Current Events in March 2019

Ford Motor Company is recalling 4,212 model year 2019 Ford Mustangs and Lincoln Nautilus and Lincoln Navigator vehicles.

At vehicle start-up, the Instrument Panel Cluster Assembly (IPC) may not function, showing a blank display.

A blank instrument cluster will not show important information like vehicle speed, fuel or temperature level, or safety system warnings. Driving with an inoperative cluster can increase the risk of a crash.

What to do

Ford has notified owners, and dealers will reprogram the Instrument Panel Cluster Assembly (IPC), free of charge.

The recall began March 8, 2019.

Owners may contact customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 19C03.

BMW of North America is recalling 5,920 model year 2018-2019 BMW X1 sDrive28i and X1 xDrive28i vehicles.

Contaminated hardware may cause the attachment brackets of the taillight housings to crack, causing the lights to loosen or possibly detach from the vehicle.

If a taillight detaches from the vehicle, it would no longer provide the required lighting to following traffic, or it may become a road hazard, increasing the risk of a crash.

What to do

BMW will notify owners, and dealers will properly secure the taillights free of charge.

The recall is expected to begin March 15, 2019.

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

Facing hundreds of lawsuits by everyone from consumers to state governments, Purdue Pharma is keeping the bankruptcy option on the table.

Purdue produces the opioid painkiller OxyContin, which has been prescribed for years but has also proved to be highly addictive. In recent years, pharmaceutical companies that make opioid drugs have come under fire for allegedly misrepresenting their drugs’ addictive properties.

In an interview with the Washington Post, Purdue CEO Craig Landau said no decision has been made, but it’s a prospect that could be considered if Purdue becomes an increasing target of litigation.

“It is an option,” Landau told the Post. “We are considering it, but we’ve really made no decisions on what course of actions to pursue. A lot depends on what unfolds in the weeks and months ahead.”

Declaring Chapter 11 bankruptcy could shield the company from massive court judgments should it be found liable for deaths, injuries, and medical costs. At least 22 states and several Indian tribes have already sued the company seeking damages.

Purdue denies the allegations

After six states sued the company last May, Purdue noted that its products are approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and accounted for only 2 percent of all opioid prescriptions. To date, it has vigorously denied allegations leveled in all lawsuits.

Meanwhile, the Raleigh News & Observer reports North Carolina Attorney General Josh Stein may be maneuvering to prevent Purdue Pharma from escaping all financial penalties connected to the opioid crisis.

Stein is reportedly pressing Purdue for documents related to money received by the family that owns the company. The newspaper suggests that money received from the company by the owners, in the form of salaries and bonuses, might not be covered by bankruptcy.

“Our office is looking for more information about Purdue’s finances,” Stein’s spokeswoman, Laura Brewer, told the newspaper.

Court case could limit states’ rights

Late last year, Stein filed an amicus brief to uphold the rights of states to sue pharmaceutical companies that mislead consumers about the potential side effects of their products. The brief was filed in a case against Merck, claiming that drug company can be held liable under state law for misleading and misrepresenting the side effects of a drug

“When drug companies deceive patients or prescribers about their products, they put patients’ health on the line,” Stein said.

Stein has already filed lawsuits against several drug companies he accuses of fueling the opioid epidemic in his state.

President Trump -- in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Transportation -- issued an emergency order on Wednesday that calls for a nationwide grounding of Boeing’s 737 MAX aircraft. The grounding impacts all U.S. airlines, or those in U.S. territories, and will remain in effect pending further investigation, according to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).

“The safety of the American people, of all people, is our paramount concern,” Mr. Trump told reporters at the White House.

The move reverses a previous decision by U.S. regulators on the heels of deadly crashes involving the same model planes in Indonesia and Ethiopia.

Even though aviation regulators from more than 40 countries had banned flights involving the MAX, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) hesitated to make that move, saying it had witnessed “no systemic performance issues” that would precipitate the agency to call off flights involving the jet.

Boeing agrees with the move

Boeing said that it “supports action to temporarily ground 737 MAX operations,” in comments to ConsumerAffairs.

“Boeing continues to have full confidence in the safety of the 737 MAX. However, after consultation with the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), and aviation authorities and its customers around the world, Boeing has determined -- out of an abundance of caution and in order to reassure the flying public of the aircraft’s safety -- to recommend to the FAA the temporary suspension of operations of the entire global fleet of 371 737 MAX aircraft.”

“We are supporting this proactive step out of an abundance of caution. Safety is a core value at Boeing for as long as we have been building airplanes; and it always will be. There is no greater priority for our company and our industry. We are doing everything we can to understand the cause of the accidents in partnership with the investigators, deploy safety enhancements and help ensure this does not happen again,” Boeing said.

What carriers fly the Boeing 737 MAX?

There are three domestic commercial carriers -- Southwest, American, and United -- that currently have the Boeing 737 MAX as part of their fleet. Southwest has 34, American has 24, and while United doesn’t use the MAX 8, it does have 14 MAX 9 models.

In ConsumerAffairs’ research, we found that Air Lease Corporation leases the 737 MAX to other carriers such as Spirit and Frontier. ConsumerAffairs reached out to Air Lease for specifics on what airlines it leases the MAX to that might be impacted by the grounding, but had not received comment by press time.

Below are statements from the three affected commercial carriers on the grounding of Boeing 737 MAX aircraft.

Southwest Airlines

“As the investigation of Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 progresses, we are staying in close contact with Boeing, the FAA, and other airlines to learn the cause of the accident,” a Southwest spokesperson told ConsumerAffairs.

“We operate 34 MAX 8 aircraft in our fleet of more than 750 Boeing 737s. We remain confident in the safety and airworthiness of the MAX 8. We don’t have any changes planned to our MAX 8 operations.”

“Additionally, we are not issuing refunds of non-refundable fares, but we are working with customers individually who wish to rebook their flight to another aircraft type.”

United Airlines

“Nothing is more important to us than the safety of our customers and employees,” wrote United Airlines. “As we have said since Sunday, we have been in close contact with investigators as well as Boeing to share data and fully cooperate with regulatory authorities. We will comply with the FAA's order and will ground our 14 Boeing 737 MAX aircraft. We will remain in close contact with authorities as their investigation continues.”

“Since Sunday, we have been working diligently on contingency plans to prepare our fleet to minimize the impact to customers. Our Boeing 737 MAX aircraft account for roughly 40 flights a day and through a combination of spare aircraft and rebooking customers, we do not anticipate a significant operational impact as a result of this order. We will continue to work with our customers to help minimize any disruption to their travel plans.”

American Airlines

“Earlier today the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) informed us that based on new information, they are grounding the United States Boeing 737 MAX fleet out of an abundance of caution,” American Airlines told ConsumerAffairs.

“American Airlines has 24 aircraft affected by this directive. We appreciate the FAA’s partnership, and will continue to work closely with them, the Department of Transportation, National Transportation Safety Board and other regulatory authorities, as well as our aircraft and engine manufacturers. Our teams will make every effort to rebook customers as quickly as possible, and we apologize for any inconvenience.”

How to find out if you’re scheduled to fly on a 737 MAX

To see if your flight is one of the grounded 737 MAX’ on American, Southwest, or United, it’s best to visit your booking site and look for any related updates. Many times that information is right on the flight information available for print or viewable on a clickable tab (e.g. “Aircraft Information”).

It’s possible that if you were booked on a MAX, you may have been rebooked on another plane or, perhaps, another flight because of a change in the number of available seats from one model to another. Make sure you note any changes in seat assignments, departure times, connections, and arrival times in those cases.

If you can’t find the necessary information on the airline’s website, the airlines all post toll-free numbers where you can get the answer you need.

It’s important to remember that airlines can change flights at anytime, so double-checking the situation at the airport will not only ensure you’re on the right flight but probably relieve you of a little stress.

Check Point, a security research team, discovered this week that more than 200 apps on the Google Play store were spreading SimBad adware before they were removed. The apps contained malicious code buried inside a software development kit (SDK) and were downloaded almost 150 million times globally.

The adware was dubbed SimBad because it affected mostly simulator games, like Snow Heavy Excavator Simulator, Ambulance Rescue Driving, and Fire Truck Emergency Driver. A full list of the infected apps can be viewed here.

The researchers said the Android apps in question were capable of phishing, showing ads, and exposing users to other malicious applications.

Google pulled the apps from its Play Store after being notified by Check Point. However, the security company noted that SimBad “already has the infrastructure to evolve into a much greater threat.”

Vulnerable to ad fraud

Problematic apps have been able to infiltrate Google’s Play Store more easily than Apple’s App Store because Google’s review process is less stringent.

Google has said that it’s continuing to make improvements in its ability to keep bad apps out of its Play store. Last month, the company said it had fixed vulnerabilities in more than 75,000 apps in 2018, up 70 percent from 2016. The tech giant said it was able to remove 99 percent of harmful apps before they had been installed.

“We have this fantastic technology and it works 99.99994 percent of the time. But it’s never perfect,” Google VP and Head of Security for Google Play Dave Kleidermacher told TechCrunch.

Google said it takes instances of bad apps and malicious developers “extremely seriously, and will continue to innovate our capabilities to better detect and protect against abusive apps and the malicious actors behind them.”

In a separate report released Wednesday, Check Point noted that adware can often be hidden in the SDK. The firm said it found that an SDK hidden on 12 apps has been stealing contact information from up to 111 million devices in China.

"Before integrating SDKs into their mobile applications, developers need to be aware of potential risks of undocumented and malicious behaviors implemented in third party SDKs," Check Point said.

For health-conscious people looking for the next thing to add to their diets, research indicates that consumers should look no further than green tea.

Researchers from Ohio State University recently conducted a study on mice to determine the health benefits that come from consuming green tea, and they found that the drink can help maintain a healthy weight and cut down intestinal inflammatory issues.

“This study provides evidence that green tea encourages the growth of good gut bacteria, and that leads to a series of benefits that significantly lower the risk of obesity,” said researcher Richard Bruno.

Getting healthy with green tea

Based on much history surrounding green tea, the researchers were confident that they’d find a correlation between the beverage and subsequent weight loss or other health benefits.

“The results of studies looking at obesity management so far have been a real mixed bag,” Bruno said. “Some seem to support green tea for weight loss, but a lot of other research has shown no effect, likely due to the complexity of the diet relative to a number of lifestyle factors. Our goal is to figure out how it prevents weight gain. This will lead to better health recommendations.”

The researchers performed their experiment on mice, dividing them into two groups: one that consumed a high-fat diet that would make them gain weight, and one that ate a regular diet. The study went on for eight weeks, with half of the mice in each group getting green tea extract sprinkled into their food -- the amount was equivalent to a human drinking 10 cups of green tea per day. According to Bruno, this “may seem like a lot of tea, but it’s not highly unusual in certain parts of the world.”

At the end of the eight weeks, the researchers evaluated the health of the mice, looking at their weight, inflammation in fat tissues and intestines, and insulin resistance, among other factors.

The group fed the high-fat diet with green tea not only gained less weight -- 20 percent less than those fed the normal diet without green tea -- but also experienced a slew of other health benefits.

The researchers found that this group of mice did not experience movement of endotoxin -- a toxic bacterial cell often associated with disease. Moreover, these mice had lower insulin resistance and less inflammation in the intestines and fat tissues.

While the mice fed the normal diet with the green tea extract also experienced these benefits, the researchers noted that positive results weren’t as prominent in this group when compared with the group who had the high-fat/green tea diet.

Moving forward, Bruno plans to take his study from mice to humans -- but until then, he warns consumers not to translate these effects verbatim; green tea could have a different effect on humans’ digestive systems. However, he is hopeful that a breakthrough of this kind could change the way many healthcare experts handle obesity in the future.

“Two-thirds of American adults are overweight or obese, and we know that just telling people to eat less and exercise more isn’t working,” he said. “It’s important to establish complementary health-promoting approaches that can prevent obesity and related problems.”

Improving mental health

While this study focuses specifically on green tea and fighting obesity, another recent study found how regular tea-drinkers could be reducing their risk of cognitive decline.

Researchers found that older people who drink tea once a day could diminish their risk of cognitive decline by 50 percent.

“Tea is one of the most widely consumed beverages in the world. The data from our study suggests that a simple and inexpensive lifestyle measure such as daily tea drinking can reduce a person's risk of developing neurocognitive disorders in late life," said researcher Lei Feng.

Nearly three-quarters of Americans (71 percent) still aren’t sure whether or not to trust autonomous vehicles, according to AAA’s annual automated vehicle survey. That’s up from 63 percent in late 2017.

AAA attributes the rise in the percentage of consumers harboring fears about the technology to the highly publicized incidents involving autonomous vehicles that have occurred over the past year, such as when a self-driving Uber in Arizona hit and killed a pedestrian and when a driver who had his Tesla’s “Autopilot” feature engaged was killed in California.

“Those who are skeptical that fully self-driving cars will arrive that soon cited reasons such as lack of trust, not wanting to give up driving, the technology won’t be ready, and that road conditions will not be good enough to support the technology,” AAA said in a statement.

Key insights

The survey found that consumers have varying levels of skepticism about self-driving cars depending on the situation they imagined themselves in:

• 53 percent said they were more comfortable imagining themselves inside self-driving vehicles in low-speed situations at theme parks and airports.

• 44 percent said they are comfortable with autonomous vehicles being used for delivery of food and packages.

• Just one in five said they were comfortable with the idea of transporting their loved ones in a self-driving car.

Preparing for self-driving vehicles

Though self-driving cars are still struggling to make it out of the testing phase, AAA says their presence on public roads is likely to increase in the coming years.  

“The more drivers understand both the benefits and limitations of the technology that is currently available, AAA believes the more prepared and receptive they will be for the experience of riding in a fully automated vehicle when the time comes,” the organization said.

“AAA believes the key to helping consumers feel more comfortable with fully self-driving vehicles will be bridging the gap between the perception of automated vehicle technology and the reality of how it actually works in today’s cars.”

To chip away at consumer skepticism, AAA recommends interacting with the technology.

“Having the opportunity to interact with partially or fully automated vehicle technology will help remove some of the mystery for consumers and open the door for greater acceptance.” said Greg Brannon, AAA’s director of Automotive Engineering and Industry Relations.

“Hands-on exposure in more controlled, low-risk environments coupled with stronger education will play a key role in easing fears about self-driving cars.”

There’s a disconnect when it comes to millennials and credit. They’re the generation least likely to carry cash, but a new survey by TD Bank shows they are also the most likely to fall short when it comes to building healthy credit habits.

For example, millennials are big believers in plastic, but 23 percent don’t have a credit card. And while they tend not to like cash, 26 percent actually prefer to spend cash when they travel.

Other statistics stick out. Personal finance experts say consumers should use 30 percent or less of their credit limit. Half of millennials have tapped between 31 percent and 90 percent of their available credit.

Perhaps more disturbing, 32 percent of millennials routinely carry a credit card balance. They rarely pay off their balance in full, potentially damaging their credit health and increasing their monthly costs in a rising rate environment, as the one consumers found themselves in last year.

What’s my score?

About a quarter of millennials are unaware of their credit score, a real disadvantage when applying for everything from credit cards to car loans. Consumers with high credit scores deserve -- and should demand -- lower interest rates.

"The data is a bit concerning,” said Mike Kinane, who is head of US Bankcard at TD Bank. “It shows that a significant knowledge gap exists for millennials when it comes to credit, especially compared to prior generations."   

Kinane says even millennials who use cash should develop their financial knowledge and habits since it will no doubt prove useful in the future.

Advice from Suze

Money management guru Suze Orman consistently counsels consumers to get rid of their credit card debt, even to the point of tapping into savings to do so. After all, she points out, you’re earning 1 percent on your savings but probably paying 17 percent or more on your credit card balance.

If you lack savings but have an excellent credit score, Orman also suggests a balance transfer card with at least a year of zero percent interest. ConsumerAffairs rates the best balance transfer cards here.

The TD Bank survey also suggests millennials aren’t quite as savvy as older generations when it comes to playing the credit card rewards game. They do a good job of earning rewards with their purchases, but 30 percent have put off using those rewards to the point where they have expired.

According to the survey, millennials spend $2,447 a year on dining, more than Gen-X ‘s $1,923  and Baby Boomers’ $1,486. Using a credit card with 2 percent cash back on dining could net nearly $50 in rewards each year. That could pay for over two weeks of coffee or almost four months of a Netflix subscription.

If you had difficulty posting on Facebook and Instagram on Wednesday, the problem wasn’t your computer or internet connection. The social media giant was suffering a global outage.

Both platforms appeared to be operating normally Thursday morning.

Consumers first became aware of the issue in the early afternoon Eastern Time when the apps failed to respond to commands. In particular, users were unable to upload content to Facebook and Instagram. Facebook took to another social media app, Twitter, to keep its users informed.

“We’re aware that some people are currently having trouble accessing the Facebook family of apps,” Facebook said in a tweet. “We’re working to resolve the issue as soon as possible.”

“We're focused on working to resolve the issue as soon as possible, but can confirm that the issue is not related to a DDoS attack,” it tweeted later on.

A DDoS, or “denial of service” attack, is launched by a hacker who has harnessed millions of internet devices that all try to access a server at the same time, overwhelming the system. In October 2016, a DDoS attack took down major websites such as Netflix, Amazon, and Twitter.

International in scope

The Facebook outage was international in scope, with most of the affected users in the U.S. and the UK. In the U.S., the outage was most widely felt on the east and west coasts.

Some consumers posting reviews to Facebook’s page on ConsumerAffairs noted the problem. One reviewer, unaware of the company’s technical difficulties, erroneously believed their posts were being blocked for their political content.

Technology website TechCrunch reported a border gateway protocol (BGP) routing leak may have been behind the outage. A BGP manages internet traffic across the internet. When bad or corrupted data enters the system, it can confuse the router about where information should go. When that happens, traffic just stops.

TechCrunch quotes Roland Dobbins, a NETSCOUT principal engineer, as saying it appears an accidental BGP routing leak from a European ISP to a major transit ISP led to the outage.

“[It] was then propagated onwards to some peers and/or downstreams of the transit ISP in question, resulting in perceptible disruption of access to some well-known Internet properties for a short interval,” Dobbins told TechCrunch.

Spotify has filed an antitrust complaint against Apple with the European Union, alleging that the company’s App Store conduct stifles competition and hampers consumer choice.

In a blog post on Wednesday, Spotify CEO Daniel Ek said that by charging a 30 percent tax on in-app purchases, Apple forces rival streaming services to compete with Apple Music.

“In recent years, Apple has introduced rules to the App Store that purposely limit choice and stifle innovation at the expense of the user experience—essentially acting as both a player and referee to deliberately disadvantage other app developers,” Ek wrote. “After trying unsuccessfully to resolve the issues directly with Apple, we’re now requesting that the EC take action to ensure fair competition.”

Ek said that if Spotify were to pay Apple's tax, it "would force us to artificially inflate the price of our Premium membership well above the price of Apple Music."

However, if it doesn’t pay the commission, Apple then imposes “a series of technical and experience-limiting restrictions” that give Apple an unfair advantage over its competitors. Ek noted that Apple “routinely blocks our experience-enhancing upgrades.”

"Let me be clear that this is not a Spotify-versus-Apple issue," Ek continued. "We want the same fair rules for companies young and old, large and small. It is about supporting and nurturing the healthy ecosystem that made our two companies successful in the first place."

Leveling the playing field

Spotify’s antitrust argument comes less than a week after Democratic Presidential hopeful Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) unveiled a policy proposal highlighting the need to break up big tech companies. The proposal raised the same main concern brought up by Spotify in its complaint -- that large tech companies engage in behaviors that prevent smaller companies from flourishing.

“We must ensure that today’s tech giants do not crowd out potential competitors, smother the next generation of great tech companies, and wield so much power that they can undermine our democracy,” Warren wrote.

At South by Southwest over the weekend, Warren explained that breaking up big tech companies would also entail breaking up Apple and the App Store.

"Either they run the platform or they play in the store. They don’t get to do both at the same time," she said in an interview with the Verge.

Saying “thank-you” is habit for many consumers as they go about their day-to-day routine, but expressing gratitude while at work could come with a number of positive benefits, according to a new study.

Researchers from Portland State University say that being thanked in the workplace can lead to improved mental and physical health for employees.

A study of nurses

The researchers chose to focus their study on a group of nurses, who often work long hours and feel run down after shifts.

“Nurses tend to have a thankless job,” said researcher David Cadiz. “It’s very physical, and they’re often being screamed at by patients who are at their lowest. When nurses receive gratitude, it boosts them.”

Nearly 150 nurses were involved in the study, and they completed weekly surveys for 12 weeks  which asked them to describe their experiences at work, their overall health, and both positive and negative events that occurred over the course of the week.

The outcome was clear: when the nurses were thanked more for their work, they experienced several physical and mental benefits.

The researchers explain that the nurses felt better about themselves and the work they do after receiving gratitude, which improved their quality of care with their patients and also led to healthier eating habits, better quality of sleep, and fewer headaches.

“This type of study helps us understand how to keep nurses in the workforce in a healthy way,” said Cadiz. “Nurses strongly align their profession with their identity and often look out for patients more than themselves. The gratitude matches up with their identity, gives them satisfaction in a job well done, and ultimately increases self-care.”

Cadiz suggests that corporations work to incorporate gratitude into their day-to-day routines as a means of keeping morale up with employees and creating a more positive culture in the workplace.

“Employees that receive positive feedback are healthier, and that can impact the bottom line,” Cadiz said. “Preventing headaches and other stress-related symptoms means fewer sick days, and, in this case, cuts down the cost of replacement nurses and overtime pay.”

Effective in the home

As effective as expressing gratitude can be in the workplace, a recent study found that teaching children and teens to foster a mindset of gratitude can be just as beneficial.

Researchers suggest that parents help their children and teens stave off materialism by focusing on being grateful for the things and people already in their lives.

“Our findings show that it is possible to reduce materialism among young consumers, as well as one of its most common negative consequences (non-generosity) using a simple strategy -- fostering gratitude for the things and people in their lives,” wrote researcher Lan Nguyen Chaplin.

Claire’s Stores is recalling Claire’s Eye Shadows, Claire’s Compact Powder and Claire’s Contour Palette.

Testing by the Food and Drug Administration indicates the possible presence of asbestos fibers in product samples from one lot of each product. Inhalation of asbestos over time has been linked to serious adverse health consequences.

Claire’s says it is not aware of any adverse reactions, injuries or illness.

The following products, sold in Claire's stores nationwide from October 2016 – March 2019 and online, are being recalled:

• Claire's Eyeshadows, UPC #888711847165, SKU #84716, Lot No. 08/17
• Claire's Compact Powder, UPC #888711839153, SKU #83915, Lot No. 07/15
• Claire's Contour Palette, UPC #888711401947, SKU #40194, Lot No. 04/17

The SKUs and UPCs can be found on the price tickets affixed to the products, and all batch numbers are shown on the back panels below the ingredient lists.

What to do

Customers who purchased the recalled products should discontinue their use and return them to a Claire’s store for a full refund.

Consumers with questions may contact Claire’s at (800) 252-4737, option 2, from 9:30 a.m. – 7 p.m. (EDT).

Volkswagen Group of America is recalling 8,985 model year 2013-2016 Audi A8s and S8s.

The fuel supply line for the high pressure fuel pump may become porous and leak fuel.

Fuel leaking in the presence of an ignition source increases the risk of fire.

What to do

Audi has notified owners, and dealers will install a fuel pressure damper free of charge.

The recall began February 21, 2019.

Owners may contact Audi customer service at 1-800-253-2834. Volkswagen's number for this recall is 20BM.

Only a few days ago, Southwest Airlines was celebrating its inaugural flight to Hawaii. Now, in the midst of the global problems with the Boeing 737 MAX 8 -- a model it has more of than any other airline -- Southwest says it’ll offer waivers for any flier too nervous to board one of those jets.

“As the investigation of Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 progresses, we are staying in close contact with Boeing, the FAA, and other airlines to learn the cause of the accident,” a Southwest spokesperson told ConsumerAffairs.

“We operate 34 MAX 8 aircraft in our fleet of more than 750 Boeing 737s. We remain confident in the safety and airworthiness of the MAX 8. We don’t have any changes planned to our MAX 8 operations.”

Southwest is doing something that the other carriers haven’t seen the public relations value in yet: it’s giving passengers assigned to those planes the opportunity to change to another, non-MAX, flight.

“Additionally, we are not issuing refunds of non-refundable fares, but we are working with Customers individually who wish to rebook their flight to another aircraft type.”

How can you tell if your Southwest flight is on a Max 8?

In ConsumerAffairs research on routes where Southwest typically uses the 737 MAX, here’s a sample of the routes we found:

• Las Vegas (LAS) -- Houston Hobby (HOU)

• Washington Dulles (IAD) -- Denver (DEN)

• Milwaukee (MKE) -- Phoenix (PHX)

• Phoenix (PHX) -- San Francisco (SFO)

• Phoenix (PHX) -- Cleveland (CLE)

• Nashville (BNA) -- Phoenix (PHX)

• Dallas Love Field (DAL) -- Denver (DEN)

• Denver (DEN) -- Sacramento (SMF)

It’s not a certainty that Southwest uses the MAX on all flights for those itineraries, however. To check if a particular flight uses a Boeing 737 MAX, simply click on the flight number in the flight search results. You’ll find the aircraft type under “aircraft information” in that pop-up.

Republicans are pushing back against the Save the Internet Act, a bill announced last week by Democrats. The bill, which was introduced in both the House and Senate, would reinstate net neutrality regulations by codifying the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) 2015 Open Internet Order into law.

In a hearing on Tuesday before a subcommittee of the House Energy and Commerce Committee House, Republicans called the bill "extreme,” the Hill reported.

"Instead of engaging with us to try to solve the problem, my colleagues have retrenched back to the most extreme position in this debate," said Rep. Bob Latta (R-Ohio), a ranking member on the committee. "[The bill] has no chance of even passing the Senate or being signed into law."

Partisan issue

Democrats have argued that internet service providers (ISPs) should be classified under portions of Title II of the Communications Act, a section that allows the FCC to protect consumers against unfair internet traffic practices such as blocking, speeding up, or slowing down access to specific online services.

Republicans disagree that the “Title II” classification is necessary. At the hearing, Republicans promoted three bills recently introduced by Reps. Latta, Greg Walden (R-Ore.), and Cathy McMorris-Rodgers (R-Wash.) that would reinstate some net neutrality protections without reimposing the Title II classification.

Subcommittee Chairman Mike Doyle, D-Pa., who sponsored the legislation, said at the end of the hearing that the bill will continue the committee process in the House.

Doyle said the legislation would “restore popular, bipartisan, common sense net neutrality protections–and put a cop back on the beat to protect consumers, small businesses, and competitors from unjust and unreasonable practices by Internet Service Providers.”

Many believe ride-sharing and autonomous vehicles are part of consumers’ short-term future. But if that is the case, some things have to change, and soon.

Recently unsealed court documents show Uber planned to have 75,000 autonomous cars on the road by the end of this year and be operating driverless ride-sharing services in 13 U.S. markets by 2022.

Currently, Uber autonomous cars are only in the testing phase, and even that was suspended for several months last year when one of its driverless cars struck and killed a pedestrian in Tempe, Ariz.

Following the fatal accident, Uber suspended its autonomous vehicle operations in Pittsburgh, Toronto, San Francisco, and Phoenix. In December, it was granted permission to resume testing on public roads in Pennsylvania.

Spending freely

The court documents also show Uber was spending freely back in 2016 as industry enthusiasm for self-driving cars was nearing a fevered pitch. In competition analogous to the moon race, companies were trying to outspend each other to get the first fleet of licensed self-driving cars on the road. At one point, the documents show, Uber was spending up to $20 million a month to develop its technology.

Having a fleet of self-driving vehicles to operate its ride-sharing business is seen as important to Uber’s future, as well as its bottom line. It’s especially important as the company plans to launch an initial public offering of its stock later this year.

But how soon can Uber offer riders a lift in a vehicle that drives itself, without having to pay a driver? Jimmy O’Dea, an analyst for the Union of Concerned Scientists, believes it isn’t happening soon.

A decade away

“Despite the attention these vehicles have gotten recently, a car that can drive itself in any condition at any time is still a decade or more away, depending on who’s talking,” O’Dea said in a 2017 interview.

It’s hard to find anyone who is skeptical of the whole idea of self-driving cars until you talk to consumers. A 2018 survey by AAA found consumers are growing increasingly skeptical, if not fearful, of autonomous vehicles.

The survey showed 73 percent of motorists would be afraid to ride in a full self-driving vehicle, a significant increase from 63 percent recorded in late 2017. Two-thirds of adults said they would actually feel less safe as a pedestrian or bicycle rider, sharing the road with self-driving cars.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has proposed a new set of rules that would restrict sales of flavored e-cigarette products as part of its larger goal to counter the rise in teen vaping.

As flavored e-cigs have been shown to appeal to youth, the FDA has proposed prioritizing enforcement on sales of flavored products (other than tobacco-, mint-, and menthol-flavored).

“For instance, we’ll consider whether the products are sold under circumstances, whether at retail or online, without heightened age verification,” outgoing Commissioner Scott Gottlieb wrote in a statement.

In its draft guidance, the FDA also said it would be moving up the deadline to submit market applications to August 8, 2021.

“This is an important change in our expectations and enforcement priorities,” Gottlieb wrote of the new deadline, which is a year earlier than stated in a previous proposal.

“For all flavored ENDS [electronic nicotine delivery system] products, including any that continue to be offered for sale under circumstances involving heightened age verification, the FDA expects manufacturers to prepare and submit applications that demonstrate these products meet the public health standard by Aug. 8, 2021.”

Gottlieb, who announced recently that he plans to step down next month, has previously singled out Juul for offering fruity flavors that tend to appeal to underage users and contributing to “epidemic” levels of teen use.

He said the agency would consider taking further action if youth demand for “plain” e-cigarettes rises following the adoption of stricter rules for flavored products.

The proposal is open for public comment for the next 30 days.

Verizon has announced that it will turn on its mobile 5G network in Chicago and Minneapolis on April 11.

For those who own the carrier’s first 5G-capable phone, the service -- dubbed "5G ultra wideband” -- will be available for an extra $10 per month. The first three months of access will be free.

The carrier said it would begin taking pre-orders for 5G Moto Z3 Mod on March 14. The $50 accessory will enable the Motorola Moto Z3 device to connect to the 5G network.

Coverage areas

For those in Chicago, Verizon said 5G service will initially be “concentrated in The Loop, specifically areas of the West Loop and the South Loop, around landmarks such as Union Station, Willis Tower, The Art Institute of Chicago, Millennium Park and The Chicago Theatre.”

“You will also have 5G Ultra Wideband coverage around our Verizon store on The Magnificent Mile, and throughout The Gold Coast, Old Town and River North,” officials said.

In Minneapolis, 5G will be available mainly in the Downtown area, including Downtown West and Downtown East, around landmarks such as the Minneapolis Convention Center, the Minneapolis Central Library, the Mill City Museum, Target Center and First Avenue venues, The Commons as well as inside and around U.S. Bank Stadium.

Coverage will also be available in areas of Elliot Park and in in the Verizon store at the Mall of America.

All four major carriers are gearing up to launch 5G throughout the U.S. AT&T deployed its 5G network in 12 cities last year, and Sprint said recently that it will activate its 5G network in four cities in May. T-Mobile has confirmed that it will also offer 5G but hasn’t announced when or where it will launch first.

5G support will equip devices the ability to move more data with greater speed. Verizon says customers can expect average Wi-Fi speeds of 300 mbps. The new network will also offer more responsive access with lower latency and the power to connect more devices at the same time.

Verizon has said it’s planning to launch 5G in at least 30 U.S. cities this year, but hasn’t disclosed which cities will get the new network after Chicago and Minneapolis.

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has leveled fraud charges against Lumber Liquidators (an Authorized Partner), claiming the flooring retailer made false statements to the public about the levels of formaldehyde in some of the flooring it sold.

The SEC says the company has agreed to settle the charges and pay $33 million in combined criminal and regulatory penalties.

The formaldehyde issue made news in 2015 when reports surfaced that some of the laminate flooring the company sold emitted more formaldehyde than regulations allowed. Lumber Liquidators went to great lengths (an Authorized Partner) to assure consumers and investors that its products met acceptable standards despite the numerous claims to the contrary.

It pulled all Chinese-made laminate flooring and hired former FBI Director Louis Freeh to review its sourcing program to ensure the safety of its products. It reported initial results of tests conducted in customers' homes, which showed that 97 percent were within established guidelines for formaldehyde levels in indoor air.

60 Minutes report

The SEC faulted Lumber Liquidators (an Authorized Partner) for the manner in which is responded to a 2015 “60 Minutes” broadcast that showed undercover video of Lumber Liquidators’ (an Authorized Partner) suppliers saying that they provided the company with products that did not comply with regulatory requirements. Lumber Liquidators (an Authorized Partner) publicly attacked the report, saying its allegations were untrue.

As part of its response, the SEC says the company “fraudulently” informed investors that third-party test results of its flooring products proved compliance with formaldehyde emissions standards. The company further stated that it had stopped purchasing flooring from suppliers that could not meet minimum standards.

The SEC alleges that at the time Lumber Liquidators (an Authorized Partner) made those statements it was aware that its largest Chinese supplier had failed third-party formaldehyde emissions testing and was unable to produce documentation showing regulatory compliance.  

The SEC also claims that the company’s denial that individuals in the “60 Minutes” undercover video were factory employees of its suppliers was not true.

"We have cooperated with this investigation and are pleased to have reached a resolution with the U.S. Attorney's Office, DOJ, and SEC," said Lumber Liquidators (an Authorized Partner) CEO Dennis Knowles. "We appreciate that the government recognizes the changes in the company's leadership and the strengthened organization that we have built. Lumber Liquidators (an Authorized Partner) has undergone a significant transformation in recent years and today is a new company led by an entirely new management team that is committed to our customers, compliance, transparency, and accountability across our organization."

Strict rules

As a publicly traded company, Lumber Liquidators (an Authorized Partner) and its officers must abide by strict rules when discussing events that can materially affect the stock price. The SEC maintains the company violated those rules.

“Pressured by negative publicity, Lumber Liquidators (an Authorized Partner) misled investors about its product testing and regulatory compliance programs,” said Marc P. Berger, director of the SEC’s New York Regional Office.  

“The relief obtained today, along with the criminal fine imposed by the Department of Justice, ensures that the company will forfeit all profit and pay a heavy price for the false assurances it provided to the market.”