It's Your Week. Let's be jolly.
Driving home for Christmas or New Year's Eve? You might want to leave a bit early.
More than 109 million people are expected to hit the road from Dec. 23 to Jan. 2 – up 34% from last year. But don't fret. We've compiled the worst times to travel, so you can avoid a "Planes, Trains and Automobiles" situation.
Welcome to Your Week, and happy holidays to you! It's Alex and Kristina. We want to know what you're looking forward to in 2022. Send us your New Year's resolutions at alex@usatoday.com, and we'll feature them in next week's edition.
In all, it's a 4.5-minute read.
'Tis the (shopping) season
This month, at the Feast of St. Nicholas, the bishop of Noto in Sicily told a gathering of young children, "No, Santa Claus does not exist.”
For true believers, and parents of true believers, Paste BN columnist Connie Schultz offers some advice: Act like he does, and the magic will follow. "I love hearing children’s theories and questions about that jolly fellow," she writes.
But not everything can be so merry and bright.
The shelves may be emptier than normal this year, but that doesn't mean you have to miss out on the holiday cheer. We've put together a guide to help you navigate supply chain shortages.
What about the gifts that don't keep giving? Retailers are racing to solve the environmental and logistics nightmare from about $66.7 billion in returns anticipated this year.
Don't break the bank:
- Retail credit cards offer deep discounts. Are their perks worth the pitfalls?
- Is inflation the Grinch that stole Christmas? From travel to gifts, what's more expensive.
- Here's why stocks can be the Christmas gift that keeps on giving to kids.
Just the headlines
- Single over the holidays? How to feel OK about being alone.
- To protect and serve their own: The code of silence has protected Long Island cops who failed to prevent a woman's murder.
- Opinion: Inflation is eating your wallet. Energy efficiency helps you bite back.
- A Kentucky couple were helping others when a tornado hit their home.
- Canceling your Airbnb or Vrbo because of omicron? How to get a refund.
Do you know what's in your blood? The chemical PFOA, by the numbers
Why you should care: The virtually indestructible chemical PFOA has devastated dozens of U.S. towns for years. New EPA documents indicate it could be a threat to all Americans. They affirm independent findings that the chemicals are measurably driving up rates of kidney cancer and weakening immune systems.
Where PFOA is found: It's in drinking water. Before U.S. manufacturing phased it out along with the similar chemical PFOS in 2015, Americans were primarily exposed through common household products such as carpets, food packaging and pots and pans, including Teflon.
What the EPA is doing: The agency told Paste BN it is moving "as quickly as possible" to update its health advisories. The EPA could require drinking water utilities to filter out any detectable amount of the chemicals. Or it could decide that the costs of doing so outweigh the benefits.
Numbers to know:
- 98%: The percentage of Americans who have small amounts of PFOA and similar chemicals in their blood.
- 16%: Increase in kidney cancer risk faced by someone consuming the EPA's advisory limit for PFOA, per researcher Scott Bartell.
- 5 years ago: When the EPA released its advisory for safe levels of PFOA in drinking water.
- Tens of thousands: The amount of low birthweight babies possibly caused by the chemicals each year.
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Thank you for reading!