Consumer News: At least 23 states have average gas prices under $3 a gallon

Here are some tips to keep your pets safe

By Mark Huffman of ConsumerAffairs

• Holiday foods pose hidden toxicity risks for pets, with emergency clinics reporting spikes in chocolate, onion, and alcohol poisonings.

• Decorations and gifts account for a surge in injuries, including ingestible ornaments, batteries, and hazardous plants.

• Seasonal stress and extreme weather can worsen anxiety and lead to dangerous outdoor conditions for dogs and cats.

As families across the country gear up for holiday celebrations, veterinarians are issuing new warnings: the festive season consistently brings one of the busiest periods for pet emergencies.

From toxic foods to dangerous dcor, experts say many well-loved traditions come with risks that can turn a joyful gathering into a visit to the emergency clinic.

Each year, veterinary poison control hotlines see dramatic increases in calls related to holiday foods. Chocolate remains the top culprit, particularly dark and baking varieties, which contain higher concentrations of theobromine, dangerous even in small amounts for dogs and cats. Xylitol, a sweetener found in cookies, gum, and many sugar-free products, can cause rapid insulin spikes and life-threatening hypoglycemia in dogs.

Other seasonal staples also pose hidden risks:

• Onions, garlic, and chives can damage red blood cells, leading to anemia.

• Alcohol and unbaked yeast dough may cause dangerous intoxication or bloat.

• Turkey bones and fatty trimmings can trigger choking or severe pancreatitis.

Veterinarians stress the importance of securing food waste and keeping counter-surfing pets away from plates and gift baskets.

Festive decorations that end in emergency surgery

From twinkling lights to shiny ornaments, household dcor becomes a minefield for curious pets. Cats, in particular, are drawn to tinsel and ribbonmaterials that can cause intestinal blockages requiring surgery. Dogs are more likely to chew on or swallow holiday lights, batteries, or small toy pieces, resulting in electrical burns or heavy-metal poisoning.

Popular seasonal plants also raise red flags:

• Poinsettias can cause stomach upset.

• Lilies, often included in holiday bouquets, are extremely toxic to cats and can lead to kidney failure.

• Mistletoe and holly contain toxins that may trigger severe gastrointestinal and cardiovascular reactions.

Experts advise anchoring Christmas trees, covering electrical cords, and avoiding hazardous botanicals altogether.

Other complications

Cold snaps and icy conditions create additional challenges. Outdoor cats may seek warmth under car hoods, while dogs can suffer frostbite or hypothermia faster than many owners expect. Icy sidewalks also mean more slipping injuriesespecially for senior pets.

Meanwhile, the holidays can be emotionally taxing for animals. Crowded gatherings, fireworks, and disruptions to routine often cause anxiety, leading to escape attempts or destructive behavior. Boarding facilities and travel compound the risks if pets are not properly identified, vaccinated, and supervised.

While holiday emergencies are common, they are largely preventable. Veterinarians recommend:

• Keeping toxic foods and plants out of reach.

• Supervising interactions with decorations and gifts.

• Maintaining routines as much as possible amid travel and festivities.

• Ensuring microchips and ID tags are up to date.

For many families, pets are central to holiday celebrations. With awareness and preparation, experts say the season can remain joyfuland safefor dogs and cats alike.

Heres how to find out if your child is eligible

By Mark Huffman of ConsumerAffairs

• The new Trump Accounts program establishes tax-advantaged investment accounts for children with a $1,000 seed contribution from the U.S. government for eligible newborns.

• Parents or guardians, and optionally other family members, employers, or charities, can contribute up to $5,000 per year per child (with up to $2,500 of that possibly coming from an employer) to help the account grow over time.

• The money is invested in low-cost U.S. stock-index funds (e.g., broad-based mutual funds or ETFs), and cannot be withdrawn until the child reaches age 18; at that point the account generally functions like a traditional retirement account (IRA). (Forbes)

Michael and Susan Dell, of the Dell Computer fortune,made headlines this week when they announced a $6.25 billion donation to the new Trump Accounts for infants. An estimated 25 million children will benefit that single donation.

Many parents may be asking, What is a Trump Account and can my child benefit?

Heres how it works:

Launched under the recently passed One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA), Trump Accounts are meant to give children a financial head start from birth automatically investing in the stock market on their behalf.

For children born between January 1, 2025 and December 31, 2028, the government will deposit $1,000 into a new Trump Account if parents/guardians file the proper election form.

The account is then managed by the childs guardian but invested broadly in U.S. equities, aiming to grow over decades via compounding.

Whats behind the program?

Supporters argue Trump Accounts:

• Offer every American child regardless of family income a chance to build long-term financial assets from birth.

• Promote financial literacy and long-term saving habits by exposing families early to investing and compounding returns.

• Provide a flexible multi-purpose nest egg usable for higher education, starting a business, buying a first home, or other major expenses when the child becomes an adult.

According to estimates by the administrations economists, a baby born in 2026 whose guardians contribute the annual maximum could see the account reach roughly $303,800 by age 18and over $1 million by age 28 under optimistic stock-market growth assumptions.

How parents can enroll their child

1. Check eligibility: The child must be a U.S. citizen, under 18, and have a Social Security number. For the $1,000 seed benefit, birth must fall between Jan. 1, 2025 and Dec. 31, 2028.

2. Make the official election: A parent or legal guardian must file the required election via the appropriate form. According to the official guidance, that is IRS Form 4547.

3. Wait for the account setup: Once the election is filed, the Treasury will establish the account and deposit the initial $1,000 (for eligible babies).

4. Begin contributing (optional): Starting July 4, 2026, guardians or other approved contributors (parents, relatives, employers, charities) may add up to $5,000 per year (with employer contributions capped at $2,500).

5. Let the account grow: Funds are invested in low-cost U.S. stock index funds. Withdrawals will generally only be allowed once the child turns 18 (then treated like a traditional IRA), with options for education, home purchase, business startup, or other qualified uses.

Make Amazon notify you only when you're saving money

• Rufus in the Amazon app can trackthe price of anyitemand can even 'Auto Buy' for you if youre a Prime member

• Turn on Amazon app notifications, open the product page, tap Ask Rufus, set your target price or % drop, and wait for the alert

• Use alerts to pre-stalk big sales, restock household staples at a good price, and slow down impulse buys

Imagine telling Amazon, Notify me when this TV drops below $499, and then going back to your life. Well, thats basically what Rufus price alerts do and they can save you time and money.

Rufus is Amazons AI shopping assistant built into the app and website. It can show price history, set price alerts, and even auto-buy something for you once it hits your target price.

Below is a step-by-step guide that you can use to start setting price alerts on Amazon and only buy when the price is right.

First, make sure youre familiar with Rufus (and notifications on)

The first thing you need to do is get familiar with Rufus and where youll access the AI tool on the Amazon app and website.

Where Rufus lives:

• In the Amazon app (iOS/Android), look for a little Rufus logo with colorful chat bubbles or the Ask Rufus button. Youll find both on individual product pages as well as near the bottom of the screen.
• Also, on Amazon.com, you can find Rufus near the search bar at the top or on individual product pages. But you CANNOT set price alerts on the website, only via the Amazon app.

Turn on notifications first (or this whole thing is pointless):

• Open the Amazon app Account Settings Notifications.
• Also, make sure app notifications are allowed for Amazon in your phone settings and that shopping/price notifications are enabled in the app.
• If notifications are off, Rufus can track the price, but youll never see the alert.

To make price alerts happen, you dont need a special subscription beyond a basic Amazon account. But if you want to use the Auto Buy feature, youll need to be a Prime member.

Method #1 Manually set your price alert

This is the tap it and go manual method that many of you will probably use.

1. Open the Amazon app.
2. Go to the exact product page you care about and make sure youve selected the right size/color/configuration first, because alerts are tied to that specific product version.
3. There currently is not a Set price alert buttonon the product page. You actually need to open Rufus first and type Set price alert.
4. Rufus will then show you the current price of the product as well as the 30-day lowest price.
5. Youll then be asked What price would you like to be notified at? You just type the price you want to pay.
6. Rufus will then pull up a price alert review and give you a couple other alert options that you can choose if you like.
7. At this point, you can also select Auto Buy if youre a Prime member. When youcheck the Auto Buy box, Amazon will actually buy the item for you once it reaches your pre-selected price point.
8. Last, tap Create price alert and youre done.

Once thats set, Rufus will check every 30 minutes for price changes and send you a notification when it hits your target.

Pro tip: When using Auto Buy, Amazon automatically places the order using your default payment method and default shipping address. And dont worry, youll get notified that the order has been placed and you have a 24-hour cancellation window to change your mind. Also, be aware that auto-buy requests stay active for up to six months or until you cancel them.

Method #2 Just ask Rufus to set the alert

You can also talk to Rufus directly via your phone to set up your price alert.

Heres how to make it happen:

1. Open the product page in the Amazon app.
2. Tap the Rufus icon / Ask Rufus button.
3. Tap the microphone icon and say something like:
   • Set a price alert for this if it drops below $500.
   • Let me know if this falls 15%.
   • Set a price alert at $16.99 and auto-buy it when it hits that price.
4. Rufus will then confirm the item, your target price or percentage-off, and whether you want Auto Buy.

Behind the scenes, talking to Rufus does the same thing as manually typingSet price alert, it just feels a little more tech-savvy.

How to actually find your price alerts

As is the case withmany features on Amazon, they dont always make things easy to find.

As a matter of fact, when using their website (not the app), they make it impossible to find the price alerts that youve previously set up.

Heres exactly how to find your price alerts:

• On the Amazon app, tap the three horizontal lines (menu) at the bottom, then Account, then in the Orders section tap on Your Price Alerts, then Manage Price Alerts.
• Even easier when using the app, you can simply tap Rufus and say Manage my price alerts and youll get instant access to them.
• On the website, youre out-of-luck. As of right now, you can only access your price alerts via the Amazon app. I verified this with an Amazon rep after a lengthy phone call. Hopefully theyll fix this in the near future.

Once you find your price alerts, you can tweak them how you want or cancel them altogether. This is also the spot where you can turn Auto Buy on or off.

Smart ways to actually use Rufus alerts

Here a few of my favorite ways to use these price alerts to save money in real-life:

Pre-sale stalking:

Before big shopping days like Prime Day / Black Friday / Cyber Monday, set price alerts on your maybe or wish items. Then let Rufus do the tracking instead of you refreshing your cart 40 times.

Stock-up strategy:

For stuff my family buys over and over (things like detergent, pet food, razor refills), I like to set a reasonable price target and then let Auto Buy do the work for me whenever the price is right. It saves me a lot of time and I know Im always getting a deal.

Impulse-control hack:

If you train yourself to only buy when Rufus hits your target price, youve basically turned every I want it now purchase into Ill wait for a real discount. Think of this as a built-in cooling-off period and it often keeps your impulses purchases under wraps.

The suit is modeled on the giant tobacco lawsuit that resulted in a massive $206 billion settlement

• Landmark lawsuit accuses top brands of knowingly creating addictive, disease-linked foods

• City compares tactics of food giants to Big Tobaccos historic deception

• Officials say companies must help offset billions in health care costs

San Francisco City Attorney David Chiu has filed a potentially groundbreaking lawsuit against 10 of the nations largest food manufacturers, accusing them of engineering and marketing ultra-processed foods that have fueled a nationwide health crisis. The defendants include Kraft Heinz, Mondelez, Post Holdings, Coca-Cola, PepsiCo, General Mills, Nestl USA, Kellogg, Mars, and ConAgra.

These companies created a public health crisis with the engineering and marketing of ultra-processed foods, Chiu said at a Tuesday press conference. They took food and made it unrecognizable and harmful to the human body These companies engineered a public health crisis, they profited handsomely, and now they need to take responsibility.

Mayor Daniel Lurie joined Chiu in supporting the lawsuit, calling it an effort to ensure that San Francisco families deserve to know whats in their food and arent misled about the products in our grocery stores.

What makes ultra-processed foods different

The citys complaint argues that ultra-processed foodsranging from sodas and chips to boxed macaroni, processed meats, and breakfast cerealspose unique health risks beyond their high sugar or fat content. These products are industrially reconstituted mixtures of additives, emulsifiers, flavor enhancers, and chemically modified ingredients designed to boost cravings and consumption.

According to the lawsuit, these foods now make up about 70% of the U.S. food supply, giving the illusion of consumer choice while fueling chronic disease.

Health toll tied to engineered foods

Public health officials say the shift toward ultra-processed foods has coincided with sharp increases in obesity, diabetes, colorectal cancer, heart disease, and depression. San Francisco Health Director Daniel Tsai called the lawsuit a critical step toward protecting the health of our communities, noting that low-income and minority populations have been hit hardest by aggressive marketing.

UCSF physician Dr. Kim Newell-Green added that research now links these products to serious diseasesincluding Type 2 diabetes, fatty liver disease, heart disease, colorectal cancer, and even depression at younger ages.

Big Tobaccos influence on Big Food

The complaint draws direct parallels to the tobacco industry, which entered the food business in the 1960s when companies like Philip Morris and RJ Reynolds bought up major food brands. San Francisco alleges those corporations transferred their knowledge of addiction science to the food sector, deliberately crafting productsand marketing campaignsdesigned to hook consumers, especially children.

By the 1990s, internal Kraft documents showed the companys Kids Task Force boasting that its promotions reached 95% of U.S. children ages 612. The lawsuit also cites marketing campaigns that disproportionately targeted Black and Latino children, who see 70% more ads for ultra-processed products than white children.

Industry knew the dangers, suit alleges

City lawyers say executives had actual knowledge of the harm decades ago. In 1999, top leaders from Kraft, Pillsbury, and other major food companies met to discuss the mounting health crisis caused by their products. When a Kraft vice president warned that the industrys tactics were inflicting a public health toll rivaling that of tobacco, his warnings were ignored.

Despite these warnings, the companies continued to push increasingly addictive foods, the lawsuit states.

Financial fallout and local impact

Health care costs linked to diet-related diseases have soared. U.S. health expenditures now account for nearly 20% of GDP, and by 2031 could hit $7 trillion. San Francisco alone spends billions each year on Medi-Cal, employee benefits, and public health programs, with diabetes alone responsible for $85 million in hospital charges in 2016.

Supervisor Shamann Walton, who joined the announcement, said the city will also examine its own food purchasing practices. For decades, our communities have paid the price for an industry that put profit ahead of people, Walton said.

Legal aims and next steps

Filed in San Francisco Superior Court, People of the State of California v. Kraft Heinz Company, Inc., et al. alleges violations of Californias Unfair Competition Law and public nuisance statute. The city seeks injunctions against deceptive marketing, restitution, and civil penalties to help offset health care costs.

Law firms Andrus Anderson, DiCello Levitt, and Morgan & Morgan are co-counsel on the case. DiCello Levitt partner Diandra Fu Debrosse said, San Francisco is leading the way in holding corporations accountable for engineering a public health crisis.

A precedent-setting case

This litigation is about more than accountability, said Jennie Lee Anderson of Andrus Anderson LLP. Its about giving San Francisco the tools to protect its residents for generations to come.

City officials say they hope the lawsuit will set a national precedentmuch as states tobacco lawsuits did a generation agoby forcing food giants to face the costs of a crisis they helped create.The landmark class-action settlement for the tobacco industry the Tobacco Master Settlement Agreement (MSA) committed major U.S. cigarette manufacturers to pay the states an estimated US$206 billion over the first 25 years.

The state also charges the Chinese company violates consumers' privacy

ArizonaAttorney General Kris Mayes has announced the filing of a lawsuit against Temu, the Chinese online shopping platform, for violations of the Arizona Consumer Fraud Act, including unlawful data collection, violations of customers privacy, and counterfeiting some of Arizonas most iconic brands.

We allege that Temu has repeatedly and willfully violated the Arizona Consumer Fraud Act and put the privacy of Arizonans, including minors, at extreme risk, said Mayes. Arizonans should be aware that behind Temus low prices and shiny advertising, there is real danger. The Temu app can infect users devices with malware to steal their private data while carefully hiding its tracks.

The complaint, filed in Maricopa County Superior Court, alleges that Temu deceives customers in multiple ways after luring them in with hard-to-beat prices.

After aggressive marketing efforts in Arizona and across the United States, Temus mobile app rose in popularity to become the most-downloaded shopping app in the U.S. in 2023 on both Apple iOS and Google Android operating systems. Temu is responsible for tens of millions of shipments to the United States each yearincluding purchases made, finalized, and received in Arizonathrough a network of more than 80,000 China-based sellers.

Harvests users' data

However, the complaint alleges that Temu does much more than provide Arizonans access to cheap goods. Modeled after an earlier Chinese app, Pinduoduo, the Temu app is allegedly designed to harvest sensitive user data without users knowledge or consent and to evade detection.

Temu allegedly collects an alarming amount of sensitive user data and personally identifiable information (PII) that goes far beyond what is necessary for a typical online shopping app. According to the lawsuit, the app secretly infiltrates users devices to access and harvest sensitive information, including the users precise physical location, the phones microphone and camera, and the users private activity on other apps installed on the phone, all without their knowledge or consent.

A review of the Temu apps code allegedly shows that it is purposely designed to evade front-end security review, using multiple layers of encryption to shield its processes from forensic inspection. The app is even able to edit its own code once downloaded to a consumers phone, potentially allowing it to exploit users PII and other dataor otherwise control the devicein unknown and unknowable ways.

These serious privacy risks are compounded by the fact that Temu is wholly owned by a Chinese company and subject to Chinese law, including laws that mandate secret cooperation with the Chinese Communist Partys intelligence apparatus, Mayes said.

Other accusations

In addition to the alleged privacy violations, the complaint also alleges that Temu has engaged in deceptive and unfair trade practices in the offer and sale of products and in the resolution of consumer complaints, including:

• Advertising items that look nothing like the items that eventually arrive;

• Faking customer reviews;
• Using consumer payment information to order items the consumer never asked for;
• Misappropriating the intellectual property of U.S.-owned companies, including some of Arizonas most iconic brands including the Arizona Cardinals, Fender Guitars, the University of Arizona, Arizona State University, and Northern Arizona University;
• Charging for goods not ordered or not delivered;
• Using bait and switch signup schemes to lure users to invite their friends to the app in exchange for the promise of prizes and rewards that never arrive; and
• Using forced labor in clear violation of U.S. trade policies.

I will not stand by while a Chinese company vacuums up reams of sensitive data from Arizonans phones and profits from deception and abuse, said Attorney General Mayes. We are taking Temu to court to stop these practices, protect Arizonans privacy, and hold Temu fully accountable under Arizona law.


Read the Attorney Generals complainthere.