March is Women’s History Month. It’s difficult to figure out what to write. Women have made great strides in recent decades. However, so much remains to be done. And, what needs to be undertaken now and going forward so that women are include in the history of the United States and the world? Read more →
Intuit Inc., the maker of the TurboTax tax filing software, is being charged with deceiving consumers with bogus advertisements pitching “free” tax filing that millions of consumers can’t use. The FTC also filed a federal district court lawsuit asking a court to order Intuit to halt its deceptive advertising immediately. Read more →
Edfinancial Services, a student-loan servicer, is being sanctioned for making deceptive statements to student loan borrowers and misrepresenting the forgiveness and repayment options to them. Edfinancial deceived borrowers with Federal Family Education Loan Program or FFELP loans about their eligibility. Read more →
March is National Sleep Awareness Month. Many Americans aren’t getting enough bright light exposure during the day and are looking at screens around bedtime, according to the National Sleep Foundation. In addition, many fall short of recommendations for exercise and take meals at inconsistent times. Read more →
Every year, I watch more than 30 Academy Award nominated movies and review them for violence, sexism, and ageism. The reason I take the time to do this is that I think that movie makers can do a much better job producing movies that are meaningful instead of junk. Read more →
Although there are some brilliant moments in the 2021 Oscar nominated movies, recurring reliance on violence and coming of age stories about males dominate the offerings. And last year’s movies have a new dark element, the psychological thriller, a slow moving movie that suddenly has a twist at the end. Read more →
Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion, the three major credit bureaus, are changing how they’ll treat the reporting of medical debt. Nearly 70 percent of it in collections will be removed from credit reports. Paid medical debt will be erased and any new medical debt won’t be included in credit reports for a year. Read more →
Consumers need to accurately declare and pay taxes on their virtual investments. Failure to properly declare and pay taxes on cryptocurrency transactions may be a civil or criminal violation of federal tax law, as well as a violation of state tax law, which could result in steep financial liabilities Read more →
Almost half of skin lightening creams tested contained dangerously high levels of mercury but continue to be sold by online retailers such as Amazon, eBay, and Flipkart, according to a report from the Zero Mercury Working Group, an international coalition. Read more →
Protect your kids, teens, and elders from poisonings by locking up potentially harmful household products and medications. Nearly nine out of 10 unintentional poisonings occur in the home. Thirty-one children under the age of five die in the U.S. each year from consumer products found in the home Read more →