Business

(EMERYVILLE, Calif.) — After years of research and rigorous testing, cell-cultivated meat will officially become part of the U.S. food system.

Emeryville, California-based manufacturer UPSIDE Foods, which gave ABC News a look inside its facilities earlier this year, and Good Meat a cultivated meat division of the plant-based egg substitute food technology company Eat Just, are the first U.S. Department of Agriculture-approved cell-cultivated chicken meat producer and has been fully approved by the U.S. government for commercial sales nationwide.

The food and agriculture manufacturing industry has hailed this as a “historic” moment — after years of investment in UPSIDE Foods from Bill Gates, Richard Branson and Whole Foods founder John Mackey — as scientists tout the lab-cultivated meat as a possible solution for global warming, inhumane treatment of animals and growing global hunger.

Good Meat, which previously won multiple regulatory approvals to sell its chicken in Singapore, will begin production for the American market and launch with restaurateur and chef partner José Andrés.

The Alameda, California-based company called the latest USDA and FDA approvals a “watershed moment for the burgeoning cultivated meat, poultry and seafood sector, and for the global food industry.”

“We have been the only company selling cultivated meat anywhere in the world since we launched in Singapore in 2020, and now it’s approved to sell to consumers in the world’s largest economy,” Josh Tetrick, co-founder and CEO of GOOD Meat and Eat Just said in a statement.

UPSIDE Foods says it will begin cultivation and sales of real chicken meat grown from animal cells in bioreactors.

It will first reach consumers on the menu of a San Francisco restaurant, Bar Crenn, helmed by James Beard Award-winning chef, restaurateur and activist Dominique Crenn, who is hoping to help mainstream the innovative protein.

Crenn is also the first and only female chef in the U.S. ever to be awarded three Michelin Stars, and only one of five total to achieve the distinction in the world.

In a blog post Wednesday, UPSIDE Foods called the historic milestone “the culmination of years of dedication, ingenuity, and resilience from our team and supporters and marks the beginning of a whole new era in meat production.”

Neither UPSIDE Foods nor Good Meat have a released date of first availability, but are working with their respective restaurant partners to bring it to market.

“Soon, Americans will be able to enjoy delicious meat that doesn’t involve the slaughter of billions of animals every year,” UPSIDE Foods wrote in the post.

The UPSIDE Foods team and Good Meat have now achieved all three key regulatory milestones: A “No Questions” Letter from the FDA, a USDA Label Approval, and the USDA Grant of Inspection.

Dan Glickman, Good Meat Advisory Board member and former U.S. Secretary of Agriculture and member of the U.S. House of Representatives, said in a statement Wednesday that his previous experiences gave him “the opportunity to work with countless individuals at the USDA who were committed to accelerating agricultural innovation and economic opportunity as well as promoting initiatives to better nourish Americans and feed people around the globe.”

“I commend the agency’s current leadership for working collaboratively with their FDA colleagues and the GOOD Meat team to reach this significant regulatory milestone,” Glickman continued. “Today’s approval demonstrates that the United States is a global leader in the promising alternative protein space while also continuing to support family farmers’ efforts to feed the world through conventional food and agriculture techniques.”

Copyright © 2023, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(NEW YORK) — Eager to test a submersible one month before its first trip to the deep-sea ruins of the Titanic, in the spring of 2018, OceanGate hit a snag: lightning storms and harsh winds that battered the Bahamas for weeks and rendered the test impossible, according to the company’s blog.

OceanGate canceled the initial Titanic voyage, pushing it back to the following year, the company said.

“While we are disappointed by the need to reschedule the expedition, we are not willing to shortcut the testing process due to a condensed timeline,” the company said. “We are 100% committed to safety.”

Five years after that called-off test, OceanGate has drawn international attention as rescue vessels search for the same submersible, called Titan, which went missing during the company’s latest trip to the famous shipwrecked ruins. The craft has five passengers on board, among them the company’s founder and CEO, Stockton Rush.

The oxygen in the submersible was set to run out on Thursday morning. OceanGate did not immediately respond to ABC News’ request for comment.

OceanGate, founded in 2009, offers tourists the opportunity to travel on submersibles into the ocean’s depths for a closeup look at shipwrecks and underwater canyons. A spot on one of the trips can cost hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Decades earlier, in the 1980s, Rush became the world’s youngest jet transport rated pilot, at age 19, the OceanGate website says. In the ensuing years, he earned a bachelor’s degree in aerospace engineering from Princeton University and an M.B.A. from the Haas School of Business at the University of California, Berkeley.

Rush said he launched OceanGate after an epiphany that the deep sea offered a sense of discovery he once thought only attainable for astronauts, according to an instructional video taped in collaboration with the nonprofit EarthEcho International in 2020.

“I had a realization in my early 40s that what I really wanted to be was an explorer,” Rush said. “All those things that I thought were in space were actually in the ocean.”

Seeking investment, OceanGate raised nearly $500,000 in 2014 and $19.3 million in 2020, government filings show.

The company ultimately assembled a fleet of three five-person submersibles named Antipodes, Cyclops 1, and most recently, Titan.

OceanGate, based in Everett, Washington, has conducted over 14 expeditions and more than 200 dives across the Pacific, Atlantic and the Gulf of Mexico, according to the company’s website.

The trip to the ruins of the Titanic lasts eight days, launching from St. John’s Newfoundland, Canada, and traveling 380 miles offshore and 3,800 meters below the surface of the ocean, according to the company’s website.

The journey does not require previous diving experience but passengers must be at least 17 years old, the website says. The trip costs $250,000 per passenger.

The company’s description of the trip online offers passengers an experience like the one that Rush said he sought when launching OceanGate.

“Become an underwater explorer,” says a company web page that details the Titanic voyage.

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(NEW YORK) — With the rise of artificial intelligence, more people across the country are falling victim to kidnapping and other scams. A cybersecurity expert spoke to ABC News about ways people can protect their families and themselves from the increasingly believable scams.

Pete Nicoletti of Check Point Software Technologies, one of the largest cybersecurity firms in the nation, spoke to ABC’s Whit Johnson, to explain the rapidly evolving technology. With a basic headshot and photos from social media, Nicoletti was able to alter reality.

“So here you are, this is Mississippi in front of a terrible tornado, but with artificial intelligence, you can just say, ‘Hey, I wanna put Whit in front Canadian wildfires,’” said Nicoletti. “It’s very realistic.”

Nicoletti also explained that criminals can take just 10 minutes of a voice sample and use AI to create a false message, usually asking for money.

“[The false message] would come in as a voice message and the criminals can easily impersonate your phone number,” said Nicoletti.

“There [are] tools where you can actually type it in and use your voice,” Nicoletti added.

Nicoletti suggested all family members should adopt a “safe word” that can be used when trying to communicate with a loved one who has supposedly been kidnapped.

Former FBI special agent Rich Frankel said artificial intelligence cybercrime is hard to stop. He said to call authorities immediately, even if you think it’s just a scam, and recommends recording any type of call that seems suspicious and trying to reach a loved one directly if they appear to be involved.

“I would call law enforcement right away because if it is a real kidnapping, you want law enforcement involved,” he said. “And if it’s a scam, you wanna know about it right away.”

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(NEW YORK) — Washington state has overtaken California as the state with the highest gasoline prices.

The average price of regular gas in Washington is $4.93 a gallon, up 33 cents from the same time a month ago, according to AAA.

California’s average price for regular gas is $4.86 a gallon, 7 cents cheaper than Washington, AAA data shows. The price of gas in the state is up 6 cents from this time a month ago.

California has often been the state with the highest gas prices, with drivers paying an average of $6.40 a gallon in July 2022.

While the average price of gas in Washington is $4.93, some motorists are paying over $5 for gas in some counties, according to AAA data.

The average gas price in King County, Washington, which is the home of Seattle, sits at $5.09, according to AAA. Skamania County’s average price for gasoline is $5.32, the highest in the state.

The national average for gas is $3.58 as of Wednesday, according to AAA.

The countrywide average for gas has tallied between $3.50 and $3.60 daily since April 23, according to GasBuddy.

Following Washington and California is Hawaii, where the median gas price is $4.72, AAA data shows. Rounding out the top 5 are Oregon and Nevada, at $4.57 and $4.26, respectively.

By contrast, the average gas price is $3.09 in Mississippi, the lowest in the nation, AAA data shows.

“It has been a quiet week for the national average, with little overall movement in average gas prices nationally even as oil prices have been a bit unstable,” Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy, said in a blog post Tuesday on the company’s website. “Some states have seen minor increases while others have seen decreases, and the mixed bag is likely to continue for the time being with oil prices a bit all over the place.”

Haan said economic uncertainty is the main reason why oil prices have decreased but it won’t be enough to prevent a continued downward trend because oil and gas inventories are tight.

“We’ll have to see which of those factors emerges as a winner to predict when the next large movement in prices could be,” Haan said. “We’re also seeing more tropical activity in the Atlantic that could pose challenges in the weeks ahead as hurricane season ramps up.”

Copyright © 2023, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(NEW YORK) — After years of research and rigorous testing, cell-cultivated chicken meat will officially be a part of the U.S. food system.

Emeryville, California-based manufacturer UPSIDE Foods, which gave ABC News a look inside its facilities earlier this year, is the world’s first U.S. Department of Agriculture-approved cell-cultivated chicken meat producer and has been fully approved by the U.S. government for commercial sales nationwide.

The food and agriculture manufacturing industry has hailed this as a “historic” moment — after years of investment in UPSIDE Foods from Bill Gates, Richard Branson and Whole Foods founder John Mackey — as scientists tout the lab-cultivated meat as a possible solution for global warming, inhumane treatment of animals and growing global hunger.

The company says it will begin cultivation and sales of real chicken meat grown from animal cells in bioreactors.

It will first reach consumers on the menu of a San Francisco restaurant, Bar Crenn, helmed by James Beard Award-winning chef, restaurateur and activist Dominique Crenn, who is hoping to help mainstream the innovative protein.

Crenn is also the first and only female chef in the U.S. ever to be awarded three Michelin Stars, and only one of five total to achieve the distinction in the world.

In a blog post Wednesday, UPSIDE Foods called the historic milestone “the culmination of years of dedication, ingenuity, and resilience from our team and supporters and marks the beginning of a whole new era in meat production.”

The company has not released a date of first availability, but indicated “that soon, Americans will be able to enjoy delicious meat that doesn’t involve the slaughter of billions of animals every year.”

The UPSIDE Foods team has achieved all three key regulatory milestones: A “No Questions” Letter from the Food and Drug Administration in November 2022, a USDA Label Approval in June 2023, and the USDA Grant of Inspection in June 2023.

Copyright © 2023, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(NEW YORK) — First the Choco Taco, now the Good Humor Toasted Almond Ice Cream Bar?!

It’s officially peak ice cream season with summer in full swing, but there will be one less nostalgic treat at grocery stores after Good Humor confirmed this week that its iconic cake crumb-coated Toasted Almond Ice Cream Bars have been discontinued.

The ice cream brand, owned by Unilever, confirmed this week that its longtime offering, which debuted over 60 years ago, has officially been removed from production.

Fans of the nostalgic flavor have taken to Twitter and even Change.org to petition to keep the toasted almond flavor around.

“While we don’t have plans on bringing them back, we’ll let our team know you’d like to see them return,” a representative for the brand wrote on Twitter in response to a disappointed consumer.

The almond flavor was removed from the Good Humor lineup as of June 2022, around the same time Klondike announced it stopped making the Choco Taco, which took over headlines and social media feeds, even inspiring homemade copy cat recipes.

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(WASHINGTON) — The Federal Trade Commission sued Amazon on Wednesday for allegedly using deceitful tactics in a years-long effort to trick millions of customers into enrolling in its Prime subscription service, the agency said.

The company also made it more complicated for customers to cancel their subscription membership in an effort to enhance sales, according to the FTC complaint.

The suit, filed in the Western District of Washington, alleged that certain Amazon executives took part in making it harder for consumers to opt out of renewing or signing up for their Prime subscriptions “because those changes would also negatively affect Amazon’s bottom line.”

“Amazon tricked and trapped people into recurring subscriptions without their consent, not only frustrating users but also costing them significant money,” FTC Chair Lina Khan said in a statement on Wednesday.

“These manipulative tactics harm consumers and law-abiding businesses alike,” Khan added.

The heavily redacted complaint alleges that Amazon violated several laws, including deploying marketing tactics known as “dark patterns,” which manipulate consumers into unknowingly making purchases or sharing user data, the FTC alleged.

In a statement provided to ABC News, Amazon called the FTC’s claims “false on the facts and the law. The truth is that customers love Prime, and by design we make it clear and simple for customers to both sign up for or cancel their Prime membership. As with all our products and services, we continually listen to customer feedback and look for ways to improve the customer experience, and we look forward to the facts becoming clear as this case plays out.”

Amazon’s response also said the FTC “announced this lawsuit without notice to us, in the midst of our discussions with FTC staff members to ensure they understand the facts, context, and legal issues, and before we were able to have a dialog with the Commissioners themselves before they filed a lawsuit.”

“While the absence of that normal course engagement is extremely disappointing, we look forward to proving our case in court,” Amazon’s statement concluded.

Prime Membership, according to the FTC, amounts to $25 billion of Amazon’s annual revenue. Company leadership “slowed, avoided, and even undid” changes to the membership interface that it knew would negatively affect sales, the complaint said.

In recent months, however, the company changed its subscription cancellation process in response to “substantial pressure” from the FTC, the legal complaint said.

The FTC released a report in September sounding an alarm about a rise in the use of dark patterns by companies across the digital economy.

In 2021, the agency released a warning that it would ramp up enforcement of violations tied to the use of dark patterns in response to a “rising number of complaints.”

The lawsuit on Wednesday marks the third action taken by the FTC against Amazon this year. Last month, Amazon agreed to pay $25 million to settle FTC allegations that the company’s Alexa smart home device illegally collected data on children.

The FTC lawsuit adds to a series of recent setbacks for Amazon, including a wave of layoffs that slashed 18,000 jobs, as well as the delayed opening of a second headquarters in Virginia, known as “HQ2.”

Sales at top tech firms have retreated from the blistering pace attained during the pandemic, when billions across the world were forced into isolation and came to rely more on services like e-commerce delivery.

Still, shares of Amazon have surged nearly 50% this year, owing in part to a tech sector rally amid enthusiasm about artificial intelligence.

Amazon’s stock value fell roughly half a percentage point in early trading on Wednesday.

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(WASHINGTON) — The Federal Reserve remains “very far” from its target inflation rate and nearly all members of its decision-making committee support at least one additional interest rate hike, Fed Chair Jerome Powell told House lawmakers on Wednesday.

Inflation has fallen significantly from a peak last summer but remains at a level double the Federal Reserve’s target of 2%.

“We’re very far from our inflation target,” Powell told members of the House Financial Services Committee on Wednesday. “We’re very focused on getting back to 2%.”

Elevated inflation continues to threaten Americans, especially low-income people, by eating away at their household budgets, Powell said.

Price hikes hurt “people generally at the lower end of the income spectrum much harder than people at the middle or the high end because high inflation can get you in trouble right away if you’re living on a fixed income just to cover the basic necessities,” Powell said.

“It’s for the benefit of those people that we must get inflation under control,” he added.

The slowdown of price increases from the peak last summer has coincided with a sharp escalation of the Federal Reserve’s benchmark interest rate last seen in the 1980s.

However, the Federal Reserve earlier this month paused its aggressive series of interest rate hikes, ending a string of 10 consecutive rate increases that stretches back 15 months.

Over that period, the Federal Reserve has aimed to roll back price increases by slowing down the economy and slashing consumer demand. The approach, however, risks tipping the economy into a recession.

Data released in recent months suggests that the policy approach has succeeded in slowing economic activity while averting a downturn.

U.S. gross domestic product grew by a sluggish 1.1% annualized rate over the three months ending in March, according to government data.

Consumer spending and hiring, meanwhile, have remained solid.

A jobs report earlier this month showed that the labor market grew robustly in May, adding 339,000 jobs compared to Wall Street estimates of just 195,000.

Addressing lawmakers on Wednesday, Powell defended the central bank’s decision to pause interest rates earlier this month while simultaneously acknowledging that inflation remains well above target levels and at least one additional rate hike will likely be necessary

“The two things are entirely consistent,” Powell said. “The level at which we raise rates is entirely separate from the speed at which we move.”

“We’re moderating that pace,” he added. “If you’re driving 75 miles an hour on a highway, then 50 miles an hour on a local highway, then as you get closer to your destination, as you try to find that destination, you slow down even further.”

Copyright © 2023, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(NEW YORK) — Are you gearing up for one of the biggest shopping events of the year? Here’s what we know about Amazon Prime Day right now.

On Wednesday, Amazon announced its Amazon Prime Day 2023 will be July 11-12.

Prime members can “save big on popular brands like Lancôme, Kérastase, Peloton, Victoria’s Secret, YETI, The Drop, and Sony, and save on new Amazon-exclusive deals from D’Amelio Footwear, OPI and Alo Yoga,” according to a release.

As we creep towards the big day we are breaking down everything you need to know to prepare for Prime Day 2023:

What is Amazon Prime Day?

The 48-hour shopping event gives Prime members exclusive access to deals on Amazon.com across all categories including fashion, home, kitchen products and more.

When is Amazon Prime Day 2023?

Amazon Prime Day 2023 is July 11-12.

Best prime day deals 2022

In past years, Amazon devices such as Echo systems, Fire Sticks and Kindles were deeply discounted. It is a great time to make purchases on electronics that you have been waiting to snag.

How do I score the best deals during Prime Day?

During the 48 hours of sale fun, there will be multiple discounts to explore. If you take bargain hunting seriously, be sure to look out for what Amazon calls “flash deals” or “lightning sales” that are time-sensitive. While some items are on sale all day long, lightning deals will only last as long as selected products remain in stock.

Do I need to have a prime membership?

Yes, Prime Day is for Amazon Prime members only. Not a member just yet? Amazon offers a 30-day free trial of Prime membership for shoppers who want to be able to participate in Prime Day. If you are looking to make the most out of this 48-hour spectacular, signing up for a membership is the best way to go. For those online shopping lovers who are looking to save all year round, the membership is $14.99/month or $139/year. Students can register at half price for $7.49 per month.

Copyright © 2023, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(NEW YORK) — Grabbing a pack of sausages to throw on the grill may feel like a quintessential start-of-summer move, but if you’re a fan of pork and cheddar links from Johnsonville, check the label to make sure it’s not part of the latest recall.

Last Thursday, Johnsonville, LLC, issued a voluntary recall of “approximately 42,062 pounds of ready-to-eat (RTE) ‘Beddar with Cheddar’ pork sausage links that may be contaminated with extraneous materials, specifically very thin strands of black plastic fibers,” the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service announced.

In a press release about the recall, Johnsonville further described the dinner sausage contaminant as “small, black, flexible thread-like material” that was found in a sausage link by a consumer.

The Sheboygan Falls, Wisconsin-based food manufacturer said the “FSIS believes it poses a very low risk for adverse health effects if consumed, but the safety of our consumer is our primary concern, which is why we’re issuing the recall.”

Johnsonville said the total amount of recalled products is “small in scope,” impacting a total of 4,807 cases that were distributed to retail locations in eight states, including Colorado, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma and Texas.

The affected 14-ounce vacuum-packed pork sausage links were produced on Jan. 26, 2023 and more label details from the USDA can be seen here.

The recalled Johnsonville Beddar with Cheddar Smoked Sausage links, made with 100% premium pork, have a Best By date of July 11, 2023, and a C35 code date printed on the back of the packaging.

“The products subject to recall bear establishment number ‘EST. 34224’ inside the USDA mark of inspection,” the FSIS added.

There have so far been “no confirmed reports of adverse reactions due to consumption of this product,” according to Johnsonville and the FSIS.

Due to concerns that some product may be in consumers’ fridge or freezer, the FSIS urged consumers who may have purchased the products “not to consume them” and throw it away or return it to the place of purchase for a full refund.

Johnsonville added in its press release that it is “working with all affected retailers to ensure the recalled product … is removed from store shelves immediately.”

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