Current Events in July 2019

The economy is growing, unemployment is near record lows, and the stock market is at all-time highs. But for millions of Americans, money is a constant concern.

A new Bankrate survey drills down into consumer’s darkest worries and reveals that 56 percent of U.S. adults admit to losing sleep over at least one money worry. A third of consumers say it’s everyday expenses -- how to make ends meet -- that keeps them up at night.

While most people sometimes lie awake at night worrying about something, the Bankrate survey shows money worries trump personal relationships and all other causes of sleepless nights.

In addition to keeping up with everyday expenses, other financial causes of sleeplessness include:

• Lack of retirement savings

• Health care or insurance expenses

• Credit card bills

• Paying the mortgage or rent

• Education expenses

• Stock market volatility

Easy to feel overwhelmed

Ted Rossman, industry analyst at Bankrate.com, says it’s easy to feel overwhelmed by money issues. He says it helps if you can break up more worrisome issues into small, manageable chunks.

“Devising a plan and starting to execute against it – piece by piece – is the best way to get things done,” Rossman said. “Simply getting started should help you begin to feel better and settle your racing mind. That holds true whether you’re worried about health, money, relationships, work or anything else.”

Nocturnal money worries affect people of all ages but the survey shows Generation X tends to feel it the most. After all, this generation is often trying to juggle the needs of rebellious teenagers and aging parents.

Gen X financial pressures

This generation, now between the ages of 39 and 54, make up 64 percent of those losing sleep at night over money issues. That compares to 58 percent of millennials and 54 percent of baby boomers.

Previous research has shown that Gen X has always felt financial pressure, rated as the least likely age group to achieve financial security and most likely to report feeling stressed out about money.

Credit card debt emerged in the survey as a major trouble spot for consumers of all ages. Fifty-one percent expressed doubt that they will ever pay off their debt. 

Rossman says attacking that debt with an interest-free balance transfer card can take a big bite out of what you owe and perhaps help you get a good night’s sleep.

A recent study suggests that children and young adults who are bullied can be affected for years afterwards. And unfortunately, the effects could be even worse for those who experience symptoms of depression.

“Although we know that depression can strike first during the teenage years, we didn’t know how risk factors influenced change over time,” explained researcher Alex Kwong. 

Tracking the symptoms

The researchers analyzed data from the Bristol’s Children of the 90s study, which included responses from over 3,300 teenagers on their overall mood and feelings, as well as potential risks for depression that could be genetic. The researchers checked back in with the participants nine different times between the ages of 10 and 24 to determine any differences in mood or behavior. 

By the study’s end, the researchers determined that both genetic and environmental risk factors played a role in the participants’ likelihood of developing depressive symptoms, which the researchers emphasized was an important finding for mental health professionals to consider. 

According to Kwong, the study revealed that young adults who were bullied as children were “eight times more likely to experience depression that was limited to childhood.” 

“However, some children who were bullied showed greater patterns of depression that continued into adulthood and this group of children also showed genetic liability and family risk,” Kwong noted. 

The researchers explained that genetic risk weren’t a guarantee that children would develop depressive symptoms into young adulthood, but it is something to keep note of to ensure that all children receive the proper mental health services as they grow into adulthood. 

“The next steps should continue to look at both genetic and environmental risk factors to help untangle this complex relationship that would eventually help influence prevention and coping strategies for our health and education services,” Kwong said. 

Bristol mental health experts were also pleased with these findings, as they hope they’ll allow for the proper funding for more young people to get the mental health support they need. 

“I would also hope that studies such as these will help change policy direction and spending so that we start to get upstream of the issues that we know affect mental health, including education and family, prevention rather than cure ideally,” said Karen Black, CEO of Bristol’s Off the Record, a mental health organization created by and for young people. 

Monitoring mental health

As more and more children and millennials are struggling with anxiety and depression, it’s become more important than ever for consumers to prioritize their mental health. 

Researchers recently found that a healthy diet can be beneficial in fighting off depression symptoms -- even for those without a formal depression diagnosis. 

“Our data add to the growing evidence to support lifestyle intervention as an important approach to tackle low mood and depression,” said Dr. Brendon Stubbs. “Specifically, our results within this study found that when dietary interventions were combined with exercise, a greater improvement in depressive symptoms was experienced by people. Taken together, our data really highlight the central role of eating a healthier diet and taking regular exercise to act as a viable treatment to help people with low mood.”

In a new study conducted by the American Heart Association (AHA), researchers found that children are more likely to have high blood pressure throughout childhood and adolescence if they had low vitamin D levels at birth. 

“Currently, there are no recommendations from the American Academy of Pediatrics to screen all pregnant women and young children for vitamin D levels,” said researcher Dr. Guoying Wang. 

“Our findings raise the possibility that screening and treatment of vitamin D deficiency with supplementation during pregnancy and early childhood might be an effective approach to reduce high blood pressure later in life.” 

Staying heart healthy

The researchers evaluated nearly 800 children from the time they were born until they were 18 years old to see how vitamin D levels from birth affected their blood pressure into early adulthood. While the researchers explained that there is no recommended vitamin D levels that children should reach, or that pregnant women should strive for before birth, the vitamin is essential for children to develop strong bones and for the body to process calcium. 

While following the study participants over the course of their childhoods, the researchers learned that vitamin D levels at birth and beyond played a large role in children’s blood pressure. Low vitamin D levels at birth increased the risk of high blood pressure by 60 percent; children remained at higher risk of high blood pressure when those vitamin D levels stayed low throughout childhood. 

For the purposes of the study, the researchers determined that low vitamin D levels during childhood were less than 25 ng/ml (nanograms per millimeter), while low vitamin D levels during birth were less than 11 ng/ml. 

The researchers hope that these findings inspire healthcare practitioners to do more to track pregnant women’s vitamin D levels in order to prevent any blood pressure issues for children. 

Importance of vitamin D

Vitamin D is crucial for kids’ and teens’ overall development. One recent study found that children’s multivitamins are lacking in vitamin D, while another study found that low vitamin D levels during pregnancy could affect children’s motor skills and social skills development

"The importance of vitamin D sufficiency should not be underestimated. It is well-known to be good for our musculoskeletal systems, but our research shows that if levels are low in expectant mothers, it can affect the development of their children in their early years of life,” said lead author Andrea Darling.

Audi is recalling138,896 model year 2015-2016 Audi S3 Sedans, model year 2015-2019 A3 Sedans & A3 Cabriolets, model year 2016-2018 A3 e-trons, and model year 2017-2019 RS3s.

An improper electrical contact may cause the Passenger Occupant Detection System (PODS) to falsely detect a malfunction and deactivate the passenger airbag.

A deactivated passenger airbag increases the risk of injury during a crash.

What to do

Audi will notify owners, and dealers will replace the connector and reroute the cable free of charge.

The recall is expected to begin August 18, 2019.

Owners may contact Volkswagen customer service at 1-800-253-2834. Audi's number for this recall is 69Z4.

Growers Express is recalling select fresh vegetable products including packaged varieties of butternut squash, cauliflower, zucchini and a butternut squashed based veggie bowl.

The products may be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes.

There are no reported illnesses.

The following products are being recalled:

Most of the recalled products are labeled with a “Best If Used By” Date of June 26 – June 29, 2019.

What to do

Customers who purchased the recalled products should not consume but discard them.

Consumers with questions may call the company at (831) 757-9951 or (207) 282-7723.

Fisher-Price of East Aurora, N.Y., is recalling about 71,000 inclined sleeper accessories included with all models of Fisher-Price Ultra-Lite Day & Night Play Yards.

Infant fatalities have been reported while using other inclined sleep products, after the infants rolled from their back to their stomach or side while unrestrained, or under other circumstances.

No incidents or injuries are reported.

This recall involves the inclined sleeper accessory sold with all Ultra-Lite Day & Night Play Yards with model numbers CBV60, CHP86, CHR06, CJK24, and DJD11.

The model number is located on the fabric label inside of the play yard and on the fabric label on the back of the inclined sleeper pad.

The product is a portable play yard with inclined sleeper and changing station clutch accessories and a carry bag.

The inclined sleeper accessory is the only portion of the product that is being recalled.

The inclined sleeper accessories, manufactured in China, were sold at juvenile product stores and mass merchandisers nationwide from October 2014, through June 2019, for between $90 and $110.

What to do

Consumers should immediately stop using the inclined sleeper accessory and contact Fisher-Price for a refund or voucher. Consumers can continue to use the play yard portion of the product without the inclined sleeper accessory, and can also continue to use the changing station clutch accessory and carry bag.

Consumers may contact Fisher-Price online at www.service.mattel.com and click on “Recalls & Safety Alerts” at the top of the page, or at (800) 432-5437 from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. (ET) Monday through Friday for more information.

Apple is offering free repairs for 2018 MacBook Airs after finding that a “very small number” of current generation, 13-inch MacBook Airs are having logic board problems, 9to5Mac reports. Logic board issues could prevent the computer from turning on.

The company has emailed owners of MacBook Air computers with serial numbers known to be impacted by the issue to let them know that a free repair is available at any Apple Store or authorized service center. Customers who want to know if their device is among those impacted by the flaw can also take their computer to those locations. 

The free repair offer will last for four years. 

9to5Mac notes that Apple hasn’t provided many details about the logic board issue, other than saying that it has to do with “power.” The publication notes that some users found that they weren’t able to boot up their 2018 MacBook Air at all when the device first launched.

The logic board issue is the latest of several MacBook flaws to be announced in recent months. Just a few days ago, Apple recalled some older MacBook Pro models over a battery issue that caused overheating. Prior to that, the company introduced a repair program for owners of MacBooks with defective butterfly keyboards.  

​Amazon has launched a number of early Prime Days promotions ahead of its 48-hour summer sales event, which is set to take place July 15 and July 16. 

On Monday, the company announced that it had rolled out early deals across a variety of categories. In the devices category, Amazon dropped the price of its Fire TV Recast by $100 (bringing it down to $129.99) and various Echo speakers are on sale from $25. 

Amazon has also slashed the price of services like Amazon Music, Prime Video, Kindle Unlimited, Audible, and more. 

Deals in the fashion category include: 

• Up to 30 percent off select Tommy Hilfiger clothing and shoes;

• Up to 70 percent off Seafolly Australia Swimwear;

• Up to 50 percent off athletic shoes from Reebok, Puma and others;

• Up to 30 percent savings on kids and baby styles from Gerber, The Children’s Place, and Amazon Brands;

• Up to 50 percent off women’s activewear from Amazon Essentials, Core 10 and Starter;

• Up to 40 percent off men’s shirts from Goodthreads, Buttoned Down and Amazon Essentials; 

• Up to 30 percent off women’s styles from Daily Ritual.

Prime members can also get up to 20 percent off furniture and décor from Rivet, Stone & Beam and Ravenna Home, up to 20 percent off AmazonBasics, and up to 30 percent off “everyday essentials” from brands including Solimo, Presto!, and Happy Belly.

From July 3 through Prime Day, customers who spend $10 at Whole Foods will get a $10 credit to use on Prime Day purchases. 

Amazon announced last week that its annual Prime Day sales event will last two full days this year. The retailer’s longest-ever annual sales event will kick off at midnight Pacific Time on July 15. Prices on more than a million items will be reduced during Amazon’s fifth annual Prime Day event.

Among the laundry list of nuances and updates Apple unveiled at its WWDC 2019 earlier this month, one was Sign In with Apple, a privacy-oriented feature allowing users to use their Apple ID to log into third-party apps and websites.

The idea of a “single sign-on” isn’t anything new. As a matter of fact, more than a million sites integrate the OpenID protocol, counting Google, Amazon.com, Microsoft, and PayPal among its customer base -- but not Apple.

The benefits for single sign-ons are many -- like reducing password fatigue to saving time not having to re-enter passwords for the same ID -- but, according to one industry organization, it could pose potential security issues when used with other single sign-on mechanisms. 

Here’s the rub

Apple probably didn’t expect any problems when it decided to veer away from the Open ID blueprint and create its own version, but one has reared its ugly head.

The OpenID Foundation (OIDF), a non-profit organization whose primary goal is standardizing the technology and keeping all its implementers on the same page, says that Apple’s version of the technology could possibly put its users’ security and privacy at risk.

In a letter to Apple, OIDF praised Apple's authentication feature for having "largely adopted" OpenID Connect. But after that pat on the back, the tone of the letter changed. 

“The current set of differences between OpenID Connect and Sign In with Apple reduces the places where users can use Sign In with Apple and exposes them to greater security and privacy risks,” cautioned ODIF’s Nat Sakimura.

OIDF didn’t leave Apple twisting in the wind, however. Its team put together a checklist of recommended code modifications Apple could employ to close any gaps between Sign In with Apple and OpenID Connect. 

Should you use Sign In with Apple?

For the moment, the next step is open-ended and sitting on Apple’s desk. As you might expect, Apple has rigorously defended Sign In with Apple, and there’s no guarantee that the company will respond to OIDF’s clarion call.

Nonetheless, if a consumer decides to use Sign In with Apple, they’re promised, for one thing, that Apple won't use the tool to track internet activity, a plus that the company says it has over Google and Facebook’s single log-in widgets.

Another consumer plum is that if a user decides not to share their personal information, any site or app that requests the consumer’s email will instead be given a unique, Apple-generated email address that those messages will be forwarded to, in essence masking their true identity.

"The concept of being able to sign in without using a real email address is a step in the right direction for consumers,” was the take of Ray Walsh, data privacy expert at ProPrivacy.com, and part of an expert panel Engadget asked for its consumer take on the situation. 

“Being able to sign in without sharing a real email address removes one crucial bit of data from those services' hands. However, web services still get to collect other crucial data from users when they visit their sites -- which can still be used to track them. When you visit a website, that service automatically receives your IP address; this is an extremely valuable tracking tool. Thus, Sign in with Apple is only removing one small piece of trackable data from the equation."

Dana Simberkoff -- chief risk, privacy, and information security officer at AvePoint -- explained that the feature could be good for both Apple and consumers.: "If it's done right, not only [is it] a win for Apple but also a win for consumers that may be able to take advantage of a more privacy-centric sign-in option,” she said.

Florian Schaub, assistant professor at the University of Michigan School of Information, agrees that the consumer comes out a winner with Apple’s single sign-on process. "The ability to easily generate random email addresses and Apple handling the management of those credentials will make it much easier for consumers to protect their personal information when interacting with mobile apps and online services,” he said.

“It's interesting to see Apple take on the well-established single sign-on offerings by Google, Facebook and others but with a focus on making it easier for people to protect their privacy. It will of course require you to trust Apple to stay true to its promise and not track or analyze with which services you have accounts and how often you log in to those."

With the summer weather heating up, consumers are heading to the pool to beat the heat. But the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is warning consumers about a highly contagious fecal parasite that could be lurking in the water. 

According to the agency, cases of cryptosporidiosis, known as “crypto,” are on the rise, and the fecal parasite, which causes diarrhea for up to three weeks, can stay alive in pool waters for up to seven days. 

“During 2009-2017, 444 cryptosporidiosis outbreaks, resulting in 7,465 cases were reported in 40 states and Puerto Rico,” the CDC reported. “The number of reported outbreaks has increased an average of approximately 13 percent per year.”

Steering clear of infection

To stay safe at the pool this summer, it’s important for consumers to know how crypto spreads, what the symptoms are, and how to steer clear of infection. 

The pool is the most common way for crypto to spread, as the chlorine water allows the parasite to stay active and infect swimmers for up to one week; ingesting even a small amount of infected water can lead to illness. 

Consumers can contract the infection by drinking contaminated or untreated water, touching their mouths with contaminated hands, eating undercooked food, or drinking unpasteurized milk or apple cider. 

If infected, it typically takes an average of one week to feel symptoms -- though they can crop up as soon as two days, or as long as one week -- after infection. Symptoms typically persist for up to two weeks, though those with healthy immune systems can kick the infection faster. 

Diarrhea is the most common symptom of being infected with the crypto parasite, and swimming should be avoided if diarrhea starts; however, vomiting, fever, dehydration, stomach cramps, and weight loss are also common. 

Children are at the greatest risk of becoming infected, but the crypto parasite can affect anyone who comes in contact with the bacteria. Infection is preventable as long as consumers practice good hygiene and avoid the water for up to two weeks if they notice any symptoms. 

To see the CDC’s full list of prevention tips, click here. 

Being safe this summer

Recently, the CDC released tips for consumers to follow when swimming this summer to ensure that each time in the water is safe and accident-free. 

But safety this summer extends beyond just the pool, so the agency also released summer safety tips for those traveling abroad, staying safe from insect bites, beating the heat, and more. 

A dangerous new scam combines credit card “skimming” with telephone “spoofing” to steal consumers’ credit cards.

The scam has emerged in Florida, where Attorney General Ashley Moody has issued a consumer alert, but there’s no reason to believe it isn’t also occurring in other states.

Here’s how it works: a criminal installs a “skimmer,” usually on a gas pump, to steal credit or debit card information -- everything but the CV2 security code on the back of the card. To get the code, the scammer or an accomplice uses spoofing technology to call the cardholder and poses as someone from the bank or credit card company that issued the card.

The caller tells the victim that their account has been compromised -- which is actually true -- but the CV2 security code is needed to freeze the account. If the victim provides that missing information, the scammer then has an active card that can be used to make purchases, withdraw money, or sell on the black market. 

“This scam incorporates some of the worst uses of modern technology to drain victims’ bank accounts and ruin their credit,” Moody said. “Floridians must arm themselves with the latest information and take steps to avoid these fraudsters to protect their hard-earned money.”

Red flag

The use of spoofing technology perhaps makes this scam a little more likely to fool a victim because the caller ID might show American Express or Bank of America is calling. But if consumers remember one thing, they will recognize the scam for what it is.

When a real financial institution identifies what it believes are suspicious and unauthorized charges on an account, it will text or email the account-holder and ask them to verify the purchases. If the account-holder says any of the charges are illegitimate, the old card will be immediately canceled and a new one will be issued.

The financial institution has no need to ask for the CV2 security code on the card because it already has that information. So if someone tells you they need the code to freeze the card, they’re running a scam.

How to stay safe

To guard against this scam, the first step is to prevent your account from being compromised through skimming. You can reduce your risk by taking these steps:

• Pay with cash or a credit card with chip technology instead of a debit card;

• Monitor transactions on financial accounts regularly to look for unauthorized charges;

• Report unauthorized charges immediately; 

• Inspect card readers, especially at outdoor locations such as gas pumps and ATMs, to see if a skimming device is placed over the card reader or if the security seal is broken.

Also, never respond to a phone call from someone who claims to be from your credit card company. Instead, hang up and call the toll-free customer service number on the back of your card. That way you can be sure you’re really talking to someone from the financial institution and not an imposter who’s trying to steal your money.

Microsoft has issued a warning to all Windows 10 users that a serious bug is actually a feature introduced “by design,” Ghacks reports. The company has confirmed that it disabled automatic Registry backups in Windows 10 back in October. 

However, users may have gotten the impression that backup files were still being produced because the system would show “The operation completed successfully,” even though no backup files were created.

Backing up a registry is “a crucial last line of defence for many businesses and everyday users,” Forbes notes. “Should a Windows System Restore point fail, barring the use of third-party software, the registry backup is all you have.” 

A workaround

“Starting in Windows 10, version 1803, Windows no longer automatically backs up the system registry to the RegBack folder,” Microsoft explained in a support article. “If you browse to the \Windows\System32\config\RegBack folder in Windows Explorer, you will still see each registry hive, but each file is 0kb in size.” 

Microsoft said the change was deliberately introduced to help reduce the size of Microsoft on the system. 

“This change is by design, and is intended to help reduce the overall disk footprint size of Windows. To recover a system with a corrupt registry hive, Microsoft recommends that you use a system restore point,” the company said. 

Users who want to create an automatic backup of the registry will have to restore the legacy backup behavior, which can be accomplished by setting up a registry entry and then rebooting the system. 

Microsoft pledged earlier this year to give Windows 10 users more “control, quality, and transparency.” With its latest disclosure, Microsoft appears to be trying to set things right by giving users more details about its decision.