🐤 Compatability test

Markets: All three major indexes wrapped up the week on a positive note, posting daily gains on Friday of a fraction of a percent. Both the S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at new all-time highs, but the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite 0.6% increase was the biggest of the day.

Netflix was a big winner after its latest profit numbers were better than analysts expected.

Playing hardball: We’ve seen several stories in recent months about major companies requiring employees to return to the office after years of remote or hybrid work options. For its part, Amazon took a firm stance, calling employees back to the office five days a week. And executive Matt Garman made it clear that he’s not interested in negotiating. During the meeting in which the new policy was discussed, he said: “If there are people who just don’t work well in that environment and don’t want to, that’s OK. There are other companies around.”

Starting off strong: It was a big night at the United Center in Chicago on Thursday. The Blackhawks took the ice at home against the San Jose Sharks, scoring a couple of early goals and ending with a 4-2 win. The action-packed victory was clearly made possible by a team effort, including an impressive goal by Jason Dickinson and the 20 saves recorded by goaltender Petr Mrazek. It was the Hawks’ first home game of the season and second win of the season. The Sharks have not yet recorded a victory at this early point in the season.

Weather delays: The MLB’s regular season recently concluded, which means the Tampa Bay Rays have time to assess the damages and associated costs of Hurricane Milton. According to reports, the franchise will likely be forced to find somewhere other than Tropicana Field to host its spring opener. The Rays have been discussing a new stadium for a while, but climate scientists say any team playing near the coast could incur massive expenses. One report found that by mid-century, NFL stadiums alone could rack up $11 billion in climate-related losses.

Vision impairment: Tesla has spent years touting its work creating autonomous vehicle technology, most recently unveiling its forthcoming self-driving Cybercab. But regulators say the EV automaker hasn’t tackled one pretty important issue preventing its Full Self-Driving technology from living up to its name. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, multiple reports — including one involving a fatal crash — have raised concerns about the system’s ability to navigate in certain conditions including fog, glare, and dust.

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It’s difficult to go anywhere these days without encountering individuals engaged with their smartphones instead of the world around them. But while such behavior might seem universal, accessibility to the various features of these high-tech devices is not universal.

Federal regulators step in

According to a statement from the Federal Communications Commission, a new rule will require all smartphones and mobile handsets to be compatible with hearing aids.

The agency said that its new “Bluetooth coupling requirement” with the goal of benefiting “consumers by ensuring more universal connectivity between mobile handsets and hearing aids, including over-the-counter hearing aids, by encouraging handset manufacturers to move away from proprietary Bluetooth coupling standards.”

It’s worth noting that this has become a less common complaint in recent years. Advancing technology means that most of the leading smartphones from the past few generations are already compatible with hearing aids.

But the FCC says that it’s worth addressing those that aren’t, and believes its new rule is the way to achieve that goal.

And now for the details

Although hearing aid compatibility has received most of the attention, there could be a benefit from this rule for all smartphone users.

A new volume control standard, for example, is designed to limit audio distortion at different volume levels.

“Such requirements accommodate consumers with hearing loss who do not use hearing aids as well as those that rely on hearing aids or cochlear implants,” the FCC explained.

The various companies that sell their smartphones in the U.S. will have some time to respond to this new requirement. According to the new mandate, the length of that transition period depends on the type of company and breaks down like this:

• 24 months for handset manufacturers
• 30 months for nationwide service providers
• 42 months for non-nationwide providers.

We’ve reached the familiar point that comes every four years — everywhere you turn, there’s a screen flashing campaign buzzwords or glad-handing politicians pleading for your vote. And for some of the organizations behind all of these ads, there’s a reason (often a nefarious one) to keep running them even after the final votes have been cast on Election Day.

Google’s response

This will be the second consecutive presidential election cycle for which Google will prohibit advertisers from running election-related ads after the polls close. The Big Tech giant confirmed its decision in a statement, noting that it was compelled to do so “out of an abundance of caution and to limit the potential for confusion, given the likelihood that votes will continue to be counted after Election Day.”

Specifically, any ads related to or with a direct reference to U.S. elections are impacted by this policy, which covers various platforms including Google Ads, YouTube, and Shopping ads.

Google isn’t alone in cracking down on campaign ads. Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, implemented a policy blocking the approval of any new political ads during the final week of a campaign … and that policy will reportedly be in place this year too.

But for how long?

For now, Google is playing coy when it comes to how long political ads will be blocked on its various platforms after November 5.

It might be helpful to take a look at how the company handled the aftermath of the 2020 election. A similar policy went into effect after the polls closed and it was lifted in December.

But then came the January 6, 2021, riot on Capitol Hill, which prompted Google to reimpose its ban.

Advertisers will be notified when Google begins accepting political ads again.

For better or worse, drugs like Ozempic have been the subject of endless media coverage over the past couple of years due to their increasing use as a weight loss aid. And while some critics say too many people have become reliant on these medications, a growing number of experts say the real problem is that not enough people are taking them.

Divided opinions

The early results are pretty much undeniable: Use of medication classified as either semaglutide (like Ozempic) or tirzepatide (like Mounjaro) leads to significantly more weight loss on average than with just changes in diet and exercise.

But do we know enough about the effects of long-term use? How hard is it to keep the weight off after you stop taking it? What about ensuring that patients with diabetes have access to this potentially life-saving medication?

These are all questions that have surrounded these drugs since they were first being prescribed to facilitate weight loss. Nevertheless, many experts are optimistic that the benefits far outweigh the risks.

Clearing hurdles

Studies show patients can expect to lose between 15% and 20% of their body weight, which could be associated with a reduced risk of health problems like diabetes, heart disease, and kidney disease.

But with only about 1 in 10 obese Americans currently taking these medications, it’s clear that cost, which can reach $1,000 or more per month, is a major concern. This has led to knockoff drugs that may or may not contain the ingredients on the label.

And then there are those who are concerned about side effects or worried that they’ll become dependent on the drug.

If everyone who could benefit from access had it, however, one study determined that as many as 42,000 American lives could be saved each year.

What do you call an apology written in dots and dashes?

Re-morse code.