🏦 Markets: Wall Street bounced back modestly on Monday after suffering the worst week thus far this year. All three major indexes closed higher, led by the tech-centric Nasdaq Composite.

January data continues to trickle out, providing a more comprehensive look at the state of the economy. Manufacturers reported a 4.5% dip in orders for new durable goods, which is sharper than the 4% most experts predicted.

On the other hand, pending home sales rose much higher last month than experts anticipated.

🚶‍♂️ Walk it out: One New Jersey man put his advocacy on behalf of homeless veterans into action recently when he set off on a cross-country walk that spanned 143 days and almost 3,000 miles. Tommy Pasquale said he was moved to take on the incredible journey because he wanted to spread awareness about — and raise money for — men and women who face serious struggles after spending time in the military. Over the course of his trek, the 25-year-old raised nearly $98,000 for a D.C. organization called the National Coalition for Homeless Veterans. Pasquale made it to the end of his journey ahead of schedule on Feb. 17, noting that he experienced a boost of energy toward the end and was putting in up to 30 miles per day while needing fewer breaks than expected. While he said he felt “very accomplished” at achieving his goal, he’s also “glad it’s over.”

⚠️ Open it up: Fans of fast-food giant Wendy’s will soon be able to enjoy one of its most popular items without going inside a restaurant or hitting up the drive-thru. After more than 50 years of serving its chili alongside fries, burgers, and Frosty desserts, Wendy’s will now be offering the meaty stew in cans on supermarket shelves. A number of other prominent restaurants — from Arby’s to Bob Evans — also offer versions of their popular menu items on the aisles of grocery stores nationwide.

🚗 Make them pay: Whether for economic, political, climatological, or personal reasons, a growing number of Americans have been relocating to different states in recent years — and that gave one South Carolina lawmaker an idea. State Sen. Stephen Goldfinch introduced a proposal that would require incoming residents to pay a total of $500 after moving to the Palmetto State. Specifically, his bill would tack on $250 to the cost of vehicle registration and $250 to the fee associated with obtaining a South Carolina driver’s license. Goldfinch said the revenue would be spent on infrastructure, education, and conservation efforts throughout the state, insisting that he doesn’t want to deter people from moving to his state but rather hopes it will result in incoming residents paying “their fair share.”

💸 Lose it all: Drake placed a big wager before Sunday’s boxing match between Jake Paul and Tommy Fury. Specifically, the rapper bet that Paul would knock out his opponent. In reality, of course, the decision came down to the judges who gave Fury a narrow victory and derailed the former YouTuber’s flawless record since entering the pro fighting arena. Paul’s previous rivals in the ring were less-than-stellar fighters, though, and many insiders believed that Fury would provide competition that he hadn’t yet encountered. Drake remained loyal — and it ended up costing him a cool $400,000. Reports indicate that Paul offered an apology to the entertainer after learning about the big financial hit his loss incurred.

Gas stations are commonplace in communities around the world, but electric vehicle owners often have a hard time finding a place to charge up.

Although research shows an overwhelming majority of EV owners enjoy their vehicles and plan to buy another one in the future, a dearth of reliable and speedy charging stations remains a serious issue.

Common complaints

One New Yorker explained that he bought an EV for his daughter to drive when she goes off to college and marveled over the price and practicality of the SUV itself. When it comes time to charge it up, however, there’s a serious problem.

Steve Hammes said that it makes him “nervous” to think about his daughter traveling between college and home without access to state-of-the-art rapid chargers.

Help is on the way

Tesla has been an industry leader by placing branded Level 2 or higher chargers in parking lots across the United States, but owners of other EV brands are forced to play catchup. Fortunately, Tesla has agreed to expand access to different automakers in the relatively near future.

The Biden administration has also spearheaded an effort to provide at least 500,000 new charging stations at strategic locations nationwide to address these concerns.

The reliability factor

While there is some early evidence that additional EV charging locations are popping up at a consistent pace, industry insider John Voelcker said that regulation seems to be lagging far behind construction.

In many places, he noted that chargers are dead and cables have become caked with gunk.

In the end, though, innovation will surely win out. EV range is much greater than it was just a few years ago and companies from Subway to Starbucks are investing in charging stations that will give drivers some much-needed peace of mind.

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Consumers have largely become more health conscious in recent years, as evidenced by a rise in organic foods and a reduced consumption of soda.

Unfortunately, though, some of the seemingly healthier options people often eat instead are saddled with their own problems.

FDA crackdown

The Food and Drug Administration has taken notice of the fact that just about any product can call itself “healthy,” since that term is highly subjective and not rooted in any singular scientific definition.

As a result, the agency has been considering a rule change that would prevent companies from marketing products with high levels of sugar and salt from using such labels.

The FDA has made similar proclamations in the past, but the current proposal would be its first change in roughly three decades.

Manufacturers push back

A number of companies that produce everything from frozen foods to breakfast cereals are now concerned that they’ll lose a powerful marketing tool if the change goes into effect

Even though some of its products — like low-fat raisin bran — would be exempt from the new rule, Kellogg’s nevertheless issued its unequivocal opposition to the the change, which it said “automatically disqualifies entire categories of nutrient-dense foods.”

General Mills said the restriction violatest the First Amendment by preventing companies “from engaging in truthful, nonmisleading commercial expression.”

America’s changing tastes

When the prevailing health narrative suggested that fat consumption was a key factor in developing preventable diseases, companies began creating low-fat products that made up for the loss of taste with added sugar and salt.

Now, experts say that those ingredients can be just as detrimental, which has sent manufacturers back to the drawing board.

No matter what the FDA decides, it’s clear that “healthy” is a loaded term that will always be open to interpretation.

Throughout most of human history, jobs of all types were physically demanding. From hunting to farming to construction, people (often men) relied on brute strength to get things done and earn a paycheck in the process.

While such jobs still exist, a growing number of positions rely almost exclusively on mental power, ushering in a largely sedentary age. Not only is this potentially hazardous for health, but studies show it might also be a major factor in the reduced fertility levels among modern men.

Do you even lift?

For those of us whose jobs don’t require much, if any, manual labor, it’s crucial to hit the gym or get some exercise in other ways. When it comes to sperm count, though, there seems to be one particular type of activity that is most important.

In a new Harvard Medical School study, researchers found that jobs requiring men to lift heavy objects correlated with higher fertility levels.

Study author Lidia Minguez-Alarcon wrote: “What these new findings suggest is that physical activity during work may also be associated with significant improvement in men’s reproductive potential.”

Fertility by the numbers

There are clearly many reasons that humans can suffer from infertility and the recent research leaves open the possibility that other environmental and lifestyle issues can also contribute to lower sperm count.

If you’re wondering how serious the issue has become, here’s a breakdown of relevant statistics:

• Roughly 40% of all reported infertility cases are due to the male.
• Sperm count and quality (among men being treated for infertility) dropped by more than 40% between 2000 and 2017.
• Low fertility is associated with health problems from cardiovascular disease to autoimmune deficiencies.
• Men who move heavy objects at work had 46% higher sperm concentration and 44% higher sperm count than those who do not.