Current Events in January 2024

Panera Bread has come under fire recently for its “Charged Sips.” 

In late 2023, the chain faced two wrongful death lawsuits after consumers drank the caffeinated beverages. 

Now, 28-year-old Lauren Skerrit is suing Panera after the “Charged Lemonade” allegedly resulted in permanent heart damage. After drinking two and a half of the caffeinated drinks, Skerrit was experiencing dizziness and heart palpitations and had to be taken to the emergency room. 

Skerrit has since been diagnosed with atrial fibrillation, a heart condition that causes an irregular heartbeat, and one that she will have for the rest of her life. She had no pre-existing health conditions and was a regular obstacle course racer before her diagnosis. 

According to her suit: “Lauren continues to experience supraventricular tachycardia with associated shortness of breath, palpitations, brain fog, difficulty thinking and concentrating, body shakes, and weakness.” 

Additionally, the suit claims her heart concerns are likely to affect her plans to start a family with her husband, and may cause complications during pregnancy. 

What’s in a Charged Lemonade? 

Skerrit opted for the Charged Lemonade because Panera had marketed it as a “clean,” plant-based alternative to caffeine. But how much caffeine is in one of its Charged Sips? 

A 30-ounce cup of any of Panera’s “Charged” drinks contains 390 milligrams of caffeine. For reference, a double shot of espresso has around 125 milligrams of caffeine. 

On top of that, the Charged drinks contain gurana extract, a stimulant used in energy drinks, which the suit says Panera had failed to share with customers. 

A history of issues

Skerrit’s lawsuit marks the third that Panera has faced related to its Charged line of drinks. Two previous lawsuits were filed after the death of a 21-year-old college student and a 46-year-old man, both of whom went into cardiac arrest after having the drinks. 

Twenty-one-year-old Sarah Katz had a pre-existing heart condition, though she was able to have caffeine in moderation. Dennis Brown, 46, had a chromosomal deficinecy disorder, and never consumed caffeine because of his high blood pressure. However, he had three of the Charged Lemonades before suffering cardiac arrest. 

Both had consumed the Charged Lemonades and their suits claimed that Panera did nothing to warn customers about the amount of caffeine in the drinks. The drinks appear in the restaurants right next to the regular lemonades and soft drinks, with no special tags or warnings about the level of caffeine found in them. 

While Panera has yet to comment on this latest lawsuit, it had expressed its sympathies for the previous two deaths, while also claiming one was unrelated to its caffeinated beverages. 

In recent months, Panera has updated its menu to indicate that the Charged drinks contain caffeine. Additionally, when customers go to select one of the Charged drinks, there is a warning that reads: “Naturally flavored, plant-based. Contains caffeine. Use in moderation. NOT RECOMMENDED FOR children, people sensitive to caffeine, pregnant or nursing women.”

Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing is recalling 12,575 model year 2022-2023 Corolla Cross vehicles that were previously inspected at a dealership..

The instrument panel may have been produced without the required perforation, which could result in the front-passenger airbag not deploying properly.

An airbag that does not deploy as intended increases the risk of injury in a crash.

What to do

Dealers will inspect and replace the instrument panel -- as necessary -- free of charge.

Letters notifying owners of this recall are expected to be mailed February 4, 2024.

Owners may contact Toyota's customer service at (800) 331-4331. Toyota's number for this recall is 23TA16.

The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) has announced that the Biden Administration has issued $623 million in grants to make charging stations for electric vehicles (EV) more widely accessible to consumers. 

One of the primary goals of the project is to have at least 500,000 EV charging stations publicly available nationwide by 2030. 

“America led the arrival of the automotive era, and now we have a chance to lead the world in the EV revolution — securing jobs, savings, and benefits for Americans in the process,” said Pete Buttigieg, U.S. transportation secretary. “This funding will help ensure that EV chargers are accessible, reliable, and convenient for American drivers, while creating jobs in charger manufacturing, installation, and maintenance for American workers. 

Where is the money going? 

With the money from the grants, the DOT has planned 47 projects that span 22 states and Puerto Rico. One of the primary projects: the construction of 7,500 EV charging ports. 

On top of that, the grants will then be divided into two groups: $311 million for 36 community projects, including EV charging and hydrogen fueling infrastructure; and $312 million for 11 projects for roadways designated as Alternative Fuel Corridors. 

Some of the projects that have already been announced include: 

• New Jersey: $10 million to the Department of Environmental Protection to build EV charging stations in multi-family houses in disadvantaged and rural communities. 

• Maryland: $15 million to the Clean Energy Center to build 87 EV charging stations in urban, suburban, and low-, and moderate-income communities. 

• Texas: $70 million to the North Central Texas Council of Governments to build hydrogen fueling stations for freight trucks across the state. 

“The Federal Highway Administration is pleased to announce these grants that will bring EV charging and alternative fuels to people and communities all across the nation,” said Shailen Bhatt, Federal Highway administrator.

“These investments through the Charging and Fueling Infrastructure Program will grow our national EV charging network, support President Biden’s goals of achieving net-zero emissions for the nation by 2050, and promote the opportunity for all Americans to enjoy the benefits of EV charging.” 

Just like ninjas in the middle of the night, overdraft fees are sneakily draining hundreds of dollars from hardworking families each month.

But if you ask anyone at the White House or the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), these aren't harmless pranks perpetrated by banks. Instead, they’re burdening Americans already on tight budgets.

According to the administration, overdraft fees are nothing more than exploitation and come what may, they’re taking yet another shot to limit the practice.

On Wednesday, the CFPB proposed a rule to rein in excessive overdraft fees – a gambit that would close a loophole that exempts overdraft lending services in the Truth in Lending Act and other consumer financial protection laws. 

The CFPB has been busy trying to find the one single move that works its magic. The agency had already ordered Wells Fargo to pay an unprecedented $3.7 billion for overdoing it with overdrafts. It even tried to play nice and wrote up guidance so banks could avoid fines by doing the right thing. Still, nothing happened. 

As things stand now, consumers are paying nearly $9 billion in overdraft fees – more than $2.3 billion to just 10 large banks in 2023.

What would change

As things stand now, many of the larger banks commonly charge about $35 per overdraft. Those banks include JP Morgan/Chase, Wells Fargo, Truist, and Regions Bank.

Under the proposal, large banks could still charge overdraft fees, but not anywhere near $35, and only if they agree to comply with lending laws, including disclosing any applicable interest rate.

What appears to be preferable in the CFPB’s mind is a reasonable fee to recoup their costs at an established benchmark. However, they’d have to show their data and prove their reasons for the fee.

The agency said it’s flexible on the fee that banks choose and proposed benchmarks of $3, $6, $7, or $14 -- less than half of what customers are paying now.

U.S. Public Interest Research Group's (PIRG) consumer campaign director Mike Litt said his group fully supports the proposed rule.

“It’s long overdue to rein in overdraft fees," he said. If the CFPB’s proposed rule takes effect, overdraft fees will be more reasonable and in line with the actual costs to banks."

In practice, Litt said overdraft fees have functioned as "high-cost credit," so it only makes sense to regulate excessive fees as such. 

It’s hard enough to buy a car these days, but if you’ve got a low credit score the task is even more difficult.

Lenders set interest rates based on the buyer’s credit standing. A credit score of 740 or higher usually gets you the best rate. A not so good score will usually relegate a buyer to the subprime category, with double-digit interest rates.

Over the life of a five-year loan with a subprime interest rate the difference in what you pay is enormous. Someone with excellent credit might get a 2.96% interest rate with an $808 monthly payment. Over five years they’ll pay $3,480 in interest.

Someone with poor credit might get stuck with a 12.84% interest rate and a $1,021 monthly payment. At the end of five years they will  have paid over $16,000 in interest.

Eight tips

In a recent study, the ConsumerAffairs research team identified eight tips for buying a car with bad credit.

• Delay the purchase until you can raise your credit score

• Make a bigger down payment

• Shop around for both the car and the financing

• Limit your search to two weeks

• Look for newer rather than older vehicles

• Opt for a shorter term, even though it will increase the payment

• Get pre-approved before shopping]

• Find someone with good credit to co-sign your loan

How to raise your credit score

If you can delay the purchase by six months, that might be the best course of action. By proactively working to improve your credit standing you should be able to raise your credit score by several points.

First and foremost, pay every bill on time. This is especially true for credit card bills. Pay down the balances as much as possible since the difference between your credit limit and how much you owe is a big factor in determining your credit score.

You may be able to instantly add a few points by signing up for Experian Boost, a free program that reports on-time payments for regular bills like utilities, cell phones and streaming services to the credit bureaus.

Where you get your car loan can also make a difference. If you bank with a credit union, it will likely give you the lowest interest rate. Some car dealers will advertise they have financing plans for all types of credit scores, but borrowers with lower credit scores often get saddled with a very high interest rate.

Salm Partners of Denmark, Wis., is recalling approximately 133,039 pounds of ready-to-eat turkey kielbasa.

The product may be contaminated with extraneous materials -- specifically bone fragments.

There has been one minor oral injury reported.

The recalled product, which comes in a 13-oz. plastic vacuum-sealed package with “PARKVIEW TURKEY POLSKA KIELBASA”, P-32009 and “USE BY APR 24 24” or “USE BY APR 27 24” printed on it, was sold at retail stores nationwide.

What to do

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

Consumers with questions may contact Salm Partner at (920) 863-5559, ext. 1346.