World News: The Daily Money: Burger King's fixing to speed up drive-thru lines

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Thursday, December 2

Hello, Daily Money readers. Jayme Deerwester at it again. Happy Friday Eve, AKA Thursday.

If you've ever found yourself sitting in a fast food drive-thru lane wrapped around the restaurant, wondering what was holding everything up, Burger King feels you – and is fixing to do something about it.

José Cil, CEO of BK's parent company, Restaurant Brands International, says it will cut more complicated menu items that tend to slow down the line. A study earlier this year found that drive-thru wait times had risen an average of early 30 seconds to 6 minutes, 22 seconds.

Here's the rub: BK hasn't yet said which items are getting the heave-ho. But the Original Chicken Sandwich had better not be on the list. If you ask them to cut it in half, it's the perfect, non-messy sandwich for eating on holiday road trips – especially if you refuse to give up on driving a stick. BTW, the restaurant chain's also got a 37cent Whopper deal going on this weekend.

MAKE IT STOP: Debt collectors and robocallers are kind of like the T-1000 from "Terminator 2: Judgment Day" – always, evolving, looking for new ways to hound us. This week, the Consumer Finance Protection Bureau gave debt-collection agencies the go-ahead to pursue their targets on social media. Meanwhile, robocallers – all too aware that we tend to decline their calls and send them straight to voicemail – are now sending themselves straight to voicemail.

And now it's time for ...

💡 INSIGHT OF THE DAY: Tiny homes aren't just for hipsters anymore. Cities like Denver, Oakland and Seattle are utilizing them as transitional housing for the homeless , providing a temporary fix to a long-standing problem. "I can honestly say that staying in this tiny home community has literally saved my life," says Steve LeBerth, a veteran and recovering addict, who believes that his time in a Seattle village has finally given him the stability he's sought for years.

Other stories you won't want to miss:

1. Stopping smash-and-grabs. How U.S. retailers are guarding against organized shoplifting gangs.

2. Federal mask mandates extended. Be prepared to mask up on planes through mid-March.

3. Savings bonds: unsexy but safe. This U.S. savings bond earns 7% with inflation protection, yet gets ignored.

4, Capital One ends overdraft fees. It's one of the largest financial institutions to shy away from the long-hated practice.

5. Looking for holiday decorations near you? There's a 'Cheer Map' for that by Nextdoor.

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MOOD MUSIC: If you're a Dave Grohl fan, you owe it to yourself to check out the 2021 edition of his Hanukkah Sessions, featuring eight days of covers of songs by Jewish artists. This year's batch includes Van Halen's "Jump," Barry Manilow's "Copacabana," the Ramones' "Blitzkrieg Bop" and ... a speed-metal rendition of Lisa Loeb's "Stay," complete with the Foo Fighters frontman in a baby-doll dress, cat-eye gasses and a choker necklace.