Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, experts have been encouraging consumers young and old to stay active. Now, a new study conducted by researchers from the University of Saskatchewan has found that reopening indoor gyms could be a realistic and safe option if consumers wear face masks. 

According to their findings, wearing a protective face mask while exercising doesn’t harm consumers’ breathing or negatively affect their workout performance, regardless of how strenuous the activity is. 

“Our findings are important because they indicate that people can wear face masks during intense exercise with no detrimental effects on performance and minimal impact on blood and muscle oxygenation,” the researchers wrote. “This is important when fitness centers open up during COVID-19 since respiratory droplets may be propelled further with heavy breathing during vigorous exercise and because of reports of COVID-19 clusters in crowded enclosed exercise facilities.” 

Exercising safely

To see how wearing a mask while exercising could potentially affect consumers, the researchers had 14 healthy participants exercise on a stationary bike. The intensity of the workout was steadily increased over time until the participants could no longer keep up with the pace. 

Participants completed the assessment three separate times: once without a mask, once with a surgical mask, and once with a cloth mask. At the end of each trial, the researchers assessed their blood oxygen and muscle oxygen levels to determine how a mask affected their ability to exercise. 

Ultimately, the researchers learned that wearing a face mask didn’t change the participants’ exercise outcomes. From a physiological perspective, there were no major changes to the participants’ blood oxygen levels, muscle oxygen levels, or heart rates when they wore a mask versus when they didn’t wear a mask. Wearing a mask also didn’t affect the time it took the participants to feel worn out by the workout. 

The researchers were excited by these findings because they hold a great deal of promise for consumers moving forward. Knowing that a face mask won’t impede exercise performance or physical health could have very positive implications for the reopening of indoor gyms in the safest way possible. 

“If people wear face masks during indoor exercise, it might make the sessions safer and allow gyms to stay open during COVID,” said researcher Phil Chilibeck. “It might also allow sports to continue, including hockey, where transmission of COVID-19 appears to be high.” 

Bentley Motors said Thursday that it plans to transition to only producing hybrid and electric vehicles by 2026 and to fully electric models by 2030. Next year, the company will introduce two unnamed plug-in hybrid models, and the company’s first full-electric vehicle is expected to be unveiled in 2025. Bentley said it’s also aiming to be completely carbon neutral in ten years. 

“The future of Bentley will be fully electric,” Bentley’s chief engineer, Matthias Rabe, said during an event. “Within a decade, Bentley will transform from a 100-year-old luxury car company to a new, sustainable, wholly ethical role model for luxury,” added Bentley CEO Adrian Hallmark in a statement. 

Shift to electric vehicles

Several other automakers, including Volkswagen and General Motors, have announced plans to move away from traditional internal combustion engines. Experts say having more electric cars on the road could improve consumers’ health and benefit the environment. 

“Vehicle electrification in the United States could prevent hundreds to thousands of premature deaths annually while reducing carbon emissions by hundreds of millions of tons,” said Daniel Peters, a researcher from Northwestern University. 

“This highlights the potential of co-beneficial solutions to climate change that not only curb greenhouse gas emissions but also reduce the health burden of harmful air pollution.” 

Apple has begun accepting orders for its new iPhone 12 models, as well as its HomePod Mini smart speaker. 

The company’s iPhone 12 Pro Max and iPhone 12 mini are set to become available in stores November 13, but Apple announced on Friday that it has started accepting preorders for the devices. Apple’s new smart speaker, which will hit shelves on November 16, is also available to order for $99. 

Apple traditionally rolls out new iPhones in September, but the COVID-19 pandemic caused delays. This year, the tech giant held an event in October to let consumers know what new models were on the way. 

The new iPhone 12 Pro Max, which boasts the largest display ever on an iPhone at 6.7 inches, starts at $1,099. Compared to the iPhone 12 Pro, Apple says the Pro Max offers better low-light camera performance. 

The iPhone 12 Mini packs in many of the same features consumers will find on the regular iPhone 12, but in a “thinner, lighter” package. Prices for this option start at $699.

Both of the new models are expected to be in short supply due to manufacturing issues linked to the pandemic. Quick pre-order sellouts are expected. 

To help combat age-related bone mass loss, many older consumers have adopted habits like taking supplements or exercising. However, a new study conducted by researchers from the American College of Rheumatology found that osteoporosis remains a risk despite these efforts. 

According to their findings, the condition -- which affects older women in large numbers -- often goes undetected in older men. Their work revealed that many older men may not receive the proper diagnosis or treatment, even after undergoing injuries that tend to lead to osteoporosis. 

“Men are typically not part of routinely recommended screening...and so they are both underdiagnosed and undertreated,” said researcher Dr. Jeffrey Curtis. “While many comorbidities (i.e cardiovascular disease) are commonly recognized and treated in men, sometimes even more than women, osteoporosis is not one of them. Even post-fracture for major fractures like a hip, rates of treatment are disappointingly low, leaving men at risk for another fracture.” 

Why do these disparities exist?

To understand why older men are often neglected when it comes to testing for osteoporosis, the researchers analyzed Medicare data from nearly 10,000 people from 2010 through 2014. They were primarily interested in looking at the health care treatment for those who had experienced a serious fracture during that time frame. 

The researchers learned that the overwhelming majority of patients were not treated -- or ever even tested -- for osteoporosis following their injuries. They explained that a bone mineral density test is the most common way to detect osteoporosis, and more than 90 percent of the participants never received this exam. 

Just under three percent of the patients were given a bone density test; however, they never received any subsequent treatment for the condition. Ultimately, just over two percent of the study participants were given the proper test, diagnosis, and treatment for osteoporosis. 

According to the researchers, the primary issue with diagnosing and treating osteoporosis in older men comes down to unclear guidelines. They explained that national guidelines recommend that all women over the age of 65 are tested for osteoporosis, but men are excluded from these exams unless they have other conditions that could increase their risk. This is concerning for several reasons, not the least of which is because more than 62 percent of the study participants had prior musculoskeletal issues. 

Moving forward, the researchers hope that these testing and treatment guidelines are made clearer to ensure that older men are receiving the proper care. 

“This is a need for consistent osteoporosis screening recommendations in men,” Dr. Curtis said. “Incorporation of these recommendations in quality-of-care measures for osteoporosis management and post-fracture care are warranted to improve health outcomes in this population. 

“As for the next steps for research in this area, there is a need for better characterization of high-risk patients including existing comorbidities that may have shared etiology or risk factors that may enable earlier identification or treatment,” he said. 

The COVID-19 pandemic has turned the food industry on its ear. Restaurants have had to either find a way to cope with significantly diminished traffic or go out of business, change their menus to deal with the shift in carryout, or completely retool. A new study from the National Restaurant Association (NRA) shows that consumers have increased their usage of takeout and delivery, and this trend will likely continue during the winter months.

The NRA says the upward movement in the frequency of takeout and delivery has spread across the three major dayparts -- breakfast, lunch, and dinner -- over the last few months. 

Breakfast showed the biggest growth. The percentage of consumers picking up a breakfast meal or beverage from a restaurant or coffee shop took a big hit during the first several weeks of the pandemic as workers stayed home, but that has flipped in recent months, reaching a pandemic high of 35 percent last week. 

Dinnertime was the overall big winner, with 66 percent of consumers saying they ordered takeout or delivery for dinner last week, up from 58 percent during the last week of February. The lunch trend mirrored dinner, with about 47 percent of consumers ordering noontime takeout or delivery for lunch last week, up 10 points from February. 

An age thing

Older consumers get the nod for the largest increase in off-premises frequency. Sixty percent of baby boomers said they ordered takeout or delivery for supper last week, nearly 20 points up from late-February. Gen-Xers have also added to the uptick, with 66 percent of that age group purchasing takeout or delivery for dinner last week – up 8 percentage points from the last week in February.

Millennials and Generation Z adults continue to prefer takeout or delivery for dinner at higher rates than their older counterparts, but both groups were already using those options at pretty close to the same rate as they were before the pandemic. 

Delivery’s time has come

Even though the consumer world has heard about DoorDash, GrubHub, and UberEats for the last few years, the delivery sector has actually been biting its nails and losing money for some time. “The business model of delivery platforms has sparked discussion and criticism. Many delivery aggregators are struggling to make profits, with most of them losing money every year," said Marjolein Hanssen of Rabobank.

Hanssen says the crossroads is squarely on how food delivery platforms are able to engineer a win-win with restaurants that might be struggling with the commissions charged by the platform.

“Platform economics benefit from scale, but making delivery economics work remains a complex puzzle. As users of food delivery platforms might be price sensitive, consolidation in combination with the development of extra revenue streams seems to be the only way forward for food delivery platforms,” Hanssen concluded.

The U.S. government has taken control of $1 billion in bitcoin from the now-defunct online black market Silk Road. The capture represents the largest cryptocurrency seizure to date.

Silk Road ranks as the most infamous online criminal marketplace of its day, but the Department of Justice (DOJ) brought it to its knees in 2015 when it successfully prosecuted its founder, Ross Ulbricht, on seven counts that included unlawfully facilitating the sale of illegal drugs and money laundering. 

By the time Silk Road was brought to justice, it had reportedly generated sales revenue totaling over 9.5 million bitcoins. Commissions from these sales totalled over 600,000 bitcoins, which presumably went right into Ulbricht’s pockets.

Follow the money

This is where the story gets interesting. Before Ulbricht was sent off to prison, he sheltered a billion in bitcoins in a digital wallet and did his best to tuck away the wallet where it would be hard to find.

Someone referred to as “Individual X” supposedly hacked the Silk Road’s payments system some time in either 2012 or 2013. The DOJ says that Ulbricht “threatened Individual X for the return of the cryptocurrency,” but the mysterious hacker refused. 

Enter the DOJ and the Washington DC Cyber Crimes Unit. The group -- which is tasked with virtual currency transactions -- used a third-party bitcoin tracing company to analyze bitcoin transactions carried out by Silk Road and was able to identify 54 previously undetected transactions executed by the platform. An analysis showed that all of those transactions appeared to represent all proceeds of unlawful activity stolen from Silk Road.

The DOJ continued its hunt, and it cornered Individual X on November 3, 2020. The anonymous hacker agreed to hand over the stolen bitcoin and transfer it to the government's hands. The DOJ is mum on whether Individual X was arrested, cut a plea bargain, or even how their cooperation was attained.

“Criminal proceeds should not remain in the hands of the thieves,” IRS-CI Special Agent in Charge Kelly R. Jackson said in a statement. “The Washington DC Cyber Crimes Unit is uniquely specialized in tracing virtual currency transactions and we will continue to hone our skills to combat illegal activity.”

T-Mobile has agreed to stop running ads with unsupported claims about the current state of its 5G network.

The National Advertising Division (NAD) of the Better Business Bureau said T-Mobile’s recent 5G advertising could make customers think that T-Mobile and Sprint’s combined networks have led to the creation of benefits that don’t actually exist yet. 

In the advertisements in question, T-Mobile falsely claims that it has the "the best 5G network," "highest capacity in history," and the "most reliable network," according to the NAD. The NAD said the ads did not “reasonably convey a present-tense message that the aspirational future benefits from T-Mobile are presently available to consumers.” 

The group also took issue with the ad’s depiction of "magenta and yellow beams rapidly shooting from tower to tower, speeding through server rooms across cities and over vast landscapes.” The NAD said the ad is misleading and conveys the “unsupported message that the touted benefits of the merger will be imminently realized by consumers.” 

To clear up any confusion, the group is asking T-Mobile to modify its wording in the ad so that consumers don’t think the benefits of the merger are immediate.

T-Mobile said it “supports the self-regulatory process” and has agreed to dial down exaggerated and presently unsupported claims like, “You’ll get the best 5G network.” 

If you’re a homeowner, your net worth may be higher than it was before the start of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

If you’ve managed to stay employed and haven’t run up a big credit card bill, then the equity in your home has likely made you richer, thanks to the rapid increase in home values over the last six months.

ATTOM Data Solutions, a property data firm, reports that 16.7 million U.S. homes were classified as “equity-rich” in the third quarter of 2020, meaning the combined estimated amount of loans secured by those properties was 50 percent or less of their estimated market value.

That represents 28.3 percent, or about one in four, of the U.S. homes with a mortgage. It’s up from 27.5 percent in the second quarter when home values began to take off.

How the pandemic affected the market

Home sales surged once shelter-in-place orders were lifted. Many of the buyers were apartment dwellers who were suddenly working from home and decided they needed more room. Many also determined that they could continue working remotely and didn’t confine their choices to homes in the city where they worked. Single-family home sales boomed in many smaller cities.

The increase in demand, without a corresponding increase in supply, put sellers in the driver’s seat, and home listing prices -- and sales prices -- rose quickly.

Not all homeowners are benefitting, however. The report shows that around 3.5 million homes -- or one in 17 homes with a mortgage -- are considered seriously underwater, meaning the homeowner owes more than the home is worth. But fortunately, that number has trended lower during the pandemic.

"Homeowner equity in the third quarter added another pebble to the pile of markers showing that the U.S. housing market continues to defy the broad downturn in the economy this year,” said Todd Teta, chief product officer with ATTOM Data Solutions. “Home prices keep rising, boosting the balance sheets of homeowners throughout most of the country."  

Economic bright spot

Teta says housing has been a bright spot in an otherwise shaky pandemic economy. He says homeowners stand to benefit as long as the market remains strong.

Coastal real estate markets, which tend to be among the most expensive in the nation, had far higher levels of home equity in the third quarter of 2020 than other areas of the United States. 

The top 11 states with the highest share of equity-rich properties in the third quarter were all in the Northeast and West, led by Vermont, California, Hawaii, Washington, and Idaho.

Low and stable gasoline prices have become a “new normal,” much better for consumers than the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic’s new normal of masks, social distancing, and sporting events without fans.

The AAA Fuel Gauge Survey shows the national average price of regular gas is $2.11 a gallon, down another three cents a gallon in the last seven days. It’s down seven cents in the last four weeks.

The average price of premium gas $2.73 a gallon, three cents lower than a week ago. The average price of diesel fuel is $2.36 a gallon, a penny less than last week.

The Energy Information Administration (EIA) reports demand for gasoline declined for another week as consumers are driving less during the pandemic. AAA says that trend should keep prices at the pump slowly falling for the rest of the year.

In the last week, the average gas price is six cents lower in Michigan, five cents lower in Kentucky and Texas, and four cents lower in South Carolina.

The states with the most expensive gas

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

• Hawaii ($3.26)

• California ($3.17)

• Washington ($2.75)

• Nevada ($2.60)

• Oregon ($2.56)

• Alaska ($2.50)

• Pennsylvania ($2.44)

• Utah ($2.34)

• Idaho ($2.31)

• Illinois ($2.23)

The states with the cheapest regular gas

The survey found these states currently have the lowest prices for regular gas:

• Missouri ($1.78)

• Mississippi ($1.79)

• Texas ($1.79)

• Oklahoma ($1.81)

• South Carolina ($1.82)

• Arkansas ($1.82)

• Louisiana ($1.84)

• Alabama ($1.85)

• Tennessee ($1.86)

• Kansas ($1.89)

Vitamin Cottage Natural Food Markets of Lakewood, Colorado-based natural grocery retailer, is recalling Natural Grocers Brand Organic Whole Elderberries.

The product may be contaminated with Salmonella.

There are no reports of illness or injury to date.

The recalled product is packaged in clear plastic bags weighing 4 ounces, bearing the “Natural Grocers” label, UPC code 000082003043, and pack dates 20-216, 20-225, 20-246, 20-265, & 20-281.

It was was shipped to 159 Natural Grocers stores located in Arkansas, Arizona, Colorado, Iowa, Idaho, Kansas, Louisiana, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, Texas, Utah, Washington and Wyoming.

The specific locations of Natural Grocers’ stores in the above states may be found here.

What to do

Customers who purchased the product should discontinue use immediately, and discard or return it for credit or refund.

Consumers with questions may contact the company at (303) 986-4600, ext. 80801, Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. (MST).

Ford Motor Company is recalling about 375,000 model year 2013-17 Ford Explorers.

Some of these vehicles, sold or registered in certain areas of North America states and provinces where corrosion is common, have experienced a fracture of the outboard section of the rear suspension toe link after completion of a prior safety recall repair.

A fracture of a rear toe link significantly diminishes steering control, increasing the risk of a crash.

What to do

Ford will notify owners, and dealers will complete a torque inspection of the cross-axis ball joint and replace it as necessary.

Owners may contact Ford customer service at (866) 436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 20S62.

A new study conducted by researchers from Queen’s University has found that delays in cancer treatment can be incredibly detrimental to patients’ health outcomes. According to their findings, the risk of death can increase by roughly 10 percent for each month that cancer treatment is stalled. 

“A four-week delay in treatment is associated with an increase in mortality across all common forms of cancer treatment, with longer delays being increasingly detrimental,” said researcher Timothy Hanna.

Increasing risk of death

To better understand why delays in cancer treatment exist, and what risk it poses to patients’ health, the researchers analyzed 34 studies that included data on over 1.2 million patients. The study focused on the most common types of the disease, which included cancers of the lung, colon, head, breast, rectum, neck, cervix, and bladder. Additionally, the researchers looked at three treatment plans: chemotherapy, surgery, and radiotherapy. 

Ultimately, the researchers learned that delaying cancer treatment of any kind can increase patients’ risk of death, and the longer treatment is delayed, the more the risk of mortality increases. 

For example, delaying breast cancer surgery eight weeks was associated with a 17 percent increased risk of death; however, pushing that surgery back 12 weeks increased the risk of death by more than 25 percent. 

Importance of screenings and early detection

These findings are concerning for several reasons. Early detection is extremely important for treating many forms of cancer because patients have the best outcomes when the condition is addressed as quickly as possible. However, the researchers explained that the nature of health care systems often make it difficult for cancer patients to start treatments as quickly as they’d like. 

They also found that with the COVID-19 pandemic, many hospitals were forced to rearrange their surgery schedules and cancel or push back other types of treatments -- including cancer treatments. These findings make it clear that these delays put cancer patients at risk, and timing is really of the essence when it comes to having the best possible health outcomes. 

Moving forward, the researchers hope that these findings lead to policy changes that benefit cancer patients and prioritize their health and wellness. 

“In light of these results, policies focused on minimizing system level delays in cancer treatment initiation could improve population level survival outcomes,” Hanna said. 

Coronavirus (COVID-19) tally as compiled by Johns Hopkins University. (Previous numbers in parentheses.)

Total U.S. confirmed cases: 9,499,459 (9,394,282)

Total U.S. deaths: 233,836 (232,742)

Total global cases: 48,280,133 (47,582,064)

Total global deaths: 1,227,891 (1,217,540)

U.S. reports more than 100,000 cases in a day

Another grim milestone has been exceeded. An analysis of data collected by Johns Hopkins University shows that the U.S. added 102,831 new cases of the coronavirus (COVID-19) on Wednesday, the largest one-day total since the pandemic began and the first time it’s exceeded 100,000.

A review of the data shows that the number of infections since late January is closing in on 10 million. The number of people who have died is over 233,000 and is rising by more than 1,000 deaths per day.

This week has been particularly alarming for doctors. The number of hospitalizations is rising, and at least 36 states have reported more new cases of the virus than the previous week.

Negative test doesn’t mean you aren’t infected

Tests to determine whether someone is infected with the coronavirus aren’t all that accurate. There have been many “false positive” results, only to show the patient doesn’t have the virus when retested.

The flip side is also apparently true -- patients sometimes get negative results when they have, in fact, been infected. Scientists now say it can take days before a new infection shows up on a COVID-19 test.

"We know that the incubation period for COVID-19 is up to 14 days. And before that, you can be testing negative, and have no symptoms," emergency medicine physician Dr. Leana Wen told CNN. "But you could actually be harboring the virus and be able to transmit it to others."

The job market may be holding steady

Despite a lack of new stimulus from Washington and a surge in new COVID-19 cases, the number of new layoffs appears to be declining. The Labor Department reports that first-time claims for unemployment benefits last week were fewer than the week before, continuing a downward trend.

The weekly government report shows 751,000 workers filed for unemployment benefits, compared with 758,000 the previous week. It was the third week in a row that claims were below 800,000, with the four-week moving average falling to 787,000.

We’ll get a clearer picture of the job market on Friday when the Labor Department releases its October employment report

Minnesota at risk of ‘falling behind’

The resurgence of COVID-19 cases in the Midwest has left its mark on many states that months ago thought they had the pandemic under control. Minnesota is a case in point.

Minnesota Health Commissioner Jan Malcolm says the turnaround has been “disheartening and alarming.” There have been 31 new deaths, bringing the statewide total to 2,530. Just as concerning, the seven-day positive test rate has jumped to 12.3 percent.

“It feels like we’re losing ground,” she said in a news briefing. “We’re falling behind the rapid spread of this virus.”

Study finds which recovered patients have the strongest immunity

Recently, there’s been conflicting data about how long patients retain immunity once they recover from COVID-19. It doesn’t appear to be the same for every individual who becomes infected with the virus.

A new study led by researchers from Brigham and Women's Hospital found that while antibodies against the virus declined in most individuals after disease resolution, a subset of patients sustained anti-virus antibody production several months following infection. Those who recovered fastest seemed to retain the most robust protection.

"The kind of immune response we're seeing in these individuals is a bit like investing in an insurance policy -- it's the immune system's way of adding a potential layer of protection against future encounters with the virus," said Dr. Duane Wesemann, an immunologist and associate physician in the Brigham Division of Allergy and Clinical Immunology and an associate professor at Harvard Medical School.

Around the nation

• New Jersey: Hospitalizations hit a four-month high this week, according to state health officials. New Jersey reported more than 1,800 new coronavirus cases on Tuesday, marking 17 straight days of more than 1,000 new cases.

• Ohio: Gov. Mike DeWine is a Republican who has been a strong advocate of masks from the beginning, somewhat different from President Trump’s position. "I certainly wish the president had a more happy relationship with masks," DeWine told NPR's All Things Considered. "We know so much more today than we knew in March. We now know that these masks really work."

• Iowa: State lawyers admitted in a court filing that an aide to the governor told health department officials to withhold testing data despite Iowa’s open records law. A former health department spokesperson is suing the state, saying she was fired for trying to comply with the law.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has put the final touches on a massive win for consumers. The Bureau has issued a rule to recast and clarify prohibitions on harassment and abuse, false or misleading representations, and unjust practices by debt collectors when trying to collect any consumer debt. 

The rule change has been a long time coming. When the CFPB first put the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) into action, many of us were listening to the Bee Gees and buying Chia Pets. Since 1977, a lot has changed -- primarily the way in which we communicate. 

That aspect gets most of the attention in the new rule, putting the spotlight on debt collection communications. It gives consumers more control over how often and through what means debt collectors can communicate with them when trying to resolve debt issues. 

Giving power back to the consumer

The rule reset also clarifies how the protections of the FDCPA apply to 21st Century communication technologies, like email, text messages, and social media. To the consumer’s advantage, the rule gives them the control to limit the ability of debt collectors to communicate with them through today’s digital communication methods. 

On top of that, consumers now have the option to unsubscribe from receiving text messages and emails from debt collectors -- or, at minimum, limit ways debt collectors contact them. It also clarifies the use of voicemails and other messages left by debt collectors.

“Unfortunately, many Americans fall behind on their bills for many reasons. An unexpected emergency room visit might leave a consumer without enough funds to pay their credit card bill, which can become a debt a creditor places with a debt collector,” wrote Kathleen L. Kraninger, the CFPB director.

“No matter the reason a consumer has a debt in collection, we want to make sure there are clear rules of the road for debt collectors to follow the law and alongside that, swift action against those who flout the law.”

Consumers should exercise their legal rights

Kraninger said the Bureau wants consumers to understand and exercise their legal rights. She says consumers should speak up if they think a debt collector is being overzealous with their calls.

From here on out, debt collectors will be violating federal law if they call a person more than seven times within seven consecutive days -- or within seven consecutive days of having had a telephone conversation with that person about the debt.

Whole Foods CEO John Mackey says “wage transparency” is a key practice at Whole Foods. In an interview with CNBC Make It, Mackey said making sure employees know exactly what their colleagues are getting paid serves as motivation to climb the corporate ladder.

He said many companies “believe that [wage transparency] is going to stoke envy” and try to keep it hidden. Mackey said he thinks about it differently. 

The executive said an employee might think, ”‘Wow, I had no idea that a coordinator could get paid that much. I want to be a coordinator.’ Or, ‘I really want to be a store team leader, because I had no idea that including their RSUs — the restricted stock units they get from Amazon — I mean, they may be making well over $100,000.’” 

“And if you don’t have a college degree, that’s something to aspire to,” he added.

What store employees make

Here’s how much other Whole Foods employees make, according to the store’s website. 

• Team members. Employees who work on the store floor, completing tasks like stocking shelves or preparing food, make an average of $30,000. 

• Team leaders. Employees who head up a given section of the store and train new employees,  among other tasks, make around $57,000 per year. 

• Associate team leaders. Assistants to team leaders make an average of $43,000 at Whole Foods.

• Store managers. Store leaders make an average of $99,000 per year.

• Associate store team leaders. Assistants to store managers make an average of $73,000 per year. 

Promoting authenticity

Mackey told Freakonomics Radio host Stephen Dubner that wage transparency incentivizes employees to do what it takes to get to the next level and offers the opportunity to challenge wages that they feel aren’t correct. 

Complaints sometimes result in a change; other times, the company gets a chance to highlight its values and explain why the pay is correct. 

“When you reveal a pay structure very transparently ... sometimes things aren’t just. And people will complain about it. And that gives you an opportunity to correct it,” Mackey said. “At other times, though, [the pay] is correct, and you can defend it. And then you’re pointing out to people what the organization most values and rewards.”

GrowDiaries, an online community of marijuana growers, has suffered a major data breach. 

Security researcher Bob Diachenko reported that GrowDiaries left two of its Kibana apps -- an open-source analytics and visualization platform normally used by a company’s development and IT staff -- exposed online without administrative passwords since September 22, 2020. 

One of the unsecured Kibana apps led to the exposure of sensitive information belonging to 1.4 million users of the site. Information exposed included passwords, email addresses, and IP addresses. The other database exposed user articles posted on the GrowDiaries site, as well as users’ account passwords. 

Diachenko said he discovered the unprotected database on October 10. 

“It consisted of about 1.4 million records with email addresses and IP addresses, plus 2 million records containing user posts and hashed account passwords,” he wrote. “The passwords were hashed using MD5, a deprecated algorithm that an attacker could easily crack to access passwords in plain-text.” 

GrowDiaries secured its server less than a week after Diachenko notified site administrators of the issue. Although the site has been secured, GrowDiaries users are still urged to change their passwords just in case their old password was exposed. 

Diachenko said he couldn’t say for sure if any other third-parties accessed the data while it was unsecured, but it “seems likely.” 

A new report published by researchers from Washington State University is encouraging health care providers to get candid with their patients about cannabis use. According to the researchers, being open and honest about this can only help patients receive the best medical care. 

“We want providers to ask people about their cannabis use and we want patients to feel comfortable talking about it, but right now many don’t,” said researcher Marian Wilson. 

Patients opening up about their needs

Recently, more and more consumers have been using cannabis to help treat a variety of medical issues, including chronic pain and illness and mental health concerns. By creating an open dialogue between health care providers and patients, medical professionals can better tailor their recommendations to their patients’ needs. The researchers say cannabis use could be an integral part of that. 

“Central to patient-centered conversations is understanding the top priorities of patients,” said Wilson. “Researchers have suggested that clinicians should ask ‘What matters to you?’ as well as ‘What is the matter?’” 

A recent study found that these types of conversations are happening more frequently between health care providers and their patients -- particularly with older adults. Cannabis use is on the rise among the older demographic, as it has been beneficial in treating everything from insomnia to chronic pain. 

Widespread use

Despite this progress, Wilson explained that the stigma associated with cannabis can be a roadblock for patients to be totally honest with their doctors. However, marijuana legalization -- for both recreational and medical use -- in the 2018 and 2020 elections is expected to ease some patients’ discomfort or uncertainty in broaching the topic with their health care providers. 

The popularity of CBD products has also helped ease some of the worries patients have about divulging their cannabis use. Consumers can find CBD products in popular stores like Walgreens and Dollar General, and products like drinks and snacks can discreetly provide the necessary benefits. 

While patients need to feel that they can trust their doctors to have these kinds of conversations, Wilson also explained that doctors need to be armed with the necessary medical information to help guide their patients in the best way. Moving forward, she’s hoping that experts create a resource that could be referenced in doctor-patient interactions and ensure that patients are getting the most accurate, beneficial information about cannabis use. 

“We want this paper to guide providers in how they can start opening up this conversation and normalizing it,” Wilson said. 

Municipalities, companies, and even hospitals have to make tough decisions when they are targeted with a ransomware scheme. Do they pay up to get the stolen data deleted, or do they just accept the loss and try to improve their security so it doesn’t happen again? 

While hackers will often try to blackmail the victim by threatening to release sensitive stolen data, new research from Coveware suggests that these cybercriminals often won’t live up to their end of the bargain even if the victim agrees to make the ransom payment.

In fact, the research suggests a fair number of victims who do pay up may see some or all of the stolen data published anyway. In some cases, the data gets published online before the victim is given a chance to cut a deal on the agreed-to data deletion.

“Unlike negotiating for a decryption key, negotiating for the suppression of stolen data has no finite end,” the report says. “Once a victim receives a decryption key, it can’t be taken away and does not degrade with time. With stolen data, a threat actor can return for a second payment at any point in the future. The track records are too short and evidence that defaults are selectively occurring is already collecting.”

Find out what data’s been compromised before paying up

Coveware said it tries to steer clients away from paying a data deletion ransom before they’ve performed an investigation into what data was stolen, sought counsel from a privacy attorney, and alerted any potentially affected customers.

“The bottom line is, ransomware is a business of hope,” Fabian Wosar, chief technology officer at computer security firm Emsisoft, told KrebsOnSecurity. 

“The company doesn’t want the data to be dumped or sold. So they pay for it hoping the threat actor deletes the data. Technically speaking, whether they delete the data or not doesn’t matter from a legal point of view. The data was lost at the point when it was exfiltrated.”