🐤 Window treatments

Markets: Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell offered his latest public statement on Monday, asserting that the central bank likely won’t cut interest rates by as much as many investors had hoped. The news triggered some minor intraday losses, but the S&P 500 rebounded to end Monday at a new all-time record high. The latest labor report is dropping later this week, which will provide even more economic clues for investors to consider.

Remembering a legend: It wasn’t just Dikembe Mutombo’s height, which was towering even by NBA standards, that made him an iconic figure in pro basketball. His blocking abilities on the court were second to none and he gained even more fans through his various community and global outreach efforts. The 58-year-old NBA veteran died recently after a battle with brain cancer, and Raptors president Masai Ujiri was among the many who shared a statement. “That guy, he made us … who we are,” Ujiri said. “That guy is a giant, an incredible person.”

Helene’s aftermath: A huge swath of the Southeastern United States remains underwater after Hurricane Helene made landfall in Florida and continued to move north along the coast. In addition to widespread power outages and the need for various supplies, many families are still looking for relatives or coming to grips with the loss of a loved one. Nationwide, Helene’s death toll has already passed 100. More than one-fourth of that total came in the hard-hit city of Asheville, North Carolina, and Georgia increased its death tally from 17 to 25 on Monday.

In the driver’s seat: California has been leading the way toward mass adoption of self-driving vehicles for several years, and Gov. Gavin Newsom recently took action on three bills aimed at further regulating the industry. He vetoed two of the three bills that reached his desk this week — one that called for a ban on autonomous trucks on public roads and one that would have established additional reporting requirements for companies that produce self-driving cars. A third, creating new guidelines for autonomous vehicle crash reports, received his signature.

Rough landing: SpaceX received some more bad news about its Falcon 9 rocket. After an impressive string of launches and landings, the craft has collected a pair of recent setbacks. The latest incident came after the Crew-9 mission took off on Saturday bound for the International Space Station. In a statement, SpaceX confirmed that the upper stage of the rocket suffered “off-nominal deorbit burn” that prevented it from landing as intended. The Falcon 9 has been temporarily grounded as crews investigate the cause of the mishap.

RYSE is on the cusp of making automated smart shades a staple. And if you missed investing in their company, you have another chance.

Along with their recent launch in Best Buy retail stores, they’ve just opened a new public offering. You can invest in their company at just $1.75/share.

Best Buy has a knack for picking the up-and-coming tech products that go on to dominate the market. Their early bets on household items like Ring (acquired by Amazon for $1.2B) and Nest (acquired by Google for $3.2B) have a proven record of paying off.

And now, they’re lifting the curtain on their latest find, launching RYSE’s SmartShades in over 120 retail stores. RYSE has already hit $8M+ in lifetime revenue with over 40,000 units sold, and the numbers are rising (along with the window shades).

RYSE shareholders have seen their value increase 40% year-over-year, with strong upside remaining as the smart home industry continues its projected double-digit growth until 2033.

As technology becomes an increasingly integral part of our lives, the concept of creating “smart homes” has evolved from a novel pursuit of the wealthy to an option popular among working-class homeowners.

And while your front door might not be the first place you think of when considering how to integrate tech into your home, one company hopes its latest product will change that.

All about that glass

What makes the Feather River door unique is the inclusion of “smart glass,” which can switch between transparent to opaque on command. Similar glass is used in the panoramic sunroofs of some vehicles, but the applications clearly extend beyond the automotive industry.

The door offers three simple ways to control its innovative feature:

• A set schedule
• Voice commands
• Pushing a button

Any of these options allows homeowners to let in natural light during the day and turn off the transparency at night for added privacy. It’s worth noting that the operation requires electricity to power the built-in battery as well as access to Wi-fi or Bluetooth.

Home Depot’s dream

It makes sense that a retail giant like Home Depot would be interested in becoming a trusted source within the smart home realm. And that’s exactly what it is striving to do with its Hubspace initiative. Essentially, the company hopes to provide easy access to a range of smart devices all through one app.

While Hubspace already provides service for lights, thermostats, fans, and other items sold under the Home Depot brand, the Feather River door marks the first time the company has included a third-party product.

Home Depot says the door, which is like any other aside from the smart glass, will easily fit in any standard opening.

There has been considerable attention directed in recent years toward the short- and long-term impact of head trauma on NFL players, and the league itself has implemented new policies aimed at reducing such injuries on the field. But critics still say there’s a lot more than needs to be done if pro football can ever become an acceptably safe sport.

The trend continues

It’s been nearly a decade since the NFL acknowledged players have a higher risk than the general population of developing the degenerative brain disease chronic traumatic encephalopathy.

There’s plenty of evidence to support this connection, including the fact that more than 300 former football players were diagnosed with CTE during autopsies. Experts say the result of taking powerful and repeated blows to the head is similar to that of military service members who experience nearby explosions.

Although the NFL mandated safer equipment and changed certain rules in hopes of reducing these dangerous collisions, many experts say NFL players are still in grave danger.

And in recent news

A trio of headlines covered by news outlets far and wide over the past few weeks have only amplified pressure on the NFL to take additional safety steps:

• Dolphins QB Tua Tagovailoa faces calls to retire after sustaining his latest concussion
• Giants WR Malike Nabers set a new receiving record before he was sidelined with a concussion
• NFL legend Brett Favre testified on Capitol Hill that he was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease

In order to prevent such injuries from remaining commonplace across the league, player advocates have made a number of recommendations — such as requiring the use of “Guardian Caps,” which go over helmets and can reduce the impact of collisions.

But as neuroscientist Julie Stamm concluded, the “best way to prevent” head injuries “is to not have impacts.”

You doubtlessly already know that Amazon has become a Big Tech titan due to both its e-commerce domination and its widely popular streaming platform, Prime.

And now there’s a new show that seems designed to capitalize on both of those strengths.

Hosted by JB Smoove

The show, called “Buy It Now,” borrows some elements from the hit series “Shark Tank.” Essentially, participants will pitch their ideas to a panel of investors who, along with 100 ordinary people, will judge the products being presented.

Those whose ideas are selected will be rewarded with a dedicated section of the Amazon website where their products will be sold. One participant from each episode will also receive $20,000.

Funnyman JB Smoove is slated to serve as the host and the panel will consist of resident judges as well as “a star-studded rotating panel of celebrity panelists,” Amazon explained.

Among those already confirmed as future panelists are actors Gwyneth Paltrow and Anthony Anderson, designer Christian Siriano, and skateboarding legend Tony Hawk.

What viewers can expect

Amazon has a clear motivation to make “Buy It Now” an entertaining series. Not only would its popularity help bring new subscribers to Prime, but at least some of those viewers are likely to visit the retail site to learn more about the products they’ve seen presented.

So you might consider the series to be a thinly veiled advertisement for Amazon — but with JB Smoove’s personality on display and a rotation of celebrities serving as judges, this could turn out to be a fun time for everyone involved.

The first three episodes are scheduled to premiere on Oct. 30, with the 13-episode season ending early next year. A podcast will air the day after each episode with additional behind-the-scenes information about the show.

Why is it so difficult to become a magician?

Because the exams are full of trick questions!