Current Events in December 2020

Facebook has announced that it will be giving more people access to its security monitoring platform, Facebook Protect, in 2021. 

The program was offered to political officials during the 2020 U.S. elections. Now, Axios reports that Facebook will be offering the tool to other types of users whose accounts are at a greater risk of being compromised, such as journalists, human rights advocates, and activists.

Facebook’s head of security policy, Nate Gleicher, told Axios that Protect comes with real-time monitoring of potential hacking attempts and other security features, such as hardware keys to enable two-factor authentication. 

Gleicher said more than 70 percent of people involved with the 2020 election had two-factor authentication turned on and that Facebook is bolstering its account protection features in the coming year since compromised accounts can be used for malicious purposes. 

“We know that certain people such as candidates, elected officials or staff can be targeted by bad actors on social media platforms, including Facebook and Instagram,” Facebook writes on page discussing the platform. “By enrolling, we’ll help these accounts (1) adopt stronger account security protections, like two-factor authentication, and (2) monitor for potential hacking threats.” 

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is reportedly launching a Christmastime lawsuit against Ripple Labs, alleging that the company violated laws against selling unregistered securities when it sold the cryptocurrency XRP (aka Ripple) to investors.

Ripple Labs, Inc. is a U.S.-based technology company which created the Ripple payment protocol and exchange network. The company positions itself as a do-gooder of sorts -- one that’s “helping transform how vulnerable populations, remitters and small businesses worldwide, send and receive money across borders.” It adds that it’s also “creating greater economic fairness and opportunity for all through research, education and philanthropy.”

Why this lawsuit is important

Asking why this lawsuit really matters is a fair question. The simple answer is that XRP is one of the world’s most valuable cryptocurrencies, holding a market cap of upwards of $20 billion. It’s ranked by Coinmarketcap.com as the third-largest cryptocurrency.

Ripple operators believe the SEC’s angle will be to argue that XRP is a security and that Ripple crossed the lane and violated U.S. laws when it listed the digital currency before it registered it with the SEC. However, it has strong objections to that position.

“Ripple maintains that XRP — like bitcoin — should be classified as a currency and doesn’t have to be registered as an investment contract,” explained CNBC’s Ryan Browne. “The company was last privately valued at $10 billion and is backed by the likes of Japanese financial services giant SBI Holdings, Spanish bank Santander, and top venture capital firms including Andreessen Horowitz, Lightspeed and Peter Thiel’s Founders Fund.”

If the SEC gets its way about the “security” label, it could force XRP to follow stricter rules. Browne says that while Ripple claims it is independent from XRP, it owns nearly half of the total 100 billion XRP tokens in existence. 

Ripple says the SEC has it all wrong 

Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse questioned the SEC’s timing and claimed the agency is “fundamentally wrong as a matter of law and fact.”

Garlinghouse’s biggest complaint is that the SEC has allowed XRP to function as a currency for more than eight years. He also raises the question of why this move is happening now, less than a month before a change in administration.

“Instead of providing a clear regulatory framework for crypto in the U.S., (SEC Chairman) Jay Clayton inexplicably decided to sue Ripple -- leaving the actual legal work to the next Administration,” Garlinghouse wondered. Just last month, Clayton said he would step down as SEC chair at the end 2020, six months before his term officially ended.

Clayton’s position on cryptocurrencies has been questioned before. Previously, one crypto pundit asked if the Chairman’s legacy will be allowing ether and bitcoin -- technologies Moderncensus’ Kevin Saunders claims are dominated by the Chinese -- to cement their place as the two biggest cryptocurrencies in the world.

German biotech firm BioNTech said Tuesday that it could create a vaccine for the new coronavirus variant in six weeks if necessary. 

A new, more contagious strain of COVID-19 was recently detected in Britain, prompting dozens of European countries to reinstate lockdowns and impose travel bans. Former FDA chief Dr. Scott Gottlieb now says it’s likely that the new coronavirus mutation “is already in the U.S.”

BioNTech officials say they’re confident that they fend off the new strain with a modified version of the vaccine developed for the prevailing strains that appeared at the beginning of 2020. 

"Scientifically, it is highly likely that the immune response by this vaccine also can deal with the new virus variant," said BioNTech co-founder Ugur Sahin. He added that he is optimistic that the company can quickly produce an effective vaccine for the new strain since its proteins are 99 percent the same as the original version. 

“The likelihood that our vaccine works ... is relatively high,” he said. However, until more research is carried out over the next few weeks, he said BioNTech doesn’t know “if our vaccine is also able to provide protection against this new variant.” 

Six weeks

Sahin said the company could make a vaccine to beat the mutated version of SARS-CoV-2 in less than two months, if necessary. 

"In principle the beauty of the messenger technology is that we can directly start to engineer a vaccine which completely mimics this new mutation — we could be able to provide a new vaccine technically within six weeks," he said. 

BioNTech has worked with drugmaker Pfizer this year to create a vaccine to combat the novel coronavirus that began spreading earlier this year. The vaccine has been authorized for use in more than 45 countries and is already being administered to frontline workers and nursing home residents in the U.S. 

Moderna, another company that created an effective COVID-19 vaccine, says it also believes its vaccine would have similar efficacy against the new strain. 

"Based on the data to date, we expect that the Moderna vaccine-induced immunity would be protective against the variants recently described in the UK," Moderna said in a statement adding, "We will be performing additional tests in the coming weeks to confirm this expectation."

Apple’s automotive project, which has started and stopped numerous times in the last six years, is reportedly hitting the accelerator again. 

Reuters, quoting “people familiar with the matter,” reports that the iPhone maker plans to leverage its “breakthrough battery technology” to launch an electric vehicle (EV) in 2024. Apple declined to comment on the story.

The report said Apple will rely on its new battery design that the sources say could “radically” reduce the cost of batteries while increasing the vehicle’s range. Vehicle range has been one of the limiting factors for EVs so far.

The report says Apple would target its vehicle at the consumer market and likely partner with an established manufacturer to assemble the vehicles. According to Reuters, former Tesla executive Doug Field has jump-started the program, code-named Project Titian.

The report did not say what consumers would have to pay for an Apple car, but an EV that is also self-driving would be at the upper end of the automotive price range. Reuters said Apple would turn to outside vendors for key parts of the autonomous system, including lidar sensors. 

However, the company might not have to look very far to find that kind of support. Apple’s iPhone 12 Pro and iPad Pro models both contain lidar sensors.

New battery design

The real breakthrough, according to the report, is in the battery technology. Sources have told Reuters that Apple would deploy a “monocell” design that increases efficiency by freeing up space inside the battery pack, eliminating the pouches and modules that hold battery materials.

Potentially, that means the car could travel farther between charges. The Tesla Model X range is currently among the industry’s best, traveling between 341 and 371 miles on a single charging session.

Reuters quotes one person familiar with the project as describing the battery technology as something completely different than what’s available now.

“Like the first time you saw the iPhone,” the person said.

A new study conducted by researchers from the University of Eastern Finland explored the benefits associated with taking a social holiday. This type of trip is geared towards consumers from disadvantaged backgrounds, and countries like Finland will cover the costs of the entire trip to give residents the opportunity to travel and relax with their families. 

According to their findings, these trips are incredibly beneficial to consumers’ overall well-being. They found that not only did participants enjoy their time away from home, but they also gained a better outlook about their lives overall. 

“It is possible that going on a holiday away from home makes people look at their life in a more positive light, which may be reflected on our results,” said researcher Elli Vento. “Social holidays are all-inclusive and not having to buy groceries can have a very concrete effect on some holiday makers’ financial situation.” 

Social benefits of a social holiday

The researchers surveyed nearly 300 participants who had been chosen for a social holiday to better understand how the trip benefitted them and their families. The participants completed surveys before and after their trip, and their responses were compared with over 70 other participants who had submitted applications for a social holiday but hadn’t been chosen. 

The study revealed that the participants’ experienced increased satisfaction in several areas of their lives following the trip. Though the participants’ wouldn’t have been able to afford these trips without financial assistance from the government, spending time away from their regular day-to-day routines gave them a new, positive perspective on their financial situations. Many of the participants reported feeling satisfied with both their finances and their roles at work. 

Additionally, the researchers learned that trips were beneficial in boosting the participants’ mental health. This break from routine allowed the participants time to relax with their families, which is something they typically wouldn’t be able to do. 

In looking at those whose applications for a social holiday had been rejected, the researchers learned that the biggest difference between the two groups was social inclusion and satisfaction. For those who hadn’t gone on a trip, they felt excluded by those in their social circles who had traveled away from home; this led to feeling worse about their life situation in general. 

Beneficial for kids 

The study also found that social holidays played a positive role in kids’ inclusiveness in school. These trips gave more kids an even playing field when discussing family vacations, and kids that normally wouldn’t have the opportunity to travel now had the opportunity to share about their experiences. 

“Going on a holiday away from home is, in itself, a very unequal phenomenon,” said Vento. “This is often illustrated by examples of children sharing their holiday memories in school. Some children may have travelled abroad and visited theme parks, whereas others don’t necessarily have anything to say about their holiday: they’ve simply stayed home without any possibility for activities typically associated with holidays.” 

The researchers hope that these findings highlight the countless benefits associated with social holidays and that more consumers around the world get the chance to experience this unique opportunity. 

Nissan North America is recalling 3,930 model year 2002-2006 Sentras whose passenger airbags were previously inspected and may have been released without replacing the Takata airbag inflator.

In the event of a crash, Takata front passenger airbag inflators may explode due to propellant degradation occurring after long-term exposure to high absolute humidity, high temperatures and high temperature cycling.

An inflator explosion may result in sharp metal fragments striking occupants, resulting in serious injury or death.

What to do

Nissan will notify owners, and dealers will re-inspect the vehicle and -- if necessary -- replace the airbag inflator, free of charge.

The recall is expected to begin January 5, 2021.

Owners may contact Nissan customer service at (800) 867-7669. Nissan's number for this recall is PM964.

Daimler Vans USA (DVUSA) is recalling 562 model year 2019-2020 Mercedes-Benz Metris right-hand drive vehicles.

The screwed fittings between the rigid steel brake lines routed through the underbody of the vehicle and the brake hoses in the area of the front and rear axles may not have been correctly installed.

The connection between the brake line and the brake hose may leak, causing a sudden loss of brake fluids, affecting braking performance and increasing the risk of a crash.

What to do

DVUSA will notify owners, and dealers will check the affected fittings at the connection points of the brake lines to the brake hoses, correcting them -- as necessary -- free of charge. 

The manufacturer has not yet provided a schedule for recall notification.

Owners may contact DVUSA customer service at (877) 762-8267. DVUSA's number for this recall is VS2BREMPOS.

Several European countries have halted travel due to concerns of a new and more contagious strain of the coronavirus that has appeared in the U.K. 

U.K. government officials announced a renewed lockdown over the weekend and urged people to refrain from interacting with anyone other than immediate household during the Christmas holiday.

"Given the early evidence we have on this new variant of the virus — the potential risk it poses — it is with a very heavy heart I must tell you we cannot continue with Christmas as planned," said Boris Johnson, the British prime minister.

Countries in Europe -- including Belgium, Bulgaria, France, Germany, Italy, and the Netherlands -- quickly imposed travel bans to and from the U.K. in a bid to preemptively stop the new strain from spreading. Canada also announced it was suspending flights from the U.K. for a 72-hour period. 

More contagious

Early evidence suggests that the new variant of the coronavirus could be around 70 percent more contagious than strains already circulating, but there’s no evidence to suggest that it’s more deadly. 

The new coronavirus variant hasn’t yet been identified in the United States, and U.S. officials haven’t suggested a ban on U.K. travel. 

“I really don’t believe we need to do that yet,” Adm. Brett Giroir told ABC News on Sunday. “We have not seen a single mutation yet that would make it evade the vaccine.”

The new coronavirus variant isn’t believed to react differently to vaccines than the strain that appeared in early 2020, meaning vaccines developed by Moderna and Pfizer could help mitigate its spread. 

However, if the virus changes and “dodges the full effect of the vaccine,” then “vaccine escape” could happen, wrote James Gallagher, BBC News health and science correspondent. “This may be the most concerning element,” he said. 

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

Total U.S. confirmed cases: 17,860,634 (17,269,542)

Total U.S. deaths: 317,729 (311,230)

Total global cases: 76,975,940 (75,179,482)

Total global deaths: 1,697,062 (1,668,030  )

Moderna vaccine begins distribution

The first shipments of the coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccine produced by Moderna are making their way across the country, joining supplies of the vaccine developed by Pfizer and BioNTech. The Moderna vaccine won temporary clearance late Friday, the Pfizer vaccine a week earlier.

The first shots are expected to be administered later today. As with the previous vaccine, the first in line will be front line health care workers and residents and staff at long-term care facilities.

Officials say the general public may not receive the vaccine until spring. Next in line will likely be “essential workers,” bus drivers, grocery store clerks, and others who can’t work from home and who are getting infected at a higher rate.

Congress finally agrees on aid package

Working right down to the wire, congressional negotiators have finally agreed on a $900 billion aid package to help individuals and businesses impacted by the coronavirus pandemic. Final action is expected later today.

The measure sends up to $600 per adult and child to Americans, based on their income. It also adds $300 to unemployment benefits for 10 weeks and extends the rental eviction moratorium that was set to expire at the end of the month..

In the end, it took the elimination of two provisions that caused the standoff. Democrats’ insistence on billions of dollars for state and local government and the GOP’s demand for immunity from lawsuits for businesses were dropped from the measure.

New, highly contagious virus strain appears in the U.K.

Despite hopes produced by emerging vaccines, there’s a new coronavirus fear because of a new strain of the virus that has appeared in the U.K. Over the weekend, the British government announced a renewed lockdown, saying the new strain appears to be much more contagious than the strain that appeared in early 2020.

Countries in Europe reacted quickly, banning travel to and from the U.K. So far, the new strain has yet to be identified in the U.S. U.S. officials have not suggested a ban on U.K. travel.

“I really don’t believe we need to do that yet,” Adm. Brett Giroir told ABC News on Sunday. “We have not seen a single mutation yet that would make it evade the vaccine.”

Survey suggests Americans will travel this week

Health officials are increasingly worried that Christmas week and the New Year’s holiday will be a repeat of Thanksgiving -- family and friends gathering for celebrations in spite of pleas not to.

A new survey from Cars.com shows nearly half of Americans -- 46 percent -- plan to travel for December holidays. That’s about the same number that said they would travel during last month’s Thanksgiving holiday but far fewer than during a normal year, and researchers say that, at least, is a bright spot.

Jenni Newman, Cars.com’s editor-in-chief, says the survey also shows most people plan to travel by car, not because of cost or convenience but because they believe it will keep them safer from COVID-19.

The riskiest states for holiday travel

People traveling by car over the holidays face two risks -- coming in contact with COVID-19 and the chances of a serious auto accident. QuoteWizard, an online insurance marketplace, has analyzed the two risks and picked the riskiest states to travel in during the holidays.

According to the findings, West Virginia, Kentucky, and Alabama have the most at-risk seniors with underlying health conditions. North Dakota, Rhode Island, and South Dakota have the highest COVID-19 cases and death rates per 100,000 in the last seven days.

Around the nation

• New York: Gov. Andrew Cuomo says the new, highly contagious strain of the coronavirus in the U.K. is coming into New York unchecked. Cuomo said he wants the federal government to begin requiring tests for travelers or bans on visitors traveling through the U.K.

• Mississippi: State officials say 128,000 people received the Pfizer BioNTech coronavirus vaccine last week, but they are concerned about the growing skepticism among some people who say they aren’t going to take it. Doctors are trying to allay fears by being among the first to receive the vaccine.

• Kentucky: Gov. Andy Beshear said he plans to use $51.5 million in federal coronavirus funding to provide relief from unemployment costs for more than 1,500 employers. The aid will be mostly directed at schools and non-profit organizations.

The COVID-19 pandemic is weighing heavily on consumers’ decision to stay home or travel somewhere during the December holidays.

According to new research from Cars.com, only 46 percent of Americans plan to travel for the December holidays. What a difference a year makes -- just a year ago, the 2019 holiday season saw more Americans traveling than ever before.

Of those who say they’re going somewhere, most (66 percent) are opting to play it safe by using their own vehicles to get from point A to point B instead of trying to wade through millions of people passing through security checkpoints at U.S. airports. 

"Many people are staying home for the holidays as suspected, and those who are traveling will continue to rely on their personal vehicle. For most holiday travelers, the decision to drive is no longer primarily influenced by cost or convenience, but safety and security," said Jenni Newman, Cars.com editor-in-chief. 

"Cars.com has been tracking travel plans since October and has steadily seen the number of New Year's travelers dwindle. This could mean that people are unwilling to give up time with family but more likely to pass on this year's New Year's party."

Holiday travel shifts in 2020

The other holiday travel trends Cars.com uncovered include:

• COVID-19 has a greater impact on December travel than it did during Thanksgiving. For December, 66 percent of Americans' travel plans changed due to the coronavirus pandemic, compared to 54 percent reported at Thanksgiving.

• Americans are anxious to ring in 2021, but they’ll be celebrating at home. Only 33 percent of Americans plan to travel for New Year's, down from 41 percent when asked in October, likely due to rising COVID-19 cases and renewed travel restrictions.

• Travel in major cities is rising. Thanksgiving travelers (44 percent) stayed away from large cities, especially those hit hardest by COVID-19. However, things look better for December, with only 28 percent of December holiday travelers staying away. The top three major cities for holiday travelers are New York, Los Angeles, and Atlanta.

• It’ll be bumper-to-bumper Wednesday and Thursday morning. Cars.com says to expect highway congestion on Wednesday from 6 a.m. - 9 a.m. and Thursday morning 9 a.m. to 12 Noon.

"When it comes to important decisions like whether to celebrate the holidays in person or virtually this year, we recommend following Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines and staying up to date with local COVID-19 rules and restrictions to make the best decision for you and your loved ones," Newman suggested.

After nine months, congressional negotiators have reached an agreement on a nearly $900 billion aid package to help businesses and individuals cope with the economic fallout from the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

In the end, it took eliminating the two provisions that caused the standoff. Democrats’ insistence on billions of dollars for state and local government and the GOP’s demand for immunity from lawsuits for businesses were dropped.

What’s left is a scaled-back version of the $2 trillion CARES Act that Congress passed in April. Key provisions of that measure expire at the end of the month.

Here’s what’s in the bill:

• $600 in direct payments to both adults and children, based on income;

• $300 a week in extra unemployment benefits for 10 weeks;

• $25 billion in rental assistance, extending the moratorium on evictions;

• $280 billion for new Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans;

• $15 billion in grants for theaters and other performance venues;

• $13 billion in additional food stamp and nutrition funding; and

• $30 billion to purchase more COVID-19 vaccines.

Direct payments based on income

The direct payments to Americans are expected to be half the amount contained in the CARES Act, with more of the money targeted to people most in need. Households are expected to receive $600 per adult and $600 per child, with the amounts decreasing as income levels rise.

The extension of the eviction moratorium will likely head off a wave of evictions that would have begun January 1. The CARES Act prevented landlords from evicting tenants who are behind on their rent, but that provision expires with the end of the year.

A last-minute disagreement over the Federal Reserve’s emergency lending powers threatened to hold up an agreement, but Republicans and Democrats were able to reach a compromise.

Congress had to pass a one-day stopgap spending measure so lawmakers could vote today -- the aid package is part of a routine government spending authorization bill.

“At long last, we have the bipartisan breakthrough the country has needed,” said Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.). “Now we need to promptly finalize text, avoid any last-minute obstacles and cooperate to move this legislation through both chambers.”

That’s expected to happen later today.

While the coronavirus hasn’t given Americans much in the way of something nice, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) wants taxpayers to know it actually does have something worth checking out.

Within the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act -- the government legislation that made the first round of stimulus checks possible -- the IRS is offering expanded tax benefits that can help individuals who want to make a charitable donation before 2020 ends.

Tax changes to lessen some of the economic impact of COVID-19

The CARES Act includes temporary tax modifications that can lessen at least some of the pain when it comes to paying the 2020 tax bill next year. All told, there are two changes for individual taxpayers:

New deduction for people who don't itemize. Heading the list is a change that the IRS says nearly 90 percent of taxpayers potentially qualify for. Typically, taxpayers who opt to take the standard deduction can’t claim a deduction for their charitable contributions. However, those individuals can claim a limited deduction on their 2020 federal income tax returns if they make a cash contribution* to a charity and still claim the standard deduction. 

*Note: A cash contribution includes those made by check, credit, or debit card; or amounts incurred by an individual for unreimbursed out-of-pocket expenses in connection with the individual's volunteer services to a qualifying charitable organization. Cash contributions do not include the value of things like volunteer services or contributions of household items like you would take to an organization like Goodwill.

The all-important caveat in this deduction says that individuals can claim an "above-the-line" deduction of up to $300 for cash contributions made to “qualifying charities” during 2020. The maximum above-the-line deduction is $150 for married individuals filing separate returns. 

Itemizers can get as high as a 100 percent limit on cash contributions. Although there are certain limits, taxpayers who itemize have the OK to claim a deduction for charitable contributions if they’re made to qualifying charitable organizations. These limits run from 20-60 percent of an individual's adjusted gross income ("AGI") and vary by the type of contribution and type of charitable organization the money is donated to. 

Where this change really comes in handy is the clause in the CARES Act that permits individuals to apply for an increased limit, up to 100 percent of their AGI, for qualified contributions. That election is made on a contribution-by-contribution basis and has to be a “cash” contribution made during the calendar year 2020 to a qualifying charitable organization.

Like any change from the IRS, there are fine points to consider. The agency offers a complete list of those on its website.

Keep good records

Despite the upsides of these changes, the IRS reminds taxpayers that there are forms to be filled out and special recordkeeping to provide if a taxpayer wants to claim a charitable contribution deduction. 

“Usually, this includes obtaining a receipt or acknowledgment letter from the charity before filing a return and retaining a cancelled check or credit card receipt. For donations of property, additional recordkeeping rules may apply, including filing a Form 8283 and obtaining a qualified appraisal,” the IRS says.

Does this apply to the new round of stimulus checks?

With Congress preparing to provide another round of stimulus checks, it’s unknown if any of the original CARES Act tax benefits will be expanded upon, but anything’s possible. 

To keep up-to-date on everything that may impact coronavirus-related tax changes, be sure to check in at IRS.gov/Coronavirus before going headlong into filling out forms and organizing copies of things like charitable contributions.

A new study conducted by researchers from The Physiological Society has found that consumers’ hand-eye coordination can be impaired even when their blood alcohol levels are below the U.S. legal limit of 0.08 percent. 

The teams says these findings are significant because even moderate drinking can severely affect a person’s ability to drive, even when the law dictates that they’re not in the wrong.

“Our findings provide a cautionary tale that the subjective experience of drunkenness is often not aligned with objective impairment of sensorimotor coordination,” said researcher Terence Tyson. “In other words, most people feel they are unimpaired after one drink, yet they are to a significant degree.” 

Alcohol’s effect on the body

For the study, volunteers were given drinks with varying amounts of alcohol and then instructed to perform spatial awareness tasks on a computer. The researchers analyzed their eye movements, pupil responses, and blood alcohol levels both before and after drinking and completing the activities. 

The study revealed that consumers don’t need to drink in large quantities to be physically affected by alcohol. The participants’ motor skills were affected by just light to moderate drinking, and they struggled with monitoring visual speed when their blood alcohol levels were below the legal limit; this is particularly important when thinking about driving. 

The researchers found that hand-eye coordination was affected when participants’ blood alcohol levels were as low as 0.015 percent. They explained that for a person who weighs around 165 pounds, this would translate to drinking half of one beer. 

All of the participants were young and healthy when the study began, and they identified themselves as light drinkers. The researchers are unsure how these results would change for consumers who are regularly heavy drinkers, or for those who struggle with other health concerns. 

Regardless, these findings are important because many consumers don’t physically feel any different after one or two drinks, and they can often legally drive at that level of intoxication. However, this study shows just how dangerous that assumption is.

Walmart has announced that it’s giving consumers the option of returning orders without having to leave their home. In a blog post on Monday, the company said it’s teamed up with FedEx for a new service designed to make returning items a “hassle-free” experience. 

“Now, customers can schedule a return through our new service, Carrier Pickup by FedEx, which is an incredibly convenient way to make that unwanted gift *magically* disappear,” Walmart said. “Even more magical, this new return option is not only super-easy but also free, and here to stay beyond the holiday season.” 

To use Carrier Pickup by FedEx, customers can print out a shipping label from Walmart’s website, then schedule a time for FedEx to pick up the unwanted item. 

The service is free for items shipped and sold via Walmart.com. The retailer noted that the service is available to “all customers where FedEx provides Small Parcel Pickup service.” Walmart customers can still choose to drop off their returns at FedEx locations instead of using the pickup service. 

Changes to in-store return process 

Walmart said it’s made several changes to its normal in-store returns process in order to keep customers safe and maintain social distancing during the pandemic. 

Customers can start their return online via the Walmart app or website to cut down on time spent in line. At many stores, Walmart said it will open alternative return locations to help keep customers distanced from others in the store. 

“Top that off with more good news for customers: No matter how customers choose to return the item, we’ve worked hard to speed up the time frame for which customers get their money back,” Walmart added. “For many online returns, refunds will be credited to customers’ payment account sometimes as soon as the next day, and same day for in-store returns.” 

Under the $900 billion COVID-19 stimulus agreement reached Sunday, U.S. airlines are scheduled to receive $15 billion in additional federal aid. The deal will also require airlines to call back more than 32,000 workers who were furloughed due to the financial strain of the pandemic. 

The nation’s passenger airlines were given $25 billion in aid under the CARES Act passed in March. Once that aid ran out and it became clear that additional federal support wouldn’t be approved fast enough, airlines made the decision to start furloughing employees.

The funds set aside for airlines in the second stimulus package would help keep airline workers employed until the end of March. The bill would also see that other struggling transportation sectors receive additional funding. It includes: 

• $1 billion for airline contractors;

• $2 billion for airports and concessionaires;

• $14 billion for transit;

• $10 billion for state highways;

• $1 billion for Amtrak; and

• $2 billion for private bus, school bus and ferry companies.

Travelers still not flying

Although many Americans are expected to travel this week, the airline industry has said it’s still feeling the effects of the pandemic. Flight bookings have declined due to the increase in new infections during the fall and winter, and new travel restrictions haven’t helped either.

A survey found that 66 percent of people who plan to travel this week plan to do so using their own vehicle so they can avoid crowded airports.

Drinking milk has been linked with health benefits for young kids, and now researchers have found that it could also benefit infants. 

According to findings from a new study conducted by researchers from Chalmers Institute of Technology, mothers who drink cow’s milk while breastfeeding could reduce their infants’ risk of developing food allergies. 

“We have found that mothers of healthy one-year olds consumed more cow’s milk during breastfeeding than mothers of allergic one-year olds,” said researcher Mia Stråvik. “Though the association is clear, we do not claim that drinking cow’s milk would be a general cure for food allergies.” 

The benefits of drinking milk

For the study, the researchers compared mothers’ diets with their children’s allergy outcomes. They had over 500 mothers complete detailed surveys about their food and drink intake at three junctures both during pregnancy and after childbirth, and their children were assessed for food allergies, asthma, or eczema when they turned one year old. 

Ultimately, the researchers found a significant correlation between women who consumed the most milk while breastfeeding and the lowest rates of child food allergies. Conversely, mothers with the lowest rates of milk consumption were more likely to have children with food allergies. 

“No matter how we looked at and interpreted the data, we came to the same conclusion,” said researcher Malin Barman. “The mechanisms behind why milk has this preventative effect against allergies, however, are still unclear.” 

Though the researchers can’t pinpoint exactly why this relationship exists between cow’s milk and reduced likelihood of food allergies, they did explain that it could be linked to how the exposure to dairy affects infants’ immune systems. 

“One hypothesis is that cow’s milk contains something that activates the child’s immune system and it helps it to develop tolerance,” Barman said. “This as-yet unknown cause could be found in the fat of the milk or its protein content. But it could also be the case that the milk itself is neutral in relation to a relatively lower intake of polyunsaturated fats. This would help, because we believe high levels of polyunsaturated fat in a mother’s diet can counteract the maturation of a child’s immune system at an early age.” 

The researchers explained that many food allergies are unavoidable; however, there is a genetic component to many reactions that children develop, and taking steps to reduce the risk of those allergies could greatly benefit kids. 

“Diet is a factor where parents themselves can have direct influence,” said Stråvik. “It is quite common nowadays for young women to avoid drinking milk, due in part to prevailing trends and concerns, some of which are linked to myths about dieting.” 

If your web browser has recently updated, or you’ve loaded some new browser extensions, you may be seeing a message when you visit certain free content sites.

“Please support journalism by allowing ads,” one of the pop-up messages reads. 

In the message, there is a large link that will disable the adblocker extension in your browser. There is a smaller link that will allow you to proceed to the site while continuing to block ads.

Dominic Chorafakis, with the cybersecurity consulting firm Akouto, says adblocking extensions aren’t exactly new, but it’s possible browsers have strengthened them in recent updates.

“Sites that rely on ad revenue, of course, don’t like this at all, and there is quite a bit of effort being put in from their side to detect when a visitor has adblocking in place and either ask them politely to disable adblocking or outright prevent them from viewing their content unless they disable it,” Chorafakis told ConsumerAffairs.

Not all ads are harmless

Should consumers oblige and disable their adblocker? It’s one thing to support certain websites, but it is quite another to open devices to ads that might be more than simply annoying.

“Malicious ads are a very real thing, and the companies that are making massive profits from internet ads are not doing enough to stop hackers from posting them,” Chorafakis said. “As a result, many legitimate sites end up serving malicious ads to unsuspecting visitors.”

Chorafakis said he makes it a point to keep adblocking enabled on his devices until he sees publishers do more to control the kinds of ads they display.

“I would rather not see a site’s content than take the risk of being served up a malicious ad if that’s how they want to behave,” he said. “If there is something that I absolutely must see but am being prevented by blocker detection, then I will temporarily use a different browser without adblocking that I have specifically for those very rare instances.”

Two business models

The issue highlights a growing dichotomy of the internet. There are companies that earn their revenue from services and subscriptions and those that earn money by showing ads and collecting data. 

Many news sites have erected a paywall that prevents consumers from reading their content unless they subscribe. Most TV stations and TV networks continue to allow viewing for free but show ads to produce revenue.

This split in the internet burst into the open last week when Apple changed its privacy policy and Facebook angrily responded with full-page ads in newspapers denouncing the move.  

Apple’s newly announced  iOS14 privacy changes will require app developers like Facebook to “provide information about some of your app’s data collection practices on your product page.” The change will also require Facebook to “ask users for their permission to track them across apps and websites owned by other companies.”

In the ad, Facebook maintained that Apple’s changes will be “devastating to small businesses” that rely on its ad network to leverage clicks and sales. 

It also highlights the internet’s divide between consumers who value privacy and are willing and able to pay for the content they view and consumers who are willing to accept some limits on privacy in exchange for free content.

Audi is recalling 5,426 model year 2021 RS5 Sportbacks, S5 Sportbacks and model year 2020-2021 Audi A5 Sportbacks

The wiring harness for the rear lights could be missing the anti-abrasion protection in the area of the spare wheel well.

Without the scuff protection, the wires may become damaged in a rear crash, disabling the doors from being opened from the outside, causing a loss of hazard lights, and increasing the risk of injury.

What to do

Audi will notify owners, and dealers will apply scuff protection free of charge.

The recall is expected to begin January 22, 2021.

Owners may contact Audi customer service at (800) 253-2834. Audi's number for this recall is 97EU.