Across this country, students whose families are struggling to afford school meals are being singled out and humiliated at lunchtime,” said Rep. Omar.

It’s anyone’s guess whether Wednesday’s hearing will make matters better for families dependent on free school meals. Scott, for one, is hoping for the best. 

“While I appreciate that the USDA finally released its analysis…this small step forward in transparency is overshadowed by a tremendous step backward in the fight against child hunger. It is now abundantly clear that the Department needs to abandon its proposed rule. I look forward to asking the Department to justify its proposal at this afternoon’s hearing.”

Three major drug companies are reportedly in talks with state and municipal governments to settle a number of opioid-related cases for $18 billion.

A report in The Wall Street Journal says McKesson, AmerisourceBergen, and Cardinal Health are seeking to settle claims alleging the companies are responsible for the opioid addiction epidemic. According to the report, the drug companies would pay a total of $18 billion over 18 years.

None of the companies responded to media requests for comment. Johnson & Johnson, which is reported to also be a party to the discussions, said through a spokesman that it remains open to “viable options to resolve these cases.”

There have been a number of opioid settlements in recent months. In May, Teva Pharmaceutical settled an $85 million lawsuit filed by the state of Oklahoma. At the time, Teva was the second opioid manufacturer to settle with Oklahoma. In late March, Purdue Pharma, the maker of the painkiller Oxycontin, reached a $270 million settlement with the state.

Since then, Johnson & Johnson was ordered to pay the state $572 million, although the company said it planned to appeal the verdict.

Companies held responsible

Governments are suing opioid drug makers because they accuse the companies of marketing the powerful painkillers to doctors without disclosing their dangerous addictive properties. In some cases, the governments -- which have had to bear the financial burden of dealing with mushrooming opioid addiction -- accuse the drug makers of misleading health care providers about the potential dangers of the drugs.

To date, governments -- along with Native American tribes -- have filed nearly 2,000 lawsuits against the markets of opioid drugs. In one of the largest cases, Purdue Pharma reached a $10 billion settlement with a number of plaintiffs. The company has since filed for bankruptcy protection.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports about 218,000 people in the U.S. died from an opioid overdose between 1999 and 2017.

Uber and Lyft were called to testify at a congressional hearing on Wednesday, but neither ride-hailing firm elected to attend the meeting. 

Company executives were supposed to discuss safety and labor issues that are “directly and indirectly” related to Uber and Lyft. Lawmakers are currently trying to come up with rules that will impact the ride-hailing industry as a whole.

But instead of turning up for the hearing, Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi and Lyft CEO Logan Green suggested that the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee "invite third party industry associations to generally talk about technology innovation in transportation," according to Representative Peter DeFazio. 

‘Unacceptable’

DeFazio, a Democrat, called the executives’ decision not to appear at the meeting “unacceptable.” 

“Their failure to appear at this hearing is a telling sign that they would rather suffer a public lashing than answer questions on the record about their operations,” DeFazio said.

Wednesday’s hearing, entitled “Examining the Future of Transportation Network Companies: Challenges and Opportunities,” was called to gather input from company officials on a “wide range” of issues related to the industry, from safety to driver wages.

“Perhaps they don’t want to talk about what their model is doing to drive down wages and turn our transportation workforce from a skilled, trained pool of workers earning living wages to another casualty of the gig economy,” DeFazio said.

In letters sent to Uber and Lyft, representatives said that the committee is now considering making policy decisions without their input. 

"Uber and Lyft have missed an important opportunity for them, but that will not stop this committee or this subcommittee from doing its duty," said Rep. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-D.C.). 

On Tuesday, Twitter provided additional details about how it plans to stem the spread of problematic tweets by world leaders. 

In June, the company announced that it would start labeling tweets from government officials who violate its rules. Twitter said it would “err on the side of leaving the content up if there is a clear public interest in doing so.” However, tweets not deemed to be in the public interest and in violation of Twitter’s rules must be taken down by the account owner under the policy.

Company officials said Tuesday that the feature hasn’t yet been used -- but when it does eventually get used, Twitter said its users won’t be able to like, retweet, or share the content in question. 

“We want to make it clear today that the accounts of world leaders are not above our policies entirely,” Twitter wrote in a blog post. “This post seeks to provide clear insight into how we address content from world leaders on Twitter today, and will serve as our statement on the decisions we make, rather than our teams providing feedback on individual Tweets and decisions.”

Finding the right balance

Twitter said it will still let users quote-tweet the post to “express their opinion.” 

“When it comes to the actions of world leaders on Twitter, we recognize that this is largely new ground and unprecedented,” Twitter noted. 

Earlier this year, the company said it was aiming to “strike the right balance between enabling free expression, fostering accountability, and reducing the potential harm caused by these Tweets.” 

Twitter reiterated that goal this week, saying that the policy is meant to “protect the public’s right to hear from their leaders and to hold them to account.”

A new study conducted by researchers from the British Heart Foundation discovered a startling trend in patient care following a heart attack. 

According to the researchers, men are twice as likely as their female counterparts to receive the highest quality of care after a heart attack, despite identical diagnoses.

“Diagnosis of a heart attack is only one piece of the puzzle,” said researcher Dr. Ken Lee. “The way test results and patient history are interpreted by healthcare professionals can be subjective, and unconscious biases may influence the diagnosis. This may partly explain why, even when rates of diagnosis are increased, women are still at a disadvantage when it comes to the treatments they receive following a heart attack.” 

Understanding the gender disparity

The researchers utilized the troponin blood test to most accurately diagnosis a heart attack for over 48,000 adults who participated in the study. The test is typically used to diagnose a heart attacks in both men and women; however, the researchers explained that troponin levels differ between men and women during a heart attack, as women typically have lower levels of the protein when they’re having a heart attack. 

This fact alone can greatly affect whether women are even properly diagnosed with a heart attack. With this in mind, the researchers used the same benchmark of troponin for both men and women. In the later stages of their tests, the researchers made those figures more specific to the genders in order to get a better idea of how treatment plans differed across both genders. 

“By addressing the biological difference between men and women, we’ve successfully improved the test to detect more women who’ve had a heart attack,” said Dr. Lee. “These women would otherwise be misdiagnosed.” 

Getting proper treatment

As important as diagnosis is, the researchers also learned that treatment differs greatly between men and women, as men are two times as likely to receive the proper care following a heart attack when compared to their female counterparts. 

Over 25 percent of men were prescribed statins following a heart attack as a preventative measure, compared to just over 15 percent of women. Nearly 35 percent of men were fitted for a stent post-heart attack, compared with, again, just 15 percent of women. 

Based on their findings, the researchers hope that healthcare professionals do their parts to ensure that women are receiving the proper care after a traumatic heart episode. 

“It’s extremely promising that bespoke blood tests for men and women could lead to better diagnosis of heart attacks,” said researcher Dr. Sonya Babu-Narayan. “But this progress in diagnosis needs to translate in to better treatment and improved heart attack survival chances for women. We now need to dig deep into the complex reasons behind women having reduced access to investigations and treatments.” 

Consumer credit defaults, as measured by S&P Dow Jones and Experian, rose again in September for a third straight month.

The index shows consumers seemed to have the most difficulty paying their car loans and mortgages. However, the default rate on credit cards actually fell 41 basis points to 3.32 percent.

Even though the default rate on car loans and mortgages went up, the increase was slight and the total remains very low. The default rate on auto loans is only 1.05 percent, and on mortgages it’s even less -- 0.73 percent.

Credit card defaults went down even though consumers increased their debt in the second quarter of the year. Consumers began the year owing more than $1 trillion on their credit card accounts, but they managed to repay $38.2 billion collectively in the first three months of the year.

Consumer financial health

The numbers are somewhat reassuring about the financial health of the consumer. While business leaders have recently expressed concern about a slowing economy, unemployment remains low and consumers appear to be paying their bills.

Of course, economists point out that the consumer is often a lagging indicator when things turn south. In other words, consumers are often the last to feel the pain. Bloomberg economists said this week there is a 25 percent chance the economy slips into a recession next month, the highest those odds have been since April. 

JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon is more emphatic. In a conference call with reporters following the bank’s third-quarter earnings release, Dimon said there is little doubt a recession is in the future, largely due to the ongoing trade dispute with China.

But the banker said he sees no indication that consumers are under any strain, saying “the consumer is doing fine.”

Geographic disparity

The S&P Dow Jones/Experian index also pinpoints default activity geographically. In September, it found three of the five major metropolitan statistical areas ("MSAs") showed higher default rates compared to the previous month. 

Chicago led the increase in defaults, rising 14 basis points to 1.19 percent. The default rates for New York and Miami each rose two basis points to 0.96 percent and 1.30 percent, respectively. The rate for Dallas was unchanged, while Los Angeles actually recorded a decline in default rates.

Staying mentally healthy can look different for every consumer, but a new study found one component that could be beneficial for consumers struggling with anxiety: hope. 

According to researchers from the University of Houston, therapists that incorporate and promote hope into their cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) treatment plans for those dealing with anxiety disorders are more likely to see better results from their patients throughout the recovery process. 

“In reviewing recovery during CBT among the diverse clinical presentations, hope was a common element and a strong predictor of recovery,” said researcher Matthew Gallagher. 

Having high hopes

Gallagher and his team evaluated over 220 adults receiving CBT for an anxiety disorder and analyzed how hope played a role in their recovery. 

While “hope” itself may seem like a rather broad term, the researchers explained that it encompasses how successful and motivated patients feel to pursue possible healing and coping mechanisms -- and the likelihood that they follow through with such skills. 

The researchers monitored hope over time in order to better understand how remaining positive during treatment affected the recovery process. They learned that the trait was integral in how patients changed over time. 

The study revealed that hope continually increased over the course of consistent CBT. After analyzing questionnaires from both patients and therapists regarding predictions for hope, both parties were optimistic about the future. 

These findings hold promise for those struggling with anxiety disorders and offer an uplifting approach for mental health professionals to incorporate into their treatment plans. 

“Our results can lead to a better understanding of how people are recovering and it’s something that therapists can monitor,” Gallagher said. “If a therapist is working with a client who isn’t making progress, or is stuck in some way, hope might be an important mechanism to guide the patient forward toward recovery.” 

Being easier on ourselves

As positive a trait as hope can be for anxiety, a recent study found that anxiety issues can be aggravated when consumers are too hard on themselves. 

Researchers found that those who place high levels of responsibility on themselves are more likely to develop anxiety or OCD, as this feeling often lends itself to high levels of self-blame and makes it more likely for consumers to overthink things. 

“[A] very quick or easy way is to realize that responsibility is working behind your worry,” said researcher Yoshinori Sugiura. “I ask [patients], ‘why are you worried so much?’ so they will answer ‘I can’t help but worry,” but they will not spontaneously think ‘because I felt responsibility…’ just realizing it will make some space between responsibility thinking and your behavior.”

Lipari Foods is recalling Premo Ham & Cheese Wedge Sandwiches and Fresh Grab Ham & Cheese Wedge Sandwiches.

The products may be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes.

No illnesses have been reported to date.

The following products, distributed beginning September 25, 2019, to food service and retail stores throughout Florida, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan, Missouri, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, West Virginia and Wisconsin, are being recalled:

What to do

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

Consumers with questions may call customer service at (586) 563-2437, 8:15 am – 4:30 pm (EST) Monday through Friday.

In an effort to contend with competition from the at-home streaming service industry, theater chain AMC Entertainment is launching its own streaming program, according to the New York Times. 

The service, dubbed AMC Theatres On Demand, will offer about 2,000 movies for U.S. consumers to rent or buy, allowing them to stream shows at home after they’ve left theaters. Prices will range from $3 and $6 for rentals and $10 and $20 for purchases.

AMC reportedly struck deals with five major movie studios -- Disney, Warner Bros., Universal, Sony, and Paramount -- who signed on to offer their movies on the platform. 

The theater chain previously introduced a service called AMC Stubs, which allowed subscribers to see up to three movies per week at movie theaters.

“The addition of AMC Theatres On Demand, which extends our movie offerings for AMC Stubs members into their homes, makes perfect sense for AMC Theatres, for our studio partners and for our millions of movie-loving guests,” Adam Aron, CEO and President, AMC Theatres, said in a statement. “Through the launch of AMC Theatres On Demand, we can reach movie lovers directly and make it easy for them to access films digitally.”

The company says new releases will become available on the service the same time they become available digitally, “following the traditional theatrical window set by each studio for each movie.” 

Consumers can rent or purchase movies on AMC’s website or mobile app, or through a Roku or SmartTV. AMC said it plans to add more services and devices “in the near future.” The full service is set to launch this week.

Do you remember the grocery delivery service Walmart promised over the summer? Well, that service -- called InHome Delivery -- is officially here.

Yes, the online grocery game is flooded with 12 other players vying for the store-to-refrigerator market. But the biggest of the big-box stores probably figures it can withstand the competitive heat and convert its physical in-store customers to online customers because it owns a large section of the overall grocery segment.

“We’re obsessed with simplifying grocery shopping and finding ways to make our customers’ lives easier,” wrote Bart Stein, Walmart’s SVP of Membership and InHome. “That’s why InHome goes the extra step so that our customers can live their lives without worrying about making it to the store or being home to accept a delivery.”

A Walmart spokesperson told ConsumerAffairs that there’s some additional perks, including no additional delivery fees, service charges or tips, and free Walmart.com returns.

Walmart’s service will start in Pittsburgh, Kansas City (Missouri and Kansas), and Vero Beach -- three markets with a million customers already in place to try and leverage. All consumers who sign up for the service get the first month for free.

How it works

The nuance that Walmart is betting on as the chief difference between it and other grocery delivery services is that its delivery person will put the groceries into the consumer’s kitchen or garage fridge.

While that seems simple enough, there are some hurdles that consumers need to take into account.

The biggest of those is buying a “smart lock” ($49.95) and having it installed. Walmart offers free installation, but just like waiting for the cable guy, someone is going to have to be at home and waiting for someone to come and do the installation. If a customer cancels the service, the smart lock is theirs to keep.

The second consideration is the price. Once the lock is in place, consumers will have to sign up for the delivery service at $19.95 a month, not to mention a minimum of $30 of goods per delivery. If a consumer wants to pause or cancel the service at any time -- say during a vacation -- they have the option of doing that at no cost. However, if a subscriber forgets to cancel or pause the service within a month, they will still be charged the monthly $19.95 fee.

Easing security concerns

Giving a perfect stranger access to someone’s house takes trust. That concern isn’t lost on Walmart, which says it wants to make the end-user as comfortable as possible.

As a precaution, the company has built these safeguards into the process:

• Delivery associates will have on a wearable camera allowing customers to control access to their homes, as well as the ability to live stream the deliveries on a phone or desktop computer. If the delivery person’s camera is not functioning, the consumer’s door will not open.

• The smart lock will only let an associate open a subscriber’s house or garage door once -- only within the delivery time window and only with the subscriber’s specific order.

• Delivery associates have to meet some standards by undergoing multiple types of background checks. They also must have a minimum of one year of experience as a  full time, in-store Walmart employee.

Working your way through college was once a time-honored tradition, but with today’s sky-high tuition, who can do that?

The concept may be making a comeback as more companies begin offering college tuition benefits for their employees. Chipotle Mexican Grill is the latest company to introduce what it calls “debt-free degrees” for eligible employees.

Chipotle says it is expanding its current Chipotle Cultivate Education benefits program that has provided company employees with more than $20 million in tuition assistance over the last two years.

Under the expansion, Chipotle says it will cover 100 percent of tuition costs for 75 different business and technology degrees and provide the assistance upfront, not through reimbursement.

Four months on the job

To qualify, an employee must have been on the job for at least 120 days. After that, they are eligible to seek degrees from non-profit and accredited universities such as the University of Arizona, Bellevue University, Brandman University, Southern New Hampshire University, and Wilmington University.

The program is being administered through Guild Education, an education benefits company.

"This expansion of Chipotle's Cultivate Education benefits program to cover 100 percent tuition costs upfront for degrees in business and technology represents the company's commitment to upskilling its workforce and helping employees achieve their professional goals," said Rachel Carlson, Guild Education CEO & co-founder. 

"We are thrilled to partner with Chipotle as they continue to lead the way in the fast-casual industry for enhancing the employee experience with best-in-class benefits."

Starbucks’ tuition reimbursement

A growing number of companies whose workforces include a  large number of young, entry-level, and often minimum wage workers have taken the step of providing financial assistance for education.

In 2015, Starbucks introduced a tuition reimbursement program for its employees who wanted to complete their college education. The program provides 100 percent tuition coverage for the last two years of school in Arizona State University’s online curriculum. The program is open to full-time and part-time employees who work at least 20 hours a week.

For students who have already run up some student loan debt, there is also a growing number of employers willing to help. As we reported previously, more corporations are making student loan repayment an optional employee benefit.

At the time, 73 percent of major corporations surveyed by Challenger, Gray, & Christmas either offered or planned to offer a student loan repayment package.

A poor night’s sleep can leave us feeling cranky or drowsy during the day, but it can also increase the likelihood that we crave junk food the next day, according to researchers from Northwestern University.

“When you’re sleep deprived, [certain] brain areas may not be getting enough information, and you’re overcompensating by choosing food with a richer energy signal,” said researcher Thorsten Kahnt. “But it also may be that other areas fail to keep tabs on the sharpened signals in the olfactory cortex. That could also lead to choosing doughnuts and potato chips.” 

What causes the cravings?

The researchers had nearly 30 adults participate in a two-part study. The first part involved directly monitoring participants’ sleeping and eating habits; the second part took a more biological approach to determine how the olfactory system and other factors could be responsible for changes in appetite. 

For the sleeping portion, the researchers had half the participants sleep through the night normally. However, the other half of the participants got just four hours of sleep at night. This went on for four weeks before the groups switched sleeping schedules. 

Following each night of sleep, all of the participants ate the same meals throughout the day, but they had the freedom to choose from a wide variety of snacks that were available to them in between meals. 

After looking at participants’ fMRI scans, the researchers learned that lack of sleep not only sharpened their ability to differentiate between food and non-food-related scents, but it also increased cravings for foods higher in both calories and fat. 

Avoid junk food on short amounts of sleep

In addition to the biological changes, the researchers also observed that the participants changed their snacking habits based on when they slept longer versus when they only got four hours of sleep. 

“After being sleep deprived, they ate food with higher energy density (more calories per gram) like doughnuts, chocolate chip cookies, and potato chips,” said Kahnt. 

Knowing how sensitive the nose can be to food smells following a bad night of sleep, particularly unhealthy foods, the researchers had some practical advice for consumers who may be tempted to indulge their cravings. 

“Our findings suggest that sleep deprivation makes our brain more susceptible to enticing food smells, so maybe it might be worth taking a detour to avoid your local doughnut shop next time you catch a 6 a.m. flight,” said Kahnt. 

As researchers continue to explore the role that stress can play for pregnant women and their babies, a new study conducted by researchers from Columbia University discovered that prenatal stress can impact both a baby’s birth date and sex. 

According to the researchers, high stress levels can increase the risk of premature birth, as well as affect the sex of the baby. 

“We know from animal studies that exposure to high levels of stress can raise levels of stress hormones like cortisol in the uterus, which in turn can affect the fetus,” said researcher Catherine Monk, PhD. “Stress can also affect the mother’s immune system, leading to changes that affect neurological and behavioral development in the fetus. What’s clear from our study is that maternal mental health matters, not only for the mother but also for her future child.” 

Exploring the effects of high stress levels

The researchers analyzed stress levels for nearly 200 pregnant women via physical tests and questionnaires to see which types of stress were the most common. The findings showed that psychological stress, which can include depression and anxiety, and physical stress, such as high blood pressure, were the two biggest stressors for the women.

Based on the findings, the researchers learned that higher levels of psychological stress increased the likelihood of birth complications, whereas those with higher levels of physical stress were more likely to have premature births or babies born with slower nervous system development. 

Overall, the study found that higher stress levels -- regardless of what kind of stress -- decreased the chances that mothers gave birth to male babies. 

“This stress in women is likely of long-standing nature; studies have shown that males are more vulnerable to adverse prenatal environments, suggesting that highly stressed women may be less likely to give birth to a male due to the loss of prior male pregnancies often without even knowing they were pregnant,” said Monk. 

The researchers say social support is an integral component of maintaining lower stress levels for pregnant women. Finding and keeping that social support is key for healthy pregnancies and healthy babies. 

“Screening for depression and anxiety are gradually becoming a routine part of prenatal practice,” said Monk. “But while our study was small, the results suggest enhancing social support is potentially an effective target for clinical intervention.”

In a new report, the Department of Education is accused of ignoring warnings that the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program wasn’t being implemented properly. 

The report from the House Committee on Education and Labor says the Education Department disregarded internal warnings that FedLoan -- the only loan servicer contracted to execute the program -- “was not properly implementing the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program.” 

Consequently, eligible public servants were not able to receive debt forgiveness, the Committee said. Out of roughly 76,000 applications processed, the report stated that 99 percent were denied loan forgiveness as of March 2019.

“Rather than addressing those issues, the Department ignored the warnings raised by its own staff and failed to take necessary steps to keep the promises made to student borrowers,” Committee Chairman Rep. Bobby Scott said in a statement.

Student borrowers have recently complained of inaccurate counting of qualifying payments, misinformation, and unclear qualifications for verified employers. The Committee said it plans to continue pushing for change in how the program is implemented. 

“The Committee held a hearing about this issue last month and has made multiple requests for relevant information. We will continue to push the Department to faithfully implement the program so that student borrowers can receive the loan forgiveness they were promised,” Scott said. 

The full report, “Broken Promises: How the Department of Education Failed Its Public Servants,” is available here. 

Walmart plans to temporarily offer sales on items from third-party vendors on its website in an effort to compete with Amazon, Bloomberg reports. 

The vendors “will still be paid the same amount that was listed before the cuts, with Walmart subsidizing the difference,” Bloomberg said, citing confirmation of the plan’s description from a company spokesperson. 

The program is similar to one launched by Amazon several years ago. "Discount provided by Amazon," which launched ahead of the holiday shopping season in 2017, reduced the prices of third-party products without taking a cut of the money received by sellers. 

More recently, Amazon introduced “Sold by Amazon,” which allows invited sellers to grant the company permission to reduce prices on their products in exchange for a guaranteed payout. Amazon described the program as a “new, hands off the wheel selling experience” that gives sellers “peace of mind that they will never receive less than the agreed upon amount for that product.”

Walmart’s new sales plan, called the “Competitive Price Adjustment” (CPA) program, will similarly be applied on an invite-only basis to “selected sellers and selected items only,” according to Bloomberg. 

"It's a no-brainer," Juozas Kaziukenas, founder of data tracker Marketplace Pulse, told Bloomberg. "They give up some revenue, but it buys them sales instead."