Current Events in December 2021

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has shifted its investigation into high gear as the agency continues to look into a rash of engine fires plaguing Hyundai and Kia vehicles.

The agency has received 161 reports of engine fires over the last six years. It began a formal investigation in 2019 that covered the 2011-2014 Kia Optima and Sorento and the 2010-2015 Kia Soul, along with the 2011-2014 Hyundai Sonata and Santa Fe. Some owners of these vehicles reported fires that did not involve a crash.

The safety regulators have begun an engineering analysis of about 3 million vehicles, many of which have been subject to recalls. Part of the analysis will determine just how effective the recalls have been, officials said.

What consumers say

Jennifer, of Eagle, Idaho, tells us her 2020 Hyundai Elantra was subject to an engine recall but when she took it to a Hyundai dealer, she was told the recall remedy wouldn’t work and that she needed a new engine.

“I am in disbelief that this car is under a year old and needs a brand new engine,” Jennifer wrote in a ConsumerAffairs review. “That is literally the most insane thing I've ever heard in my life.”

Marlene, of Rayne, La., reported that her 2014 Kia Forte caught fire while it was parked and she was out of town.

“The car was locked and both keys were with me,” Marlene told wrote in a ConsumerAffairs post. “The car set itself on fire.”

Hyundai and Kia both issued statements saying they plan to fully cooperate in the agency’s investigations. The two companies paid $210 million in civil penalties in 2020 after the NHTSA said they were late in recalling 1.6 million vehicles for engine defects.

The automakers began a series of recalls in September 2015, to address different engine problems. NHTSA documents show that the automakers have issued eight more recalls since then to address various engine issues.

Major cruise lines are once again in the crosshairs of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) over an escalating number of COVID-19 cases aboard ships. According to various reports, the CDC has opened an investigation into 36 ships and is observing another 32 vessels amid COVID-19 outbreaks. 

According to the CDC’s charts, Carnival has the most at stake. Despite the company’s commitment to operate vaccinated cruises through March 31, 2022, it has 17 ships being scrutinized for being at or above the CDC’s investigation threshold. Crossing that threshold could mean any number of things – from .10% or more of passengers testing positive during the previous 7 days to one or more cases being reported by ship crew members.

Other cruise lines that the CDC lists as being part of an investigation or has been investigated and remains under observation include:

• Royal Caribbean – 14 ships

• Norwegian – 8 ships

• Celebrity Cruises – 5 ships

• Holland America – 4 ships

• Princess Cruises – 3 ships

• MSC Cruises, Crystal Cruises, Oceania, and Viking – 2 ships

Cruise lines claim they’re following rules

Cruise lines have clashed with the CDC several times since the pandemic began due to the various virus mitigation efforts that the agency has enforced. When it looked like COVID-19 was losing all its steam and bookings started to climb again, the industry fretted over the CDC’s lack of flexibility with its no-sail order. 

Despite all that, Carnival says it’s following the agency’s dictates and has the data to prove it. A company spokesperson told Insider that the CDC has been "fully informed and supportive of its protocols and operational plans." 

An MSC Cruises spokesperson stated that their company has hosted more than a million passengers who have met its health and safety protocols, which include a vaccine mandate.

Be ready for your cruise to get canceled

More consumers will likely be looking to take a cruise as temperatures turn colder this winter, but that may be a problem if the number of new COVID-19 cases continues to climb due to the Omicron variant. If your trip does get canceled, then you’ll need to connect with the company you were traveling with to rebook or get a refund. 

But beware – many cruise lines will offer bonus credits to entice you to rebook instead of canceling to get a refund. That’s what happened to one ConsumerAffairs reviewer earlier this year, and the outcome was worse than she expected.

“I purchased a cruise for the beginning of October. It was canceled due to Covid-19. That's understandable. They gave me $300 onboard credit. However once I tried to rebook I found that all the cruises were several hundred dollars higher so [I was not] able to get a price like the one THEY CANCELED,” Shannon from Atlanta wrote in a review of Carnival.

The moral of the story? Make sure you know exactly what you’re getting if you choose to rebook a canceled cruise.

A new study conducted by researchers from the American Academy of Neurology explored the risks associated with exposure to formaldehyde. Their findings showed that consumers may have a higher risk of cognitive impairment later in life if they are regularly exposed to the chemical. 

“We know that exposure to formaldehyde has been linked to certain cancers, and our results suggest that exposure to low amounts of formaldehyde also may be associated with lower levels of cognitive functioning,” said researcher Noemie Letellier, Ph.D. “People whose work exposes them to formaldehyde may want to take precautions, and companies may want to look at ways to reduce workers’ exposure to the hazardous chemical.” 

Long-term cognitive risks

For the study, the researchers analyzed data from more than 75,000 people in France enrolled in the CONSTANCES study. Participants reported on their formaldehyde exposure while at work and completed cognitive assessments throughout the study. 

Ultimately, less than 10% of the participants were exposed to formaldehyde while at work. However, those who were exposed to the chemical had a nearly 20% higher risk of struggling with cognitive function. This was true for all of the different measures of cognition, including memory, executive function, and language abilities. 

The researchers found that a higher rate of exposure led to a higher risk of cognitive decline. Those who spent 22 or more years exposed to the chemical at work were over 20% more likely to develop cognitive complications. Carpenters, nurses, and medical technicians were some of the most common workers that experienced formaldehyde exposure. 

The researchers hope more work is done to reduce exposure to formaldehyde so that consumers can avoid health risks. 

“The use of formaldehyde has decreased over the last few decades; however, our results highlight the fact that there are still thousands of people whose work exposes them to the chemical, and they may face the risk of cognitive impairment later because of it,” Letellier said. 

Experts say consumers have turned to alcohol more frequently since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic as a way to relieve stress. Unfortunately, researchers from Massachusetts General Hospital believe that this uptick in drinking will lead to more cases of liver disease and will result in more deaths.

The team came to that conclusion after analyzing how consumers’ drinking habits impacted their short- and long-term health outcomes during the pandemic. 

“The COVID-19 pandemic has had many unintended consequences with unknown long-term impact,” said Dr. Turgay Ayer. “Our modeling study provides a framework for quantifying the long-term impact of increased alcohol consumption associated with COVID-19 and initiating conversations for potential interventions.” 

Pandemic drinking habits can have long-term effects

Overall, the researchers learned that the rate of binge drinking increased by more than 20% over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic. They said these drinking habits are likely to significantly impact consumers’ health and longevity in the short term and long term. 

If these drinking patterns remain consistent, liver failure is expected to spike by 2,800 additional cases by 2023. By 2040, the team anticipates an extra 1,000 cases of liver cancer and an additional 18,700 cases of liver failure. Alcohol-related deaths were also predicted to increase by 8,000 within the next two decades. 

The researchers hope these findings influence policy changes related to binge drinking so that these health outcomes can be avoided. 

“While we have projected the expected impact of societal drinking changes associated with the COVID-19 pandemic without any interventions, we hope that our research can help jumpstart needed conversations at every level of society about how we can respond to the many behavioral changes, coping mechanisms, and choices that have short- and long-term implications for the health of individuals, families, and communities in America,” said researcher Jovan Julien. 

Chrysler is recalling 793 model year 2022 Jeep Wagoneers and Grand Wagoneers.

The second-row center-seat recliner pull strap may bind on the seat trim surface, preventing the seat back from locking into the upright position.

A seat back that is not locked into position can increase the risk of an injury in a crash.

What to do

Dealers will inspect and replace the rear center-seat recliner strap -- as necessary -- free of charge.

Owner notification letters are expected to be mailed on January 12, 2022.

Owners may contact Chrysler customer service at (800) 853-1403. Chrysler's number for this recall is Y86.

Clek is recalling 596 Liing, model LG19U1, and Liingo, model number LGO20U1, infant child seats manufactured before February 22, 2021.

The labels on the seat cover or infant insert may bubble up, allowing them to come apart into small pieces.

Detached pieces of the labels can present a choking hazard to a child.

What to do

Clek will provide a replacement seat cover or infant insert free of charge.

Owner notification letters are expected to be mailed in January 2022.

Owners may contact Clek customer service at (866) 656-2462.

Dole Fresh Vegetables is recalling all Dole-branded and private label packaged salads processed at its Bessemer City, N.C, and Yuma, Ariz., processing facilities.

The products may be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes.

Some of the recalled products genetically matched a strain of Listeria monocytogenes that the FDA and CDC believe was responsible for sixteen illnesses since 2014.

The recalled products are identified by a product lot code beginning with either the letter “N” or “Y” in the upper right-hand corner of the package. They also have a “Best if Used By” date between November 30, 2021, and January 8, 2022.

A list of the recalled products may be found here.

Recalled items from the Bessemer City facility were sold in Alabama, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Maryland, Michigan, Mississippi, North Carolina, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia.

Recalled items from the Yuma facility were sold in Alabama, Arizona, Connecticut, Florida, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, North Carolina, North Dakota, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, and Wisconsin.

What to do

Customers who purchased the recalled products should not consume them. Instead, they should discard them immediately.

Consumers with questions may contact the firm at (800) 356-3111 Monday through Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. (PT).

Ford Motor Company is recalling 5,456 model year 2022 Mavericks.

The fuel tank may have been damaged by drill holes during the installation of the spray-in bed-liner.

A damaged fuel tank may result in a fuel leak, increasing the risk of a fire.

What to do

Dealers will inspect and replace the fuel tank -- as necessary -- free of charge.

Owner notification letters are expected to be mailed on January 28, 2022.

Owners may contact Ford customer service at (866) 436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 21C35.

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

Total‌ ‌U.S.‌ ‌confirmed‌ ‌cases:‌ 52,460,229 (51,927,557)‌

Total‌ ‌U.S.‌ ‌deaths:‌ 817,031 (815,128)

Total‌ ‌global‌ ‌cases:‌ 280,738,431 (279,826,580)

Total‌ ‌global‌ ‌deaths:‌ 5,404,167 (5,395,183)‌

Omicron drives record surge in COVID-19 cases

It seems like COVID-19 cases are surging everywhere, and in some places, those increases are setting records. With many New Yorkers taking COVID-19 tests just before their holiday events, the state set a one-day record of nearly 50,000 new cases.

During the holidays, Florida set a record for the number of reported cases of the virus in a single day, with 31,758. That’s higher than the previous record of 27,669, set at the end of the summer.

Health officials say the explosion of new cases appears to be the result of the Omicron variant, which is believed to be more easily transmitted. Although supporting data is lacking, the Omicron variant appears to cause less severe symptoms in most people it infects.

What to know about Omicron symptoms

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says symptoms of the Omicron variant of COVID-19 are different in some ways from the Delta variant. The most common Delta variant symptom is a loss of taste and smell.

The CDC says the onset of illness caused by the Omicron variant feels more like a common cold. Early symptoms include a scratchy throat, runny nose, and a cough. Fatigue and body aches are also symptoms that Omicron shares with other variants.

“The Omicron variant likely will spread more easily than the original SARS-CoV-2 virus and how easily Omicron spreads compared to Delta remains unknown,” the CDC said on its website. “CDC expects that anyone with Omicron infection can spread the virus to others, even if they are vaccinated or don’t have symptoms.”

Problematic smartphone use linked to pandemic mental health issues

Some health researchers have reported an increase in mental health issues during the pandemic, and researchers in Germany suggest that overuse of smartphones could be part of the problem.

Writing in the journal PLOS ONE, researchers at Ruhr-Universität Bochum linked increased smartphone use during the pandemic with a low sense of control, fear of missing out, and repetitive negative thinking. The sample was largely made up of young women.

On the basis of their findings and prior studies, the researchers propose that physical activity and mindfulness practices could help reduce problematic smartphone use.  

Around the nation

• New York: New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio’s vaccination mandate for private businesses in the city takes effect today. Employees will have to show proof of at least one shot of an approved vaccine.  “We are going to find our way through this and then put the COVID era behind us," de Blasio said.

• Florida: On Christmas Eve, Universal Orlando Resort began requiring masks to be worn in indoor portions of the park. Masks will also be required  “at all attractions from the moment guests enter the queue to when they exit the experience.”

• Texas: Texas A&M has withdrawn its football team from Friday’s TaxSlayer Gator Bowl. School officials said COVID-19 issues prevented the team from appearing. “It is unfortunate, but we just don’t have enough scholarship players available to field a team,” Aggie head football coach Jimbo Fisher said in a statement.

• Oregon: COVID-19 doesn’t spare anyone, not even Santa Claus. Keith McDonley, an Oregon City resident who has been dressing up as Santa for more than a decade, was at his seasonal post this year after recovering from the virus, which kept him in the hospital for 62 days.

• Indiana: Indiana University Health, the state's largest hospital system, has asked for and received help from the Indiana National Guard. At IU Health Methodist Hospital, a 23-person U.S. Navy team will be deployed to relieve health care workers, many of whom have been working around the clock.

With 2022 just days away, consumers who are looking for a new car are probably wondering when the market will get back to normal, with an adequate selection and prices at or below the sticker price. Automotive experts say it won’t happen anytime soon.

“It’s impossible to know for sure, but just given the nature of the shortage of chips and the overall supply chain shortages that go beyond chips, it’s probably a safe bet to say that we would be lucky to get back to a satisfactory supply situation in six months, and it might take as long as 12 months,” said Karl Brauer, executive analyst at iseecars.com, in an interview with ConsumerAffairs.

The automotive experts at Edmunds concur. They say 2022 new car sales will probably fall to 15.2 million, not because of a lack of buyers but because of a lack of vehicles. Jessica Caldwell, Edmunds' executive director of insights, says every automaker is at the mercy of their suppliers, especially computer chip manufacturers.

"Sales have been depressed since the spring, but consumer appetite for new vehicles continues to run high, which will only serve to build up deferred demand next year and beyond,” Caldwell said. “In 2022 there won't be a question of how many new vehicles consumers will buy, but how many vehicles automakers can actually produce."

Expect to pay a premium price

All of this means that consumers who purchase a new car in 2022 will pay a premium price. So far, buyers haven’t balked at skyrocketing prices that average around 11% above sticker price, according to Brauer.

Edmunds data reveals that average transaction prices for new vehicles continued to hit record levels in the fourth quarter, climbing to $45,872 in November 2021, compared to $39,984 in November 2020. In many cases, consumers are paying more because they are purchasing higher trim levels with more expensive features.

Experts also predict there will be fewer leased vehicles in 2022, a trend that began this year. With low inventories, dealers won’t be encouraging leases by providing incentives.

Downside to leasing

Savvy consumers may also be less likely to consider a lease in 2022 because the residual value of the vehicle at the end of the lease will be set by today’s inflated values for used cars. It’s difficult to predict where used car prices will be 36 months from now.

"Consumers who are planning on making a vehicle purchase in 2022 must prepare for a much different market and car shopping experience compared to years past," said Ivan Drury, Edmunds' senior manager of insights. 

In short, competition for new vehicles will be fierce as inventory shortages persist. It could cause some buyers to consider an electric vehicle since automakers may be producing more of them in the coming year.

Thousands of flights were canceled as we entered the Christmas weekend, and anyone who flew and actually made it to their destination should feel lucky. However, they’ll need even more luck getting home because the list of cancellations started growing again on Monday morning. 

According to FlightAware, there were 7,690 delays and 2,523 cancellations by noon on Monday – growing at a rate of about 4% an hour.

Airlines are pinning most of the blame on the continued spread of the COVID-19 Omicron variant, which is forcing some airline workers to stay home. A United Airlines memo reviewed by CNN stated that the “nationwide spike in Omicron cases this week has had a direct impact on our flight crews and the people who run our operation.”

CNN reports that Lufthansa plans to cancel 10% of its winter schedule – or 33,000 individual flights – because of the pandemic’s impact on the aviation industry.

Cancellations continue to grow

At the top of the “most canceled” list is SkyWest Airlines, with 249 Monday cancellations. SkyWest is a partner of Delta Air Lines, American Airlines, United Airlines, and Alaska Airlines that typically takes passengers from major hubs to smaller markets.

“SkyWest teams are working to recover after weather impacting several hubs, as well as increased COVID cases and quarantines amongst crewmembers, have resulted in higher than normal flight cancels through the weekend and today,” the airline said in a statement emailed to ConsumerAffairs. “We apologize for the inconvenience and are working to resume normal operations as quickly as possible.”

The list of cancellations is already getting bigger. FlightAware data shows that 826 flights have already been canceled for Tuesday; more than 200 have also been canceled for Wednesday.

Adding to travelers’ woes is the potential for bad weather between now and the end of the week. Western U.S. states are already getting hit by winter storm Elmer, and there’s a likelihood of major storms – and even tornadoes – forecast for the south-central U.S. going into the New Year’s weekend. 

The State of California has filed a lawsuit against Walmart, alleging that the company improperly disposed of products that are considered hazardous waste.

Attorney General Rob Bonta says Walmart has been filling local landfills that are ill-equipped or authorized to handle alkaline and lithium batteries, pesticides, aerosol cans, toxic cleaning supplies, electronic waste, latex paints, and LED light bulbs for the last six years. He cited data from Walmart’s own inspections that show the company unlawfully disposes of more than one million hazardous waste items in California each year.

While typical hazardous waste is bad enough, Bonta’s team said Walmart may have also thrown out customer records with personal information. 

“When one person throws out a battery or half-empty hairspray bottle, we may think that it's no big deal. But when we’re talking about tens of thousands of batteries, cleaning supplies, and other hazardous waste, the impact to our environment and our communities can be huge,”  Bonta said. 

“This lawsuit should serve as a warning to the state's worst offenders. We will hold you accountable. As the People’s Attorney, taking on corporate polluters and protecting public health will always be among my top priorities.”

Walmart doesn’t agree

Naturally, Walmart is defending itself. But rather than making an effort to get in compliance with California’s law, it claims that its corporate sustainability achievements and its past criminal and civil penalty payments fulfill its compliance responsibilities. 

The company said it previously met the requirements of a settlement stemming from a 2010 lawsuit over disposal law non-compliance – one that cost it $25 million to settle. 

E-Scrap News reported that Walmart provided it with data on the amount of regulated waste that was rerouted from its compactors in recent years. That data showed that from 2011 through 2020, the company diverted 40 tons of consumer batteries, 2.8 tons of cell phones, another ton of fluorescent lamps, and larger amounts of materials like tires and vehicle batteries.

The company even provided a court transcript from 2018 showing that the California Attorney General’s office agreed that the retail chain had met its obligations at that point.

However, Bonta’s office didn’t agree and called Walmart a “repeat offender” of disposal violations. 

“Instead of trying to come into compliance with the law, Walmart claims that its corporate sustainability achievements and its past criminal and civil penalty payments fulfill its compliance responsibilities,” Bonta’s office said in a statement.

Concerns about a spike in COVID-19 cases this fall did nothing to dampen consumers’ holiday spending. A report from Mastercard SpendingPulse shows that holiday retail sales rose 8.5% over last year, the biggest jump in 17 years.

Compared to last year, online transactions grew by 11.0%. The survey measures in-store and online retail sales across all forms of payment from Nov. 1 to Dec. 24.

“Shoppers were eager to secure their gifts ahead of the retail rush, with conversations surrounding supply chain and labor supply issues sending consumers online and to stores in droves,” said Steve Sadove, senior advisor for Mastercard and former CEO and Chairman of Saks Incorporated. “Consumers splurged throughout the season, with apparel and department stores experiencing strong growth as shoppers sought to put their best-dressed foot forward.”

The report also shows that consumers began shopping earlier than usual due to concerns that supply chain issues would limit the supply of the most popular gifts. Those concerns failed to materialize, however. Spending also increased later in the season as retailers offered more special promotions.

A big Black Friday weekend

Black Friday was the biggest day for spending during the 2021 holiday season. During the Thanksgiving weekend, shoppers drove U.S. retail sales up 14.1% year-over-year. In-store sales also rebounded, increasing 16.5% year-over-year. E-commerce sales experienced sustained growth, increasing by 4.9% over last year.

Online shopping made up 20.9% of total retail sales during the holiday season, up from 20.6% in 2020 and 14.6% in 2019. The report notes that online shopping got a strong boost from the pandemic, a trend that is expected to last.

Apparel, jewelry, and electronics were the most popular spending sectors, with all three categories registering strong growth over the 2020 holiday season.

After the 2021 holiday spending spree, consumers who used credit cards to make their purchases will be faced with paying for them in 2022. While credit card balances dropped sharply during the first year of the pandemic, the average consumer carries more than $5,600 in credit card debt, according to MoneyGeek.

A new study conducted by researchers from Ohio State University explored the impact that school uniforms have on kids’ behavior in school. 

Though many schools think uniforms will help students maintain good behavior and create a sense of community, their findings suggest that this isn’t actually the case. In fact, the researchers learned that uniforms had no impact on kids’ behavior and made them feel more isolated at school.

“A lot of the core arguments about why school uniforms are good for student behavior don’t hold up in our sample,” said researcher Arya Ansari. “We didn’t see much difference in our behavior measures, regardless of whether the schools had a uniform policy or not.” 

Uniforms aren’t affecting kids’ behavior

For the study, the researchers analyzed data from over 6,300 children enrolled in the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study. Their work followed the kids from kindergarten through fifth grade. Each year, teachers reported on the kids’ internal and external behavior problems, their social skills, and their attendance. When the students reached fifth grade, they reported on their experiences with bullying and their sense of community and belonging in school. 

Ultimately, the researchers learned that school uniforms weren’t associated with any changes in the students’ behavior. Wearing a uniform wasn’t linked with any major differences when it came to outcomes like aggression, anxiety, or general social well-being. 

However, the study also showed that wearing uniforms didn’t contribute to the students’ sense of belonging at school. The researchers explained that the reasoning behind requiring uniforms is that they’re believed to help build a school community. However, this wasn’t the case among the students surveyed in this study. 

“Fashion is one way that students express themselves, and that may be an important part of the school experience,” Ansari said. “When students can’t show their individuality, they may not feel like they belong as much.” 

With uniforms becoming more popular at public and private schools in recent years, the researchers hope these findings provide some insight for school officials.

“There hasn’t been much research done on the value of school uniforms in the past 20 years or so, especially given how much their use has increased,” Ansari said. “School uniforms may not be the most effective way to improve student behavior and engagement.” 

A new study conducted by researchers from the University of Exeter explored how older consumers may protect their cognitive function long-term. According to their findings, reducing frailty in older consumers and promoting a healthier lifestyle may reduce the risk of dementia. 

“We’re seeing increasing evidence that taking meaningful action during life can significantly reduce dementia risk,” said researcher Dr. David Ward. “Our research is a major step forward in understanding how reducing frailty could help to dramatically improve a person’s chances of avoiding dementia, regardless of their genetic predisposition to the condition. This is exciting because we believe that some of the underlying causes of frailty are in themselves preventable. In our study, this looked to be possible partly through engaging in healthy lifestyle behaviors.” 

Staying active benefits older consumers’ cognitive function

For the study, the researchers analyzed data from over 196,000 adults over the age of 60 enrolled in the U.K. Biobank. They evaluated the participants’ lifestyle habits and medical records and assessed their genetic risk factors for dementia and frailty. The team followed the participants over the course of a decade to determine their long-term health outcomes. 

The researchers learned that frailty and dementia were closely linked; the higher the participants scored on the frailty risk scale, the more likely they were to also develop dementia. Participants with the highest degrees of frailty were found to be nearly three times as likely to develop dementia than those with the lowest frailty scores. 

The study also showed that being frail increased dementia risks even more than genetics, as participants who were genetically predisposed to dementia but were physically strong and fit were less likely to develop cognitive difficulties. Those with high frailty scores and strong genetic risks were the most likely to be diagnosed with dementia. 

“These findings have extremely positive implications, showing it’s not the case that dementia is inevitable, even if you’re at a high genetic risk,” said researcher Dr. Janice Ranson. “We can take meaningful action to reduce our risk; tackling frailty could be an effective strategy to maintaining brain health, as well as helping people stay mobile and independent for longer in later life.” 

Moving forward, the researchers hope these findings are used to help promote more active, healthy lifestyles among older consumers – especially those who may have a higher genetic risk of developing dementia. 

“The risk of dementia reflects genetic, neuropathological, lifestyle, and general health factors that in turn give rise to a range of abnormalities in the brain,” said researcher Dr. Kenneth Rockwood. “Our study is an important step forward on the role of frailty, which appears to have a unique and potentially modifiable pathway in influencing dementia risk. That’s an incredibly exciting prospect that we must urgently explore to potentially benefit the growing number of people worldwide affected by dementia.” 

Clek is recalling 5,504 Liing, model number LG19U1, and Liingo, model number LGO20U1, infant child seats manufactured before September 15, 2020.

A small plastic portion of the child seat canopy support may break and detach from the seat.

A detached piece of plastic can present a choking hazard to a child, increasing the risk of injury.

What to do

Clek will provide a replacement canopy support along with instructions on how to replace it free of charge.

Owner notification letters are expected to be mailed in January 2022.

Owners may contact Clek customer service at (866) 656-2462.

Mercedes-Benz USA (MBUSA) is recalling 17 model year 2021 GLE450s and AMG GLE53s.

The ground connection bolts in the passenger-side footwell for the electric heater may be improperly tightened.

Loose ground connection bolts on the electric heater may cause the wiring to overheat, increasing the risk of a fire.

What to do

Dealers will check the electric heater ground connection and repair it -- as necessary -- free of charge.

Owner notification letters are expected to be mailed on January 18, 2022.

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

Fresh Express is recalling certain varieties of its branded and private label salads produced at the company’s Streamwood, Ill., facility

The products may be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has reported ten illnesses.

A list of the recalled products, which includes all Use-By Dates of fresh salad items with product codes Z324 through Z350 located on the front of the packages below the Use-By Date, may be found here.

The recalled products were sold by retailers in Connecticut, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Maryland, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, North Dakota, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Manitoba.

What to do

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

Consumers with questions may contact the company at (800) 242-5472 from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. (ET).