Current Events in February 2021

Thieves may be targeting your car, but it’s not the car they want -- or even the fancy infotainment system. Instead, police across America are reporting a rash of cases in which thieves have stolen catalytic converters.

A catalytic converter is an innocuous piece of hardware under the vehicle between the motor and the exhaust. It scrubs the fuel emissions before they are released into the atmosphere.

“Catalytic converter thefts are out of control,” Richland County, S.C., Sheriff Leon Lott told Columbia’s The State newspaper. “It’s not a sexy crime that gets a lot of attention, but it’s very damaging to those who get one stolen. It can cost thousands of dollars to get your car repaired.”

So what’s so appealing about a catalytic converter? The device uses a number of precious metals -- including gold, platinum, palladium, and rhodium -- to perform its task. The prices of those metals have surged in recent months, creating a black market for stolen catalytic converters.

Thefts surged in January

In Denver, KCNC-TV reports that the Denver Police Department received 108 reports of stolen catalytic converters in January alone. In all of 2020, it received 257. The thieves often get $100 or more for the small amount of metal inside the devices when they take them to scrap metal yards.

“Unfortunately, there are no regulations on scrap yards to report a load of metal coming in to police,” Denver Police Sergeant George Kenny told the station. “That’s the frustrating part about this whole thing. They don’t know they’re stolen because you can’t really track catalytic converter serial numbers. It’s just metal coming into the scrap yards and there’s no regulation to report that to authorities.”

Police across the country are reporting a rise in thefts and say a majority appear to be occurring at night when the vehicle is parked on the street or in a driveway. But it’s also been known to happen in broad daylight.

How to protect yourself

Police say there are steps vehicle owners can take to minimize their risks of becoming a victim. If you have a garage, put your vehicles inside at night and lock the doors. If a car is parked in a driveway at night, keep an outside light on and listen for unusual sounds coming from the areas during the night.

Because thieves are also targeting parking lots, consider taking a rideshare to the airport instead of leaving your car in long-term parking.

If your catalytic converter is stolen, you probably won’t know until you start your vehicle. Since the device is located under the vehicle, there are no outward signs that it’s missing. However, you’ll know as soon as you start the engine. It will make a loud rumbling noise that gets louder as you accelerate.

Since the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, several studies have highlighted the increase in consumers’ drinking habits.

Now, a new study conducted by researchers from the University of Arizona has found that the pandemic has prompted many consumers to use alcohol in harmful ways.

“Being under lockdown during a worldwide pandemic has been hard on everyone, and many people are relying on greater quantities of alcohol to ease their distress,” said researcher William Killgore, PhD. “We found that younger people were the most susceptible to increased alcohol use during the pandemic, which could set them on the dangerous path toward long-term alcohol dependence.”  

Harmful alcohol habits

To gauge how consumers were using alcohol during the pandemic, the researchers surveyed nearly 6,000 adults from all 50 states every month between April and September. A portion of the participants also answered a survey each month -- the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT) -- to determine potentially harmful alcohol-related behaviors and alcohol dependence. 

As the study progressed each month, the participants reported higher levels of alcohol consumption, stronger alcohol dependence, and an increase in harmful behaviors linked to greater alcohol intake. Based on the AUDIT results, the researchers learned that more than 29 percent of the participants qualified as having probable alcohol dependence; when the study began in April, that figure was under 8 percent. At the start of the study, harmful alcohol use affected 21 percent of participants. By September, more than 40 percent of the participants were using alcohol in harmful ways. 

“Being cooped up with family for weeks and months without a break can be difficult, but when excess alcohol gets mixed in, it can be a recipe for increased aggressive behavior and domestic violence,” said Dr. Killgore. “I worry about the effect on families and children.” 

The researchers’ worries align with other recent study findings, which have shown that both domestic violence reports and drunk driving accidents have increased since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. 

While stay-at-home orders have placed consumers under a significant amount of stress, there are several negative health consequences linked with any level of alcohol consumption. That’s why it’s important that consumers find healthy ways to cope.

A new study conducted by researchers from University College London has found a link between prediabetes and impaired brain function.  

According to the team’s findings, consumers with consistently high blood sugar are at an increased risk of developing dementia and experiencing cognitive decline.

“Our research shows a possible link between higher blood sugar levels -- a state often described as ‘prediabetes’ -- and higher risks of cognitive decline and vascular dementia,” said researcher Dr. Victoria Garfield. “As an observational study, it cannot prove high blood sugar levels cause worsening brain health. However, we believe there is a potential connection that needs to be investigated further.”  

The link between blood sugar and brain function

For the study, the researchers analyzed data from individuals involved in the U.K. Biobank dataset. All of the participants received MRI brain scans, regular blood work to measure their blood sugar levels, and cognitive assessments. With all of this information, the researchers worked to determine what effect blood sugar has on brain function. 

The researchers found that brain health worsened over time among the participants with the highest blood sugar levels. Findings showed that these participants were at an increased risk of developing vascular dementia and were over 40 percent more likely to experience mild cognitive decline. 

“Previous research has found a link between poorer cognitive outcomes and diabetes, but our study is the first to investigate how having high blood sugar levels that are relatively high -- but do not yet constitute diabetes -- may affect our brain health,” Dr. Garfield said. 

The study showed that participants who had been diagnosed with diabetes had a similar rate of cognitive decline as participants with prediabetes. However, the risk of dementia was three times higher for participants with diabetes. While there was no increased risk of Alzheimer’s for participants with prediabetes, the researchers found that progressing to diabetes also increased the risk of this condition. 

Staying healthy into old age

Moving forward, the researchers hope that more work is done to better understand the relationship with prediabetes and brain function. They said that better prevention strategies could be used to lower the number of prediabetes cases and help consumers protect their brain health into older age.

“In this relatively young age group, the risks of cognitive decline and of dementia are very low; the excess risks we observe in relation to elevated blood sugar only modestly increase the absolute rates of ill health,” said researcher Nishi Chaturvedi. “Seeing whether these effects persist as people get older, and where absolute rates of disease get higher, will be important.

Bitcoin hit a new all-time high of $50,000 on Tuesday. Its extended rally comes amid growing interest from executives of large companies like Tesla and Mastercard. 

Last week, Tesla disclosed that it purchased $1.5 billion worth of bitcoin and said that customers will be able to pay for Tesla products using the cryptocurrency. Mastercard also said it will allow cardholders to use some cryptocurrencies on its network.

Although the digital token has been notoriously volatile in years past, Bitcoin supporters say its latest rally appears to be different. In late 2017, the coin’s value rose to nearly $20,000, only to shed more than 80 percent of its value the following year. 

Experts say the 2017-2018 rollercoaster ride was primarily fueled by retail speculation. Over the past year, however, Bitcoin has garnered support from a growing legion of investors who view it as a more stable asset now. 

“I think that starting in March of 2020, you saw institutions start to arrive, and I think in 2021 you’re going to see that trend continue,” Michael Saylor, CEO of enterprise software firm MicroStrategy, told CNBC. “There’re enthusiasts for bitcoin as a medium of exchange, … but I personally believe that the compelling use case is a store of value.”

Although Bitcoin has surged to a new record high and has seen growing interest from institutions, experts say investors should be aware that price volatility remains a risk. 

“It’s important to remember that Bitcoin never moves up in a straight line,” said Antoni Trenchev, managing partner and co-founder of Nexo in London, one of the biggest crypto lenders. “Short-term volatility is very much a feature of this bull market and investors should prepare accordingly.”

SpaceX launched another 60 Starlink satellites into orbit late Monday, bringing the mission’s total up to 1,145. 

Company founder and CEO Elon Musk set an initial goal of launching a constellation of 1,140 satellites. The goal is to eventually launch a total of 12,000. SpaceX could launch another round of Starlink satellites as early as Wednesday. 

“The quick succession is due to the fact that SpaceX recently had to shuffle around its planned Starlink missions as both weather and hardware-related issues presented a bit of a challenge,” Space.com reported. 

Musk said last year that there would need to be between 500 and 800 Starlink satellites in orbit before internet service could roll out worldwide. Once that figure was surpassed, SpaceX started testing the coverage. 

Public beta tests for Starlink internet began in October 2020 for consumers in the U.S., Canada, and the U.K. In just three months, more than 10,000 customers had started using the service. 

“Starlink’s performance is not theoretical or experimental ... [and] is rapidly accelerating in real time as part of its public beta program,” SpaceX wrote in a recent filing with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). 

Starlink-powered internet service is priced at $99 a month, in addition to a $499 initial cost to order the Starlink Kit that includes a user terminal and Wi-Fi router to connect to the satellites.

Automakers continue to reimagine their own future. On Tuesday, Jaguar/Land Rover (JLR) announced that all Jaguar and Land Rover models will come in “pure electric form” by 2030. The British-based company’s announcement follows similar moves by General Motors, Ford, VW, BMW, and others. The most likely company to embrace fossil fuel-free cars -- Subaru -- resisted the temptation, but it finally gave up the ghost earlier this year.

Land Rover lovers will get first dibs. That brand’s first all-electric variant will arrive in 2024, with the Discovery and Defender models going electric by 2026. 

“We are harnessing those ingredients today to reimagine the business, the two brands and the customer experience of tomorrow,” said company CEO, Thierry Bollaré, in an announcement. “The Reimagine strategy allows us to enhance and celebrate that uniqueness like never before. Together, we can design an even more sustainable and positive impact on the world around us.”

The uphill climb

The carmaker’s history for its stylish Jaguars and what Bollaré called the “Britishness” of the Land Rover faces an uphill climb like its peers. Any company betting on electric vehicles will need to convince the public. Many are still unsure about how far their vehicle might go on a single charge, and truck-loving Americans may be loath to give up their gas-guzzling Ford F-150 for something more environmentally sensible. 

Jaguar faces that same challenge. The company may have a hard time transitioning models like its much-loved but often-recalled Jaguar F-TYPE to an all-electric version that maintains the feeling and power of a luxury gas-powered model.

While it hasn’t had much ballyhoo, Jaguar’s been in the battery-electric field for a while. Its crossover SUV I-Pace has been available in North America since late 2018. In fact, Google loved the vehicle so much that it selected it for use in its subsidiary Waymo’s autonomous ride-hailing service, placing an order for 20,000 vehicles.

However, the I-Pace ran into an issue with the electrical regenerative brake system. Reports suggested that the system could fail, which increased the risk of a crash and the distance needed to safely stop. The company had no option but to do the right thing and recall the vehicle.

President Biden has declared Texas a disaster area after a winter storm gripped most of the state, increasing electricity demand and resulting in rolling blackouts that left millions of people in the cold and dark.

According to Accuweather, the temperature fell to 7 degrees in Dallas, but it felt more like minus 19 because of sharp winds. In Oklahoma, brutal conditions are also causing misery. The mercury fell to minus 11 degrees in Oklahoma City.

As residents of the region raised their thermostats to stay warm, the drain on electric utility grids caused millions of consumers to lose power. An estimated 2 million households in Texas were without power Monday night, with outages extending into Louisiana and Mississippi.

The Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) said it began the rolling blackouts to prevent the grid from crashing due to over-demand. Officials said many customers were without power for longer than anticipated because of the severity of the issue.

“We have to maintain the balance of supply and demand on the system to maintain the reliability of the system as a whole,” Dan Woodfin, ERCOT’s senior director of system operations told The Wall Street Journal. “If we don’t have more supply, the only thing we can do is start to reduce demand.”

Gas and oil prices poised to spike

Because a large number of the nation’s oil refineries are located in Texas, the state’s energy issues could soon be felt across the country in the form of sharply higher gasoline prices. 

Patrick DeHaan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy, reported on Twitter that Valero had begun shutting down its Port Arthur refinery that produces 384 thousand barrels of fuel each day. 

At the same time, ExxonMobil began shutting down its massive Baytown refinery near Houston, which produces 570,000 barrels per day.

“While the national average just surpassed $2.50/gal, I think we're on solid footing for it to hit $2.65/gal in the next two weeks as a result of cold-weather shutdowns, price increases incoming to the South and potentially Mid-Atlantic regions served by Gulf refineries,” DeHaan tweeted.

Oil prices have already begun to react to the issues caused by the bitter cold. The price of West Texas Crude (WTI), a major producer of America’s gasoline, closed around $60 a barrel on Monday, a post-pandemic high.

Oil prices had already been moving higher, pulling gas prices with them, on the belief that the end of the pandemic is in sight.

Volkswagen Group of America is recalling 57 model year 2021 Volkswagen Tiguan Long Wheelbase and Jetta vehicles.

Bolts may be missing from the front seat tracks.

The seat can move front and back without restriction if bolts are missing, increasing the risk of injury during a crash.

What to do

Volkswagen will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the front seat tracks and -- as necessary -- install the bolts free of charge.

The recall is expected to begin April 2, 2021.

Owners may contact Volkswagen customer service at (800) 893-5298. Volkswagen's number for this recall is 72L6.

Orca Specialty Foods is recalling One Ocean brand Sliced Smoked Wild Sockeye Salmon.

The product may be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes.

No illnesses have been reported to date.

The recalled product, which comes in a 300-gram package with UPC code 25984 00005 3, was sold in Canada's British Columbia province

What to do

Customers who purchased the recalled product should not consume it, but discard or return it to the store where purchased

Consumers with questions may contact the company at (604) 574-6722, ext. 223.

Audi is recalling a single model year 2019 Audi Q3.

Production deviation in the belt pully can prevent the circlip from properly engaging the steering rack.

As a result, the circlip can detach and catch on surrounding components, causing the steering system to lock and increasing the risk of a crash.

What to do

Audi will notify the owner, and a dealer will replace the steering rack free of charge.

The recall began February 4, 2021.

Owners may contact Audi customer service at (800) 253-2834. Audi's number for this recall is 48P7.

Mercedes-Benz USA (MBUSA) is recalling four model year 2019 GLA 250s.

The power supply for the automatic transmission control unit might be interrupted while the vehicle is being driven, possibly causing the transmission to shift into neutral.

If the transmission shifts into neutral, there would be loss of drive power, increasing the risk of a crash.

What to do

MBUSA will notify owners, and dealers will replace the transmission control unit free of charge.

The recall is expected to begin March 30, 2021.

Owners may contact MBUSA customer service at (800) 367-6372.

With COVID-19 vaccines becoming more available for people over 65, Medicare has issued new guidance for seniors who are still waiting to get theirs and may have some unanswered questions.

Here is an update on the most important ones.

The pecking order of who gets the shots when

Unfortunately, there’s not a one-size-fits-all answer for when demographic or professional category groups get vaccinated. Each state has its own plan for deciding who will be vaccinated first and how residents can get vaccines. 

The smartest option is to contact your local health department to figure out what group you’re part of and when you might be able to get vaccinated. ConsumerAffairs also found a priority list from the Kaiser Family Foundation that offers a state-by-state overview.

What costs are covered

If you have Medicare Part B insurance or are enrolled in a Part C (Medicare Advantage Plan), you pay nothing. 

For people with only Medicare Part A (Hospital Insurance), the vaccination is still free, but some providers or pharmacies may still charge an administration fee for giving you the shot. Medicare emphasizes that you should check with the provider or pharmacy who gives you the vaccine to determine if they charge this fee.

The reason it’s important to check about costs is that some COVID-19 patients have been surprised with coronavirus testing and treatment.

“It is the American healthcare system, so there are bound to be loopholes we can’t anticipate right now,” Sabrina Corlette, co-director of the Center on Health Insurance Reforms at Georgetown University told the New York Times.

As a quick aside, it might be helpful to know that Medicare also covers COVID-19 tests, COVID-19 antibody tests, and COVID-19 monoclonal antibody treatments.

Forms and credentials to bring to the vaccination site

At the top of the musts to bring to the vaccination site is your red, white, and blue Medicare card -- even if you’re enrolled in a Medicare Advantage Plan or any sort of supplemental plan offered by Humana, AARP, Cigna, Mutual of Omaha or ANY insurance provider. That’s important because it allows your health care provider or pharmacy to bill Medicare.

On top of your Medicare card, you may be asked to fill out a form that may ask for your insurer’s group number. That number is typically part of your insurance ID card. Note: Medicare says that if you have Part B, leave this field blank or write “N/A.” If you have trouble with the form, talk with your vaccine provider.

Don’t get scammed

No good deed goes unpunished, right? There are plenty of COVID-19 scams out there, so seniors have to stay vigilant to avoid being duped. In particular, Medicare says to be alert for scammers trying to steal your Medicare number. 

Remember these four things: 

• Medicare covers the vaccine at no cost to you and your state decides when you’ll be vaccinated, so if anyone asks you for your Medicare number or tries to collect money from you to get early access to the vaccine, you can bet it’s a scam. 

• You can’t pay someone or some company to put your name on a list to get the vaccine. 

• You can’t pay to get priority or early access to a vaccine. 

• If someone calls, texts, or emails you promising access to the vaccine for a fee, don’t share your personal or financial information.

Things change constantly in the COVID-19 world, and staying on top of the ever-changing landscape can be stressful. ConsumerAffairs suggests signing up for these two email updates to keep you up to date and in the know:

• Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services email updates

• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) email updates

A variant of COVID-19 found in Southern California last July now makes up nearly half of COVID-19 cases in Southern California and has begun making its way around the nation, according to a report published Thursday in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA).

The variant, called CAL.20C, has now been detected in Alaska, Arizona, California, Connecticut, Georgia, Hawaii, Maryland, Michigan, New Mexico, Nevada, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Texas, Utah, Washington, Wisconsin, Wyoming, and Washington, D.C.

Researchers believe people traveling from Southern California are spreading the variant to other parts of the U.S., as well as to other countries. 

"CAL.20C is moving, and we think it is Californians who are moving it," study co-author Jasmine Plummer said in a statement. 

Plummer and her team noted that Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) is one of the busiest airports in the nation. Approximately two million people traveled through LAX each month during the last two months of 2020. LAX is also a common departure point for people traveling to the six foreign countries where CAL.20C is now found. 

More research being conducted

Like other COVID-19 variants that have begun showing up, there are still many unknowns about CAL.20C. At this time, researchers don’t know whether CAL.20C is more deadly than the prevailing strains or whether people can be inoculated against it with current vaccines. 

The report noted that the answers to those questions are being looked into by researchers at Cedars-Sinai in Los Angeles, who are tracking the rise and spread of the new strain using a technique known as next-generation sequencing. 

"New variants do not always affect the behavior of a virus in the body," said study co-author Dr. Eric Vail, an assistant professor of pathology at the Cedars-Sinai Center for Bioinformatics and Functional Genomics. “But we are interested in the CAL.20C strain because three of  its five variants involve the so-called spike protein, which enables the SARS-CoV-2 virus to invade and infect normal cells.” 

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

Total U.S. confirmed cases: 27,399,302 (27,295,950)

Total U.S. deaths: 475,776 (471,956)

Total global cases: 107,935,117 (107,482,468)

Total global deaths: 2,372,399 (2,358,085)

Experts say COVID-19 may be here to stay

More and more public health officials are reaching the same conclusion. Despite efforts to vaccinate the world’s population, the coronavirus (COVID-19) may be here to stay.

David Heymann, professor of infectious disease epidemiology at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, was among the first to raise the alarm late last year, saying he believed the virus could be around permanently. He made clear this week that recent events had not changed his thinking.

“I think if you speak with most epidemiologists and most public health workers, they would say today that they believe this disease will become endemic, at least in the short term and most likely in the long term,” he said in a webinar earlier this week.

Biden says more vaccine is on the way

President Biden has announced agreements with two coronavirus vaccine makers to produce more and deliver it faster.

In remarks at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), Biden said Moderna and Pfizer had both agreed to deliver an extra 100 million doses each and speed up the production schedule so that the U.S. would be able to vaccinate 300 million Americans by the end of July.

Biden also expressed frustration at widespread shortages of the vaccine but blamed the Trump administration. “My predecessor, to be very blunt about it, did not do his job to get ready for the massive challenge of vaccinating hundreds of millions of Americans,” Biden said.

Survey: Americans say the worst is not over

Despite a recent decline in cases of the virus and promises of more vaccines, a survey of Americans by the Long Island University Steven S. Hornstein Center for Policy, Polling and Analysis found that a significant number of Americans believe the worst of the pandemic is not over.

Older adults -- those over the age of 60 -- were most likely to believe that. Sixty-five percent of that age group expects more cases and deaths in the weeks ahead. Younger Americans -- those 18 to 29 -- have a more optimistic view.

The poll found that 77 percent of Americans aged 60 and older want to be vaccinated immediately, with 74 percent of all people in the survey saying they want the vaccine.

Americans are losing ground financially

Over the last 11 months, there has been conflicting data on how the pandemic has affected consumers’ pocketbooks. Some surveys point to a rising savings rate, but a new report from GOBankingRates shows the opposite result.

Its survey shows that 40 percent of Americans have less than $300 in savings, a significant drop compared to the pre-pandemic figure of $400 in savings used by the Federal Reserve as a gauge for measuring households' financial well-being.

"We find that people's savings can serve as a kind of litmus test for their financial wellbeing in general," said Julia O'Brien, associate researcher at GOBankingRates. "The 50-30-20 budgeting rule suggests people save 20% of their income, so when people don't have any savings or have to withdraw from it unexpectedly, it's a good indicator that they are struggling financially."

Happy COVID-19 Valentines Day

Sunday marks the first Valentine’s Day during the current pandemic, and it may have changed, at least for this year, how couples celebrate a day that’s all about getting close.

For couples who were together before the pandemic, the effect has mostly been financial. TD Bank’s Love and Money Report found that one in 10 American couples were furloughed, lost their job, or had their hours decreased as a result of COVID-19. Singles, meanwhile, have found the pandemic hasn’t been conducive to starting a relationship. Many have turned to dating apps to meet people. 

"Now, I really rely more on dating apps, texting, face timing rather than just going out and spontaneously meeting a bunch of people," said Sara Hudson, who was interviewed by a Denver TV station.  

Around the nation

• Florida: Farmworker organizations are asking Gov. Ron DeSantis to add farmworkers to the vaccination priority population. They say these Floridians are especially vulnerable since they live and work in crowded conditions and are often not given protective equipment by employers.

• Wisconsin: By the end of the week, 489 COVID-19 patients were being treated in Wisconsin hospitals. That’s a decline of 105 in just 24 hours. Of those in the hospital, 129 are in the ICU, down 31 from the day before, according to the Wisconsin Hospital Association. 

• Utah: Gov. Spencer Cox says vaccines are being administered this week at a rate that eclipsed 100,000 doses per week for the first time. At this rate, Cox says every Utah resident should be vaccinated by the end of May.

As states struggle to receive adequate supplies of the coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccines, the Biden administration has announced an agreement with pharmaceutical firms to make more vaccine doses and deliver them faster.

In remarks at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), President Biden announced that Moderna and Pfizer had both agreed to deliver an extra 100 million doses each and speed up the production schedule.

As a result, Biden said the U.S. would have enough vaccine doses by July to vaccinate 300 million Americans in the two-dose regimen. That does not take into account the likely approval of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine later this month. The company said it already has millions of doses of its vaccine candidate on hand and is ready to distribute them.

“We have to stay vigilant, we have to stay focused and for God’s sake, we have to remember who we are,” Biden said. “We are the United States of America. We can do this.” 

Widespread shortages

The announcement comes as Americans age 65 and older have been added to the pool of people eligible to receive a vaccine. However, states have struggled to find enough vaccine doses to meet the demand

When retail pharmacies began receiving direct shipments of vaccines from the government this week, the allotted doses were booked within hours. Biden expressed frustration with the national vaccine rollout program he inherited from the Trump administration.

“My predecessor, to be very blunt about it, did not do his job to get ready for the massive challenge of vaccinating hundreds of millions of Americans,” Biden said.

Making the vaccine is one thing. Getting it into people’s arms is another. Administration officials are hopeful that anyone who wants the vaccine will be vaccinated by the end of August.

Currently, the government is sending vaccine doses to states every week. To help state governments better organize the “last mile” distribution, the administration said it is now giving states three weeks’ notice of their estimated allotment.

A new study conducted by researchers from the University of Georgia is exploring the long-term health benefits associated with paid maternity leave. 

Their study compared health outcomes from Norwegian women who had given birth prior to and following national regulations that mandated paid maternity leave. According to their findings, women who had more time at home after giving birth -- and were paid during that time -- were healthier at middle age than women who had to go back to work sooner after childbirth. 

“We know that women are healthier at 40, but we don’t know exactly why,” said researcher Meghan Skira. “We did not find significant changes in income or employment among the women who had access to the reform, so the health improvements are unlikely due to income effects. We speculate that a reduction in stress, more time to recover from childbirth, and perhaps breastfeeding play a role. More research on exactly why maternal health improved would be valuable.” 

Seeing improvements in middle age

Using the July 1977 paid maternity leave legislation in Norway as a starting point, the researchers compared middle-aged health outcomes of women who gave birth both before and after those regulations were implemented. The team analyzed differences in metrics like pain levels, cholesterol, exercise routines, and mental health, among several others. 

“In a typical observational study, you would be worried that those who take more leave are different in ways that might make their health better or worse,” said Skira. “Those who take longer leave may be wealthier or have more family support. On the other hand, those who have more postpartum health problems may take more leave. But here, because there is this sharp change in access to paid leave for everyone, the concerns about selection into leave-taking are minimized.” 

After looking at the data, it was clear that the women who had gotten longer paid maternity leave had better health outcomes by the time they reached age 40. They were 20 percent more likely to exercise, had nearly 4 percent lower body mass indices (BMIs), and were 18 percent less likely to smoke than the women who had given birth prior to this legislation. 

While all of the women benefited from these policies, the researchers explained that women in lower-income households saw the greatest changes. Prior to this legislation, the need for a consistent paycheck would’ve forced many women back to work earlier after childbirth; however, having this kind of security made a serious difference in their long-term health. 

“This sharp change in who was eligible for paid maternity leave provides a nice natural experiment,” said Skira. “Our findings show that having access to paid leave leads to important health benefits for mothers around age 40.” 

Broadening the scope of these policies

Though these findings focus on Norwegian health care mandates, the researchers hope that both consumers and legislators around the world recognize just how powerful policies like this can be for the long-term health and wellness of all women. 

“While things have changed since the 1970s, understanding the effects of this policy change is important since it extended leave benefits from a level similar to what the U.S. offers today under the Family and Medical Leave Act,” Skira said. “Our results, therefore, may inform the current debate over family leave policy.” 

Amazon has filed a lawsuit against New York Attorney General Letitia James in what may be an attempt to preemptively block James from regulating its workplace safety response during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

At the start of the pandemic, the e-commerce giant faced scrutiny after a group of New York workers led by Chris Smalls began protesting the conditions at Amazon’s Staten Island warehouse. Those protesting said Amazon wasn’t willing to close the facility for cleaning after a worker tested positive for COVID-19. Later in the year, Amazon terminated Smalls for allegedly violating pandemic safety protocols.

The protest and subsequent firing of Smalls prompted an investigation by James’ office. Sources have told CNBC that James’ investigators have interviewed Amazon workers around New York with a focus on claims of retaliation against employees who spoke out about working conditions during the pandemic. 

Amazon refutes claim of unsafe conditions

On Friday, the company sued James, claiming that she doesn’t have the legal authority to regulate workplace safety issues and claims of retaliation against employees. Amazon has argued that James’ office is making demands that “have no connection to health and safety and have no factual or legal basis.” 

Amazon also argued that the protocols it’s implemented to keep employees safe during the pandemic have been more than sufficient. The company said its COVID-19 safety practices “far exceeded” what was required by the state of New York and that an unannounced inspection of the Staten Island facility on March 30 showed no problem areas.  

“The Sheriff’s lieutenant who led the inspection concluded that complaints about [the Staten Island facility] were ‘completely baseless’ and that ‘there were absolutely no areas of concern,'” the suit said.

“Sad attempt”

In a statement, James said Amazon’s lawsuit was “nothing more than a sad attempt to distract from the facts and shirk accountability for its failures to protect hardworking employees from a deadly virus.”

“Let me be clear: We will not be intimidated by anyone, especially corporate bullies that put profits over the health and safety of working people,” she said. “We remain undeterred in our efforts to protect workers from exploitation and will continue to review all of our legal options.”

The Department of Justice (DOJ) and other U.S. government agencies are taking a hard look into the recent GameStop stock gravy train escapade to try to figure out if market manipulation was involved, the Wall Street Journal reports. 

The DOJ and the San Francisco U.S. attorney are on the hunt for any information about the “short squeeze” activity surrounding GameStop’s stock by brokers, day traders, and others. They believe these groups may have had a hand in pushing the stock on Reddit and other social media sites. In particular, the Journal reports that prosecutors have subpoenaed information from Robinhood, where much of the trading activity occurred.

What investigators are trying to determine

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is also trying to determine two other things: 

1. Whether trading app company Robinhood and other brokerage firms that restricted or temporarily froze trading of GME were in compliance with federal stock trading regulations; and

2. Whether the Reddit activity was an illegal pump-and-dump scheme, a method that traders might use to artificially jack up a stock’s value by spreading unreliable information.

Robinhood defended itself and the moves it made in a blog post on its site. It says its decisions were brought on by the “extraordinary market activity” led by GME. 

“Our goal is to enable purchasing for all securities on our platform. This is a dynamic, volatile market, and we have and may continue to take action to make sure we meet our requirements as a broker so we can continue to serve our customers for the long term,” the company wrote.

Robinhood carries on

Publicly, Robinhood is mum on the scrutiny it’s encountering, preferring to wax on about “antiquated settlement process(es)” and priding itself on how it’s “expanding everyday investors' ability to invest.” Despite everything that it’s encountered, the platform is carrying on. It recently made a splash in a Super Bowl ad with the phrase: “We are all investors now.”

“It’s a gauzy, feel-good spot, making the fintech company’s usual pitch as a democratizer of individual investing,” Medium’s Rob Walker wrote. “This takes some moxie, given Robinhood’s controversial image at the moment.”

“Active trading is not easy, and it’s definitely not for ‘all’ of us — no matter what Robinhood’s gooey ad may want you to believe. And that’s okay! If this crash course managed to teach that practical, evergreen financial lesson to a new market-curious audience, they are all the smarter — and the market is all the stronger — for having learned it,” Walker concluded.