Good morning! The federal rule that forces airlines to show you a flight's full price is up for debate, and the public comment window closes tomorrow. Also today: the spacecraft that left Earth 49 years ago this morning and never stopped calling home.
Worth Knowing
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The airfare rule that keeps hidden fees visible may get loosenedSince 2011, airlines have had to advertise the full price of a ticket — taxes and mandatory fees included — as prominently as any other number. The Department of Transportation is now proposing to relax that Full Fare Rule, which could let carriers lead with a lower base fare and reveal the rest later. The public comment period closes tomorrow, August 21. If you'd like a say, go to regulations.gov, search "air fare price advertising," and file a comment on the DOT proposal; it takes about five minutes. |
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Congress wants to know if your flight price is built just for youEight major U.S. airlines — American, Delta, United, Southwest, Alaska, JetBlue, Frontier, and Hawaiian — have until August 25 to answer congressional letters about "surveillance pricing": using AI and personal data to price the same seat differently for different travelers. At a Senate hearing this month, one estimate put the added cost at roughly $1,200 a year for a traveling family. Until the answers come in, the old defenses still work: compare fares in a private browser window and check more than one site before you book. |
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Health insurers are asking for 15% more in 2027Insurers selling Affordable Care Act marketplace plans have requested a median 15% premium increase for 2027, according to a Peterson-KFF analysis of rate filings in 16 states and Washington, D.C. Regulators can still trim the final numbers this fall. If you buy your own coverage — including anyone bridging the years before Medicare — treat this as an early nudge: when open enrollment starts November 1, comparison shopping is likely to matter more than it has in years. |
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Your Android phone has 56 fresh security fixes waitingAugust's security update for Samsung Galaxy and other Android phones patches 56 vulnerabilities, including flaws that could let an attacker run code on your phone remotely. The fix takes two minutes: open Settings, tap Software update (or System, then System update), and install anything pending. iPhone users got their equivalent update last month. |
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⚠ Scam alert
The "pennies on the dollar" tax pitch that isn't real helpThe signal: an unsolicited call or ad promising to settle your back taxes for a fraction of what you owe — often before anyone has looked at your actual tax situation. The Federal Trade Commission warned last week that these operations frequently charge steep upfront fees and deliver nothing; one was just required to turn over nearly $10 million in a settlement. What to do: never pay an upfront fee to a tax-relief caller, and remember the IRS makes first contact by mail, not phone. If you owe, deal with the IRS directly at irs.gov — its own payment-plan and offer-in-compromise tools are free to apply for. Verify it: check any company at ReportFraud.ftc.gov before paying anything. |
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The $1.4 trillion question about how apps hook peopleOpening statements began Tuesday in a federal trial in Oakland, where attorneys general from 29 states argue Meta deliberately engineered Instagram and Facebook to hook young users and misled the public about its own internal research. Meta itself pegs the potential damages at $1.4 trillion — close to the company's entire value. If you help manage a grandchild's screen time, the trial is worth watching: the evidence coming out is the clearest public look yet at how these apps are built to hold attention. |
Remember When?
The spacecraft that left home 49 years ago today is still calling
On the morning of August 20, 1977, a Titan-Centaur rocket lifted off from Cape Canaveral carrying Voyager 2 — launched first, despite the name, two weeks ahead of its twin. Bolted to its side was the Golden Record: greetings in 55 languages, birdsong, surf, Chuck Berry, and the sound of a mother's kiss, a message in a bottle for whoever might find it.
Forty-nine years later, Voyager 2 remains the only spacecraft to have visited all four outer planets, and from more than 12 billion miles out in interstellar space, it is still faithfully calling home.
Engineers at work on Voyager 2 six months before launch, February 1977. Photo: NASA/JPL-Caltech
| Median family income | $6,900/yr → $83,730/yr |
| New York subway fare | 15¢ → $3.00 |
| Color TV set | about $399 → about $232 |
| Whole chicken, per lb | 29–39¢ → $2.04 |
| Bottle of Coca-Cola | 10¢ (6.5 oz) → 61¢ (12-oz can) |
Today's figures are U.S. averages — income from the Census Bureau (2024 households), groceries from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. And yes, the television really did get cheaper.
Test Yourself
| 1 | How many chambers does the human heart have? |
| 2 | What's the traditional collective noun for a group of crows? |
| 3 | Who holds Major League Baseball's career home run record, with 762? |
| 4 | On February 9, 1964, roughly 73 million Americans tuned in to watch which British band's U.S. television debut? |
| 5 | The Cobb salad is named for the owner of which legendary Hollywood restaurant, where he reportedly threw it together from kitchen leftovers in 1937? |
Answers are near the bottom of today's email. No peeking.
Live Better
A new kind of flu shot is approved for adults 50 and up
The FDA this month approved Moderna's mFlusiva, the first mRNA flu vaccine — full approval for ages 50 to 64, and accelerated approval for 65 and up while a confirmatory trial finishes. In a 40,000-person trial, it cut flu cases by about 27% compared with a standard-dose shot.
It should reach pharmacies in the coming weeks. If you're curious, ask your doctor or pharmacist whether it's the right choice for your fall flu shot; the familiar options remain available either way.
The once-a-year chore that keeps your water heater efficient
Mineral sediment settling at the bottom of a water heater tank can cut its efficiency by roughly 12–15% and shorten its life from about 15 years to as few as 8. The fix is an annual drain-and-flush: attach a garden hose to the drain valve, run it to a floor drain or driveway, and flush until the water runs clear — about an hour, start to finish, and the steps are in your heater's manual. Doing it before heavy fall and winter use is ideal.
One caveat: if the tank hasn't been flushed in many years, have a plumber do the first one — old sediment can clog the valve.
Earning over $150,000? Your 401(k) catch-up money now goes to Roth
A SECURE 2.0 rule now in effect: if you're 50 or older and earned more than $150,000 in FICA wages last year, your 401(k) catch-up contributions must go into a Roth account — after-tax now, tax-free later — rather than a traditional pre-tax one. The IRS is allowing a good-faith transition through 2026, with full enforcement in 2027.
If that's you, check with your plan administrator that your contributions are landing in the right bucket, and factor the change into this year's tax planning.
Enjoy Yourself
Conan O'Brien is packing his bags again
"Conan O'Brien Must Go" returns to HBO Max for its third season starting tomorrow, with new episodes weekly through September. This round sends him to the Netherlands, the Philippines, Morocco, and India — same formula as ever: a host happy to be the least dignified person in any room, meeting fans who have no idea what they signed up for.
The corn is as good today as it will be all year
Late August is sweet corn's peak, and the best ears deserve more than a boil: cut the kernels into a ricotta-and-basil pasta, fold them into fritters, or stir a quick chowder with chipotle and cheddar. At the market, look for tight green husks and silk that's brown at the tip but not dried out. The season has a few weeks left at most.
A rail sale worth a look if a 2027 train trip is on your list
Amtrak Vacations is running a limited-time sale on its rail-and-hotel packages — Glacier, the Grand Canyon, Niagara Falls, and more — with $150 to $500 off per couple depending on trip length, for travel in 2027 or later. One catch: the sale can't be combined with other offers, including the standing 10% rail discount for travelers 65 and older, so when you call to book (1-800-268-7252), ask which discount saves you more on your itinerary. No end date is posted; confirm current terms when you call.
One Last Thing
1. Four — two atria, two ventricles: the right side sends blood to the lungs, the left sends it everywhere else · 2. A murder — coined in a 1486 English book of hunting terms, part of a medieval fad for colorful animal group names; "an unkindness of ravens" comes from the same book · 3. Barry Bonds — he passed Hank Aaron's 755 in August 2007, his final big-league season · 4. The Beatles, on The Ed Sullivan Show — an appearance widely credited with launching the British Invasion · 5. The Brown Derby — owner Robert Cobb's chopped-leftovers creation became a permanent menu item after regulars kept ordering "what Bob had"
And finally: the otter pup that got mouth-to-mouth
When three otter pups tangled themselves in an abandoned fishing net on a dock in Alert Bay, British Columbia, this month, one had stopped breathing by the time locals cut it free. A CPR-trained neighbor gave the pup mouth-to-mouth until it revived — and after a week of recovery, it was released on the same shoreline, where its family was waiting.