Sometimes the biggest threats to your home are the ones tearing through the neighborhood. Other times, they're quietly waiting in the back of your freezer. A massive Midwestern storm system and a nationwide popsicle recall mean home safety involves looking both outside and in right now.
Glass in the deep freeze
Summer is winding down, but the treats you stocked up on might need to go straight into the trash. Dreyer’s Grand Ice Cream is pulling its Outshine Frozen Fruit Bars from shelves nationwide after people found glass fragments inside the popsicles.
The real issue here is how long these things linger. According to Consumer Reports, the affected boxes have "best before" dates stretching all the way to October 2027.
When food has a shelf life that long, it's incredibly easy to toss a box in the chest freezer and forget about it. If you have the black cherry, grape, tangerine, strawberry, watermelon, or the 24-count variety packs sitting on ice, throw them out. Dreyer's is a massive manufacturer that also makes Häagen-Dazs and Drumsticks. So far, this glass issue seems isolated to the fruit bars, and thankfully no injuries have been reported.
When the safety net depends on your zip code
You can control what's in your kitchen. You can't control the weather, and you certainly can't control the federal government's response to it. A brutal derecho just swept through the Midwest. It brought widespread flooding and power outages, and it spawned eight tornadoes.
The cleanup effort shows how hard it is for homeowners relying on federal help. Disaster relief is supposed to be a blind safety net. Yet an analysis shared by Axios shows the current administration approves 80% of disaster requests from Republican governors, compared to a noticeably lower success rate for Democratic ones.
For a family standing in a flooded living room, political alliances don't matter. The White House claims they are simply conducting a "more thorough review" of requests. But historical data shows the current administration is taking longer to approve disaster declarations than any president since 1989.
What's happening in your state
This divide is playing out right now across the Midwest. In Indiana, where the governor is a close political ally of the president, a rapid emergency declaration unlocked Stafford Act cleanup resources immediately. Over the border in Illinois, the governor had to issue a state disaster proclamation just to mobilize local help. Communities like Lansing are still assessing the damage to see if they can even get federal assistance. They know full well FEMA denied a similar request for Illinois property damage last year.
The bottom line for you
- Check your deep freeze. If you bought Outshine bars this summer, check the box. If you end up tossing them, use it as an excuse to check your freezer's temperature. Our appliances guide explains how to keep it running efficiently.
- Don't wait for the cavalry. Federal disaster aid is slow and never guaranteed. Make sure your own insurance and preparation are up to par before a storm hits by reviewing our home emergencies guide.