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Walmart is recalling thousands of stainless steel water bottles because the lids can eject forcefully and strike people in the face. The recall covers about 850,000 “Ozark Trail 64 oz Stainless Steel Insulated Water Bottles” sold at Walmart since 2017, CNBC reported. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission said the bottles pose “serious impact and laceration hazards.”

How many people were injured by the recalled Walmart water bottles?

At least three people have been injured by the recalled water bottles so far. Per the CPSC, the lids may eject forcefully when people try to open the bottles “after food, carbonated beverages or perishable beverages, such as juice or milk, are stored inside over time.” It also stated that two of those customers “suffered permanent vision loss after being struck in the eye.” 

Customers who bought the recalled water bottles from Walmart can return them for a full refund

The bottles are identified with the model number 83-662. Although the number isn’t marked on the product itself, it can be seen on the packaging. The silver stainless-steel base, which has a black lid, is also decorated with an Ozark Trail logo on the side of the bottle.

“Walmart and Sam’s Club are committed to the health and safety of our customers and members and to providing products that are safe and compliant, all supported by our health and wellness, product safety, and food safety professionals,” Walmart stated on its website. “In the event of a product recall, we work swiftly to block the item from being sold and remove it from our stores and clubs.”

Verizon is facing criticism after sending a waiver request to the FCC in an effort to erase the policy that allows people to change phone providers after 60 days. Until recently, the company was allowing customers to unlock their Verizon phones after 60 days and switch the device to a different carrier. Now, however, Verizon wants the phones to be locked beyond 60 days.

In a statement to the FCC, Verizon said fraudsters are taking advantage when the phone is unlocked during that time.

Why is Verizon making it harder for customers to switch providers?

“Recent industry experience shows that even a lock of 60 days does not deter device fraud – a huge and growing problem in the United States — and instead enables trafficking in devices that are illicitly sent to foreign marketplaces,” Verizon said in the waiver request submitted to the FCC, per The Street. “This is why the industry standard for providers not subject to the Unlocking Rule is a minimum of 6 months or longer.”

The company adds that there is a clear advantage to low-income customers when thieves take advantage of the 60-day policy.

“Waiving this rule will benefit consumers because it will allow Verizon to continue offering subsidies and other mechanisms to make phones more affordable, lower upfront costs, and enable customers to obtain the latest and most innovative devices,” Verizon said in its statement.

What are customers saying about Verizon’s effort to make it harder for people to change carriers?

One customer who criticized Verizon in a complaint to the FCC said the company is making it difficult to get SpaceX’s Starlink and other new services.

“Verizon’s argument that unlocked phones are against the public interest is just wrong,” the former Verizon customer wrote, per The Street. “It stifles competition by making it harder to vote with your wallet and switch carriers. I recently left Verizon because of a record amount of price hikes within a single year. It certainly would have been much harder to switch carriers if I had to buy a new phone each time. I bought my phone. I get to decide what carrier I want with that phone.”

Advocacy groups are also urging the FCC to stop the company from waiving its unlocking requirement.

“Maintaining and enforcing the 60-day unlocking framework will promote consumer welfare, strengthen competition, and reduce regulatory confusion,” the groups wrote in a complaint to the FCC. “Any modifications to unlocking policy should be addressed through rulemaking, not via individualized waivers that would only exacerbate existing inequities and market distortions.”

Officials in Arizona have revealed that an unidentified patient has died from the pneumonic plague. Per Northern Arizona Healthcare, the person went to the Flagstaff Medical Center Emergency Department in Coconino County and died a short time later.

The hospital said in a statement that doctors performed “appropriate initial management” and tried “to provide life-saving resuscitation,” but “the patient did not recover.” According to NBC News, health officials described the cause of death as “a severe lung infection caused by the Yersinia pestis bacterium,” aka the pneumonic plague.

A total of 7 human plague cases are reported every year in the U.S.

These cases, however, are not usually fatal, according to the CDC. The last pneumonic plague death in Coconino County occurred in 2007. At that time, a person died after making contact with a dead infected animal.

The 3 most common types of the plague are bubonic, pneumonic, and septicemic

Per the CDC, Pneumonic plague “develops when bacteria spread to the lungs of a patient with untreated bubonic or septicemic plague.” It can also happen “when a person inhales infectious droplets coughed out by another person or animal with pneumonic plague,” the CDC adds.

Bubonic plague, which is now rare, killed millions of Europeans during the Middle Ages. The disease is still reported in parts of the U.S., as well as Africa and Asia. People who are infected with Bubonic plague may feel symptoms within two to six days. Infected people may experience fever and swollen lymph nodes.

The Northern Arizona Healthcare urges people to see their healthcare provider immediately if they suspect that they may be infected.

“If their illness is severe, they should go to the Emergency Department and immediately ask for a mask to help prevent the spread of disease while they access timely and important care,” the hospital stated, per NBC News.

Singer Akon’s plans to build a futuristic city in his family’s home country, Senegal, have fallen through. The project, which failed to make much visible progress despite the singer’s plans to raise billions of dollars in investment, has apparently been canceled by the Senegalese government. It will now be replaced by a less ambitious resort development.

Senegal pivots to tourism as Akon City ‘no longer exists’

Bloomberg reported Serigne Mamadou Mboup, who runs Senegal’s tourism development agency Sapco, told L’Agence de presse sénégalaise that Akon’s project “no longer exists.” Last year, Sapco reportedly gave Akon a two-week deadline to begin construction in Mbodiène, a coastal city about 50 miles from the capital, Dakar, that was to be the site of the new Akon City. The singer forfeited most of the property at the Mbodiène site by failing to make scheduled payments to the Senegalese government. Instead of the $6 billion project pushed by Akon, Sapco now plans to spend approximately $1.2 billion, mostly raised from private donors, to develop the area as a tourism destination and “a true engine of growth” in the Senegalese economy.

Plans for a solar-powered, cryptocurrency-adopting, real-life ‘Wakanda’

The cancellation of Akon City ends a project that has been in development for nearly a decade. Akon first announced in 2018 that he would build a futuristic city in Senegal, the home country of his parents and where he spent much of his youth. Akon obtained 2,000 acres of land from then-President Macky Sall to build the city, and finalized an agreement with the government in 2020 to build the city in two phases over 10 years; the second phase of construction was to have started in 2025. The city was to have various high-tech features, including solar power as its primary source of energy. It was also to have its own cryptocurrency, labeled the Akoin. These advanced plans drew comparison to the futuristic Wakanda from Marvel’s Black Panther.

Government and Akon scale back plans

“We are looking at Akon city to become the beginning of Africa’s future,” Akon said about the project at a ceremony in 2020. “Our idea is to build a futuristic city that incorporates all the latest technologies, cryptocurrencies and also the future of how African society should become in the future.” Akon’s grand plans failed to come together, as his Akoin currency did not gain the value he was looking for and construction of a hospital, shopping mall, school and other facilities did not happen by their planned 2023 deadline. Despite Akon City being scrapped, it appears that the singer is still involved in the development project for the Mbodiène area. Per the BBC, Mboup said, “Fortunately, an agreement has been reached between Sapco and the entrepreneur Alioune Badara Thiam,” referring to Akon by his full name. “What he’s preparing with us is a realistic project, which Sapco will fully support.”

So even though Akon City is no more, the singer may still be able to help develop and economically benefit part of the country he considers a home. As the Senegalese government seeks funding to develop the land that it had once set aside for Akon, we will see if the musician is able to pull things together to make good on at least some of his promises.