Good2Know is Cheddar News' daily dish of stories impacting you every day.
JAPAN DISCOVERS 7,000 ISLANDS
Japan just discovered that it has 7,000 islands in its territory that it didn't know about. The geospatial information authority of Japan just conducted a digital mapping survey and found more islands than they did during the last survey back in 1987, when the coast guard conducted the survey. Back then, they found just over 6,500. Now they know there are over 14,000. The agency noted that while there are no international guidelines on how to count islands, they used the same guidelines from the 1987 survey. What constitutes an island? Well, Japan counts any naturally occurring land that has a circumference of at least 330 feet, which is just 60 feet shy of a football field.
TARGET'S NO-LINE RETURNS
Target is really making it too easy for us shoppers. The mega retailer announced that soon customers won't have to wait in line anymore when returning items. After curbside pickup boomed at Target and other retailers, the company decided to include returns. The way it works is similar to the existing drive up service. You open up the Target app, start a return order and select your store. When you arrive at Target, open up the app and let the store know you're in line, and then hand off your return all without stepping out of the car. But there is a catch, the service is only designed for new, un-opened items that are being returned within 90 days of purchase, or a year if the item is a Target-owned brand The company says it will start rolling out the service in the spring with the goal of expanding to all locations nationwide by summer.
COVID EMERGENCY ENDING
On May 11, the national COVID-19 emergency declarations are set to end. In recent months, COVID-related funding such as expanded SNAP benefits have expired, and now millions of low-income Americans are at risk of seeing their broadband internet bills rise. Over 16 million households have been receiving broadband internet at discounted rates through the Affordable Connectivity Program, also known as ACP, which offers $30 per month to qualified low-income households. Nicole Turner Lee, a director at the Brookings Institution said "'in 2024, or when the money runs out, the program could be completely obliterated, and millions could be left in the dark." It's now up to congress to decide if the program should continue to be funded.
