🐤 Stirring things up

Markets: The latest consumer inflation report is dropping today, so investors remained somewhat coy yesterday. After starting the week with losses, all three major indexes dropped by another fraction of a percent on Tuesday. Some stocks managed to register some significant gains, though, including Alphabet. Google’s parent company saw its shares soar by more than 5% in response to news about the latest in its quantum computing development.

Suspect update: We’re learning more about the 26-year-old suspected gunman responsible for killing UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson last week in Manhattan. Authorities in New York City say Luigi Mangione was arrested at a McDonald’s location in Pennsylvania and was taken into custody after police found a gun, silencer, and counterfeit identification. Police say he “became quiet and started to shake” after being asked whether he’d recently traveled to New York. Authorities found a handwritten note insisting that “these parasites had it coming.”

The best medicine: Less than two years after a serious medical issue sidelined comedian and actor Jamie Foxx for several months, he’s getting back on stage to tell his story through laughter. In his new Neftlix special, Foxx reportedly discusses the severe headache that led to him seeking medical treatment. After doctors initially missed a brain bleed, Foxx reportedly experienced a stroke, underwent emergency surgery, and still cannot remember a nearly three-week period of time. “Jamie Foxx: What Had Happened Was …” premiered last night.

Parting ways: KJ Osborn scored a position on the New England Patriots’ roster for one year with a contract worth $4 million, but the arrangement didn’t work out like everyone had hoped. The long-time NFL wide receiver posted some unimpressive numbers this season, with only seven catches and one touchdown added to his stats. The decision to waive Osborn came as the result of a mutual decision, the team explained, and coaches said his leadership had been valuable to the team. The team is building a younger team of receivers for next season.

Spanish shopping: TikTok continues its path for global e-commerce domination by releasing its massively popular Shop feature in Spain. This move is part of a broader effort by the social media app to expand the retail side of its business across Europe. TikTok has already released Shop in the U.S. and a number of other nations, but European countries proved to be trickier markets to crack. The Chinese-owned company’s strategy continues even as a nationwide U.S. ban on the app is set to go into effect next month unless it is sold.

They’re inexpensive, convenient, and available at just about every imaginable store — but those ubiquitous black plastic kitchen spoons and spatulas have sustained some reputational damage recently.

Some reports indicate that the plastic used to create these utensils can release potentially dangerous chemicals into food and cookware when heated to a certain point.

Should black plastic be blacklisted?

If you’ve been tempted to toss out your kitchenware because of such a report, you’re not alone. And even after you understand the potential risks, you might still want to replace all the black plastic in drawers and on countertops around your home.

But let’s take a balanced look at the issue to figure out what the risks actually are.

Specifically, scientists advise that certain flame retardants are used in some of these black plastics and can leak out. Since these chemicals aren’t suitable for human consumption, the fear is that exposure to them could lead to health issues like cancer or hormonal irregularities.

Additionally, environmental concerns arise from the fact that black plastics (often made from recycled material) are typically not recyclable.

What should you be using to cook?

In reality, the risks are probably pretty low. But if you want to be as safe and eco-friendly as possible, there are a few other materials that aren’t prone to the potential problems associated with black plastic.

Some recommended options include:

• Bamboo: Biodegradable and non-toxic
• Stainless steel: Recyclable and long-lasting
• Silicone: Good for cooking at high heat

And for those of you who are just too attached to your black plastic to make a change, you can minimize the risks of using these utensils by limiting how long they’re exposed to high temperatures and avoid using them with oily foods.

On one hand, its proximity to Silicon Valley would explain why Fog City is such a common place for new tech to debut. But on the other hand, it’s really quite remarkable just how many new forms of transportation technology are already being tested on the streets of San Francisco and in the skies above.

The results are in

All it takes is spending a few days in the Bay Area to encounter a range of autonomous vehicles, drones, and other vehicles that would have been considered science fiction just a couple of decades ago.

But more importantly, the urban mobility readiness index recently determined that San Francisco tops the global list of cities ready for future advancements in transportation.

Researchers compared stats from 70 cities around the world. After San Francisco, the top five spots, in order, are Paris, Singapore, Munich, and Amsterdam.

The top contenders all scored high in various categories, with scores being tallied based on factors including:

• Air quality
• Infrastructure
• Public transit
• Pedestrians

But there’s one category that seemed to tilt the scales decidedly in San Francisco’s favor.

Adding a new variable

The urban mobility readiness index, which was initiated through a collaboration between the Oliver Wyman Forum and the University of California Berkeley, has selected its top cities in previous years. This year, however, researchers considered an additional factor that played right into San Francisco’s strengths.

The technology adoption sub-index is concerned with determining which cities are most prepared to implement such transportation tech. And since America’s Big Tech hub is in San Francisco’s backyard, it also came out on top in that category.

Other cities that ranked high in the sub-index were Los Angeles, Shanghai, Beijing, and Seoul.

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Long gone are the days when the only way to buy a vehicle involved visiting a showroom staffed by pushy salespeople. These days, online platforms and no-haggle pricing have taken some of the frustration out of the experience — and Amazon wants to simplify things even further.

Four dozen cities

A new program being rolled out in select locations nationwide will allow shoppers to add a new Hyundai to their cart just about as easily as buying any other product from the e-commerce giant. For now, only the Korean automaker has entered into a partnership with Amazon, but additional brands are expected to join in on the experiment.

Like it does with other smaller retailers, Amazon is essentially acting as a middleman between auto dealerships and consumers. So instead of buying a vehicle from Amazon, you’re actually conducting business with a dealer.

Nevertheless, everything is designed to be as straightforward and convenient as possible. Every aspect of the purchase, including financing, delivery, and even trade-ins, can be arranged directly on the Amazon platform.

An added bonus

As part of Amazon’s promotion of this new service, anyone who buys a vehicle through the site before January 10 is eligible for a $2,300 gift card.

But perhaps the bigger winners will be dealerships, which now have an opportunity to reach a much larger pool of prospective buyers.

Fran Jin is the head of Amazon Autos and described it as a way to bring “the simplicity and ease customers expect from Amazon to car shopping, one of their largest purchases, while offering dealers a new channel to connect with a broad audience.”

While Amazon Autos is “excited” that Hyundai was the first automaker to join, Jin said much more selection will be available “as the program grows.”