Consumer Catch-up: Ground beef recall, JetBlue raising fees, federal income tax rules

Tuesday, August 28, 2018
Consumer Catch-up: Ground beef recall, JetBlue raising fees
A health alert about ground beef directly tied to California. Plus, JetBlue announces it is raising fees for passengers. The consumer news you need to know for Monday, August 27, 2018.

Ground beef recall

Health officials are warning about a major recall of ground beef, directly tied to California.

The Department of Agriculture says Cargill is recalling 12 tons of ground beef for possible E. coli contamination.

The 10-pound packages have labels that say "EXCEL 93/7 FINE GRIND GROUND BEEF" and have a Use-Freeze date of September 5. The Pack Date is August 16 with establishment number "86R."

The ground beef was shipped to warehouses in California and Colorado.

The beef was also sold at: Albertsons, Safeway, Pak 'N Save, and Vons stores.

JetBlue raising prices

JetBlue is raising fees for checking a bag, as well as changing or canceling a ticket.

Those changes apply starting immediately, for flights booked today.

Passengers buying the lowest priced tickets will now pay an extra $5 to check a bag: $30 for the first bag, $40 for the second.

For all but the highest fare class, the fee for changing or canceling a ticket will rise from $150 to $200.

Federal income tax rules

The state legislature is struggling to come up with a workaround for homeowners who are getting nailed by new federal income tax rules.

The rules cap the federal write off on state income and property tax at $10,000.

Many view this as a hit to states with high property values and high state taxes; states that overwhelmingly voted against against President Trump in the last election.

Two proposals would allow taxpayers to contribute to nonprofits or the state's college tuition fund in exchange for a 75 to 80-percent tax credit.

Click here for a look at more stories by Michael Finney and 7 On Your Side.

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