Consumer protection and advocacy
FILE - In this April 17, 2019, file photo online customer reviews for a product are displayed on a computer in New York. U.K. regulators are investigating Google and Amazon over concerns the online giants aren't doing enough to stop fake reviews of products and services on their platforms. The Competition and Markets Authority said Friday, June 25, 2021 it opened a formal investigation into whether the two companies broke U.K. consumer law by failing to protect shoppers. (AP Photo/Jenny Kane, File)
UK watchdog probes Amazon, Google for fake reviews of goods

By Kelvin Chan Jun. 25, 2021 05:16 AM EDT

Editorial Roundup: Iowa

By The Associated Press May. 24, 2021 10:00 AM EDT
Des Moines Register. May 20, 2021. Editorial: Law banning face mask requirements caps off months of pandering, reactionary government by...

FILE - A for sale sign stands in front of a house, Tuesday, Oct. 6, 2020, in Westwood, Mass. American homeowners were given an expanded opportunity to hit pause on their mortgage payments because of the financial ravages of the pandemic, but that relief is slowly coming to an end. (AP Photo/Steven Senne, File)
How to ease out of mortgage forbearance, avoid foreclosure

By Sarah Skidmore Sell May. 19, 2021 08:16 AM EDT

FILE - In this Dec. 11, 2018, file photo, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Director Kathy Kraninger pauses as she speaks to media at the CFPB offices in Washington. In April 2021, the bureau broadened the scope for what it considers to be abusive behavior by providers of financial services or products to consumers. Under Kraninger, the bureau adopted a narrower definition that, among other things, made monetary penalties less likely. The change will likely result in more enforcement actions and larger fines against the financial services industry, experts said. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster, File)
Consumer watchdog agency rediscovers its teeth under Biden

By Ken Sweet May. 10, 2021 03:59 PM EDT

FILE - In this Jan. 13, 2021 file photo, tenants' rights advocates demonstrate outside the Edward W. Brooke Courthouse in Boston. An estimated 8.8 million Americans are behind on their rent, according the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. While relief efforts have staved off some of the housing crisis, rent is still going to come due. The federal government has approved two rounds of rental assistance, worth more than $46 billion total; the $21 billion in the second round will begin going out in May. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer, File)
How struggling households can get federal rental assistance

By Sarah Skidmore Sell Apr. 23, 2021 07:42 AM EDT

US consumer watchdog eyes rules to prevent foreclosures

By Alex Veiga Apr. 05, 2021 06:52 PM EDT
LOS ANGELES (AP) — The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau said Monday it is considering new rules aimed at averting a wave of foreclosures later this year...

FILE - A customer enters a store with a face mask required sign displayed in Dallas, in this Tuesday, March 2, 2021, file photo. Although nearly a fifth of U.S. states don't require people to wear masks to protect against COVID-19, some businesses are requiring employees and customers to be masked on their premises. (AP Photo/LM Otero, File)
Some businesses want masks on, even as states drop mandates

By Joyce M. Rosenberg Apr. 05, 2021 10:28 AM EDT

Editorial Roundup: Texas

By The Associated Press Apr. 05, 2021 10:00 AM EDT
Houston Chronicle. March 30, 2021. Editorial: Dan Patrick declares revolution for power grid. Texans must hold him to it ...

Omaha firms settle with state over COVID antibody tests

Mar. 26, 2021 11:45 AM EDT
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Two Omaha health care companies have agreed to settle with the Nebraska attorney general's office on charges of misleading advertising,...

FILE - In this March 18, 2021, file photo, Mary Claire Lane, 86, left, a resident at Hellenic Nursing and Rehabilitation Center, in Canton, Mass., is greeted by her daughter Anne Darling, of Attleboro, Mass., center, during a visit, at the nursing home, in Canton. Nursing homes have to publicly disclose their vaccination rates for flu and pneumonia, but there’s no similar mandate for COVID-19 shots. (AP Photo/Steven Senne, File)
Lawmakers: Require nursing homes to disclose vaccine data

By Ricardo Alonso-Zaldivar Mar. 25, 2021 12:27 AM EDT

Arizona bill would shield businesses from COVID-19 lawsuits

By Jonathan J. Cooper Mar. 17, 2021 07:39 PM EDT
PHOENIX (AP) — Arizona lawmakers on Tuesday advanced legislation offering a broad shield from lawsuits related to COVID-19, saying businesses and health care...

FILE - In this Oct. 29, 2019 file photo Florida Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis speaks in Tallahassee, Fla. While Florida's three independently elected Cabinet members can't sponsor or vote on bills, they hold important leadership roles in state government and each is working with lawmakers to pass legislation. Patronis wants to make navigating insurance claims more consumer friendly, passing a bill to shield businesses from COVID-19 related lawsuits, among others. (AP Photo/Steve Cannon, File)
Insurance, K9s and weed among Cabinet legislative priorities

By Brendan Farrington Mar. 12, 2021 01:47 PM EST

Florida House votes to shield businesses from COVID lawsuits

By Brendan Farrington Mar. 05, 2021 02:04 PM EST
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — Florida businesses would be protected from coronavirus lawsuits if they made a good effort to follow guidelines to prevent the spread...

FILE - In this March 5, 2012 file photo, consumer credit cards are posed in North Andover, Mass. Consumers gave the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau an earful in 2020 — there were a record number of complaints, and credit reporting bureaus were cited in more than half. You have a right to get free copies of your credit reports and to have any errors investigated and addressed. (AP Photo/Elise Amendola, File)
Your credit report may be wrong; here’s what to do about it

By Bev O'shea Of Nerdwallet Mar. 03, 2021 06:33 AM EST

Editorial Roundup: Missouri

By The Associated Press Feb. 09, 2021 10:00 AM EST
St. Louis Post-Dispatch. February 7, 2021. Editorial: To get kids back in class, teachers need to move to front of vaccine line ...

Wisconsin hospital files 200 debt lawsuits during pandemic

By Bram Sable-Smith Of Wisconsin Watch Dec. 26, 2020 01:01 AM EST
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Alysa Gummow didn’t know what to think in October when the letters from law firms arrived in the mail. She had filed for bankruptcy in...

FILE - In this June 9, 2020, file photo, Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Mark Calabria testifies before a Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington. The Supreme Court is hearing a case on Dec. 9, 2020, that could make it easier for the president to fire the head of the agency that oversees government-controlled mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The case could also mean undoing an arrangement between the companies and the government that has sent $246 billion in their profits to the Treasury. That was compensation for the taxpayer bailout they received after the 2007 housing market crash. (Astrid Riecken/The Washington Post via AP, Pool)
High court takes on Fannie, Freddie presidential power case

By Jessica Gresko Dec. 09, 2020 01:05 AM EST

Massachusetts alleges gym chain illegally charged fees

Nov. 24, 2020 03:47 PM EST
BOSTON (AP) — The Boston Sports Clubs gym chain continued to charge membership fees even after closing its facilities in March because of the coronavirus...

Editorial Roundup: Pennsylvania

By The Associated Press Nov. 05, 2020 10:36 AM EST
Recent editorials of statewide and national interest from Pennsylvania’s newspapers: Rally sets bad example for public health ...

FILE - In this July 8, 2015 file photo, an Interjet plane sits on the tarmac at the Benito Juarez International Airport in Mexico City. The Mexican airline has cancelled its flights for at least two days, Nov. 1 and 2, citing cash-flow problems and fleet maintenance. (AP Photo/Marco Ugarte, File)
Struggling Mexican airline Interjet resumes its flights

Nov. 04, 2020 04:50 PM EST