Page 18 - Consumer Issues News Today

Alzheimers disease is the eighth leading causes of death in Pennsylvania, prompting state officials to educate the public on the condition and other related disorders. In the Commonwealth, more than 400,000 people have Alzheimers. Heidi Champa, aging services specialist with the Pennsylvania Department of Aging, says there is still a lot of stigma associated with a dementia diagnosis. ...

Credit unions in Colorado and across the Mountain West are helping high school students tackle money challenges through "Bites of Reality" fairs. The app-based program forces students to make budgeting and spending decisions in real time. Sarae Bay, vice president and managing director of the GoWest Credit Union Association Foundation, said the fairs -- which assign each participant a persona including a job, income, a family, monthly expenses and debt -- allow students to ex...

Educators in New Hampshire say the states approval of a financial literacy course by conservative nonprofit PragerU spells trouble for public schools. PragerU describes itself as "an alternative to the left-wing ideology...in education." Its "Cash Course" requires students to watch a series of videos and pass a multiple-choice test for school credit. Megan Tuttle, president of the National Education Association in New Hampshire, says the course lacks rigor a...

October is Financial Planning Month and an engaging event is helping high schoolers think about their money managing futures. More than 90 "Bite of Reality" fairs have reached 9,000 students across the west, including in Washington state. Sarae Bay, manager with the GoWest Foundation, an organization that works with credit unions in the region and sponsors the fairs, said during the events, each student is assigned a persona. ...

Oregon is one of 17 states to join the Federal Trade Commission in its lawsuit to break up the online retail giant Amazon. The FTC has brought an antitrust suit against the marketplace behemoth, charging the company with illegally maintaining a monopoly. Ron Knox, senior researcher at the Institute for Local Self-Reliance, said half of online sales happen through Amazons website, meaning small businesses have to play by Amazons rules if they want to reach potential customers. ...

New U.S. census data show nearly a third of Montanans spend at least 30% of their income on housing. Advocates for affordable housing said it mostly affects disenfranchised people in the state. ...

Artificial intelligence is growing quickly, so companies such as Google, Amazon, Verizon, Microsoft and more have come together to establish best practices in the field. They seek to foster responsible governance, prioritizing privacy, accountability and benefit to society. Miriam Vogel, president and CEO of the nonprofit Equal AI, just published a report laying out the standards, in a bid to build trust in the AI system. ...

Its been ten years since Fort Lyon, a 19th century military post in rural Bent county, opened its doors to people experiencing homelessness with substance use disorders. Randy Stotts hit bottom living on the streets in Denver, and after years of avoiding offers of assistance, agreed to participate in the recovery-oriented transitional housing program. He said the program offers a wide range of tools to get to the root causes of addiction, and make it out safe and sound on the other side. .....

Estimates show Minnesota is short 100,000 housing units for low-income populations. To help meet demand, some poverty-fighting offices are playing a role in getting more projects off the ground. The housing estimate is from the National Low-Income Housing Coalition. ...

On Tuesday, the state of Utah announced it is suing TikTok as it claims the social media platform "baits children into addictive and unhealthy use." Gov. Spencer Cox said at a news conference the platform promotes children to stay online for hours at a time. Recent research shows adolescents who spend more than three hours a day on social media face double the risk of experiencing poor mental health outcomes such as depression and anxiety. ...