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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.”

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(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.

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(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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(SAN DIEGO) — Michael Quan was just 36 when he retired. Today, the father of two from San Diego is 46 and living a life of his choosing, having achieved his goal of financial independence.

“The goal wasn’t necessarily to retire super early. It was to really get to a place of financial independence or financial freedom where I didn’t have to work for money, where I could ultimately choose what I want to do with my time,” Quan told Good Morning America.

To achieve his goal, Quan started investing when he was 26, learning to make passive income from his uncles who had business and real estate investments.

“I was like, ‘You know what? That’s great. You get to focus on what really matters to you most and you get to be super intentional with your life,'” Quan said he remembered thinking at the time.

Quan adopted the F.I.R.E. method, short for “Financial Independence, Retire Early,” and began aggressively saving his salary. He started investing early, in his 20s, before he married and had children. He was also diligent and intentional from the get-go and was active and investing over time.

But instead of putting all his eggs in one basket, Quan invested his money into various stocks and index funds and his money grew over the years.

“I just started investing in the stock market and spending $5 a week, investing into stocks and so that really got me interested into building a portfolio at a young age, even before I started my company,” Quan said.

While working full time, Quan began to build an information technology consulting business that then led him to diversify his investments even more.

“Because I was building a business, I had the opportunity to cash out some of that equity and put that into real estate,” Quan said.

Quan worked on building his business for a decade until he received an unsolicited offer to buy out his company.

“I decided, I have a unique opportunity to be home and present with the kids. I have a lot of shots to build another business but only one shot at being a great dad,” Quan recalled thinking at the time.

Quan, who wrote a guide called The F.I.R.E. Planner, said one of the key tips he recommends to find success with the F.I.R.E. method is to embrace the right mindset.

“A lot of times, we are taught in school that you go out, you get a job, and then you work [a] traditional 9 to 5 job. And while that can work for some people, a lot of times, we feel trapped because we get into debt that society tells us is OK to finance your future. And if you remove that idea, you get back to a different belief that ‘Hey, I can actually build wealth over time slowly and it doesn’t have to be painful,'” Quan said. “It’s really the mindset that is the start. Once you have a belief and once you have the action, you’ll get the result.”

For example, if you think about building wealth over time slowly instead of trying to finance your future and set it up to be automatic, such as with automatic deposits into a 401(k) or an individual retirement account, you’re more likely to succeed at building a nest egg.

Another way Quan has achieved financial freedom without working is by relying on passive income, which offers a steady flow of cash with minimal upkeep. Popular passive income sources include investments, side hustles or high-yield savings accounts, where the majority of the work happens during the set-up process. Another way to generate passive income is to rent out high-value items you already have, such as your home, garage, power tools or even your pool for a day through services like Airbnb, VRBO or Peerspace.

Today, Quan said he uses the term “early retirement” in a loose way since he still works on different passion projects, such as financial coaching.

“I don’t think I’ll ever go back to work in a 9 to 5. What I will do though, is never stop working,” Quan said. “I get to work on incredible things. I love personal development and really helping other people. So I’ll definitely take on some coaching clients occasionally to help them in their journey. And then I’ve been doing some public speaking as well and going out and sharing with university kids or going to conferences and speaking.”

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(NEW YORK) — Prince Harry and Meghan’s much-heralded deal with Spotify, one of the first deals they announced after leaving their royal roles, has come to an end.

Spotify and Archewell Audio, Harry and Meghan’s production company, confirmed the end of the partnership in a joint statement, saying, “Spotify and Archewell Audio have mutually agreed to part ways and are proud of the series we made together.”

When the deal between Spotify and the Sussexes was announced in late 2020, it was described by Spotify as a multi-year partnership that would see Harry and Meghan both hosting and producing podcasts with the goal of building “community through shared experience, narratives and values.”

Shortly after the deal was announced, in December 2020, Harry and Meghan released a holiday special podcast that featured nearly one dozen celebrities, athletes, activists and intellectuals reflecting on the year and looking ahead to 2021.

The only other podcast that came from the partnership with Harry and Meghan was an original series hosted by Meghan that examined the stereotypes and labels faced by women.

The 12-episode series, titled “Archetypes,” featured interviews with everyone from Serena Williams and Mariah Carey to Mindy Kaling, Paris Hilton, Issa Rae and more.

The podcast won a People’s Choice Award for top podcast in 2022 and a Gracie for digital media in 2023.

Meghan described “Archetypes” as a “labor of love” in a statement celebrating the People’s Choice Award win.

“I loved digging my hands into the process, sitting up late at night in bed, working on the writing and creative,” Meghan said in a statement on the Archewell website. “And I loved digging deep into meaningful conversation with my diverse and inspiring guests, laughing and learning with them, and with each of you listening.”

Spotify announced last week that it plans to lay off 200 people, or 2% of its workforce, amid a change in the company’s “podcast strategy.”

Harry and Meghan have not commented publicly on the end of their partnership with Spotify beyond the joint statement from their production company.

The couple launched Archewell Audio, one arm of their broader Archewell nonprofit organization and production company, in 2020, after moving to California and stepping down from their roles as senior working royals.

The Sussexes, who live in California with their two children, also inked a deal with Netflix upon their departure from their royal roles. Meghan told The New York Times they hoped to create “content that informs but also gives hope.”

The couple’s biggest project to date with Netflix has been their six-part docuseries, titled Harry & Meghan, that saw them speaking out about their love story and their decision to step down from their royal roles.

Since leaving the U.K., Meghan has also written a children’s book, The Bench, and Harry released his bestselling memoir, Spare.

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(PHILADELPHIA) — The collapse of a section of Interstate 95 in Philadelphia left Glenn Messinger scrambling to find new routes for 40 trucks that deliver food each day from a warehouse located a block away from the wreckage.

“It’s a huge hassle,” said Messinger, the vice president of branch operations for Baldor Specialty Foods, which delivers items to restaurants across the East Coast. “You need to have a lot of patience.”

The branch’s truckers, who Messinger says make between $19 and $23 an hour, have been forced to take an alternative route that takes as much as 40 minutes longer than usual, hiking delivery costs, he said. He noted that the company has opted to leave prices unchanged.

“We’re just going to have suck it up,” Messinger told ABC News.

The truckers coordinated by Messinger are among 14,000 who drive along I-95 each day, making their delay one of the most pronounced economic effects of a highway collapse that has disrupted the transport of goods and the commute of employees, experts and business officials told ABC News.

“A lot of America’s GDP is moving along that road every single day,” Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said at a press conference in Philadelphia on Wednesday. “It’s not just an inconvenience — it’s a cost.”

Still, the economic damage will remain largely contained to the immediate region, since suppliers and travelers who do not need to stop in the city can avail themselves of alternative highway routes with minimal inconvenience, experts and business officials said.

The highway damage “adds to commute times and raises shipping costs, but too few people and businesses are impacted to matter,” Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody’s Analytics, told ABC News. “People and businesses will quickly adjust.”

The section of Interstate 95 collapsed on Sunday following a large vehicle fire, authorities told ABC News.

On Wednesday, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro said the “most efficient” way to get I-95 reopened will be to backfill an underpass and then work to build a new permanent bridge.

Shapiro didn’t provide a timeline for when the repaving of the underpass will be completed but said workers will get it done “as quickly as possible.” He previously said it would take months to repair the highway.

The area near the collapse plays host to manufacturers, warehouses and other industrial suppliers that rely on I-95 as a conduit for taking goods to market, Rebecca Oyler, president and CEO of the Pennsylvania Motor Truck Association, told ABC News.

The companies depend in part on items that arrive at the nearby Port of Philadelphia, where refrigerated containers make up more than half of the freight due to a heavy share of produce, she added. The delays will impose higher costs due to extra labor hours and fuel costs, she said.

“Most of these businesses are really struggling today to manage new supply issues that have popped up,” Oyler said. “They’re going to need to work up a solution until this is resolved.”

Oyler acknowledged, however, that the damaged highway would have little impact on deliveries without pickup or drop-off in the immediate region.

“Luckily there are several alternatives,” she said, citing nearby I-295 as well as the New Jersey Turnpike.

Zandi downplayed any economic impact from the highway collapse.

“I don’t think there will be any material economic fallout,” he said. “It’s a big nuisance for those that use that part of [I-95], but not an economic event.”

Galasso Trucking Services, which transports auto parts and food from the Port of Philadelphia, faces delivery delays as long as a half-hour, adding costs for labor and tolls, Lou Galasso, the company’s vice president, told ABC News.

For now, business is holding up, Galasso said.

“Mainly it’s an annoyance,” he added. “It’s a pain.”

ABC News’ Morgan Winsor and Amanda Maile contributed reporting.

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(NEW YORK) — Federal prosecutors in New York said they would drop several criminal charges, at least for now, against disgraced crypto executive Sam Bankman-Fried if the judge agrees to try him later on those charges.

The offer to sever five of the 13 charges followed a ruling earlier this week in the Bahamas that allows Bankman-Fried to challenge the additional charges.

A prosecutor said during a hearing Thursday it was uncertain when the Bahamas would decide whether to consent to the new charges, which included bank fraud and an allegation Bankman-Fried bribed the Chinese.

“Severing those counts seems to be appropriate given the developments in the Bahamas this week,” the prosecutor, Nathan Rehn, said.

Bankman-Fried, who has pleaded not guilty, is scheduled to stand trial in October. Rehn said prosecutors would not proceed with the new charges unless the government of the Bahamas consented.

Bankman-Fried was extradited from the Bahamas on eight criminal charges stemming from the collapse of FTX, the crypto-exchange he founded. He has argued the U.S. government breached its extradition treaty with the Bahamas by filing additional charges against him months later, including bank fraud and an allegation he paid a $40 million bribe to the Chinese government to unfreeze a trading account.

“We think dismissal of those counts would be the better outcome,” defense attorney Marc Cohen said.

The judge did not immediately rule.

“I’m not going to rule on this now,” Judge Lewis Kaplan said. “I’m going to give it a little more thought.”

The defense asked the judge to dismiss an original charge that accused Bankman-Fried of violating campaign finance laws, arguing that count also violated the extradition treaty. The charge said Bankman-Fried improperly donated tens of millions of dollars to mainly Democratic and some Republican candidates.

Prosecutors said Bankman-Fried lacked standing to make the argument because the decision to move forward with the charge involved diplomatic policy.

“It’s a matter of diplomatic relations between the U.S. and the Bahamas,” Rehn said. “It was an understanding of all the parties involved that this was part of the extradition.”

Bankman-Fried is broadly accused of misappropriating billions of dollars in customer and investor money from FTX in what prosecutors have described as one of the biggest financial frauds ever. He has been free on bail, confined to his parents’ home in Palo Alto and restricted in his use of the internet.

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(NEW YORK) — A New Jersey jury ruled unanimously in favor of a former Starbucks employee who sued the company for wrongful termination, claiming that she was fired for being white.

Shannon Phillips, a former regional director for the chain, claimed in a lawsuit first filed in 2019 that “her race was a determinative factor” in Starbucks’ decision to fire her in the wake of a 2018 racial firestorm.

After a six-day trial, the jury returned a verdict, ordering the coffee giant to pay $25.6 million in settlement money, including punitive and compensatory damages, according to Phillips’ attorneys.

In April 2018, two Black men — Donte Robinson and Rashon Nelson — were arrested while waiting for a business meeting after an employee called 911 and accused the men of trespassing after they refused to make a purchase or leave the store. The arrests sparked nationwide protests and prompted Starbucks to close some of its stores for a day for racial bias training.

Robinson and Nelson reached a private settlement with Starbucks, as well as with the city of Philadelphia, which vowed to pay the men each $1 and promised a $200,000 investment into programs that support aspiring young entrepreneurs, according to the Philadelphia Mayor’s Office.

Less than a month after the arrests, Phillips was notified of her termination, despite claiming that she wasn’t at the store that day and was not involved in the arrests in any way.

According to court documents, Starbucks claimed Phillips “appeared overwhelmed, frozen and lacked awareness of how critical the situation was for Starbucks and its partners” and that “all actions taken by Starbucks with respect to Ms. Phillips were for legitimate, nondiscriminatory, non-retaliatory reasons.”

Phillips, who had been employed by Starbucks for nearly 13 years at the time of her termination, claims she “actively worked” on “crisis management” efforts and “took steps to ensure that the retail locations within her area were a safe and welcoming environment for all customers, regardless of race,” according to her 2019 civil complaint.

Attorney Channa Lloyd, an ABC News contributor and a managing partner of The Cochran Firm, told ABC’s Good Morning America, “Starbucks wasn’t necessarily under legal pressure but they were under public pressure to act and to show that they were open to everyone of every race and origin and to show that they were not going to allow racism to foster within their organization.”

During the trial, key testimony came from a Black district manager at Starbucks who testified via Zoom that he thought Phillips’ race played into Starbucks’ decision to fire her and that his race was a reason why he was not terminated, according to a statement provided to ABC News from Phillips’ attorney.

Phillips’ attorney also told GMA, “Starbucks chose not to terminate the District Manager of the store where the arrests took place, who was Black, but instead terminated his White supervisor, Ms. Phillips.”

“Other companies are definitely going to have to be much more thoughtful and clear about why they’re exercising terminations when they’re faced with this type of situation,” Lloyd added about the impact of the settlement decision.

ABC News reached out to Starbucks but the company declined comment.

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(NEW YORK) — The seal of approval from the U.S. Department of Agriculture on meat and poultry you see at the grocery store may soon carry more weight thanks to an update to labeling guidelines for meat producers that will more rigorously verify how animals were raised.

The government agency announced a new multi-step effort on Wednesday for the first time since 2019 in which the Food Safety and Inspection Service will raise the bar on its requirements for producers’ claims about how animals were raised.

Terms that appear on labels such as “grass-fed” and “free-range,” which are voluntary marketing claims, must now be approved by the Food Safety and Inspection Service before being put on a label.

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said consumers should be able to trust what they infer when picking a product with a USDA mark of inspection.

He added that the USDA is taking the new steps “to ensure the integrity of animal-raising claims and level the playing field for producers who are truthfully using these claims, which we know consumers value and rely on to guide their meat and poultry purchasing decisions.”

The agency said in a press release that it has “received several petitions, comments, and letters from a wide range of stakeholders asking the agency to reevaluate its oversight of animal-raising claims, specifically, how they are substantiated.” That also applies to the accuracy of “‘negative’ antibiotics claims” such as “raised without antibiotics” or “no antibiotics ever.”

In partnership with USDA’s Agricultural Research Service, the Food Safety and Inspection Service will start “a sampling project to assess antibiotic residues in cattle destined for the ‘raised without antibiotics’ market,” to help inform whether FSIS should require that laboratory testing results be submitted for that claim or start a new verification sampling program.

The FSIS will also issue a new industry guideline for companies to strengthen any documentation they submit to the agency to further substantiate those animal-raising claims.

The agency said it also plans to “strongly encourage use of third-party certification to verify these claims.”

This action comes on the heels of other efforts from the USDA to protect consumers from false or misleading labels as part of President Joe Biden’s executive order on promoting competition in the American economy.

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