• As surprising as it might sound, victims of the Equifax data breach from back in 2017 still haven’t received their share of the $700 million Equifax settlement with the FTC yet.
• Be that as it may, however, the credit reporting agency has gone ahead and reached a $5.5 million agreement to pay banks that issued credit cards that were identified in the Equifax hack.
• Visit BGR’s homepage for more stories.

A cruel twist of irony has emerged as a kind of coda to the major 2017 Equifax data breach that resulted in hackers nabbing more than 200,000 payment card numbers and expiration dates and Equifax agreeing to a $700 million settlement with the FTC.

The original plan had been to offer victims of the data breach up to $125 as part of the settlement, along with an alternate offer of free credit monitoring. However, the portion of that $700 million dedicated to the direct cash payments to victims only totaled $31 million, and there were so many victims that the kitty quickly ran dry. But while plenty of victims have come up short in the Equifax settlement, banks (big surprise) are still getting paid — to the tune of $5.5 million.

Continue reading…

Today’s Top Deals

1. These 10 Amazon deals are only available to Prime members
2. Today’s best deals: KN95 face masks, Fire TV blowout, 25% off protein bars, $9 wireless charger, Hunter rain boots, more
3. 70¢ coronavirus face masks are flying off the shelves again at Amazon

Trending Right Now:

1. Stimulus checks are great, but a new idea would give everyone $10,000 in credit card debt relief
2. A common drug that costs $25 a month may save coronavirus patients’ lives
3. This is the best coronavirus news we’ve seen all month

Equifax is paying $5.5M to banks, but nothing to victims of the 2017 data breach originally appeared on BGR.com on Thu, 21 May 2020 at 21:09:31 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read more here:: Boy Genius Report

• A baby planet was just spotted by scientists using the Very Large Telescope in Chile.
• The object, a swirling mass of matter surrounding a central point in space, is believed to be the first in-progress planet spotted by scientists.
• As telescope technology improves, our ability to study and understand what is happening in other star systems will grow.
• Visit BGR’s homepage for more stories.

Planets don’t just pop out of nowhere. They can form in different ways but one thing is consistent about all of them: All the matter that makes up a planet was, at some point in the past, drifting free of all the other particles that now surround it.

Now, astronomers using the European Southern Observatory’s Very Large Telescope have spotted what they think is a planet in the midst of being born. A central point in a swirling mass of dust and gas, it may be the first baby planet ever spotted by humans.

Continue reading…

Today’s Top Deals

1. These 10 Amazon deals are only available to Prime members
2. 70¢ coronavirus face masks are flying off the shelves again at Amazon
3. Today’s top deals: Coronavirus face masks, toilet paper, protein bars, $20 Bluetooth earbuds, $18 Wi-Fi extender, more

Trending Right Now:

1. Stimulus checks are great, but a new idea would give everyone $10,000 in credit card debt relief
2. A common drug that costs $25 a month may save coronavirus patients’ lives
3. This is the best coronavirus news we’ve seen all month

Astronomers think they just watched a planet be born originally appeared on BGR.com on Thu, 21 May 2020 at 20:07:40 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read more here:: Boy Genius Report

• The CDC updated its website this week to offer guidance for doctors in cases where a pregnant woman who has tested positive for the coronavirus gives birth.
• The data is limited, but infants may be at higher risk for a severe case of COVID-19 than older children, and they need to be tested twice within 48 hours of their birth.
• The CDC also recommends that the mothers are kept six feet from their newborn children.
• Visit BGR’s homepage for more stories.

Living through the novel coronavirus pandemic has been a challenge for all of us, but as I sit here, working from home and able to limit my exposure to the outside world, I can’t help but think about how much more complicated this ordeal must be for countless individuals and families who have much more to worry about than whether or not Rite Aid down the street will finally be stocked with name brand toilet paper this week.

To that point, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released new guidelines this week for pregnant women who have tested positive for COVID-19 or are suspected to have caught the disease. The guidelines suggest that any babies born to COVID-19 confirmed or suspected women should be tested for the virus at 24 hours and 48 hours of age, regardless of whether or not the babies themselves show any symptoms.

Continue reading…

Today’s Top Deals

1. These 10 Amazon deals are only available to Prime members
2. Today’s top deals: Coronavirus face masks, toilet paper, protein bars, $20 Bluetooth earbuds, $18 Wi-Fi extender, more
3. 70¢ coronavirus face masks are flying off the shelves again at Amazon

Trending Right Now:

1. Stimulus checks are great, but a new idea would give everyone $10,000 in credit card debt relief
2. A common drug that costs $25 a month may save coronavirus patients’ lives
3. This is the best coronavirus news we’ve seen all month

CDC: Babies born to mothers with coronavirus need to be tested originally appeared on BGR.com on Thu, 21 May 2020 at 19:05:28 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read more here:: Boy Genius Report

• T-Mobile launched its Connecting Heroes initiative this week, giving free service to first responders.
• T-Mobile also started offering a free iPhone SE with eligible trade-ins for the next few days.
• If you don’t want an iPhone SE, you can also get a Galaxy S20 for up to half off.
• Visit BGR’s homepage for more stories.

On Thursday, T-Mobile committed to providing free service and 5G access to first responder agencies for the next ten years, which the mobile carrier says will save them over $7 billion.

Through the Connecting Heroes initiative, T-Mobile wants to give back to fire, police, and EMS departments that put their lives on the line every day to keep us safe. Agencies that are interested in signing up for the initiative can visit t-mobile.com/connectingheroes for more information. But the news doesn’t end there. T-Mobile and Sprint customers are also being given the opportunity to get a free iPhone SE or up to $500 off of a Galaxy S20.

Continue reading…

Today’s Top Deals

1. These 10 Amazon deals are only available to Prime members
2. Today’s top deals: Coronavirus face masks, toilet paper, protein bars, $20 Bluetooth earbuds, $18 Wi-Fi extender, more
3. Today’s top deals: 70¢ coronavirus face masks, Prime-exclusive deals, hand sanitizer, Nest Wifi sale, AirPods Pro, more

Trending Right Now:

1. This is the best coronavirus news we’ve seen all month
2. Stimulus checks are great, but a new idea would give everyone $10,000 in credit card debt relief
3. A common drug that costs $25 a month may save coronavirus patients’ lives

T-Mobile is giving away the iPhone SE for free with a trade-in originally appeared on BGR.com on Thu, 21 May 2020 at 18:03:06 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read more here:: Boy Genius Report

• The massive gas giant Jupiter could have potentially become a star in the earliest days of the solar system.
• If Jupiter had become a star, the odds of Earth hosting life (or existing at all) are slim.
• Visit BGR’s homepage for more stories.

Jupiter is the mighty king of our solar system. It’s by far the largest, most massive planet, and the swirling storms that dominate its atmosphere make it instantly recognizable. It’s big. So big, in fact, that it’s actually not crazy to imagine our solar system shaking out in a way that caused Jupiter to grow large enough to become a star.

In a new piece on Universe Today, Paul Sutter proposes an interesting thought experiment using our knowledge of Jupiter as well as what scientists have learned about star formation. The short version of the story is that we should be very happy that Jupiter isn’t any bigger.

Continue reading…

Today’s Top Deals

1. These 10 Amazon deals are only available to Prime members
2. Today’s top deals: 70¢ coronavirus face masks, Prime-exclusive deals, hand sanitizer, Nest Wifi sale, AirPods Pro, more
3. Today’s top deals: Coronavirus face masks, toilet paper, protein bars, $20 Bluetooth earbuds, $18 Wi-Fi extender, more

Trending Right Now:

1. Stimulus checks are great, but a new idea would give everyone $10,000 in credit card debt relief
2. This is the best coronavirus news we’ve seen all month
3. NASA will pay you to spend 8 months locked in a Mars simulation

Jupiter could have easily become a star, and Earth would have been doomed originally appeared on BGR.com on Thu, 21 May 2020 at 17:32:42 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read more here:: Boy Genius Report

• Wearing a face mask whenever you’re in public these days is starting to become a fact of life as Americans adjust to a reopening of their states and learn to live with the coronavirus until a vaccine is developed.
• However, the rules vary from place to place. For some businesses, a face mask is a requirement. For others, it’s a strong suggestion. And in some states, you’re technically breaking the law if you’re not wearing one.
• Visit BGR’s homepage for more stories.

Face masks have become one of the most enduring — and surprisingly controversial — images of the coronavirus pandemic that’s been tearing through the US for more than two months now. Anyone who takes a flight on a major US airline right now, for example, will find face masks required for both airline employees as well as passengers. Increasingly, such face coverings are also required when you shop at retail stores, as a complement to other coronavirus-related protections that include also asking that people continue to socially distance inside and to limit how many people can actually be in the store at one time. My local Target store, for example, now keeps customers lined up outside the front door, welcoming in people gradually to keep that number limited inside.

At the same time, we’re starting to see vehement protests of the requirement to wear face masks, with airlines offering a good example of the line that companies are trying to straddle. They want customers — no, they actually desperately need customers right now, with the economy still a mess. They also want those customers to wear a face mask, which can limit the spread of your germs to other people. But for some airlines, the face mask rule is a requirement without any enforcement. You have to wear one during your flight … but there’s no “or else.”

Continue reading…

Today’s Top Deals

1. These 10 Amazon deals are only available to Prime members
2. Today’s top deals: 70¢ coronavirus face masks, Prime-exclusive deals, hand sanitizer, Nest Wifi sale, AirPods Pro, more
3. Today’s top deals: Coronavirus face masks, toilet paper, protein bars, $20 Bluetooth earbuds, $18 Wi-Fi extender, more

Trending Right Now:

1. Stimulus checks are great, but a new idea would give everyone $10,000 in credit card debt relief
2. This is the best coronavirus news we’ve seen all month
3. NASA will pay you to spend 8 months locked in a Mars simulation

If you don’t wear a face mask in one of these states, you’re breaking the law originally appeared on BGR.com on Thu, 21 May 2020 at 17:01:03 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read more here:: Boy Genius Report

• The CDC has issued guidance for “reopening the country” even as the coronavirus timeline remains unclear.
• Many of the recommendations are things we’ve heard before, like maintaining social distancing and avoiding contact with just about everyone.
• The document covers the reopening of schools, bars, restaurants, and more.
• Visit BGR’s homepage for more stories.

The novel coronavirus pandemic is still in full swing here in the United States. Some states are faring better than others, but if you bother to glance at the daily tallies of new cases it’s clear that we’re not out of the woods yet. Despite that, the powers that be have decided it’s time to start “reopening the country.”

It’s going to be a slow process, with individual states and even cities issuing their own timelines for when things will reopen and services will return to normal. For its part, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has issued its own lengthy document detailing its guidelines for getting the country back on its feet.

Continue reading…

Today’s Top Deals

1. These 10 Amazon deals are only available to Prime members
2. Today’s top deals: Coronavirus face masks, toilet paper, protein bars, $20 Bluetooth earbuds, $18 Wi-Fi extender, more
3. Try these headphones for $40 before you buy $400 Bose noise cancelling headphones

Trending Right Now:

1. Stimulus checks are great, but a new idea would give everyone $10,000 in credit card debt relief
2. This is the best coronavirus news we’ve seen all month
3. US secures 300M doses of coronavirus vaccine candidate from Oxford

This is how the CDC wants to reopen the US originally appeared on BGR.com on Thu, 21 May 2020 at 16:32:10 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read more here:: Boy Genius Report

• Civilization 6 is now free to download on PC from the Epic Games Store.
• Civilization 6 follows Grand Theft Auto 5 as the latest game being offered free of charge by the digital store, and normally retails for $59.99.
• The Civilization games have been around for nearly three decades, with Civ 6 launching in 2016.
• Visit BGR’s homepage for more stories.

When the Epic Games Store made Grand Theft Auto 5 the free game of the week, it seemed like the program might have hit its peak. Despite having originally launched more than half a decade ago, GTA5 is still one of the best-selling and most popular online games on the planet, and even though tens of millions of people already own it, the influx of traffic when the offer went live last Thursday was enough to cause the entire store to crash.

Topping Grand Theft Auto 5 was never going to be easy, but this Thursday, the Epic Games Store came surprisingly close when it made Civilization 6, the latest entry in the beloved strategy franchise, free to download. Civilization may not have the same cultural footprint as GTA, but this 2016 game still retails for $59.99 on most digital storefronts. It’s not often that we see full-priced games being given away free of charge with no strings attached.

Continue reading…

Today’s Top Deals

1. These 10 Amazon deals are only available to Prime members
2. Today’s top deals: Coronavirus face masks, toilet paper, protein bars, $20 Bluetooth earbuds, $18 Wi-Fi extender, more
3. Try these headphones for $40 before you buy $400 Bose noise cancelling headphones

Trending Right Now:

1. Stimulus checks are great, but a new idea would give everyone $10,000 in credit card debt relief
2. This is the best coronavirus news we’ve seen all month
3. US secures 300M doses of coronavirus vaccine candidate from Oxford

‘Civilization 6′ is free to download from the Epic Games Store originally appeared on BGR.com on Thu, 21 May 2020 at 16:03:35 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read more here:: Boy Genius Report

• New research indicates that coronavirus transmission through the air might be enhanced by windy conditions, which could transport droplets well over 6 feet.
• The novel coronavirus can spread in the air via coughing, sneezing, and talking, with authorities advising up to 6 feet of distance between people to reduce the risk of infection.
• Social distancing practices should remain in place as countries open up to reduce the risk of COVID-19 infections.
• Visit BGR’s homepage for more stories.

Guidelines for the novel coronavirus health crisis explain the importance of social distancing to limit the spread of COVID-19, but they don’t necessarily agree on the minimum distance. The WHO says people should keep a physical distance of at least 3 feet, while the CDC advises 6 feet. There are instances where neither is possible, which is why the use of face masks is so important. An increasing number of studies have shown that the virus can travel well beyond 6 feet anyway, especially if it’s pushed around by ventilation.

Physics researchers looked at various models for airborne transmission of saliva droplets that can contain a viral load and concluded that with the right ventilation, they could travel more than 6 feet in the air.

Continue reading…

Today’s Top Deals

1. These 10 Amazon deals are only available to Prime members
2. Today’s top deals: 70¢ coronavirus face masks, Prime-exclusive deals, hand sanitizer, Nest Wifi sale, AirPods Pro, more
3. Try these headphones for $40 before you buy $400 Bose noise cancelling headphones

Trending Right Now:

1. Stimulus checks are great, but a new idea would give everyone $10,000 in credit card debt relief
2. This is the best coronavirus news we’ve seen all month
3. A common drug that costs $25 a month may save coronavirus patients’ lives

Wind might make coronavirus even more dangerous – here’s how originally appeared on BGR.com on Thu, 21 May 2020 at 15:36:25 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read more here:: Boy Genius Report

• Paying for a Netflix account has been an indispensable entertainment option for millions of peoples’ peace of mind during the coronavirus pandemic, when everyone has been stuck at home to stop the spread of COVID-19.
• Nevertheless, there are some Netflix account holders who for whatever reason are the complete opposite of us compulsive bingers. With that in mind, the streamer says it’s going to start canceling inactive accounts soon.
• Visit BGR’s homepage for more stories.

If you’re one of the tens of millions of people who pay for a Netflix account, you better use it if you don’t want to lose it. That’s the message the streaming giant basically delivered Thursday, with its heads-up that anyone with an inactive Netflix subscription is going to start seeing emails or in-app notifications soon along these lines.

“We’re asking everyone who has not watched anything on Netflix for a year since they joined to confirm they want to keep their membership,” Netflix director of product innovation Eddy Wu explained in a company blog post. “And we’ll do the same for anyone who has stopped watching for more than two years.”

Continue reading…

Today’s Top Deals

1. These 10 Amazon deals are only available to Prime members
2. Today’s top deals: 70¢ coronavirus face masks, Prime-exclusive deals, hand sanitizer, Nest Wifi sale, AirPods Pro, more
3. Try these headphones for $40 before you buy $400 Bose noise cancelling headphones

Trending Right Now:

1. Stimulus checks are great, but a new idea would give everyone $10,000 in credit card debt relief
2. This is the best coronavirus news we’ve seen all month
3. A common drug that costs $25 a month may save coronavirus patients’ lives

Netflix is going to start automatically canceling inactive accounts originally appeared on BGR.com on Thu, 21 May 2020 at 15:09:04 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read more here:: Boy Genius Report