Dubious loan offers were the most frequent pitch

By Mark Huffman of ConsumerAffairs

• U.S. consumers received just over 4.3 billion robocalls in July 2025, a number nearly unchanged from July 2024 but marking the third month of consecutive declines.

• Despite recent dips, robocalls for the first seven months of 2025 surged 9.2% above the same period in 2024, totaling 32.5 billion.

• Unwanted robocallsincluding and telemarketingnow account for 60% of all robocall traffic, up from 58% in June.

U.S. consumers were targeted with just over 4.3 billion robocalls in July 2025, according to the latest data released by YouMails Robocall Index.

While Julys tally was almost flat year-over-year and marked a 3.1% decline from June, the nation is still on track for a record-breaking year. The first seven months of 2025 have already seen 32.5 billion robocalls, a 9.2% jump over the same span last year.

On a daily basis, Americans received an average of 144 million robocalls in July, or about 1,666 unwanted calls per second. Though those numbers represent a 3.2% drop from June, industry experts urge caution.

The good news is weve seen three straight months of declining call volume from 2025 peaks, said Alex Quilici, CEO of YouMail. The bad news is 2025, as a whole, is still on a pace to exceed 2024s volumes by 9%. Robocalls have clearly not gone away.

Unwanted calls are increasing

The data also show a concerning trend: the share of robocalls deemed unwanted, including both scam attempts and telemarketing, rose to 60% of all robocalls, up from 58% in June. Thats despite a month-over-month decline across all robocall categories.

Here are the numbers for July:

• Scam and telemarketing robocalls: 2.6 billion (-3.7%)
  

• Notifications (such as school closings, flight updates): 0.98 billion (-8.7%)
  

• Payment reminders: 0.75 billion (-6.4%)
  

YouMail notes that over the past 18 months, the combined total of scam and telemarketing calls has increased by more than 30%, even as monthly volumes fluctuate.

Loan offers

As in June, the most prevalent and annoying robocall campaigns in July revolved around dubious loan offers. Many were pitched as personal debt consolidation deals of up to $35,000, with callers purporting to be from the underwriting desk and urging quick action.

These high-volume operations use thousands of different phone numbers to evade detection and often call consumers unsolicited, behavior YouMail says is indicative of, at worst, a scam and at best, very shady telemarketing.

These figures come from YouMail, a widely recognized robocall blocking and identification app. YouMails Robocall Index aggregates data by extrapolating call activity among its millions of users nationwide. The system identifies problematic robocall numbers through patented audio fingerprinting, call analysis patterns, and consumer feedback.

Cutting processing, not nutrition, may double weight loss success

• In a new UCL-led trial, people eating minimally processed foods lost twice as much weight as those on ultra-processed diets even though both meals were nutritionally matched.

• The study used a randomized crossover design: participants spent eight weeks on one diet, had a four-week washout, then switched allowing each person to serve as their own control.

• Diets followed the UKs Eatwell Guide, ensuring both processed and less-processed meals were balanced but the level of processing still made a big difference.
  

A new, real-world experiment shows that simply eating less processed food might help you drop those extra pounds even when your meals are supposed to be equally healthy.

The study compared two diets that looked the same on paper but one was made up of fresh, minimally processed meals, and the other packed with store-bought, ultra-processed versions.

The results? The less processed menu won the weight-loss race and by a big margin.

Previous research has linked ultra-processed foods with poor health outcomes, researcher Dr. Samuel Dicken said in a news release. But not all ultra-processed foods are inherently unhealthy based on their nutritional profile.

The main aim of this trial was to fill crucial gaps in our knowledge about the role of food processing in the context of existing dietary guidance, and how it affects health outcomes such as weight, blood pressure and body composition, as well as experiential factors like food cravings.

The study

Researchers from University College London recruited 55 adults in England. They all had body mass indices between 25 and 40 and habitually ate more than half of their calories from ultra-processed food.

They split participants into two groups: one started eating minimally processed meals things like homemade spaghetti Bolognese or overnight oats for eight weeks. After a four-week wash-out returning to their normal diet, they switched to the ultra-processed diet (like breakfast oat bars or ready-meal lasagne).

The other group did the diets in the opposite order. Both menus followed the UK Eatwell Guide, so calories and nutrients were carefully matched including red flags like sugar, salt, and overall balance.

Results: Twice the weight loss, same nutrients

Heres the bottom line: even though both diets were thoughtfully designed to be healthy, the minimally processed diet led to twice the weight loss compared to its ultra-processed counterpart. Thats not just a little double the effectiveness.

This matters because it shows processing level itself not just calories or nutrients can influence weight loss.

So, if youre looking for a simple, practical way to boost your results, cooking at home and swapping processed convenience foods for fresh alternatives could be a surprisingly powerful move.

The best advice to people would be to stick as closely to nutritional guidelines as they can by moderating overall energy intake, limiting intake of salt, sugar and saturated fat, and prioritizing high-fiber foods such as fruits, vegetables, pulses, and nuts, researcher Professor Rachel Batten said in a news release.

Choosing less processed options such as whole foods and cooking from scratch, rather than ultra-processed, packaged foods or ready meals, is likely to offer additional benefits in terms of body weight, body composition and overall health.

Findings from a recent study explore coffee contaminants so you can sip smarter

• Fifty-seven coffee products from 45 top-selling brands were tested in a wide-ranging chemical screening.

• Results found trace amounts of glyphosate, widespread AMPA (even in organic coffee), acrylamide, and phthalates varying by roast, packaging, and origin.

• For the cleanest cup: reach for dark or light roasts, avoid medium, and prefer bagged or pod packaging over cans; organic options still had AMPA.
  

Coffee fuels our mornings and brings people together but whats actually in that cup?

The Clean Label Project, a nonprofit that works to bring transparency to consumer products, teamed up with a lab to uncover what might be hiding beyond the nutrition facts.

Spoiler: safe on the label doesnt always mean clean in the beans.

The study

The organization sampled 57 bestselling coffee products from 45 brands. They made their picks based on results from Nielsen, SPINS, Amazon, and organic market listings.

Researchers ran 7,069 contaminant tests. Everything from heavy metals (lead, cadmium, arsenic, mercury) to mycotoxins, pesticides, phthalates, glyphosate, and AMPA (a glyphosate breakdown product) was measured.

The tests were conducted in an ISO/IEC 17025accredited lab using advanced techniques.

The results

Heres what they found:

• Glyphosate turned up in just two samples but AMPA showed up in 72% of them, including every single organic coffee, even though glyphosate is banned in organic farming.

• Acrylamide, a byproduct of high-temp roasting, was in 100% of the samples. Though each cup was within EU limits, typical servings could push daily exposure beyond safety thresholds. Interestingly, light and dark roasts contained less acrylamide than medium roasts, and canned coffee had more than bagged or pod varieties.

• Phthalates, linked to hormone disruption and other health concerns, were found in 70% of samples especially in canned and pod packaging.

Choosing cleaner coffee

So, what can you do to make your cup of joe a little more guilt-free?

• Opt for light or dark roasts, and steer clear of medium roasts when possible.

• Go for coffees in bags or pods over cans to minimize phthalate exposure.

• Organic doesnt guarantee AMPA-free, but it typically has fewer industrial contaminants.

• Consider the region coffees from Africa tended to have lower heavy-metal levels, while volcanic Hawaiian soil often meant higher levels.
  

The Clean Label Project also identified 16 coffees that deliver on safety and purity, which means consumers can feel good about buying and drinking them. Heres the list:

• 365 Whole Foods Market Caramel Medium Roast (bag)

• Starbucks Colombia (pod)

• Camerons Vanilla Hazlenut (bag)

• Counter Culture Forty-six (bag)

• Dunkin Hazelnut (bag)

• Eight OClock Original Roast (bag)

• Fabula Dark Roast (pod)

• Great Value French Roast (pod)

• Groundwork Organic Ethiopia (bag)

• ILLY Classico (can)

• Kicking Horse Three Sisters (bag)

• Nespresso Diavolitto (pod)

• Newmans Own Special Blend (pod)

• Peace Coffee Birchwood (bag)

• San Francisco Rainforest Blend (pod)

• Seattles Best Post Alley (bag)

New midsize EV pickup will start at about $30,000, Ford promises

• Ford announces a new Universal EV Production System and EV platform to streamline manufacturing and reduce costs.

• First vehicle will be a midsize, four-door electric pickup starting around $30,000, launching in 2027.

• $2 billion retooling of Louisville Assembly Plant will secure 2,200 jobs, with no layoffs planned.

Ford Motor Co. is launching what it says is a sweeping new approach to electric vehicle production, anchored by a midsize, four-door electric pickup it says will offer breakthrough affordability when it arrives in 2027. The vehicle, expected to start at about $30,000, will be built at Fords Louisville Assembly Plant, which will undergo a $2 billion retooling later this year.

The Louisville facility currently produces the Ford Escape and Lincoln Corsair SUVs, employing 2,800 hourly and 200 salaried workers. Ford said the new truck will ensure the jobs of 2,200 hourly employees. About 600 positions will be affected, but Ford stressed there are no layoff planssome workers will be offered retirement buyouts, while others can transfer to nearby facilities. Company officials hinted additional EV models could eventually be added in Louisville, according to the Detroit Free Press.

The investment is part of nearly $5 billion in spending that includes Fords $3 billion BlueOval Battery Park in Marshall, Michigan. That plant will produce prismatic lithium iron phosphate (LFP) batteries starting next year for the Louisville-built truck. The combined projects are expected to create or secure almost 4,000 U.S. jobs and bolster domestic supply chains.

"Model T Moment"

Ford CEO Jim Farley framed the announcement as the companys Model T moment, emphasizing the need to create profitable, American-made affordable EVs that can compete globallyespecially against Chinese automakers. Developed by Fords California-based Skunkworks team, the Universal EV Platform will reduce parts by 20%, cut assembly time by 15%, and use a cobalt- and nickel-free battery pack that doubles as the trucks floor.

While Ford has not released performance specs, range estimates, or charging details for the new pickup, Farley said the total cost of ownership over five years will be lower than that of a three-year-old used Tesla Model Y. The truck will be similar in size to todays Ford Maverick.

The news comes as Ford delays its full-size electric pickup successor to the F-150 Lightning until 2028 and pushes back its E-Transit van launch to the same year. Current production of the Lightning in Dearborn and the Mach-E in Mexico will continue unchanged.

ufts-led research shows calories from dollar store food nearly doubled from 2008 to 2020

By Truman Lewis of ConsumerAffairs