By MEG KINNARD

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — President-elect Donald Trump has endorsed a line of guitars, following up on the Bibles, sneakers, watches, photo books and cryptocurrency ventures launched during his third White House campaign.

Trump on Wednesday posted to Truth Social a photo of himself holding what he said was a “Limited Edition ‘45’ Guitar,” an electric model emblazoned with an American flag and eagle on the body, and Trump’s “Make America Great Again” slogan inlaid into the neck. Both acoustic and electric styles are available, for $1,250 and $1,500, respectively, as well as “Presidential” and “God Bless the USA” models and “Signature Edition” guitars, which — with a $10,000 price tag — also include Trump’s signature.

What’s not clear is the financial relationship between Trump and proceeds from the guitar sales.

Following his long tradition of melding his political and business interests, Trump has hawked a series of branded products since he launched his 2024 White House campaign, a slew of items that went up for sale in the wake of a $489 million civil fraud judgment against the former president.

Some of them, like the “Official Trump Watch Collection” — where one model costs $100,000 — were listed as affiliated with CIC Ventures LLC, a company that Trump reported owning in his 2023 financial disclosure.

Websites for items like the watches note that the products are subject to a “paid license agreement,” the same mechanism that allowed Trump, well before he entered politics, to profit for years from sales of everything from water to vodka and steaks.

As of Wednesday, GetTrumpGuitars.com included no such disclaimers, or even the name of the company selling the items. An FAQ page lists information about how many of each model are being made available — and notes that these models are “the ONLY guitars endorsed by President Donald J. Trump!” — but includes none of the disclaimers or licensing language on some of Trump’s other product sites.

The guitar website’s privacy policy does include a suburban Nashville address for a couple, neither of whom immediately returned a message seeking comment Wednesday. Photos on their social media pages showed that they attended Trump’s election-night party in Florida.

Messages left with 16 Creative — a branding agency listed at the bottom of the guitar website — and Trump’s transition team also were not immediately returned.

Leading up to his win in the general election, Trump this year has announced the sale of $100 silver coins bearing his face, urged his supporters to spend $59.99 for a “God Bless the USA Bible,” inspired by country singer Lee Greenwood’s patriotic ballad, and hawked new Trump-branded sneakers at “Sneaker Con,” a gathering that bills itself as the “The Greatest Sneaker Show on Earth.”

He also has dabbled in NFTs, or nonfungible tokens, and last year reported earning between $100,000 and $1 million from a series of digital trading cards that portrayed him in cartoon-like images, including as an astronaut, a cowboy and a superhero.

Meg Kinnard can be reached at http://x.com/MegKinnardAP

The post Detroit Evening Report: Dearborn launches ‘Business Bootcamp’ for women; Detroit gets $1.3M for lead hazard control + more appeared first on WDET 101.9 FM.

By MATTHEW DALY

WASHINGTON (AP) — Fossil fuel executive Chris Wright, Donald Trump’s choice for Energy secretary, is a strong supporter of oil and gas development, including fracking, a key pillar of the president-elect’s quest for U.S. “energy dominance” in the global market.

Wright has been one of the industry’s loudest voices against efforts to fight climate change, and he could give fossil fuels a boost, including quick action to end a year-long pause on natural gas export approvals by the Biden administration.

CEO of Denver-based Liberty Energy, he describes himself as “a tech nerd turned entrepreneur” and promotes the idea that more fossil fuel production can lift people out of poverty around the globe.

Here are some things to know about Wright.

He has no experience in government

Wright has been chairman and CEO of Liberty Energy since 2011 and has no experience in government.

Liberty is a major energy industry service provider, with a focus on technology. Wright, who grew up in Colorado, earned an undergraduate degree at MIT and did graduate work in electrical engineering at the University of California, Berkeley and MIT. In 1992, he founded Pinnacle Technologies, which helped launch commercial shale gas production through hydraulic fracturing, or fracking.

He later served as chairman of Stroud Energy, an early shale gas producer, before founding Liberty Resources in 2010.

Wright says on LinkedIn that he is “all-in on energy,″ from starting his career in nuclear, solar and geothermal energy to his current efforts in oil and gas and “next-generation” geothermal. “I don’t care where energy comes (from), as long as it is secure, reliable, affordable and betters human lives,″ he wrote.

Wright will serve on Trump’s new National Energy Council

If confirmed, Wright will join North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, Trump’s choice to be interior secretary, as a key player on energy policy in a second Trump term. Wright will be a member of a new National Energy Council that Burgum will chair. The new panel will seek to establish U.S. “energy dominance” around the world, Trump said.

The energy council will include all executive branch agencies involved in energy permitting, production, generation, distribution, regulation and transportation, with a focus on “cutting red tape” and boosting domestic energy production, Trump said. The council’s mission represents a near-complete reversal from actions pursued by Democratic President Joe Biden, who has made fighting climate change a top priority.

Trump has pledged to rescind unspent funds in Biden’s 2022 climate law and is widely expected to curb or reverse Biden’s push for more electric vehicles and stricter regulation of carbon pollution from coal-fired power plants.

Wright has won support from conservatives and oil industry leaders

Wright has won support from influential conservatives, including oil and gas tycoon Harold Hamm.

Hamm, executive chairman of Oklahoma-based Continental Resources, a major shale oil company, is a longtime Trump supporter and adviser who played a key role on energy issues in Trump’s first term. Hamm helped organize an event at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort in April where Trump reportedly asked industry leaders and lobbyists to donate $1 billion to Trump’s campaign, with the expectation that Trump would curtail environmental regulations if reelected.

Thomas Pyle, president of the American Energy Alliance, a conservative group that supports fossil fuels, called Wright “an excellent choice” for energy secretary. Pyle led Trump’s energy transition team in 2016.

Mike Sommers, president of the American Petroleum Institute, the oil and gas industry’s top lobbying group, also praised Wright, saying the group looks forward to working with him “to bolster American geopolitical strength” by lifting Biden’s pause on LNG export permits and ensuring “open access” for American energy around the world.

Wyoming Sen. John Barrasso of Wyoming, the top Republican on the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, called Wright an energy innovator who played a key role in America’s fracking boom.

Wright has disparaged climate activists, who have denounced his selection

Wright has frequently criticized what he calls a “top-down” approach to climate change by liberal and left-wing groups. He argues that the climate movement around the world is “collapsing under its own weight.”

Jackie Wong, senior vice president for climate and energy at the Natural Resources Defense Council, an environmental group, called Wright “a champion of dirty fossil fuels” and said his nomination was “a disastrous mistake.”

“The Energy Department should be doing all it can to develop and expand the energy sources of the 21st century, not trying to promote the dirty fuels of the last century,” Wong said. “Given the devastating impacts of climate-fueled disasters, DOE’s core mission of researching and promoting cleaner energy solutions is more important now than ever.”

Lena Moffitt, executive director of Evergreen Action, another environmental group, said Wright has “shown that his loyalty lies with fossil fuel interests. Yet he would be tasked with overseeing billions in clean energy investments that are critical to lowering costs and creating jobs nationwide. This nomination is a clear indication that Trump is more interested in helping his political allies than tackling the real challenges facing everyday Americans.”

By Patrick Clarke, TravelPulse (TNS)

If it seems like the Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales start earlier and earlier every year it’s because they do.

Or at least it feels that way.

But that doesn’t mean these awesome discounts and special perks on travel are to be ignored. Timing is everything.

Sure, a flooded inbox can be a turnoff but don’t let a minor annoyance cost you big-time savings this holiday season.

Airlines, cruise lines, hotels and resorts, tour operators and other travel suppliers are already offering up notable deals on travel whether you’re looking for one last getaway in 2024 or lining up your dream vacation for the New Year.

In many cases, travelers will have to be patient and book during special Black Friday and Cyber Monday windows that start just ahead of Thanksgiving and wrap up in early December.

Black Friday is November 29 and Cyber Monday is December 2 but oftentimes these offers extend beyond these dates.

Nonetheless, having a plan could net you some major deals, including an additional $1,055 in resort credits at Bahia Principe Hotels & Resorts in the Caribbean and Mexico (November 21 to December 3), for example.

Airlines like Southwest are even extending their bookable flight schedules so that fast-acting travelers can book a getaway well in advance.

It’s true that some offers require travelers to leave home by the end of the year but there’s a sea of savings for those who want to have something to look forward to in 2025 while keeping their budget intact.

Working with an experienced travel adviser could score you even more special savings and perks, as these professionals have access to additional discounts and connections that will only enhance your trip while saving you headaches this holiday season.

©2024 Northstar Travel Media, LLC. Visit at travelpulse.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

By Tim Henderson, Stateline.org (TNS)

Before the COVID-19 pandemic, McLean County, Illinois, was known mostly as the home of State Farm Insurance in Bloomington and Illinois State University in Normal.

Now, the area illustrates a trend that’s bringing more factories to small cities with lower costs of living: It has thousands of new jobs manufacturing Rivian electric vehicles and a new candy factory that will produce Kinder Bueno and other Ferrero candies.

“Food and electric cars. This is not something we were known for before 2019,” said Patrick Hoban, president of Bloomington-Normal Economic Development Council in McLean County.

“We’re primarily an insurance and university town that’s just now seeing a rise in manufacturing. Rivian has ramped up from 300 to 8,000 employees, and I don’t think anyone realized how fast that was going to happen,” Hoban said.

President-elect Donald Trump has vowed to rebuild American manufacturing, and he won handily in most areas hollowed out by the movement of factory jobs overseas. But the rebound Trump promises has already been underway in many places: McLean County is part of an unusually strong jump in manufacturing jobs between 2019 and 2023 — the first time manufacturing employment has recovered fully from a recession since the 1970s, according to a recent report from the Economic Innovation Group, a bipartisan public policy organization in Washington, D.C.

There were about 12.9 million manufacturing jobs in 2023, slightly more than in 2019. However, the number of manufacturing jobs has declined precipitously since the all-time peak in 1979, when there were 19.4 million of them and they were a much larger share of overall employment.

Joseph McCartin, a Georgetown University professor and labor history expert, said manufacturing has been on an upswing since 2010 as the nation started recovering from the Great Recession. The pandemic interrupted the trajectory, but the United States recently saw a hopeful increase in pay for the new jobs, he said, as the Biden administration aimed to increase both wages and jobs through the CHIPS and Science Act and the Inflation Reduction Act.

“The Biden administration tried to use policy to ensure that more of these would be union jobs or at least offer union-level wages,” McCartin said. “This approach is almost certainly dead due to the results of the election.”

Employers may have a hard time filling lower-paying manufacturing jobs such as meat processing if the new Trump administration deports the immigrants who fill them, said William Jones, a University of Minnesota history professor and former president of the Labor and Working Class History Association.

“These will be hard hit if Trump follows up on his deportation plan,” Jones said. “The political rhetoric is that a bunch of native-born workers will move into these jobs, that they’re getting squeezed out, but that’s actually not the case. Some of these industries are extremely dependent on immigrant labor.”

Where growth happened

Small urban areas such as McLean County got most of the increase in manufacturing jobs between 2019 and 2023, according to the Economic Innovation Group report. Rural areas lost those jobs, and large cities saw no change.

It was mostly Sun Belt and Western states that saw the increases during those years, according to a Stateline analysis of federal Bureau of Labor Statistics data.

The largest percentage changes in manufacturing jobs were in Nevada (up 14%), Utah (up 11%), and Arizona and Florida (each up 9%). The largest raw numbers of new manufacturing jobs were in Texas (up 48,200), Florida (up 35,100) and Georgia (up 22,900).

Southern states such as Alabama and Mississippi also have seen more automotive jobs as manufacturers have taken advantage of lower costs and state “right-to-work” laws that weaken unions. Vehicle manufacturing jumped by 7,800 in Alabama and 6,600 in Mississippi, the largest increases outside California.

Meanwhile, traditional Rust Belt states have seen continued declines, with manufacturing jobs down about 2% in Michigan, Ohio and Pennsylvania, and also in Illinois — despite McLean County’s success.

Manufacturing is playing a critical role in Nevada as it tries to diversify its tourist-oriented economy so it can better weather downturns such as the one during the pandemic, said Steve Scheetz, research manager for the Nevada Governor’s Office of Economic Development.

Automotive and other battery manufacturing and recycling, driven by electric carmaker Tesla and battery recycling firm Redwood Materials, account for much of the increase in Nevada manufacturing, Scheetz said.

As in Illinois, the job growth tended to be in smaller areas outside big cities, such as Storey County, just east of Reno, with a population of about 4,200.

“Fifteen years ago, this small county in rural Nevada was relatively unknown,” Scheetz said, adding that jobs and economic output has risen tenfold and the number of total jobs — including manufacturing — has grown from less than 4,000 to almost 16,000 in those 15 years. The county also is home to plants making building materials, industrial minerals and molded rubber, among other products.

The Biden administration focused on bringing more blue-collar jobs to small cities like Normal and Bloomington, said Jones, the University of Minnesota professor.

“Much of the growth is due to [President Joe] Biden’s manufacturing investments. There was a conscious strategy to focus on small towns to get the political benefit in places that tended to vote Republican,” said Jones.

If there was a play for political benefit, it got mixed results: Vice President Kamala Harris carried McLean County, Illinois, on Nov. 5, but she lost Storey County, Nevada, by the largest margin for a Democrat in 40 years.

Blue-collar wages

The decline of unions and the availability of cheaper labor overseas have dampened U.S. factory job wages in recent decades. Even so, manufacturing jobs remain an attractive path for blue-collar workers.

Manufacturing pay still ranks fairly high among the blue-collar fields at an average $34.42 per hour as of October — less than wages in energy ($39.98) or construction ($38.72), but considerably more than hospitality ($22.23) or retail ($24.76). That also was the case in 2019, and it has led many state and cities to seek more factory positions to balance out the lower-paying service jobs that have blossomed as manufacturing has waned.

But in the past year, state Republican leaders have pushed back on a burgeoning Southern labor movement that aims to bring higher wages and better benefits to blue-collar workers.

In Alabama, Republican Gov. Kay Ivey signed a new law in May that would claw back state incentives from companies that voluntarily recognize labor unions. GOP leaders in Georgia and Tennessee also passed laws pushing against a reinvigorated labor movement, viewing unions as a threat to the states’ manufacturing economies.

Much of the increase in Alabama manufacturing jobs has been in the northern part of the state, near Tennessee and Georgia. Since the pandemic began, Mazda Toyota Manufacturing came on line with the goal of hiring 4,000 vehicle production workers and another 2,000 in nearby parts factories as other manufacturers also boosted hiring. Private investment in Alabama automotive manufacturing totaled $7 billion over the same time frame, Stefania Jones, a spokesperson for state Commerce Secretary Ellen McNair, said in a statement to Stateline.

Supply-chain problems during the pandemic illustrated the advantages of American-made goods, said McCartin, the Georgetown University professor. However, without union support, today’s factory workers are unlikely to achieve the middle-class lifestyle enjoyed by earlier generations, he said.

“The growth of manufacturing itself is unlikely to become a panacea for what ails working-class America,” McCartin said.

Stateline is part of States Newsroom, a national nonprofit news organization focused on state policy.

©2024 States Newsroom. Visit at stateline.org. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

By KELVIN CHAN, AP Business Writer

LONDON (AP) — If you’re tired of memorizing passwords, then give passkeys a try.

You might have noticed that many online services are now offering the option of using passkeys, a digital authentication method touted as an easier and more secure way to log in. The passkey push started gaining major momentum after Google started accepting them about 18 months ago.

Passkeys are seen as eventual replacements for passwords, but if you’re still not sure what they’re all about, read on:

What are passkeys? And how do they work?

Forget about memorizing an optimized 14 character password consisting of letters, numbers and symbols. Passkeys do away with that because you never need to see them. Instead you are using existing biometrics like your face or fingerprints, digital patterns or PINs to access your accounts.

Passkeys are made up of two parts of a code that only makes sense when they’re combined, kind of like a digital key and padlock. You keep half of the encrypted code, typically stored either in the cloud with a compatible password manager or on a physical security dongle. The other half is stored on the participating apps, services or accounts you want to access.

When you want to log in to your Gmail account, for example, both parts of the code will then communicate directly with each other and give you entry.

Do they offer better security?

A passkey won’t work with any website except the one it has been created for, eliminating the security risks associated with traditional passwords.

That means bad actors carrying out phishing scams won’t be able to trick you into entering your details into a copycat login page for your bank. And because passkeys use cryptographic security, they also can’t brute force their way into your account by trying passwords exposed in previous data breaches or guessing them.

Where can you use passkeys?

Some 20% of the world’s top 100 websites now accept passkeys, said Andrew Shikiar, CEO of the FIDO Alliance, an industry group that developed the core authentication technology behind passkeys.

Passkeys first came to the public’s attention when Apple added the technology to iOS in 2022. They got more traction after Google started using them in 2023. Now, many other companies including PayPal, Amazon, Microsoft and eBay work with passkeys. There’s a list on the FIDO Alliance website.

Still, some popular sites like Facebook and Netflix haven’t started using them yet.

Passkey technology is still in the “early adoption” phase but “it’s just a matter of time for more and more sites to start offering this,” Shikiar said.

How to set up a passkey

I tried setting up passkeys for some of the major online services I use. It was fairly easy for some but confusing for others. Shikiar said his group is constantly working on ways to improve the user experience.

Google users can go to myaccount.google.com and under “How to sign in to Google”, click Passkeys and security keys. Upon reaching the setup screen, I received a prompt to create a passkey while simultaneously my password manager’s browser plug-in popped up offering to save it. I clicked to confirm and the setup work was all done automatically.

So far, pretty easy.

Then, I tried adding more Google passkeys to my Windows-based work laptop and a Yubico physical security key. This time, when I got to the Google setup screen, it asked for my existing passkey to confirm my identity. But then it somehow failed to authenticate through my password manager.

I tried again using other verification methods, including my Google authenticator app that I already had on my iPhone, and it eventually succeeded.

Adding multiple passkeys to my Microsoft account — one on my password manager, another on my Yubico key — involved some head scratching over a few of the prompts, but I eventually figured it out.

Setting up passkeys on LinkedIn and Amazon was much easier. And when I attempted to add a passkey to my WhatsApp account, I discovered I had, apparently, already created one months earlier when I activated the app lock feature requiring a fingerprint scan.

Logging in

Once set up, it was a breeze to sign in to some of my accounts with just a click or two. But there was some friction with my PayPal account because its passkeys don’t work on some browsers, like Firefox.

When I tried to log in with my Amazon passkey, it asked for a one-time verification code from my authenticator app, which confused me because I thought passkeys were supposed to eliminate the need for multi-factor authentication.

Shikiar said it depends on the site, but, in theory, the passkey already has enough protection built in.

“When the primary factor’s un-phishable, other factors aren’t necessary,” he said.

What happens if I lose my passkey?

If you’ve lost the device containing your passkey, that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s gone. That’s because the typical method to store passkeys on phones is a cloud-based password manager from Apple, Google, or third-party providers. So just log back into the password manager from another phone or computer.

Passkeys stored on security dongles, on the other hand, aren’t synced to the cloud so there’s no way to recover them if they’re lost. It’d be a good idea to get a second hardware key and keep it as a backup.

And don’t forget you can always mix both cloud and hardware methods to keep multiple passkeys for extra redundancy.

Should I add a passkeys to all my accounts?

Based on my experience, setting up a passkey can be easy, or tedious and bewildering, depending on the service and what other security technology you want to layer in.

So I wouldn’t recommend doing all your accounts right away.

Instead, choose a few of your most important and frequently used services or accounts and focus on a proper setup for those.

What about my passwords?

In theory, you could delete your old passwords. Some services like Microsoft already offer this option. Shikiar says it should be a “personal preference,” because “some people may feel extremely nervous” about going passwordless.

It’s fine to keep your password but make sure there’s also multi-factor authentication set up for it, he said.

Is there a tech challenge you need help figuring out? Write to us at onetechtip@ap.org with your questions.

By Eliza Haverstock, NerdWallet

As interest rates start to soften, you may hear more buzz about student loan refinancing as a way to lower your bills.

“Essentially, what it means is you are taking the debt that you owe and you are giving it to another company. They’re going to pay off the debt that you have with the company you currently work with, and then you’re going to pay this new company,” explains Kristen Ahlenius, director of education and advice at Your Money Line, a workplace financial wellness company.

For private loan borrowers who can qualify for a better interest rate, refinancing can shrink your student loan payments with little or no downside. But student loan refinancing comes with a steep opportunity cost if you have federal student loans — even if you can get a lower rate. You’ll transfer your debt from the Education Department to a private lender, and you’ll permanently forfeit federal borrower protections.

If you’re considering student loan refinancing, here’s what to know based on your loan type — plus alternate ways to lower your payments and get student debt relief.

Private student loan borrowers: Consider refinancing if you can save on your interest rate

A borrower with only private student loans is a good refi candidate, as long as they meet credit-worthiness guidelines, says Stanley Tate, a lawyer focused on student loans. Typically, you must have a stable source of income and a credit score at least in the high 600s to qualify for the lowest advertised rates.

Consider refinancing now if you can save at least half a percentage point on your current interest rate, Tate says. Keep an eye on rates even after you refinance — you can refinance multiple times if rates keep falling.

“You should be aggressive in monitoring your rates until you get to a really good rate,” Tate says. “We may not see 2% or 3% anytime soon, but 7.5% versus 8% is way better. It seems small, but over a 20-year loan, that adds up.”

Before deciding to refinance, research lenders and loan terms. A student loan refinancing calculator can help you compare options. Pay attention to all aspects of the loans you’re considering — not just the interest rate.

“Rate is what most people think of, but a lot of times, people don’t think, ‘What happens if I lose my job? Do I need a co-signer? What are the terms of this loan? When can it be in default? What are the collection terms? What are cases where the interest rate may go up or down in the future for this loan?’” says Jantz Hoffman, executive director of the Certified Student Loan Advisors Board of Standards, a nonprofit that trains financial planners to help their clients make student loan decisions. “And because they’re not uniform, those contracts and the language in those contracts matter.”

And if you’re having a positive experience with your current private student loan lender — no issues with autopay, the online portal or customer service — refinancing with a new lender might not be worth it.

“Just consider that sometimes that’s not always the experience,” Ahlenius says. “Unless there’s a significant cost savings, remember that that experience is also worth something.”

Federal student loan borrowers: Think twice before refinancing and forfeiting borrower protections

Refinancing is risky if you have federal student loans.

When you refinance federal student loans, the lender you choose pays off your remaining federal debt and issues a new private student loan. It’s a permanent move: You can never turn your private refinance loan back into a federal loan.

“That decision to give up federal loans for private loans is one that is oftentimes regretted by the borrower,” Hoffman says. “Once that decision is made, there is no ‘Whoops, I wish I would have stayed. I could have gotten Public Service Loan Forgiveness. I lost my job and need forbearance.’”

That’s true even if you can get a lower rate through refinance: “Even if a private refi is long-term cheaper for [borrowers], that opportunity cost of losing potential federal protections usually keeps people from moving to the private space,” Ahlenius says.

You give up access to existing federal relief programs — like borrower defense for students defrauded by their schools, more than a dozen student loan forgiveness programs, income-driven repayment (IDR) plans, payment pauses if you lose your job and loan discharges if you face a permanent disability.

You also lose access to any future relief programs. For example, borrowers who refinanced their federal student loans before the pandemic did not benefit from the three-year interest-free payment pause that began in March 2020.

Exceptions when federal borrowers may consider refinancing

There are a few situations in which borrowers with federal student loans may consider refinancing to a lower rate, experts say. Those characteristics include:

• A high income, so IDR plans don’t offer a lower payment relative to the standard 10-year plan.
• Steady employment, so you can be sure you won’t lose your job in the future and need temporary payment relief.
• A good credit score, so you can qualify for the lowest advertised interest rates.
• You don’t work as a teacher, nurse, government employee or other type of public servant, so you won’t qualify for 10-year Public Service Loan Forgiveness.
• You are not working toward any other loan forgiveness programs, including IDR forgiveness.

Certain borrowers with federal parent PLUS loans may also be refi candidates, since these loans have higher interest rates than those doled out directly to students, Tate says.

“If you’re someone who is several years away from retirement, you’re a high earner and you have a fairly low loan balance in relation to your income, then refinancing can make sense, because you may not reach the [forgiveness] finish line before you would pay off the loan under the income-driven terms,” Tate says.

Explore other student loan relief options

Refinancing isn’t the only way to lower your student loan payments. Consider these other relief options:

• Flexible repayment plans. Income-driven repayment plans cap your monthly federal student loan bills based on your income and family size, to as low as $0. These plans are not typically available for private loans.
• SAVE lawsuit forbearance. Due to SAVE lawsuits, borrowers enrolled in this federal loan repayment plan have an interest-free payment pause until at least April. If you’re not on SAVE, you can still get this forbearance if you apply for the plan now.
• Deferment or forbearance. Temporarily postpone your federal student loan bills by asking your servicer for a deferment or forbearance. Some private lenders offer this option, too.
• Federal loan consolidation. You can consolidate multiple federal student loans into a single loan and extend your repayment term up to 30 years, which can lower your monthly payment. Consolidation is different from refinancing, because your loans stay in the federal system and you won’t lose any federal borrower protections.
• Set up autopay. Get a 0.25% interest point rate deduction by setting up automatic student loan payments through your servicer. If you have private loans, ask your lender about autopay benefits.

Reach out to your lender for personalized help. Do your research before calling your student loan servicer, explain your situation and ask about relief options available to you.

Eliza Haverstock writes for NerdWallet. Email: ehaverstock@nerdwallet.com. Twitter: @elizahaverstock.

The article As Rates Fall, Should You Refinance Your Student Loans? originally appeared on NerdWallet.

By Kimberly Palmer and Sara Rathner, NerdWallet

Consumers broke up with cash during the COVID-19 pandemic, and it doesn’t appear that they’re rushing to reconcile.

Before the pandemic, Steffen Kaplan, a social media and visual consultant in the New York area, preferred using cash to credit cards. When we spoke in September 2020, he said cash helped him avoid overspending, but the coronavirus changed his spending habits.

“I don’t carry cash around with me anymore,” Kaplan said at the time. “Given that we have to remember to wear a mask, not touch anything, and go home and wash our hands every two minutes, it just seems easier to have a credit card rather than be fumbling around with cash,” he added.

Like Kaplan, more Americans shifted to digital payments amid the pandemic, and the number of consumers making the switch is projected to keep growing. According to the 2024 Global Payments Report by Worldpay, a payments technology company, digital wallets were the most popular method of payment for e-commerce in 2023, followed by credit cards. And for in-store purchases, credit and debit cards were consumers’ top choices. Cash accounted for just 12% of in-store payment methods in 2023, and Worldpay estimates it will drop to 8% in 2027.

But for some, contactless payments also come with added overspending risks. “When you are used to a cash-based spending system, it’s extremely easy to overspend when you don’t physically ‘see’ yourself spending the money,” says Eric Simonson, certified financial planner and owner of Abundo Wealth.

If you’ve made the switch to digital payments, but you also want to make sure to avoid debt, here are some strategies.

Try to pay off your credit card balance each month

Paying off your credit card balance each month isn’t always possible. In fact, among those who carry a balance, the average for households is around $21,541, as of June 2024, according to NerdWallet research.

But avoiding such rotating balances is a good goal because credit card debt is so expensive.

“It’s important for those making a transition to credit cards to understand the Sisyphean challenge of getting out of credit card debt,” says Sam Boyd, a certified financial planner and founder of Confido Advice & Investments, a financial planning firm, citing the generally high interest rates on credit cards. According to the Federal Reserve, the average credit card APR among those assessing interest is 23.37% as of August 2024.

Treat your credit card like a debit card, and try not to charge more than you can afford to fully pay off in one billing cycle. One way to guard against it is to pay off purchases immediately after you make them, rather than waiting until the end of the month and having to pay one lump sum.

Give yourself limits

Simonson suggests setting a low credit limit on your credit card if you’re worried about overspending. “Set your credit limit for just above what you normally spend each month on groceries,” he advises.

The downside to doing that is that using more than 30% of your credit limit can hurt your credit score, and it also means you can’t rely on the card in an emergency if you need to purchase more than normal. But the strategy does help keep you from overspending.

He also notes that many credit card companies offer a service where you can be texted as you are approaching your credit limit. “It’s a good idea to turn this on if you are new to using a credit card, to keep track of where you are with your spending throughout the month,” he says.

Jodie Kelley, CEO of the Electronic Transactions Association, says consumers can also stick with debit cards or prepaid cards, which can be added to digital wallets.

Here are a few other ways to set parameters on your credit card spending:

• Lock your credit card when it’s not in use, unlocking it strategically for specific purchases.
• Consider a card with guardrails. Some financial technology companies like Chime and Varo offer secured cards where you set a spending limit by choosing how much money to move from your bank account to an account tied to the card.

Review your spending regularly

AnnaMarie Mock, a CFP based in Wayne, New Jersey, says there’s nothing wrong with primarily using credit cards as long as you are aware of your spending. “Regularly monitoring and comparing your actual purchases with your budget is critical to identifying any areas where you may be unknowingly overspending,” she says.

Monitoring can be done through apps that track transactions, through your account online or on your bank’s app, or with pen and paper. “Find a method that works for you,” she urges.

Kaplan carefully tracked all of his receipts. “If I come home with anything I bought, [my wife] reminds me or I remember that receipts go right on the desk and then she logs them. There has to be a system in place,” he says, “or you risk being surprised by an extra $200 on your credit card bill.”

If it helps, keep using cash

For some people, cash is a good budgeting tool because “you can’t spend what you don’t have. Once you run out of cash, that’s the end of spending for the month,” says David Tente, executive director at the ATM Industry Association.

When you’re using credit cards, on the other hand, you can keep spending up to your credit limit — but then you’re on the hook to pay it back.

Kimberly Palmer writes for NerdWallet. Email: kpalmer@nerdwallet.com. Twitter: @kimberlypalmer.

The article How to Go Cashless While Also Avoiding Credit Card Debt originally appeared on NerdWallet.

By HALELUYA HADERO

After a tumultuous year filled with anxiety and a legal battle about its future in the U.S., TikTok may have just been thrown a lifeline by the man who was once its biggest foe: Donald Trump.

President-elect Trump, who tried to ban the social media platform the last time he was in the White House, has repeatedly pledged during his most recent campaign to oppose a ban on the short-form video app, which could happen as soon as mid-January if the company loses a court case that’s currently underway in Washington.

For months, TikTok, and its China-based parent company ByteDance, have been embroiled in a legal battle with the U.S. over a federal law that forces them to cut ties for national security reasons or stop operating in one of their biggest markets in the world. The measure, signed by President Joe Biden in April, gives ByteDance nine months to divest its stakes, with a possible three-month extension if a sale was in progress. If that happens, the deadline could be extended into the first 100 days of Trump’s presidency.

The companies have claimed that divestiture is not possible, and the law, if upheld, would force them to shut down by Jan. 19, just a day before Trump’s second inauguration. Attorneys for both sides have asked a federal appeals court reviewing the case to issue a ruling by Dec. 6. The losing side is expected to appeal to the Supreme Court, which has a conservative majority and could decide to take up the case, potentially dragging out the process even longer.

When reached for comment, the Trump transition team did not offer details on how Trump plans to carry out his pledge to “save TikTok,” as he said on a Truth Social post in September while encouraging people who care about the platform to vote for him. But Karoline Leavitt, a spokeswoman for the transition team, indicated in a statement that he plans to see it through.

“The American people re-elected President Trump by a resounding margin giving him a mandate to implement the promises he made on the campaign trail,” Leavitt said. “He will deliver.”

During a March interview with CNBC, Trump said he still believed TikTok posed a national security risk but opposed banning it because doing so would help its rival, Facebook, which he has continued to lambast over his 2020 election loss. He also denied changing his mind on the issue because of Republican megadonor Jeff Yass, a ByteDance investor that Trump, at the time, said that he had only met “very briefly.” He said Yass “never mentioned TikTok” during their meeting.

Still, ByteDance – and groups connected to Yass – have been attempting to exert their influence. Lobbying disclosure reports show that this year, ByteDance paid veteran lobbyist and former Trump campaign aide David Urban $150,000 to lobby lawmakers in Washington in favor of TikTok. The company has also spent more than $8 million on in-house lobbyists and another $1.4 million on other lobbying firms, according to Open Secrets.

Meanwhile, in March, Politico reported Kellyanne Conway, a former senior Trump aide, was being paid by the Yass-funded conservative group Club for Growth to advocate for TikTok in Congress. A spokesperson for the organization said Conway was hired as a consultant to conduct polling. Conway and Urban did not respond to requests for comment. TikTok, which has long denied it’s a national security risk, declined to comment.

If the courts uphold the law, it would fall on Trump’s Justice Department to enforce it and punish any potential violations with fines. The fines would apply to app stores that would be prohibited from offering TikTok, and internet hosting services who would be barred from supporting it. Leah Plunkett, a lecturer at Harvard Law School, said from her reading of the statute, the attorney general has to investigate violations but can decide whether or not to drag such companies to court and force them to comply.

Trump could do other things to prevent TikTok from disappearing.

He could issue an executive order to nullify the ban — which Plunkett believes would not be lawful — or urge Congress to repeal the law. That would require support from Congressional Republicans who have aligned themselves with Trump but have also supported the prospects of getting TikTok out of the hands of a Chinese company.

In a statement sent to the AP after the election, Republican Rep. John Moolenaar of Michigan, chairman of the House Select Committee on China, said Trump’s “long-standing concerns” about TikTok align with the law’s requirement for divestment.

“The Trump Administration will have a unique opportunity to broker an American takeover of the platform,” he said.

ByteDance, though, has previously said it has no intention to sell the platform despite interest from some investors, including Trump’s former Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin. Analysts say the company is even less likely to sell the proprietary algorithm that fuels what users see on the app. That means even if TikTok is sold to a qualified buyer, it is likely to be a shell of its current self and would need to be rebuilt with new technology.

Sarah Kreps, director of Cornell University’s Tech Policy Institute, said it’s also possible that Trump could take the issue back to the drawing board and direct his administration to negotiate a new deal with TikTok.

TikTok said in 2022, it presented the Biden administration with a draft agreement that would bolster protections for users and provide it more oversight over the company’s U.S. operations. But the administration has argued in court documents in recent months that it would be challenging to enforce the agreement due to the size and the technical complexity of the platform.

Trump hasn’t been privy to new intelligence material on the matter for a few years and it’s possible he could change his mind – and abandon his campaign promise – once he does, Kreps said.

Plunkett, the Harvard Law faculty and author of “Sharenthood: Why We Should Think before We Talk about Our Kids Online,” said if she were counseling TikTok, she would advise them to come up with a divesture plan that is compliant with the law and as favorable to them as possible.

“There is too much uncertainty about what a Trump administration is likely to do,” she said.

By Associated Press

NEW YORK (AP) — Wall Street is already making big bets on what take two for a White House led by Donald Trump will mean for the economy.

Since Election Day, investors have sent prices zooming for stocks of banks, fossil-fuel producers and other companies expected to benefit from Trump’s preference for lower tax rates and lighter regulation. For retailers, meanwhile, the outlook is murkier because of uncertainty about whether they’ll be able to absorb any of the higher costs created by tariffs.

Professional investors are warning about the risk of getting carried away by the momentum. While strong rhetoric on the campaign trail can cause these big swings, not all of the promises turn into actual policy. Plus, the broad U.S. stock market tends to move more on long-term growth in profits than anything else.

— Stan Choe

Here’s a look at where Wall Street is placing its bets at the moment:

Technology

Technology stocks soared in Trump’s first term, helped by the administration’s tax policies. But the relationship was tempestuous: Trump’s immigration stance threatened a source of high-skilled immigrants that comprises a significant part of the industry’s work force and his trade wars threatened international sales and supply chains.

This time around, tech could benefit from an anticipated loosening of antitrust regulation that discouraged big deals from getting done and threatened to rein in the power of Google, Apple and Amazon. What’s more, Trump is expected to clear the way for Big Tech to make more inroads in artificial intelligence technology — an area increasingly seen as a crucial battleground in the duel for global power between the U.S. and China.

Trump’s vow to impose tariffs and other restrictions on trade does pose a potential downside for chip makers, particularly stock market darling Nvidia. A possible rollback of Biden administration efforts to boost U.S. semiconductor production also is a concern.

Still, in a sign of tech’s more conciliatory attitude, Trump’s election was greeted by congratulatory posts from most of the industry’s luminaries, including Apple CEO Tim Cook, Amazon CEO Andy Jassy and Google CEO Sundar Pichai.

— Michael Liedtke

Retail

Trump’s victory brings a big dose of uncertainty for the retail industry.

Trump has proposed extending 2017 tax cuts for individuals and restoring tax breaks for businesses that were being reduced. He also wants to further cut the corporate tax rate. Those would be tailwinds for shoppers and businesses, analysts said.

But the president-elect’s trade proposals could have a huge downside. He’s proposed 60% tariffs on Chinese goods and tariffs of 10% to 20% on other imports. Neil Saunders, managing director of GlobalData, a research firm, said retailers would either take a big hit on profits or be forced to increase prices.

As opposed to Trump’s first term, retailers will have a harder time absorbing tariffs this time because their costs of doing business are already higher, Saunders said.

Many companies, including Nike and eyewear retailer Warby Parker, have been diversifying their sourcing away from China. Shoe brand Steve Madden says it plans to cut imports from China by as much as 45% next year.

The National Retail Federation is forecasting higher prices for U.S. shoppers if Trump’s new tariffs are implemented. For example, an $80 pair of men’s jeans would cost $90 to $96.

— Anne D’Innocenzio

Energy

Trump has said he wants to “drill, drill, drill” starting on Day 1 of his presidency, so it’s expected that traditional fossil fuel-focused companies will get a boost and renewable energy outfits could be disadvantaged.

Oilfield services companies including Haliburton and Schlumberger would likely benefit from initiatives to expand drilling in the Gulf of Mexico and Alaska. Natural gas companies including EQT and CNX Resources could benefit from facilities and pipeline projects. Meanwhile, clean energy companies, such as First Solar and many electric vehicle makers, could have a harder time growing if Trump cuts tax credits and other incentives for the industry.

But remember Trump’s first term, says Austin Pickle, investment strategy analyst at Wells Fargo Investment Institute. The thought back then, like now, was that Trump would boost prices for oil-and-gas stocks. But energy stocks ended up struggling late in his term when the price of oil briefly went below zero during the COVID-19 pandemic.

— Damian Troise

Health Care

Drugmakers, insurers and other health care companies could benefit from fewer regulatory roadblocks to mergers and a lighter regulatory stance overall.

Insurers, in particular, may see some regulatory relief for Medicare Advantage plans, which are privately run versions of the government’s Medicare program mainly for people ages 65 and older. Under Democratic leadership, some insurers were facing smaller bonus payments tied to their Medicare Advantage plans. Some drugmakers are facing revenue hits on certain drugs covered by Medicare. Those challenges could abate under Republican rule, analysts at Morningstar noted.

A second Trump administration also may challenge health care companies.

The approval of drugs and vaccines could become less predictable, depending on the role anti-vaccine activist Robert F. Kennedy Jr. plays, said Morningstar analyst Karen Andersen.

Health insurers that sell coverage on the Affordable Care Act’s insurance marketplaces or manage state-and-federally funded Medicaid coverage could face challenges if Republicans attempt to dismantle parts of the law, said Julie Utterback of Morningstar.

In particular, extra subsidies that help people buy marketplace coverage are slated to expire at the end of next year, which could lead to enrollment drops.

— Tom Murphy

Autos

The auto industry is another that should welcome less restrictive regulations but dread tariffs.

Trump is likely to roll back or scrap tailpipe emissions limits for 2027 through 2032 imposed by the Biden administration. Companies like General Motors, Ford and Stellantis could more easily sell larger, less-efficient vehicles without paying hefty fines.

Companies would also face less pressure to sell more electric vehicles to offset emissions from big trucks and SUVs, which make big profit margins, said Kevin Tynan, research director for The Presidio Group.

Tariffs are a different story. Trump has threatened tariffs on imported vehicles to force more production in the U.S. The threat of 100% tariffs on vehicles imported from Mexico is a big concern.

Morningstar analyst David Whiston said such tariffs could potentially cost General Motors, Stellantis and Ford billions in profits. About 30% of GM’s North American production comes from Mexico, while it’s 24% for Stellantis and about 15% for Ford.

Whiston notes that tariffs on vehicles built in Mexico would violate the U.S.-Mexico-Canada free trade agreement negotiated during Trump’s first term. But that can be reworked in July of 2026. Whiston said those tariffs would mean higher prices and many buyers already can’t afford the current average price of over $47,000.

Trump also has threatened to get rid of electric vehicle tax credits that have helped boost sales of EVs.

— Tom Krisher

Banks

Bank stocks could benefit if Trump’s policies boost the U.S. economy and more customers apply for loans. In addition, Wells Fargo banking analyst Mike Mayo believes the Trump victory can usher in a “new era” of lighter financial regulation after 15 years of stricter oversight following the financial crisis of 2008-2009. Under Biden, banks were facing requirements to set aside more capital to reduce risk, but the Trump administration is likely to take a step back.

Dealmaking could see a revival under Trump, which would help banks with large investment banking operations like Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs. That also increases the odds the pending merger between Capital One Financial and Discover Financial gets federal clearance. Regional banks should benefit if a growing economy prompts the creation of new small businesses or the expansion of existing ones.

— Paul Harloff

Building materials and construction

Construction companies are looking at a mixed bag, with lighter regulations a plus but higher materials costs a potential minus.

Construction companies, including homebuilders KB Home and PulteGroup, could benefit from tax incentives and more friendly regulations. A surge in development could help relieve some pressure on a housing market pressured by a lack of supply for new homes. A boost in construction could also help suppliers of raw materials including steel and aggregates used in concrete.

But the potential for overall raw material price increases is a threat. Higher costs could cut into profits for construction companies and homebuilders. Steel tariffs could help shield U.S. producers from competition, but a jump in global prices as a result could negate that benefit, while also squeezing construction companies.

Plans for an immigration crackdown could worsen an existing labor shortage and result in delays for projects.

— Damian Troise

Crypto

Trump, once a crypto skeptic, has pledged to make the U.S. “the crypto capital of the planet” and create a “strategic reserve” of bitcoin. Money has poured into crypto assets since he won. Bitcoin, the largest cryptocurrency, has surged above $86,000. Shares of crypto platform Coinbase have surged more than 60% since the election.

Crypto industry players welcomed Trump’s victory, in hopes that he would push through legislative and regulatory changes that they’ve long lobbied for. And Trump had promised that, if elected, he would remove the chair of the Securities and Exchange Commission, Gary Gensler, who has been leading the U.S. government’s crackdown on the crypto industry and repeatedly called for more oversight.

— Wyatte Grantham-Phillips

By Amanda Barroso, NerdWallet

Black Friday is the day after Thanksgiving — this year, Nov. 29 — and it has typically been the kickstart to the holiday shopping season. Hundreds of retailers launch special in-store and online sales that are meant to encourage shoppers to check items off their list.

Black Friday is a time when businesses are able to move from “the red” (operating at a loss) to “the black” (making a profit). While Black Friday has a rich history, this narrative began in the 1980s and has stuck with the holiday ever since.

Predicting Black Friday trends

You can count on Black Friday sales to deliver intense competition and widespread discounts that stand out from other times of the year. Here’s what else to expect this shopping season.

Record-high holiday spending

The National Retail Federation estimates that winter holiday spending during November and December could reach $989 billion, a record high and up from $955.6 billion in 2023.

Shoppers will spend an average of $902 on “core holiday spending,” with $641 going toward gifts and $261 for seasonal items, the federation said on an Oct. 30 media call.

But that doesn’t mean shoppers are necessarily buying more, says Mark Bergen, professor of marketing at the University of Minnesota.

Because of inflation, “you could be spending more even though you’re buying less,” Bergen says.

Becoming a “better shopper” this holiday season “doesn’t necessarily mean I spend less,” Bergen says. “It means I spend more wisely or spend differently.”

Some shoppers will probably account for rising costs in their budget by spending money on different items — maybe a store brand rather than a name brand or shopping at a discount store instead of a major retailer, says Bergen.

Early Black Friday sales

Speaking of major retailers, many of them are starting their sales earlier in the month.

Costco, Best Buy, Sam’s Club, Target and Walmart all have sales or deals that have either already started, or will start by Nov. 21. Deals this year are also more likely to extend past Black Friday weekend, some into December.

Special access for members

“A big shift this holiday season will be that many of the really big promotions are going to be member driven,” Bergen says. Store memberships — which range from the free Target Circle program to paid programs such as Walmart+, warehouse memberships and Amazon Prime — can unlock special deals, early access and other benefits this holiday season.

Why this special privilege for members when Black Friday deals used to be for everyone?

“Because of inflation, companies have become more sophisticated in their ability to raise prices,” Bergen says. “Part of that has been their realization that they can raise the average prices but give more targeted discounts to their members.”

The bottom line: Taking account of your memberships might make a difference for your budget this holiday season.

A rise in social media-inspired shopping

While retail heavy-hitters will be a go-to for many shoppers, social media platforms will also be popular places to shop, especially for younger generations.

“Facebook Marketplace and TikTok Shop are leading in intentional purchases, while Facebook and Instagram remain popular for more casual browsing,” Janelle Sallenave, Chime’s chief spending officer, said in an email interview. Her observations come from data from Chime’s 2024 “Spendfluence report.”

“Each platform appeals differently to its users: Facebook Marketplace attracts those searching for specific items, like furniture, while TikTok Shop engages trend-seekers,” Sallenave said.

But not all purchases are planned.

“One of the biggest takeaways from our Spendluence report is that ‘just browsing’ leads to a purchase for 99% of Americans with consumers spending an average of $168 on social media shopping in the past six months alone,” Sallenave said.

“This is a good reminder for holiday shoppers to be cautious and intentional with their spending, as platforms and brands will likely ramp up their ads and promotions.”

Store policies that benefit shoppers

Retailers really cater to shoppers during the holiday season. Here’s what you can expect this year:

• Expanded store hours: Opening early and closing late gives people the flexibility to stop into stores and make purchases around their busy schedules. For example, Best Buy will be closed on Thanksgiving, but the retailer is extending its store hours during the rest of the season. Check your local retailer to find out specific details for their policies that typically run through Dec. 24.

• Smooth and extended return policies: Retailers know that shoppers will probably be making returns after the holidays and want to make it easier. For example, at Best Buy, most items purchased from Nov. 1 through Dec. 31 can be returned through Jan. 14, 2025. However most policies have some caveats — such as requiring receipts for returns or excluding items bought from third party sellers — that shoppers should be aware of.
• Robust price matching: For example, Target will price match its competitors on items bought within a 14-day window and match its own prices if they drop during the designated window (Nov. 7 through Dec. 24). There are a few notable outliers: Neither Amazon nor Walmart have special holiday price matching policies. Walmart’s current policy doesn’t even match special event prices from its own website, Walmart.com, or match prices from third party sellers.

Tips for shopping during anxious times

Some shoppers might feel uneasy heading into Black Friday this year. The holiday shopping season comes on the heels of a highly contested presidential election, a series of natural disasters and rising costs that have stretched budgets.

These outside forces are stressful and exhausting, which are emotions that affect your spending habits. You may be more likely to make mistakes and be more vulnerable to impulsive decisions when you’re feeling this way.

“Try to shop earlier in the day, when you’re less tired,” Bergen says.

He also recommends waiting a night, if possible, before making a big purchase. Even as retailers rely on one-day deals and lightning sales to draw you in, being rested can clarify your shopping and spending goals and help you stay on track.

Amanda Barroso writes for NerdWallet. Email: abarroso@nerdwallet.com.

The article When is Black Friday? Here’s What You Need to Know Before You Shop originally appeared on NerdWallet.

The post Sports fans will be able to sit courtside in new shared virtual reality venue, Cosm appeared first on WDET 101.9 FM.

Queenie Wong | (TNS) Los Angeles Times

Search giant Google wants people to use its navigation app for more than just finding directions and avoiding traffic.

The tech giant is adding generative AI features to Google Maps so people can easily get recommendations for places to go and activities to do.

With 2 billion people using Google Maps every month, the company envisions people also will turn to the navigation app for inspiration, executives said at a press event at the company’s Street View Garage in Palo Alto on Wednesday.

Miriam Daniel, vice president and general manager of Google Maps, said the search giant has the ability to combine billions of pieces of information the company collects about the world and user reviews with generative AI.

“When we bring all this together, we will transform the way users interact with maps,” she said.

Rather than just finding directions or asking Google Maps to find the nearest gas station, users will be able to type out queries such as “things to do with friends at night in Boston” and get answers through the app. Curated with the help of Google’s generative AI chatbot and model known as Gemini, users then will see results that may include speakeasies or live music. Once the user taps on results for a business, for example, they’ll see a summary of reviews by users in addition to photos and videos of the place.

The AI-powered tools are rolling out this week on Apple and Android devices in the United States.

Google’s latest AI-powered updates underscore how the tech giant is responding to challenges to the company’s dominance in search. As the battle for the future of search heats up, the rise of AI tools such as OpenAI’s ChatGPT that can quickly summarize search results has the potential to reshape how people find and sift through information online.

Tech companies such as Meta, Apple and Microsoft have been responding to this change by infusing more generative AI tools into their products.

Google is no exception. At the company’s press event, a giant Google Map location icon, a blue Rivian vehicle and Google’s Street View cameras used to capture images of various locations filled the space.

As tech titans gather a trove of data about their users to power new generative AI tools, concerns about privacy, misinformation and copyright are some of the top issues companies have had to address.

Google also has faced scrutiny from regulators on its power over people’s lives, with a federal judge ruling in August that the company has an illegal monopoly on the online search market.

Daniel said when Google Maps provides users answers to their questions, the company isn’t using individualized information to provide personal results but contextual ones. For example, if a user asks Google Maps for things to do this weekend and it’s October, some of the suggestions might include seasonal activities such as pumpkin picking and going to a haunted house.

“We really take this seriously in making sure we’re using generative AI responsibly,” she said.

Google also is testing more AI-powered tools in another one of its popular navigation apps: Waze. Users will be able to tap a reporting button and tell the app that there’s a car accident ahead simply by speaking. Waze also will alert users when they’re near a school zone so they can be more careful about driving.

Developers are using Google’s AI technology to build new features in other products. Electric vehicle manufacturer Rivian used Google data so people can see summaries of restaurants, shops and supermarkets from the car’s infotainment screen, a tool that will be rolled out starting next month.

©2024 Los Angeles Times. Visit at latimes.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

By Erin El Issa, NerdWallet

It’s nearly the end of the year and a majority of Americans have regrets about their money moves, or lack thereof, in 2024. Whether they set New Year’s resolutions that didn’t work out, or just thought they’d be further ahead than they are now, a new NerdWallet survey, conducted in Oct. 2024 by The Harris Poll, finds that 69% of Americans have financial regrets for 2024.

The youngest adult generation — Gen Z (ages 18-27) — is most likely to be remorseful about money this year. Nearly 9 in 10 Gen Zers (89%) say they have financial regrets for 2024, compared to 80% of millennials (ages 28-43), 73% of Gen Xers (ages 44-59) and just 46% of baby boomers (ages 60-78).

Among the top regrets are not saving, overspending and not working on credit score improvement.

If you count yourself among those with regrets, here are some actions you can take starting today to avoid such remorse next year and beyond.

Regret: Not saving for emergencies and financial goals

Nearly 3 in 10 Americans (29%) regret not saving for emergencies and 27% regret not saving enough for their financial goals, like retirement or a down payment on a home, this year.

Take action: Set up automatic transfers to a savings account. Many of us try to save by seeing what we have leftover at the end of the month and transferring that over to savings. But with an endless array of things and experiences to spend on, it takes an immense amount of willpower to end the month with a chunk of money to throw into savings. Instead, flip the order by automating your savings first, and spending what’s leftover.

This could mean setting up a transfer between your checking account and savings account once a month or on each payday. Or, you could see if your employer allows you to set up direct deposit to multiple accounts and send an amount or percentage of your paycheck straight to savings without the detour to your checking account.

Regret: Overspending on entertainment

A quarter of Americans (25%) regret overspending on entertainment, like dining out and recreation, this year. This is a more common regret for Gen Zers (35%) and millennials (32%) than Gen Xers (25%) and baby boomers (14%).

Take action: Set a limit on your outings, not your spending. If setting a budget for the amount you have to spend on entertainment isn’t working out for you, try giving yourself a set amount of outings. For example, instead of “I have to keep my dining out under $200 this month” try “I can go out to dinner twice a week.” Or instead of “I need to make coffee at home more often” try “I can go out for coffee on Fridays.”

This intentional planning can help you prioritize which outings are more important to you — like choosing to forgo takeout on a Tuesday in order to meet friends at a restaurant on Thursday — and will likely lead to lower spending as well. Try it out for the remainder of 2024: Track your spending during this period to determine whether this approach was more effective for you than budgeting a specific amount.

Regret: Neglecting their credit score

More than 1 in 5 Americans (21%) regret not improving their credit in 2024.

Take action: Ensure your payments are on time and your credit utilization is in check. Generally there are five main factors that go into calculating your score, but on time payments and credit utilization are the most important ones. On time payments are self-explanatory and you can ensure you pay on time, every time, by setting up automatic payments or reminders to pay your bills by the due date.

Credit utilization is the percentage of credit you’re using at any given time, both per loan account and overall. So let’s say you have two credit cards with limits of $10,000 and $5,000 and balances of $2,000 and $4,000, respectively. This would make the first card’s utilization 20%, the second card’s utilization 80%, and the overall utilization 40%.

While the long-term goal should be avoiding carrying credit card debt from month to month, you might choose to strategically pay down the second card faster than the first to get its utilization rate lower in service of your credit score. A general, though contested, rule of thumb is to keep utilization below 30%, but we say the lower, the better.

If your credit score is suffering despite making on time payments and keeping utilization low, there may be an error on your credit reports. Pull your reports from annualcreditreport.com for free and make sure there aren’t mistakes bringing down your score.

The complete survey methodology is available in the original article, published at NerdWallet.

Erin El Issa writes for NerdWallet. Email: erin@nerdwallet.com.

The article Survey: Majority of Americans Have Money Regrets in 2024 originally appeared on NerdWallet.

By Rachel Christian, Bankrate.com (TNS)

If you’re retired or planning to retire soon, it’s important to have a plan for your retirement income. For most people, Social Security will play a significant role in this plan, so staying up to date on the latest benefits information is crucial.

The Social Security Administration recently announced several key changes to the program for 2025, including its annual cost of living adjustment (COLA). Here are some key changes to Social Security happening next year – and what you need to know.

Watch for these 5 changes to Social Security in 2024

More than 72.5 million people depend on one of Social Security’s benefit programs, so annual changes to the program and its payouts are always highly anticipated.

This year’s cost-of-living adjustment is lower than last year’s 3.2 percent increase. Still, any additional income is a welcome boost for beneficiaries who live on fixed incomes. (If you need help developing a plan for your retirement income, you may want to consider hiring a financial advisor.)

1. Cost of living adjustment rises

The SSA has announced that benefit checks will rise 2.5 percent in 2025. The 2.5 percent adjustment will amount to an average increase of $50 in monthly benefits for retired workers on Social Security beginning in January.

Specifically, the average check for retired workers will increase from $1,927 to $1,976. For a couple with both partners receiving benefits, the estimated payment will increase from $3,014 to $3,089.

The SSA has linked COLA adjustments to the Consumer Price Index for urban wage earners and clerical workers (CPI-W) since 1975. To determine the COLA, the SSA compares the third-quarter CPI-W of the previous year to the third-quarter CPI-W of the current year. The COLA is then adjusted based on the percentage change in CPI-W from one year to the next.

2. Maximum taxable earnings going up

In 2024, the maximum earnings subject to Social Security taxes was $168,600. This means workers paying into the system are taxed on wages up to this amount, typically at the 6.2 percent rate. In 2025, the maximum earnings will increase to $176,100, meaning more of a worker’s income will be subject to the tax. This adjustment is due to an increase in average wages in the U.S.

3. Maximum Social Security benefit also set to increase

The maximum Social Security benefit for a worker retiring at full retirement age will increase from $3,822 in 2024 to $4,018 in 2025. This maximum applies to those retiring at the full retirement age, which is 67 for anyone born after 1960.

The maximum benefit will be lower for those who retire before the full retirement age because benefits are reduced in such cases. On the flip side, those who retire after the full retirement age can increase their maximum benefit by delaying retirement.

4. Average benefit for spouses and disabled workers is increasing, too

The average benefit will increase across the board in 2025, and that includes benefits for people such as widows, widowers and the disabled. Here’s how those figures break out:

• The SSA says the average widowed mother with two children will see an increase from $3,669 to $3,761.
• Aged widows and widowers living alone will see their benefits increase from $1,788 to $1,832.
• The benefit will increase for a disabled worker with a spouse and one or more children from $2,757 to $2,826.

Of course, those are averages, and individual situations may differ.

5. Social Security adjusts earnings test exempt amounts

If you receive Social Security retirement benefits before reaching full retirement age, the program may reduce your benefits if your earnings exceed certain limits. This is known as the retirement earnings test, and it can claim a serious chunk of your benefits if you are still working. In 2025, the retirement earnings test exempt amounts will be as follows:

If you start collecting Social Security before full retirement age, you can earn up to $1,950 per month ($23,400 per year) in 2025 before the SSA will start withholding benefits, at the rate of $1 in benefits for every $2 above the limit. In 2024, the maximum exempt earnings were $1,860 per month ($22,320 per year).

In the year you reach full retirement age, this rule still applies but only up until the month you hit full retirement age and with much more forgiving terms. In 2025, you can earn up to $5,180 per month ($62,160 per year) before benefits are withheld, at the rate of $1 in benefits for every $3 earned above the limit (instead of every $2). In 2024, the threshold was $4,960 per month ($59,520 per year).

Bottom line

The 2025 Social Security COLA provides retirees and others with an increase in their benefits. However, this isn’t the only change to the program. Other levels and thresholds have also been adjusted to reflect ongoing cost increases.

(Visit Bankrate online at bankrate.com.)

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