Current Events in November 2018

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2018

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    Target to hold one-day gift card sale this weekend

    This Sunday, customers can get Target gift cards for 10 percent off

    On December 2, Target will give consumers the opportunity to purchase Target gift cards worth up to $300 for 10 percent off. The retailer’s once-a-year gift card sale is available both in stores and online at Target.com.

    The minimum gift card purchase is $10 and the maximum is $300, Target said in a news release announcing the upcoming deal. There is a limit of one transaction of up to $300 in Target gift cards on Target.com.

    Target noted that the discount isn’t applicable to other gift cards sold at its stores, including “Target Visa Gift Cards, Target MasterCard Gift Cards, Target American Express Gift Cards and gift cards issued by other retailers such as dining, lifestyle and entertaining gift cards,” the retailer said.

    The deal also doesn’t apply to reloads of previously purchased Target gift cards and cards given in exchange for electronic or prepaid trade-ins, cards provided for merchandise returns, and cards provided as free promotional card with qualifying purchase, Target said.

    Additionally, shoppers can’t use their REDcard to get an extra 5 percent off when buying a gift card.

    Gift cards purchased during Target’s annual gift card sales event can be redeemed in-store or online starting December 3 at 10 a.m. central time.

    On December 2, Target will give consumers the opportunity to purchase Target gift cards worth up to $300 for 10 percent off. The retailer’s once-a-year gif...

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      The Weekly Hack: Massage app accidentally reveals which clients asked for sexual favors

      A hacker impersonated a title company and convinced a house hunter to wire over his money

      Who would have guessed that an app designed to order massages straight to your door had both poor security and customers with perhaps some trouble keeping their hands to themselves?

      Urban, a popular London-based startup selling “wellness that comes to you,” accidentally leaked its entire customer database online, revealing  email addresses, phone numbers, and names of all its 309,000 customers. Included in the database were also complaints from therapists about the specific clients who requested “sexual services.”

      Urban pulled the database offline after the website TechCrunch discovered it and contacted the company for comment. So there’s probably no need to go into hiding if you’re one of the offending customers, unless someone took a screenshot.  

      House hunter

      A dentist in Missouri is out $90,000 after hackers successfully impersonated the real estate companies that he was already doing business with.

      Howard Ritchey Jr. was hunting for a new home last year and working with title, mortgage, and real estate companies to make the purchase happen. In the middle of the deal, he received an email from what looked like his title company which instructed him to wire $88,338 over to secure his desired house.

      But when he followed up in person with his lender, he was told the money didn’t go to the home. The lender said it looked like hackers got into his email and stole his money. Ritchey is now suing the title company and other parties, alleging that hackers actually targeted their emails and failed to warn him about the impersonators.

      Ritchey’s case isn’t unique; the FBI says that similar complaints of real estate business impersonators are on the rise. Yet another reason not to wire money.  

      Dunkin’ Donuts

      Joining a donut loyalty program may have seemed like the ideal way to make your troubles go away, but reality isn’t so sweet. Dunkin’ Donuts recently informed holders of its loyalty Perks accounts that they should change their passwords to all of their other, non-donut-related accounts because their Dunkin’ Donuts passwords may have been stolen.

      Dunkin’ says that thieves tried to break into the loyalty program and may have gained access to consumers’ usernames and passwords in the process. Consumers are instructed to change their passwords to other accounts only if its the same password they used for the Perks program.

      Dell

      Every single person who has shopped for Dell online had their password reset in the online store and wasn’t told why. The computer chain initially discovered it was hacked back on November 9 and changed passwords five days later.  

      A source familiar with the incident says that Dell never informed consumers of the breach before changing their passwords on their behalf, according to a report published Wednesday in Reuters.

      Security experts say it's shameful on Dell’s part that consumers were never told why their passwords were automatically reset, explaining that the move leaves potential victims “abandoned in the darkness and ambiguity.”

      Amazon

      Consumers and researchers are scratching their head about a vague notice that shoppers received from Amazon shortly before Black Friday. The message says that users had their data exposed due to a “technical error,” but it does not specify much else, such as what type of data was exposed or how many people were affected.

      Asked for more details, Amazon has told reporters that there is “nothing to add beyond our statement.” Amazon also told users they already fixed the unspecified issue and that there is no need for consumers to do anything. So, do with that information what you will.

      Health records, again

      Healthcare hackers have struck again, this time targeting more than two million patients covered  by Atrium, a North Carolina-based provider.

      The firm said an “unauthorized third party” accessed patient information between Sept. 22 and 29, but the company told patients that medical records and payment information remains safe.

      Who would have guessed that an app designed to order massages straight to your door had both poor security and customers with perhaps some trouble keeping...

      AT&T to launch streaming service with three subscription tiers

      The company is aiming to appeal to a wider audience

      AT&T revealed during a presentation in New York to investors that it will use its acquisition of Time Warner to roll out a three-tiered streaming service in late 2019.

      Each level of the upcoming streaming service will offer the following, according to The Hollywood Reporter:

      • First tier. An entry-level option that will be “movie-focused” and include films from WarnerMedia’s catalogue.

      • Second tier. A “premium” level that includes WarnerMedia TV series and “blockbuster movies”

      • Third tier. The top level will be an option that “bundles content from the first two plus an extensive library of WarnerMedia and licensed content,” likely to include shows from HBO.

      John Stankey, chief executive of WarnerMedia, told reporters on Thursday that the ultimate goal is to have subscribers want access to all three tiers.

      "We really want the customer to want all three tiers," he said. "We want the customer to commit all the way."

      The multi-tiered approach lets customers start at a price point that is financially comfortable for them but is intended to sow the desire to shell out more for original TV shows and access to WarnerMedia’s extensive collection of films and television series. AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson didn’t say how much each tier would cost.

      Competing with Netflix

      Disney -- which is set to become Hulu’s majority shareholder once its acquisition of 21st Century Fox is finalized -- is also gearing up to launch new streaming video service in 2019. Disney is reportedly looking to offer a digital bundle option for consumers that will include Hulu and ESPN+.

      Companies are rolling out streaming services in an effort to compete with Netflix, which currently has more than 137 million subscribers. AT&T’s DirecTV Now online streaming service is going to lose subscribers this quarter as well as next.

      Stankey said competitors like Netflix "should expect their libraries to get a lot thinner" over the next 18-24 months.

      “We want to broaden the relevant demographic base,” Stankey told investors. “Our goal now is to open the aperture. We want to pick up more content and get more engagement on digital content.”

      "We are well positioned for success as the lines between entertainment and communications continue to blur," Stephenson said. "If you're a media company, you can no longer rely exclusively on wholesale distribution models. You must develop a direct relationship with your viewers. And if you're a communications company, you can no longer rely exclusively on oversized bundles of content."

      AT&T was given the green light to merge with Time Warner in June. The acquisition cost $84.5 billion.

      AT&T; revealed during a presentation in New York to investors that it will use its acquisition of Time Warner to roll out a three-tiered streaming service...

      Staying active could help to reduce the risk of heart attack

      Researchers suggest that cardiorespiratory fitness is just as important as physical fitness

      Staying active has become an integral part of many consumers’ routines, as the quest to stay in shape and stay healthy is at the forefront of many people’s minds.

      However, a new study found that even the most active people could be at a risk of developing heart conditions if they have poor cardiorespiratory fitness. Cardiorespiratory fitness refers to the body’s ability to supply oxygen to the muscles during physical activity.

      According to Dr. Bjarne Nes, the findings indicate that “greater cardiorespiratory fitness protects against both chronic and acute heart and blood vessel problems.”

      “Even a small increase in fitness could have a large impact on health,” Dr. Nes said.

      Exercise as preventative medicine

      To test the way cardiorespiratory fitness affects any potential future heart complications, the researchers tested over 4,500 men and women -- all of whom participated in a Norwegian population-based health study between 2006 and 2008 and had no history of serious health complications.

      The participants exercised on a treadmill, starting out slow, and eventually building up to a steady, fast-paced run. All the while, the participants wore a heart monitor and face mask to measure their oxygen intake. Nearly a decade later, the participants returned for a follow-up evaluation.

      The researchers found that those who had better cardiorespiratory fitness were more likely to avoid any cardiovascular issues.

      “We found a strong link between greater fitness and reduced risk of a coronary event during the nine years of follow-up in a very healthy sample of adults,” Dr. Nes said. “In fact, the participants who were in the 25 percent of those with the highest cardiorespiratory fitness had nearly half the risk compared to those in the 25 percent with the lowest fitness levels.”

      Dr. Jon Magne Letnes, the study’s lead author, was pleased with the positive nature of these results. He’s hopeful that moving forward, both physicians and patients will be more inclined to stay active.

      “Our results should encourage the use of exercise as preventive medicine,” he said. “A few months of regular exercise may be an efficient way of reducing the cardiovascular risk.”

      Practicing good heart health

      There are many ways consumers can incorporate healthy habits into their daily routines in an effort to promote good heart health.

      For starters, the American College of Cardiology (ACC) and the American Heart Association (AHA) recently updated its blood pressure guidelines with the goal of helping millions of American prevent heart disease. The researchers redefined the standards for normal blood pressure, high blood pressure, and hypertensive blood pressure, which will now diagnose many more people -- mainly young people -- with high blood pressure.

      However, the researchers are hoping it will serve as an early intervention of sorts, as doctors can step in and hopefully prevent any cardiovascular issues before they become serious. If patients and healthcare providers stick to these new guidelines, the researchers predict that over three million cardiovascular episodes can be prevented.

      Moreover, maintaining a healthy body mass index (BMI) can also be effective in staving off heart disease. A recent study found that having a higher BMI was associated with a greater risk of mortality, mainly due to the increased risk of developing several different kinds of cancer and cardiovascular disease.

      “The findings highlight the need for a global effort to reduce the surging levels of obesity within society and suggest that in most cases, any reduction in body mass index to a normal, healthy level is likely to be beneficial,” said Dr. Kaitlin Wade.

      Staying active has become an integral part of many consumers’ routines, as the quest to stay in shape and stay healthy is at the forefront of many people’s...

      Public health is already worsening due to climate change, new report says

      Heat stroke and other related conditions are already on the rise. Researchers say the time to act is now

      At the heart of the U.S. government's two-year National Climate Assessment report, a group of researchers are now warning that climate change is already harming public health.

      A total of 150 experts from 27 different universities and institutions, including the World Health Organization (WHO), published their findings in the journal The Lancet on Wednesday.

      Heat strokes, dengue fever, and lack of access to clean drinking water, clean air, and food supplies are likely to become growing problems if no action is taken on climate change, the report says.

      “These are not things happening in 2050 but are things we are already seeing today. We think of these as the canary in, ironically, the coalmine,” Nick Watt, the Executive Director of the Lancet Countdown on Health and Climate Change project, told the Guardian.

      Raising awareness, but action still needed

      The only silver lining comes in the form of awareness. The researchers say that reporting on the human health effects of climate change may make people more inclined to act.

      “Individual engagement and action contributes to a growing wave of change,” an introductory paper to the report says. “This does not negate the need for engagement at international policy level and for governments to better use their powers, but this can be accelerated and complemented by harnessing the collective voice of individuals.”

      But action at the policy level still appears to be a hard-fought battle. The United Nations says that governments must triple their current efforts at tackling climate change to prevent catastrophic warming in the near future.

      The researchers at The Lancet note that hospitals may not be prepared to take on a growing amount of heat stroke patients. The team interviewed officials from 500 global cities and found that much of their public health infrastructure, such as hospitals, were vulnerable to the effects of climate change.

      Some lawmakers in the United States are currently drafting a Green New Deal proposal that they hope will aggressively address the problem.

      At the heart of the U.S. government's two-year National Climate Assessment report, a group of researchers are now warning that climate change is already ha...

      Dunkin’ Donuts discloses security breach affecting rewards program members

      The chain said a third party obtained usernames and passwords of its DD Perks members

      Dunkin’ Donuts has disclosed that it became aware of a possible security breach on October 31.

      The company said an outside source gained access to some of its DD Perks program customers’ usernames and passwords, as well as their DD Perks account number and DD Perks QR codes.

      Hackers likely gained access to its customers’ private information through security breaches of other companies, the coffee and doughnuts chain said.

      "We learned from one of our security vendors that a third-party may have attempted to log in to your DD Perks account," the company said in a notification to its rewards program customers.

      "Our security vendor was successful in stopping most of these attempts, but it is possible that these third-parties may have succeeded in logging in to your DD Perks account if you used your DD Perks username and password for accounts unrelated to Dunkin’," it said.

      After learning of the breach, Dunkin’ said it "forced a password reset that required all of the potentially impacted DD Perks account holders to log out and log back in to their account using a new password." Dunkin’ encouraged customers to use “unique passwords” and not reuse passwords used for their other online accounts.

      Dunkin’ said it launched an internal investigation into the issue, which revealed that its internal system "did not experience a data security breach."

      Dunkin’ Donuts has disclosed that it became aware of a possible security breach on October 31.The company said an outside source gained access to some...

      Fed study concludes millennial consumers not that different from older peers

      They don't spend as much because they don't have the money

      The sharing economy and “experiential” consumption are all a product of millennials' values and lifestyles, several studies have suggested. This generation is different from its parents, we have been told.

      Well, maybe not.

      A new study from the Federal Reserve has concluded that consumers born between 1981 and 1997 are pretty much like every other generation. They might not engage in as much spending, but it's not because they don't have the desire, they just don't have the money.

      “We find little evidence that millennial households have tastes and preference for consumption that are lower than those of earlier generations, once the effects of age, income, and a wide range of demographic characteristics are taken into account,” the study's authors write.

      These findings run counter to a number of other studies that conclude young consumers are very different from the generations that came before them. But it is possible the biggest difference is they don't have as much money and face higher costs than previous generations.

      Trends in healthcare

      A recent study by Kaiser Health reported that millennials are creating a new trend in healthcare, avoiding primary care physicians and instead frequenting less expensive retail walk-in clinics and urgent care facilities.

      The Fed study makes the argument that millennials want what every other generation has wanted. But because they came of age during the financial crisis and its aftermath, they have struggled in a stagnant-wage economy while the cost of housing, food, and mobility has continued to climb.

      Millennials tend to have lower incomes than other generations did at the same age. That could explain some emerging economic trends, such as sharing a car instead of owning one.

      “For example, for spending on motor vehicles—which accounts for roughly 20 percent of retail sales and is highly sensitive to the business cycle—we find little evidence that millennial households have significantly different tastes and preferences than households of previous generations,” the authors write. “We find similar results for spending on food and housing-related expenses.”

      Boomers earned more money

      The study notes that when the baby boom generation was young, it was often criticized for spending more than its predecessor, the silent generation. But the authors note boomers didn't spend a greater percentage of their income than their elders, they just earned more.

      While boomers faced runaway inflation in the 1970s, they didn't have to pay a fortune to attend college and they didn't feel compelled to overspend on smartphones, because they didn't exist.

      The Fed report concludes that millennials aren't all that unique in their consumer behavior. They spend less on housing and food than previous generations, but that could be because they spend more on education.

      The sharing economy and “experiential” consumption are all a product of millennials' values and lifestyles, several studies have suggested. This generation...

      A bad night of sleep could increase senior citizens' risk of falling

      Researchers say balance is affected after just one night of poor sleep

      Getting a bad night of sleep can often leave us feeling groggy, cranky, and counting down the minutes until bedtime.

      And according to researchers from the University of Warwick, it can also increase the chances of poor balance the next day and lead to a fall -- particularly for older people.

      “When we do not sleep well, we may feel a little dizzy and our capability to control our posture and balance is somehow diminished,” said Dr. Leandro Pecchia. “When we are fit and in good health, our body is able to adapt and we develop a strategy to keep our balance, avoiding falls and incidents. This ability is reduced with aging or when there are other concomitant conditions that may compromise our ability to adapt.”

      More sleep, better balance

      The researchers had 20 volunteers participate in the study, all of whom were free of any health issues or concerns.

      To see the ways sleep affects balance, the researchers evaluated both factors over the course of two days. The participants wore sensors throughout the duration of the test, while the researchers monitored the results.

      Just one night of bad sleep was found to have an effect on posture and balance, thus resulting in more falls. For the older people involved in the study, the risk of falling was even higher.

      The researchers hope that the wearable sensors that the participants used in the study can be used in hospitals and nursing homes moving forward as a way to prevent falls among elderly patients.

      Dr. Pecchia explains that many older people that are in the hospital for extended periods of time often have trouble sleeping, and they can be disoriented by the lights, sounds, and the constant back and forth of people. He’s confident that hospitals can be a safer place for senior citizens if healthcare providers make the necessary changes.

      “We need to learn how to use the available technology to detect the early changes in sleep so that we can design personalized interventions that may avoid falls in the next day,” Dr. Pecchia said. “One of the problems in fall prevention is that we know a frail subject will fall, but it is very difficult to predict when. Our study is the first step towards finding a solution.”

      Falls can be dangerous

      When children -- or even young adults -- fall, it typically isn’t cause for concern. Minus a few bumps and bruises, things usually aren’t too worrisome. However, the same isn’t true for senior citizens.

      Researchers recently found that more than half of senior citizens who went to the emergency room for a fall either fell again, were admitted into the hospital, or died within six months. The researchers say it’s on medical professionals to educate their older patients on ways to prevent falls and follow existing fall protocols.

      According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), falls are the most common cause of traumatic brain injury. For older people, a change in brain activity can be the cause of more falls, though there are many risk factors for senior citizens that could increase the chance of falling.

      Getting a bad night of sleep can often leave us feeling groggy, cranky, and counting down the minutes until bedtime.And according to researchers from t...

      Gas prices close to a 2018 low

      Falling oil prices giving motorists a holiday gift

      Motorists will go into December with a little extra Christmas cash in their pockets thanks to still-falling gasoline prices.

      The AAA Fuel Gauge Survey shows the national average price of regular gas is $2.51 a gallon, down seven cents from a week ago. It's 29 cents a gallon cheaper than a month ago, saving $4.35 on a 15-gallon fill-up.

      The average price of premium gas is $3.10 a gallon, also seven cents cheaper than last Friday. The average price of diesel fuel is $3.21, three cents a gallon cheaper than seven days ago.

      Gas prices are moving lower for one simple reason. The price of oil continues to fall, thanks to rising production and falling demand.

      Building stockpiles

      The Energy Information Administration (EIA) reports U.S. oil supplies rose for a 10th straight week, increasing to 450 million barrels. This week's EIA report shows oil stockpiles are about 7 percent higher than the five-year average for this time of year.

      “Growth in global crude production, including in the U.S., combined with weaker than expected global crude demand for the fourth quarter have helped to push crude prices lower,” AAA said in its latest market update.

      At $2.51 a gallon, the average price of gasoline is now just two cents higher than the lowest price of the year, reached back in January. Kentucky and Ohio saw the biggest price drops in the last week. The average price is down 10 cents a gallon in Kentucky and 14 cents lower in Ohio.

      The states with the most expensive regular gas

      These states currently have the highest prices for regular gas, according to the AAA Fuel Gauge Survey:

      • Hawaii ($3.72)
      • California ($3.56)
      • Washington ($3.32)
      • Alaska ($3.26)
      • Nevada ($3.17)
      • Oregon ($3.15)
      • Idaho ($2.95)
      • Utah ($2.89)
      • Wyoming ($2.86)
      • Arizona ($2.82)

      The states with the cheapest regular gas

      These states currently have the lowest prices for regular gas, the survey found:

      • Missouri ($2.13)
      • Oklahoma ($2.18)
      • South Carolina ($2.18)
      • Texas ($2.19)
      • Ohio ($2.20)
      • Louisiana ($2.21)
      • Alabama ($2.21)
      • Delaware ($2.21)
      • Mississippi ($2.21)
      • Kentucky ($2.22)

      Motorists will go into December with a little extra Christmas cash in their pockets thanks to still-falling gasoline prices.The AAA Fuel Gauge Survey s...

      Ford recalls model year 2018 Lincoln Navigators and Ford Expeditions

      The second row center seat may move in a crash

      Ford Motor Company is recalling 34,946 model year 2018 Lincoln Navigators, and Ford Expeditions.

      The second row center seat track assemblies may be missing one or both of the J-Channel reinforcement brackets, possibly allowing the seat to move in the event of a crash.

      A seat that moves in a crash may not properly restrain the occupant, increasing the risk of injury.

      What to do

      Ford will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the second row center seat for any missing J-channel reinforcement brackets, replacing the center seat frame assembly as necessary, free of charge.

      The recall is expected to begin December 17, 2018.

      Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 18S37

      Ford Motor Company is recalling 34,946 model year 2018 Lincoln Navigators, and Ford Expeditions.The second row center seat track assemblies may be miss...

      Sunshine Mills recalls dry dog food

      The products may have elevated levels of Vitamin D

      Sunshine Mills is recalling Evolve Puppy, Sportsman’s Pride Large Breed Puppy and Triumph Chicken and Rice Dog Food.

      The products may contain elevated levels of Vitamin D which, when consumed at very high levels, can lead to serious health issues in dogs including renal dysfunction.

      Symptoms include vomiting, loss of appetite, increased thirst, increased urination, excessive drooling, and weight loss.

      The following products with a Best Buy Date Code of November 1, 2018, through November 8, 2019, on the back of each bag, are being recalled:

      • 14 LB Evolve Chicken & Rice Puppy Dry Dog Food Bag UPC: 0-73657-00862-0
      • 28 LB Evolve Chicken & Rice Puppy Dry Dog Food Bag UPC: 0-73657-00863-7
      • 40 LB Sportsman's Pride Large Breed Puppy Dry Dog Food Bag UPC: 0-70155-10566-0
      • 40 LB Sportsman's Pride Large Breed Puppy Dry Dog Food Bag UPC: 0-70155-10564-0
      • 3.5 LB Triumph Chicken & Rice Recipe Dry Dog Food Bag UPC: 0-73657-00873-6
      • 16 LB Triumph Chicken & Rice Recipe Dry Dog Food Bag UPC: 0-73657-00874-3
      • 30 LB Triumph Chicken & Rice Recipe Dry Dog Food Bag UPC 0-73657-00875-0

      The recalled products were distributed in retail stores within the U.S., as well as some export distributors in Japan, Puerto Rico, Colombia, Israel, Canada and South Korea.

      What to do

      Customers who purchased the recalled products should dispose of them or return them to the retailer for a full refund.

      Consumers with questions may contact Sunshine Mills customer service at (800) 705-2111 from 7AM – 4PM (CT Monday through Friday, or by email at customer.service@sunshinemills.com.

      Sunshine Mills is recalling Evolve Puppy, Sportsman’s Pride Large Breed Puppy and Triumph Chicken and Rice Dog Food.The products may contain elevated l...

      Chunwei recalls meat and poultry products

      The products may contain a variety of allergens not declared on the label

      Chunwei, Inc., of Huntington Park, Calif., is recalling approximately 65,023 pounds of various ready-to-eat and raw meat A l;and poultry products.

      The products may contain soy, wheat, dairy, egg, and sesame, known allergens, as well as monosodium glutamate (MSG), which are not declared on the finished product label.

      There have been no confirmed reports of adverse reactions.

      A list of the recalled items, produced from November 16, 2017, through November 19, 2018, may be found here.

      The recalled products, bearing establishment number “EST. P-8110” or “EST. 8110” inside the USDA mark of inspection, were were shipped to retail locations nationwide.

      What to do

      Customers who purchased the recalled products should not consume them, but discard them or return them to the place of purchase.

      Consumers with questions may contact Yibin Huang at (626) 278-8199, or by email at Yibin.Huang@chunweius.com.

      Chunwei, Inc., of Huntington Park, Calif., is recalling approximately 65,023 pounds of various ready-to-eat and raw meat A l;and poultry products.The p...

      Just a ‘thermal’ issue: is the auto industry getting lax about spontaneous combustion complaints?

      Faced with complaints that its cars are randomly igniting, Hyundai says regulators should focus on all auto brands

      It took the quick-thinking of a good samaritan for a Nashville city official to escape his burning Kia in the nick of time.  

      “Hey, there’s fire coming underneath the car,” Nashville City Councilman Jonathan Hall recounted a passing driver shouting at him on the highway. Hall told local news that he pulled over, jumped out of the car, and heard a “boom” sound shortly after.

      In Denver, Cindy Titus thought a case of road rage was prompting a truck driver to abruptly cut in front of her and slam on his brakes. Then the brakes and steering on her 2013 Kia Sorento suddenly failed. She realized the truck driver was trying to give her a warning.

      “My car was on fire,” she recently recounted to her local news channel. She grabbed her dog and got out.

      The disturbing story of a man who died in another Kia last year in Cincinnati shows what could have happened if those warnings didn’t arrive in time. Carol Nash’s son Keith borrowed her 2014 Kia Soul to go grocery shopping. In the apartment parking lot, she later told reporters, she heard the sound of an explosion.

      Keith couldn't open the doors; his brother said that they had automatically locked themselves shut. The family says that Keith burned to death while trapped in the vehicle.  

      A “thermal incident”

      For consumers, such encounters are terrifying and, in the Ohio case, deadly. But for Kia and Hyundai, the two automakers whose cars have been hit with what safety groups say are a disproportionate amount of spontaneous fire complaints, there’s no reason to panic.

      Both automakers have so far refused to issue a full recall on what independent watchdogs say are the fire-prone defective models;  the 2011-2014 Kia Sorento and Optima models, the 2011-2014 Hyundai Sonata and Santa Fe models, and the 2010-2015 Kia Souls. (Hyundai owns a 33 % stake in Kia  and the cars share many of the same manufacturing components as a result.)

      In a recent public statement responding to growing questions about its cars, Hyundai somewhat defensively announced that it “welcomes a more comprehensive review of non-collision fires among all automakers.”

      Kia, meanwhile, steered clear of Hyundai's “all fires matter” defense, instead offering a promise to hire investigators of its own to look into the issue, which it characterizes as a “thermal incident.”

      “KMA recognizes that customer safety is paramount and is committed to addressing every thermal incident,” the company said last month.

      The brands have previously recalled some of suspect vehicles over engine issues, but the recall notices issued last year didn’t mention the spontaneous combustion complaints.

      “There was no reference to the word fire or even ‘thermal event’ which is their favorite way of saying it,” says Jason Levine, executive director of the Center for Auto Safety, the safety nonprofit that has taken a lead in identifying complaints about the Kia and Hyundai cars.

      And the subsequent repair work on the cars recalled for engine problems  didn’t make the fire complaints go away; the Center for Auto Safety has now counted nearly 250 complaints describing fires that ignited without warning in the Kia or Hyundai vehicles, an increase of 85% from when the nonprofit first warned consumers about the problem earlier this year.

      The group says that 103 additional complaints were filed to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) between June and October and is continuing to demand that Kia and Hyundai recall a total of 2.9 million vehicles.

      In response to the safety petition and complaints, the U.S. Senate Commerce Committee invited the CEOs of both companies to testify on November 14; neither agreed. The Senate Commerce Committee ultimately opted to delay the hearing. A new date has not been set.

      “Discussions among the committee and two auto manufacturers about participation at a future date remain ongoing," a spokesman for the Commerce Committee said of the postponement.

      The rare but frightening spontaneous fire

      Leave it to Tesla fanatics to publicly debate whether a car randomly catching fire is a valid thing to complain about.

      It started with a post last June from actress Mary McCormack, which described her husband’s frightening ordeal in his Model S in Los Angeles.

      According to a video and Twitter post, McCormack’s husband was driving down Santa Monica Blvd when the undercarriage of his Model S caught fire “out of the blue.”  

      “Thank you to the kind couple who flagged him down and told him to pull over,” McCormack wrote on Twitter, accompanied by a 45-second clip of the flaming Tesla.

      Tesla -- whose CEO Elon Musk previously claimed that “you are more likely to be struck by lightning in your lifetime than experience even a non-injurious fire in a Tesla” -- responded at the time that the fire was an “extraordinarily unusual occurrence” and promised a full investigation “to find out what happened.”

      The results of that investigation are not publicly known; the incident quickly disappeared from headlines, and Tesla’s press team has not yet responded to messages from ConsumerAffairs inquiring on the results.

      In absence of a formal investigation, some outlets like MarketWatch deflected to “Black Swan” author Nassim Taleb, a Tesla owner who wrote a post on Twitter claiming that McCormack was being “emotional” about her husband's car catching on fire.

      “Proper approach: count the rate of these things for @Tesla, compare to other automakers, & adjust by other safety statistics,” he wrote, adding that the public should “never listen to actors except on acting.”

      No warning

      But experts say that while rare non-collision fires aren’t unique to any particular car brand, that doesn’t mean such incidents are acceptable.   

      “I certainly think non-collision fires are among the most troubling things that you can encounter,” Levine of the Center for Auto Safety tells ConsumerAffairs. “There's no forewarning for it. There's nothing you can do to prevent it as a consumer, because you don't know its coming.”

      In England, a BBC Investigation documenting a tendency of some Ford EcoBoost engines to heat and catch fire was quickly followed by a promise from Ford this October to give refunds to all consumers who reported the problem.

      Later that month, BMW announced a recall of 1.6 million diesel cars from the years 2010 through 2017 over fluid leaks that could cause fires.

      And in December, Chrysler recalled 10,021 Pacific Hybrid plug-in vans over a defect that it said could cause engines to stall and catch fire. Those are just examples from the last two months alone.

      It's not necessarily that vehicle fires are getting more common. United States regulators say that emergency responders put out an average of 152,300 vehicle fires every year, though the figure isn’t broken down into whether there was a prior collision.

      Despite Hyundai’s suggestion to examine the fire rates of all brands, The Center for Auto Safety and other watchdog groups aren’t tracking every car that may be prone to a non-collision fire. That would be a hefty task.

      They say they are focusing on Hyundai and Kia cars precisely because of the relatively high volume of complaints coming from consumers about the same makes and models, demonstrating what they argue is a clear pattern.

      Another concern that the Center for Auto Safety points to is the testimony from consumers who have reported their electronic locks failing in the potentially defective cars, which threatens to trap them when the fire breaks out, as allegedly happened in the Ohio case.

      “We have definitely seen reports of people of their car is on fire and they can’t get out, or it is difficult to get out. That would also, to us, lead to another reason to look into this," Levine tells ConsumerAffairs.

      In fire season, another worst case scenario

      As several major cases in recent years show, an unchecked defect linked to a vehicle fire can have far-reaching consequences.  

      BMW, Ford, and the federal government are currently embroiled in a lawsuit over a 2002 Ford Escape that caught fire on a container ship in 2015, causing an estimated $100 million worth of damage to other cars on board and destroying the ship.

      The Escape had been under recall over fuel problems that Ford warned could ignite fires, even when the car was turned off. But the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) determined the Ford’s owner, a USDA employee who was having her car shipped back to the United States, never received the notices because she was working overseas. The case highlights what advocates say is a need for recall notices to go digital.

      Last year's Carr Fire in California, the state’s sixth-most destructive wildfire of all time, was reportedly ignited by a car with a flat tire.

      And several years ago, a major insurer sued Fiat Chrysler over a California wildfire that ravaged part of San Diego County in 2013. The suit claims that the blaze was ignited when a US Bureau of Land Management (BLM) employee drove his Jeep Wrangler through tall brush. According to a 2010 recall notice, some Jeep models have a defect in the undercarriage that allows debris to collect, “causing an underbody fire without warning.”

      The lawsuit argues that more cars, including the BLM employee’s Jeep, should have been included in that recall.

      “Vehicle fires are very complex and often occur for reasons that have nothing to do with the vehicle involved,” Jeep said in response.

      More recently, a couple in Minneapolis provided footage to ConsumerAffairs showing their brand new Toyota RAV4 catching fire while it was turned off and unattended. The car exploded shortly after, injuring a first responder on the scene. A fire department investigator said that the fire was “an extremely strange occurrence” that he had never documented before. The fire ignited from the interior of the vehicle, not the engine, as is more typical in non-collision fire cases.

      Toyota in that case told the couple that an aftermarket tow hitch they installed may or may not have ignited the fire, and otherwise said the cause would be left undetermined. The tow mechanic says that he has never heard of tow hitches causing cars to explode.

      “Manufacturers who fail to properly design vehicles, and fail to ensure that fire risks are addressed promptly, are putting a lot of lives -- in addition to the lives of the owners and their passengers -- at risk,” Rosemary Shahan of Consumers for Auto Reliability and Safety tells ConsumerAffairs.

      Meanwhile, the complaints about fires in Hyundai and Kia cars have been filed to regulators on a steady basis for the past five months, advocates say. NHTSA is currently launching an investigation of its own, though that one also focuses on engine problems rather than the fires specifically.  The investigation has been ongoing for months.

      “I’m not sure that we're seeing the urgency that we would like to see from NHTSA with respect to something that is so dangerous, at least publicly," Levine adds.

      It took the quick-thinking of a good samaritan for a Nashville city official to escape his burning Kia in the nick of time.  “Hey, there’s fire coming...

      Consumer groups line up against T-Mobile merger with Sprint

      More than a dozen groups contend the union would raise prices and reduce jobs

      From the start, the proposed merger of T-Mobile and Sprint has never been popular with consumer advocates. This week, 14 consumer groups joined forces to oppose it.

      Leaders from the 14 organizations signed a letter to the top Democrats on the House Judiciary and Energy & Commerce committees. In addition to laying out their reasons for opposing the deal, the groups ask the two lawmakers -- who will become committee chairmen in January when the Democratic majority takes control -- to hold hearings on what such a merger would mean for consumers.

      The groups lining up against the merger include:

      • American Antitrust Institute
      • Center for Media Justice
      • Common Cause
      • Communications Workers of America Consumer Reports
      • Fight for the Future
      • Free Press Action
      • The Greenlining Institute
      • National Consumer Law Center, on behalf of its low income clients
      • New America’s Open Technology Institute
      • Open Markets Institute
      • Public Knowledge
      • Rural Wireless Association Writers
      • Guild of America West

      Higher prices, fewer jobs

      The groups say the merger would undoubtedly lead to higher prices for consumers, especially those who rely on both services' pre-paid plans, among the cheapest in the industry. The Communications Workers of America says the merger would lead to the loss of up to 30,000 jobs.

      “Wireless is one of the few telecommunications markets where we see real head-to-head competition delivering benefits for consumers," said George Slover, senior policy counsel at Consumer Reports. "We need to preserve this dynamic that comes from having both T-Mobile and Sprint in the marketplace, competing vigorously and independently against each other, and against AT&T and Verizon."

      T-Mobile and Sprint have argued their case for the merger by saying that if they are left to compete as individual companies they will be at a severe disadvantage to AT&T and Verizon when it comes to building a 5G network.

      The consumer groups, however, say the purported benefits of the merger are purely speculative. They argue that hearings in the House will help clarify the issue.

      ‘Strong incentives to collude’

      Diana Moss, president of the American Antitrust Institute (AAI), says the merger would be a tipping point in the wireless industry, creating a “Big 3” with strong incentives to collude rather than compete.

      "Consumers and workers have a right to competition," she said. "DOJ should block this deal.”

      This isn't the first time T-Mobile and Sprint have sought mergers, though never with one another. Most recently AT&T tried to acquire T-Mobile, a deal that was rejected by the Justice Department in 2011.

      From the start, the proposed merger of T-Mobile and Sprint has never been popular with consumer advocates. This week, 14 consumer groups joined forces to o...

      Growing research suggests women were kept in dark about breast implant dangers

      The plastic surgery once regarded as relatively harmless can have numerous side effects, including cancer

      In both Canada and the United States, women have had little way of knowing until recently that certain breast implants are linked to cancer and other dangerous side effects.

      Canada’s “erratic and secretive system of medical device incident reporting” meant that women who decided to undergo the elective procedure were never told about the risks of cancer, even as doctors and regulators were made aware of the issues, as the Toronto Daily Star recently reported.

      And in the United States, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for years allowed breast implant manufacturers to report problems in bulk, making it appear as though thousands of grievances were just one.

      That suddenly changed this fall, when the Associated Press found that the FDA’s system had more than 4,000 injury reports related to breast implants in the last half of 2017 alone. Another 8,000 injury reports were filed in the first six months of 2018. Previously, there had appeared to be only 200 reports filed annually about breast implants in the United States.

      The data suddenly changed because the FDA last year instructed device\ makers that they needed to file individual reports for each case rather than filing in bulk. But the FDA only made that request to device makers due to an ongoing lawsuit over breast implants and an attorney’s motion for discovery for the case.

      The agency is otherwise planning to continue to allow device makers to report problems in bulk, the AP reports, creating what some watchdogs say is a deceptive image that numerous devices are safer than they really are.

      Fatal consequences

      The flood of individual reports gave credence to concerns that textured saline breast implants can cause a rare blood cancer.

      The FDA has been looking into the issue since 2011 and is now investigating more than 400 reports linking the textured implants to anaplastic large cell lymphoma (ALCL), including nine reports that said the patients died.

      Experts aren’t sure why textured implants seem to pose that cancer risk, but they suspect that the products may cause abrasions and other irritation internally. However, the manufacturers of such implants have no apparent plans to stop making them.

      “As with any medical procedure or device, patients considering breast implants are encouraged to have a comprehensive conversation with their surgeon about all potential risks and benefits, allowing for a fully informed decision,” Allergan, one of the device makers, told NBC.

      Textured implants were first linked to blood cancer by independent researchers back in the late ‘90s, but the issue received little attention.  The cancer takes approximately ten years to develop.

      Ruptured implants and a resulting infection were another side effect described in the FDA’s database.

      In both Canada and the United States, women have had little way of knowing until recently that certain breast implants are linked to cancer and other dange...