Current Events in September 2018

A new study conducted on behalf of the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety shows how important it is to be fully rested before taking to the road.

After examining car accident data, researchers say that drivers who have slept for fewer than seven of the past 24 hours were more likely to be involved in -- or responsible for -- an auto accident. They pointed out that the risk was greatest for drivers who had slept under four hours.

The findings are a grim reminder in light of government data which shows that 16 percent of fatal auto accidents can be attributed to driver drowsiness.

Higher risk of accidents, injuries, and death

To come to their conclusions, the researchers analyzed data provided by the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT).

The information showed that drivers who had fewer than four hours of sleep were 15.1 times more likely to be responsible for a car crash. That compares to a factor of 2.9 times for consumers who received four hours of sleep, 1.9 times for those who got five hours of sleep, and 1.3 times for consumers who got six hours of sleep within the last 24 hours, respectively.

Additionally, the researchers found that drivers who had been driving for three hours or longer without a break were at increased risk of a crash. The same was true for consumers who recently changed their sleep or work schedule.

“Being awake isn’t the same as being alert. Falling asleep isn’t the only risk,” explains study author Brian Tefft. “Even if they manage to stay awake, sleep-deprived drivers are still at increased risk of making mistakes -- like failing to notice something important, or misjudging a gap in traffic -- which can have tragic consequences.”

The full study has been published in the journal Sleep.

As satisfaction with airlines continues to grow, U.S. airports are also feeling the love. In a newly released J.D. Power airport satisfaction study, fliers gave the five areas studied -- check-in; food, beverage and retail; accessibility; terminal facilities; and baggage claim -- a big thumbs-up.

All told, overall passenger satisfaction got a 12-point kiss from 2017’s study, garnering a score of 761 (on a 1,000-point scale).

The winners were Las Vegas McCarran International Airport and Orlando International Airport, which tied for first place in passenger satisfaction among mega airports, followed by Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport and Denver International Airport.

For other size-tiered airports, John Wayne Airport, Orange County, Dallas Love Field, Portland (Ore.) International Airport, Buffalo Niagara International Airport, Indianapolis International Airport, and Fort Myers/Southwest Florida International all won out as passenger favorites.

Bringing up the rear in satisfaction were New York’s LaGuardia, Kahului Airport on Maui, and Newark Liberty. However, LaGuardia’s marks are likely to change once its renovation is completed.

A long time coming

"North America airports have been doing a tremendous job managing passenger volume, adding amenities, and keeping travelers moving despite some noteworthy challenges, but they will be put to the true test over the next few years," said Michael Taylor, Travel Practice Lead at J.D. Power.

In comments to ConsumerAffairs, Skift’s Aviation Business Editor Brian Sumers echoed Taylor’s view.

“For a long time, U.S. airports didn't have much money. They get the bulk of their money from airlines, who pay rent, and from customers, who buy things,” commented Sumers. “After the recession, fewer people were traveling, and airports lost some of their revenue stream. That started changing about seven years ago, as newly healthy airlines started adding more seats into the marketplace, and paying more money in rent. Many airports became flush with cash, and they started using it to fund customer-friendly renovations. A lot of those renovated terminals are finally opening.”

What fliers like most

Some of the key findings of the J.D. Power study include:

• Outsmarting human nature: Despite the continued hand-wringing over paying extra for baggage, the airport experience with check-in/baggage check got the highest marks. J.D. Power reports that metric has been rising consistently since airports began implementing self-service kiosks and bag tagging which, in turn, lowered passenger frustration over waiting for someone else to facilitate that process.

• Overall satisfaction reaches all-time high: Overall customer satisfaction is at an all-time high, mostly driven by a 17-point uptick in satisfaction with food, beverage and retail, and an 18-point increase in satisfaction with security check.

• Better airport/TSA communication improves security check satisfaction: Thanks to  improved communication and cooperation between airport and TSA staff, passenger satisfaction with the security process saw an 18-point increase.

“It's a good time to be hang out at a U.S. airport,” Sumers told ConsumerAffairs. “Many have renovated their terminals and have focused on adding customer-friendly enhancements like new restaurants, lounges, and more comfortable seating. The restaurants are more often local -- rather than national chains -- and they offer more healthy options than before.”

It’s interesting to note that many of the airports passengers favorited are smoke-free. While smoking policies were in flux a year ago, the American Nonsmokers’ Rights Foundation reports as of April 1, 2018, 30 of the top 35 U.S. airports are 100 percent smoke-free indoors. Airports are also keeping a pretty tight lid on the allowed use of electronic cigarettes, with 23 of the top 35 U.S. airports banning the use of electronic cigarettes indoors.

The U.S. economy continues to grow, but slow wage growth is pushing more consumers to take on debt to keep up.

A new report from Bankrate shows there is a distinct income divide when it comes to debt, with lower income homeowners often resorting to taking equity out of their homes to make ends meet.

The report focused on the growing amount of home equity consumers enjoy, but it revealed that not everyone is using it. Higher income homeowners are less likely to take out equity. Among those who are tapping into the value of their homes, consumers in lower income brackets tend to do so to pay current bills.

In the survey, lower-income households — those earning less than $30,000 a year — were almost twice as likely to view home equity as a means to pay household bills as they next-highest income group. The more money a household earns, the less likely it is to consider using a home equity loan or cash-out refinance to pay bills.

'Matter of when, not if'

“With the sorry state of emergency savings and increasing levels of consumer debt in a rising interest rate environment, it’s a matter of ‘when’ not ‘if’ more homeowners turn to home equity to fund home improvements and repairs, or consolidate debt,” said Greg McBride, Bankrate's chief financial analyst.

McBride says the survey shows nearly one in six consumers believes that it's sometimes necessary to tap home equity to pay household bills. He says it shows just how far some households are stretched on a monthly basis.

Consumers are also going into debt in other areas. An analysis by the Center for Microeconomic Data at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York shows non-housing debt rose 4.3 percent in the second quarter to $3.86 trillion.

Rising credit card debt

Much of the debt is going on high-interest credit cards. A new study by personal finance site WalletHub shows consumers added $29.8 billion in new credit card debt to their accounts in the second quarter of this year, the fourth-largest second quarter increase on record.

"We also began the year owing more than $1 trillion in credit card debt for the first time ever, after adding a post-Great Recession record of $91.8 billion to our tab in 2017," the report's authors write.

The research also shows consumers appear to be struggling to pay their rising debt load. The charge-off rate on delinquent credit card accounts reached 3.74 percent in the second quarter, up nearly 2.7 percent year-over-year and the highest point since 2012.

A companion report shows the Federal Reserve policy of raising the federal funds rate is increasing the debt burden since that key rate influences the interest rate on credit cards. Every time the Fed hikes rates most credit card payments also rise.

The Senate has passed a $712 billion funding bill for the Pentagon, along with new money for the National Institutes of Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Once again, lawmakers have avoided a potential government shutdown.

The measure goes back to the House, where approval is expected. If that happens, Congress is another step closer to passing 12 government funding bills before the start of the new fiscal year on October 1.

The measure offers something for both Republicans and Democrats. Republicans pushed for an additional $20 billion for the military. Democrats were successful in adding $2 billion for research into Alzheimer's disease and $6.7 billion to deal with the growing health care problems stemming from opioid abuse.

'Significant step'

“This is the most significant step we have taken yet,”said Sen. Richard Shelby (R-Ala.), Chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee. “For the first time in a decade, we are sending a defense spending bill to the President’s desk on time."

Shelby said passage of the bill marked a milestone of sorts -- both parties actually had to work together and make compromises to advance the legislation. He said both parties fought hard for vital national needs.

"This conference report contains critical funding for defense and domestic priorities," Shelby said. "It accelerates the rebuilding of America’s military and provides our men and women in uniform with the largest pay increase in nearly a decade. It also increases NIH’s budget by $2 billion and provides critical resources to combat the opioid epidemic. And, it contains no poison pill riders."

There are still two other spending packages that need Congressional approval before October 1 to avoid a government shutdown. If the other two packages are ratified by both chambers and signed by President Trump, they would add up to nearly 90 percent of the federal government’s annual spending.

With overcrowded flights comes overcrowded gates, and United Airlines is working to alleviate that issue for its customers.

Recently, customers have been vocal about the issues at the boarding gates, complaining to United that arriving passengers were greeted at the gate by masses of travelers, while others are spilling out into neighboring hallways.

“It’s too congested,” said Maria Walter, United Airlines’ managing director of global operations strategy. “It created a lot of angst for our customers.”

The new system

This week, United started boarding passengers with a new system, as the company works to keep crowds under control and ensure that flights take off on-time.

Where there were once five boarding lines, United has reduced that down to just two color-coded lines -- lane one is the blue lane and lane two is the green lane. The airline is urging travelers to wait until their boarding group -- one through five -- is called before making their way to the lanes.

Additionally, United has altered its pre-boarding routine to smooth things along. Now, United’s Premier 1K and Global Services frequent flyers will join military personnel, passengers with disabilities, and passengers with young children in pre-boarding. This group will board in lane one.

First-class, business-class, Platinum, and Gold-level frequent flyers will board in group one -- also through lane one. At this time, those in boarding group two will be permitted to line up in lane two.

Once group one has had their boarding passes scanned, group two will begin the boarding process. Silver-level frequent flyers, United credit card holders, and those who have purchased priority access or boarding privileges will be assigned to group two.

At this time, groups three through five will not be permitted to enter the boarding area until board group two has left the line. Groups three through five will then be called -- in order -- and will board through lane two. Most Basic Economy passengers will be in boarding group five.

Keeping crowds under control

To help with travelers crowding the gate, United is now alerting passengers when boarding begins with a notification on their phones. All travelers will receive the alert once the first boarding pass for that particular flight has been scanned.

According to Walter, some flights had passengers congregating in the boarding area for over an hour. She also said that travelers are drawn to lines, so what starts out small can grow to quite a crowd rather quickly. “It’s like a magnet,” she said.

United spent the last year testing this new boarding method on over 12,000 flights around the world, gauging customer feedback along the way. The new boarding system now makes United more similar to both American Airlines and Delta, whereas Southwest’s unassigned seating setup allows passengers to board based on when they check-in or their loyalty status level.

Earlier this week, Instagram rolled out new e-commerce tools that allow users to shop directly in the app both through Stories and the Explore page.

Though the feature has been in the testing stages since June, users around the world will now be able to use it in real time. Brands can add one product sticker per Story, and with one tap, users can get price information and purchase it. On the Explore page, Instagram has cultivated a new shopping channel that will show users brands that they either follow or that Instagram thinks they’ll be interested in.

Before these new features, shopping on Instagram was a complicated process. Now, the social media app has really streamlined things.

“Shopping is more than an errand -- it’s also about what you discover along the way,” the company said in a statement. “For many people on Instagram, shopping is an entertaining way to get inspired and connect with new and interesting brands.”

Other shopping features

Instagram has rolled out other shopping features on the app in recent years. Brands have been able to tag individual items with their price, thus allowing users to tap on the item and head to the brand’s website for purchase. Instagram recently expanded these offerings to cover countries like the U.K. and Brazil.

According to Instagram, since the price tag feature launched, over 90 million accounts tap to see tags in shopping posts every month. The push to enter the e-commerce market could lead to new revenue opportunities for Instagram.

“Instagram is a place where you discover new things, brands, destinations for travel, and furniture,” said Jonah Berger, a marketing and social influence expert at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of Business. “The challenge at the moment is that discovery is happening, but Instagram isn’t necessarily getting credit. They’re trying to make money off of something that’s already happening.”

Currently, brands don’t have to pay for these shopping tools, though that could change soon, according to a company spokesperson. Instagram could eventually move into a sponsored format.

Additionally, users are encouraged to shop and buy things based off of their family members, friends, and celebrities they follow on social media, which seems like a promising game plan for the app, according to experts.

“The whole phenomenon is very promising,” said Anindya Ghose, a professor at NYU Stern’s School of Business. “A number of companies have tried it so far with mixed results. The potential is much higher than what we’ve seen so far.”

BMW of North America is recalling 9,953 model year 2017-2019 MINI Cooper Countryman vehicles.

The vehicles may be missing a crash protection plate near the high pressure fuel pump, which may result in a fuel leak in the event of a crash.

Without the crash protection plate, the fuel pump can become damaged in the event of a crash, causing a fuel leak and increasing the risk of a fire.

What to do

MINI will notify owners, and dealers will install a crash protection plate, free of charge.

The recall is expected to begin October 15, 2018.

Owners may contact MINI customer service at (866) 825-1525.

It didn’t take long for a project financed by oil and gas pipeline magnate Energy Transfer Partners and its subsidiary Sunoco to literally blow up.

The Revolution Pipeline, apparently named to honor its historic location in the state of Pennsylvania, exploded on September 11 a little after 5 a.m. A fire erupted shortly after, forcing dozens of homeowners in nearby Beaver County to evacuate.

No one was injured, but cars and garages were damaged. And one home 500 feet away from the blast was completely destroyed in the fire.

Construction on The Revolution was completed in February, and it had only been in operation since September 3. Investigators pointed to landslides in the region as a possible cause of the explosion. Company officials agree with that assessment.

“An initial site assessment reveals evidence of a landslide in the vicinity of the pipeline,” a Sunoco spokesman told a local newspaper.

During a time when millions of people in the East Coast face record-breaking precipitation and hundreds of resulting landslides, that message isn’t exactly comforting. State lawmakers in Pennsylvania are now calling for oil and gas pipeline construction to be halted completely.

But they face an uphill battle. Energy Transfer Partners is currently constructing another pipeline in the state called the Mariner East Pipeline. And Shell, a competitor, has major plans to build a new ethane cracker plant that would require more pipelines.

“Today’s pipeline explosion in Beaver County was a graphic illustration of my worst fears – and the fears of many local residents – related to the construction of the Mariner East pipeline,” State Rep. Chris Quinn told the Daily Local.

Plastics plant in the works

Royal Dutch Shell announced that it would build a plastics plant in Pennsylvania back in 2016. The project, set to be constructed in an abandoned manufacturing plant outside Pittsburgh, was initially hailed as a potential job-creator that could help people in northern Appalachia.

But producing those plastics requires a new network of pipelines delivering ethane, a flammable mixture of natural gas and petroleum. The Shell Pipeline Company is now trying to win approval to construct a 100-mile ethane pipeline through northern Appalachia for that very purpose.

The Falcon Ethane Pipeline, as Shell is calling the project, would be constructed through 25 different areas that are prone to landslides, Shell recently acknowledged in a permitting application.

Environmental Health News is reporting that Shell identified 14 “landslide risk” areas along the route in southwestern Pennsylvania and nine others along the route in Ohio and West Virginia. Several of those “landslide risks” areas are near residential neighborhoods.

Shell did not respond to the publication’s request for a comment, but researchers quoted said that the findings were troubling.

"According to our analysis, the blast radius for the Falcon pipeline [in one town] is about 900 feet, so if there were an accident, all those homes are in the impact radius near the landslide area," Kirk Jalbert, a researcher at Arizona State University, told Environmental Health News.

Local activists in the state have already been protesting and urging Pennsylvania's Department of Environmental Protection to reject permits for the pipeline, pointing to concerns that pipeline leaks may also contaminate local reservoirs.

The state has told Shell that it needs to provide more environmental impact information in its application, but the project is still under review.

Regulators and advocates have long spoken out against the use of e-cigarettes by young teens in middle school and high school. Now, a study conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) shows that the problem may be worse than many may have thought.

The National Youth Tobacco Survey, which surveys young students in the U.S. in grades 6 through 12, shows that over 2 million young people have used e-cigarettes to vape marijuana. In all, the researchers say that one out of every eleven students have engaged in this activity across the country.

The CDC researchers say that the findings are dismaying because marijuana use has been associated with negative health effects in young people.

“The National Academies of Sciences has found cannabis use among youth can adversely affect learning and memory and may impair later academic achievement and education,” they said. “Strategies to reduce cannabis use in e-cigarettes are critical for protecting young people from these potential health risks.”

Stopping the e-cigarette youth epidemic

The findings, which were published in JAMA Pediatrics, come shortly after regulators announced a crackdown on selling e-cigarette devices to underage consumers.

Last week, the Food and Drug Administration announced that it would be taking action against over 1,300 retailers and five major manufacturers for their roles in making e-cigarettes available to young people. FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb went so far as to say that youth access to electronic cigarettes had reached “epidemic” levels.

“We must adjust certain aspects of our comprehensive strategy to stem this clear and present danger. This starts with the actions we’re taking today to crack down on retail sales of e-cigarettes to minors,” he said.

“While we remain committed to advancing policies that promote the potential of e-cigarettes to help adult smokers move away from combustible cigarettes, that work can’t come at the expense of kids. We cannot allow a whole new generation to become addicted to nicotine,” he concluded.

Coming into contact with dangerous chemicals is something that any sensible consumer would try to avoid, but what happens when they exist in products we use every day?

A recent study conducted by a researchers at George Mason University has identified several potentially hazardous compounds in beauty and personal care products. The team points out that women who buy and apply these products could be opening themselves up to several adverse health outcomes by creating imbalances in hormone levels.

“This study is the first to examine mixtures of chemicals that are widely used in personal care products in relation to hormones in healthy, reproductive-age women,” said researcher Dr. Anna Pollack.

Chemicals affect hormone levels

Pollack and her colleagues came to their findings after collecting and testing samples from 143 women between the ages of 18 and 44. None of the participants were identified as having a chronic health condition.

The researchers tested each sample for various environmental chemicals that are often found in personal care products, such as parabens and benzophenones. They found that even low levels of contact with these compounds was associated with variations in the production of hormones like estrogen and progesterone -- which could negatively impact overall health in women.

Pollack explains that the key takeaway of the study is that these chemicals are extremely complex and that women should be careful when it comes to using certain beauty and personal care products. In some cases, she says that there may even be cause to worry about more serious health conditions.

“We have early indicators that chemicals such as parabens may increase estrogen levels. If this finding is confirmed by additional research, it could have implications for estrogen dependent diseases such as breast cancer,” she said.

The full study has been published in the journal Environment International.

Like they say, desperate people do desperate things. With only $10 million left in MoviePass’ piggybank, the movie subscription service’s parent company -- Helios and Matheson -- is asking its shareholders to weigh in on a plan that could increase the stock by as much as 500 times.

The company’s proposed one-for-500 reverse stock split sent the shares tumbling out of control on Monday to little more than a penny in value -- a far cry from the stock’s 2018 high of $2,442 in February.

Helios and Matheson’s proposed plan was outlined in a new document filed Monday with the Securities and Exchange Commission, and a vote is set for an October 18 shareholder meeting. A blessing from the shareholders would enable stockholders to swap as many as 500 shares for a single share worth about 500 times as much.

If all goes according to plan, the stock price could theoretically move from about its current penny’s worth to as much as $10, which should be sufficient to keep the stock trading on the Nasdaq stock exchange. Nasdaq has given Helios and Matheson fair warning that its stock might be delisted because of its low value.

MoviePass has tried this trick before. In July, it attempted to juice its stock from 8 cents to $21 with a similar move, but stock buyers weren’t biting and the new price fell below $1 in a matter of days, forcing the company to borrow an emergency $5 million to keep things afloat.

The woebegone saga continues

It was only a year ago when MoviePass was a darling in the subscription model world. Its $10 a month all-you-can-watch deal may have been a homerun for movie lovers, but it couldn’t be sustained when it came to paying vendors and theatres.

After its original business model proved itself implausible, the company changed its subscription plans and the movies it made available.

For the moment, MoviePass offers customers the ability to watch three movies per month for $9.95 with restrictions on the number of titles a moviegoer can watch at any given time.

It remains to be seen if anyone can pull off a movie subscription model and make it attractive enough for movie lovers to give up being a couch potato with their Netflix or Amazon Prime Video subscriptions. Sinemia, another movie subscription service just announced a $30 a month deal for a movie-a-day at any theatre with no blackouts. The catch there is that to get that rate, a subscriber has to fork over $359.88, a single year’s subscription fee, in advance.

Consumers continue to turn away from using cash for everyday transactions and are relying more on digital payments, according to a new report from Ally Bank.

The bank examined a wide-ranging collection of data, from its own ATM withdrawals to recent analysis by CivicScience, the Federal Reserve, and Forrester. The emerging picture is of a consumer who is turning to debit cards, credit cards, and mobile wallets on a more frequent basis.

In an accompanying survey, three out of every four Ally customers said they primarily use a credit card when purchasing goods and services in stores. Fewer than one in 10 Ally customers indicated that their primary form of payment is cash.

Declining ATM use

The study shows the number of Ally customers with a checking account who use an ATM has fallen by an average of 4 percent since 2016. Visits are down from an average of almost 2.6 times per month in August 2016 to a little more than 2.4 times a month in August 2018. The average dollar amount withdrawn per month has also declined.

"Customers want convenience and a credit or debit card eliminates the guesswork in how much cash might be necessary when running errands, dining out or simply day-to-day expenses like gas, parking or coffee," said Diane Morais, president of Consumer and Commercial Banking Products at Ally Bank.

Using a rewards credit card, or a debit card that rewards the account holder with interest on checking for making a certain number of transactions, can also benefit a consumer. But it requires the user to keep track of spending that is harder to do than spending cash. When using a cash, a consumer may be more aware of their limits.

Cash has its benefits

Even Discover, a credit card company, concedes there are benefits to paying with cash.

"Tangible currency can be easier to manage," the company says on its website, addressing the     pros and cons of cash and credit. "Some people feel that the act of counting their money and handing it over gives them a better appreciation for their savings and makes them less likely to     overspend."

But Morais says digital payments make it easier for consumers to track their spending, if they'll take the time to do it.

"In addition, there is the benefit now being offered by many card issuers of being able to immediately turn a debit card or credit card on or off," she said.

In the future, ATMs may be gathering more dust. Almost half of Ally customers who participated in the survey said they rarely or never visit an ATM, although it's possible many obtain cash back through retail transactions, such as supermarket purchases.

A Forrester study also showed ATM use had declined to just a little more than once a month in the past 12 months.

This month is a pretty good time to buy a new car, according to Kelley Blue Book (KBB). The automotive data company says dealers and manufacturers still have too many 2017 and 2018 models on hand and are willing to deal.

Incentives for the rest of September include more than $3,500 cash back on purchases and leases for less than $200 a month. KBB has highlighted 10 offers it believes are especially attractive.

"At the top of this month's list is a sporty compact sedan, the 2017 Ford Focus," said Allyson Harwood, associate editor at KBB. "Strongly influenced by Ford of Europe, Focus offers the kind of driving dynamics American drivers have long envied, and it's currently available at a price that makes it even more appealing. However, deals can be had on many popular 2018 models, and even one new 2019 model-year vehicle."

KBB also highlights a lease deal on the 2018 Acura ILX. The lease payment on a 36-month lease is just $199, with $2,499 due at signing.

The 2018 Jeep Compass is third on the list. It lists for more than $25,000 but KBB says it's going for less than $24,000. To sweeten the deal, it comes with up to $3,700 cash back.

Generous cash back offers

The Kia Optima comes in fourth this month, selling for around $22,000 and giving buyers up to $3,500 cash back. The 2018 Ford Escape is right behind, going for around $25,000 while giving buyers up to $4,000 cash.

Toyota is leasing the RAV4 for $229 a month for 36 months. The deal requires a down payment of $1,999.

The 2018 Chevrolet E    quinox and 2019 Hyundai Voloster both have lease payments under $200. This month you can lease the Equinox for $189 a month for 36 months, but it requires a hefty $4,059 down payment. The Voloster goes for $199 a month with $2,299 down.

Number nine on the hottest deals list is the 2018 Nissan Rogue, selling for under $25,000 and offering qualified buyers zero percent financing plus $500 cash back.

Rounding out the list is the 2018 Cadillac ATS. A 27-month lease costs $299 a month with $1,839 down.

The U.S. Justice Department has flashed a green light for the proposed merger of Cigna and Express Scripts, just six months after the two companies announced plans to join forces.

Cigna is a health insurance provider. Express Scripts negotiates prescription drug prices with pharmaceutical companies. The two firms have maintained that their merged entity would have greater bargaining power that could lead to lower health care costs.

“The value that we deliver together will help put our society on a far more sustainable path – one that helps health care professionals close gaps in care and supports our customers along their health journey,” said Cigna CEO David Cordani.

Tim Wentworth, the CEO of Express Scripts, echoed that sentiment, predicting the merger would help "transform health care."

Minimum time to win approval

The merger won approval in a minimum amount of time, with the government acting as soon as the six-month waiting period, mandated by law, expired.

The companies say completion of the transaction is still subject to certain state regulatory approvals and filings required in connection with the transaction, including clearances from certain departments of insurance, and the satisfaction of all closing conditions. So far, the companies say they have received regulatory approval from 16 states.

When the two companies announced their merger plans in March, they promised the union would lead to a full suite of medical, behavioral, specialty pharmacy, and other health engagement services to give customers more options when it comes to their healthcare. The companies said the combination would simplify the patient-provider relationship and lead to better outcomes.

CVS and Aetna still waiting

The combination of Cigna and Express Scripts may be just the opening wave of an expected consolidation within health care. CVS Health, a retail drug store chain, also has a pending merger proposal with Aetna, a major health insurance provider.

The CVS-Aetna merger was announced last December with promises from both companies that the consolidation would lower health care costs. At the time, the two companies said they hoped to close the deal in the second half of this year.

But the Cigna-Express Scripts deal, announced four months later, was the first to win Justice Department antitrust approval. However, a report in the Wall Street Journal quoted Justice Department sources as saying both deals would be approved.

Both Cigna and Aetna have both experienced rejected merger proposals in recent years, mainly because they were trying to merge with competing insurance providers. The current deals match them with complementary but not competing health care businesses.

Amazon’s first cashierless store outside of Seattle has officially opened: in Chicago. The store is located at 113 S Franklin St., and unlike two of the other locations, the store will be closed over the weekend.

Amazon’s other three Amazon Go stores are all in Seattle, and like those, the Chicago store is also open long hours -- 7AM through 8PM -- and has no checkout lines.

Amazon first announced Amazon Go in 2016, and each store is smaller than a traditional U.S. grocery store; it’s more similar to a convenience store in size. The stores focus on selling products that fit into customers’ busy lifestyles, such as ready-made snacks, lunches, drinks, frozen dinners, and basic groceries.

Amazon has reportedly been interested in opening another Go store in San Francisco. Not long after the first store opened its doors in January, the company was reportedly looking to expand to six additional storefronts that were expected to open this year.  

Amazon Go technology

Amazon’s first Go store opened in Seattle in the beginning of this year, allowing shoppers to freely move through the aisles and pick up items as needed. They then can leave the store when they’re done -- no checkout line and no cashier.

Amazon places sensors and cameras throughout the store to track what customers are picking up and taking home with them. Their credit cards are then charged accordingly. Customers are required to download the Amazon Go app to their phones and then scan the QR code from the app before leaving the store.

Similar stores popping up

Cashier-less stores have become popular in China -- where Amazon isn’t as popular -- though the technology isn’t as advanced as Amazon’s Go stores. Where Amazon relies on image recognition and machine learning, stores in China have been up and running with customers using products’ RFID tags for self-checkout.

Similarly, tech companies like JD, Tencent, and Alibaba have entered the cashierless store market. In fact, JD has plans for stores to utilize facial recognition, RFID tags, and QR codes in order to eliminate the need for cashiers. JD currently has over 20 stores across China -- and one in Indonesia.

BMW of North America is recalling 5,309 model year 2018-2019 BMW 540d xDrive, 230i M240i, M240i xDrive, X2 sDrive28i, X2 xDrive28i, X1 sDrive28i, X1 xDrive28i, 330i, 330i xDrive, 340i, 340i xDrive, 330i xDrive Gran Turismo, 530i, 530i xDrive, 540i, 540i xDrive, 530e, 530e xDrive, 640i xDrive Gran Turismo, 330e, 2019 430i Gran Coupe, 430i xDrive Gran Coupe, 440i Gran Coupe, 440i xDrive Gran Coupe, 430i, 430i xDrive, 440i, 440i xDrive, 740i, 740i xDrive, MINI Cooper, Cooper S, JCW, MINI Countryman (Cooper, Cooper All4, Cooper S, Cooper S All4, JCW All4), and MINI Clubman (Cooper, Cooper S, Cooper All4, Cooper S All4, JCW All4) vehicles.

The crankshaft sensor may be equipped with incorrect firmware, preventing the sensor from properly processing input from the crankshaft reluctor ring, possibly resulting in a vehicle stall.

A vehicle stall can increase the risk of a crash.

What to do

BMW will notify owners, and dealers will replace the crankshaft sensor, free of charge.

The recall is expected to begin November 1, 2018.

Owners may contact BMW customer service at 1-800-525-7417.

At the beginning of this month, California’s Senate passed SB 822 -- a net neutrality bill that state senators have deemed the “gold standard” of state-level protections. Governor Jerry Brown has until the end of this month to sign the bill into law.

In the interim, Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Ajit Pai called the state’s new policy “illegal” and said it “poses a risk to the rest of the country.”

However, California Senator and author of the net neutrality bill Scott Wiener said that the new initiatives are “necessary and legal because Chairman Pai abdicated his responsibility to ensure an open internet,” according to a press release.

“Unlike Pai’s FCC, California isn’t run by the big telecom companies,” Wiener added. “Pai can take whatever potshots at California he wants. The reality is that California is the world’s innovation capital, and like the crony capitalism promoted by the Trump administration, California understands exactly what it takes to foster an open innovation economy with a level playing field.”

What the bill does

Under SB 822, internet service providers (ISPs) are prohibited from blocking or throttling lawful traffic. It also doesn’t allow websites to be charged for access to an ISP’s subscribers or for fast lanes to those subscribers.

The bill also prevents companies like AT&T (which is an ISP and a content provider) from not counting the content and the websites they own against subscribers’ data caps. Moreover, the proposed bill bans ISPs from getting around these protections at the point where data enters their networks and then charging access fees to reach ISP customers.

To Pai, the bill is allowing “government control of the internet.” He went on to call California’s bill “a radical, anti-consumer internet regulation bill that would impose restrictions even more burdensome than those adopted by the FCC in 2015.”

Pai said under SB 822, Californians will be prevented from “buying many free-data plans” that “allow consumers to stream video, music, and the like exempt from any data limits.”

However, Senator Wiener sees it differently. He believes the law would ensure “that we as individuals get to decide where we go on the internet, rather than having internet service providers decide for us.”

He added that “big telecom companies and cable companies can’t force us to get our information only from favored websites.”

Wiener also mentioned Pai’s failure to address Verizon’s recent throttling of Santa Clara County firefighters’ wireless network during the fires in California. The firefighters were unable to provide emergency services because Verizon throttled the network until the fire department agreed to upgrade to a more expensive plan.

Wiener said that Pai's lack of action on the matter speaks volumes and stymies his criticims of California's proposed rules.