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No surprises here: These are the top US consumer complaints, from cars to credit cards

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:57:36 GMT

New York (CNN) — When you’re using your hard-earned money to pay for goods and services, chances are you’re not in the mood for aggravation, nor in favor of a bait-and-switch routine.And yet … US consumers encountered plenty of both last year.The Consumer Federation of America on Wednesday put out its annual list of top complaints filed with city, county and state consumer agencies across the United States. All in, they handled nearly 600,000 complaints in 2022 and recovered more than $740 million for consumers through mediations, court enforcement actions and other means, the CFA said.While these are the agencies where anyone can file a complaint, they can be especially helpful for people who don’t have the time or the means to resolve or litigate a dispute with a business on their own.The top complaint in 2022 was …The No. 1 consumer complaint in 2022 pertained to the sales and repairs of new and used autos. That category has held the top spot for seven years running, the CFA...

Can a daily multivitamin slow cognitive aging? Maybe

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:57:36 GMT

(CNN) — Older adults who took a multivitamin each day for three years found a mild improvement in their memory after one year compared with people taking a placebo, or sugar pill, a new study found.At the start of the study, 3,560 adults older than age 60 were asked to learn 20 words on a computer program. The study participants had three seconds to study each word before the next appeared. Immediately after, participants were asked to type all the words they could remember.Retested at the end of the first year, the study found people who continued to take a daily multivitamin were able to remember, on average, nearly one extra word compared with those who took a placebo. While the effect was small, it was statistically significant, according to the study published Wednesday in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.The improvement in memory remained for the duration of the study and was stronger for people with a history of cardiovascular disease, said ...

Typhoon Mawar lashes Guam as Category 4 storm with strong winds, rain

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:57:36 GMT

By GRACE GARCES BORDALLO and JENNIFER SINCO KELLEHER (Associated Press)HAGATNA, Guam (AP) — Typhoon Mawar inched over Guam as a powerful Category 4 storm on Thursday, relentlessly lashing the U.S. Pacific island territory with heavy rain, powerful winds, and a dangerous storm surge and knocking out power to many communities where frightened residents hunkered down for the night in homes and shelters.The typhoon’s center passed over the northern tip of Guam on Wednesday evening, the National Weather Service said. It is the strongest storm to hit the territory of over 150,000 people in decades. Its maximum sustained winds remained at 140 mph (225 kph) late Wednesday, and it was forecast to intensify throughout the day Thursday, the weather service said.Videos posted on social media showed fallen trees, a flipped pickup truck, solar panels flying through the air, parts of a wall of a multistory hotel crumbling to the ground and exposing rebar, and storm surge and waves cras...

Target becomes latest company to suffer backlash for LGBTQ+ support, pulls some Pride month clothing

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:57:36 GMT

By ANNE D’INNOCENZIO (AP Retail Writer)NEW YORK (AP) — Target is removing some items from its stores and making other changes to its LGBTQ+ merchandise nationwide ahead of Pride month after intense backlash from some customers who confronted workers and tipped over displays.“Since introducing this year’s collection, we’ve experienced threats impacting our team members’ sense of safety and well-being while at work,” Target said in a statement Tuesday. ”Given these volatile circumstances, we are making adjustments to our plans, including removing items that have been at the center of the most significant confrontational behavior.”Target said that customers knocked down Pride displays at some stores, angrily approached workers and posted threatening videos on social media from inside the stores. Target declined to specify Wednesday which items it was removing but among the ones that garnered the most attention were “tuck frien...

Patriots announce new jersey numbers for JuJu-Smith Schuster, Mike Gesicki and other vets

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:57:36 GMT

The Patriots released a batch of new jersey numbers for their veteran additions on Wednesday.Among the most notable players, wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster will wear No. 7, while new running back James Robinson dons No. 3 and tight end Mike Gesicki takes over No. 88.  The Patriots also released the temporary jersey numbers for their rookies this spring and summer.Both lists of new jersey numbers are below.Veteran numbersRB James Robinson – 3DB Jabrill Peppers – 5WR JuJu Smith-Schuster – 7P Corliss Waitman – 15TE Scotty Washington – 17QB Trace McSorley – 19DB Tae Hayes – 37DB – Rodney Randle – 49LB Chris Board – 45LB Olakunle Fatukasi – 47OT Riley Reiff – 74OT Calvin Anderson – 76TE Mike Gesicki – 88Related ArticlesNew England Patriots | Former Patriots captain Devin McCourty lands primetime NFL analyst job New England Patriots | Patriots-Steelers regular-season game coul...

Jimmy Butler shows signs of mortality and now the Celtics have life

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:57:36 GMT

Jimmy Butler is human after all — and he couldn’t have become mortal at a better time for the Celtics.Thanks to a rare underwhelming performance by Butler, who was on a heater before Games 3 and 4 of this very Eastern Conference Finals series, the Celtics forced a Game 5 with a 116-99 victory on the road in Miami on Tuesday.The Heat star still finished with 29 points on 9-of-21 shooting from the field, but Miami was outscored by 20 points in his 39 minutes on the floor, and he coughed up two costly turnovers as the Celtics ultimately ran up a double-digit lead and never let go in the second half.In Game 3, he scored 16 points on 5-of-13 shooting, but that game ended in a blowout victory.Game 4 was different. Butler didn’t have the same bark or bite. It was the first time Boston looked like a team that belonged in the hunt for the NBA title this series after three embarrassing losses to start the conference finals — including a deflating, 25-point walloping th...

Owners of San Diego restaurants charged with COVID-relief fraud

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:57:36 GMT

SAN DIEGO -- Two San Diego restaurant owners were charged with fraud and money laundering in connection with an alleged scheme to falsify applications for COVID-relief funds.That's according to U.S. attorney Randy Grossman's office Tuesday, which announced the indictment of Leronce Suel, 46, and RaVae Smith, 45, who owned Rockstar Dough LLC and Chicken Feed LLC. DEA agent attacked by dog during search warrant in East County From March 2020 to June 2022, the U.S. attorney's office says Suel and Smith allegedly conspired to underreport over $1.7 million in gross receipts on Rockstar Dough LLC’s 2020 corporate tax return filed with the IRS in order to qualify for pandemic relief funds through the Paycheck Protection Program and Restaurant Revitalization Funding loans.According to the U.S. attorney's office, Suel and Smith also allegedly made materially false certifications on loan applications regarding the use of the money. The indictment states that the pair made "substantial...

UC San Diego ranked 7th best public university in US: CWUR

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:57:36 GMT

SAN DIEGO -- The University of California San Diego has been ranked 7th among the best U.S. public universities, according to the latest Center for World University Rankings (CWUR). This is a notch up from last year's ranking.The 2023 rankings were determined based on four key factors: quality of education, alumni employment, quality of faculty and research performance. Top 10 degrees among SDSU’s 2023 spring graduates UC San Diego achieved high marks for its faculty rank and research rank, the university announced in a news release. These scores were measured by factors like the number of faculty members who have won prestigious academic distinctions and the number of research papers appearing in top-tier journals.Some of the most recent research efforts from UC San Diego, according to the university, include examining how advances in artificial intelligence assistants such as ChatGPT could be used in medicine. Another example includes a new report led by a UC San...

Head of Russian private army Wagner says more than 20,000 of his troops died in Bakhmut battle

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:57:36 GMT

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — The head of the Russian private army Wagner says his force lost more than 20,000 men in the drawn-out battle for Bakhmut, with about half of those who died in the eastern Ukrainian city being Russian convicts recruited to fight in the 15-month-old war. The figure stood in stark contrast to the widely disputed claims from Moscow that just over 6,000 of its troops were killed throughout the war as of January. By comparison, official Soviet troop losses in the 1979-89 Afghanistan war were 15,000.Ukraine hasn’t said how many of its soldiers have died since Russia’s full-scale invasion began in February 2022.Analysts believe the nine-month fight for Bakhmut alone has killed tens of thousands of soldiers, among them Russian convicts who reportedly received little training before being sent to the front.Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin also said Russia’s invasion goal of “demilitarizing” Ukraine has backfired because Kyiv’s military has become stronger with the supply of...

Cirque du Soleil and Gamefan to launch online experience on Roblox in summer 2023

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:57:36 GMT

MONTREAL — Cirque de Soleil Entertainment Group is joining forces with metaverse game developer Gamefam to create an online gaming experience on Roblox.The company says in Cirque du Soleil Tycoon, held on the online game platform, users can build their own Cirque de Soleil universe.It says users can create their own Cirque du Soleil performance complete with performers and crowds, in an experience inspired by its new touring show, “ECHO.”Cirque du Soleil says this supports the company’s newly defined mission to diversify its offerings beyond live shows. The company says it hopes to tap into some of the more than 66 million daily active Roblox users and attract a new fan base. Cirque du Soleil Tycoon will be available for free in summer 2023. This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 24, 2023.The Canadian Press