Credit cards are so old-fashioned. Americans are increasingly turning to "buy now, pay later" (BNPL) apps to pay for groceries and takeout, and some experts warn the trend could lead to a rise in consumer debt.

Apps like Klarna, Affirm and Afterpay are a "modern-day layaway program but reversed," said NewsNation. Layaway programs would let consumers make installment payments in advance; BNPL apps let buyers get what they want "upfront for a small deposit." One new poll found 55% of Americans use the apps. Another survey found a quarter of users pay for groceries using the apps.

What did the commentators say?
It's "objectively bleak" that anybody would have to make months-later payments on "food they have already eaten," said Amy McCarthy at Eater. That already happens with credit cards, but "using (and paying off) a credit card can help boost your credit score." Klarna's BNPL service, which has a partnership with DoorDash, does not provide that perk. It's "easy to see the appeal of putting off that payment" when you are broke and want Thai food, but be on alert when companies "cook up creative new ways for people to go into debt."

BNPL apps can cause "budgetary strains" for struggling households, said Kelly Ernst at CNET. That's an "ominous" problem when there's a "risk of a job-loss recession." Interest-free BNPL apps can help you buy items "without incurring credit card interest charges," but they can also lead to "racking up even more debt."

What next?
The growth of pay-later apps could "indicate a growing comfortability with financial risks" among younger consumers, said Fortune. "We have a gambling economy," said Kyla Scanlon, a Gen Z economic commentator. "We love a good vice in the United States," she said, "and we can do it completely frictionless."

This may explain why BNPL users are also increasingly late with their payments, said CNBC. A LendingTree poll found that 41% had made a late payment on an app loan, "up from 34% in the year prior." And a turbulent economy may only increase those numbers, said Matt Schulz, Lending Tree's chief consumer finance analyst.

Many first responders to the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks have developed cancer and other illnesses from being at Ground Zero two decades ago, and the World Trade Center Health Program has always provided a lifeline for these workers. But they still face a fight for affordable health care 24 years later, and recent pendulum swings of the federal budget have renewed concerns that the program could be permanently gutted. 

What's happening with the program?
The World Trade Center Health Program has "provided life-saving care to tens of thousands of people for more than two decades," but it has been struck by a "wave of staffing cuts and agency turmoil" at the behest of the Trump administration, said ABC News. The program's longtime director was "removed in February and then rehired after bipartisan backlash." However, it remains unclear whether his "legal role as administrator was actually restored." 

The Trump administration has "fired and rehired certain staffers, only to terminate them again," said NBC News. These program staffers were "swept up in the administration's firing of probationary workers in February" as part of a 20% staff reduction, said NBC. 

What does this mean for the first responders?
The funding seesaw means that "cancer diagnoses could be delayed, mental health needs could go unmet and the federal government would break its promise to 'never forget,'" said ABC. The cuts are "bureaucratic cruelty," Michael Barasch, an attorney representing thousands of 9/11 responders, said to The Guardian. 

Beyond physical maladies like cancer, there are also conditions like post-traumatic stress disorder that benefit from treatment. The cuts mean there's "zero information" about such treatments for the responders. 

Even before the cuts, there was a "backlog," said John Feal, a 9/11 survivor and victims' advocate, to CBS News. The backlog has now "become Long Island Expressway rush hour traffic, and the longer this goes on, people will die." 

Cutting program staff will "devastate our ability to provide sick responders and survivors with the care they need," said Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) in a statement. The cuts are a "complete betrayal to the memory of those we lost on 9/11 and the heroes who courageously stood up to help," said Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) in the same statement.