Consumer News: Gen Z shoppers are getting scammed more often during the holidays

42% of Americans say airplane passenger behavior has gotten worse over the past five years.

Loud conversations, music, and videos without headphones rank as the biggest in-flight annoyance.

Most travelers favor a little more courtesy, including checking before reclining and waiting their turn to exit.

Flying can be stressful enough without having to deal with inconsiderate passengers. From loud phone conversations to arguments over armrests and reclining seats, airplane etiquette has become a popular topic of debate among travelers.

Now, a new survey suggests that many Americans feel passenger behavior is heading in the wrong direction. According to research commissioned by The Points Guy (TPG), 42% of Americans believe airplane etiquette has gotten worse over the past five years.

Author: Kristen Dalli
Source: Consumer Affairs

Walmart is adding 300 new drone delivery sites through a multi-year agreement with Zipline.

The retailer has already completed more than two million drone deliveries since launching its partnership with Zipline in 2021.

Eligible shoppers can order tens of thousands of items and potentially receive them in as little as 30 minutes.

Waiting for a delivery isn't always convenient, especially when you only need one or two things. Walmart is looking to make those quick shopping trips even easier by expanding its drone delivery service to more communities across the country.

The retailer announced a new multi-year agreement with drone delivery company Zipline. Through the partnership, Walmart plans to add 300 new drone delivery sites nationwide, with the possibility of expanding the network even further.

Author: Kristen Dalli
Source: Consumer Affairs

Utah leads the rankings: Just 21% of residents 65 and older live alone, and only 7.6% report frequent mental distress.

Hawaii has the fewest seniors living alone: Only 19.2% of older residents live by themselves, according to the analysis.

Small steps can make a difference: Regular phone calls, community activities, and free local resources can help older adults stay connected.

Growing older often brings big changes. Retirement, losing a spouse, health problems, and having family members move away can all make it harder to stay socially connected.

But some states appear to have stronger conditions for older residents than others.

Author: Kyle James
Source: Consumer Affairs

Stanford Medicine researchers identified brain activity patterns associated with Alzheimers risk years before memory problems appear.

In more than 1,300 cognitively healthy adults, the patterns helped predict later cognitive decline and Alzheimers diagnoses.

The experimental scoring system is not a diagnostic test, and researchers have not established whether changing these patterns can prevent the disease.

A new Stanford Medicine-led study suggests that patterns of brain activity could offer an early warning of Alzheimers disease, years before people develop noticeable memory problems.

Published in Science Advances, the research examined how different brain regions function together during rest. Scientists developed a score that distinguished patterns associated with exceptional memory in old age from those associated with Alzheimers.

Author: Mark Huffman
Source: Consumer Affairs