NEW YORK -- The New York Taxi Workers Alliance and its allies are celebrating a new city deal which provides relief to cab drivers facing debt from purchasing expensive taxi medallions, the permits that allow drivers to own and operate a cab.

The agreement added onto the city's $65 million-dollar relief program announced in March. Under the new plan, outstanding loans will be restructured to hit no more than $200,000 dollars, plus with a $30,000-dollar grant from the city.

Victor Salazar, outreach coordinator for the New York Taxi Workers Alliance, noted before the deal was announced Wednesday afternoon, the debt crisis has impacted thousands of local cab drivers, and hopes it will be a lesson for the future.

"I hope that people learn from this crisis that a bunch of immigrants were victims," Salazar asserted. "Immigrants who decided to go for the American Dream, to go to [the] middle class and to make a financial commitment to the same city that they serve."

Negotiations wrapped up after more than six weeks of round-the-clock rallying by drivers, lawmakers and groups supporting drivers exploited by what they described as predatory lending.

The Alliance originally pushed a plan to cap all medallion loans to $145,000. The new plan means drivers' monthly loan payments will be capped at around $1,100 a month.

Salazar noted competition with Uber and Lyft has played a role in the debt crisis, along with economic fallout from the pandemic.

The win was emotional for the hundreds of members who had been rallying, including Salazar, who has driven a city taxi for 30 years. In a conversation after the deal's announcement, he called the aid a "transformation" for his industry.

"We feel like this has been a historic victory not only for New York City yellow taxi drivers but also for the working class," Salazar stated.

The union said the average loan balance for medallion debt among New York City cab drivers is $550,000.

Sweeping legislation approved by Congress is designed to address a range of issues, including climate change and deficit reductions. Other components tackle skyrocketing medication costs, and Wisconsin advocates say older residents will see benefits.

The Inflation Reduction Act, which cleared its final Congressional hurdle last week, allows Medicare to negotiate for prescription drug prices, while capping out-of-pocket costs for beneficiaries at two-thousand dollars each year.

Lisa Lamkins, advocacy director for AARP Wisconsin, said it will bring relief to individuals around the state.

"We hear everyday stories from our members about the measures that they are taking to try to stay alive when they cannot afford the cost of their drugs," said Lamkins, "folks who skipped doses or cut their pills in half."

She said it's important to know this can help with drugs seniors take on a long-term basis to address chronic health conditions.

The provisions saw heavy resistance from the pharmaceutical industry groups, who argue it will result in unintended consequences, such as a decline in drug innovation.

But Lamkins contended the industry is focused on maintaining the status-quo, while noting the concerns about innovation are overblown.

"The Congressional Budget Office, and they're the sort of nonpartisan scorekeeper of legislation," said Lamkins, "has estimated that only two fewer drugs out of an estimated 400 drugs that would come out over the market in the next 10 years. There would only be two less drugs."

Some elements will take effect next year, including caps on insulin co-pays for Medicare recipients, as well as no-cost vaccines for certain diseases. Other provisions will be phased in or need to be sorted out in the next few years.

Either way, Lamkins said she feels like advocates have taken a major step.

"For the first time we are actually on the cusp of delivering real relief to people," said Lamkins.

Last year, Americans reported losing a record-breaking $5.8 billion to scams, and now, the State of California and AARP are teaming up to try to bring the number down.

A four-part web series on consumer fraud protection debuts today at noon and runs every Wednesday through the end of the month.

Sally Westlake, targeted outreach specialist for the California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation, pointed out so-called romance scams affect thousands of people.

"The most recent report by the FBI said last year, over 3,000 Californians fell victim to online romance scams, losing a total of nearly $184 million," Westlake reported. "The most vulnerable to fall victim to romance scams are people over the age of 60."

The first Scam Chat webinar will cover the most prevalent types of fraud in California right now. The other three in the series will cover home improvement and solar schemes, investment fraud, and financial empowerment.

Jackie Wiley, also a targeted outreach specialist for the California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation, said people should be suspicious when a person calls or emails, claiming to work with a financial institution, or a law enforcement or government agency.

"It could be a utility company, telling you that your bill is delinquent. It could be 'the IRS.' It could be someone saying you missed jury duty," Wiley outlined.

Wiley added it is always a big red flag if a caller or email asks for payment via cryptocurrency or gift card. You can report scams to the Federal Trade Commission or to the Department of Financial Protection and Innovation call center.

Support for this reporting was provided by Lumina Foundation.

Maryland is joining a nationwide effort to crack down on illegal robocalls.

Along with attorneys general from every other state, Maryland's Brian Frosh is joining the Anti-Robocall Litigation Task Force. It will investigate and take legal action against the telecommunication companies turning a blind eye and profiting from illegal robocalls coming into the U.S.

Jen Holtz, associate state director for outreach for AARP Maryland, said it is a great step forward in its partnership with the Attorney General's office to prevent the financial exploitation of older adults.

"In working with Attorney General Frosh in some of these activities that we've sponsored with him, the issue of robocalls comes up multiple times, every single time," Holtz pointed out. "We know it's top of mind for the public."

Common scam calls are against older adults related to Social Security and Amazon scams against consumers. Americans lost nearly $30 billion through fraudulent calls in 2021, according to the National Consumer Law Center. And last month alone, roughly 71 million robocalls were placed in Maryland, which averages more than eight calls per person.

Holtz encouraged consumers to take precautions to avoid becoming the victim of a scam call by hanging up on illegal robocalls, verifying the caller if they claim to be from an agency or organization, and exploring free and low-cost call-blocking options. And she emphasized it is important to stay vigilant.

"They're criminals, they're not following the rules, they're not abiding by the law," Holtz stressed. "They don't care whether you're on that list. So if you're on those Do Not Call Lists, and you're getting that call anyway, it's probably not a legitimate call."

She added education is the best form of prevention, and AARP's fraudwatchnetwork.org provides up-to-date information on the latest tactics used by scammers and offers tips to avoid becoming the victim of fraud.