Current Events in October 2021

Each month, the government issues its Consumer Price Index (CPI), a measure of inflation that consumers face when they shop. But behind those numbers, some sectors of the economy are feeling especially sharp price increases.

For example, the price of bacon has nearly doubled over the last 10 years, with much of that increase coming since the start of the pandemic. A White House report blames part of the increase on a lack of competition in the meatpacking industry, which officials say is affecting other meat prices as well.

“Large price increases for beef, pork, and poultry are driving the recent price increases consumers are seeing at the grocery store, the report said. “Together, these three items account for a full half of the price increase for food at home since December 2020. Since that time, prices for beef have risen by 14.0%, pork by 12.1%, and poultry by 6.6%.”

Nagging supply chain issues

Economists say nagging supply chain issues caused by the COVID-19 pandemic also play a large role in rising prices. When it reported earnings this week, food and beverage conglomerate Pepsico said supply chain bottlenecks are affecting wide areas of its business.

In an interview with Reuters, Pepsico’s chief financial officer Hugh Johnston said the company is scrambling to deal with a shortage of aluminum cans and Gatorade bottles. He said there was greater demand for these products as restaurants and theaters reopened this year, but supply chain constraints made it hard to meet that demand. Pepsico’s costs rose as a result, and Johnston said he feels confident that those higher costs will be passed along to consumers.

"I do expect there will probably be some price increases in the first quarter of next year as well, as we fully absorb and lock down the impact of commodity inflation," Johnston said in the interview.

Same price, smaller product

Consumers sometimes encounter inflation when the price of a product remains the same but they get less product. It happens a lot with packaged food products like breakfast cereal; in some cases, 12 ounces may be reduced to 10 ounces. 

Kim Sovell, a marketing professor at the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, Minn., says consumers are likely to encounter the practice even more in the months ahead, especially if higher costs remain a permanent fixture.

“It’s really a way to conceal higher prices,” Sovell told WCCO-TV in Minneapolis. “We’re very deterred by price increases. We’ll switch brands. “We check prices every time we shop but we rarely check weight.”

Consumers are already braced for higher heating bills this winter as a result of surging energy prices. Natural gas prices doubled in six months and rose 17% in September alone. People heating their homes with electricity will also feel the effects of more expensive natural gas this winter. Most electricity generation plants are powered by gas. Industry analysts say the blisteringly hot summer increased natural gas demand to keep homes and businesses air-conditioned.

Utilities currently pay a little over $5 per 1 million British thermal units. For consumers heating their homes with gas, that roughly translates into twice the cost of last winter’s heating bills. Industry analysts say there is no guarantee that prices won’t go even higher.

The COVID-19 pandemic has increased stress levels in just about every area of consumers’ lives. Now, a new study conducted by researchers from the American Psychological Association explored how stress levels are impacting how consumers feel about their jobs. 

According to their survey findings, many consumers are facing increasingly higher levels of stress and are considering leaving their current positions within the year. 

“Stress at work can have broad negative consequences for employers and employees alike, including loss of productivity, high turnover, and repercussions for employees’ physical and emotional health,” said researcher Arthur C. Evans Jr., Ph.D. “A workplace that pays attention to worker well-being is better positioned to recruit and retain engaged and productive staff.” 

Workplace stress is on the rise

For the study, the researchers analyzed data from over 1,500 adults enrolled in the Work and Well-being Survey. Participants answered questions about their work experience since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, how stressed they’ve been feeling, their likelihood of staying in their current positions, and what their employers can do to improve mental health. 

Nearly 45% of the participants said they plan to find new jobs within the next year because of increased stress levels. Those figures were even higher for participants of color and participants with disabilities. 

Low salaries were the biggest source of stress for participants, followed by long hours and lack of opportunity for growth. That stress correlated to an inability to focus, a lack of motivation, and an unwillingness to put in an effort at work. This was especially true for frontline workers; 35% of these employees said they frequently felt fed up at work within the last month. 

What can employers do?

Nearly 90% of the participants believe their employers can do more to help their mental health in the workplace. Some ideas included encouraging employees to use their time off, prioritizing mental health check-ins, and providing flexible hours. 

If employees were only given one perk to improve their stress levels, getting higher compensation was the top choice. That was followed by having a more flexible schedule and improving benefits. 

Ultimately, the researchers explained that the pandemic not only changed consumers’ lives, but it also changed the way they work and think about work. To help combat the added stress, they recommend that employers use these findings and implement strategies that give consumers time to focus on their mental health. 

“During the pandemic, many employers switched to remote work where possible, thus providing greater flexibility for their employees,” said Dr. Evans. “Policies that promote flexible hours and breaks during the workday and provide other forms of support for employees to take care of themselves may also help employers retain staff in competitive markets.” 

A new study conducted by researchers from Carnegie Mellon University explored which teaching styles are the most effective in the classroom. 

According to the researchers, teachers who adopt an active learning approach by incorporating the latest technology, group discussions, and interactive activities are likely to get the most out of their students. Conversely, lecturing was found to be less effective when it came to students’ academic performance.

“We wanted to see what we learned from teaching and learning during COVID and what could be brought back into the classroom,” said researcher Nesra Yannier. “COVID forced educators to engage students in novel ways, and teachers were experimenting with new technology.” 

Keeping students engaged

The researchers analyzed data from previous studies that collected information on learning styles across all age groups -- from elementary-aged students to college students. They looked at different ways teachers can deliver lessons and which methods were the most effective at keeping kids engaged and involved in the subject matter. The team also examined how artificial intelligence (AI) plays a role in students’ learning outcomes. 

The researchers learned that keeping students involved and active during class is the best way to keep them engaged and produce the greatest academic achievement. One study found that when students are physically active during a lesson, they’re more likely to retain the information down the road. 

Aside from grades, active learning was associated with a better understanding of the material. The study showed that when students are actively engaged, they’re better able to discuss the topic with others, which shows a deeper comprehension. 

In their trial with AI, the researchers learned that virtual helpers are beneficial to both students and teachers. They’re able to answer students’ questions during lessons, which can help teachers with the flow of their plans. From a student standpoint, AI was used to conduct various hands-on experiments in the classroom, prompting the students to talk with each other more, stay invested in the lesson, and ask more questions. 

The researchers hope these findings highlight the benefits associated with active learning in the classroom. It ultimately helps to keep students participating and involved in the lesson -- even if that means getting them physically moving. 

“It’s quite clear in this collection that even among like-minded folks there are seven or more applications of active learning that work and sometimes they work in contradictory ways,” said researcher Ken Koedinger. “There is so much richness in this field that we can continually make improvements to make it more effective and enjoyable for a long, long time.” 

Volkswagen Group of America is recalling 99 model year 2021 Arteons.

The pressure input rod connection on the brake booster may be loose and could detach.

A detached pressure input rod will cause the brake pedal to fail, increasing the risk of a crash.

What to do

Dealers will tighten the pressure input rod connection free of charge.

Owner notification letters are expected to be mailed November 5, 2021.

Owners may contact Volkswagen customer service at (800) 893-5298. Volkswagen's number for this recall is 47R3.

Volvo Car USA is recalling 461,00 model year 2001-2006 S80s and model year 2001-2009 S60s – 259,383 of them in the U.S.

The driver's airbag inflator may explode during deployment, due to propellant degradation occurring after long-term exposure to high absolute humidity, high temperatures and high temperature cycling.

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

What to do

Dealers will replace the driver's airbag free of charge.

Owner notification letters are expected to be mailed November 29, 2021.

Owners may contact Volvo customer service at (800) 458-1552. Volvo's number for this recall is R10125.

Ready Pac Foods in Swedesboro, N.J., and Jackson, Ga., is recalling approximately 222,915 pounds of ready-to-eat salad products with meat and poultry.

The products contain anchovies, an allergen not declared on the label.

There have been no confirmed reports of adverse reactions.

A list of the recalled items, produced from August 27, 2021, through September 19, 2021, and shipped to retail and DOD locations nationwide, may be found here.

The recalled products may bear establishment number “M-18502B”, “P-18502B”, “M-32081”, or “P-32081” printed on the packaging next to the use by date.

What to do

Customers with an allergy or sensitivity to anchovies who purchased the recalled products should not consume them, but discard or return them to the place of purchase.

Consumers with questions may contact the firm at (800) 800-7822 or by email at mary.toscano@bonduelle.com.

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

Total‌ ‌U.S.‌ ‌confirmed‌ ‌cases:‌ 43,867,314 (43,694,842)‌

Total‌ ‌U.S.‌ ‌deaths:‌ 703,742 (701,312)

Total‌ ‌global‌ ‌cases:‌ 235,598,854 (235,058,353)

Total‌ ‌global‌ ‌deaths:‌ 4,812,498 (4,804,273)‌

AstraZeneca seeks approval of new treatment drug

Drugmaker AstraZeneca has appealed to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for emergency use authorization (EUA) for its antibody drug that helps prevent COVID-19. The company said the treatment displayed strong efficacy in clinical trials.

The company said the treatment, called AZD7442, is not a vaccine. However, it says the shot works like one by blocking symptoms of the virus. The drug would be used primarily to treat people with chronic diseases and other conditions that might make vaccines less effective. 

If the FDA grants the request, the drug would be the first of its kind. AstraZeneca says it’s designed to prevent people exposed to COVID-19 from getting sick.

Study finds Pfizer jab reduced hospitalization risks

Scientists continue to learn more about the COVID-19 vaccines. A study published in the British medical journal The Lancet confirms an unexpected positive benefit of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine.

The study found that six months after the second shot, the efficacy of the vaccine in preventing the virus dropped from 88% to 47%. But researchers also found that people who received the vaccine had a 90% chance of staying out of the hospital if they were infected.

The study backs up findings from an earlier study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). In that study, researchers found a similar decline in protection against infection but a reduced likelihood of severe symptoms.

Things are getting better, but…

The latest numbers from the COVID-19 Tracking Project at Johns Hopkins University are a reason for optimism. The number of new cases is falling, even with the presence of the highly contagious Delta variant. Deaths, a lagging indicator, are also expected to fall in the weeks ahead. But we’ve been in this spot before, and health experts are urging continued caution. 

"We can't get overconfident. Every time we do and we put our guard down ... we get another surge with another variant,"  Dr. Jorge Rodriguez, a viral researcher and internal medicine physician, told CNN. 

Over the last week, new cases in the U.S. averaged 107,312 per day. That’s the lowest level since early August.

Around the nation

• Colorado: The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) reports that it has made $1.6 billion in COVID-19 grants to Colorado since the pandemic began. The money was used to provide various types of assistance, including $7.9 million to cover funeral costs for people who died from the virus.

• Illinois: Public health officials in Chicago say they plan to issue guidance later this week for Halloween, a holiday when people gather for parties and children go door-to-door for candy. In a statement, an official of the Chicago Public Health Department said the agency will follow CDC guidelines.

• Connecticut: As of today, state employees must be vaccinated against COVID-19. As the week began, state officials said 23,000 employees, or 76% of the total workforce, were fully vaccinated. Approximately 5,000 employees, or 17% of the workforce, will receive weekly testing.

• Virginia: Many Richmond parents are keeping their children out of school because of the pandemic, though education officials say the numbers are falling. Attendance records show that there were 650 no-shows on Monday. That’s down from 2,400 two weeks earlier.

• Florida: U.S. Department of Education officials say Florida is the only state that has not submitted a plan outlining how it will spend its allocation of federal COVID-19 education funds. Without a plan, officials say Florida won’t receive its $2.3 billion in remaining American Rescue Plan funds.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has some hopeful news for Americans who were financially impacted by the pandemic and found it tough to make their mortgage payments. The bureau says it’s not too late to request pandemic-related hardship forbearance -- a program that 1.6 million borrowers have successfully used to their advantage so far.

Forbearance occurs when a mortgage servicer or lender allows a homeowner to temporarily pause mortgage payments or pay their mortgage at a lower payment. It doesn’t completely wipe out that obligation, mind you. Any payment reduction or paused payments have to be paid back when the homeowner has regained their financial footing.

What’s involved

There are two determining factors that a homeowner needs to know if they’re interested in the forbearance program:

• If the home loan is backed by HUD/FHA, USDA, or the VA, the mortgage servicer is authorized to approve initial COVID-19 hardship forbearance requests until the COVID-19 National Emergency is officially over. That may sound like an open-ended invitation, but the situation with the pandemic could change at any time, and it would be smart to get the paperwork in sooner rather than later.

• However, if the loan is backed by the government-sponsored agencies Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, there is not currently a deadline for requesting initial forbearance.

You can check out the CFPB’s guide to find out which company services your mortgage. It’s also created a step-by-step guide on how to request forbearance. 

In addition to the federal government, the CFPB says some states are implementing or considering various mortgage relief options of their own, including the suspension of foreclosures. A list of those states is available here.

Key considerations

As mortgage servicers expand their operations to match the surge of forbearance exits, the agency says they need to keep in mind that not all borrowers are in the same financial situation. 

“Many borrowers may be vulnerable to a greater risk of harm due to a variety of personal circumstances, including poor health, mental decline, disability, caregiving for a child or loved one, having limited English proficiency, inadequate access to technology, or being a first-time homeowner. The effects of the COVID-19 pandemic may have exacerbated some of these vulnerabilities,” the CFPB stated.

Americans might be able to find some assistance from a housing counselor if they’re concerned about any of those circumstances becoming a hindrance in communicating with their servicer. The CFPB offers a link to those services on its website as well. 

The initial weeks of the COVID-19 pandemic were devastating to the nation’s housing market. People who might have been in the market to buy a home didn’t want to go into a stranger’s house, and homeowners didn’t want them there either. Sales stopped.

But a new study by the U.S. Census Bureau and Zillow chronicles what happened next. Millions of apartment dwellers, suddenly working from home --sometimes with small children -- needed more room.

Single-family home sales surged in suburban areas and small cities since proximity to the workplace was often much less important. As a result, rents in large cities like New York plunged while home prices nearly everywhere took off.

Using U.S. Census data, Zillow economists have shown how the effects of the pandemic changed the housing market. Inventory levels of homes for sale rose sharply at first, but the number of homes for sale dropped just as fast as the number of buyers entering the market rose.

Families doubled up to save money

Despite the high demand, not everyone could afford to buy. Zillow researchers say lower-income households were more likely to rent and were also more likely to have lost jobs in hard-hit industries, such as retail, accommodations, and food services.

The research shows that there was an increase in multi-family and multi-generational households as people who were facing financial pressures turned to alternatives, including “doubling up” or moving back in with their families. That change just added to a decline in rental demand.

There was also a migration toward smaller, more affordable cities. Home values in New York, Chicago, and San Francisco slowed, while sales and prices in cities like Des Moines, Charlotte, Kansas City, Phoenix, and Austin rose the most.

Office location now less important

Before the pandemic, most homebuyers made choices based on affordability, amenities, and where they worked. Now, economists say the shift to remote work removes workplace location as a factor, giving homeowners more freedom.

A Zillow survey conducted early in the pandemic found that most people working remotely liked it and wanted to continue doing so once the pandemic was over. If long-term remote work were possible, 66% of them said they’d consider moving somewhere else.

Somewhere else often includes a resort area, and Zillow says there is evidence that towns on the beach or in the mountains are continuing to draw newcomers who are able to work remotely. 

Zillow said it was able to identify vacation towns that have drawn teleworkers by looking at page views, favorites, “likes,” and the number of times a visitor saved the URL of a vacation town’s website.

The researchers concede that the metrics do not necessarily mean website users are moving to vacation towns, but they point out that the numbers are in line with a 66% growth in pending home sales in vacation towns.

If you had trouble getting on Facebook, Instagram, or WhatsApp on Monday, it wasn’t a problem with your router or device. The entire platform suffered a global outage for several hours.

“We’re aware that some people are having trouble accessing our apps and products,” Facebook wrote in a Twitter post. “We’re working to get things back to normal as quickly as possible, and we apologize for any inconvenience.”

That was at midday Eastern Time. It wasn’t until about six hours later that users began to report the sites were accessible once again. Why the platforms went dark wasn’t immediately clear. 

According to the New York Times, Facebook sent a team of engineers to its data center in Santa Clara, Calif., to try a “manual reset” of the company's servers. The Times cited an internal memo for that information. Monday evening, Facebook reported that it had found the cause -- configuration changes on the backbone routers that coordinate network traffic between Facebook data centers caused issues that interrupted communication. 

“This disruption to network traffic had a cascading effect on the way our data centers communicate, bringing our services to a halt,” the company said.

Internal errors

From the start, internet experts correctly suggested that Facebook inadvertently caused that by making changes to its system. Most discounted the possibility of a cyberattack.

“Sincere apologies to everyone impacted by outages of Facebook-powered services right now, CTO Mike Schroepfer tweeted around 3:50 pm Monday. “We are experiencing networking issues and teams are working as fast as possible to debug and restore as fast as possible.”

Technology experts suggested that the outage was caused by changes made to Facebook's Border Gateway Protocol (BGP). The BGP is a means for internet users to get from one place on the internet to another by helping them identify a particular site.

Conspiracy theories were rocketing around the internet in the wake of the system failure since it came a day after the “60 Minutes” interview with a Facebook whistleblower, who leaked documents showing the company was aware of the negative impact its properties were having in society. Frances Haugen, the former Facebook computer engineer who was the source of the leak, is testifying today before a Senate committee about the information she released to the public.

A new study conducted by researchers from Hokkaido University discovered a new nairovirus in Japan that is spread through infectious tick bites. The origin of the “Yezo virus” was previously unknown, but experts have since identified how it spreads. Some of the symptoms associated with it include fever and lower levels of leukocytes and blood platelets. 

“At least seven people have been infected with this new virus in Japan since 2014, but, so far, no deaths have been confirmed,” said researcher Keita Matsuno. 

Identifying an unknown virus

Researchers were previously unable to properly identify the Yezo virus because of the low number of cases. Between 2019 and 2020, two patients were admitted into a hospital in Hokkaido after receiving tick bites and testing negative for all of the common tick-borne illnesses. 

After testing the patients’ blood for genetic components of different viruses, the researchers determined that the infection was linked to a new nairovirus. The name Yezo virus came from its place of origin; Yezo is a historical reference to the region of Hokkaido. 

The researchers then set out to see if local animals were similarly affected by the virus, and what other cases, if any, existed in humans prior to 2019. Based on antibody tests on several different animals, there were traces of the virus in local raccoons and deer. 

“The Yezo virus seems to have established its distribution in Hokkaido, and it is highly likely that that virus causes illness when it is transmitted to humans from animals via ticks,” said Matsuno. 

As for other cases of the virus in humans, the team tested blood samples of patients who were admitted into the hospital with similar symptoms between 2014 and 2019 but had received an inconclusive diagnosis. They ultimately identified five other patients who had tested positive for Yezo virus, and the symptoms were consistent across the board. 

Now, the researchers plan to investigate Yezo virus even further to determine other places around the world where patients could be affected by it. The COVID-19 pandemic has illustrated how quickly animal-borne infections can spread, making future studies on this virus even more important. 

“All of the cases of Yezo virus infections we know so far did not turn into fatalities, but it’s very likely that the disease is found beyond Hokkaido, so we need to urgently investigate its spread,” Matsuno said. 

A new study conducted by researchers from the Earth Institute at Columbia University found that extreme heat and humidity levels in cities around the globe have increased significantly since the 1980s. 

Their work revealed that these heat conditions have tripled in recent decades due to substantial population growth in urban areas and rising global temperatures.

“This has broad effects,” said researcher Cascade Tuholske. “It increases morbidity and mortality. It impacts people’s ability to work, and results in lower economic output. It exacerbates pre-existing health conditions.”  

Identifying trends in heat patterns

To get an idea of the temperature trends over the last four decades, the researchers analyzed ground thermometer readings and infrared satellite imagery from 1983 to 2016. They then looked at population data from Columbia’s Center for International Earth Science Information Network. 

In 1983, there were 40 billion person-days of extreme heat and humidity. By 2016, that number jumped to just under 120 billion. In this study, extreme heat was categorized as 106 degrees Fahrenheit or higher. 

While population growth and rising global temperatures were the two primary reasons this increase occurred, the researchers found that the former was more significant than the latter; population growth was responsible for two-thirds of the uptick in extreme heat exposure. 

Which areas have been affected the most?

In the U.S., the researchers identified 40 cities that have experienced the brunt of these heat waves. The findings suggested that some cases were caused by population growth -- like in Las Vegas and Charleston, South Carolina -- while others were due to intense heat -- like in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and Gulfport, Mississippi. 

The study also showed that the combination of the two factors contributed to more days of extreme heat in some places around the U.S. This was the case in many cities across Texas, including Austin, San Antonio, and Dallas-Fort Worth, as well as in Pensacola and other cities in Florida. 

Moving forward, the researchers hope that these findings can help community leaders better serve consumers in large cities who are consistently impacted by extreme heat. 

This research “could serve as a starting point for identifying ways to address local heat issues,” said researcher Kristina Dahl. “This study shows that it will take considerable, conscientious investments to ensure that cities remain livable in the face of a warming climate.” 

Chrysler is recalling 8,379 model year 2021 Ram ProMaster City and Ram ProMaster vehicles.

The seat belt automatic locking retractors may deactivate early, which can prevent the child restraint system from securing properly.

An unsecured child restraint system can increase the risk of injury in a crash.

What to do

Dealers will inspect and replace the seat belt retractors -- as necessary -- free of charge.

Owner notification letters are expected to be mailed October 29, 2021.

Owners may contact Chrysler customer service at (800) 853- 1403. Chrysler's number for this recall is Y61.

Baker Farms is recalling Baker Farms, Kroger and SEG Grocers brands of Kale.

The products may be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes.

No illnesses have been reported to date.

A list of the recalled products, sold in Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kansas, Missouri, Mississippi, North Carolina, New York, Ohio and Virginia, may be found here.

The Best By Date and Production Code are located on the front of each package.

What to do

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

Consumers with questions may contact the firm at (229) 769-3113 Monday – Friday, 8:00 am–5:00 pm (EST), or by email at richard@bakerfamilyproduce.com.

Luyuan of City of Industry, Calif., is recalling about 6,800 Luyuan youth All-Terrain Vehicles.

The vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of the federal mandatory safety standard.

No incidents or injuries have been reported.

This recall involves Luyuan’s youth ATVs sold from August 2018, through August 2020, and intended for use by children ages 6 years and older, as demonstrated by the product dimensions and advertising.

They were also marketed on Amazon.com to children as young as 12 months of age and on Walmart.com to children age 5 years.

The model numbers include LY-ATV-40A, LY-ATV-40D, LY-ATV-40E and LY-ATV-40I.

The model number is printed on the hang tag and the brand name is printed on a sticker on the plastic body. The ATVs may have a label on the front frame, stating: “This ATV is subject to LUYUAN INC’s ACTION PLAN approved by U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission on August 7, 2009” or a label on the motor stating: “IMPORTED BY LUYUAN, INC.”

Some of these ATVs were sold with GBMOTO or GoBowen branding. The ATVs were sold in various colors.

The ATVs, manufactured in China, were sold at Luyuan dealers nationwide, including Tool Store Go-Kart Shop, ATV Distributors, Four Seasons Power Sports, Mefast Wholesale, Toomey Tools, Steward Auto, A&S Auto, and Bounce it Off Motorsports, Go-bowen, Powersportsmax and Smokers Alley 2. The ATVs were also sold online at Amazon.com, Walmart.com, FamilyGoKarts.com, BigToysGreenCountry.com, Bigtoysusa.com and SaferWholesale.com from August 2018, through August 2020, for between $450 and $550.

What to do

Consumers should immediately stop using the recalled ATVs and contact Luyuan for a free repair from an authorized repair shop.

Consumers may contact Luyuan toll-free at (855) 663-2121 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. (PT) Monday through Friday, by email at luyuanusa@gmail.com, or online at www.luyuancn.com and click on “Recall” at the top of the page for more information.

Target was the first out of the gate to post its holiday deals, but Amazon is wasting no time in announcing its own. Even though Black Friday might be officially slated for the day after Thanksgiving, the online retailer says there’s no need to wait. It says consumers can shop now and save big with Black Friday-worthy pricing in every category, including fashion, home, beauty, toys, electronics, and Amazon Devices.

Consumers will be able to help small businesses and artisans spring back from a downturn in business brought on by the pandemic by shopping through the Small Business Storefront. Amazon is also offering additional guides featuring gifts from small businesses, Amazon Launchpad, and Amazon Handmade.

A new trick up Amazon’s sleeve

The e-commerce giant is also adding an interesting nuance to holiday shopping in 2021. If an Amazon Prime shopper doesn’t know the shipping address of the giftee, they can e-mail or text gifts. All it takes is selecting the gift, checking the “add gift receipt for easy returns” box during checkout, and then typing in a known email address or mobile number of the recipient.

That’s when the new twist comes in. The recipient can either accept the purchase or -- unbeknownst to the giver -- exchange it for an Amazon gift card.

Early deals

ConsumerAffairs took a look at some of the deals Amazon is offering early. Here are some of the available products that come with a discount:

Toys

• Save up to 50% on STEM toys and kits from Learning Resources, National Geographic, and more.

• Save up to 30% on Hasbro Games, NERF, Barbie, Fisher-Price, and Hot Wheels.

Seasonal Fashion

• Save up to 30% on Tommy Hilfiger men’s and women’s apparel.

• Save up to 50% on women’s watches from Anne Klein, Nine West, and SWAROVSKI.

Homegoods and Appliances

• Save up to 30% on Le Creuset cast iron and stoneware.

• Save 40% on Ninja Foodi 10-in-1 Pressure Cooker and Air Fryer.

A complete list of Amazon’s deals can be viewed here.

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

Total‌ ‌U.S.‌ ‌confirmed‌ ‌cases:‌ 43,694,842 (43,607,242)‌

Total‌ ‌U.S.‌ ‌deaths:‌ 701,312 (700,418)

Total‌ ‌global‌ ‌cases:‌ 235,058,353 (234,914,862)

Total‌ ‌global‌ ‌deaths:‌ 4,804,273 (4,795,272)‌

U.S. deaths exceed 700,000

The latest wave of COVID-19 cases has begun to recede, but U.S. deaths crossed a milestone over the weekend. Officials have now attributed more than 700,000 deaths to the virus. The U.S. remains the world leader in COVID-19 deaths, with Brazil being the next-closest country.

Because it is so contagious, the Delta variant is responsible for the latest surge in cases. But frustrated health officials say the latest increase in deaths is largely due to many people refusing to be vaccinated. Research suggests that vaccination reduces the risk of severe COVID-19 symptoms or death.

"If you're not vaccinated or have protection from natural infection, this virus will find you," warned Mike Osterholm, director of the University of Minnesota's Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy, told NPR.

Johnson & Johnson reportedly wants booster approval

Johnson & Johnson may be the next vaccine maker to ask for approval of its booster shot. The New York Times reports that the drug company will ask the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for booster shot approval later this week.

The FDA has scheduled a meeting of its advisory committee next week to discuss whether it should authorize the Johnson & Johnson booster. The Pfizer vaccine is currently the only U.S. vaccine approved for booster shots for certain individuals.

Johnson & Johnson has previously released its own research that shows the second shot of its vaccine increases effectiveness against the virus to 94%, compared to 70% for the single dose.

Doctors say it may be hard to tell COVID-19 from the flu

The 2020-2021 flu season was almost non-existent, thanks to social distancing, masks, and other virus mitigation measures. But health experts say this flu season is likely to be much worse, and you may have trouble distinguishing the seasonal sickness from the coronavirus.

That’s because so many people have now been vaccinated. Even though they can still get COVID-19, the symptoms among vaccinated people are relatively mild and very similar to the flu.

Doctors suggest that people seek testing if they develop symptoms that could be either flu or COVID-19. A PCR test -- the kind you get at a pharmacy or doctor’s office and is processed by a lab -- is still the most sensitive and accurate way to detect the virus. 

Around the nation

• Kentucky: Gov. Andy Beshear says the latest numbers suggest that the COVID-19 situation in the state is improving. Cases of the virus surged during the month of September in Kentucky, especially in rural areas that have resisted vaccination and virus mitigation measures.

• Pennsylvania: Schools in Eastern Pennsylvania have grappled with COVID-19 outbreaks since children returned to the classroom. Administrators say it’s changed how they function. “We are educators by trade. Essentially now, we’re health care workers, contact tracers and health care educators,” Jim Thorpe Area Superintendent John Rushefski told the Lehighton Times-News.

• New Jersey: New Jersey is having better luck with its health care workers than neighboring New York. Health officials say hospitals have received far fewer resignations from employees who refuse to be vaccinated. They say New Jersey’s more accommodating rules, such as allowing unvaccinated employees to stay on the job if they submit to frequent testing, may be partly responsible.

• Idaho: State health officials say the latest surge in severe COVID-19 cases is targeting children who are not yet eligible for vaccination. Many of the cases are severe, with pediatric intensive care units (ICU) approaching capacity. 

• Oregon: Gov. Kate Brown faces a growing rebellion among Josephine County officials who are seeking to block her mandate that health workers be vaccinated. The county commission is considering a resolution that declares Brown’s mandate “the direct enemy of liberty.” 

The whistleblower behind charges that Facebook content is “toxic” and that the company knows it says she acted because she wants to make Facebook better, not damage the social media platform.

Frances Haugen, a former Facebook computer engineer, provided thousands of internal Facebook research documents to the Wall Street Journal, which last month published a series of stories about the platform, including one that details how Facebook research shows that Instagram makes many teenage girls feel bad about their bodies.

On CBS’ “60 Minutes” Sunday evening, Haugen went public, telling the network that the world needed to know what she knew.

"The thing I saw at Facebook over and over again was there were conflicts of interest between what was good for the public and what was good for Facebook, and Facebook over and over again chose to optimize for its own interests, like making more money," Haugen said.

Haugen, who previously worked at Google and Pinterest, said the research presented Facebook executives with evidence that its content is responsible for a growing amount of hate and violence around the world. But because anger often increases engagement with the platform, it can be highly profitable. 

"I've seen a bunch of social networks, and it was substantially worse at Facebook than anything I've seen before," Haugen said. "At some point in 2021, I realized I'm going to have to do this in a systemic way, that I'm going to have to get out enough [documents] that no one can question that this is real."

How anger makes money

Haugen is not the first to call out the media for its role in stirring up anger, but she’s the first to present documentation. In his best-selling book “Hate, Inc.,” Matt Taibbi, former political editor at Rolling Stone, makes a case that the internet has caused even mainstream news organizations to focus on information designed to anger and energize viewers and readers.

“We started to turn the ongoing narrative of the news into something like a religious contract, in which the idea was not just to make you mad but to keep you mad, whipped up in a state of devotional anger,” Taibbi writes.

Facebook, meanwhile, has disputed the charges that it is toxic for society and said in a statement to the media that many of the inferences drawn from the leaked documents are “misleading.”

Either way, the charges may get a thorough airing this week in Washington. Haugen is scheduled to appear before a congressional committee looking into her claims.