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The upside of friends, roommates, or family members sharing a multiline phone plan is everyone has a lower monthly bill. The downside, however, is one person is ultimately responsible for both paying that billand gathering what is owed to him or her from their friends each month. AT&T is offering a new way to divvy things up, though. The carrier, on Thursday, will introduce AT&T SplitPay, which will individually bill people on select shared wireless plans. The service will be available immediately. College kids are Venmo-ing each other to share accounts, says Erin Scarborough, AT&Ts President of Broadband & Connectivity Initiatives. Theyre having to calculate account charges per line and were taking that frustration out for them. AT&T says it is patenting the technology behind SplitPay, which has been in the works for over a year. While the company plans to restrict its use to its own cellular network initially, it is considering licensing the technology to other companies (that would, as an example, let people sharing a streaming service split the cost automatically). SplitPay might make it easier for people to pay their share of a bill, but the primary account holder is still ultimately responsible for ensuring any financial obligations are met. Each person on the plan will get a text asking them to pay whatever their share of the bill is (including all fees). If they fail to do so, however, the primary account holder will receive a notification five days before the bill is due, letting them know who hasnt yet paid. If that person neglects to make a payment, the primary account holder will be charged and will have to recover the money from their friend (or family member) separately. SplitPay will allow for recurring payments as well, to minimize this scenario. To sign up for the SplitPay service, AT&T account owners can log on to att.com/splitpay and assign a payor to each line. Several companies, from Google to Airbnb, have tested out group payment methods in the past, but AT&T says the individual billing for a shared account is an industry first. Eighty-five percent of our customers have multiple line and we believe at least half of those are using split pay on their own in some form, says Scarborough. This is the first and only [payment system] of its kind in our industry. Were happy to solve a pain point and solve it first.
Category:
E-Commerce
When you walk outside, you might be concerned about how a nearby idling car or a faraway factory are polluting the air you breathe. But when youre inside, the products you use to make your home smell goodlike wax melts, air fresheners, or diffuserswarrant the same worries. These products create nanoparticles that pollute your indoor air, at times even making the air inside your home more polluted than the urban outdoors. Researchers at Purdue University have been studying how everyday products create air pollution inside our homes. In a lab that resembles a tiny housecalled the Purdue zero Energy Design Guidance for Engineers (zEDGE) labthey study the emissions that come from cleaning products, essential oil diffusers, air fresheners, scented wax melts, disinfectants, and even deodorant and hair care products. Though you might burn some wax melts or use an essential oil diffuser as a way to mimic the fresh, clean air of a forest or a field of flowers, its actually those fragrances that cause pollution. These scented household products emit volatile organic compounds that can then react with the indoor air, including with oxidants like ozone. The result are nanoparticles that, though just a few nanometers in sizeor even as small as 1 nanometercan impact your health. (A human hair, for contrast, is about 80,000 nanometers). These tiny particles can penetrate deep into our lungs and move to other organs; breathing nanoparticles has been associated with health impacts on respiratory, cardiovascular, and neurological systems. This tiny house lab, which sits outside of Purdues Delon and Elizabeth Hampton Hall of Civil Engineering, allows researchers to comprehensively study indoor air quality. [Photo: Kelsey Lefever/Purdue University] People spend 90% of their time indoors, yet indoor air pollution remains largely unregulated and understudied, Nusrat Jung, an assistant professor in Purdues Lyles School of Civil and Construction Engineering, said via email. Jung and Brandon Boor, also a civil engineering professor, have been working in the zEDGE lab together to study the formation of these tiny particles indoors and compare them to outdoor air. Scientists have been studying indoor air more frequently, especially during the pandemic; gas stoves have become the most prominent culprits of indoor air pollution, along with other types of combustion. But Jung and Boors work shows that we need to pay attention to other sources of indoor particulate matter, too. Our research shows that indoor nanoparticles can form and grow at rates much faster than those observed outdoors, largely due to the significant release of reactive fragrances from scented household products, Boor says. Purdue University engineers Nusrat Jung, left, and Brandon Boor study the impact of everyday products and activities on a homes air quality. [Photo: Kelsey Lefever/Purdue University] In their latest study, published earlier this month, they looked specifically at wax meltswhich are often touted as a safer, cleaner option than candles and incense, the burning of which produces pollutants. But even though wax melts are flame-free, they still release nanoparticles in concentrations comparable to candles, gas stoves, and diesel engines. This emphasizes Jung and Boors general findings that scented household products release pollution, often exceeding levels found in heavily polluted outdoor environments, Jung says. Those pollution levels even occur with ostensibly natural products like plant-based cleaners or essential oils. Theyve found that using citrus-scented air fresheners, essential oil diffusers, wax warmers, and terpene-based cleaners can elevate indoor nanoparticle concentrations by 10 to 1,000 times above typical urban outdoor levels, she adds. The inside of Purdues tiny house lab has various sensors and equipment to accurately and precisely measure pollutant emissions from common household activities in real time. [Photo: Kelsey Lefever/Purdue University] Proper ventilation is key. But if youre opening a window to dilute your indoor air pollution, you could also be adding in more outdoor ozone, which then reacts with those fragrances to generate even more nanoparticles. Instead, air purifiers could help reduce pollution levels. Choosing fragrance-free products could also reduce indoor air pollution. Jung and Boor say they will continue to research how everyday scented products impact our indoor air quality. They also hope to better understand what specific ingredients are causing those nanoparticles to form, aswell as what role is played by ventilation, air circulation, and other chemicals already in our air. The findings from our Purdue zEDGE test house are not just academic; they have real implications for building design, ventilation strategies, consumer product formulations, and public health guidelines, Jung says. As we continue to push the boundaries of indoor air quality research, our goal is to empower people with the knowledge and tools to create healthier indoor environments. Because the air we breathe inside should be just as much of a priority as the air outside.
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E-Commerce
Members of a Senate committee grilled Labor secretary-designate Lori Chavez-DeRemer on Wednesday about her past support of pro-union legislation, her position on raising the federal minimum wage and her willingness to disagree with President Donald Trump. Democrats sought assurances during the nominee’s confirmation hearing that Chavez-DeRemer would protect private data held by the Department of Labor. Republican members of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor & Pensions asked if she still backed a bill that would have made it easier for workers to unionize. Union leaders have described Chavez-DeRemer, a former Republican member of Congress from Oregon and former mayor of a small city on the edge of liberal-leaning Portland, as a friend of organized labor. But workers’ rights advocates question if she would be able to uphold that reputation in an administration that has fired thousands of federal employees. We are moving toward an authoritarian society where one person has enormous power. Will you have the courage to say, Mr. President, thats unconstitutional, thats wrong? Vermont independent Bernie Sanders asked in his opening remarks. The tension between the relatively pro-union record from her one term as a congresswoman and the current White House priorities had Chavez-DeRemer walking a fine line during the hearing, sometimes repeating answers or deflecting by saying shes not a lawyer and no longer serves as a House lawmaker. Senator Bill Cassidy, a Republican from Louisiana who chairs the committee, said the Trump administration had an opportunity to enact a pro-American agenda. He said business owners were concerned about Chavez-DeRemers past support in Congress of the Protecting the Right to Organize Act. A section of the PRO Act would have overturned state right to work laws that give employees the right to refuse to join a union in their workplace. During her opening statement, Chavez-DeRemer described the proposed law as imperfect. When Cassidy asked her if she still supported it, she declined to give a yes or no answer. I do not believe the secretary of Labor should write the laws. It would be up to Congress to write the law, she said. She later said she supports states’ right to work laws, which allow employees to refuse to join a union in their workplace. A provision of the PRO Act sought to overturn such laws. Sanders, the committee’s ranking member, asked Chavez-DeRemer if she would be a rubber stamp for the administration or stand with workers. If confirmed, my job will be to implement President Trumps policy vision,” Chavez-DeRemer said. “And my guiding principle will be President Trumps guiding principleensuring a level playing field for businesses, unions, and, most importantly, the American worker. Some political observers surmised that Trump picked Chavez-DeRemer to be his Labor secretary as a way to appeal to voters who are members of or affiliated with labor organizations. She is the daughter of a Teamster member. If confirmed, Chavez-DeRemer would be in charge of the Department of Labors nearly 16,000 full-time employees and a proposed budget of $13.9 billion in fiscal year 2025. She would set priorities that impact workers wages, ability to unionize, and health and safety, as well as employers rights to fire employees. But it’s unclear how much power she would be able to wield as Trump’s Cabinet moves to slash U.S. government spending and the size of the federal workforce. During his first month in office, the president froze trillions of dollars in federal funding and offered buyouts to most federal workers. His administration last week started laying off nearly all probationary employees who had not yet gained civil service protection. Billionaire Elon Musk, who leads Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency, has called for getting rid of entire agencies. “Its quite possible that no matter what the secretary of Labor stands for, the billionaire embedded in the Trump administration, who is so keen on destroying the institutions, will be interested in gutting the Department of Labor, said Adam Shah, director of national policy at Jobs with Justice, a nonprofit organization that promotes workers’ rights. In January, Trump fired two of three Democratic commissioners serving on the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, a federal agency that enforces civil rights in the workplace. He also fired the acting chair of the National Labor Relations Board, Gwynne Wilcox, the first Black woman to serve as an NLRB member, as well as Jennifer Abruzzo, the boards general counsel. The firings left both independent agencies without the quorum needed to take actions. Asked Wednesday whether the EEOC and NLRB should have enough members to carry out its mission to protect workers, Chavez-DeRemer answered yes. Senators also sought assurance that Chavez-DeRemer would protect sensitive data. Democratic Senator Chris Murphy of Connecticut asked if she would deny Musk or his representatives access to information about competitors or labor violations at the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. Musks companies are the subject of several OSHA investigations. Chavez-DeRemer said the decision belonged to Trump. I work for the president of the United States, if confirmed, and I will serve at the pleasure of the president on this issue, she said. The answer did not satisfy Murphy. You have the ability to disagree with the president. You certainly serve at his pleasure, but that doesnt mean that you have to take actions that you believe to be unethical, Murphy said. If the president asks you to give access to information that benefits a friend of his who has pending investigations, you wouldnt say no? I would certainly consult with the Department of Labor solicitors. I would certainly consult with the White House and their attorneys. But until I am confirmed and in the Labor Department, I would not be able to say, specific to this, without having the full picture, Chavez-DeRemer said. Fourteen Democratic states have challenged the Musk-led DOGE from accessing government data systems or participating in worker layoffs, including at the Labor Department. A federal judge on Tuesday refused to grant a restraining order to block the access. Many major unions, including the AFL-CIO and the United Auto Workers, endorsed Trumps Democratic opponent in the presidential race, former Vice President Democrat Kamala Harris. The International Brotherhood of Teamsters declined to endorse a presidential candidate, but the union endorsed Chavez-DeRemers nomination. During her committee testimony on Wednesday, Chavez-DeRemer said Trump had carried off the “single greatest political achievement of all time by attracting votes from working-class Americans, many of whom traditionally voted for Democrats, and from rank-and-file union members. By Cathy Bussewitz, Associated Press Associated Press writer Matt Brown contributed to this report.
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E-Commerce
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