Current Events in September 2021

Burley Design of Eugene, Ore., is recalling about 3,000 Ballz QR Skewers sold in the U.S. and Canada.

The skewer, which connects the Coho XC Cargo Trailer to the bicycle, can shear or bend. This can cause instability of the trailer and the towing bicycle and pose a fall hazard for the bicycle rider.

The firm has received 21 reports of the skewer failing. No injuries have been reported.

This recall involves Ballz QR Skewers with model numbers 960219, 960220, and 960222 sold as individual components, and Ballz QR Skewers (SKU 960219) that were included with Coho XC Cargo Trailers (SKU 935101).

The skewer is silver, 5mm in diameter, has spherical knobs at both ends, and has a lever on one end.

The skewers, manufactured in China, were sold at REI stores nationwide, online at rei.com, burley.com and amazon.com, and through bicycle retailers nationwide from August 2018, through February 2021, for about $30, and the Coho XC Cargo Trailer with skewer for about $450.

What to do

Consumers should immediately stop using the recalled Ballz QR Skewers and contact Burley to receive instructions on how to dispose of the skewer and to receive a free replacement.

Consumers may contact Burley at (800) 311-5294 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. (PT) Monday through Friday, by email at Burley@burley.com, or online at http://www.burley.com and click on “Safety Recall Information” at the bottom of the page for more information.

Apple threw down the first gauntlet of the fall 2021 phone release challenge on Tuesday. The company introduced the iPhone 13 and iPhone 13 mini, both featuring anticipated camera upgrades and extended battery lives at a lower price than expected.

Google is set to respond in early October with its Pixel 6 phone, equipped with similar features ​​and a new processor focused on artificial intelligence and machine learning.

Should consumers buy the new iPhone?

Should you invest another $700 to $800 on a new phone and an extended service contract to pay for it? ConsumerAffairs did a survey of how tech writers feel about the new iPhone and there were mixed opinions.

Here’s how much love critics give the iPhone 13:

Not a giant leap over iPhone 12. Wired reviewers claim the iPhone 13’s changes are basically modest improvements. “The OLED displays are smoother, batteries last longer, and internal storage sizes are larger. So it's a lot like last year's iPhone, just nicer.”

Camera, camera, camera, camera. Apple may wax poetically about the camera upgrade, but in all honesty, the company says pretty much the same thing about its camera every time it releases a new iPhone.

A lot of attention is being given to the iPhone 13's new “Cinematic” technology that has the power to follow a subject and keep it in focus “so anyone can capture cinema-style moments, even if they aren’t a professional filmmaker,” says Apple.

Apple hired a top AI executive from Google to work on the new phone’s camera and, “partly as a result, its newer iPhone cameras have received higher ratings than the Pixel,” noted the New York Times’ Jack Nicas. But, at the end of the day, Nicas came away with this: the 13 is “better, but not by much.”

Is there that much of a difference between the 13 Pro Max and the 13 mini? If you decide to buy a new iPhone 13, the most important question to get answered is which model -- the Pro or the mini? “Notably, the ‌iPhone 13 Pro‌ and ‌iPhone 13 Pro‌ Max now have identical camera systems, a departure from the different cameras featured in the iPhone 12 Pro and the 12 Pro Max,” wrote MacRumors. “As usual, the ‌iPhone 13 Pro‌ models have the best camera systems, while the more affordable ‌iPhone 13‌ models have step-down cameras that lack some of the Pro capabilities.”

Bring it, battery lovers! Other than the camera, the most anticipated upgrade for the iPhone 13 was probably the battery life. Since we eat, work, and sleep with our phones at our side, battery life can make a considerable difference. 

“Apple didn't share the size, but claims that the new battery along with iOS 15, the A15 chip and updated display adds two-and-a-half hours more battery life to the iPhone 13 compared to the iPhone 12,” said CNET. 

In its test, CNET came away with enough evidence to say that the iPhone 13 mini should get an hour-and-a-half more than the iPhone 12 mini. “That's a significant increase. The battery life on the iPhone 12 Mini was a compromise some people weren't willing to make. So it's exciting to see the new Mini get such a big bump in just a year.”

Who’s got the better phone -- Apple or Android? Apple fans tend to be die-hards and so are Android lovers. But, if someone were thinking about switching platforms, what should they consider?

“When compared to the Android competition, Apple isn’t doing much to outgun them on the hardware front,” reports TheVerge’s Sam Byford. “Apple is never going to have the flashiest hardware, but it’s made some welcome improvements in areas that make sense, and thankfully it hasn’t locked any features to the Max-sized iPhone. We’re looking forward to seeing the results — as well as those of looming competitors like the Pixel 6.”

A new study conducted by researchers from Massachusetts General Hospital explored how people’s diets can impact their likelihood of contracting COVID-19 and the severity of their infections. 

The researchers' findings showed that eating a healthier, plant-based diet may be beneficial in reducing the risk and severity of COVID-19.

“Although we cannot emphasize enough the importance of getting vaccinated and wearing a mask in crowded indoor settings, our study suggests that individuals can also potentially reduce their risk of getting COVID-19 or having poor outcomes by paying attention to their diet,” said researcher Andrew Chan, M.D.

The benefits of a healthy diet

For the study, the researchers analyzed data from nearly 600,000 participants enrolled in the COVID-19 Symptom Study. Participants answered questions about their diets at the start of the pandemic in March 2020, and the researchers tracked their health outcomes through the end of the year. 

Ultimately, the researchers learned that following a healthier diet was associated with a lower risk of developing COVID-19 and a lower risk of developing a severe case of COVID-19. In terms of severity, a healthy diet was linked with a 41% lower risk of having a severe case of COVID-19. 

“These findings were consistent across a range of sensitivity analysis accounting for other healthy behaviors, social determinants of health, and community virus transmission rates,” said researcher Jordi Merino, Ph.D. 

However, the researchers also learned that the combination of a poor diet and low socioeconomic status made the risk of COVID-19 much higher. 

“Our models estimate that nearly a third of COVID-19 cases would have been prevented if one of two exposures -- diet or deprivation -- were not present,” said Dr. Merino. 

Moving forward, the researchers hope that these findings make their way into the conversation about COVID-19 and more consumers understand the importance of both of these factors. 

“Our findings are a call to the government and stakeholders to prioritize healthy diets and well-being with impactful policies, otherwise we risk losing decades of economic progress and a substantial increase in health disparities,” Dr. Merino said. 

A new study conducted by researchers from the American Psychological Association explored how the ratio of people’s productive time to free time impacted their well-being. 

According to the researchers' findings, there is such a thing as too much free time. Though it’s difficult for many people to find time to unwind, it’s important to find a balance between being busy and having an abundance of downtime. 

“People often complain about being too busy and express wanting more time,” said researcher Marissa Sharif, Ph.D. “But is more time actually linked to greater happiness? We found that having a dearth of discretionary hours in one’s day results in greater stress and lower subjective well-being. However, while too little time is bad, having more time is not always better.” 

Finding the right balance

To better understand how people’s free time can impact their well-being, the researchers analyzed data from two ongoing studies and conducted two online experiments. They pulled the data from the American Time Use Survey and the National Study of the Changing Workforce. Both studies analyzed general well-being, life satisfaction, free time, and time spent completing other activities. 

Both studies showed that having more free time was associated with a greater sense of well-being. However, once subjects reached or exceeded five hours of free time, their happiness started to dip. In fact, the researchers learned that once the participants had two hours of free time, their well-being plateaued. 

Moderation is key

In the first online experiment, participants had to imagine having a designated amount of free time for six months -- either 15 minutes, 3.5 hours, or 7 hours per day -- and then report on their satisfaction and happiness. Participants that had the most imagined downtime weren’t as happy as participants in other groups, and too much free time left them feeling stressed about not being productive. However, those who were given the shortest amount of free time also felt stressed and weren’t as happy as those given a moderate amount of downtime each day. 

The final experiment examined how being productive during free time can impact people’s well-being. The researchers again divided participants into groups based on their allotted free time per day, but this time they had the subjects imagine completing productive tasks within that time frame versus having that time to be unproductive. They learned that using free time to get things accomplished made the participants feel better about having so much downtime; the opposite was also true -- spending the free time in an unproductive way was linked with more unhappiness. 

In all of these trials, the biggest takeaway was moderation. Free time is necessary, but too much downtime without productivity can be detrimental to people's happiness. 

“Though our investigation centered on the relationship between amount of discretionary time and subjective well-being, our additional exploration into how individuals spend their discretionary time proved revealing,” Dr. Sharif said. “Our findings suggest that ending up with entire days free to fill at one’s discretion may leave one similarly unhappy. People should instead strive for having a moderate amount of free time to spend how they want. In cases when people do find themselves with excessive amounts of discretionary time, such as retirement or having left a job, our results suggest these individuals would benefit from spending their newfound time with purpose.”

With inflation on the rise, Social Security recipients will get a raise next year. The question is, how much?

The latest estimate from The Senior Citizens League, an advocacy group, predicts a cost of living adjustment (COLA) of between 6% and 6.1%. The estimate came as the latest consumer price index data was released Tuesday.

The increase will be reflected starting in January 2022. An increase within the predicted range would be the largest since 1982, when the COLA was 7.4%.

The government bases the COLA on the CPI, a measure of inflation, through September. Mary Johnson, Social Security policy analyst for The Senior Citizens League, says there is one more CPI report before the government officially announces the increase in October.

“This year is particularly difficult to forecast with certainty,” Johnson said. “The inflation patterns, caused in large part due to the COVID-19 pandemic, were unprecedented in my experience.” 

While a 6% increase in monthly payments would no doubt be welcome news for seniors, Paul, of Ardara, Pennsylvania, notes that Social Security recipients don’t always reap the gains of a benefit increase because Medicare premiums are deducted from Social Security payments.

“Cost of Medicare needs to stop increasing every year after they increase your Social Security,” Paul wrote in a review of Aetna dental insurance. “The people lose every time.”

Inflation may have peaked

Johnson said it is likely the Social Security benefit increase will be at the low end of the projection because inflation appears to be moderating. But she says there is little doubt Social Security recipients will receive a larger benefit increase than they did in 2021.

“Higher gasoline and transportation prices in particular are behind the high COLA estimate for 2022, because those expenditures are given greater weight or importance in the consumer price index that’s used to calculate the COLA,” Johnson said. “That works to the advantage of retired and disabled beneficiaries for the COLA payable in January of 2022.”

Since 2010, COLAs have averaged just 1.4%. Inflation was so low that no COLA was payable at all in 2010, 2011, and 2016. In 2017 the COLA was almost zero, at just 0.3%.

Two U.S. senators say they will launch an investigation into allegations that Facebook is aware that its popular Instagram platform is “toxic” for teenage girls.

Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) and Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), who lead a Senate subcommittee on consumer protection, were spurred to action by an investigative report published Tuesday in The Wall Street Journal.

The report cited company documents and sources it said showed Facebook is aware that many teenage girls on the app are prone to negative body image. It suggests that the constant access to photos of fashion and fitness influencers' bodies is damaging to teens' self-esteem.

The article cited March 2020 internal research that found that 32% of teen girls said Instagram only made them feel worse when they felt bad about their bodies. “Comparisons on Instagram can change how young women view and describe themselves,” the researchers concluded.

Congress steps in

“It is clear that Facebook is incapable of holding itself accountable,” Blumenthal and Blackburn said in a joint statement. “The Wall Street Journal’s reporting reveals Facebook’s leadership to be focused on a growth-at-all-costs mindset that valued profits over the health and lives of children and teens.”

The two lawmakers said they were in touch with Facebook senior management over the summer and received “evasive” and “misleading” answers when they asked about how the platform affected its youngest users.

“We are in touch with a Facebook whistleblower and will use every resource at our disposal to investigate what Facebook knew and when they knew it — including seeking further documents and pursuing witness testimony,” the lawmakers concluded. “The Wall Street Journal’s blockbuster reporting may only be the tip of the iceberg.”

Facebook willing to work with Congress

A Facebook spokeswoman told the Journal that the company welcomed “productive collaboration” with members of Congress and would seek opportunities to work with outside researchers on credible studies.

The company also previously acknowledged internal research on the subject but said the findings are proprietary and would not be released. Congress, of course, has subpoena power.

One question lawmakers might pursue is whether or not Instagram is more harmful than other similar platforms. The Journal cites what it says is an internal document that suggests it is more damaging than other social media apps and sites.

“Social comparison is worse on Instagram,” the 2020 research report states. According to the Journal, the document points out that TikTok is all about performance, while rival Snapchat is focused on jokey face filters. It said Instagram, on the other hand, focuses heavily on appearance and lifestyle.

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

Total‌ ‌U.S.‌ ‌confirmed‌ ‌cases:‌ 41,371,382 (41,223,899)‌

Total‌ ‌U.S.‌ ‌deaths:‌ 664,019 (662,262)

Total‌ ‌global‌ ‌cases:‌ 225,988,972 (225,389,505)

Total‌ ‌global‌ ‌deaths:‌ 4,652,516 (4,642,054)‌

U.S. stocks up on COVID-19 treatments

As it encourages more people to get vaccinated against COVID-19, the U.S. government is taking steps to treat those with the virus. The government is purchasing 388,000 doses of Eli Lilly’s antibody therapy and 1.4 million more doses of Regeneron’s antibody cocktail.

"The recent increase in COVID-19 cases has caused a substantial rise in the utilization of monoclonal antibody drugs, particularly in areas of the country with low vaccination rates," Lilly's chief scientific and medical officer Daniel Skovronsky told Reuters.

The purchases by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) are a response to the continuing wave of new cases of the virus, caused primarily by the Delta variant.

Vaccination for kids may come sooner than expected

Many of the new cases of the coronavirus are among young children, which isn't surprising — children under 12 aren't yet eligible to receive the vaccine.

That may be about to change. Dr. Anthony Fauci, the White House’s chief medical adviser, believes that approval to vaccinate children between the ages of five and 11 could come this fall as clinical trials are evaluated.

"If you look at the studies that we at the National Institutes of Health are doing in collaboration with the pharmaceutical companies, there will be enough data to apply for an emergency use authorization both by Pfizer, a little bit later by Moderna," Fauci said.

Mixed views on booster shots

Many vaccinated Americans are making plans to get a COVID-19 booster shot. Some have already gotten one. But the scientific jury is still out on when or if a booster is necessary.

A U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) advisory panel meets later this week to discuss booster shots, and Dr. William Schaffner, an infectious disease specialist at Vanderbilt University, told CNN he expects spirited debate.

Earlier this week two FDA staffers, who were expressing frustration with President Biden’s announcement last month that the administration would launch a booster program, publicly questioned the need for booster shots. They co-authored an article saying the data does not appear to support a need for booster shots for the general public right now.

Around the nation

• New Jersey: Another 1,500 New Jersey residents are projected to die of COVID-19 by December, according to a statistical model that has proved accurate in the past. And that’s if public masking and other mitigation steps are observed. Without those steps, the model predicts the death toll could double.

• Kentucky: Six of the state’s 120 counties are in the top 10 in the nation when it comes to new cases of the virus. Perry County ranks number one in the nation. “COVID is as bad in Kentucky as it has ever been in this pandemic,” said Gov. Andy Beshear. “Right now, sadly, we are one of the hottest states in the country.”

• Maine: The state’s COVID-19 patients are getting younger. State officials reported this week that people under 20 years old accounted for nearly half of the 667 new COVID-19 cases. That’s a big change from the early days of the pandemic and a significant increase from earlier this summer.

• Nevada: State health officials report mixed COVID-19 news. The rate of positive test results has declined sharply this week. At the same time, the number of active cases remains high.  Nevada’s 26 deaths last week included 19 from the Las Vegas area.

• Florida: Gov. Ron DeSantis is not letting up in his campaign against mask and vaccination mandates. The governor this week threatened to fine local governments that require employees to be vaccinated. An appeals court recently upheld DeSantis’ order banning mask mandates at public schools.

Juratoys US of Millersburg, Pa., is recalling about 13,600 Janod Children’s Shaving Kits.

The brown trim of the shaving kit bags contains levels of a regulated phthalate that exceed the prohibition of specific phthalates.

Banned phthalates are toxic if ingested by young children and can cause adverse health issues.

No incidents or injuries are reported.

This recall involves Janod Shaving Kit toys.

The kit’s blue fabric zippered bag with brown trim and imitation leather handle holds the following wood components: mustache-shaped scissors, mirror, mustache-shaped comb, cologne bottle, shaving brush, shaving cream bottle and shaver.

The batch number is found on the bottom of the cologne bottle and on the packaging wrap.

The following six batches are included in this recall:

• 10084/ J06548/ 052020
• 10024/ J06548/ 062020
• 10166/ J06548/ 072020
• 10279/ J06548/ 092020
• 10460/ J06548/ 112020
• 10551/ J06548/ 022021

The shaving kits, manufactured in China, were sold at Nordstrom, Crate and Barrel, and Barnes and Noble stores nationwide; online at Amazon.com, Maisonnette.com, Nordstrom.com, CrateandBarrel.com, and Bn.com; both in store and online at other specialty toy, gift and books stores nationwide; and in select catalogs from July 2020, through July 2021, for about $30.

What to do

Consumers should immediately stop using the recalled children’s shaving kit and return it to the place of purchase for a full refund.

Consumers may contact Juratoys US toll-free at (855) 665-9287 from 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. (ET) Monday through Friday, by email recall@juratoysus.com, or online at www.janod.us and click on “Recall Information – Shaving Set” at the bottom of the page for more information.

BMW of North America is recalling 13 X4 xDrive30i vehicles.

The tire label may contain the wrong size and pressure information.

Incorrect tire size and pressure information could result in the wrong tires being installed, or improperly inflated tires, increasing the risk of a crash.

What to do

Dealers will replace the tire information label free of charge.

Owner notification letters are expected to be mailed October 11, 2021.

Owners may contact BMW customer service at 1-800-525-7417.

On the day it planned to roll out its new iPhone, Apple instead has been stunned by the discovery that cyber attackers may have found a way to worm their way into an array of Apple-made products from the iPad to the Apple Watch.

The company is on the case, actively patching two vulnerabilities in its software that allows hackers to take command of its devices. An inventive bunch, those cyber thugs — Apple said that an attacker can actually trigger an iOS-run device to run deviant computer code, such as downloading a malicious program from the internet onto the user’s device. 

This is Apple's second major security flaw in as many months.

What to look for and what to fix

In PCMag’s coverage of the situation, one way an attack can happen comes via iMessage, where the attacker sends a mischievous PDF. Security analysts at Citizen Lab have concluded that the attackers use the vulnerability to spread the Pegasus — a particularly nasty spyware program — which can clandestinely take over an iPhone.

Not to be left out of the flaw circus, researchers at Citizen Lab also found that suspicious animated GIFs masquerading as Adobe PDFs are also able to exploit Apple’s flaw. Like Apple, this is also Adobe's second recent run-in with security issues — the first coming in mid-August when it found a vulnerability in its iOS and Windows versions of Photoshop.

Apple immediately released a system software update designed to patch the issue. The company is advising owners of Apple devices to update them immediately. 

Here is a list of the devices affected by the breach and links to the security update. You can also follow Apple’s suggested method for updating your device’s system software.

Amazon sees enough growth on the horizon that it plans to hire 125,000 employees in hundreds of towns and cities across the country. It’s trying its best to make working for Amazon worthwhile by offering an average starting pay of more than $18 per hour, sign-on bonuses up to $3,000 in select locations, comprehensive benefits, and access to training programs that make these roles a springboard into a long-term career. Oh, and there’s this: If those new hires make it to front-line employee status, they get free college tuition.

Posturing itself as “the largest job creator in the U.S.,” the company is wasting no time trying to hire its share of the millions of Americans looking for jobs. On September 15, it will hold its annual — and now virtual — Career Day, a job fair open to all, regardless of experience level, professional field, or background. In fact, hiring is already underway, with those larger sign-on bonuses available now in select locations.

Amazon is rolling out the red carpet for prospective employees in locations including these 18 states:

• Arizona

• California

• Colorado

• Florida

• Georgia

• Illinois

• Indiana

• Kentucky

• Maryland

• Michigan

• New Jersey

• New York

• North Carolina

• Ohio

• Pennsylvania

• Tennessee

• Texas

• Washington

About that college degree

If Amazon’s approach is to invest in the education of its employees so workers will stay around longer and enhance the company with what they learned, it may be on to something. By 2025, Amazon plans to invest $1.2 billion to expand education and skills training benefits to its workers. 

Through its Career Choice program, the company will fund full college tuition, not only for frontline workers who've been there for a while, but also for those who've been at the company for as little as three months. For workers trying to balance their home and work lives, Amazon says frontline employees can take advantage of the education benefit as long as they're employed by the company.

Amazon is also adding three new education programs that give employees the opportunity to learn skills related to data center maintenance and technology, IT, and user experience and research design. The technology segment contains a key component that Amazon said it would support as part of President Biden’s initiative to shore up cybersecurity issues plaguing companies and consumers alike.

What’s working at Amazon like?

If Amazon's new offerings sound inviting and you're wondering if a job with the company is worth pursuing — it depends.

ConsumerAffairs has seen rosy narratives on Indeed and Glassdoor, and we've seen less-than-rosy overviews from Insider.

Or, as Rick Moriarity wrote in an Amazon workspace review at Syracuse.com, “The pay at Amazon warehouses exceeds that of many low-wage occupations and comes with a full range of benefits. The jobs can provide gainful employment for people who lack the college degrees or technical skills sought by many employers and who have not really benefited from the nation’s strong economy.”

What Facebook users can and can’t say on the social media platform has become an increasingly divisive issue. Forget hyper-partisan politics — the company has been pressured to moderate “misinformation” on a wide range of topics.

The company has been known to take strong action against what it sees as objectionable content, as many ConsumerAffairs reviewers can attest.

“My account has been restricted (Facebook Jail) several times now,” writes Tim of Florissant, Missouri. “Each time was due to my response to a post that I had seen.”

Tim complained that his responses were taken as stand-alone statements and not considered in their context to the post. He says Facebook’s artificial intelligence may have perceived his words as threatening. 

“If the written responses were considered in relation to the post, they could not have been construed as threatening,” Tim argues. “It is a very flawed system of censorship that limits the ability to express new thoughts and insights!”

Ann of Kenton, Tennessee, tells us she has spent a fair amount of time in Facebook jail as well. Her claim is that Facebook objects to information she says is well-documented.

“They censor everything and use fake fact checking that does not even apply to the post,” Ann posted in her review.

Some Facebook users are more equal than others

But it turns out there are a few million Facebook users who aren’t subjected to that kind of scrutiny. The Wall Street Journal cites internal documents and numerous Facebook sources who say the social media giant exempts many high-profile users. 

According to the Journal, the program goes by the name of Cross Check or XCheck. The internal documents show it protects millions of VIP users from having to meet Facebook’s normal enforcement process. Some celebrities and politicians are “whitelisted,” meaning their posts are pretty much immune from take-downs.

The Journal contends this is not exactly a secret at Facebook. It cites a 2019 internal review of Cross Check practices and found it to be widespread.

‘Not actually doing what we say’

“We are not actually doing what we say we do publicly,” the review concluded. It called the company’s actions “a breach of trust” and added: “Unlike the rest of our community, these people can violate our standards without any consequences.”

In a statement, Facebook spokesman Andy Stone acknowledged that criticism of the practice is fair but said the program was started with the best of intentions: “to create an additional step so we can accurately enforce policies on content that could require more understanding.”

Stone said many of the documents cited by the Journal no longer apply and that the company is working to phase out the practice of whitelisting.

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

Total‌ ‌U.S.‌ ‌confirmed‌ ‌cases:‌ 41,223,899 (40,956,556)‌

Total‌ ‌U.S.‌ ‌deaths:‌ 662,262 (659,985)

Total‌ ‌global‌ ‌cases:‌ 225,389,505 (224,792,464)

Total‌ ‌global‌ ‌deaths:‌ 4,642,054 (4,633,281)‌

Daily death toll highest since March

One measure of how quickly the U.S. has fallen off its pandemic recovery track is the daily death toll. Back in June, before the spread of the Delta variant, it was a little more than 250. This week it is more than 1,600 — the highest since March — according to The New York Times.

Since records have been kept, there have been more than 41 million COVID-19 cases in the U.S., and nearly 678,000 people have died. At the current rate of deaths, it’s estimated the death toll could exceed 700,000 next month.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports that nearly 179 million Americans are fully vaccinated, which is nearly 54% of the total population. Of those Americans over age 12 and eligible to receive the vaccine, 63% are fully vaccinated.

Another study finds fewer deaths among vaccinated people

British researchers have released the results of their study of COVID-19 deaths in England between January and July. This study by the UK Office For National Statistics found that 51,281 people died of the virus — but only 640 were fully vaccinated.

It follows three studies released by the CDC last week showing that the unvaccinated were 11 times more likely to die from COVID-19 than the fully vaccinated.

“The risk of death involving COVID-19 was consistently lower for people who had received two vaccinations compared to one or no vaccination, as shown by the weekly age-standardized mortality rates (ASMRs) for deaths involving COVID-19,” the authors wrote.

Kroger CEO says pandemic hiring is a challenge

Kroger, along with every other supermarket chain, is having to contend with inflationary pressures in the wake of the pandemic, but company CEO Rodney McMullen says that isn’t its biggest challenge. Hiring employees is.

Kroger is the nation’s largest supermarket chain, with 2,700 stores operating under different brand names. Right now, McMullen says the company needs to hire 20,000 people.

“We’re aggressively hiring anywhere we can,” McMullen told CNBC. “One of the biggest constraints we have right now is finding talented people.”

Around the nation

• Mississippi: COVID-19 is surging through the state’s public schools. State health officials say more than 18,000 Mississippi students have tested positive for the virus since school began in August. More than 3,600 teachers and staff have also tested positive.
• Ohio: Several hospital groups across the state have joined forces to ask their communities to wear masks in public and get vaccinated, warning the medical centers are in danger of being overwhelmed by COVID-19 cases. "We are concerned with what the coming weeks will bring," the group said in a statement. "We want to continue to provide the care our patients need, and when and where they need it."
• Missouri: Cases of the virus are surging once again, and the new outbreak is hitting the southeast portion of the state hardest. In a Facebook post, the Missouri Delta Medical Center in Sikeston reported the number of COVID-19 patients has significantly increased over the summer and that all of its ICU beds are full.
• Connecticut: Gov. Ned Lamont’s latest COVID-19 update shows hospitalizations have declined by 37, with 327 state residents still in hospitals for treatment of the virus. Of those, Lamont says more than 72% are not fully vaccinated.
• Iowa: An analysis of public health data shows children age 17 and younger make up the majority of new COVID-19 cases in the state. The report also says the percentage has steadily increased in recent weeks. Children under age 12 are not yet eligible to receive the vaccine.

While recent studies have found that too much screen time can impact kids’ performance in school, it may not be a detriment to their overall behavior or socializing skills. 

In a new study, researchers from the University of Colorado at Boulder found that a lot of time in front of screens doesn’t have a negative impact on kids’ mental health and may actually be a benefit to their friendships. They also learned that academic performance, behavior, and sleep are only slightly impacted by electronics. 

“A number of papers in recent years have suggested that screen time might be harmful for children, but there have also been some reviews that suggest those negative effects have been overestimated,” said researcher John Hewitt. “Using this extensive dataset, we found that yes, there are relationships between screen time and negative outcomes, but they are not large and not dire.” 

What are the effects of screen time?

For the study, the researchers analyzed data from nearly 12,000 children enrolled in the Adolescent Brain and Cognitive Development study. The kids completed mental health assessments and answered questions about their screen time, and their parents provided information on their grades and overall behavior. 

The study showed that there were links between screen time and behavioral issues, but the researchers explained that there is more to the data than meets the eye.

Sleep and behavior were both negatively affected by too much screen time; however, many kids may try to distract themselves with their phones when they’re awake in the middle of the night, and parents may try to use screens as a way to help kids calm down. This means that screen time may not be the culprit when it comes to poor sleep or behavioral issues, but they are connected.

The researchers explained that although screen time can impact many parts of kids’ lives, the effects of spending a lot of time with devices aren’t necessarily detrimental long term. It’s also important to note that things like behavior and sleep can be impacted by other life stressors — not just screen time. 

“These findings suggest that we should be mindful of screens, but that screen time is likely not inherently harmful to our youth,” said researcher Katie Paulich.

Additionally, the study showed that some online activities actually help kids form closer bonds. Things like playing games together or connecting on social media can foster closer relationships among friends. 

Though many parents struggle with screen time limits, the researchers encourage consumers to think about kids holistically rather than sticking to specific guidelines. 

“The picture is unclear and depends on what devices, which activities, what is being displaced, and, I strongly suspect, the characteristics of the child,” Hewitt said. “I would advise parents not to be overly concerned about their kids spending a few hours a day on their devices.” 

A new paper written by researchers from the American Society for Nutrition explored some of the factors that contribute to consumers developing obesity. 

They explained that overeating isn’t entirely to blame. Instead, we need to think about obesity in terms of a carbohydrate-insulin model (CIM), which means that the foods we eat are just as important as how much of them we’re eating. 

“According to a commonly held view, the obesity pandemic is caused by overconsumption of modern, highly palatable, energy-dense processed foods, exacerbated by a sedentary lifestyle,” the researchers wrote. “However, obesity rates remain at historic highs, despite a persistent focus on eating less and moving more, as guided by the energy balance model (EBM). An alternative paradigm, the carbohydrate-insulin model (CIM), proposes a reversal of causal direction.”

Focusing on quality, not quantity

Nearly 20 experts in the field worked on the paper and drew their evidence from as early as the 1900s. Their primary takeaway was that the types of foods we’re eating are more responsible for the increasing obesity rates than how much we’re eating. 

They explained that recent diet trends have favored highly processed foods and carbohydrates. When these are eaten on a regular basis and in excess, they can have significant impacts on the metabolism. 

These types of foods can alter our body’s natural hormone levels, like insulin, which can then impact how the body stores fat and even how hungry we feel. Processed carbs specifically can trick the body into feeling depleted of energy and slow down the metabolism long term. When these habits occur over long periods of time, they can all lead to obesity. 

Because of this, the researchers suggest thinking more in terms of adopting a quality diet rather than fixating on portion control or burning calories through exercise. While all of these things are important for a healthy lifestyle, focusing on the carbohydrate-insulin model may lead to better long-term results for consumers trying to manage their weight. 

“Reducing consumption of the rapidly digestible carbohydrates that flooded the food supply during the low-fat diet era lessens the underlying drive to store body fat,” said researcher Dr. David Ludwig. “As a result, people may lose weight with less hunger and struggle.”

Chrysler is recalling 212,373 model year 2015-2020 Ram 1500 Classics, model year 2015-2016 Ram 3500s & Ram 2500s and model year2016 Ram 3500 Cab Chassis with a gross vehicle weight rating less than 10,000 lbs.

The side airbag inflatable curtain (SABIC) inflator end cap may detach from the inflator, or the inflator sidewall may rupture.

A separated inflator end cap or inflator rupture can allow compressed gas to escape, resulting in the end cap or other components being propelled into the vehicle, increasing the risk of injury or crash.

What to do

Dealers will inspect and replace -- as necessary -- the SABIC assemblies free of charge.

Owner notification letters are expected to be mailed October 1, 2021.

Owners may contact Chrysler customer service at 1-800-853-1403. Chrysler's number for this recall is Y55.

Top Quality Dog Food of Hyattsville, Md., is recalling 1-lb. packages Beef HVM.

The product may be contaminated with Salmonella and Listeria Monocytogenes.

No illnesses have been reported to date.

The recalled product, lot #071521, was distributed in Washington, D.C., Maryland. Virginia, Delaware Massachusetts, Connecticut and South Carolina, and sold through mail order and direct delivery from July 21, 2021, through August 2, 2021.

What to do

Customers who purchased the recalled product should discard it immediately, or return it to the place of purchase for a full refund.

Consumers with questions may contact the firm at (240) 802-6601 Monday through Friday, 8:00 AM to 4:30 PM (EST) or by email at customerservice@topqualitydogfood.com

Ford Motor Company is recalling 24 model year 2015-2020 Transit vehicles.

An incorrect driveshaft torsional damper service kit may have been installed, which can allow the damper shield to contact the parking brake cable, possibly resulting in parking brake failure.

Parking brake failure can result in unintended vehicle movement, increasing the risk of a crash.

What to do

Dealers will replace the passenger side parking brake cable with a cable that provides sufficient clearance to the damper shield free of charge.

Owners may contact Ford customer service at (866) 436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 21S39.