Observational data suggests patients on GLP-1 therapy had much lower five-year mortality

• Patients with colon cancer using GLP-1 receptor agonists (the class of drugs behind treatments like Ozempic, Wegovy, and Mounjaro) had substantially lower five-year death rates than those not using them (15.5% vs. 37.1%).

• The research examined more than 6,800 colon-cancer patients from across the University of California Health system and adjusted for age, BMI, disease severity, and other health factors.

• While the results are real-world and observational (which means they cant prove cause-and-effect), researchers believe this finding is important enough to trigger formal clinical trials.

According to a recent report from the University of California San Diego, people with colon cancer who were using GLP-1 meds had much lower five-year mortality rates than those who did not.

While this doesnt yet mean these drugs are a proven cancer-treatment, it does shine a light on how medications developed for one purpose (blood-sugar control, weight loss) might have ripple effects into other health areas including cancer.

The study

The research team turned to real-world clinical data housed in the University of California Health Data Warehouse.

They included over 6,800 patients diagnosed with colon cancer who had been treated across the systems academic medical centers. The core comparison: those who were taking GLP-1 receptor agonists vs. those who were not.

Crucially, the analysis adjusted for key factors that could influence survival: age, body mass index (BMI), severity of disease, and other health conditions.

That means the observed survival differences likely arent just because GLP-1 patients were healthier in other obvious ways they tried to control for those variables. Still, being observational, the study can show association but cannot prove that GLP-1 use caused the improved survival.

The results

Heres the headline: among colon cancer patients in this dataset, those on GLP-1 medications had a five-year death rate of about 15.5%, compared with 37.1% for those not on GLP-1s. Thats less than half the mortality rate in the non-GLP-1 group.

The benefit appeared especially striking in patients whose BMI exceeded 35, suggesting that the drugs effects on weight, metabolism, and inflammation might play a role.

The researchers note several possible mechanisms: GLP-1 agents may reduce systemic inflammation, improve insulin sensitivity, promote weight loss, and even in lab studies suppress tumor cell growth or alter the tumor microenvironment.

Importantly, the authors emphasize that despite the promising numbers, more research and randomized trials are needed before declaring GLP-1 drugs as a definitive cancer-survival therapy.

What this means for you

If you or a loved one has colon cancer (especially in the context of elevated BMI or metabolic issues), this study offers a note of cautious optimism. However, its not time yet to assume GLP-1 meds will replace standard cancer care. Talk to your oncologist or endocrinologist about whether any of this might apply in your case.

Type the exact model into YouTube, not my dryer is broken

• Before you replace anything, search your exact model + symptom on YouTube a $300 repair call is often a $10$20 fix

• Watch a couple videos, then only DIY if its simple and safe (no gas, major electrical, or warranty landmines)

• Even if you dont fix it yourself, youll know whats wrong, talk smarter to the repair tech, and avoid pricey upsells

YouTube is not just for entertaining you, its become a great frugal tool to save you money on potentially costly repairs. Any time something breaks, could be an appliance, a small electronic, the car making a new noise, Ill type the exact model and problem into YouTube before I call a pro or hit add to cart on a replacement. Youd be shocked how often its a $20 part and a 30-minute fix instead of a $300 bill.

The $300 broken appliance that wasnt

Heres how this usually goes. Something stops working. You assume its dead. You mentally budget for a repair visit or a full replacement.

But YouTube is full of people who have already had your exact problem, with your exact model number, and kindly filmed themselves fixing it.

I dont consider myself a particularly handy person, but in the past couple years Ive YouTubed the following issues and saved a bundle by doing the repair myself:

• My dishwasher would not drain (I had a clogged filter, easy fix).
• My clothes dryer drum wouldnt spin (a new $16 drive belt).
• Our vacuum lost its suction (clogged hose and a new $9 filter).
• My Honda Civic had a non-functioning speedometer ($18 speed sensor replacement).

If youve had to call a repair tech out to your house recently, you already know you have to pay a minimum fee just for them to show up. You might be looking at $100$150 before they even start a repair, then theyll upcharge you for parts, and we havent even factored in the labor charges yet.

So, if you can identify the issue and swap a part yourself for $10$50, thats significant money youre saving. Money you can keep in your pocket for when the product actually does need to be replaced and isnt worth fixing.

How to YouTube before you replace

Heres my basic playbook that Ive had a lot of success with.

Find the exact model number.

This is the secret sauce. Look on the sticker or plate on the back, underside, or inside of the door and find the exact model number.

Dont just search Samsung dishwasher not draining. Search Samsung DW80K5050US wont drain or whatever your model is. The more specific, the better.

Then add the actual symptom.

For the best possible search results, be sure to combine model number + the exact issue youre having. Examples include:

• Blinking lights
• No heat
• Grinding noise
• Wont power on

By being very specific with the symptom, it usually pulls up super-specific videos where someone had the same exact problem and walks you through how to fixed it.

Watch at least two videos.

Dont trust the first person who yells into the camera with dramatic music.

Watch a couple versions (sometimes Ill watch 3 or 4) of the same fix so you understand the steps and see if theyre all talking about the same likely cause.

Ive found that this really helps educate me as each video will inevitablyshare a small tip or trick that will help me along the way.

Decide if its in your comfort zone.

Before you start any repair, make sure youre totally comfortable with whats required to get the job done.

Ask yourself the following:

• Does this repair require special tools that I dont have?
• Am I dealing with gas, major electrical, or anything pressurized that could truly hurt me?
• Does the video make it look like an easy afternoon project or a stressful nightmare?

If it looks sketchy, thats your sign to back away and consider calling in professional help.

Youll also sound much smarter on the phone because you can say, I think it might be the heating element, instead of its broken and I have no clue whats wrong.

Pro tip: I always like to dig a little deeper and read the comments to the video before I trust the fix completely. Youll quickly learn exactly how long the fix will take and how involved it is. Folks tend to openly give their praise or disdain of the fix and itll give you a better idea if its something you can tackle on your own.

Why YouTube is secretly a repair manual

The great thing about YouTube help is that you can pause, rewatch, and zoom-in as many times as you like. Ive literally rewatched videos 10 times before I started the repair so just so I felt completely comfortable with what I was doing.

There are entire YouTube channels run by:

• Former appliance techs who film the most common repairs.
• Car mechanics who show step-by-step fixes.
• Parents rebuilding toys and gadgets so they dont have to buy new ones.

They pause, zoom in, and tell you things like, This screw is reverse-threaded, dont strip it all thelittle details that no paper manual ever bothered to mention.

And once you know the likely part you need, you can:

• Search that part number on Amazon, a parts website, or the manufacturers site.
• Compare prices.
• Read reviews that basically function as, Yes, this fixed my exact problem.

It turns a mystery $300 repair into a pretty simple $18 part swap.

When you shouldnt DIY it

Looking for a frugal repair doesnt mean youre reckless and potentially injure yourself or do damage. There are absolutely times when Ill just YouTube it is a terrible idea:

• Gas lines or gas appliances If you smell gas or are messing with gas connections, call a pro. Period.
• Major electrical work Replacing a whole panel, messing with wiring you dont understand, anything that could electrocute you or burn your house down? Hard pass.
• Warranty issues If something is still under warranty, cracking it open may void coverage. Sometimes the frugal move is to let the manufacturer pay.
• Safety gear and critical systems Brakes, air bags, things that keep you alive at highway speeds. Yes, people DIY these. No, you do not need to be one of them if youre not experienced.

This frugal hack isnt about fixing everything yourself. Its more about getting in the habit of checking if this is an easy fix before you call for a professional repair. Youll be surprised how often you can do the fix yourself with YouTubes help.

The sneaky side benefit: you learn stuff

Even if you watch a couple videos and decide, Nope, not touching that, you still win.

Youll gain the following:

• Youll understand whats actually wrong.
• Be able to describe the issue clearly to a repair person.
• Be less likely to get upsold on unnecessary parts or services.

By having a solid understanding of the issue, youll know immediately if a repair company is trying to rip you off or take advantage of the situation.

And if you do fix it yourself? Thats one more skill you now have in your toolbelt. The next time something similar breaks, you wont be starting from ground zero.

The bottom line

Make this your frugal reflex and youll end up savings a lot of money over the years:

Something breaks find the model number search it on YouTube then decide what to do.

Half the time, youll find out that its a $10 piece of plastic or a clogged filter instead of a time to buy a new one situation.

Trump administration plans mass SNAP reapplications amid fraud crackdown

Agriculture secretary says millions will be told to reapply for SNAP benefits
Critics warn fraud claims are overstated and rules already require frequent recertification
Push comes amid major federal cuts and political pressure to show crackdown on waste

Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins says the Trump administration will require millions of low-income Americans to reapply for food stamps as part of a sweeping effort to crack down on alleged program fraud.

Rollins told Newsmax on Thursday that she intends to have everyone reapply for their benefits, saying the goal is to ensure that every person receiving a taxpayer-funded SNAP benefit literally [is] vulnerable and cant survive without it. She offered no timeline or details on how the reapplication process would work.

SNAP under renewed political scrutiny

Her comments come amid heightened attention to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, which serves nearly 42 million people and cost about $100 billion in fiscal year 2024. Funding lapses during the recent government shutdown fueled conservative criticism of the programs reach and cost including from President Donald Trump.

While fraud can involve participants misrepresenting income, retailers trading benefits for cash, or criminals skimming EBT cards, anti-hunger advocates argue the problem is far smaller than the administration claims. The average SNAP benefit is roughly $6 per day, they note, and participants must already report changes in income and recertify as often as every six months under state rules.

New oversight push includes data demands

Rollins has signaled a broader SNAP overhaul in the coming weeks. She has already directed states to submit sensitive participant data, including Social Security numbers a request that is now being challenged in court.

On Thursday, she said preliminary data from 29 states show 186,000 deceased individuals are receiving a check through SNAP, an assertion likely to intensify the administrations claims of systemwide waste. Checks aren't used in the SNAP program. Recipients get their funds on a debit card.

Cuts and work rules reshape the program

The push arrives after months of negotiations over federal spending and the passage of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, signed in July, which enacted a $186 billion cut to SNAP along with stricter work requirements and tighter eligibility rules. Officials have framed the changes as part of a larger effort to reduce government spending through the DOGE initiative.

Trump this week reiterated his view that SNAP enrollment is too high. People keep talking about SNAP. But SNAP is supposed to be if youre down and out, he said on Fox News, according to Politico. While stressing that people who truly need assistance should receive it, he argued that able-bodied individuals sometimes leave work because benefits are easier, adding, Thats not the purpose of it.

Class action alleges hidden incentives

Zillowbest known for its home-search platformis now facing a proposed nationwide class action that claims the company steered homebuyers into using its own mortgage subsidiary, Zillow Home Loans, without revealing the powerful incentives driving those referrals.

Filed last week in federal court in Seattle, the lawsuit alleges Zillow operated a pay-to-play lead-distribution system that rewarded real-estate agents with high-value buyer leads only if they successfully referred clients to Zillow Home Loans. If agents didnt meet those unofficial quotas, the suit claims, Zillow allegedly throttled their access to valuable leads.

At the center of the case is Alaska homebuyer Araba Armstrong, who says she ended up with a Zillow-originated mortgage because she assumed her agents recommendation was independent. According to the lawsuit, it wasnt: Participating Agents in Zillows Premier Agent and Flex programs allegedly received better or more frequent buyer leads if they pushed customers toward Zillow Home Loans.

The suit contends that this violates the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA), which bans kickbacks or things of value exchanged for mortgage referrals. Zillows alleged lead-priority structure, plaintiffs claim, qualifies as exactly that.

While Zillow has not yet filed a detailed response in court, previous corporate statements emphasize that the company aims to comply with all applicable laws and seeks to deliver a streamlined home-buying experience.

Why this matters to consumers

Buying a home is one of the largest financial transactions most people ever undertake. Even a slightly higher interest rate or unexpected fees can cost tens of thousands of dollars over the life of a mortgage. The core concern in this lawsuit is transparency: Did consumers really get impartial guidance, or were they steeredwithout their knowledgetoward a lender that benefited Zillow and its agents?

If a court concludes that homebuyers werent given full and truthful disclosureor that agents were financially incentivized to make certain referralsconsumers could be owed refunds, damages, or restitution for higher-cost loans.

How big could the impact be?

Zillow Home Loans originated more than $3 billion in mortgages in 2024. If the plaintiffs allegations prove true on a class-wide basis, the case could have industry-wide consequences, especially for integrated real-estate platforms that blend agent-matching, lead generation, and mortgage lending.

The proposed class would include any U.S. consumer who was referred to Zillow Home Loans by a participating agent and went on to obtain a mortgage from ZHLa potentially large population given Zillows national footprint.

What to do if you used Zillow Home Loans recently

1. Pull your closing documents

Check if your Loan Estimate, Closing Disclosure, or email correspondence includes:

• Agent recommendations

• Mortgage quotes from other lenders

• Disclosures related to affiliated business arrangements

2. Review whether you were presented with alternatives

The complaint alleges some borrowers were not told about competing lenders at all.

3. Compare your loan terms with market rates at the time

Even a 0.25% difference can be significant over 30 years.

4. Look for steering indicators

Examples may include:

• Agent insisting Zillow was the preferred or required lender

• Not receiving comparisons

• Feeling pressured to stay within the Zillow ecosystem

5. Preserve documentation

If you believe you may have been affected, save:

• Emails and texts with your agent

• Zillow portal messages

• Loan-offer sheets

• Closing documents
  These may be relevant if the court certifies the class.

Prevention tips: How to avoid mortgage steering

• Always get at least two competing mortgage quotes. You can usually do this with no hit to your credit score using soft-pull prequalification tools.

• Ask your agent directly: Are you receiving any benefit, leads, or incentives if I choose this lender?

• Be wary of preferred lender language unless you know why theyre preferred.

• Keep lender and agent decisions separate. A home-search platform shouldnt decide who finances your loan.

• Walk away from pressure tactics. No buyer is required to use a specific lender to qualify for an offer, tour, or lead.