Dates ahead
Every page starts with an official document and says what happened, who it affects and what to do by when. How we verify · Who owns us · Corrections
Settlements & Refunds · Notice · Oct 4
The FTC, Utah and Nevada allege Lens.com advertised low contact lens prices, then added a mandatory fee that often doubled them. These are allegations; the court will decide, and no refund program exists.
Settlements & Refunds · Notice · Oct 4
The largest US wine and spirits distributor agreed to limit price gaps between big chains and small retailers in 26 states, under a six-year order with an independent monitor.
Jobs & Layoffs · Notice · Oct 4
Payrolls grew by 29,000 and the unemployment rate edged up to 4.2 percent. July and August were revised down by 60,000 between them, which turns July into a loss of 10,000 jobs.
Payment dates, benefit figures and tax limits, from the agencies that set them.
The Social Security Administration rescinded a 1990 ruling on how rent below market value counts for SSI. A 2024 rule already applies the same policy everywhere, so nothing changes for recipients.
An employer can put up to $2,500 a year, tax-free, into an employee’s Trump account or a dependent’s. The IRS proposed the rules on August 11, 2026: the per-employee cap, the nondiscrimination test and why employers can already rely on it.
A Social Security ruling that applies from October 1, 2026 sets out how SSA documents and evaluates disability for people aged 18 to about 25, from IEPs and school records to job placements, the age-18 SSI review and payments that continue during a program. It replaces SSR 11-2p.
A deduction of up to $10,000 a year for interest on a loan for a new car assembled in the United States, for tax years 2025 through 2028, whether or not you itemize. The IRS final rules of September 8, 2026 settle what counts.
Every recall as a structured page: the product, the lot, the hazard, the remedy.
Metal wire bristles can detach and stick to the grill or the food, a risk of serious internal injury. Walmart is offering a refund or credit. No injuries have been reported.
Closing a front window with the key fob’s express-up function may not detect an obstruction and reverse, which can pinch a passenger. The fix is a free software update.
A contaminated LED chip in the headlight assembly can cut daytime running lights, parking lights, high beams or low beams. Dealers replace the assembly free; letters are due in late October.
The California cheesemaker recalled every Graziers raw milk cheese on the market for possible E. coli O26:H11, with no lot or date code narrowed down yet.
Refunds and settlements with what to claim, by when, and how to spot a fake.
The FTC, Utah and Nevada allege Lens.com advertised low contact lens prices, then added a mandatory fee that often doubled them. These are allegations; the court will decide, and no refund program exists.
The largest US wine and spirits distributor agreed to limit price gaps between big chains and small retailers in 26 states, under a six-year order with an independent monitor.
The FTC and a coalition of states say Corteva’s loyalty program blocked cheaper generic pesticides from reaching farmers. A 10-year order now ends it; a similar case against Syngenta continues.
A revised court order raises Amazon’s Prime refund cap to $200, adds people who used 11 to 20 benefits, and pays everyone automatically from October 1.
Layoffs from the filings, and the deadlines that follow one.
Payrolls grew by 29,000 and the unemployment rate edged up to 4.2 percent. July and August were revised down by 60,000 between them, which turns July into a loss of 10,000 jobs.
Goodyear told the SEC it will close its Niagara Falls, New York and Bayport, Texas chemical plants by the end of 2027, with about 85 job reductions and $55 million to $75 million in charges.
Nike told the SEC its new multi-year program will cost about $1 billion, mostly severance, and save about $2.5 billion by fiscal 2031. The filing gives no employee count.
The AI chip maker is cutting about a quarter of its staff to save $7.5 million to $8.4 million a year, which it says it will reinvest in its more profitable businesses.
The Visa Bulletin, the H-1B season and USCIS rules, checked monthly.
DHS renewed its mass influx finding for 180 days and asked all 50 states for help. It files no forms and changes no application; here is what it does.
A DHS interim final rule in effect since July 28, 2026 lets USCIS send an affirmative asylum application straight to immigration court without interviewing the applicant first, for cases an officer decides are not likely to succeed. Comments close September 28.
A State Department proposed rule would let qualified applicants overseas renew a passport online and would drop the rule that limits online renewal to passports with a year or less of validity left. Comments close October 27, 2026.
A proposed rule would add a $103,265 fee to every cap-subject H-1B petition, on top of existing fees and separate from the $100,000 proclamation payment. Universities and research employers would not pay it. Comments close September 24, 2026.
Viral claims about payments and programs, tested against the document.
Weekly Brief
Starbucks closes about 250 stores, a raw milk cheese recall with no lot identified, a Rivian rearview camera fix for 98,828 vehicles, and an FTC settlement meant to lower pesticide prices for farmers.
The Weekly Brief lands every Monday: the deadlines this week, new recalls, settlement openings and Visa Bulletin movement. Subscribe below.
