Current Events in May 2022

Nissan North America is recalling 53 model year 2022 Rogues.

Due to a manufacturing error, an area on the bottom wall of the fuel tank may be too thin.

Road debris may puncture the thin fuel tank wall, causing a gas leak and increasing the risk of a fire.

The fuel tank may also not perform as expected in a crash, increasing the risk of injury.

What to do

Dealers will replace the fuel tank assembly and install a new lock ring, gasket, and o-ring seal free of charge.

Owner notification letters are expected to be mailed on May 19, 2022.

Owners may contact Nissan customer service at (800) 867-7669. Nissan's number for this recall is PC887.

Ford Motor Company is recalling 933 model year 2022 Lincoln Aviators.

The front-row driver and passenger seat power head restraint cushion may detach from the head restraint assembly when adjusted to the full forward position.

A detached head restraint cushion can increase the risk of injury in a crash.

What to do

Dealers will replace the front-row passenger and driver head restraints free of charge.

Owner notification letters are expected to be mailed on May 9, 2022.

Owners may contact Ford customer service at (866) 436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 22S23.

This Thursday is World Password Day, and leading the celebration are Apple, Google, and Microsoft. Starting sometime within the next year, all three companies will embark on a joint effort and expand support for passwordless sign-ins across all devices and platforms.

If two heads are better than one, then the three-headed effort by the tech giants should be really powerful. For one thing, the trio promises users the ability to sign in through a single action that requires a device PIN or fingerprint verification. The new approach is designed to protect against phishing, and officials say the move will make sign-ins "radically more secure."

“The complete shift to a passwordless world will begin with consumers making it a natural part of their lives. Any viable solution must be safer, easier, and faster than the passwords and legacy multi-factor authentication methods used today,” says Alex Simons, Corporate Vice President of Identity Program Management at Microsoft.

“By working together as a community across platforms, we can at last achieve this vision and make significant progress toward eliminating passwords. We see a bright future for FIDO-based credentials in both consumer and enterprise scenarios and will continue to build support across Microsoft apps and services.”

Consumers need to protect themselves for now

Until the day when all our passwordless hopes come true, anyone who uses a digital device controls much of their own destiny when it comes to privacy and security.

What are some things that the public can do to honor World Password Day? ConsumerAffairs found five tips that various security analysts say could make their cyber use even more secure:

Stop using your pet’s name as your password. Aura, which deals in intelligent safety for consumers, found that more than 39% of American pet parents have used their pet's name as part of their password for an online account. That stat rises to 1 in 2 (50%) among pet parents between the ages of 35 and 44.

"Pet names are often widely known and easily searchable on social media or online,” Aura says. 

Is your password something a family member can guess? In a survey of 1,000 Americans, ExpressVPN uncovered several distressing findings about password security. It found that 44% of people admitted to using personally identifiable information like their date of birth; that the average person uses the same password for six websites and/or platforms; that 43% of people say their loved ones would likely be able to guess their online passwords; and that 2 in 5 people admit to using a variation of their first and/or last name in online passwords they create.

The longer, the stronger. “It’s true that the longer a combination is, the harder it is to remember. But it is one of the best ways to keep information safe so make sure to use at least 8 digits to tighten up security levels,” says CheckPoint. 

Chris Brooks, the founder of CryptoAssetRecovery, agrees and even suggests more firepower.

“People often think that adding symbols to a password makes it more secure. Given the firepower that hackers have at their disposal today, that isn't necessarily true," Brooks suggests. "Short complex passwords can be cracked in fractions of seconds. Complexity + Length is what makes passwords secure."

Check out the strength of your current password. Kaspersky, the anti-virus company, offers a password checker that can tell consumers how strong their passwords are. Before you commit to a password that you think no one on earth would ever figure out, it might be wise to test it out.

Netflix users should use caution. Netflix's recent move to crack down on password sharing has a silver lining for consumers. 

"Keeping the use of a single account and password to a single user means fewer opportunities for identity theft, fraud, or other potential damages to the primary user," Nathan Wenzler, chief security strategist at Tenable, told ConsumerAffairs.

How bad could things get for password-lazy Netflix subscribers?

"As our online presence is increasingly tied to our financial services, shopping and delivery services and our reputations, it's becoming more important that we all take the credentials we use seriously and protect them as much as we can," Wenzler said.

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

Total‌ ‌U.S.‌ ‌confirmed‌ ‌cases:‌ 81,630,729 (81,514,062)

Total‌ ‌U.S.‌ ‌deaths:‌ 996,746 (994,781)

Total‌ ‌global‌ ‌cases:‌ 515,733,220 (515,017,808)

Total ‌global‌ ‌deaths:‌ 6,245,723 (6,241,347)‌

U.S. cases are rising, but hospitalizations and deaths aren’t

By the early days of March, new cases of COVID-19 in the U.S. were sharply lower than their peak in January. Now, cases of the virus are rising again thanks to the more transmissible subvariants of Omicron.

But an analysis of data compiled by the COVID-19 Tracking Project at Johns Hopkins University suggests that most of the new cases are not producing symptoms that are as severe as in earlier strains. Hospitalizations and deaths attributed to the virus are stable or falling in some areas.

The U.S. is closing in on 1 million COVID-19 deaths, but it's adding fewer deaths each day. The seven-day average of deaths on Wednesday was 568. On May 4, 2021, the seven-day average of deaths was 723.

CDC ‘recommends’ masks on planes

A federal judge ended the requirement that passengers on planes and other networks wear masks at all times to protect against COVID-19. But the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) this week renewed its recommendation that everyone mask up.

In an update, the CDC said it recommends a mask for everyone age two and older “in indoor areas of public transportation (such as airplanes, trains, etc.) and transportation hubs (such as airports, stations, etc.).” 

The agency said it also encourages everyone to wear a mask “in crowded or poorly ventilated locations, such as airport jetways.”

CDC reportedly bought access to data to track people’s movement

In the early days of the pandemic, the CDC reportedly purchased access to cell phone data that would allow it to track members of the Navajo Nation’s compliance with curfews and lockdown orders. Documents obtained by the technology publisher Motherboard reportedly show that the purchase would have provided data from millions of devices.

According to the report, the data can show where a person lives, works, and goes. While the data the CDC purchased was more general in nature and not linked to an individual person, Motherboard’s report raised the concern that the data could be “deanonymized” and used to track individuals.

The report cites documents showing that the CDC planned to use location data from a “highly controversial” data broker called SafeGraph. The CDC reportedly paid $420,000 for access to one year of data.

Around the nation

• New York: A wave of new COVID-19 cases continues to build across the state. Gov. Kathy Hochul reports that 2,119 New Yorkers are hospitalized with the virus across the state's 10 regions. That’s a 153% increase since April 3 but well below the 13,000 hospitalized in January.

• Washington: Even though federal money has run out to pay for COVID-19 tests for people without insurance, the state health department says it still has plenty of tests and is making them available to the public. “We have about 3.3 million tests on hand and more on the way,” said Department of Health spokesman Frank Ameduri.

• Minnesota: Public health officials report that the CDC has identified a new Omicron subvariant, BA.2.12, in Minnesota. A local website, Bring Me The News, quotes state officials who say 20 cases of the new subvariant have been identified so far. The BA.2.12 is believed to be an even more contagious version than BA.2.

• Oklahoma: Oklahoma County commissioners rejected a proposal this week to divert up to $25 million in COVID-19 relief funds to build a new search and rescue dog training facility. Dissenting commissioners said it would be premature to use the relief funds for other purposes.

• Virginia: The Virginia Department of Health (VDH) this week released its latest set of COVID-19 guidelines for overnight summer camps. Topping the list is guidance stating that all campers and staff should be up-to-date on COVID-19 vaccines, including boosters if eligible. Wearing a mask indoors is also encouraged.

Moving can be a highly stressful activity under the best of circumstances. Picking the right moving company can help, but picking the wrong one can turn the experience into a nightmare.

The month of May marks the beginning of the busiest time in the U.S. for moving -- so much so that the month was designated National Moving Month in 1997. 

With so many people searching for a company to move them across town or across the country, it’s little wonder that some people end up as victims of moving scams. The Better Business Bureau (BBB) reports that it is getting about 1,100 complaints a year from consumers who have lost money to these operators.

Being able to recognize a moving scam before any money changes hands is the best way to avoid becoming a victim. First, take a look at the way a move is supposed to go.

The way it’s supposed to go

Debbie, of Summerville, S.C., describes a great experience with one of the major moving companies, Allied Van Lines.

“We researched most of the big interstate moving companies prior to selecting Allied,” Debbie wrote in a ConsumerAffairs review. “The horror stories from many reviews of other companies were frightening. Allied provided an in-home guaranteed quote. They were flexible on dates and when moving day arrived the crew was on time and prepared. The move went like clockwork and we were well taken care of.”

Bad things can happen when you encounter a scammer who is pretending to be a moving company. Consumers could pay a deposit but the movers never show up. Perhaps worse, the scammer could take your belongings and disappear. 

One of the most common moving scams is the bait-and-switch. The victim is offered a low-ball price, but the mover claims the weight is greater than the estimate after the truck is loaded. They then raise the cost to unload the truck by hundreds of dollars.

Red flags

Here are some red flags to look out for when trying to avoid moving scams:

• The company’s website is devoid of an address, registration, and insurance information

• The mover shows up in a rented truck

• The mover wants to be paid in advance

• The mover gives you a verbal quote, not one in writing

If you are looking for a reputable moving company, ConsumerAffairs has done some of the legwork for you. Check out our complete Best Movers Buyer’s Guide, along with thousands of verified consumer reviews, here.

Netflix has been served with a shareholder lawsuit that accuses the company of misinforming investors about its capability to keep adding subscribers over the past few months.

The suit, filed in a U.S. District Court in San Francisco, asks for damages over declines in Netflix's share price, which has dropped by 69.94% over the past six months. The company originally estimated that it would gain an additional 2.5 million new subscribers, but it actually lost 200,000 in the final tabulation.

While the lawsuit is against Netflix as a company, the real target is Netflix’s executives and their failure to admit that the company’s growth was slowing down because of increased competition. Claimants say that has caused the platform's net subscriber count to dwindle.

“Public documents and statements issued or disseminated in the name of the Company were materially false and/or misleading,” the suit read, adding that Netflix knew those statements would be disseminated to the investing public and “knowingly and substantially participated” in getting that message out.

What’s the real reason behind Netflix’s slide?

Netflix’s troubles are real. It lost subscribers for the first time in more than a decade during the first quarter of 2022. Unfortunately, things may not be getting better anytime soon because the company is projected to lose another 2 million subscribers in the second quarter.

Tech expert Jared Newman theorizes that Netflix's price hike was the real reason behind its subscriber loss. For U.S. subscribers, Netflix pushed the cost up to $9.99 per month for its cheapest plan during the last quarter. It also now costs $15.49 per month for a standard plan and $19.99 per month to get access to 4K video.

“Never mind the clear cause and effect on display here; Netflix argues that the bigger sources of its current woes are competition and password sharing. It plans to address the former with better content, and the latter with stricter countermeasures,” Newman said. 

"People have a limited amount of money they’re willing to spend on streaming services, and each time the cost of Netflix increases, competing services and password sharing start to look like more compelling alternatives. The hard truth for Netflix is that it can’t keep raising prices without exacerbating those other issues. That may explain why the company doesn’t want to fixate on those price hikes too much."

A new study conducted by researchers from the University of Utah explored how parents who idle at school drop-off and pick-up lines can impact air quality and air pollution.

According to their findings, when schools implement rules to limit how long parents are allowed to idle during these high-traffic times, they’re likely to reduce unhealthy air pollution and improve air quality. 

“Idling at schools during drop-off and pick-up times is a substantial problem,” said researcher Daniel Mendoza. “The anti-idling campaign was effective in reducing not only the number of vehicles idling but also the length of idling.” 

Improving air pollution near schools

This study was conducted in two parts. For the first part, the researchers used a van with air sensors to monitor pollution while parked outside of two Utah elementary schools during drop-off and pick-up times for a week. The second part of the study utilized the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Idle-Free Schools Toolkit. The team analyzed the effect of two schools that had implemented anti-idling campaigns during pick-up and drop-off times. 

Ultimately, the researchers learned that the anti-idling campaign was effective in two ways. The team found that cars spent nearly 40% less time idling in front of schools after the campaigns; the number of cars idling dropped by 11% after the campaign. 

The researchers explained that consumers are likely to keep their cars idling at school drop-off and pick-up to keep the temperature in their cars comfortable for them and their kids. However, the team says idling for too long can use up gas and create additional air pollution. 

The study showed that there were spikes in air pollution levels during times that were consistent with school drop-off and pick-up times, and the researchers attribute this to cars idling for extended periods of time. It’s also important to note that the areas by school playgrounds didn’t experience these upticks in pollution; this was localized strictly to the areas designated for drop-off and pick-up. 

While parents certainly make up a large portion of these pollution levels, the researchers also cite another key player in the pollution near schools: school buses. 

“It is not only parents but also school buses that have been culprits of localized pollution hotspots around schools,” said Mendoza. “However, parents are a completely different story.” 

A new study conducted by researchers from Yale University explored what young women should look for to identify a heart attack, or acute myocardial infarction (AMI).

According to their findings, there are seven major risk factors associated with heart attacks in young women.

“Young women with AMI are an unusual or extreme phenotype on account of their age,” said researcher Yuan Lu. “In the past, we found that young women, but not older women, have a twice higher risk of dying after an AMI than similarly aged men. In this new study, we now identified significant differences in risk factor profiles and risk factor associations with AMI by sex.” 

Gender differences in heart attack risk

For the study, the researchers analyzed data from over 2,200 AMI patients from the Variation in Recovery: Role of Gender on Outcomes of Young Acute Myocardial Infarction Patients (VIRGO) study. The team compared the patients' health outcomes with another 2,200 people without a history of AMI from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES). 

The researchers say the biggest takeaway from their study is that the risk factors for a heart attack are different for young men and young women. Ultimately, they identified seven risk factors that accounted for nearly 84% of AMI in young women: diabetes, depression, hypertension, smoking, family history, low household income, and high cholesterol. 

The researchers also learned that some of these risk factors are more serious than others when it comes to heart attack risk. For women, diabetes came out on top as the most prominent risk factor for AMI. This was followed by current smoking, depression, high blood pressure, low household income, and family history of AMI. On the other hand, the two most serious risk factors for men were current smoking status and family history of AMI. 

“This study speaks to the importance of specifically studying young women suffering heart attacks, a group that has largely been neglected in many studies and yet is about as large as the number of young women diagnosed with breast cancer,” said researcher Dr. Harlan M. Krumholz. 

Moving forward, the researchers hope these findings spread awareness about the risk of heart attacks among young women. When young women know what health risks to look for, they’re more likely to have better long-term health outcomes. 

“When we talk about heart attacks in young women, people are often not aware of it,” Lu said. “If we can prevent women from having heart attacks, that will improve outcomes.” 

Ford Motor Company is recalling 96,015 model year 2015 Escapes equipped with 2.0L engines.

The bushing that attaches the shifter cable to the transmission may degrade or detach.

A damaged or missing bushing may prevent the vehicle from shifting into the intended gear and cause it to move in an unexpected direction. The vehicle may also roll after the driver selects the 'Park' position. Both incidents increase the risk of a crash or injury.

What to do

Dealers will replace the under hood shifter bushing and add a protective cap over the shift cable bushing free of charge.

Owner notification letters are expected to be mailed on May 9, 2022.

Owners may contact Ford customer service at (866) 436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 22S25.

Alpine Fresh of Doral, Fla., is recalling Hippie Organics French Beans.

The product may be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes. No illnesses have been reported to date.

The recalled product, which comes in a 1-lb clear plastic package marked with lot # 313-626 on the back on a small, white label, was sold at Whole Foods stores in Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, and Maryland; Aldi stores in Florida; and LIDL stores in Delaware, Georgia, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, and Virginia.

What to do

Customers who purchased the recalled product should not consume it. Instead, they should return it to the place of purchase for a full refund.

Consumers with questions may contact the company at (866) 827-3362.

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

Total‌ ‌U.S.‌ ‌confirmed‌ ‌cases:‌ 81,519,193 (81,448,159)

Total‌ ‌U.S.‌ ‌deaths:‌ 994,807 (994,019)

Total‌ ‌global‌ ‌cases:‌ 515,082,443 (514,358,501)

Total ‌global‌ ‌deaths:‌ 6,241,652 (6,238,647)‌

Annual COVID-19 shot may be needed, FDA says

Top officials at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration say Americans may need an annual COVID-19 shot, just like getting an annual flu shot. They say vaccines will likely be updated each year to head off the latest variant.

Dr. Peter Marks, director of the FDA's Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research; Principal Deputy Commissioner Dr. Janet Woodcock; and new FDA Commissioner Dr. Robert Califf expressed that opinion in a paper published in the journal JAMA.

"Widespread vaccine- and infection-induced immunity, combined with the availability of effective therapeutics, could blunt the effects of future outbreaks,” the officials wrote. “Nonetheless, it is time to accept that the presence of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, is the new normal. It will likely circulate globally for the foreseeable future, taking its place alongside other common respiratory viruses such as influenza. 

Scientists think COVID-19 may damage the brain

COVID-19 has only been around for a couple of years, and scientists are still learning about its long-term effects. They say there is some evidence that mild cases of the virus can permanently affect the brain.

In the U.K., one study led by the Wellcome Center for Integrative Neuroimaging at the University of Oxford examined brain scans on patients before and after being infected with the virus. The examination showed that the people who had mild cases of the coronavirus lost some gray matter.

“We saw cortical thinning in areas associated with the sense of smell,” Winkler said. “We noticed a blurring of the contrast between the gray and white matter and we also saw changes in the diffusion of water molecules,” said Dr. Anderson Winkler, a senior associate scientist at the National Institute of Mental Health.

Washington dinner spreads COVID-19 among journalists

Last weekend’s White House Correspondents Dinner – the first since 2019 – may have been a “superspreader” event. Several journalists and other attendees have now tested positive for the virus.

According to Politico, reporters and other staffers from CNN, ABC News, NBC News, CBS News, and Politico have tested positive for the virus. The report said ABC's Jon Karl, who shook hands with President Biden, is one of the journalists who now has COVID-19.

Around the nation

• California: Federal money to pay for COVID-19 tests for the uninsured has run out, but California is still providing the tests and absorbing the cost. State officials say there are already programs in place that can pay for the tests. They say it helps that demand for testing has dropped sharply.

• Florida: Prosecutors continue to level fraud charges against individuals that they claim ripped off COVID-19 relief programs. A Croatian citizen has been extradited to Florida to stand trial on charges of defrauding the Paycheck Protection Program to the tune of $7.2 million.

• Massachusetts: All of a sudden, Massachusetts is dealing with a COVID-19 outbreak while new cases remain subdued in other areas of the country. On Tuesday, state health officials reported more than 2,600 new COVID-19 cases across the state, a 12% increase in seven days. Hospitalizations surpassed 500 patients for the first time in months.

• Michigan: White House medical adviser Dr. Anthony Fauci says Detroit’s Black population is being targeted on social media with misinformation about COVID-19 vaccines. “I don’t have an easy solution except to tell people that if you look at things like vaccination, the evidence for vaccines protecting you from severe disease and death, compared to unvaccinated people is overwhelmingly obvious. You just need to look at the data,” he said.

• Missouri: A Kansas City school has moved to year-round learning to help combat COVID-19 learning loss. Officials at Gordon Parks Elementary School say the extension of the school year may force families to alter summer plans, but it will allow the school to support students throughout the year.

AT&T is raising prices on its older mobile service plans for the first time in three years. However, customers on its newer plans will not see any changes at this time.

The monthly fees on AT&T's older packages are increasing by $6 a month for single-line customers and up to $12 a month for families, according to various reports. Subscribers will have the option to avoid the price hike by switching to new unlimited plans.

“The price increases mark a high-profile reversal for an industry that has mostly competed for new customers with discounts, free phones and low-priced family plans—even after shrinking to a three-player market with the purchase of Sprint Corp. by T-Mobile US Inc. in 2020,” Bloomberg reported.

AT&T explains its reasons

In a statement to ConsumerAffairs, AT&T said it is asking its customers to check out its other offerings. 

“We are encouraging our customers to explore our newer plans, which offer many additional features, more flexibility for each line on their account and, in many cases, a lower monthly cost,” a company official told us. 

AT&T says customers who switch plans will gain access to 5G service and ActiveArmor, an app feature that will give its customers advanced security features like identity monitoring. 

Inflation and changes to prices

Consumers who are concerned about paying more for mobile service may have less to worry about than they thought. According to In2013Dollars.com and the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, prices for wireless telephone services are 52.01% lower in 2022 versus 1997 (a $26.01 difference in value).

While it’s not something AT&T has ballyhooed in its marketing campaigns, the company has been warning investors that it’s feeling the pinch of inflation like everyone else.

Despite rising wages taking a bigger bite out of the company's bottom line, CEO John Stankey said on an earnings call last month that AT&T's customer base was "satisfied" with the value the company has been putting back into its products and services.

“Our history would suggest that we know how to do that, and we can do that. And we'll be very smart and judicious as we have to apply it,” he said.

TurboTax’s parent company Intuit has ended its effort to fight all 50 U.S. states over supposedly steering low-income Americans away from free tax-filing services and towards its retail tax filing services.

In announcing the settlement, New York Attorney General Letitia James said the company will pay $141 million in restitution to 4.4 million consumers across the country who were unfairly charged. 

And that’s just half of Intuit’s concession. The company has also agreed to end TurboTax’s “free, free, free” ad campaign, which critics say led consumers to pay for services that they thought were free.

“Intuit cheated millions of low-income Americans out of free tax filing services they were entitled to,” said Attorney General James. “For years, Intuit misled the most vulnerable among us to make a profit. Today, every state in the nation is holding Intuit accountable for scamming millions of taxpayers, and we’re putting millions of dollars back into the pockets of impacted Americans. This agreement should serve as a reminder to companies large and small that engaging in these deceptive marketing ploys is illegal.”

Intuit has lots to do

All 50 states and the District of Columbia may have signed onto the agreement, but Intuit’s courtroom appearances aren’t over yet. Just a month ago, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) also sued the company for falsely claiming TurboTax was free. 

Intuit claimed it "admitted no wrongdoing" as part of its agreement with the individual states, and it expects "minimal impact to its business" from the changes demanded in the future. Nonetheless, Intuit agreed to reform its business practices by following these provisions:

• Refraining from making misrepresentations in connection with promoting or offering any online tax preparation products;

• Enhancing disclosures in its advertising and marketing of free products;

• Designing its products to better inform users whether they will be eligible to file their taxes for free; and

• Refraining from requiring consumers to start their tax filing over if they exit one of Intuit’s paid products to use a free product instead.

Tax filers who feel they were duped by Intuit’s advertising and used TurboTax's Free Edition for tax years 2016 through 2018 are supposed to receive a direct payment of approximately $30 for each year that they were deceived into paying for filing services, James’ office stated. Impacted consumers will automatically receive notices and a check by mail.

Despite the pent-up demand for travel that consumers are experiencing after a two-year pandemic, fewer Americans are planning to travel during the Memorial Day weekend. For many, the high cost of gasoline is the reason.

In a survey of 1,030 American adults over the age of 18, the Vacationer found that about 60% of respondents are planning a holiday trip this year. More than 50% said their primary mode of transportation will be by car. Nearly 7% said they will fly, while the remaining 2.52% will take public transportation.

Just over half – 54% – said high gas prices are affecting their Memorial Day travel plans. Those who are planning to travel by car aren’t planning to travel that far. One-third of respondents said they're planning a car trip over the holiday weekend, but they will only travel 100 or fewer miles.

“The youngest generation of American adults aged 18-29 is most likely to travel for Memorial Day,” the survey authors write. 

Just over 70% of that group plans to travel, with the rate falling for older demographic groups. Only 63.09% of those aged 30 to 44 say they will travel, and 59.29% of American adults aged 45 to 60 said the same. 

Firing up the grill

Of all the activities that people plan for the Memorial Day weekend, a barbecue cookout is by far the most popular. Fifty-eight percent of people in the survey said they’ll stay close to home and fire up the grill.

The next most popular activity is a trip to the beach, favored by 13.4% of respondents.

The survey concludes that inflation is definitely putting a damper on holiday activities. More than 40% of respondents said high gasoline prices are a consideration in their plans. Another 13% reconsidered air travel plans because of rising fares.

A report by WFTS-TV in Tampa found that airfares have nearly doubled to some destinations in just the last two months. The report found that demand for air travel is rising faster than airlines are adding flights.

Recent studies have discovered how consumers’ health during childhood can impact them into adulthood. Now, researchers from the American Heart Association have explored how experiences during childhood can affect long-term heart health. 

According to their findings, experiencing abuse during childhood may increase the risk of having high cholesterol as an adult. 

“Our findings demonstrate how the negative and positive experiences we have in childhood can have long-term cardiovascular consequences in adulthood and define key heart disease risk disparities by race and sex,” said researcher Liliana Aguayo, Ph.D. 

How childhood experiences affect heart health

For the study, the researchers analyzed data from over 5,100 adults enrolled in the Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults (CARDIA) Study from 1985 to 1986 and 2015 to 2016. Participants were around 25 years old when the study began, and they received clinical exams at the start of the study and then every few years for nearly 30 years. The participants also completed questionnaires about their childhoods that focused on abuse, nurturing, and household organization. 

The researchers learned that participants who experienced abuse when they were kids had a higher risk for serious long-term health conditions, including high cholesterol and type 2 diabetes. However, the study also showed that certain demographic factors can impact consumers’ long-term heart health. 

The study found that high cholesterol was 3.5 times more common in white women and Black men who experienced frequent abuse as children. On the other hand, high cholesterol was nearly 35% less likely among those with no history of abuse or household dysfunction. 

White men who reported mild abuse during childhood were 35% more likely to have high cholesterol as adults when compared to white men with no such childhood history; similarly, white women who had experienced low levels of abuse during childhood were 26% more likely to have high cholesterol as adults. 

White men who experienced frequent abuse during childhood were also more than 80% more likely to develop type 2 diabetes during adulthood. 

While the researchers believe more work needs to be done in this area to better understand the link between childhood experiences and adult health outcomes, these findings highlight how the two can be connected. 

“Further research is needed to better understand the potential mechanisms linking childhood abuse and family environment to higher heart disease risk factors, as well as the impact of structural racism and social determinants of health, which likely influenced the differences we found by race and sex,” said Dr. Aguayo. “This information is critical to strengthening cardiovascular disease prevention interventions and policies, particularly those that focus on people who experienced abuse or other trauma during childhood.” 

A new study conducted by researchers from the Georgia Institute of Technology explored how hybrid learning initiatives affected the spread of COVID-19. According to their findings, following a hybrid learning model by alternating which days kids are in a school building can be effective at slowing the spread of COVID-19. 

“Early in the pandemic when school closures were becoming the norm, many debated the pros and cons of this measure,” said researcher Pinar Kestinocak.

“Do we get enough benefit to offset the social costs and impacts on education? This research shows that there is a benefit in infection reduction, especially in the absence of effective pharmaceutical interventions, and most of the benefits can be attained with a hybrid approach.” 

How schools affect community spread of COVID-19

For the study, the researchers used a simulation model to project how several different school opening methods impacted the number of COVID-19 infections, hospitalizations, and deaths across Georgia from February 2020, through November 2020. The team looked at: 

• Fully remote learning for all students

• Hybrid learning – half of the students go into school Monday and Wednesday, and the other half go into school Tuesday and Thursday

• Only kids up to the age of 9 receive in-person learning

• All students return to in-person learning 

The researchers learned that keeping schools closed and making schooling entirely online was associated with the greatest reductions in COVID-19 cases; with this method, the infection rate was 13% lower. However, in thinking about how to ensure kids receive in-person learning in some way, the study also showed that the other hybrid options had similar results. 

The hybrid learning model, where kids alternate two days in school and three days online, was associated with an 11% lower rate of COVID-19 infections. Similarly, keeping just children under the age of 10 in school was linked with a 9% lower rate of infection.

Though this study didn’t look at how these school opening efforts impact families or students’ learning outcomes, it was clear that limiting the amount of time that children were in school helped keep community COVID-19 spread low. 

“The additional benefit of complete school closure compared to hybrid was relatively small,” said Kestinocak. “The implementation of an alternating day model can be challenging but could have public health benefits early in the pandemic or during a new wave, providing social and learning benefits as well.” 

Chicken is making headlines again, both in the fast-food industry and at the kitchen table.

As for fast-food, Popeyes has fired a new shot in the chicken sandwich war. On Tuesday, it brought a new sandwich to the fight with the reveal of its Buffalo Ranch Chicken sandwich.

The $4.99 entree looks pretty much like its forefather – a hand-battered crispy piece of chicken on a brioche bun topped with pickles. However, it comes with a new sauce created from a mix of buttermilk ranch and spicy buffalo. The item looks like it's only in the test phase, so foodies should jump in while they can because it may only be available for a limited time. They may need to line up to get their hands on it though.

“In true Popeyes fashion, a new Chicken Sandwich can elicit lines out the door. Lines that often resemble that of a hyped streetwear drop,” a company spokesperson told ConsumerAffairs.

If the attention the sandwich gets is anything like the original version Popeyes debuted three years ago, it could be off the menu in a matter of weeks to give the company a chance to prepare for a more permanent place on its menu.

Should Popeyes' new sandwich proves to be successful, we may be in for another surge of copycats. When the chain's first volley proved successful, Burger King, Chili’s, McDonald’s, KFC, and Wendy’s all jumped at the opportunity to market their own chicken sandwiches. Luckily for them, that bet paid off. In KFC's case, Yum Brands CEO David Gibbs attributed its sandwich to a 13% two-year same-store sales growth. 

Chicken is also making a pivot at the grocery store

With beef prices soaring -- and they are predicted to continue trending upwards amid high demand for animal protein -- a new analysis from CoBank suggests that consumers are beginning to buy more chicken because it offers more value.

“Wages are increasing but they are not keeping pace with inflation, meaning that real purchasing power is declining,” wrote Brian Earnest, CoBank’s Lead Economist, Animal Protein. “As U.S. consumers notice their dollar does not go as far as it used to, they may ‘trade down’ in their protein purchases, favoring chicken more often than was the case in 2021.”

Despite the recent outbreak of bird flu and concerns over the Russia-Ukraine conflict's impact on chicken feed, the latest USDA audits that ConsumerAffairs viewed state that chicken availability continues to climb in volume and is returning to levels associated with normal marketing practices.

“In the white meat section, tenders and split breasts attract shoppers by increasing their ad presence and posting lower prices,” the USDA said, adding that small packaged items are a better option for shoppers looking for a price break.