1 big thing: "Immersive" exhibits are all the rage

At "Beyond King Tut: The Immersive Experience," images of art from Tutankhamun's tomb are projected on screens that surround visitors. 

2. Lab-grown meat gets FDA go-ahead

A technician displays a lab-grown chicken meat in a sealed bag. 

3. Welcome to the new Moon age

Illustration of an astronaut holding a balloon made of the moon.

4. 📸 The Prius is sexy now?

5. One fun thing: Iowa's year-round snow sports mecca

A scene from Sleepy Hollow Sports Park when it was privately owned.

Those "immersive" art exhibits popping up nationwide are big moneymakers, Jennifer reports today — and lots of fun.

Today's newsletter is 1,071 words ... 4 minutes.

Big thanks to What's Next copy editor Amy Stern.

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National

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The next decade of big, sweeping changes will unfold in cities and communities where new technologies like 5G, AI and drones are transforming how we work, live and play together.  What’s Next will guide you through the revolution.

Axios What's Next

1 big thing: Americans are flocking to restaurants this Thanksgiving

Illustration of turkey legs poking out of a styrofoam takeout box. 

2. More Americans are carrying loaded weapons

3. Video games offer more gender options

A screen shot from a Harry Potter video game that lets you design your character's gender.

4. Robot camel-jockeys

5. An e-bike made of ... plywood?

A model of an electric bike that has a wooden chassis.

If Norman Rockwell had painted "Freedom from Want" in 2022, he might have depicted a family gathered round a restaurant table with menus in their hands, as Jennifer A. Kingson and Kelly Tyko report today.

Today's newsletter is 1,075 words ... 4 minutes.

A very big thanks to What's Next copy editor Amy Stern.

1 big thing: A shakeout in the world of robotaxis

A Waymo robotaxi driving down the street. 

2. Hailing a taxi with no one behind the wheel

At left, reporter Joann Muller; at right, the view out the windshield of the robotaxi she rode in.

3. Why tech's giants aren't rushing to clone Twitter

Illustration of a Twitter blue checkmark with the checkmark changing to an x.

4. A robot that can win at "Go" 

A man plays a game of Go against a robot.

5. At last, a luxury hotel — for bunnies

Cages with rabbits in them that are meant as "hotel rooms" for bunnies.

Joann has all the fun: Last week she was in San Francisco riding in a robotaxi — and this morning she gives us her report.

Today's newsletter is 1,053 words ... 4 minutes.

Have a great Thanksgiving! We'll be back in your inbox on Monday. 

In the meantime, please join me in thanking What's Next copy editor Amy Stern — and ask your friends to sign up for our newsletter here.

1 big thing: Amazon's smarter, more productive robots

2. Wheelchair travel, simplified 

3. The Musk ultimatum 

An illustration of Elon Musk and the Twitter logo.

4. 📸 Back to the moon

guests watch the launch of NASAs Space Launch System rocket.

5. One fun thing: Snowplow lessons

Alissa maneuvers a snowplow through barrels.

Amazon's warehouse robots are getting smarter, Joann reports today, thanks to new advancements in AI and computer vision.

Today's newsletter is 1,112 words ... 4 minutes.

Big thanks to copy editor Patricia Guadalupe.

1 big thing: Now trending... "human composting"

Illustration of a skull surrounded by a recycling symbol

2. Gadgets get the ax

An illustration of a computer falling down a chasm.

3. Home births surged during the pandemic

An illustration of a medical cross logo hanging over a baby's crib.

4. 📈 Health care workers love unions now

5. One fun thing: Jump!

A practice jump in November 2021 for next week's world record attempt. 

"Human composting" is a new, environmentally friendly "death care" option, Alex reports today.

Today's newsletter is 973 words ... 3½ minutes.

Record high food prices and key shortages — of turkey and cranberries, for instance — are prompting more Americans to make dinner reservations instead of home-cooked meals this year.

Why it matters: The trend is good news for restaurants, which are eager to recoup lost revenue from the pandemic. And it could reshape the traditional "home for the holidays" ideal, as convenience and value trump tradition and family recipes.

More people are ordering catering and takeout food for their holiday tables — everything from pies and side dishes to entire feasts.

"We are seeing it explode," says Brendan Sweeney, CEO of Popmenu, a tech company that handles online orders for restaurants. He's tracking mom-and-pops with as much as $65,000 in advance food orders.

Driving the news: For the first time in decades, it's more economical to dine out on Thanksgiving Day than to shop for, cook and clean up after the traditional meal, a Wells Fargo analysis finds. And surveys show many consumers are taking heed.

The cost of food away from home increased 5.8% this year over 2021 — versus 9.8% for a standard grocery trip, Wells Fargo found. 

Factoring in your time and effort, "you could spend about the same on a dish at a restaurant as you would preparing it at home," Wells Fargo found.

"There's a lot of value in eating out at the moment," Brad Rubin, one of the report's authors, tells Axios. "So where Americans usually look at eating out as a luxury around the holidays, it's really more of a value this year."

What they're saying: "We already have reservations flying in the door, and our phones are ringing off the hook," chef Amaris Jones of Red Rooster Overtown in Miami told NBC News on TODAY.

Red Rooster is looking to entice Thanksgiving diners by keeping its prices down: "We have a local farm that actually services the community, and we use our lettuce and our greens from that farm," Jones told NBC.

Other eateries are narrowing their margins to keep prices down and diners coming through the door, Rubin said. 

Unlike supermarkets, "restaurants are hesitant to raise their prices in an extreme way," he said. 

Between the lines: Between bird flu and inflation — and more restaurants touting their holiday dine-in and takeout options — Thanksgiving and Christmas could start to look more like traditional restaurant holidays (such as Valentine's Day and Mother's Day).

Americans are buying less food in supermarkets. 

"Pent-up demand for in-restaurant experiences — socialization, celebration and culinary exploration — is strong," according to the National Restaurant Association's newly released annual consumer survey.

By the numbers: A survey this month by Popmenu found that 45% of U.S. consumers plan to order all or part of their Thanksgiving meal from restaurants.

"It's like people can say, 'Yeah, I'll just outsource my whole meal to you, and it's not that much more expensive than doing it myself,'" Sweeney tells Axios.

A similar survey by Technomic, a restaurant industry consultancy, pegged the number at 29% — up from 24% last year.

"While Thanksgiving and Christmas stand out, other holidays such as Fourth of July, Mother's Day and Easter are potential catering occasions and should also be on an operator's 2023 catering calendar," Technomic advises restaurant managers.

The bottom line: "We're not saying it's cheaper to go out to eat," Rubin said. But — this year at least — "it might actually make sense to go out to eat for the same or a little bit more than what you would normally pay to make the meal."

"Immersive" entertainment is all the rage

Trending crimes: "Check washing" and "mailbox fishing"

Walmart kicks off Black Friday deals joining Best Buy, Target, more

Thanksgiving meal prices rise to new record high

Americans are flocking to restaurants this Thanksgiving

Holiday takeout? "We are seeing it explode," a restaurant IT vendor says.

Restaurants

Economy & Business

Restaurants and grocery stores are getting creative — changing their hours, offering new menu items and keeping prices low — in an effort to tap into the rising demand for premade Thanksgiving feasts.

The big picture: A growing number of Americans are planning to skip the homemade meal this year, opting instead to celebrate Thanksgiving at a restaurant or with a made-ahead meal. The options are bountiful, but you'll need to act fast.

Many national chains are closed on Thanksgiving, but here are a few of the larger chains where you can find traditional holiday meals.

Check with your closest location as not all are expected to be open and hours will vary.

More restaurants, including regional chains and mom-and-pop restaurants, are also offering Thanksgiving takeout meals.

Preorder deadlines and pickup times also vary and are limited.

Bob Evans restaurants are open Thanksgiving and offering Farmhouse Feast meals for dine-in, carryout and delivery.

The meals come in different sizes, serving four, eight or up to 10 people, and start at $69.99.

Yes, but: Restaurants have shorter hours Thursday and are open 8 a.m. to 7 p.m., the company told Axios.

Of note: The ordering deadline for delivery orders is Tuesday.

Boston Market is keeping its restaurants open on Thanksgiving and is taking orders for ready-to-serve meals, catering and a la carte.

Details: Orders can be picked up during the week of Thanksgiving, the chain said in a news release.

Chilled complete meals start at $11.99 per person, and catering starts at $12.99 per person.

Day-of offerings include Thanksgiving Day meals for $15.99.

Hours: Restaurant hours vary by location.

Cracker Barrel said it will have a limited menu on Thanksgiving Day, and restaurants are accepting preorders for the holiday as well as Christmas dinner meals.

Details: There are several meals including Heat n' Serve Thanksgiving Feast and Heat n' Serve Family Dinner that take two hours to prepare. Hot n' Ready Family Dinners also are available and come ready to serve.

Fine print: The chain said on its website that "24-hour notice" is required for orders.

Meals also are available after Thanksgiving for families celebrating the holiday after Thursday.

Popeyes brought back its popular Cajun-style turkeys for the holiday with a price hike and a new nationwide delivery option.

Details: The online delivery option, which cost $94.99 plus tax, is sold out according to the chain's website, which notes that precooked turkeys can be ordered at local restaurants.

Prices start at $49.99 but vary by location.

To order for pickup, call or visit participating restaurants. Supplies are limited and preorders opened in October.

The turkeys, which need to be thawed and reheated, feed eight to 12 people.

Thanksgiving dinners at Costco, Whole Foods and more stores

Meanwhile, restaurants aren't the only places to get premade Thanksgiving meals. Most grocery stores and wholesale clubs also are selling cooked dinners that include the bird.

Be smart: Order ASAP, but note that some ordering deadlines have already passed for full meals.

Many stores including Costco have prepared meals available while supplies last.

Expect other stores to have prepared sides for sale even after the ordering deadlines have passed.

Whole Foods Market has a Tuesday deadline for ordering, according to its website. Whole Foods stores are open from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. Thursday.

Not all locations of the following restaurants will be open Thursday and hours will vary. In some cases, just select locations are open, so it's best to check with your closest location before heading out.

Red Lobster (see website for select locations that are open)

Editor's note: This story has been updated with additional restaurants.

Restaurants and grocery stores serving Thanksgiving dinners to go

Options abound, but you need to hurry as Thanksgiving dinner ordering deadlines vary.

Illustration of a turkey with a navigation pin hovering above it.

Thanksgiving

Retail

Restaurants and grocery stores are getting creative — changing their hours, offering new menu items and keeping prices low — in an effort to <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="tap into the rising demand" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/2022/11/22/thanksgiving-restaurants-dining-turkey-inflation-takeout" data-vars-content-id="656b331d-ca6d-4cc7-86d2-9ce808b4ca8b" data-vars-headline="Restaurants and grocery stores serving Thanksgiving dinners to go" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/2022/11/22/thanksgiving-restaurants-dining-turkey-inflation-takeout" target="_self">tap into the rising demand</a> for premade <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="Thanksgiving feasts" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/2022/11/16/thanksgiving-2022-dinner-prices-inflation" data-vars-content-id="656b331d-ca6d-4cc7-86d2-9ce808b4ca8b" data-vars-headline="Restaurants and grocery stores serving Thanksgiving dinners to go" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/2022/11/16/thanksgiving-2022-dinner-prices-inflation" target="_self">Thanksgiving feasts</a>.The big picture: A growing number of Americans are planning to skip the homemade meal this year, opting instead to celebrate Thanksgiving at a restaurant or with a made-ahead meal. The options are bountiful, but you&#x27;ll need to act fast.

Attendance is sluggish at movies and museums, but people are flocking to "immersive" shows that let them walk around (virtually) in a Van Gogh painting, King Tut's tomb or a surreal fantasy world.

Why it matters: People are yearning to ditch their sofas and phone screens for transcendent experiences that let them move around and mingle, untethered from a theater seat or virtual reality headset. 

Driving the news: The surprise popularity of the half-a-dozen competing immersive Van Gogh exhibitions that hit the U.S. during the COVID-19 pandemic helped open the floodgates for similar shows, which make world-class art and artifacts more accessible and engaging.

Advances in projection mapping enable producers to build dazzling spectacles.

"You walk in and become transported to another world," says Gilles Paquin, CEO of Paquin Entertainment Group, which is behind the "Beyond King Tut" show that just opened in several cities in the U.S. and Canada. "It puts you in a Zen place, a calming place."

What's happening: Production companies specializing in concerts and stage shows are now rushing to open immersive entertainment divisions — in part because the original "Immersive Van Gogh" raked in big bucks.

The company behind "Immersive Van Gogh," Lighthouse Immersive, "reported selling more than 5 million tickets between February 2021 and May 2022, indicating that 1 in 90 Americans had bought a ticket," according to Artnet News. 

Lighthouse's Van Gogh shows pulled in $250 million in overall revenue, MarketWatch reports — not counting $30 million from the gift shops. 

Now you can also wander through the works of Monet and Klimt, and Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera.

Other immersive experiences — some patterned after the abstract weirdness of Meow Wolf — include outdoor Lumina Night Walks and indoor shows such as Inter_, a "Fantasia"-like display that just opened in beta in New York City.

Inter_ features a "sound bath" and interactive tunnels of light, plus bubbles that get released as guests progress. 

"Hopefully down the road, the bubbles will fill with fog and scents," said Ryan Nelson, the show's co-founder. "It'll be a very nice olfactory experience." 

The trend is hitting airports and transit stations too: A new installation at Newark Liberty International Airport was designed by Moment Factory, which also put on a "color bath" at Tokyo's Shinjuku Station and multimedia diversions at Los Angeles International Airport. 

Some shows — such as SuperReal, which played last summer at the landmark Cunard Building in lower Manhattan — capitalize on the architectural uniqueness of their venue.

Spectators sitting on benches at an immersive Van Gogh exhibition. 

At the "Immersive Van Gogh" show in New York City last summer, visitors could sit "inside" the paintings. Photo: Clifford A. Sobel

What they're saying: When the Van Gogh show hit Paris in 2019, "I couldn't understand how you could have a very successful immersive show in a market where you had all the greatest museums in the world, and then I realized that it was a new art form, if you will," Paquin said.

Immersive shows transform audience members from passive to active participants, explained Jamie Reilly, general manager of Moment Factory.

"You blur the lines between what is real and what is surreal, what is digital and what is physical," she told Axios.

Yes, but: Critics and audience members have called some shows underwhelming, cheesy and expensive.

The Van Gogh shows "distill fin-de-siècle French painting into an amusement as captivating as a nursery mobile," a New York Times critic scoffed. 

The Daily Beast asked of "Monet's Garden": "Does it really do justice to the wonder of Monet?"

The bottom line: Shows that blend art, music and an upbeat ambience dovetail nicely with today's zeitgeist of wellness, mindfulness and mental health.

"We're really encouraging people to leave their issues behind," says Nelson of Inter_, which is run by a company called Jobi. 

"We want to create experiences that give people a reason to get out of their house and engage with each other."

The scene at SuperReal, an interactive projection mapping exhibition.

SuperReal, which played at the Cunard Building in Manhattan last summer, was a trippy experience for viewers, who could lounge on giant beanbag chairs. Photo: Clifford A. Sobel

The success of "Immersive Van Gogh" has inspired many copycats.

A roomful of visitors surrounded by projected images at the immersive King Tut exhibition.

At "Beyond King Tut: The Immersive Experience," images of art from Tutankhamun's tomb are projected on screens that surround visitors. Photo: Clifford A. Sobel

Entertainment

Attendance is sluggish at <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="movies" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/2022/11/14/black-panther-sequel-box-office-momentum" data-vars-content-id="93d9593a-5a69-4267-9030-fdd4a93a6e74" data-vars-headline="&quot;Immersive&quot; entertainment is all the rage" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/2022/11/14/black-panther-sequel-box-office-momentum" target="_self">movies</a> and <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="museums" data-vars-click-url="https://www.nbcnews.com/business/consumer/museums-work-lure-back-visitors-pricey-tickets-high-inflation-rcna46341" data-vars-content-id="93d9593a-5a69-4267-9030-fdd4a93a6e74" data-vars-headline="&quot;Immersive&quot; entertainment is all the rage" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.nbcnews.com/business/consumer/museums-work-lure-back-visitors-pricey-tickets-high-inflation-rcna46341" target="_blank">museums</a>, but people are flocking to &quot;immersive&quot; shows that let them walk around (virtually) in a <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="Van Gogh" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/local/tampa-bay/2021/04/22/van-gogh-exhibit-immersive-scam-real" data-vars-content-id="93d9593a-5a69-4267-9030-fdd4a93a6e74" data-vars-headline="&quot;Immersive&quot; entertainment is all the rage" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/local/tampa-bay/2021/04/22/van-gogh-exhibit-immersive-scam-real" target="_self">Van Gogh</a> painting, King Tut&#x27;s tomb or a surreal fantasy world.Why it matters: People are yearning to ditch their sofas and phone screens for transcendent experiences that let them move around and mingle, untethered from a theater seat or virtual reality headset.

From the Valley to D.C., Big Tech players like Facebook, Google and Amazon are under more scrutiny than ever as new technology develops and privacy and antitrust concerns grow in lockstep with companies’ ambitions.

Technology

Some building owners, mainly in New York City, are clamping down on electric bicycles after a recent spate of damaging and deadly battery fires.

Why it matters: E-bikes are surging in popularity, but the benefits they bring — lower emissions, easy transportation — are threatened by the growing toll of injuries and deaths from blazes sparked by their lithium-ion batteries.

E-bike advocates link the problems to batteries that are poorly made, refurbished or improperly charged.

New York has seen "an exponential increase" in battery fires this year, Daniel Flynn, chief fire marshal at the New York City Fire Department (FDNY), said at a recent news conference.

Driving the news: A terrifying fire in an apartment building on Manhattan's East 52nd Street this month sent 43 people to the hospital and forced firefighters to rescue a woman dangling from a 20th-floor window. The cause: An e-bike residents left charging by their front door overnight.

In response, at least one large NYC landlord — Glenwood Management, which runs 26 luxury high-rises — told tenants to permanently remove any e-bikes.

"Our leases are also being amended to state that residents and/or their guests are prohibited from having an e-bike in their apartment," Glenwood's notice to tenants said. "Additionally, we will not store or maintain them anywhere else on the premises."

E-bikes and e-scooters are already banned from FDNY buildings. Other cities have their own rules — in London, for instance, they're barred from buses, subways and the Palace of Westminster, where Parliament meets.

By the numbers: New York City has seen 200 lithium-ion battery fires and six related deaths so far in 2022, the FDNY said. (There have been 76 overall fire-related deaths across the five boroughs so far this year, per the New York Post.) 

E-bike fires have caused "more deaths and injuries already this year than in the past three years combined," Flynn said at the news conference, per the Associated Press.

Backstory: The New York Public Housing Authority pledged to ban e-bikes over the summer. However, it reversed itself after an outcry over the city's army of 65,000 app delivery workers, or "deliveristas," many of whom depend on e-bikes to do their jobs.

Those workers tend to charge their vehicles in their apartments, keeping them safe and dry. But they often buy knockoff e-bikes with lousy batteries because it's what they can afford. 

What we're watching: On Monday, the New York City Council will consider several bills to regulate e-bikes, including one that would ban the sale of used batteries.

The big picture: While other cities haven't agonized over e-bike battery fires quite the same way as New York City has, the breakneck growth of micromobility means the issue is bound to spread.

A new Consumer Product Safety Commission report found e-scooter, e-bike and hoverboard injuries and deaths are rising across the U.S. 

And battery fires "have been garnering attention from fire departments nationwide."

What to know: Keeping an e-bike in your home is "somewhat safe," says Brian O'Connor, a fire protection engineer at the National Fire Protection Association.

"There's a pretty low probability of these e-bikes catching on fire if you treat them correctly, if you follow the manufacturer's instructions, you use the correct batteries, you store them at the right temperature, you don't lean them up against a heater," O'Connor tells Axios.

Yes, but: "A damaged battery should definitely not go in an apartment building, because when they fail, they fail pretty violently," he added.

More tips: People should only use industry-certified batteries in their e-bikes, said Ash Lovell, electric bike policy and campaign director at PeopleForBikes in Denver.

Most fires are linked to batteries that don't meet safety standards, Lovell tells Axios. And many consumers don't distinguish between e-bikes and e-scooters and e-mopeds, which can be more likely to have dodgy batteries, she said. 

"I would hate for products that are perfectly safe to be lumped in with products that are problematic."

Buildings are banning e-bikes amid deadly battery fires

E-bikes' benefits are threatened by the growing toll of deaths and injuries from battery fires.

Firefighters perform a rope rescue after a fire broke out inside a high-rise building on East 52nd Street in Manhattan on Nov. 5. 

Firefighters perform a rope rescue after a fire broke out inside a high-rise building on East 52nd Street in Manhattan on Nov. 5. Photo: Theodore Parisienne/New York Daily News/Tribune News Service via Getty Images

Transportation

Some building owners, mainly in New York City, are clamping down on electric bicycles after a recent spate of damaging and deadly battery fires.Why it matters: E-bikes are surging in <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="popularity" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/2021/09/30/electric-bikes-jolt-cities-ebikes-bicycles-environment-cycling" data-vars-content-id="b85afe0e-eb2f-431b-980a-50570bba7729" data-vars-headline="Buildings are banning e-bikes amid deadly battery fires" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/2021/09/30/electric-bikes-jolt-cities-ebikes-bicycles-environment-cycling" target="_self">popularity</a>, but the <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="benefits" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/2022/08/19/e-bike-incentives-rebates-adoption-micromobility" data-vars-content-id="b85afe0e-eb2f-431b-980a-50570bba7729" data-vars-headline="Buildings are banning e-bikes amid deadly battery fires" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/2022/08/19/e-bike-incentives-rebates-adoption-micromobility" target="_self">benefits</a> they bring — lower emissions, easy transportation — are threatened by the <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="growing toll" data-vars-click-url="https://www.cpsc.gov/s3fs-public/Micromobility-Products-Related-Deaths-Injuries-and-Hazard-Patterns-2017-2021.pdf?VersionId=ZwIbrSm70AOuwb4de8hlVrn63Jx_SB.e" data-vars-content-id="b85afe0e-eb2f-431b-980a-50570bba7729" data-vars-headline="Buildings are banning e-bikes amid deadly battery fires" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.cpsc.gov/s3fs-public/Micromobility-Products-Related-Deaths-Injuries-and-Hazard-Patterns-2017-2021.pdf?VersionId=ZwIbrSm70AOuwb4de8hlVrn63Jx_SB.e" target="_blank">growing toll</a> of injuries and deaths from blazes sparked by their lithium-ion batteries.

Ominous forecasts about the impact of climate change serve as the backdrop for the world — led by U.S. lawmakers and companies — to debate big action on the problem, which could upend energy systems and our way of life.

Energy & Environment

Thieves are stealing paper checks from mailboxes, "washing" them with nail polish remover, and filling in new amounts and payees — causing endless grief for victims and their banks, which typically foot the bill.

Driving the news: The black market for "glass" — pilfered checks sold online, with a guarantee they'll clear at the bank — is growing more widespread and sophisticated.

Criminals are branching into stolen account numbers and identity theft, and selling the "arrow keys" mail carriers use to open multiple boxes.

Stolen checks are selling for $250-$600 each on the dark web.

Thieves are <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="stealing" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/local/philadelphia/2022/09/08/philadelphia-usps-delays-stolen-mail" data-vars-content-id="e9c6bcdc-66c2-48cb-bf52-d904d9669b8f" data-vars-headline="Trending crimes: &quot;Check washing&quot; and &quot;mailbox fishing&quot;" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/local/philadelphia/2022/09/08/philadelphia-usps-delays-stolen-mail" target="_self">stealing</a> paper checks from mailboxes, &quot;washing&quot; them with nail polish remover, and filling in new amounts and payees — causing endless grief for victims and their banks, which typically foot the bill.Driving the news: The black market for &quot;glass&quot; — pilfered checks sold online, with a guarantee they&#x27;ll clear at the bank — is growing more widespread and sophisticated.

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Stories

Restaurants and grocery stores serving Thanksgiving dinners to go

Americans are flocking to restaurants this Thanksgiving

"Immersive" entertainment is all the rage

Trending crimes: "Check washing" and "mailbox fishing"

Buildings are banning e-bikes amid deadly battery fires

Newsletter editions

🚕 Ghost taxis are coming

🥡 Takeout comes for Thanksgiving

🪴 "Human composting" spreads

🖼 "Immersive" art exhibits

🤖 Amazon's smarter robots