APPLE TO DISCOUNT REPLACEMENT BATTERIES STRAY PASSENGER SENDS TOKYO FLIGHT BACK TO L.A. Trump: U.S. Postal Service should charge Amazon more

Apple chief executive Tim Cook apologized to customers Thursday for not being clear that the company slows down phones with aging batteries. Cook promised that, in the future, Apple will “give users more visibility into the health of their iPhone’s battery” and let people see if their battery’s age affects their phone’s performance. Apple is offering a discount on battery replacements to anyone with an iPhone 6 or later, the company said in a statement. A replacement will now cost $29 instead of $79 starting in late January 2018. While Cook’s message was apologetic, he still rejected allegations that Apple slowed down phones with older batteries as a way to push people into buying new phones.

A Tokyo-bound flight returned to Los Angeles hours into the journey after the crew discovered that one of the passengers had boarded the wrong plane, All Nippon Airways said Wednesday. The pilot of Flight 175 decided to return to the originating airport as part of the airline’s security procedures, ANA said in statements that apologized to passengers but supported the decision. The flight left Los Angeles International Airport at 11:36 a.m. Tuesday and returned at 7:33 p.m. FBI spokeswoman Laura Eimiller said the agency conducted interviews Tuesday night but made no arrest. She said no charges were filed, but the investigation is ongoing. — The Associated Press

President Donald Trump took aim at the U.S. Postal Service Friday, admonishing the service for its financial losses and for failing to charge more.

“Why is the United States Post Office, which is losing many billions of dollars a year, while charging Amazon and others so little to deliver their packages, making Amazon richer and the Post Office dumber and poorer? Should be charging MUCH MORE!” Trump posted on Twitter.

It is unclear why the president chose Friday to lash out at the postal service. The agency last reported its earnings on Nov. 17. During its 2017 fiscal year, spanning Oct. 1, 2016, to Sept. 30, 2017, it recorded $69.6 billion in revenue, a decrease of $1.8 billion from the previous year. The postal service reported a loss of $2.7 billion.

In its fiscal year, mail volumes declined by about 5 billion pieces, or 3.6 percent, while package volumes rose by 589 million pieces, or 11.4 percent. Despite the growth in package volume offsetting some of the decline in mail volume, the postal service said overall volume declined by 4.9 billion pieces.

Amazon uses all the major carriers, including UPS, FedEx and the U.S. Postal Service to handle its deliveries.

In 2013, Amazon reached a five-year deal with the postal service to offer delivery on Sundays. The specifics of the deal have not been made public. Citigroup analysis cited by the Wall Street Journal estimates that Amazon receives a $1.46 discount per package. Amazon did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The U.S. Postal Service is the second-largest civilian employer in the United States with about 640,000 workers. It has over the years introduced modest increases to the costs of shipping. The next rate increase, which will take effect Jan. 21, 2018, will increase the cost of postage stamps from 49 cents to 50 cents, and large flat envelopes from 98 cents to a dollar.