A Texas judge is expected to issue a ruling By Mark Huffman of ConsumerAffairs May 10, 2024 A judge in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas is set to issue a ruling that could make a $10 billion difference to U.S. bank customers. The court is considering a motion, filed by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce for an injunction to block regulators from limiting, and in many cases banning those fees. In March, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) proposed a rule to limit the fees banks and other financial institutions impose on customers, fees often referred to as junk ..read more

There are considerable health and developmental risks associated with exposure to these metals By Kristen Dalli of ConsumerAffairs May 10, 2024 A group of U.S. Senators are working on a new bill that would limit the amount of heavy metals that are currently found in baby food. The bill, the Baby Food Safety Act of 2024, is designed to target three specific areas: Raise standards for baby foods to protect infants and toddlers from heavy metals Set standards for sampling/tasting of baby food products for potential contaminants Allow the FDA to enforce stricter safety standards for baby foo ..read more

The savings make them worthwhile in some cases, more than 50% off By Gary Guthrie of ConsumerAffairs May 10, 2024 Youve probably walked through the aisles of Aldi, Costco, and other major grocery stores, picked up a box of one of their store brand items and asked yourself who really made this. And is it essentially the same thing as the proverbial higher-priced spread? Turns out that those generics are more often than not nothing more than masked and less expensive versions of well-known products by well-known manufacturers like Buffalo Trace, Duracell, and Libbys. Rather-Be-Shoppings Kyle Jam ..read more

Researchers are critical of a flame retardant required by the government By Mark Huffman of ConsumerAffairs May 9, 2024 There may be cancer-causing chemicals in your car, but dont blame the carmaker the government requires them. Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard FMVSS 302 requires the use of chemical flame retardants in several areas of the vehicles interior, including the seats. A new study conducted by researchers at Duke University and the Green Science Policy Institute found that the air inside the cabins of some model year 2015 or newer cars is polluted with flame retardants. The stu ..read more

This puts Peacock and Paramount in a tough spot By Gary Guthrie of ConsumerAffairs May 9, 2024 The big get bigger and the good getbetter for the consumer as Disney Entertainment and Warner Bros. Discovery have agreed on a new streaming bundle that may be the best bundle ever. The package includes ABC, CNN, DC, Discovery, Disney, Food Network, FX, HBO, HGTV, Hulu, Marvel, Pixar, Searchlight, Warner Bros. But the cherries on top are Disney+, Hulu, and Max. When the bundle becomes available this Summer, it will come in both an ad-supported and ad-free plan. On the heels of the very successful lau ..read more

Experts say the impact might not be immediate By Mark Huffman of ConsumerAffairs May 9, 2024 Every day this week tornadoes have ripped across the U.S., hitting Texas and Oklahoma, as well as the Midwest and even Pennsylvania. The storms have left behind a trail of property damage and destruction costing billions of dollars. AccuWeather's team of long-range forecasters and expert meteorologists predict 1,250 to 1,375 tornadoes will hit the United States this year. That forecast is slightly higher than the historical average of 1,225 tornadoes annually. Weve seen with climate change that severe ..read more

More hope on the horizon for those with type 1 diabetes, too. By Gary Guthrie of ConsumerAffairs May 9, 2024 In the world of breakthroughs, a huge one has just landed in our laps: a potential cure for diabetes. A groundbreaking study from the Max Planck Institute for Metabolism Research sheds light on the surprising power of visual food cues on our bodies. Yes, just by seeing food before you ever take a bite, your liver gears up for action, getting itself ready to process nutrients. "This is more than just your stomach rumbling," explainsDr. Jens Brning, who led the study. "Our study demonstra ..read more

Falling prices for three items resulted in a 2.6% decline in the Index By Mark Huffman of ConsumerAffairs May 9, 2024 Inflation remains a factor impacting consumers wallets but some grocery prices have stabilized, albeit at higher levels. The April ConsumerAffairs Datasembly Shopping Cart Index, which tracks the price movement of 25 commonly-purchased grocery items fell to $156.76 from $160.99 in March a decline of 2.6%. Datasembly tracks grocery prices in real-time at thousands of grocery stores. A big drop in the price of peanut butter, coffee and cookies accounted for most of the decline ..read more

Experts say this could contribute to more cases of childhood asthma By Kristen Dalli of ConsumerAffairs May 9, 2024 A new study conducted by researchers from Stanford Universitys School of Sustainability found that gas and propane stoves could pose a threat to consumers long-term health and wellness. Their findings showed that these types of stoves can emit dangerous levels of the pollutant nitrogen dioxide. The researchers warn that continued exposure to the pollutant can affect childrens lungs and respiratory health, and increase the risk of childhood asthma. I didnt expect to see pollutant ..read more

Theres probably not an agency anywhere that can recover money lost in a scam By Gary Guthrie of ConsumerAffairs May 8, 2024 How can I scam thee? Let me count the ways. Theres the grandparent scam, the tech support scam, the somethings wrong with your bank account scam, lottery scams, romance scams.etc. Not to give these miscreants any props, but scammers have now figured that theres a way to play Robin Hood and pretend tohelp the victims of a scam. Introducing recovery scams an extremely vicious form of fraud that targets people who have already been victimized by another scam. It's also known ..read more