The shortage highlights four larger problems with the U.S. economy. Is my baby getting enough food? It is a typical fear among new parents — and an acute one now, because of a national shortage of baby formula. A potential bacteria outbreak led to the February shutdown of a Michigan factory that makes Similac formula, and the plant still has not reopened. Its closure has aggravated shortages created by broader pandemic supply-chain problems. Last week, stores stocked about 43 percent less baby formula than usual. “It gets really scary,” Carrie Fleming, who lives near Birmingham, Ala., told The Times. [ Read the rest…]

The Carlson residence received a phone call no family wants, from the police saying their young son Frankie’s babysitter was arrested for trying to set a car on fire in New Jersey. Making matters worse, it turned out the sitter Leslie Rosario, brought Frankie along with her for the ride. “The woman is in my home with access to everything in my home,” Bethany Carlson said. “Especially my son, so we put so much trust in this person.” Carlson says she thought she assumed she did everything right in hiring 31-year-old Rosario in August to babysit her one-year-old son full-time [ Read the rest…]