Current Events in April 2019

Great American Marketing of Houston, Texas, is recalling approximately 3,329 pounds of ready-to-eat meat and poultry wraps and salads.

The products may be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes.

There are no confirmed reports of adverse reactions due to consumption of these products.

The following ready-to-eat items, produced from March 27 through April 8, 2019, are being recalled:

• 9.25-oz. plastic sealed cartons containing “corner store market CAESAR SALAD WITH GRILLED CHICKEN & CAESAR DRESSING” with sell by dates of 04/09/19 through 04/15/19.
• 10.25-oz. plastic sealed cartons containing “corner store market CHEF SALAD TURKEY, HAM & CHEESE, WITH RANCH DRESSING” with sell by dates of 04/09/19 through 04/15/19.
• 8.1-oz. plastic sealed cartons containing “corner store market CLUB WRAP Turkey, Ham, Roast Beef, Bacon Bits & Cheese” with sell by dates of 04/08/18 through 4/20/19.
• 7.4-oz. plastic sealed carton containing “corner store market CHICKEN CAESAR WRAP Chicken Strips & Cheese with Caesar Dressing” with sell by dates of 04/08/18 through 4/20/19.

The recalled products, bearing establishment number “EST. 31680” or “P-31680” inside the USDA mark of inspection, were shipped to retail locations in Texas.

What to do

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

Consumers with questions regarding the recall may contact Bill Welch at (713) 682-6471.

A drug-resistant superbug, called Candida auris, “presents a serious global health threat,” according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The federal health agency says the fungus has been found in healthcare facilities in 12 states.

The majority of the 587 reported cases were in New York, New Jersey, and Illinois. Other cases have been reported in California, Connecticut, Florida, Indiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Oklahoma, Texas, and Virginia.

The CDC says the fungus primarily affects patients who already have health problems and have had frequent hospital stays or live in nursing homes.

“C. auris is more likely to affect patients who have weakened immune systems from conditions such as blood cancers or diabetes, receive lots of antibiotics, or have devices like tubes going into their body (for example, breathing tubes, feeding tubes, catheters in a vein, or bladder catheters),” the agency said.

Identifying C. auris

The fungus -- which can live on surfaces for several weeks -- tends to be easily misidentified since it often appears in those who are already sick. Misidentifying the fungus could put patients at risk of receiving the wrong treatment.

“Symptoms of C. auris infection depend on the part of the body affected,” the CDC explained. “C. auris can cause many different types of infection, such as bloodstream infection, wound infection, and ear infection. Because symptoms can vary greatly, a laboratory test is needed to determine whether a patient has a C. auris infection.”

The agency noted that the invasive C. auris infections -- such as those that affect the blood, heart, or brain -- result in death for more than one in three patients. While most strains of the fungus appear to be resistant to at least one antifungal drug, most C. auris infections do respond to treatment with a class of antifungal medications known as echinocandins.

Avoiding it

With the number of reported cases of C. auris continuing to rise, the CDC says it’s important for patients and healthcare workers to take certain precautions in healthcare facilities.

Though healthy people aren’t likely to be affected by Candida auris, it’s recommended that anyone who is around a patient with C. auris (including healthcare workers) practice good hygiene and wash their hands thoroughly.

“C. auris can spread between patients in healthcare facilities and cause outbreaks. In this way, it appears to behave much like some multidrug-resistant bacteria,’’ CDC expert Tom Chiller told USA Today.

To reduce the chance of a patient with Candida auris spreading the fungus to other patients, the CDC recommends placing the patient in a room without a roommate and cleaning the room frequently with a high-grade disinfectant.

The agency said it’s continuing to investigate the spread of the fungus and working with laboratories to determine the best way to detect and treat it.

People may have gotten used to the idea that Amazon Alexa is always listening, but they might also have comforted themselves with the thought that no human is.

That is probably a faulty assumption.

Bloomberg News reports that thousands of Amazon employees stationed around the world do, in fact, listen along with Alexa. The report doesn’t suggest they’re eavesdropping though. It says they transcribe what you say and feed it back into the system so Alexa can learn to better communicate with you.

That doesn’t mean that someone is listening in every time you and Alexa have a conversation. According to Bloomberg, teams of employees listen to voice recordings in the Echo system and feed the transcripts back into the software “to eliminate gaps in Alexa’s understanding of human speech.”

The report is based on interviews with seven people who say they have worked on the project. They say the teams are made up of contractors and full-time employees who were required to sign non-disclosure agreements that prevent them from speaking publicly about their work. They put in nine-hour days and may go through as many as 1,000 audio clips per shift.

Amazon comments

Commenting on the Bloomberg report, Amazon told the news agency it takes consumers’ privacy seriously.

“We only annotate an extremely small sample of Alexa voice recordings in order [to] improve the customer experience,” the company said. “For example, this information helps us train our speech recognition and natural language understanding systems, so Alexa can better understand your requests, and ensure the service works well for everyone.”

Privacy issues have long been associated with smart speakers and other interactive devices that respond to voice commands since they are always listening. It’s especially a concern when these devices are interacting with children.

Toys like Hello Barbie and CogniToys Dino are connected to the internet and can joke around with children, responding to their questions. The kids' voices are also recorded and stored in the cloud for future reference, helping the toys "learn."

A 2017 study by the University of Washington showed parents are increasingly concerned about their children’s privacy, especially when they learned most children told the researchers they were unaware their voices are being recorded.

The House has approved a measure that restores net neutrality as the law of the land. But the chances of it becoming law are slim.

That’s because while Democrats now control the House, Republicans are still in the majority in the Senate, and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell says the measure is not likely to ever be brought up for a vote.

The House action was largely symbolic since many Democrats had campaigned on a promise to restore net neutrality, a policy codified in 2015 by the Obama administration but overturned by the Trump administration’s Federal Communications Commission (FCC).

The principle of net neutrality holds that internet service providers (ISP) must treat all network traffic the same. They can’t offer faster speeds to one kind of traffic while slowing down other kinds.

Net neutrality supporters have warned that without this protection, ISPs -- such as AT&T and Verizon -- might favor their own content over their rivals’.

Restores regulations

The measure passed by the Democratic majority in the House would restore the FCC’s authority to regulate ISPs under Title II of the Communications, making them a public utility. Republicans have consistently argued that ISPs are not public utilities.

“This legislation not only protects consumers from large corporations, but it also strengthens our economy by promoting innovation and small businesses,” said Rep. Michael Doyle (D-Pa.),, author of the bill. “Net neutrality ensures that any business, no matter how small, gets the same internet at the same speeds as giant corporate interests. That’s only fair, there should not be favorites.”

A moot point?

While the legislation may have no chance of passage the issue of net neutrality continues to divide Republicans and Democrats. But some industry experts have suggested the arrival of 5G internet service make the issue a moot point.

In a recent editorial, Investors Business Daily said Verizon’s new 5G Home internet service “obliterates” the argument for net neutrality. The writer argued that 5G service offered by providers will end the monopoly of wired ISPs.

“With 5G, the cost of bringing high-speed internet to everyone, nationwide, plunges,” the editorial states. “There's no doubt that traditional cable companies will start building out their own networks, for fear of losing all their customers to faster, cheaper 5G services.”

With 5G, some argue there will be enough speed and bandwidth to accommodate all content providers. The editorial suggests that “the use of wires to connect homes to the internet could very well become as antiquated as those old dial-up modems.”

President Trump is trying to make it even easier for the oil and gas industry to remain the dominant source of energy. He signed executive orders on Wednesday that the oil and gas industry hopes will strip states of their authority to reject pipeline projects and expand the transport of fossil fuels by rail.

“When states say ‘no’ to the development of natural gas pipelines, they force utilities to curb safe and affordable service and refuse access to new customers, including new businesses,” said the CEO of the  American Gas Association.

One of the executive orders that Trump signed Wednesday will give the president’s office full authority to approve or deny an international pipeline permit. Trump cited “obstruction” in New York when signing the order.

State leaders in New York recently voted to block a natural gas pipeline project that already received approval from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) in 2014. Though any order stripping states of regulatory authority is likely to be fought in the courts, Trump says his move will prevent states like New York from “hurting the economy.”

“President Trump’s executive order is a gross overreach of federal authority that undermines New York’s ability to protect our water quality and our environment,” New York Governor Andrew Cuomo responded in a statement.

For years, the  pipeline regulator known as FERC has taken what tribes, states, environmentalist activists, and others describe as a lax approach to pipeline approval, leaving it to states to decide whether to allow a project after a minimal federal safety review. Many states in the South, Midwest, and Northeast have also been welcoming to pipeline projects, though some are starting to change their tune.

In Pennsylvania, state regulators recently decided to stall construction on a massive Energy Transfer Partners project after a series of environmental violations.  

Risk of train explosions

The second executive order that Trump signed allows the industry to transport natural gas by rail car. Currently, only crude oil can be transported by rail domestically or outside U.S. borders.

The oil and gas industry and freight industry says that using trains to transport natural gas is safe and will help consumers in the Northeast get cheaper energy. But after a 4,000 percent increase in shipping crude oil by rail over the past fifteen years, experts have counted an unprecedented amount of explosive train accidents and deadly spills.

The most famous example of a so-called “bomb train” is the runaway train carrying crude oil that killed 40 people in a small town in Quebec in 2013.

“It’s a disaster waiting to happen,” Emily Jeffers, a staff attorney with the Center for Biological Diversity, told Bloomberg News about the plan allowing natural gas on trains.  “You’re transporting an extraordinarily flammable and dangerous substance through highly populated areas with basically no environmental protection.”

AT&T has expanded its mobile 5G network to "parts" of seven more cities, including Austin, Los Angeles, Nashville, Orlando, San Diego, San Francisco, and San Jose. The addition of the seven new areas of coverage bring’s the carrier’s 5G city count to 19.

“We spent the early part of this year accelerating and advancing our 5G network with early adopters by our side,” said Andre Fuetsch, president AT&T Labs and CTO in a press release. “And now it’s time to offer this experience to more businesses and consumers in another 7 cities.”

AT&T plans to offer “at least” three 5G mobile devices this year. It’s already launched the Netgear Nighthawk 5G hotspot and is set to debut its Samsung Galaxy S10 5G smartphone this spring.

All four major wireless carriers are racing to deliver 5G support, which will equip devices with the ability to move data with greater speed.

Just last week, Verizon deployed 5G coverage in Chicago and Minneapolis. Sprint will activate its 5G network -- which will work with LG’s V50 ThinQ 5G device -- in Chicago, Atlanta, Dallas, and Kansas City in May. T-Mobile hasn’t said when or where it will launch its 5G network, only that it will also do so during the first half of 2019.

Google announced Wednesday that it added a new authentication method that lets consumers use their phone as a physical security key. The free option is available to those with a smartphone running Android 7.0 and up.

“This makes it easier and more convenient for you to unlock this powerful protection, without having to carry around additional security keys,” Google said in a blog post.

“Use it to protect your personal Google Account, as well as your Google Cloud Accounts at work. We also recommend it for people in our Advanced Protection Program—like journalists, activists, business leaders and political campaign teams who are most at risk of targeted online attacks.”

Set it up

To use the new security feature, connect your phone over Bluetooth to a computer running the latest version of Chrome and verify your logins. From there, follow these steps:

• On your computer, navigate to myaccount.google.com/security, visit the 2SV settings, and click "Add security key".

• Choose your Android phone from the list of available devices.

• When signing in, make sure Bluetooth is turned on for the device you are signing in on and on your phone.

Google explains that using a physical security key can beef up an account’s protection against phishing.

“Phishing—when an attacker tries to trick you into turning over your online credentials—is the most common cause of security breaches. Preventing phishing attacks can be a major challenge for personal and business users alike. At Google, we automatically block the overwhelming majority of malicious sign-in attempts (even if an attacker has your username or password), but an additional layer of protection can be helpful,” the company said.

U.S. foreclosure activity fell sharply in the first quarter of the year, hitting the lowest level since the first quarter of 2008, just before an avalanche of foreclosures triggered by the financial crisis.

The quarterly report by ATTOM Data Solutions showed there were 161,875 U.S. properties in some stage of foreclosure during the first quarter of 2019, down 23 percent from the last quarter of 2018 and down 15 percent from a year ago.

Foreclosure activity ticked up in March but still remained far below last year’s pace. Falling 21 percent compared to March 2018 foreclosures, it was the ninth straight month foreclosures had declined on a year-over-year basis.

‘Well below pre-recession levels’

"While some markets saw a slight uptick in foreclosure filings, that is above pre-recession levels, the majority of the major markets are well below pre-recession levels," said Todd Teta, chief product officer at ATTOM Data Solutions. "While we did see a slight increase in U.S. foreclosure starts from last quarter, bank repossessions reached an all-time low in the first quarter of 2019, showing continuing signs of a strong housing market."

It may also signal a stronger economy with more stable employment. Additionally, stricter underwriting standards adopted by the mortgage industry after the housing market crashed in 2009 probably helped.

During the early 2000s housing bubble, lenders made loans to borrowers without fully verifying their finances. As a result, many people who couldn’t afford homes were able to buy one, resulting in a wave of foreclosures once the market crashed.

Today, lenders closely verify income and credit documents and require buyers to be employed for at least two consecutive years in the same industry.

Stable markets

The most stable housing market in the first quarter was San Jose, where foreclosure activity was down 79 percent from its pre-crash average. Foreclosures were down 77 percent in Memphis and  Dallas-Fort Worth, down 74 percent in Las Vegas, and down 68 percent in Phoenix.

Markets still seeing above pre-recession foreclosure levels include Baltimore, Washington D.C., Philadelphia, New York, Hartford, Conn., Richmond, Va., Providence, R.I, and New Orleans.

Notably, bank repossessions (REO) were lower in 48 states and the District of Columbia. Lenders repossessed 35,787 properties through foreclosure in the first quarter, down 21 percent from thefoourth quarter of 2018 and down 45 percent from a year ago.

Wakefern Food is recalling a variety of Wholesome Pantry Organic nut butters that may be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes.

No illnesses related to the recall have been reported.

The following items, packed in 16-oz., plastic jars, with best by dates of June 2020 and earlier, are being recalled:

• Wholesome Pantry Organic Creamy Salted Almond Butter, UPC: 04119006004
• Wholesome Pantry Organic Creamy Unsalted Almond Butter, UPC: 04119006005
• Wholesome Pantry Organic Unsalted Sunflower Butter, UPC: 04119005827
• Wholesome Pantry Organic Tahini Butter, UPC: 04119005828
• Wholesome Pantry Organic Cashew Butter, UPC: 04119006006

The recalled products were sold in ShopRite, Price Rite Marketplace, The Fresh Grocer and Dearborn Market stores in New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, Maryland, Massachusetts, Delaware, Rhode Island and Virginia.

What to do

Customers who purchased the recalled products should return them for an immediate refund or replacement.

Consumers with questions may call (800) 746-7748 Monday-Friday from 8:00 am to 6:00 pm and weekends from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm.

Thogersen Family Farm of Stanwood, Wash., is recalling raw frozen ground pet food that may be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes.

The following varieties, packaged in two pound packs, are included in this recall: course ground rabbit, course ground mallard duck, ground llama, and ground pork frozen raw pet food.

No illnesses have been reported to date.

The recalled products were packaged in two pound flattened, rectangular clear plastic packages and stored frozen. The front of the package contains one large white square label with the company name, product type and weight.

The product labels do not contain any lot identification, batch codes, or expiration dates.

The recalled products were either sold to individual customers or two retail establishments that have been notified.

What to do

Customers who the purchased the recalled products should discontinue using them.

Consumers with questions may call (360) 929-9808.

Toyota is recalling approximately 560 model 2019 Model Year Lexus ES vehicles in the U.S.

The driver knee airbag may have not been fastened properly to the instrument panel, which could affect knee airbag deployment, increasing the risk of injury during a crash.

What to do

Lexus dealers will inspect the driver knee airbag assembly and replace it with a new one, if necessary, at no cost to customers.

The recall is expected to begin in by late April 2019.

Owners may contact Lexus customer service at (800) 255-3987

Amid growing concern in Washington about the power of social media companies, the Senate may consider a bipartisan bill to severely limit how these companies gain access to users’ private information.

Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.) and Sen. Deb Fisher (R-Neb.) have co-sponsored the Deceptive Experiences To Online Users Reduction (DETOUR) Act, which would place limits on how social media companies interact with users.

The two lawmakers contend that companies such as Facebook employ deceptive user interfaces, known as “dark patterns,” to trick consumers into providing access to their personal data.

Psychological research

Warner claims companies spend heavily on psychological research to learn how to design websites and apps so that users will make decisions -- such as giving access to their photos, contacts, etc. -- that they might not make otherwise.

These design tactics are what’s known as “dark patterns” because they are manipulative and not clear and conspicuous. Warner says these formats are used to mislead consumers into adopting platform settings that are highly profitable for the companies using them.

“For years, social media platforms have been relying on all sorts of tricks and tools to convince users to hand over their personal data without really understanding what they are consenting to,” Warner said. “Some of the most nefarious strategies rely on ‘dark patterns’ – deceptive interfaces and default settings, drawing on tricks of behavioral psychology, designed to undermine user autonomy and push consumers into doing things they wouldn’t otherwise do, like hand over all of their personal data to be exploited for commercial purposes.”

Warner knows something about the practice. He is a former executive in the technology industry and the vice chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence.

‘A little transparency’

“Our goal is simple: to instill a little transparency in what remains a very opaque market and ensure that consumers are able to make more informed choices about how and when to share their personal information,” Warner said.

The measure was introduced just ahead of the one-year anniversary of Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerburg’s appearance before Congress, where he was grilled about Facebook’s privacy policies.

The bill is just the latest Congressional salvo fired against “big tech.” Last month, Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) introduced a bill to break up the large technology companies. In addition to dealing with privacy issues, Warren said  breaking up tech giants such as Amazon, Facebook, and Google will pave the way for the next generation of great U.S. tech companies to “flourish.”

Democrats and Republicans in Congress find little they can agree on these days, but a bill to modernize federal income tax filing passed easily in the House with bipartisan support.

The Hill reports the outlook for the bill appears solid in the Senate when that chamber takes up the measure.

The bill is designed to make it easier for people to file their taxes, according to Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.), who authored the bill. Among its provisions is an improvement in taxpayer services, beefed up identity theft protection, protection of taxpayers’ rights when they are involved in an enforcement action, and overall improvements to the Internal Revenue Service’s (IRS) information technology and electronic systems.

Point of contention

But the bill also solidifies the IRS’s relationship with commercial tax preparation software companies, making them the official tool for online tax filing. But ProPublica reports it goes farther, blocking the IRS from offering its own tax filing portal.

“Companies like Intuit, the maker of TurboTax, and H&R Block have lobbied for years to block the IRS from creating such a system,” ProPublica reports. “If the tax agency created its own program, which would be similar to programs other developed countries have, it would threaten the industry’s profits.”

‘Final nail in the coffin’

Mandi Matlock, a tax attorney who does work for the National Consumer Law Center, told the group the law could be the “final nail in the coffin” for the IRS ever launching its own tax filing system.

Most of the “no” votes against the measure came from freshmen members elected last November. Some suggested the measure benefitted the “corporate tax lobby” at the expense of taxpayers.

Even some who voiced concerns about codifying the participation of commercial tax preparation services ended up voting for the measure, saying the benefits of the entire measure outweighed their concerns.

Taxpayers can still use the IRS’s Free File service if their income is $66,000 or less. For those with incomes above $66,000 the IRS provides free fillable tax forms.

The Free File service provides free tax preparation software with available free state return options. Consumers can use the Free File Software Lookup Tool to find free federal and free state return options.

Amazon has revealed that it plans to add cash as a payment option at its Go stores. The decision comes amid pushback from several cities and states over the company’s lack of a cash payment option at its physical convenience stores.

Lawmakers have noted that cashless businesses pose an issue in terms of ensuring equitable access since they aren’t accessible to consumers who don’t have debit and credit cards.

San Francisco District Five Supervisor Vallie Brown, who in February introduced legislation to ban cashless stores, highlighted the fact that not offering consumers the option of purchasing goods with cash is discriminatory towards those in low income brackets.

"For many City residents (for example, those who are denied access to credit, or who are unable to obtain bank accounts), the ability to purchase goods and services depends on the ability to pay for those goods and services in cash," Brown explained in a memo. "This is especially true of the very poor."

Adding a cash payment option

According to a report from CNBC, Amazon plans to add “additional payment mechanisms” at its Go stores. A spokesperson for Amazon confirmed the news but left a few lingering questions unanswered for the time being.

The retailer didn’t provide a time frame for when cash would be added as a payment option at existing Go stores, nor did it say how it plans to implement cash payments at Go stores, which previously centered around the “cashierless” element.

However, Steve Kessel, Amazon’s senior vice president of physical stores, reportedly told employees during a meeting that adding new payment methods is “an important focus for us.”

Kessel noted that Amazon has added new payment methods to its online marketplace, including a pilot that accepts subsidized SNAP benefits and a new program called Amazon Cash which lets shoppers add cash to a digital account by bringing money to a nearby convenience store.

“We’ll continue to extend those methods with our stores,” he added. The spokesperson who confirmed the plans said Go store customers would be able to check out, pay with cash, and receive change.

Amazon currently has 10 Amazon Go stores, and reports have suggested that the company could open up to 3,000 cashierless stores by 2021.