🐤 Orlando magic

Markets: Another day, another all-time high close for the Dow Jones Industrial Average. The Nasdaq Composite also finished Thursday higher and, although it was a hair lower at the closing bell, the S&P 500 also hit an all-time high during the day’s trading hours. The latest economic data triggered optimism among investors regarding the likelihood of a recession, which helped push stock prices across the broader stock market higher throughout the day.

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A personal message: It’s been nearly a decade since Wanda Dench and Jamal Hinton achieved internet virality for their unlikely Thanksgiving dinner. Dench sent an invitation to the wrong number and Hinton accepted, kicking off a tradition that has continued in the years since then. And the Arizona grandmother has shared some updates from her own life along the way, including her husband’s death from COVID-19 in 2020 and, more recently, her statement on Wednesday confirming that she has been receiving treatment for breast cancer.

Racing to judgment: Two NASCAR Cup Series teams are suing the racing organization on antitrust allegations and petitioned the court for an expedited discovery process. 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports were the only two teams that declined to sign a new charter agreement. For its part, NASCAR is pushing back against the claims, dismissing what it calls “a meritless suit … alleging baseless antitrust claims in order to obtain commercial agreements they previously rejected, and to attempt to extort more favorable contract terms.”

Planes vs. trains: Travelers across Europe have been confronted with an unusual situation, encountering train fares that can be twice as much as an airline ticket. But Eurostar is doing its best to attract value-conscious passengers, including its decision to bring back a promotion from several years ago. “Snap” tickets cost less, but they require a bit of flexibility on the part of passengers. Buying these inexpensive tickets could mean that groups are forced to be split up and travelers aren’t given the specifics about their train until 48 hours before it departs.

Go with the flow: Researchers with the Global Commission on the Economics of Water recently published the results of a study analyzing the severity of our planet’s water crisis. According to the report, half of all humans are currently living in areas experiencing water scarcity. As much as half of the world’s food production could be threatened by the midpoint of this century. UK advocate Tim Wainwright said the solution “requires government leadership, finance, and the coordination of donors, private sector and affected communities worldwide.”

When it comes to theme park locations, Orlando, Florida, reigns supreme. And existing properties in the area continue introducing new features and resorts in a bid to maintain that constant influx of tourist cash.

But there’s one expansion set to be unveiled in May that is significant even by Orlando standards.

More than the mouse

Walt Disney World might be the first thing that comes to mind when you think about Orlando theme parks, but Mickey’s chief rival continues to attract an enviable number of guests to its resort each year.

Now, Universal Orlando is preparing for a brand new network of parks under an umbrella it calls “Epic Universe,” appealing to a wide-ranging and diverse crowd. Here’s what we know so far about the five distinct but connected new properties:

• Celestial Park is the hub, offering a hotel and shops
• Super Nintendo World takes Super Mario fans to some familiar places
• Harry Potter Park brings the franchise’s Ministry of Magic to life
• Dark Universe World is an ode to classic movie monsters
• The Isle of Berk presents the world of How To Train Your Dragon

Whether you’re a superfan who plans to spend an entire vacation in one park or an explorer with plans to cover as much ground as possible, Epic Universe seems to be Universal’s effort to provide a little something for everyone.

Preparing for the rush

As it stands, Epic Universe won’t begin welcoming guests for at least six months at the earliest. But there’s still plenty of buzz as new details emerge about the rides and attractions that are expected to be included in the resort.

If this “epic” adventure sounds appealing, you can be among the first to grab your tickets when they go on sale starting Tuesday.

The elevated price of real estate and high mortgage rates have caused many would-be homeowners to give up on their dream — at least for now. But there’s another option, if you’re willing to make a few significant sacrifices.

Build it yourself

It’s not unheard of for a retailer to sell entire homes directly to the public. The Sears catalog was doing it for decades during the first half of the 20th century. Walmart, however, is taking a somewhat different approach.

The company isn’t selling homes in the aisles of its ubiquitous big-box stores, but its website does offer an array of stripped-down residences (for stripped-down prices). It’s important to note that these products are offered by third-party retailers, much like many of the items for sale on Amazon.

That means you might have some fun browsing the different models even if you’re not interested in building your own miniature home.

There’s one from a company called Cheryl Industries that is designed to look like an iPhone — and it can be yours for as little as $11,800 through the Walmart site. Of course, that’s for the especially tiny model that really only contains a toilet and bed.

There’s a bigger one available for $17,400.

Too good to be true?

On the surface, buying a tiny home for less than the cost of a used car might look like an appealing option. But before you add that new home to your cart, be sure you consider all the other costs.

First, you’ll have to either build it yourself, rope your friends into helping you, or pay the pros to take care of the construction. You’ll also have to find the land and abide by all sorts of local rules. But if you’re still interested, now you know where to look.

When it comes to shedding a few unwanted pounds, you probably already know all about the two simple instructions: Eat less and exercise more.

Experts say it’s important not only how, but when, you eat and exercise — and that’s why many are recommending post-meal walks.

Getting the biggest benefit

The apparent connection between taking a stroll after eating and maintaining a healthy weight has been chronicled in multiple papers, including a report in the International Journal of General Medicine back in 2011. According to that research, walking for a half hour right after eating lunch and dinner translated to bigger weight gains on average than the same amount of walking postponed for an hour after meals.

In their report, the authors concluded that there’s a fairly simple concept behind this phenomenon.

“It is quite clear that walking suppresses the glucose increase after a meal,” they wrote. “Because glucose increases to its maximum at 30-60 minutes after a meal, walking must be started before the glucose level reaches a maximum, because once insulin is secreted it will play a role as an obesity hormone. It can be assumed that starting walking as soon as possible seems to be optimal to control blood sugar levels.”

Backing up those claims

There have been multiple studies involving much larger groups of participants that show similar benefits associated with beginning a walk within a few minutes of finishing meals.

Sports and exercise medicine consultant Rebecca Robinson MD offered some advice for those interested in getting started.

“Keep exercise light to allow your body to digest your meal and avoid stomach cramps,” she said. “Start with a little to build a sustainable habit that you can stick to. A moderate-paced 10- to 20-minute walk three to five times a week is likely to confer benefits.”