That’s according to new analysis from car shopping site Edmunds.com.

The average down payment in the third quarter was $6,020. That compares to $6,433 in the second quarter of 2025 and $6,619 in the third quarter of last year, Edmunds said.

Ivan Drury, director of insights at Edmunds, said the change will be notable, as the third quarter of this year was down $413 compared to the second quarter and down $599 compared to the same period last year.

Mr. Drury said he would need to see more data in the coming quarters to assess its significance, but said the decline in average down payments was noteworthy, along with other factors.

The members-only warehouse club will expand its Sunday hours starting Oct. 12 after “overwhelming feedback” from members, Steven Zapata, director of corporate communications for Sam’s Club, confirmed to USA TODAY in an Oct. 9 email.

Sam’s Club warehouses have previously been open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Sundays, but with the new Sunday hours, most clubs will move to a simplified schedule of 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily, with some exceptions, Zapata said.

Plus members, the highest membership level, can still shop early and get early access to stores from 8 a.m. to 9 a.m. every day.

Zapata also told USA TODAY that Sam’s Club is making some adjustments to its holiday hours. The warehouse previously closed at 6 p.m. local time on Memorial Day, July 4th, Labor Day, and New Year’s Eve, but will now remain open until 8 p.m. local time on those holidays.

On March 21, 1915, The Tennessean published the first article about electric cars in the state, titled “Electric Trucks Now in Support.” The piece touted the possibility of an “electric motor truck” that could travel up to 40 miles on a single charge.

A 1915 Tennessee article stated, “There is no reason why electric truck chassis should not compare with the best gasoline types.”

Dating back more than a century, that range pales in comparison to the 1,059.2 miles traveled on a single charge by the 2026 Chevrolet Silverado EV Max Range work truck, which set an electric vehicle mileage record this summer.

At gas stations, gasoline is classified by octane rating. Most drivers drive vehicles that require only the lowest octane available at the station (known as regular). On the other hand, some performance vehicles require premium, the highest octane gasoline available at the stand, to mechanically provide the best driving experience.

Here’s how to determine what type of gasoline your car needs and why it’s so important for some cars.

Does your car need premium gasoline?

If you drive a regular passenger car, you probably don’t need to buy high-octane fuel for your engine. When in doubt, a Google search or your owner’s manual will tell you exactly what type of fuel your vehicle needs. Additionally, filling the average vehicle with higher octane gasoline than necessary will not improve vehicle performance. This is because vehicles are not designed to benefit from high octane gas.

Labubu blind boxes (which hide the exact contents of the package until the customer opens it, sometimes revealing rare items from the series) are only available for purchase through the app’s virtual storefront Pop Now feature.

According to the Pop Mart website, the “Big Into Energy” Labubu blind box will be available for purchase on Thursday, October 9th at 9:30pm ET.

Here’s everything you need to know about blind box restocks.

More Lovebu news: Pop Mart launches new Love Bu in time for spooky season

Which Labubu blind boxes are available for order?

• October 9th 9:30pm ET:
  • “Big Into Energy” Blind Box: Single boxes are only available during restocks through the app’s Pop Now feature. You can purchase up to 6 blind boxes.

Federal employees will not be paid during the government shutdown, but the upcoming payday will cover a portion of the days at the end of September before the funding allocation expires.

This means they will be paid according to their regular pay schedule, but only for hours worked before the funds expire.

Hundreds of thousands of federal employees are deemed non-essential and will be furloughed or not working at all during the government shutdown. Those deemed essential, such as military personnel, are working during the shutdown but are not being paid.

Some consumer advocacy groups say the increase in debt collection complaints suggests debt collectors may be feeling emboldened by the president’s administration, which has watered down the federal government’s consumer oversight efforts.

The Federal Trade Commission recorded more than 140,000 debt collection complaints in the second quarter of 2025, up from about 44,000 in the same period last year. Complaints are most common in Georgia, Texas, and Florida.

“I think we’re just seeing more people getting into debt and then having trouble collecting money,” said Thomas Nitsche, a financial educator at Money Management International, a credit counseling nonprofit.

That’s no coincidence. Motion sickness is more common among passengers than drivers. It is said that almost one in three adults and one in two children suffer from motion sickness.

This is an issue that is expected to be particularly pronounced in what many see as the future of self-driving transportation, and is already a problem for many riders who use ride-hailing services like Uber. Studies have shown that people in electric cars are more prone to motion sickness than those in gasoline-powered cars.

For this reason, researchers at the University of Michigan are developing several new tools designed to solve the problem.