Main Street Dollars

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Starting October 1, some food stamp households will need a bigger swing in their monthly income before they are required to report it to their state. The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food and Nutrition Administration has raised the dollar figure that triggers a mandatory report of a household income change from $125 to $150, effective…

A man who told investors to raid their retirement accounts got 20 years and owes $233.7 million

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in Fraud & Scams

A federal judge in Atlanta has handed down the maximum sentence the law allows to a financial firm founder who spent nearly four years telling ordinary savers to move their retirement money into investments that turned out not to exist. The case is one of the largest Ponzi schemes ever prosecuted out of Georgia, and…

The healthy spouse of a nursing home resident can keep $2,705 a month and a home worth up to $1,130,000

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in Government Programs

When one spouse moves into a nursing home and applies for Medicaid to cover the bill, federal law is supposed to stop the other spouse from being wiped out along with the savings account. Every year, the dollar figures behind that protection change, and this summer they changed again: as of July 1, 2026, a…

Households paid 18.34 cents a kilowatt-hour in June, and 43 states plus Washington paid more than a year earlier

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in Utilities & Energy

The average U.S. household paid 18.34 cents for every kilowatt-hour of electricity it used in June, according to the federal government’s own tally of what utilities actually billed customers. That figure is 5 percent higher than the same month a year earlier, and residential customers absorbed a bigger increase than either businesses or factories did.…

An Ohio hospital system is dropping four insurers at once after contesting 9,000 denials for care already given

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in Medicare

Genesis HealthCare System, the main hospital network serving Zanesville and Muskingum County, Ohio, has sent termination notices to four health insurers, telling them their contracts will end on January 1, 2027, unless the companies agree to new terms. The system says the move follows two years of rising claim denials and payment takebacks for care…

Five federal agencies told banks this week they are allowed to say why an account was frozen

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in Checking & Savings

When a bank freezes an account, rejects a deposit, or shuts down a customer relationship altogether, the explanation people usually get is nothing at all — a form letter, a dead-end phone call, or a teller who says compliance rules forbid discussing it. On September 2, 2026, five federal financial regulators told banks and credit…

Skip Hop is recalling 22,660 Elmo teethers whose eyes can detach when frozen, with refunds

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in Recalls

Skip Hop is recalling about 22,660 Baby Sesame Street Elmo Silicone Teethers sold in the United States after the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission determined that the toy’s black eyes can detach if the teether has been placed in a freezer, creating a choking hazard for infants. The recall is dated September 3, 2026, and…

The Realtors group and 30 brokerages will pay homebuyers $120.3 million, and claims stay open until October 27

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in Settlements & Claims

The National Association of Realtors and 30 real estate brokerage companies have agreed to pay $120.3 million to settle a nationwide lawsuit accusing them of keeping home-sale commissions artificially high. The money is earmarked for people who bought a home listed on a multiple listing service and paid a commission as part of the deal,…

The FTC is depositing withheld tip money to Amazon Flex drivers by Zelle, after returning more than $60.6 million

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in Settlements & Claims

The Federal Trade Commission has started sending a new round of payments to Amazon Flex drivers whose tips the company secretly withheld nearly a decade ago, this time depositing the money directly through Zelle instead of mailing a check. The Zelle payments are going to drivers who never cashed the checks sent during two earlier…

Car insurance is projected to rise in 32 states in the second half, after Connecticut drivers absorbed an extra $251

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