Current Events in September 2021

A new study conducted by researchers from the Max Planck Institute for Dynamics and Self-Organization explored what it would take for COVID-19 restrictions to be lifted. 

They explained that restrictions should be lifted at the same pace as vaccination rates to give consumers more freedom while also preventing new infections.

“Our results demonstrate that the pace of vaccination first and foremost determines the expected gain in freedom (i.e., lifting of restrictions) during and after completion of the COVID-19 vaccination programs,” the researchers wrote. “Any premature lifting of restrictions risks another wave with high COVID-19 incidence and full ICUs.” 

Looking to the future

The goal of the study was to determine how to approach lifting COVID-19 restrictions. The team utilized mathematical models that combined vaccination rates with other epidemiological data from several countries across Europe. 

In order to ensure consumers are safe from infection and big surges of cases don’t crop up — particularly in high-risk areas — safety restrictions can’t be lifted too quickly. This is especially true if vaccination rates are low or stagnant. 

The researchers found that keeping pace with vaccination rates is the best way for public officials to go about changing restrictions. The higher vaccination rates are in a given area, the more successful it would be to loosen restrictions. 

However, the researchers also learned that lifting COVID-19 restrictions completely with 80% of adults being vaccinated can still lead to significant spikes in infection rates. This emphasizes how important it is for policymakers to take these decisions seriously — changing restrictions can have significant consequences. 

“In such an event, restrictions would quickly have to be reinstated, thus quickly vanishing the mirage of freedom,” said researcher Viola Priesemann. “Furthermore, an early lift would have high morbidity and mortality costs. Meanwhile, relaxing restrictions at the pace of vaccination shows almost the same progress in ‘freedom’ while maintaining low incidence.” 

A new study conducted by researchers from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign explored the metabolic benefits associated with regularly eating avocados. 

The study showed that eating one avocado per day for 12 weeks was associated with a redistribution of belly fat for women. Avocados helped lower women’s visceral fat levels, which can reduce the likelihood of several diseases, including cardiovascular disease and diabetes. 

“In the abdomen, there are two kinds of fat: fat that accumulates right underneath the skin, called subcutaneous fat, and fat that accumulates deeper in the abdomen, known as visceral fat, that surrounds the internal organs,” said researcher Naiman Khan. “Individuals with a higher proportion of deeper visceral fat tend to be at a higher risk of developing diabetes. So we were interested in determining whether the ratio of subcutaneous to visceral fat changed with avocado consumption.” 

Making healthier choices

The researchers had 105 overweight and obese adults participate in the study. For 12 weeks, one meal a day was provided by the researchers; one group received one avocado a day for the entirety of the study, while the other group ate a similar meal without the avocado. The researchers measured the participants’ glucose tolerance and abdominal fat at the beginning and end of the 12 weeks. 

Avocados proved to be beneficial for the women involved in the study but not the men. The researchers learned that avocados were linked with a redistribution of body fat, which can ultimately reduce the risk of disease. 

Women who ate one avocado every day had lower visceral fat levels and lower ratios of the two kinds of belly fat. The researchers explained that weight loss isn’t necessarily the most important factor because the way the body stores fat can have just as much of an effect on long-term health outcomes. 

“While daily consumption of avocados did not change glucose tolerance, what we learned is that a dietary pattern that includes an avocado every day impacted the way individuals store body fat in a beneficial manner for their health, but the benefits were primarily in females,” said Khan. “It’s important to demonstrate that dietary interventions can modulate fat distribution. Learning that the benefits were only evident in females tells us a little bit about the potential for sex playing a role in dietary intervention responses.” 

Moving forward, the researchers hope to do more work on how avocados and other dietary changes can benefit consumers’ health. 

“By taking our research further, we will be able to gain a clearer picture into which types of people would benefit from incorporating avocados into their diets and deliver valuable data for health care advisers to provide patients with guidance on how to reduce fat storage and the potential dangers of diabetes,” said researcher Richard Mackenzie.  

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

Total‌ ‌U.S.‌ ‌confirmed‌ ‌cases:‌ 40,470,429 (40,290,187)‌

Total‌ ‌U.S.‌ ‌deaths:‌ 652,869 (650,838)

Total‌ ‌global‌ ‌cases:‌ 222,761,144 (222,112,738)

Total‌ ‌global‌ ‌deaths:‌ 4,599,706 (4,590,004)‌

Biden to unveil new COVID-19 strategy

President Biden plans to speak to the nation later today to outline a new White House strategy for dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic — in particular, the fast-spreading illnesses caused by the Delta variant.

"He's going to outline the next phase in the fight against the virus and what that looks like, including measures to work with the public and private sector," said White House press secretary Jen Psaki.

White House officials told ABC News that the plan will include six areas of focus, starting with vaccinating the unvaccinated. It will also focus on increasing protection for people who have already been vaccinated, keeping schools open, and increasing testing.

Study shows Mu variant can resist vaccines

Japanese researchers have confirmed health officials’ worst fears. The newly emerged Mu variant, first identified in January in Columbia and now present in 49 states, appears to show resistance to current vaccines.

“Since breakthrough infection by newly emerging variants is a major concern during the current COVID-19 pandemic, we believe that our findings are of significant public health interest,” the team from the University of Tokyo, Kyoto University, Chiba University, and Tokai University in Kanagawa wrote in its findings. “Our results will help to better assess the risk posed by the Mu variant for vaccinated, previously infected and naïve populations.”

Left unsaid is whether current vaccines limit the severity of symptoms as they do for infections caused by the Delta variant. The Japanese study is currently under peer review.

The Delta variant puts a damper on travel

A number of domestic airlines have dialed back their optimistic travel forecasts and reported a slowdown in bookings for the remainder of the year. The reason, they agree, is the rapid spread of the Delta variant.

United Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Southwest Airlines, JetBlue Airways, and American Airlines reported this week that ticket sales have fallen over the last four weeks. United said it is reducing flights to compensate for the falling demand and warned that if present trends continue, it will fail to turn a profit in this quarter or the next one.

Southwest, which depends more on leisure travel than business travel, said it has seen a significant drop in bookings. “Impacts experienced, thus far, and currently estimated through October 2021, are less severe than experienced during prior waves of rising COVID-19 cases,” Southwest said in a statement.

Around the nation

• New Jersey: Gov. Phil Murphy says he will issue an executive order requiring school employees to show proof of vaccination against COVID-19 or undergo regular testing for COVID-19 during the upcoming school year. “From the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, we have called for following the guidance of public health officials to keep the students and staff in our public schools safe,” the New Jersey Education Association said in a statement.
• Florida: As Florida’s COVID-19 cases have surged, the state’s vaccination rate has also edged higher. According to government health statistics, more than 53% of the state’s residents have completed the two-dose series of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines, or have completed Johnson & Johnson’s single-dose vaccine.
• Ohio: Ohio is experiencing a rapid spread of new coronavirus cases across the state, prompting some municipalities to consider reimposing mitigation measures. Columbus Mayor Andrew Ginther said he’ll issue an executive order requiring all residents, whether vaccinated or not, to wear a mask in indoor public spaces.
• Illinois: Every state is now on Chicago’s travel advisory list. Vermont, which has experienced a sharp rise in cases of the virus, was added this week. States are added to the advisory's "orange list" when COVID cases rise above the threshold of 15 per day per 100,000 people.
• Colorado: State health officials warn that hospitals across the state are nearing capacity. They report COVID-19 hospitalizations are at the highest level since January’s surge. "We, of course, continue to see that most of the transmission, most of the hospitalization is really occurring among our unvaccinated population, and that's certainly true in the state of the hospitalization data," said State Epidemiologist Dr. Rachel Herlihy.

Microsoft has issued a security alert to Windows users, warning that hackers have found and are currently exploiting a vulnerability in the operating system.

“Microsoft is investigating reports of a remote code execution vulnerability in MSHTML that affects Microsoft Windows,” the company reported. “Microsoft is aware of targeted attacks that attempt to exploit this vulnerability by using specially-crafted Microsoft Office documents.”

The company said the hackers were likely to target victims through their use of Office documents. If users open a malicious document, they’ll end up with malware on their system.

The best way to protect yourself is to make sure your antivirus software is up to date. Microsoft said Microsoft Defender Antivirus and Microsoft Defender for Endpoint can effectively detect the vulnerability. Meanwhile, the company said it is investigating the source.

Investigation underway

“Upon completion of this investigation, Microsoft will take the appropriate action to help protect our customers,” the company said. “This may include providing a security update through our monthly release process or providing an out-of-cycle security update, depending on customer needs.”

Krebs on Security, an authoritative security blog, reports Microsoft has not yet released a patch for the flaw, but it says users can mitigate the threat by disabling the installation of all ActiveX controls in Internet Explorer. Krebs says the vulnerability is currently being used in targeted attacks on both PCs and servers.

The first Amazon-built TV is on the way. The official name is the “Fire TV Omni Series Smart TVs with 4K Ultra HD” and features hands-free voice control powered by who else but Alexa. 

The company says the price for the TVs starts at an “affordable” $369.99 and will be available exclusively at Amazon and Best Buy come October. If anyone wants to beat the rush and get their order in early, Amazon is giving $110 off the 50” Fire TV Omni and 4-Series models during the introductory period.

“We’ve reimagined what a TV can do by building it with two of our most popular experiences at the core — the intelligent always-available power of far-field Alexa, and Fire TV’s content-forward approach to entertainment,” said Daniel Rausch, Vice President, Amazon Entertainment Devices and Services. “Our new Fire TV Omni Series smart TVs, with hands-free access to Alexa, make controlling your TV faster, simpler, and more natural.”

“Alexa, turn on the Mets game…”

Amazon likes its chances with anything it can build Alexa into, and the TVs are no different. The company says Alexa provides for smarter content delivery without the need to remember which channel name, streaming service, or input device to switch to. Users can also use voice to control playback, closed captions, and brightness, and manage TV or sound bar volume, switch inputs, and more. And as with Alexa-powered Echo units, TV users can create a routine so when a user says, “Alexa, kick off my day,” their Fire TV and smart lights turn on, and Alexa will share the weather, remind them of that day’s calendar events, and tune to the news on live TV.

The company could force users to stick with Amazon-created and powered content, but it realizes that limits its chance of success. Instead, it cut a partnership deal with Netflix to give users additional cross-platform access. The Netflix integration will be available from the get-go, but the company says that an “Alexa, Play Something on Netflix” feature will be added “soon.”

One of the cool features in the new Fire TV will delight movie fans who depend on IMDb to look up who a certain actor is in a movie they’re watching on Prime Video. Fire TV’s “X-Ray” feature will allow users to ask things like “Alexa, who is this actor?” to see details about the actors in that scene, which will appear at the bottom of the TV screen. Upstaging IMDb a bit further, the feature will allow users to access bios, filmographies, facts, trivia, character backstories, photo galleries, bonus video content, and more, so they don’t have to pick up their phone and go on a search mission to get those answers.

Today’s big "huh" moment may well be this: Amazon is set to test “Just Walk Out” technology at some of its Whole Food locations. You heard that right. Whole Foods customers in Washington, D.C., and Sherman Oaks, California, will have the option to skip the checkout line completely, take their stuff to their car, and just leave.

The company said it watched how customers traverse Whole Foods stores, and it hit them that the thing customers like least is standing in checkout lines. 

It took five years to work out the kinks at Amazon Go stores, but the company is confident the time is right and the technology in place to take on the challenge.

“We launched the technology first in Amazon Go several years ago, and since then, we’ve gotten a lot of great feedback from customers who love being able to quickly and easily shop and skip the checkout line,” said Dilip Kumar, Amazon's vice president of physical retail and technology. 

The stores will get the new technology sometime next year.

How it works

Just Walk Out technology is kind of like how a self-driving vehicle works -- a fusion of sensor vision, computer vision, and deep learning.

When a customer arrives at a Whole Foods store, they will be met by a team member who’ll ask them if they want to use the traditional checkout method or go for “Just Walk Out.” If they pick the “Just Walk Out” option, the team member will show them the ropes of how to proceed. 

There are three options at that point: Customers can scan the QR code in the Whole Foods Market or Amazon app, hover their palm using Amazon One, or insert a credit or debit card linked to their Amazon account. 

Conversely, customers who prefer to use cash, prepaid cards, Whole Foods Market gift cards, EBT, or eWic will have to use the self-checkout lanes. 

“Once inside, customers will shop like normal and at the end of their trip, they simply scan or insert their entry method again to exit. After customers leave the store, those who use the Just Walk Out experience will receive a digital receipt, which will be available in the Whole Foods Market app,” Dilip Kumar, Amazon’s Vice President of Physical Retail and Technology, explained.

The service doesn’t require any sort of special membership like Amazon Prime, Kumar said, but anyone who wants to use “Just Walk Out” tech does need to have an Amazon account.

Cooper Tire & Rubber is recalling 327 Evolution H/T 245/70R16 tires.

The tire identification number states the incorrect manufacture date of the tire. The correct code is 2317, and the recalled tires are incorrectly marked with 1723.

An incorrect manufacture date may cause the tire to be used beyond it's recommended service life, increasing the risk of tire failure and crash.

What to do

Cooper Tire will replace the tires, free of charge.

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

Owners may contact Cooper Tire customer service at (800) 854-6288. Cooper Tire's number for this recall is 171.

Takata is recalling 67,323 Non-Azide driver-side airbag inflators (NADI).

Due to a manufacturing issue, the NADI inflators may absorb moisture, causing the inflators to explode or the airbag cushion to underinflate.

During airbag deployment, an inflator explosion may result in metal fragments striking the driver or other occupants.

An underinflated airbag may not properly protect the occupant.

Either of these situations can increase the risk of serious injury or death.

What to do

Takata will work with the affected vehicle manufacturers who have filed their own recalls, and their dealers will replace the inflators, free of charge.

Hostess Brands is recalling Hostess Soft White Hamburger Buns and Soft White Hot Dog Buns.

The products may be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes and Salmonella.

There are no reports of illness to date.

A list of the recalled products, sold to distributors, convenience stores and other retail stores throughout the U.S., may be found here.

What to do

Customers who purchased the recalled products should not consume them, but discard or return them to the place of purchase for a full refund.

Consumers with questions may contact the company at (800) 483-7253 or online at www.hostesscakes.com.

Ford Motor Company is recalling 13,334 model year 2021 Escapes & Lincoln Corsairs, and model year 2021-2022 Bronco Sport vehicles.

The fuel delivery module may leak inside the fuel tank, causing low fuel pressure which could result in an engine stall.

An engine stall increases the risk of a crash.

What to do

Dealers will replace the fuel delivery module free of charge.

Owner notification letters are expected to be mailed October 4, 2021.

Owners may contact Ford customer service at (866) 436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 21S38.

As we move into the fall, there’s still a long line of Americans who haven’t gotten a break from the pandemic. Many are itching to do something that gives them a respite while visiting a destination that’s fresh and uncrowded.

Even though the Delta variant has added another stumbling block to travel plans, all is not lost. In fact, there are plenty of off-the-beaten-path destinations and side trips that are just as good -- if not better -- than marquee destinations. They also tend to be less crowded and more affordable.

Wine experience lessons

For any wine enthusiast, Napa Valley is high on the bucket list of wine meccas. But the Napa I found during my COVID-19 revenge tour of Northern California was a far cry from the one I last encountered in 1991. Wineries had reduced their opening hours, and there was bumper-to-bumper traffic waiting for anyone who wanted to pay for the “Napa experience.”

One lesson I learned is that “Napa” isn’t just the 18 square miles that many of the brand names call home; it’s more than 789 square miles where more than 375 wineries are open for tastings.

About 20 miles from the heart of Napa, I lucked into visiting a winery that produced a truly quality experience that was considerably less expensive than the tasting experiences of more well-known wineries: the Vezer Family Vineyard. The payoff for wine lovers is that the money Vezer saves from avoiding a walk-the-walk marketing game with the Napa biggies is put into letting their wines talk-the-talk at a price point that visitors may feel more comfortable investing in.

However, venturing off the beaten path north of Napa is where I really lucked out. In the Anderson Valley, there are another 60+ wineries and 25+ vineyards with brand names to match -- but no throngs of tourists to compete with. 

With a developing taste for Pinot Noir, I chose Lula Cellars to try and raise my knowledge on that varietal a bit. Again, I found a winery devoted to the art of winemaking and developing a personal, ongoing, membership-based relationship with wine drinkers. 

What spoke volumes to me was having someone to indulge my curiosity and take me through the entire narrative -- from why the vineyard’s hills are sculpted the way they are to how the grapes are harvested and what sensations the drinker is feeling on their palate.

That’s where Lula’s wine guide Dan Reed came into play. He guided me to a heightened sense of awareness and a Pinot Noir that was more than worth my travel time and money -- and it allowed me to leave my “Napatude” behind.

Into the great wide open

Stars like Clint Eastwood and countless photos of California’s Highway 1 turned Carmel and Monterey into travel destinations. While those places are remarkable, they’re also focused on generating a steady stream of tourists and tourist dollars.

My druthers now go to Mendocino County, two hours north of San Francisco. There’s less hubbub, but the area has all the coolness and culture that Monterey has. On top of that, it’s a portal to the Avenue of the Giants, where giant redwoods line up to create the most magical stretch of highway I have ever encountered, one that will quickly melt COVID-19 from your memory.

I’m not alone in my love for Mendocino County. On Bon Traveler’s list of 50 Epic Things to Do in California, 5 of the featured tips are located in the Mendocino area. One of those epic suggestions was the Glendeven Inn & Lodge. For me, the attraction of Glendeven was that it seemed to have developed an experience that married the beauty and simplicity of nature with coziness. The elixir for any pandemic avoidance tour, indeed.

Where else are you going to find a getaway that has a farmstead with llamas and chickens while being a short walk-in-the-woods away from the Pacific Ocean? There’s just no way to get eggs that are any fresher, and Glendeven makes them the centerpiece of every breakfast it delivers to guests’ rooms every morning. 

Another plum that Bon Traveler found in Mendocino County’s great wide open is a truly unique outdoor experience -- electric railbikes. Railbikes on Pudding Creek are two-person railbikes that you pilot along a historic train route flanked by towering redwoods and spots where wildlife like blue herons and osprey gather. Being in the open spaces and allowing nature to take care of social distancing makes the experience safe from the threat of COVID-19.

Good options in the Southern U.S., too

Among the travel writers I follow, I have an affinity for purebred wanderlusters -- the curious, I’ll-go-anywhere types. One of those is Lia Garcia, a travel blogger at PracticalWanderlust.com.

Since I covered northern California, I asked Lia if she could offer ideas for places in the South and Southeast U.S. that are cool, fun, still warm in the fall, and less crowded than other more renowned destinations. 

Her picks? Memphis as opposed to Nashville, and Savannah over New Orleans. I can tell you after having been to all four that I wholeheartedly concur with Lia’s choices. Here’s what she had to say…

Savannah, Georgia

• “This charming, beautiful Southern town is home to one of the country's best art schools [Savannah College of Art and Design, where visitors can buy student-created art]. Full of perfectly restored historical homes and oak trees dripping with Spanish moss, the town is both quirky and mysterious -- much more here than meets the eye.

• Savannah is incredibly haunted, thanks to a complex history dating back to before the Civil War. But Savannah was founded on egalitarian and humanitarian principles, and only allowed slavery once its peace-loving founder had left town. In the years that followed, the city was ravaged by Yellow Fever pandemics and Civil War battles. Take a ghost tour to learn about what's buried beneath Savannah's picturesque streets!

• The stories of Savannah's enslaved community are told at the Owens-Thomas House & Slave Quarters, a carefully curated and respectful museum that honestly portrays the lives of all of its residents. The Pin Point Heritage Museum tells the story of the Gullah Geechee community, founded in 1890 by freed slaves. Learn all about Savannah's rich history on the Genteel & Bard historic walking tour, complete with pictures and audio recordings to immerse you in Savannah's past. 

• Try the tutti-frutti ice cream at Leopold's, a delicious rum ice cream full of crunchy Georgia pecans and colorful candied fruit. Truly the best ice cream in the country! Tutti-frutti was invented here, and it's still being made the exact same way as it has been for over 100 years.

• Savannah is a foodie city, and whips up an amazing drink -- it's not called ‘The Hostess City’ for nothing. Order a Ramos Gin Fizz at the Alley Cat, attempt to find a key to enter the hidden Mata Hari speakeasy, and make your best guess at what's in the Chatham Artillery Punch, Savannah's contribution to the cocktail world.”

You can read more about Lia’s suggestions in her guide to the best things to do in Savannah. She also has a guide on all the weird, wonderful, and curious things that nobody tells you about Savannah, which you can check out here.

Memphis, Tennessee

Lia’s love of Memphis also comes through in her tips about the city. Here’s what she had to say about it:

• “Memphis is the home of both blues and rock'n'roll, so you'll be dancing your whole trip! Don't miss a stroll down historic Beale Street after dinner to enjoy live music spilling from every doorway and park.

• Visiting Sun Records and Graceland are the traditional must-do's, but head away from the crowds for a tour of Stax Records to learn about the inspiring history of soul music and the blues in Memphis!

• Memphis was, sadly, the city where Dr. Martin Luther King was assassinated. His legacy, and the legacy of the African-American Diaspora, is expertly curated in the National Civil Rights Museum. You'll learn all about the complex history of Civil Rights in the U.S. through powerful and immersive exhibits, and take a dive into the was-it-an-inside-job theories surrounding Dr. King's untimely death.

• The BBQ in Memphis is some of the best in the country. And while BBQ opinions are contentious, I'm gonna go ahead and say it: Memphis dry rub ribs are the best in the country. There, I said it! Try them yourself at Central, across the street from the Civil Rights Museum.

• Visit the Peabody Hotel and meet the Peabody Ducks! Yep, that's right: Memphis is home to some ducks that live in a luxurious, historic hotel. The Peabody Ducks live on a roof in a duck mansion and spend their days flapping around in a fountain splashing water at each other and making cute little quacking noises. It is, hands down, the cutest thing ever. And attending the Peabody Ducks' daily commute from the roof to their little fountain is a must-do activity during your trip!”

If Memphis sounds like someplace you’d like to visit, Lia put together a suggested weekend itinerary for ConsumerAffairs readers. You can find it here.

The Biden administration would like America to go greener, and it says solar energy is just the ticket. The Department of Energy’s new Solar Futures Study shows that solar energy could potentially power 40% of all electricity use in the U.S. by 2035.

The plan is ambitious, but Biden’s team is all in on the president’s goal to decarbonize the economy. The administration is campaigning heavily to convince everyone that solar energy is the best way to get to a clean energy future.

More jobs and lower costs

In announcing the study, Secretary of Energy Jennifer M. Granholm added that moving towards solar would likely create an additional 1.5 million jobs. Overall, a full clean energy transition could generate around 3 million jobs across.

“Achieving this bright future requires a massive and equitable deployment of renewable energy and strong decarbonization policies –  exactly what is laid out in the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and President Biden’s Build Back Better agenda,” Granholm said.

Convincing consumers to buy into solar might take some doing, but the study suggests that a renewable-based grid will create significant health and cost savings. Reduced carbon emissions and improved air quality could potentially result in savings of $1.1 trillion to $1.7 trillion, which Granholm’s department says far outweighs the additional costs incurred from transitioning to clean energy. 

In his initial pitch for solar, Biden reminded consumers that solar photovoltaic (PV) is already the least expensive electricity option in dozens of states. “It is important to bring this low-cost, zero-carbon electricity to more parts of the country to save American families money,” he said.

The Energy Department says another benefit of the plan is that consumers won’t pay an extra dime for electricity until at least 2035 because the costs are fully offset by savings from technological improvements.

“Consumers burn fossil fuels because it's cost-efficient and convenient — for now,” writes Kathryn Parkman in ConsumerAffairs study of solar energy vs. fossil fuel. "Experts do not consider fossil fuels renewable energy because their global supply is finite. Solar energy, however, is a truly renewable source of natural energy. The sun won't stop providing sunlight any time soon, and it's available all over the world.”

While most of the flying world has been focused on mask mandates, poor passenger behaviors, and where we can and can’t fly, tensions have been rising among airline workers. It's gotten so tense that American Airlines pilots are setting up picket lines at AA hubs over crew fatigue brought on by the airline’s alleged overscheduling and inability to secure hotel rooms during layovers.

The Allied Pilots Association feels like its members have no other choice. The union hopes to get company management to come to their senses about pushing crew members to their limits in order to bolster revenue and keep up with increased travel demand during the summer.

“Our airline needs scheduling practices that support the safety margin, respect pilots’ and passengers’ needs, and de-risk American Airlines to protect and improve revenue,” the union said in a note to its membership. 

ConsumerAffairs contacted both the pilots association and the airline but had not received any comment by press time.

The union’s accusations come at an interesting time. It (as well as the flight attendant’s union) is currently in the middle of contract negotiations with American Airlines to try to cut a better deal for 15,000 workers.

American says it appreciates its pilots

American's senior leadership wasted little time responding to the situation. Chip Long, American's Vice President of Flight, sent a note to all the company's pilots on Friday to say that the company appreciates everything its workers have endured to help keep planes in the air and passengers in seats. 

“As the summer travel season comes to a close and we head into Labor Day weekend, I wanted to say thank you. Thank you for the professionalism and commitment to our airline you’ve shown this summer as we experienced the largest operational ramp-up in our company’s history so quickly. We’re glad our customers are returning, and because of each of you, we were ready to take them where they needed and wanted to go,” Long wrote.

“We had a challenging stretch in June due to weather, vendor staffing and temporary pilot training challenges that may have touched you or your schedule. Even though we immediately took aggressive action to minimize the disruption for our customers and our team, it was your leadership that allowed us to quickly get back on track. Since then, our pilot training and staffing  has been fortified.”

Long went on to remind the pilots that American has employed more active pilots this summer than in years past and that cancellations due to pilot availability were down 30%. 

“We’ve taken steps to ensure we can support the operation and get our customers where they want to go, when they want to go. At the same time, we continue to make important progress internally, managing and adapting in a way that provides tangible improvements for each of you. Yes, we still have work to do, but know that we’re committed to following through on every initiative and opportunity to support you in a meaningful way,” Long said.

Southwest pilots say they’re under the same pressure

American Airline's pilots aren't the only ones who may soon be protesting working conditions. The 9,000 members of the Southwest Airlines Pilots Association (SWAPA) are poised to do the same due to similar grievances. According to a report by CNBC, the union is considering picketing at U.S. airports during the end-of-year holidays. 

Southwest was sued by SWAPA last week over charges of violating federal labor laws. The airline was accused of modifying working conditions, company rules, and pay rates when the airline’s bottom line was threatened by the lingering COVID-19 pandemic.

More than 1,000 contract workers hired by Facebook read and listen to some messages posted on its messaging app, WhatsApp, according to a report by ProPublica.

That’s significant because WhatsApp is encrypted and privacy is a major element of its branding. But the Facebook workers -- based in Austin, Dublin, and Singapore -- apparently don’t review all messages, just those that other users have flagged as abusive or illegal. 

According to the report, private messages, images, and videos that have been identified by other WhatsApp users as improper go through Facebook’s artificial intelligence systems. The contractors then decide if the claims are valid. Should they find evidence of child pornography or terrorist activity, ProPublica says the messages may be shared with law enforcement.

“WhatsApp is a lifeline for millions of people around the world,” Facebook said in a statement. “The decisions we make around how we build our app are focused around the privacy of our users, maintaining a high degree of reliability and preventing abuse.”

Facebook says it doesn’t ‘moderate’

Facebook also makes a point of saying it does not moderate WhatsApp content. “We actually don’t typically use the term for WhatsApp,” WhatsApp spokesman Carl Woog said, pointing out that the team’s mission is to “identify and remove the worst abusers.”

But ProPublica, a non-profit investigative journalism organization, maintains that the review “is just one of the ways that Facebook Inc. has compromised the privacy of WhatsApp users.” It says the app is “far less” private than its users believe.

In 2016, two privacy groups, the Electronic Privacy Information Center and the Center for Digital Democracy, filed a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) over claims that Facebook was mining data from WhatsApp subscribers for its digital advertising business.

WhatsApp is a free messaging app that was founded in 2009. It was acquired by Facebook in 2014 for $19 billion and now has more than 2 billion users worldwide.

Under Facebook’s ownership, WhatsApp partnered with Open Whisper System to add end-to-end encryption.

Impossible Foods, which started with a plant-based hamburger, has expanded its range of meatless products with plant-based chicken. The company has now introduced Impossible Chicken Nuggets.

The nuggets are currently being distributed to restaurant customers and may appear on menus later this week. The company has also announced plans to begin distribution to supermarkets in the coming weeks.

“We are tremendously excited about our Impossible Nuggets,” said Pat Brown, founder and CEO of Impossible Foods. “But this launch isn’t really about nuggets. It’s about the historic inflection point we’ve reached. For the first time, consumers unquestionably prefer meat made from plants instead of meat from an iconic animal.”

To back up that claim, the company released details of a blind taste test that it conducted among consumers in the Dallas area. It said 7 out of 10 consumers, described as meat-eaters who also occasionally consumed plant-based meat, preferred the Impossible Nuggets.

“In the battle for the future of food, this is the first time David has categorically bested Goliath, but it won’t be the last,” Brown said.

‘Battle for the future of food’

Impossible Foods won FDA approval for its plant-based hamburger in 2018. Shortly afterward, it inked a deal with Burger King for its “Impossible Whopper.” The new sandwich is credited for an uptick in Burget King sales, thanks to appreciative customers like R.A. of Rochester, N.Y.

“BK was one of the first chain restaurants to offer a vegetarian burger, and has stepped up their game by adding the Impossible Whopper to the menu,”R.A. wrote in a ConsumerAffairs post. “Grain-based veggie burgers are good (it's all about the condiments!) but I'm happy to be able to enjoy something that I loved back in the day, without the guilt!! Thanks BK, for being ahead of the trend!!”

But not everyone was a fan. K., of Katy, Texas, told ConsumerAffairs that they didn’t find it that appetizing.

“Was it 'good?' NO,” K. wrote. “Was it edible? BARELY.”

Chicken popularity creates shortages

But if Impossible Nuggets find more consumers like R.A. and fewer like K., it could help relieve recent chicken shortages that have cropped up during the pandemic. Thanks to popular fast-food chicken sandwiches, various surveys show that chicken has overtaken beef as consumers’ top meat choice.

Among the restaurants that will soon be offering Impossible Chicken Nuggets are David Chang’s fried chicken concept Fuku in New York City; Marcus Samuelsson’s comfort food eatery Red Rooster in Harlem and Miami; Sean Brock’s fast-food tribute Joyland in Nashville; Tal Ronnen’s Los Angeles hotspot Crossroads Kitchen; and El Alto Jr., a new family-friendly pop-up from Traci Des Jardins at the new State Street Market in Los Altos, California.

The company says Walmart, Kroger, Albertsons, Safeway, ShopRite, Giant Stores, and Gelsons will begin offering Impossible Chicken Nuggets for home chefs in the frozen aisle later this month. Its goal is to expand to more than 10,000 grocery stores later this year.

As the climate crisis continues to intensify around the world, experts from more than 200 health journals have joined forces to push global leaders to take action. 

The publications have published an editorial designed to put pressure on policymakers ahead of the U.N.’s General Assembly and the COP26 climate conference later this year. 

“As health professionals, we must do all we can to aid the transition to a sustainable, fairer, resilient, and healthier world,” the experts wrote. “We, as editors of health journals, call for governments and other leaders to act, marking 2021 as the year that the world finally changes course.” 

The push for significant changes

The experts explained that not making any progress towards addressing the climate crisis will have significant impacts on consumers’ health and safety, weather patterns, wildlife, and ecosystems. While all countries must make changes, the researchers say higher-income countries need to do most of the heavy lifting right off the bat to ensure that poorer countries don’t suffer. 

“Health professionals have been on the frontlines of the COVID-19 crisis and they are united in warning that going above 1.5C and allowing the continued destruction of nature will bring the next, far deadlier crisis,” said Dr. Fiona Godlee, Editor-in-Chief of The BMJ. “Wealthier nations must act faster and do more to support those countries already suffering under higher temperatures. 2021 has to be the year the world changes course -- our health depends on it.” 

While a lot of work is necessary, the benefits will significantly outweigh the risks. Low-income areas are hit the hardest by the climate crisis, but all consumers would benefit. The researchers anticipate that reworking health care systems, food and production distribution, and financial markets would lead to significant improvements in air and diet quality, improvements to the job markets, and better physical activity. 

Without these efforts, they say disastrous weather events will become more frequent, the global temperature will continue to rise, and natural ecosystems won’t function as they normally do. All of this will contribute to overall poorer health and wellness for consumers. 

“What we must do to tackle pandemics, health inequities, and climate change is the same -- global solidarity and action that recognize that, within and across nations our destinies are inextricably linked to the health of the planet,” said Seye Abimbola, Editor-in-Chief of BMJ Global Health. 

A new study conducted by researchers from the University of Central Florida suggests that providing a more structured schedule for kids can help improve their health. 

The team looked specifically at behaviors that lead to obesity, including lots of screen time and little physical activity. They learned that kids tend to be more active and spend less time in front of screens on school days; however, the opposite was true on non-school days. 

Based on these findings, the researchers believe parents can do more to help foster good health in their children by adopting a more structured schedule all year round.

Sticking to a schedule

For the study, the researchers tracked the schedules of 50 children for two weeks. The children wore accelerometers to measure their physical activity and sleep, and parents kept records of their screen time, diets, and activities. 

Overall, the study showed that kids were more active and spent less time in front of screens on school days versus non-school days. During the week, screen time was down by nearly half an hour, activity was up by about 20 minutes, and sedentary time was reduced by an hour. 

The researchers explained that spending too much time in front of screens, sitting down for long stretches of time, and not getting enough exercise can all negatively impact kids’ health. This is why the team encourages parents to develop a similar routine on weekends, vacations from school, or potential school closures due to COVID-19 restrictions. 

“This means maybe having a very loose schedule that has time for children’s snack, free play time, maybe some indoor exercises that don’t require a lot of space such as aerobics, dancing to music, or even yoga. I also encourage rule-setting around screen and media time, especially in the evening as bedtime approaches, as this can be beneficial for the child,” said researcher Keith Brazendale.

“It’s not necessarily the program itself that always provides the direct benefit, but the presence of ‘attending something’ seems to shape behaviors outside of the program’s operating hours and almost sets a default schedule for the day for the child, like when they wake up or go to bed, or when they eat.” 

Though the kids’ diets didn’t have much of an impact on their behaviors, the researchers hope these findings highlight the ways that parents can keep their kids active and healthy any day of the year. 

Cooper Tire & Rubber is recalling 370 Hercules Roadtour 455 Sport 225/50R17 tires with DOT code 0721.

Due to a manufacturing issue, the tire may experience a belt separation.

Belt separation could lead to loss of vehicle control, increasing the risk of a crash.

What to do

Cooper Tire will replace the tires free of charge.

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

Owners may contact Cooper Tire customer service at (800) 854-6288. Cooper Tire's number for this recall is 181.