Amazon Adds Uber Eats to Prime as JetBlue Hikes Checked Bag Fees

Major consumer shifts in rapid delivery and airline baggage pricing arrived Thursday alongside the unveiling of the 2027 Met Gala theme and a municipal policing contract impasse in Ohio.

Amazon Adds Uber Eats to Prime and Winds Down 2024 Grubhub Deal

Amazon integrated Uber Eats into its U.S. Prime membership program—priced at $14.99 per month or $139 per year—giving members $0 delivery fees on restaurant orders over $25 plus $20 off their first two Uber Eats orders of $25 or more placed within 14 days of linking accounts. Uber Chief Operating Officer Andrew Macdonald said the partnership connects Uber's restaurant network directly to Amazon's household subscriber base as Amazon winds down its prior 2024 Grubhub benefit.

The tie-up intensifies consolidation across instant commerce after DoorDash submitted a $17 billion acquisition offer for grocery platform Instacart and Walmart expanded restaurant delivery across 2,400 U.S. stores—where Walmart Senior Vice President Greg Cathey reported that 65% of customers ordering Subway sandwiches also added Walmart grocery or household items to the same basket.

JetBlue Raises Checked Bag Fees Up to $70 for First Bags Amid 85% Fuel Surge

In commercial aviation, JetBlue Airways raised its checked baggage fees for the second time in 2026 for tickets booked on or after Nov. 3. Under the new schedule:

• First Checked Bag: Rises from $39 (and $35 at the start of 2026) to $50 on off-peak flights and $55 on peak flights when purchased more than 24 hours before departure, or $60 off-peak and $70 peak when added within 24 hours of departure.
• Second Checked Bag: Increases to $70 off-peak and $75 peak when paid in advance, and climbs as high as $85 at the airport check-in counter.

JetBlue cited sharply higher energy costs after average summer jet fuel prices jumped 57% year over year to $3.91 per gallon and fourth-quarter fuel prices are projected to surge 85% to $4.64 per gallon.

Vogue Announces 2027 Met Gala Theme: "extraORDINARY: Fashion and the Poetics of the Everyday"

In the art and fashion world, Vogue and the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Costume Institute announced that the 2027 Met Gala and spring exhibition will be titled "extraORDINARY: Fashion and the Poetics of the Everyday". Curated by Costume Institute curator in charge Andrew Bolton and chaired by Anna Wintour for the first Monday of May, the exhibition will trace how foundational utilitarian garments—including T-shirts, denim jeans, sweatshirts, and puffer jackets—have been elevated and reinterpreted by couture houses.

Hamilton County Sheriff Sets Jan. 1, 2027 Cutoff for Routine Patrols in Whitewater Township

In municipal governance, the Hamilton County Sheriff's Office announced that deputies will cease routine patrols, traffic enforcement, and non-emergency responses in Whitewater Township on Jan. 1, 2027, unless township officials execute a policing contract before year-end. Notified by formal letter on Oct. 9, 2026, Whitewater Township is the only jurisdiction in Hamilton County without a formal police protection agreement; starting in 2027, deputies will respond only to 911 life-safety emergencies, while residents must file non-emergency reports in person at Patrol Headquarters, 11021 Hamilton Ave., Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.

The dispute traces back to a December 2018 vote by Hamilton County commissioners cutting the sheriff's 2019 budget by nearly $6 million, followed by a 2022 request asking Whitewater, Crosby, and Harrison townships to share at least $1 million for 3 dedicated patrol beats (with Township Administrator Peggy Westerfeld yet to respond to the latest proposal). While neighboring Harrison Township signed a 3-year contract costing $23,000 in year one and $43,000 in year two to staff a substation with 2 sergeants and 1 lieutenant, Whitewater Township voters previously rejected a $1.4 million annual levy for 3 round-the-clock deputies with 79% opposed among just over 700 voters, leaving township trustees to weigh a contract under Ohio Revised Code Section 505.43.