Current Events in March 2025

Less than 0.33% of more than three million deaths a year are errnoneously reported to Social Security, as the government works to correct records of people aged 100 and over, the Social Security Administration (SSA) said Sunday.

States primarily report deaths to Social Security, but reports also come from family members, funeral homes, federal agencies and financial institutions.

"Instances when a person is erroneously reported as deceased to Social Security can be devasting to the individual, spouse, and dependent children," SSA said. "Benefits are stopped in the short term which can cause financial hardship until fixed and benefits restored, and the process to prove an erroneous death will always seem too long and challenging."

People who might be incorrectly listed as dead should contact their Social Security office as soon as possible and bring at least one piece of current identification, the administration said.

The update on incorrectly reported deaths follows Trump and his government-efficiency adviser Elon Musk saying dead people aged more than 100 are receiving Social Security benefits.

In response, Lee Dudek, acting commissioner of Social Security, said those individuals didn't have a date associated with their death, but they weren't "necessarily receiving benefits."

"The reported data are people in our records with a Social Security number who do not have a date of death associated with their record," he said in a statement. "These individuals are not necessarily receiving benefits.

Earlier in March, the Social Security Administration said it had made "significant progress in identifying and correcting beneficiary records of people 100 years old or older."

“We are steadfast in our commitment to root out fraud, waste, and abuse in our programs, and actively correcting the inconsistencies with missing dates of death," Dudek said in a statement.

With a Health and Human Services secretary pushing for healthier food and beverages, soft-drink giant Pepsico is adding a healthier beverage to its portfolio. It has announced a definitive agreement to acquire poppi, a prebiotic soda brand, for $1.95 billion.

The acquisition may signal PepsiCo's push into the health and wellness beverage market, aligning with evolving consumer preferences – not to mention regulatory concerns. The purchase of poppi gives Pepsico a line of beverages known for their low-calorie, low-sugar content, infused with prebiotics, fruit juice, and apple cider vinegar.

"We've been evolving our food and beverage portfolio over many years, including by innovating with our brands in new spaces and through disciplined, strategic acquisitions that enable us to offer more positive choices to our consumers," Ramon Laguarta, CEO of PepsiCo said in a statement. 

"More than ever, consumers are looking for convenient and great-tasting options that fit their lifestyles and respond to their growing interest in health and wellness. poppi is a great complement to our portfolio transformation efforts to meet these needs."

Got its break on ‘Shark Tank’

poppi was founded by Allison and Stephen Ellsworth and gained national attention after appearing on ABC's "Shark Tank," where it secured funding from Rohan Oza and CAVU Consumer Partners. It promoted a "better-for-you" approach to soda, offering an alternative with no more than five grams of sugar per serving.

The beverages are popular with Gen Z consumers because poppi generally contains significantly less sugar and fewer calories than typical sodas. This is considered a positive factor for those trying to reduce their sugar intake.  The sodas also include prebiotics, which can support gut health by feeding beneficial bacteria.

According to the Detroit News, poppi was hit with a class-action lawsuit in 2024 that accused the soda maker of overstating claims about gut health.

“Defendant’s success is largely owed to its ability to preserve the flavor and sweetness of traditional sodas while claiming to be “gut healthy” due to its inclusion of “prebiotics”—a specific type of dietary fiber commonly found in food like bananas and whole grains,” the complaint said.

“However, Defendant’s Poppi soda only contains two grams of prebiotic fiber, an amount too low to cause meaningful gut health benefits for the consumer from just one can. Accordingly, a consumer would need to drink more than four Poppi sodas in a day to realize any potential health benefits from its prebiotic fiber.”

Lawsuit aside, Allison Ellsworth expressed excitement about the acquisition, stating, "We believe poppi is the soda that will be embraced for generations to come. 

The Social Security Administration has issued a press release with a headline stating “Correcting the record about direct deposit and telephone services.”

“Recent reports in the media that Social Security plans to eliminate telephone services are inaccurate,” the agency said. 

While some posts on social media suggested the change was due to federal workforce reductions, SSA said the change is an effort to increase protection for America’s seniors and other beneficiaries by eliminating the risk of fraud associated with changing bank account information by telephone.

SSA said it continuously investigates and analyzes potential threats to strengthen and secure programs and protect people who receive benefits. 

“Approximately 40% of Social Security direct deposit fraud is associated with someone calling SSA to change direct deposit bank information,” SSA said in the release. “SSA’s current protocol of simply asking identifying questions by telephone is no longer enough to prevent fraud.”

How to change bank information

If a recipient needs to change their bank account information on SSA’s record, they will need to either:

• Use two-factor authentication with SSA’s “my Social Security” service; or

• Visit a local Social Security office to prove their identity.

“These methods align with most major banks,” the agency said. “All other SSA telephone services remain unchanged.”

Bankrupt retailer JoAnn Fabrics is preparing to wind down operation and liquidate its merchandise with “going out of business” sales at all of its stores.

"Following a comprehensive sale process and auction, GA Group together with the Prepetition Term Loan Agent, has been selected as the winning bidder to acquire substantially all of JoAnn’s assets,” the company said in a statement. 

“In connection with this agreement, subject to Bankruptcy Court approval of the transaction, the winning bidders plan to begin winding down the company's operations and conduct going-out-of-business sales at all store locations.”

But some JoAnn customers are not happy about one particular sale policy. Because the assets are being acquired by another entity, previously-purchased JoAnn Fabrics gift cards are no longer valid and will not be honored.

“PSA to anyone going to Joann Fabric going out of business sale, if you have store gift cards they will not accept them,” Shelly, who operates a charity, posted on Facebook. 

“This is the only place that we have purchased our fabric for Ronnie’s Angels and to date we have made over 500 blankets so, Joann Fabric has received A LOT of my money and gift cards that were donated to the girls from so many of you that have helped us along the way.”

Other customers also took to social media to say they were upset by the move. “Regardless of the fact that you are closing, your business took money and now refuses to give the product in exchange for it,” one person wrote.

In a frequently asked questions post, JoAnn Fabrics disclosed that it would stop accepting gift cards after Feb. 28.

The chain that would become Joann Fabrics was founded in 1943, with a single store in Cleveland. The name was changed to Joann Fabrics in 1963. The company operates 800 stores in 49 states.

Jaguar Land Rover is recalling 7,276 2025 Range Rover and Range Rover Sport vehicles. The second-row center seat belt buckle may not latch correctly due to a manufacturing error.

An unlatched seat belt will not properly restrain an occupant, increasing the risk of injury.

What to do

Dealers will replace the center seat belt buckle and buckle retaining bolt, free of charge. Owner notification letters are expected to be mailed by May 2, 2025. Owners may contact Land Rover's customer service at 800-637-6837. Land Rover's number for this recall is N989.

Owners may also contact the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Vehicle Safety Hotline at 888-327-4236 (TTY 888-275-9171) or go to nhtsa.gov.

To determine if your vehicle is included in the recall, visit the NHTSA recall page and enter the license plate number or 17-digit VIN.

The rising cost of child care is draining the bank accounts of parents and discouraging people from starting new families.

Parents paid an average of $320 a week or nearly $17,000 a year for preschool, day care, babysitting or other care, according to parenting website BabyCenter.

In some states, parents are suffering even more financial pain.

Child care costs more than public college tuition in 38 states, including California, Florida and Texas, according to an analysis by the Economic Policy Institute, a left-leaning research nonprofit.

Yearly costs for caring for an infant have soared to $28,356 a year on average in Massachussets, which ranked number one as the most expensive state for child care.

On the other hand, parents in Mississippi spent $6,868, the fewest dollars on average among U.S. states.

The share of a family's income that is spent on child care further underscores the struggle.

A family spends 21% of their income on child care in New Mexico, which beat out every other state. Families in South Dakota spend the smallest share: Around 9% of their income.

Pandemic funding evaporated

The findings come as government assistance for childcare has dwindled after pandemic funding evaporated, putting tens of thousands of childcare programs at risk of closing and leaving millions without care.

Approximately 70,000 childcare programs are in danger of closing and leaving 3 million children without care, according to nonprofit Century Foundation.

President Trump has proposed a $5,000 child tax credit that would have to pass Congress.

"Child care is one of the largest expenses in a family’s budget partly due to early care and education requiring long operating hours for better access and a low student-to-teacher ratio for better quality," said Elise Gould, senior economist at the Economic Policy Institute.

Gould said that government-funded programs are necessary because "care costs cannot be made less expensive without sacrificing quality."

What to do?

So what can bring the costs of child care down?

Some state and local governments are now delivering relief through subsidies, minimum paid family leave, universal pre-K for three- and four-year olds, Gould said.

Only 13 states, including California, New York and Colorado, have laws for minimum paid family leave, which typically requires companies to pay full-time, long-term employees wages when they take time off to care for their children.

"We've seen many states and localities step up and help on the supply and demand side, providing subsidies for families, providing minimum paid family leave, offering universal pre-K for three- and four-year olds, and working to set standards for provider pay and working conditions," Gould said.

The other solution to child care is a parent staying home and not working.

But the Economic Policy Institute said if child care costs were brought down, more than a hundred thousand people would be able to enter the workforce and create billions of dollars in economic productivity.

How to save money on childcare

Parenting website What To Expect has recommendations for saving money on childcare:

• Friends and family: Ask people close to you for help with watching your children.
• Babysitting co-op: Join or create a babysitting co-op, which is a group of parents coming together to rotate caregiving responsibilities.
• Split babysitter: Find another family to share babysitting services with.
• Ask HR for childcare benefits: Some companies offer reimbursements, on-site babysitting and flexible spending accounts that lets you save pre-tax dollars for from your paycheck for childcare.
• Tax breaks: Look into state and federal government tax writeoffs for childcare.
• Reach out to local college: Higher education may be able to connect you with students charging affordable prices for babysitting.
• Work from home: Ask your employer if they will let you work from home more because of childcare.

General Motors is recalling 90,081 2019-2020 Cadillac CT6, 2020-2021 CT4, CT5, and 2020-2022 Chevrolet Camaro vehicles equipped with a 10-speed transmission. The transmission may become damaged internally and cause the front wheels to lock-up.

A wheel lock-up while driving increases the risk of a crash.

What to do

Dealers will install transmission control module monitoring software, free of charge. Owner notification letters are expected to be mailed beginning April 21, 2025. Owners may contact Cadillac customer service at 1-800-333-4223 or Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020. GM's number for this recall is N242480630.

Owners may also contact the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Vehicle Safety Hotline at 888-327-4236 (TTY 888-275-9171) or go to nhtsa.gov.

To determine if you vehicle is included in this recall, visit the NHTSA recall page and enter the license plate number or 17-digit VIN.

How’s the economy? Usually, it depends on who you ask. But these days, even more affluent consumers are expressing some doubts.

On the heels of The Conference Board’s February decline in the Consumer Confidence Index, the University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment Index found an even bigger drop-off in March. The survey has fallen to a reading of 57.9, down more than 10% from February. The reading was 27.1% below a year ago and was the lowest since November 2022.

On a positive note, the survey found only a 3.3% decline in how consumers view the current economy. But “expectations for the future” fell more than 15%, down 30% from March 2024.

Consumers appear to be concerned that tariffs on imported goods will set off inflation again, just as some prices appear to be evening out. But even if inflation levels off, it will be a much higher prices than consumers paid just a few years ago.

When it reported quarterly earnings, retailer Dollar General warned that its customer base is buying less because they can no longer even afford essentials. Company CEO Todd Vasos said he doesn’t expect things to improve very much throughout the rest of 2025.

The decline in the University of Michigan Index was observed across all demographic and political groups, with no segment of the population immune to the pessimistic shift. While assessments of current economic conditions remained relatively stable, expectations for the future worsened significantly. 

Consumers cited concerns about personal finances, labor markets, inflation, business conditions, and stock market performance as key reasons for their declining confidence.

Shifting policies

Economic uncertainty, particularly regarding shifting policies, has made it increasingly difficult for consumers to plan ahead, the survey found. This sentiment was echoed across all political affiliations, with Republicans, Democrats, and Independents all agreeing that the economic outlook has weakened since February. 

Despite experiencing a boost in confidence following the election, Republican expectations fell by 10% in March. Independents saw a sharper 12% drop, while Democrats experienced the steepest decline, with their expectations index plummeting by 24%.

Adding to consumer anxieties, inflation expectations surged once again in March. Short-term inflation expectations rose to 4.9% from 4.3% in February, marking the highest reading since November 2022 and the third consecutive month of significant increases. 

The long-run inflation outlook also deteriorated, jumping from 3.5% to 3.9%, the largest month-over-month increase in more than three decades. This surge was primarily driven by a sharp rise in inflation concerns among Independents, building on an already large increase seen in February.

There has been yet another airline incident that could have resulted in disaster. An American Airlines jet was engulfed in smoke on the tarmac at Denver International Airport Thursday afternoon.

The 172 passengers and crew were evacuated but 12 people suffered minor injuries and were treated at area hospitals. 

The video clip of a local TV news report shows American Airlines Flight 1006 covered in smoke. In the clip, aviation professor Steve Cowell said the footage appears to show the flames on the ground and not coming from the aircraft.

The flight was diverted

However, there likely was some kind of problem aboard the aircraft, which was on a flight from Colorado Springs to Dallas-Fort Worth when vibration in an engine caused it to be diverted to Denver. According to later reports, an engine caught fire as the plane taxied to the gate.

Data suggest that incidents involving airliners may not be increasing but the public is being made aware of them thanks to social media and the 24-hour news cycle.

However, aviation industry experts say incidents involving commercial aircraft can be attributed to these factors:

• Aging infrastructure: Some concerns exist about the age and maintenance of air traffic control systems and aircraft.  

• Workforce issues: There has been recent scrutiny of potential workforce shortages and the experience levels of aviation professionals.  

• Environmental factors: Changing weather patterns and increased extreme weather events can pose challenges to aviation safety.

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety is out with its 2025 safety awards. This year, the bar is set significantly higher because ratings emphasize protecting second-row occupants. 

As a result, there has been a dramatic drop in the number of vehicles earning the coveted Top Safety Pick and Top Safety Pick+ awards.

The IIHS’s revised moderate overlap front test, now featuring a second dummy in the back seat, has become a critical hurdle for automakers. For 2025, vehicles must achieve at least an "acceptable" rating in this updated test to earn the base Top Safety Pick, while a "good" rating is now required for the higher-tier Top Safety Pick+ award.

"We’re once again challenging automakers to make their new models even safer than those they were building a year ago," IIHS President David Harkey said in a statement. "Every vehicle that earns a 2025 award offers a high level of safety in both the front seat and the second row."

Only 48 models made the cut

This stricter approach has led to a sharp decrease in award recipients. Only 48 models have qualified so far, compared to 71 at the same time last year. Of the 2025 winners, 36 achieved Top Safety Pick+ and 12 earned Top Safety Pick.

The updated moderate overlap front test, which simulates a head-on collision, is designed to address the disparity in safety between front and rear seats. The IIHS found that despite advancements in front-seat safety, the risk of fatal injury for belted adults in the rear remains higher.

SUVs dominate the list of winners, reflecting their popularity in the market. However, minivans, large cars, minicars, and small pickups are notably absent. Only two large pickups, the Rivian R1T and Toyota Tundra, qualified for an award.

"The new emphasis on back seat protection appears to have winnowed minivans and pickups from the winners’ ranks," Harkey said. "That’s unfortunate, considering that minivans are marketed as family haulers and extended cab and crew cab pickups are often used for that purpose."

To earn an award, vehicles must also achieve good ratings in the small overlap front and updated side tests, as well as an acceptable or good rating in pedestrian front crash prevention evaluations. All trims must also feature acceptable or good-rated headlights.

Despite the stricter criteria, the IIHS notes that substantial progress has been made in back seat safety, with around 60% of 2025 models tested achieving acceptable or good ratings in the updated test.

"There’s still progress to be made, but these results show that manufacturers are working hard to make their vehicles as safe for back seat passengers as they are for those up front," Harkey said. "Consumers looking for a new vehicle offering the highest level of protection for their families should put these award winners at the top of their list."

The IIHS emphasizes that regardless of test results, the second row remains the safest position for children under 13.

Below are the vehicles that earned a Top Safety Pick + Award:

• Small cars

• Honda Civic hatchback

• Mazda 3 hatchback

• Mazda 3 sedan

• Midsize cars

• Honda Accord

• Hyundai Ioniq 6

• Toyota Camry

• Midsize luxury car

• Mercedes-Benz C-Class

• Small SUVs

• Genesis GV60

• Honda HR-V

• Hyundai Ioniq 5

• Hyundai Kona

• Hyundai Tucson

• Mazda CX-30

• Mazda CX-50

• Subaru Solterra

• Midsize SUVs

• Ford Mustang Mach-E

• Hyundai Santa Fe built after November 2024

• Kia EV9

• Kia Telluride

• Mazda CX-70

• Mazda CX-70 PHEV

• Mazda CX-90

• Mazda CX-90 PHEV

• Nissan Pathfinder

• Midsize luxury SUVs

• BMW X5

• Genesis Electrified GV70

• Genesis GV70 built after April 2024

• Genesis GV80

• Lincoln Nautilus

• Mercedes-Benz GLC

• Mercedes-Benz GLE-Class with optional front crash prevention

• Volvo XC90 built before December 2024

• Large SUVs

• Audi Q7

• Infiniti QX80

• Rivian R1S built after August 2024

• Large pickup

• Toyota Tundra crew cab

A sign that inflation may have peaked is the cost of a traditional St. Patrick’s Day party. Datasembly, which tracks food and beverage prices, reports the cost of the items normally purchased for this annual celebration costs less than last year.

Not only is the total cost lower than in 2024, prices of all the ingredients are lower than last year. For example, a fresh corn beef brisket, weighing between two and five pounds, cost $9.17 in 2024 but is now selling for just $6.99, a decline of nearly 24%.

A head of green cabbage can be purchased for $1.57, four cents less than in 2024. A five pound bag of russet potatoes, an ingredient in Irish stew, sells for $3.31, down from $3.66 a year ago.

The total cost of the menu is down 11% from last year. Here are the price comparisons of some other items that make up a traditional St. Patrick’s Day celebration:

Borrowers with mortgages gained more than $280 billion in home equity last year, but homeowners in some states were much better off due to changes in home values.

Homeowners with mortgages saw their home equity grow by an average of $4,100 in 2024 from 2023, an increase of around 1.7%, according to a report from property-data firm CoreLogic.

Still, the gains at the end of 2024 were smaller than the average home equity increase of $6,000 in the third quarter of 2023.

Moderating home price appreciation was the reason that equity growth slowed in 2024 compared with 2020 to 2023, said Selma Hepp, chief economist at CoreLogic, in the report.

"But homeowners maintain substantial equity gains from prior years, preserving their strong financial position," she said.

Homes in the Northeast, upper Midwest, California and Nevada had the strongest equity gains in 2024, while the South, including Florida and Texas, had big declines, CoreLogic said.

New Jersey had the biggest average gain in home equity with $39,436, followed by Connecticut ($36,297), Massachusetts ($34,401), Rhode Island ($32,877) and Maine ($30,231).

On the other hand, Hawaii had the biggest decline in average home equity with -$28,713, followed by Florida (-$18,055), Washington D.C. (-$14,679), Texas (-$10,357) and Louisiana (-$6,770).

For example, a number of Florida home markets, including Cape Coral, Saratosa, Lakeland and Tampa, have suffered weakening home prices in 2024, CoreLogic said, causing average home equity to decline.