Author: Elizabeth Blessing
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Many Maryland businesses can no longer refuse cash starting October 1
Beginning October 1, a Maryland retailer that turns away a customer’s cash for a $40 purchase is breaking state law, not just company policy. House Bill 191, now Chapter 714 of the state’s 2026 laws, bars merchants from refusing cash, requiring a card instead, or charging extra for paying with bills and coins on most…
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About 48,000 Kesyup mattresses are recalled for failing the federal flammability standard, and buyers get a full refund
The Consumer Product Safety Commission is recalling about 48,405 Kesyup mattresses sold exclusively on Amazon after testing found they fail the federal open-flame flammability standard every mattress sold in the country has to pass. Buyers who purchased one between December 2024 and April 2026 qualify for a full refund rather than a repair, once they…
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A former bank employee got 10 years for an identity-theft scheme aimed at more than 100 customers aged 90 to 103
Yue Cao was hired at an Ohio bank as a quant analytics manager, a role meant to help protect customers from fraud. A federal jury in Cleveland found in February 2026 that he used that access to target more than 100 customers ages 90 to 103 instead, and a judge sentenced him on September 17,…
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About 21,000 NEWDERY power banks sold on Amazon are recalled, and buyers get a full refund
NEWDERY power banks sold exclusively on Amazon have gone from a government warning to a full recall in about a year, and the roughly 21,000 Amazon customers who bought one are now eligible for their money back in full rather than a partial credit or a repair. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission says the…
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Buyers of VSL#3 probiotics from 2016 to 2019 have until October 20 to claim from a class-action settlement
Purchasers of the probiotic supplement VSL#3 between June 1, 2016, and June 19, 2019, have until October 20, 2026, to file a claim in a $20 million class-action settlement, with payment options running from a flat $20 per bottle without a receipt to as much as $800 per household for buyers who kept proof of…
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About 51,000 recliner battery packs sold on Amazon for about $105 are recalled, and owners can get a free replacement
About 51,000 battery packs for power-reclining chairs, sold on Amazon for roughly $105 apiece, are the subject of a federal recall that spares owners the cost of a repair. The Blue Cactus Company’s packs can overheat, smoke or catch fire, and the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission is replacing every affected pack at no charge…
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The Trump White House says the U.S. cattle herd is at a 75-year low while beef demand grew almost 10% in a decade
The White House says the two forces squeezing the beef aisle are moving in opposite directions at once. In a fact sheet issued September 4, 2026, the administration states that the national cattle herd is at a 75-year low while demand for beef has climbed almost 10 percent over the past decade. The document accompanied…
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China is buying the 25 million tons of U.S. soybeans it promised, but other farm purchases lag after the Trump-Xi summit
China is more than halfway toward buying the 25 million tons of U.S. soybeans it committed to under its trade agreement with the Trump administration, with purchases accelerating in the weeks before the September 24, 2026 Trump-Xi summit in Washington. A separate, broader pledge covering at least $17 billion in additional U.S. farm purchases has…
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Trump and Xi only extended their trade truce to January 10, so tariffs on Chinese goods stay in place through the holidays
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced two months of additional breathing room in the U.S.-China trade standoff on September 24, 2026, the day President Trump hosted President Xi Jinping in Washington. The truce that had been due to expire November 10 will now run through January 10, 2027, Bessent said, meaning the tariffs already sitting on…
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Costco’s paid memberships reached 84.1 million, and 92.3% of U.S. and Canadian members renewed
Costco closed its fiscal year with 84.1 million paid memberships, up 3.8 percent from a year earlier, and a renewal rate of 92.3 percent among members in the United States and Canada. Chief Financial Officer Gary Millerchip disclosed both figures on the September 24, 2026 earnings call covering the fourth quarter and full fiscal year.…