Current Events in January 2021

Recent studies have highlighted how exposure to high levels of air pollution can affect kids’ development. Now, a new study conducted by researchers from Lehigh University has found that exposure to another form of pollution could increase pregnant women’s risk of preterm birth. 

According to the researchers, light pollution can increase the risk for several pregnancy complications, including premature birth and low birth weight. 

How can consumers’ behaviors contribute to light pollution?

For the study, the researchers measured skyglow and what effect it had on women having a full, healthy pregnancy. Skyglow refers to nighttime brightness, and it is created by both natural and manmade sources -- like the reflection of sunlight on earth or street lights that reflect into the sky. The researchers say high levels of skyglow can be dangerous because it typically means there are higher levels of light pollution. 

The researchers learned that women who were exposed to the highest levels of light pollution were nearly 13 percent more likely to have a premature birth, and those who live in urban areas or major cities were found to be more at risk.

The team believes that nighttime brightness can affect pregnancy because exposure to light disrupts the body’s natural circadian rhythm. However, this doesn’t just happen due to natural circumstances. Consumers who spend a great deal of time in front of artificial light at night -- such as screens, candles, lamps, etc. -- are more likely to have their circadian rhythms thrown off.

“While greater use of artificial light at night is often associated with greater economic prosperity, our study highlights an often neglected health benefit of darkness,” said researcher Muzhe Yang. “We must realize that the biological clock (i.e., the circadian rhythm) of a human body, like all lives on the earth, needs the ‘darkness’ as part of the light-dark cycle, in order to effectively regulate physiological functions, such as sleep.” 

Though their findings are specifically geared toward pregnant women, the researchers hope that consumers recognize just how detrimental light pollution can be to anyone. 

Volvo Cars USA is recalling 2,883 model year 2021 Volvo V60s, V60 Cross Countrys, V90s, V90 Cross Countrys, XC60s, and XC90s.

The Supplementary Restraint System (SRS) control unit may not have been properly attached to the car body and may detach during a crash.

A detached SRS control unit can decrease the performance of occupant protection systems such as airbags, seat belts, and high voltage battery disconnect, increasing the risk of injury.

What to do

Volvo will notify owners, and dealers will inspect and -- as necessary -- tighten the SRS control unit mounting screws free of charge.

The recall is expected to begin February 19, 2021.

Owners may contact Volvo Car customer service at (800) 458-1552. Volvo Car's number for this recall is R10068.

Hand sanitizers are back in the news. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) says it has discovered a new batch of sanitizers from Mexico -- on top of the dozens it found earlier in the pandemic -- that have “dangerous levels” of toxic ingredients. 

To protect consumers, the agency has placed all alcohol-based hand sanitizers from Mexico on a countrywide import alert until the agency is able to review the products’ safety. 

The FDA says the hand sanitizers that it has identified as toxic list ethanol as an ingredient. However, officials say the products actually include methanol -- aka wood alcohol. While ethanol is used in medical wipes and most commonly in antibacterial hand sanitizer gels, methanol can be toxic when absorbed through the skin or ingested.

Serious consequences

Exposure to methanol can cause a large list of side effects and symptoms, including dermatitis, nausea, vomiting, headache, blurred vision, permanent blindness, seizures, coma, permanent damage to the nervous system, and even death. While anyone using these products on their hands is at risk, the FDA says it’s more concerned about young children who accidentally ingest these products.

In fact, the FDA said one of the items -- Soho Fresh Hand Sanitizer -- may be labeled as a hand sanitizer, but it’s actually a drug. Officials called out the manufacturer for misbranding and failing to get FDA approval.

"Consumer use of hand sanitizers has increased significantly during the coronavirus pandemic, especially when soap and water are not accessible, and the availability of poor-quality products with dangerous and unacceptable ingredients will not be tolerated," said Judy McMeekin, Pharm.D., FDA Associate Commissioner for Regulatory Affairs. 

“Today’s actions are necessary to protect the safe supply of alcohol-based hand sanitizers. We will continue to work with our stakeholders to ensure the availability of safe products and to communicate vital information with the health and safety of U.S. consumers in mind.” 

Nearly every hand sanitizer coming from Mexico poses a risk

The FDA says consumers can’t be too careful regarding hand sanitizers imported from Mexico. Its analyses of alcohol-based hand sanitizers imported from Mexico between April and December 2020 found that 84 percent of the samples were not in compliance with the regulations. 

The FDA has put together a list of specific manufacturers, distributors, and National Drug Codes related to hand sanitizers to help spread the word about potentially hazardous products.

“If a product on the list...does not identify the manufacturer on the label, consumers can contact the distributor whose name appears on the label to find out who manufactured the product,” the FDA advises. The agency added that if the distributor refuses to clarify this information when contacted, consumers should not use that product at all.

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

Total U.S. confirmed cases: 25,466,642 (25,306,581)

Total U.S. deaths: 426,052 (421,890)

Total global cases: 100,441,945 (99,866,335)

Total global deaths: 2,162,333 (2,144,594)

January claims title of deadliest month

With five days left in the month, January has already become the deadliest month for the coronavirus (COVID-19). An analysis of data collected by Johns Hopkins University shows that there have been about 80,000 reported COVID-19 deaths, slightly more than recorded in December.

Health officials are hopeful that January will mark the peak of coronavirus deaths, and there are already signs that could be the case. The seven-day average of daily coronavirus cases has fallen by about 17 percent from a week ago. That said, the worldwide number of cases went over 100 million today.

In another good sign, the number of people requiring treatment in hospitals is also declining. However, there are still plenty of reasons to be concerned as new strains of the virus are beginning to show up in the U.S.

Eli Lilly says drug combo may help lower death toll

Eli Lilly has announced that two of its drugs, bamlanivimab and etesevimab, “significantly reduced” COVID-19-related hospitalizations and deaths in high-risk patients when used together. The company says the drugs could be powerful weapons in the effort to lower the death rate from the virus.

"The death toll from COVID-19 continues to rise around the world and hospitalizations, particularly in the U.S., have reached record highs,” said Dr. Daniel Skovronsky, Lilly's chief scientific officer. “These data further support our belief that bamlanivimab and etesevimab together have the potential to be an important treatment that significantly reduces hospitalizations and death in high-risk COVID-19 patients.”

Lilly says bamlanivimab and etesevimab together also demonstrated statistically significant improvements on all key secondary endpoints, providing strong evidence that the therapy reduced viral load and accelerated symptom resolution.

Poll: Pandemic causes rise in credit card debt

American households that have credit card balances have added to those balances during the coronavirus pandemic. A poll by CreditCards.com found that 51 million people have a larger credit card balance now than they did before the start of the pandemic.

The poll also shows that millennials are struggling more than any generation – more than half of them have gone more deeply into debt over the last 10 months. Fifty-five percent said the extra debt is directly related to the pandemic.

“Millennials are overrepresented in the workforce right now, especially in service jobs, which are very heavily affected by the pandemic,” said Jake Hill, CEO of DebtHammer.

Wages rose in 2020 despite pandemic

The pandemic sent the nation’s unemployment rate to new highs in 2020, but people who kept their jobs enjoyed higher wages, according to a report from ADP. The report showed that wages for U.S. workers grew 4.4 percent over the last year, increasing the average wage level by $1.27 to $30.19 an hour.

At the same time, the report documents a continued slide in employment growth, which fell 7.9 percent. Claims for unemployment benefits have risen in the last four weeks as the rise in coronavirus cases has produced renewed restrictions on some businesses.

"The headline wage number masks the turbulence in the job market caused by COVID-19," said Nela Richardson, chief economist at ADP. "When you look deeper at the data, it shows that the significant job losses we've seen in the lower-income positions has inflated the overall average wage growth. For that reason, it looks like wages are growing at a healthy clip, when for the majority of workers, wages were either mostly flat or barely growing above inflation at year-end.”

Free app can detect when shoppers aren’t wearing a mask

For some reason, wearing a mask in a crowded public space is still a controversial idea in some circles. But a tech company says it has an app to improve compliance with mask mandates.

The firm, workM8.io, has released a free mask detection algorithm for its visionM8 Android computer-vision app. The algorithm is able to detect people without appropriate face coverings and is designed for deployment in retail stores, hospitality, services, and public organizations.

It relieves staff of the burden of confronting the person. Instead, an alarm sounds and the image of the offender is displayed on large video monitors.

Around the nation

• Texas: After congressional efforts to shield businesses from COVID-19 lawsuits failed, Gov. Greg Abbott is pressing the state legislature to provide that protection in Texas. He said his purpose is to reduce the number of lawsuits and create more jobs.

• Minnesota: With the coronavirus vaccine in short supply, state health officials are resorting to a unique solution. They’ve created a lottery for the state’s senior citizens who want to be inoculated. More than 200,000 seniors have already signed up.

• Ohio: With statewide cases on the decline, Gov. Mike DeWine is considering a change to Ohio's curfew. “If Ohio has 7 straight days of hospitalizations below 3,500, we will go to an 11 p.m. curfew for at least 2 weeks,” DeWine said in a tweet. “So far, we have had 6 straight days below this number.”

In a new executive order, President Biden has ordered the Department of Justice (DOJ) to phase out contracts with private prisons. 

The president said the executive order, which was signed on Tuesday, is part of a larger push to end racial inequity in America through governmental changes. The order directs the DOJ to stop renewing contracts with privately managed prisons, which some argue do not have effective models in place for rehabilitating offenders. 

“To decrease incarceration levels, we must reduce profit-based incentives to incarcerate by phasing out the federal government's reliance on privately operated criminal detention facilities,” Biden wrote in the order.

More than 14,000 federal inmates are housed at privately-run criminal detention facilities, which is just a small percentage of the nearly 152,000 inmates currently in federal prisons. Biden said the order is “a first step to stop corporations from profiting off of incarceration.”

Reforming the prison system

At a White House press briefing, Susan Rice, the president’s domestic policy advisor, said privately run prisons “profiteer off federal prisoners and are proven to be, or found to be by the Department of Justice inspector general, less safe for correctional officers and prisoners.”

Rice noted that Biden’s order does not apply to private-prison contracts with other agencies, such as Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

On Twitter, Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D - Mass.) praised Biden's order but said more action was needed. Warren said the president should also move to end the use of private facilities to hold immigrants. 

"Our justice and immigration systems reward private prison companies for locking up more people in worse conditions. I've repeatedly called for an end to private prisons, and I'm glad President Biden is taking action. For-profit immigrant detention facilities have to go too," Warren tweeted.

A great deal of climate change-related news can be overwhelming or stress-inducing for consumers; however, a new study conducted by researchers from the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory highlights some positives in the fight against climate change. 

According to the team, eliminating carbon emissions -- and even having negative emissions levels -- is both a possible and affordable reality for the United States to achieve over the next three decades. 

“The decarbonization of the U.S. energy system is fundamentally an infrastructure transformation,” said researcher Margaret Torn. “It means that by 2050 we need to build many gigawatts of wind and solar power plants, new transmission lines, a fleet of electric cars and light trucks, millions of heat pumps to replace conventional furnaces and water heaters, and more energy-efficient buildings -- while continuing to research and innovate new technologies.” 

Changes that will make a lasting difference

Because of how quickly and drastically climate change is affecting the planet, the researchers’ goal was to determine the best possible route to eliminating carbon emissions. By getting to net-zero carbon emissions over the next 30 years, the researchers explained that experts could get a better handle on the rising global temperature. 

For this study, the team analyzed the industrial and energy-based systems currently in place in the U.S. and sought to determine what can be done to improve these efforts. They determined that ramping up efforts that are already in place that focus on renewable energy sources and electric cars will lead to lasting environmental changes across the country. The goal, they say, is to eliminate carbon- and oil-based heating and energy sources by changing the energy infrastructure to rely mainly on solar, wind, and bioenergy. 

However, this plan wouldn’t require consumers or corporations to switch everything right away. Simply replacing items at the end of their lifespans with eco-friendly options could make a huge difference. The study findings suggest that these efforts wouldn’t require a huge financial commitment either; while a great deal of land and labor would be necessary to build solar and wind farms, the researchers say the pros ultimately outweigh the cons. 

One thing working in this plan’s favor is that the costs of both renewable energy sources and electric car batteries have dropped significantly in recent years. The researchers say another benefit is that building new energy systems would also create many jobs across the country.

“All that infrastructure build equates to jobs, and potentially jobs in the U.S., as opposed to sending money overseas to buy oil from other countries,” said Torn. “There’s no question that there will need to be a well-thought-out economic transition strategy for fossil fuel-based industries and communities, but there’s also no question that there are a lot of jobs in building a low-carbon economy.” 

What are the next steps?

While this is certainly an enormous, ongoing project, the researchers explained that efforts to reduce carbon emissions need to be happening now. Regardless of what happens in the future, this next decade is crucial in taking those first steps towards using more renewable energy sources and getting more electric vehicles on the road. 

“This is a very important finding,” said researcher Jim Williams. “We don’t need to have this big battle now over questions like the near-term construction of nuclear power plants, because new nuclear is not required in the next ten years to be on a net-zero emissions path. Instead, we should make policy to drive the steps that we know are required now while accelerating R&D and further developing our options for the choices we must make starting in the 2030s.” 

Walmart has announced that it plans to build more automated warehouses into its stores this year in an effort to handle the surge in online pickup and delivery orders. 

The automated fulfillment centers will either be built into back rooms of stores or next to the stores. Inside, robots will retrieve items from shelves and bring them to an area where Walmart workers can assemble them for pickup or delivery. 

The automated warehouses will house an array of frequently purchased pantry items, frozen foods, consumables, and electronics. While robots will gather a majority of items, human associates will be in charge of picking out products such as meat, vegetables, and fruit. 

In a post announcing the initiative, Walmart’s SVP of Customer Product Tom Ward said the process can “take just a few minutes from the time the order is placed to the time it’s ready for a customer or delivery driver to collect.” 

Picking up the pace

Walmart says enlisting the help of wheeled robots will help speed up the process of getting goods out to consumers, as well as ease congestion in store aisles. By fulfilling orders faster, Walmart will be able to accommodate more online orders. 

The COVID-19 pandemic led to a dramatic increase in online ordering. Walmart reported that its online sales rose 79 percent during the three months ending October 31 compared with the same period last year. 

"Since the pandemic began we’ve steadily experienced record-high adoption of these services,” Ward said during a call with reporters. “We expect we will continue to serve more and more customers who will come to rely on pickup and delivery as an important part of their lives.”

A new study conducted by researchers from the American Marketing Association explored how consumers’ generosity changes when they receive promotions at work. 

While several factors come into play, the researchers learned that consumers who received promotions -- and larger paychecks -- were likely to donate more money to charity. 

“Price promotions can have a positive effect on consumers’ donation behavior because the monetary savings from price promotions increase consumers’ perceived resources,” said researcher Kuangjie Zhang. “We also show that the positive effect of price promotions on consumers’ donation behavior is stronger when consumers focus on the amount of money saved, when the purchase falls within their budget, and when the monetary savings can be realized immediately.” 

What makes consumers more likely to give back?

To better understand how getting a job promotion can affect consumers’ generosity, the researchers analyzed seven previous studies that explored similar ideas. 

Ultimately, the researchers learned that making more money led to larger charitable donations. They explained that a larger paycheck is likely to make consumers feel more financially secure, and with that security, they feel better equipped to give back more. Additionally, they found that consumers were the most likely to give back when prompted for a charitable donation right after making a purchase. 

The researchers say it’s important for consumers to see the benefits of the donation; otherwise, it could make them more skeptical to donate in the future. Though making more money can lead to greater security, it can also make consumers more aware of just how much they’re spending and saving. 

The researchers found that consumers are likely to second-guess their charitable contributions when they focus more on money going out than on money coming in. This line of thinking can lead to worries about overspending, which might impact how much or how often they donate in the future. 

Greater insight for charities

However, there are several positives to take away from this study. In knowing that job promotions are likely to make consumers more generous, the researchers suggest that these findings could be particularly important for charitable organizations. For groups that are looking for donations, focusing the search on those who have just received promotions can be a great place to start. 

The researchers are excited about these findings because they show how consumers’ behavior following a job promotion can work to improve the world at-large. 

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has given a return to school classrooms the green light. In an article in JAMA published on Tuesday, agency officials said a “preponderance of available evidence” shows that in-person learning can be carried out safely as long as students and teachers mask-up and maintain social distancing. 

The key word in the CDC’s clearance is classrooms -- not gyms, group sports, or cafeterias. The agency said that school administrators must bridle activities that could be risky. 

“It’s not going to be safe to have a pizza party with a group of students,” Margaret Honein, a member of the C.D.C.’s COVID-19 emergency response team and one of the article’s writers, told the New York Times. “But outdoor cross-country, where distance can be maintained, might be fine to continue.”

Benefits outweigh the downsides

As many parents know, tele-education has proven to be stressful for everyone involved. However, CDC officials said there wasn’t really a safe option during the early stages of the pandemic. 

“Planning for the 2020/2021 school year included much uncertainty about the risk of transmission in school settings. While the benefits of in-person school attendance were well understood, the appropriate evaluation of its risks vs benefits was hampered by limited information about transmission risk in classroom settings,” the CDC officials wrote.

“Closing schools could adversely affect students’ academic progress, mental health, and access to essential services; however, if SARS-CoV-2 rapidly spread in classrooms, opening schools might accelerate community transmission of the virus. There were no simple decisions for parents, teachers, administrators, or public officials.”

The proof speaks for itself

Now that the world is starting to understand COVID-19 better, vaccines are being distributed, and there’s research to back up the CDC’s guidance, schools are able to reopen with more safety than before. While there have been some actual school-related cases of COVID-19 reported, the officials say there has been little evidence that schools have “contributed meaningfully to increased community transmission.”

In fact, being inside of a classroom has proven to be safer than being in a circle of friends and family. Citing a controlled study in Mississippi with children aged 0 through 18 years, the study showed that attending gatherings and social functions outside the home, as well as having visitors in the home, was associated with increased risk of infection; however, in-person school attendance during the 14 days prior to diagnosis was not. 

The success of the Mississippi study was also repeated in rural Wisconsin and 11 school districts in North Carolina.

French drugmaker Sanofi has agreed to produce 125 million doses of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine in an effort to speed up distribution. 

The company announced Wednesday that it will give BioNTech access to its German plant in Frankfurt. At the facility, Sanofi will help pack and fill doses of the vaccine with the aim of delivering them this summer. 

Sanofi CEO Paul Hudson said the company is “conscious” of the fact that lives can be saved by getting vaccines out as quickly as possible. 

“Since our main vaccine is a few months late, we asked ourselves how we could be of assistance now,” Hudson told Le Figaro newspaper.

Addressing vaccine shortage

Hudson said Sanofi’s decision to help Pfizer is intended to help mitigate shortages and delays in the vaccine rollout process. 

“Although vaccination campaigns have started around the world, the ability to get shots into arms is being limited by lower than expected supplies and delayed approval timelines owing to production shortages. We have made the decision to support BioNTech and Pfizer in manufacturing their COVID-19 vaccine in order to help address global needs, given that we have the technology and facilities to do so,” Hudson said.

Sanofi is collaborating with GlaxoSmithKline on a vaccine, but it’s still in the trial phase. A global Phase 3 study could start in the second quarter, and the vaccine likely won’t be ready until late 2021. The companies are currently working on improving the vaccine’s effectiveness in older people.

If you’re a Verizon customer and had trouble getting online Tuesday afternoon, the problem wasn’t your device or your Wi-Fi. The carrier said it suffered an outage that affected customers in the Northeast.

Most of the outage occurred between Boston and Washington, DC, which covers millions of Verizon customers. The company said its network suffered “degraded service,” causing some applications requiring high bandwidth to stop working. 

Verizon said its engineers and techs began responding to trouble reports during the late morning on Tuesday, with issues lasting into the early afternoon. This left employees working from home and students attending online classes in the dark. Customers like “Flight’s Burner” took to Twitter to express their frustration.

“Why does Verizon want to have a major outage when I have class?” he posted.

Twitter users also reported that they were also having issues with Zoom, Slack, Gmail, and Amazon Web Services (AWS). A graph on Zoom’s status page shows a huge spike in trouble reports peaking around noon on Tuesday.

"We are aware of an issue impacting the quality of Fios service throughout the Northeast corridor," Rich Young, a spokesman for Verizon told CNN. "Our network team is fully engaged. We are working through the root cause and have already seen service levels start to restore."

FCC takes notice

While Verizon engineers worked to figure out the cause of the outage, it caught the attention of the Federal Communications Commission. Acting Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel wrote on Twitter that both her agency and the Department of Homeland Security were investigating because the outage interfered with Americans attending class and working remotely.

The Wall Street Journal reports that Kentik, an internet measurement company, tracked a 12 percent drop in data traffic to Verizon during the three hours or so that service was interrupted. At this point, all indications suggest the issue was limited to the Northeast region.

Consumer confidence increased slightly in January, despite the fact that cases of the coronavirus (COVID-19) are increasing and U.S. deaths from the pandemic surpassed 400,000 this month.

The Conference Board’s monthly Consumer Confidence Index rose to 89.3 this month after falling to 87.1 in December. Lynn Franco, senior director of Economic Indicators at The Conference Board, said the monthly survey shows consumers are well aware of the current challenges posed by the pandemic but are hopeful about the future.

"Consumers' expectations for the economy and jobs advanced further, suggesting that consumers foresee conditions improving in the not-too-distant future,” she said. “In addition, the percent of consumers who said they intend to purchase a home in the next six months improved, suggesting that the pace of home sales should remain robust in early 2021."

But all of that optimism may be months away from being realized. The Present Situation Index – based on consumers' assessment of current business and labor market conditions – fell this month from 87.2 to 84.4. The Expectations Index – based on consumers' short-term outlook for income, business, and labor market conditions – increased from 87.0 in December to 92.5 this month.  

For example, the percentage of consumers saying business conditions are "good" increased from 15.4 percent to 15.8 percent, but those claiming business conditions are "bad" also increased, from 39.7 percent to 42.8 percent. 

Hopes for a better job market

With unemployment claims rising over the last month, consumers' assessment of the labor market was also less favorable. The percentage of consumers saying jobs are "plentiful" declined from 21.0 percent to 20.6 percent, while those claiming jobs are "hard to get" rose from 22.9 percent to 23.8 percent.

The bright spot in the survey is the short-term future. The percentage of consumers expecting business conditions to get better over the next six months rose from 29.5 percent to 33.7 percent. The percentage of consumers expecting business conditions will worsen decreased from 22.0 percent to 18.1 percent. 

Even though the labor market appears to have gotten worse over the last four months, consumers expect that to get better as the coronavirus vaccine becomes more widely distributed. The percentage of consumers expecting a better job market in the next six months rose from 28 percent in December to 31.3 percent this month.

Bob Evans Farms of Xenia, Ohio, is recalling approximately 4,200 pounds of pork sausage.

The product may be contaminated with extraneous materials -- specifically thin blue rubber.

The following item, produced on December 17, 2020, is being recalled:

• 1-lb. chubs containing “Bob Evans Italian Sausage” with lot code 0352 and a “USE/FRZ BY” date of “JAN 31 21” represented on the label.

The recalled product, bearing establishment number “EST. 6785” printed directly above the “USE/FRZ BY” date, was shipped to retail locations in Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.

What to do

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

Consumers with questions may contact Alison Emery at (614) 778-1886 or by email at alison.emery@bobevansfoods.com.

General Motors is recalling 470 of the following vehicles:

• Model year 2020 Chevrolet Bolt EVs, and
• Model year 2021 GMC Canyons and Sierra 1500s, 2500s, 3500s, Yukons, Yukon XLs, Cadillac Escalades, Escalade ESVs, Chevrolet Blazers, Camaros, Colorados, Equinoxs, Silverado 1500s, 2500s, 3500s, Suburbans and Tahoes.

Incorrect bolts may have been used at one or more fastening locations to secure the seat belts to the vehicle. If an incorrect bolt was used, the seat belt may not be properly attached to the vehicle.

If a seat belt assembly is not properly attached to the vehicle, the seat belt may not properly restrain an occupant in a crash, increasing the risk of injury.

What to do

GM will notify owners, and dealers will replace the suspect bolts free of charge.

The recall is expected to begin February 6, 2021.

Owners may contact GMC customer service at (800) 462-8785, Cadillac customer service at (800) 458-8006, or Chevrolet customer service at (800) 222-1020. GM's number for this recall is N202322230.

Rapala USA of Minnetonka, Minn., is recalling about 128,000 Rapala Rechargeable Fillet Knives (Item No. RRFN).

The battery can overheat and catch fire if non-Rapala chargers are used to charge the battery.

The firm has received reports of 12 batteries overheating and catching fire, in some cases causing damage to surrounding areas. No injuries have been reported.

This recall involves the Rapala Rechargeable Fillet Knife with item number RRFN. The knife handles are black and gray. The Rapala logo is printed in red on the handle, along with the word ION in white.

The knives, manufactured in China, were sold at Bass Pro Shops, Cabela’s, Fleet Farm and sporting goods stores nationwide and online at rapala.com from March 2011, through December 2018, for about $101.

What to do

Consumers should immediately stop using the recalled rechargeable fillet knife, remove the battery and look for a white ETL label on the battery.

If the battery does not have a white ETL label, consumers should contact Rapala USA for a free replacement battery and for pre-paid return of the old battery to Rapala for proper disposal.

Consumers may contact Rapala USA at (800) 874-4451, by email at custserv@rapalausa.com, or online at https://www.rapala.com/content/rapala-legal/Rapala-Knife-Recall.html for more information.

Daimler Vans USA (DVUSA) is recalling 9.094 model year 2019-2020 Mercedes-Benz Sprinters and Freightliner Sprinters with electric parking brakes.

The rear brake calipers may leak brake fluid into the housing of the electric parking brake connected to the rear axle service brake system, allowing air to enter the hydraulic brake system.

Air in the brake system can result in extended brake pedal travel, increasing the risk of a crash.

What to do

DVUSA has not yet established a remedy.

The recall was expected to begin January 25, 2021.

Owners may contact DVUSA customer service at (877) 762-8267. DVUSA's number for this recall is VS3BREPB.

Apple has put out a warning saying that iPhones could interfere with pacemakers, Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillators (ICDs), and other medical devices. 

In a notice published on the company’s support page over the weekend, Apple said iPhones contain magnets and radios that emit electromagnetic fields -- and implanted medical devices contain sensors that could interact with these magnets and radios.

“IPhone contains magnets as well as components and radios that emit electromagnetic fields. All MagSafe accessories (each sold separately) also contain magnets — and MagSafe Charger and MagSafe Duo Charger contain radios. These magnets and electromagnetic fields might interfere with medical devices,” Apple said.

Avoiding potential interactions

The company said all four iPhone 12 models have more magnets inside than older models. However, the new iPhones are “not expected to pose a greater risk of magnetic interference to medical devices than prior iPhone models.”

To ensure the efficacy of implanted medical devices, Apple recommends keeping iPhones and MagSafe charging docks a “safe distance” away. The company defined a “safe distance” as more than six inches apart, or 15 inches apart when it is wirelessly charging. 

"Consult your physician and medical device manufacturer for information specific to your medical device and whether you need to maintain a safe distance of separation between your medical device and iPhone or any MagSafe accessories," Apple said. 

The company added that consumers who feel like their iPhone 12 or MagSafe charger is interfering with their medical device should stop using them.

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

Total U.S. confirmed cases: 25,306,581 (25,144,973)

Total U.S. deaths: 421,890 (419,341)

Total global cases: 99,866,335 (99,346,343)

Total global deaths: 2,144,594 (2,132,491)

Brazilian strain found in Minnesota

The Minnesota Department of Health has found a variant of the coronavirus (COVID-19) that originated in Brazil. Like the variant identified last month in the U.K., this virus is believed to be more easily transmissible than the original.

Officials said the mutant strain was identified because of the health department’s variant surveillance program. The department said it routinely collects 50 random samples each week for genome sequencing. The infected person is a resident of Minneapolis who had recently traveled to Brazil.

“We’re thankful that our testing program helped us find this case, and we thank all Minnesotans who seek out testing when they feel sick or otherwise have reason to get a test,” Minnesota Commissioner of Health Jan Malcolm said in a statement. 

States seek to repurpose unused vaccines

States are complaining about shortages of COVID-19 vaccines, and a few are eyeing unused doses set aside for long-term care facilities. Officials say thousands of shots given to nursing homes and other long-term care facilities through a federal program are going unused, and they’d like to have them.

“We are stressing to our districts to get vaccine moved from freezer to Oklahomans, preferably within a seven-day time period,” said Keith Reed, deputy commissioner of Oklahoma’s health department. “And this vaccine is really just sitting right now.”

Officials say the shortage has grown more severe because most states have now included people age 65 and older in the high priority group to receive the vaccine.

Experts: The risk has increased

With new, easier-to-transmit variants of the coronavirus now circulating in the U.S., health experts say everyday activities Americans have performed with little risk may now carry a higher risk of infection.

"We've seen what happens in other countries that have actually had coronavirus under relatively good control, then these variants took over and they had explosive spread of the virus, and then overwhelmed hospitals," emergency physician Dr. Leana Wen told CNN.

As we recently reported, some health experts are urging Americans to upgrade their masks to those that filter out 95 percent of germs. Dr. Anthony Fauci, head of the National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), said wearing two masks can increase protection.

Survey: Pandemic caused a drop in big purchases

Data has shown that consumers, by and large, have saved more money during the coronavirus pandemic. One way they’ve managed to do that, apparently, is by putting off major purchases.

A recent survey from personal finance site WalletHub shows that about 42 percent of U.S. consumers did not make a large purchase in 2020 due to COVID-19. The pandemic has left millions of people unemployed, and the survey authors say that has forced people to reevaluate how much they can afford to spend.

Even consumers who still have their jobs are feeling economic uncertainty. According to the survey, 91 percent of consumers said they put off a big purchase for fear of maxing out their credit card.

This Bud is sitting out the Super Bowl

Budweiser commercials have long been a staple of the Super Bowl telecast. This year, they’ll be noticeably absent during the game between the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Kansas City Chiefs.

Instead, the brewer said it will donate the money it would ordinarily spend on the high-profile event to the Ad Council to purchase time to air informational messages about the coronavirus vaccine.

Budweiser released a YouTube video on Monday announcing its decision while also praising America’s resilience. 

Around the state

• New York: New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio now concedes that the city will fall short of administering 1 million doses of the coronavirus vaccine by the end of January. To date, the city has administered 628,831 doses of the Moderna and Pfizer COVID-19 vaccines since shipments first arrived last month. 

• Pennsylvania: Officials are encouraging school districts around the state to reopen in-person classroom instruction for the state’s elementary school students in cases where it’s safe. Children have been away from the classroom for nearly a year.

• Wisconsin: The state’s doctors are going head-to-head with Republicans who have proposed overturning the statewide mask mandate. "Other than vaccines, mask-wearing is one of the few tools we have in our arsenal to help prevent spreading COVID-19 even further than it already has," said Dr. Bud Chumbley, chief operating officer of the Wisconsin Medical Society.