🐤 Pep in your step

Markets: It was a down day on Wall Street yesterday as investors considered the ramifications of the latest robust economic numbers. While good news for the economy, this data could convince the Federal Reserve to postpone or slash additional rate cuts. The tech sector also hit a slump on Tuesday, contributing to losses in all three major indexes — and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite in particular.

Nothing to report: An injunction handed down in federal court this week means that special counsel Jack Smith will not be releasing his report on Donald Trump — at least not for now. The move came after the president-elect’s co-defendants, Walt Nauta and Carlos De Oliveira, moved to block the release of findings related to a probe into allegations of obstructing justice. In the latest ruling, the judge ordered that the report may not be released until at least three days after the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals rules on the request by Nauta and De Oliveira.

Shoot your shot: He’s missed more than two dozen games after suffering a bad hamstring strain, but Zion Williamson is poised to return to his struggling team. Over the course of this season, the Pelicans power forward has only played six games and the franchise’s record thus far is a dismal 7-29. Williamson could be the Pelicans’ key to emerging from the slump … that is, if he can remain healthy. The injury-plagued NBA star has only managed to participate in about 45% of the games — 190 out of 426 — scheduled since he was drafted in 2019.

Stuck below freezing: Many regions of the U.S. have seen life grind to a halt due to severe winter weather. With much of the country blanketed by snow or covered in ice, the continued low temperatures in the forecast this week could exacerbate the situation. The wind chill as far south as the Gulf Coast could reach 20 degrees and the recent snowfall has already shattered records in places like D.C. and Cincinnati. Making matters worse, meteorologists say another winter storm is brewing and could wreak havoc across several states this week.

Gruesome discovery: An otherwise uneventful JetBlue flight from JFK Airport in New York ended with a shocking revelation after the plane touched down in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, or Monday. According to reports, a crew inspecting the jet after it landed found the remains of two individuals who had apparently stowed away inside the aircraft’s landing gear. As of the latest updates available, neither of the deceased individuals had been identified and it was unclear how they managed to enter the compartment without being noticed by employees.

If your New Year’s resolution is to get in better physical shape, you might be looking forward to running more in 2025. But while this can be great for your cardiovascular health, there are some risks — particularly if you pick out the wrong shoes.

What the research says

When it comes to selecting sneakers, there’s a lot more science involved than you might think, as a team of researchers at the University of Florida just proved.

After comparing the rate of running-related injuries among more than 700 individuals over a six-month period, the study’s authors concluded that runners who chose shoes with thick heels experienced a higher rate of injury on average.

There’s more to consider than just that piece of statistical data, of course, such as the fact that how a person’s foot strikes the ground while running is often a direct cause of injury. Furthermore, the researchers found that runners who didn't know whether they strike with their rear, mid, or forefoot were more likely to report injuries.

Nevertheless, the study’s findings could help steer you in the right direction when you’re ready to head out to the shoe store.

Why heel thickness matters

It’s one thing to determine that thicker heels appear to be connected with higher injury risks, but the team at the University of Florida wanted to determine why. For now, they’ve got a pretty solid theory.

According to experts, more material between a runner’s foot and the ground might make it more difficult to determine when and how it is making contact, thereby making an injury more likely.

Lead researcher Heather Vincent admitted that she’s struggled with trading in her formerly higher-heeled footwear, noting that it took about six months to get used to the new kicks.

America’s largest EV maker didn’t achieve its global prominence without a few roadblocks — no pun intended — along the way. And Tesla’s embrace of autonomous driving features has been a major source of concern and calls for increased regulation.

Now, the National Highway and Traffic Safety Administration is calling out the company’s Actually Smart Summon feature, which is designed to park Tesla vehicles remotely.

Starting with 16

Roughly 2.6 million Tesla vehicles are equipped with the remote parking capability, which has generally remained under the radar (until now) since it was first introduced nearly a decade ago.

But after identifying 16 crashes that somehow involved the feature, the NHTSA determined that the matter deserves additional scrutiny by its Office of Defects Investigation.

The agency revealed that the models involved in the crashes include:

• 2016-2025 Model S
• 2017-2025 Model 3
• 2016-2025 Model X
• 2020-2025 Model Y

There have been no injuries reported in connection with the feature.

All fun and games

The NHTSA is clearly taking the matter seriously, explaining in a statement that it will be probing “multiple crash allegations, involving both Smart Summon and Actually Smart Summon, where the user had too little reaction time to avoid a crash, either with the available line of sight or releasing the phone app button, which stops the vehicle’s movement.”

Some say Tesla owner Elon Musk might not be too concerned, however, given his close connection with President-elect Donald Trump.

It’s also worth noting that Musk’s penchant for wordplay (whether clever, juvenile, or both) is on full display in Tesla’s lineup.

You can arrange the model names — as in the list above — to spell “sexy” with a 3 replacing the E. And the remote parking feature, which was rebranded as Actually Smart Summon, thus creating an acronym we’ll refrain from spelling out.

Many of us have been concerned in recent years as artificial intelligence has creeped into practically every aspect of our society. At the same time, however, this powerful technology could pave the way for incredible scientific breakthroughs.

One company has been leading the way by training its own AI chatbot, EvieAI, on nothing but thousands upon thousands of peer-reviewed medical journals.

What can Evie do?

As Movano revealed at this week’s CES trade show, the chatbot is ready for primetime. A beta version of EvieAI has already been implemented in a new smart ring that the company is marketing as a way to field an array of non-emergency health-related questions without making a doctor’s appointment.

And since EvieAI has been fed nothing but content related to its specific duty, Movano says it’s not only focused on health but provides answers with 99% accuracy. You won’t be able to get a diagnosis from the new ring, but it could provide some helpful tips ahead of a trip to the doctor’s office.

Privacy is another important factor, particularly when it comes to health, and EvieAI is both encrypted and designed to delete conversations by default.

The Evie Ring is scheduled to begin offering EvieAI functionality today.

Knowing its limits

While it’s clearly a clever gadget with some real-world applications, it’s important not to overhype EvieAI’s capabilities — and to his credit, Movano CEO John Mastrototaro seems to be setting realistic expectations for consumers.

“If you ask it ‘What do you think about the election?’ it’s not going to respond,” he explained. “It’s not going to tell you because it doesn’t have any information about that.”

Instead of trying to provide everything to consumers, EvieAI wants to do one thing … and do it well.