Current Events in March 2025

The arrival of spring brings flowers and flowering bushes, but unfortunately, those benefits also bring allergies, and allergies are worse in some parts of the country than others.

For the third consecutive year, Wichita, Kansas, has been named the most challenging city in the United States for people with pollen allergies, according to the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America’s 2025 Allergy Capitals report. 

The report shows the growing impact of climate change on allergy seasons nationwide, with a significant concentration of the worst cities located in the southern and eastern regions of the U.S.

The AAFA’s annual ranking assesses the 100 most populated metropolitan areas based on pollen counts, over-the-counter allergy medication usage, and the availability of allergy specialists. Wichita’s persistent top ranking is attributed to its high levels of tree and grass pollen, increased medication use, and limited access to allergists.

Worst cities

The top 10 worst cities for allergies in 2025 are:

1. Wichita, KS

2. New Orleans, LA

3. Oklahoma City, OK

4. Tulsa, OK

5. Memphis, TN

6. Little Rock, AR

7. Raleigh, NC

8. Richmond, VA

9. Greenville, SC

10. Greensboro, NC

"New Orleans is a stark example of the impact of climate change on pollen allergies," Kenneth Mendez, CEO of AAFA said in a press release accompanying the report. 

"This year, it surged 32 places in our rankings due to increased weed pollen counts. The unusually warm November in Louisiana, coupled with moisture from Hurricane Francine, extended the weed pollen season. Nationally, we’re seeing growing seasons start earlier and last longer, resulting in more prolonged and intense allergy seasons."

Best cities to live in if you have allergies

Boston is the least affected city by allergies, followed by Salt Lake City, Akron, Ohio, San Diego and Cleveland.

The report identified a concerning trend of worsening allergy seasons, particularly in the southern and eastern U.S., where ragweed pollen can trigger symptoms almost year-round in some areas. The increased pollen exposure is leading to more missed work and school days, emergency room visits, and hospital stays, impacting the quality of life and health outcomes for millions, the report found.

While the majority of the worst cities are concentrated in the South and East, the report also noted significant changes in the West. California experienced increased grass and weed pollen counts in 2024, attributed to increased storms and moisture, leading to drastic jumps in the rankings for several cities.

Like nearly everything else, the costs for having a dog or cat have been rising fast.

The average yearly cost for having a dog is $3,343 and $1,963 for cats in 2025, up from $3,113 and $1,788, respectively, in 2024, according to Rover, an app where people can arrange for pet care and other services, which surveyed 1,000 U.S. pet owners.

Pet costs have risen significantly in recent years after inflation: In 2023, the average yearly cost for raising a dog was $2,083 and $963 for cats.

Nearly half of respondents said they worry about the rising cost of pet care over their animal's lifetime.

Over a 10-year lifetime, average costs are $34,258 for dogs and $36,123 for cats as of 2025, Rover said.

"While the lifetime costs of a pet can potentially be overwhelming, the average healthy dog or cat can live for a decade or more, and the love and companionship they provide is priceless," said Dr. Rebecca Greenstein, Rover Pet People panelist and owner of the Kleinburg Veterinary Hospital, in the report. 

The biggest expense? Pet food and treats, according to 66% of survey respondents.

Still, 34% of respondents said their spending on pets would be one of the last areas they cut if expenses were tight, showing how people are devoted to their animals.

Inflation and tariffs are also worrying many pet parents.

Some 48% said they are concerned that tariffs will raise prices for their pet expenses and a separate 31% said the cost of pet items appear to be rising faster than other household or personal care items.

But there is soome positive news: Costs for adopting a dog or cat, including vaccines and neutering, dropped 19% for dogs and 16% for cats in 2025.

"Adopting from a shelter is the most budget-friendly way to welcome a pet into the family," Rover said.

How to save money on pets

Survey respondents and Rover said there a few ways to save money raising a cat or dog:

• Subscriptions: There are various websites that offer low-cst subscriptions to treats and toys.
• Set budget: Track expenses for pets and maintain a monthly budget.
• Savings: Set aside money for potential emergencies.
• Pet insurance: Insuring pets for medical emergencies is a good idea to save costs in the long run. On average, pet insurance costs $53.34 per month for dogs and $32.25 for cats, according to the North American Pet Insurance Association. (ConsumerAffairs has reviews of pet insurance here.)
• Dry food: Switching from fresh to dry dog food can save up to $3,000 a year, resulting in a 78% decrease in costs for dog food, Rover said.
• Local community: There are often organizations that offer used pet items, such as ramps, cat trees and orthopedic beds, and lower-cost veterinary services.
• Online meds: It is generally cheaper to buy pet medications online.

Fears of boat collisions with bridges have run high since a container ship hit the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore last year, collapsing the bridge and killing six people.

Now, a study from John Hopkins University shows just how risky these collisions are among the nation's biggest bridges.

“With this investigation we wanted to know if what happened to the Key Bridge was a rare occurrence. Was it an aberration? We found it’s really not,” said Michael Shields, a Johns Hopkins engineer specializing in risk assessment and lead investigator of the National Science Foundation, said in comments with the study.

Some of the nation's busiest bridges will likely suffer a boat collision, at least once, that can cause catastrophic damage or collapse within 20 to 50 years, despite being designed to keep collapses to a less than 1 in 10,000 chance, according to the study, which reviewed 16 years of U.S. Coast Guard data and ship aberrancy rates from the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials.

A large ship colliding with a bridge won't necessarily cause collapse, but Shields said it would almost certaintly cause irreperarable damage.

The frequency of ship traffic and how close to the piers they sail were strong predictors of collisions, the study said.

Lousiana's Huey P. Long Bridge, California's San Francisco-Oakland Bay Brdige and Louisiana's Crescent City Connection, Texas's Beltway 8 Bridge and Louisiana's Hale Boggs Memorial Bridge are likely to be hit with ships within less than 40 years, the study said.

"We want that number to be thousands of years," Shields said. “If one of these massive ships hits a bridge, it’s catastrophic."

The Huey P. Long Bridge had the highest risk, with one collision expected every 17 years.

On the other hand, the study said the John A. Blatnik Bridge in Minnesota and Wisconsin should expect a collision within 634 years.

John Hopkins said some bridges with considerable traffic from large ships didn't make the list because their piers are safely on land, away from the passing ships, including Minnesota’s Deluth Lift Bridge and California's Vincent Thomas Bridge.

To prevent collisions, ship traffic should be kept away from piers and piers shoould be equipped with protections including dolphins and other structures.

Still, Shields said there are limits to the predictions.

“There’s still a lot of uncertainty in predicting the frequency of ship collisions, even with the best data we have,” he said. “But the important point is not whether it will occur every 17 years or every 75 years. It’s that it’s happening way too often.”