Until today, I could count on one finger the amount of smart rings that offered a one-line ECG in such a small package. Bodimetrics’ Circul+ debuted in 2021, but what it had in heart-monitoring features it lacked in style, or even looking like a real ring. Today at CES 2025, however, Circular is showing off its second-generation ring that promises to keep an eye on your heart health.
We had a chance to take a look at the rings today at CES Unveiled and they are indeed shiny. They also feel remarkably lightweight. The sensor nodes inside the rings are noticeable when you first slide on the ring, but after a minute or so of wearing it, it hardly feels like you’re wearing a ring at all.
Circular says the Ring 2 boasts improved sensors as well as the aforementioned ECG, an eight day battery life and a better wireless charging dock. The company added that its companion app and AI has been completely redesigned to offer a “more intuitive and refined user experience.” Not to mention that the body is now cast in titanium with four color finishes; Gold, Silver, Black and Rose Gold.
This latest generation doesn’t have the vibrations featured in Circular’s first-gen rings, but the company’s co-founder told us that the vibrations will return in an upcoming iteration. For now, the second-generation rings should hit store shelves in February or March 2025, but the company says it’ll cost you $380 when it does.
PoliticusUSA is corporate and ad-free, which is why we need your support to be an alternative to access journalists who cater to Republicans and billionaires, so please consider becoming a subscriber.
With all of the things that are happening in our country or about to happen, NBC’s Kristen Welker wasn’t interested in the Republican refusal to do anything to lower prices, or their plan to cut taxes for the wealthy and corporations, or how Republicans are eying up paying for those tax cuts by taking healthcare away from millions of Americans.
Nope.
Kristen Welker decided she needed to ask Senate Minority Leader Sen. Chuck Schumer about Democrats and Joe Biden’s mental sharpness.
Transcript from NBC News:
KRISTEN WELKER:
Obviously, there has been a lot of focus on President Biden’s role in this. You were obviously in close contact with President Biden well before the public tuned into that debate that ultimately led to him stepping down. I want to play you a little bit of something you said last year. Take a look.
[START TAPE]
SEN. CHUCK SCHUMER:
I talk to President Biden, you know, regularly, sometimes several times in a week, or usually several times in a week. His mental acuity is great. It’s fine. It’s as good as it’s been over the years. All this right-wing propaganda that his mental acuity has declined is wrong.
[END TAPE]
KRISTEN WELKER:
Leader Schumer, what do you say to Americans who feel as though you and other top Democrats misled them about President Biden’s mental acuity?
SEN. CHUCK SCHUMER:
No. Look, we didn’t. And let’s – let’s look – let’s look at President Biden. He’s had an amazing record. The legislation we passed, one of the most significant groups of legislation since the New Deal – since Lyndon Johnson’s Great Society, putting in 235 judges, a record. And he’s a patriot. He’s a great guy. And when he stepped down, he did it on his own because he thought it was better not only for the Democratic Party, for America. We should all salute him. We should all salute him.
KRISTEN WELKER:
Do you feel, as we have this conversation today, that President Biden could serve another four years, had he stayed in the race and potentially won?
SEN. CHUCK SCHUMER:
Well, I’m not going to speculate. As I said, I think his record is a stellar one. And he’ll go down in history as a really outstanding president.
Video:
Months after pushing Joe Biden out of his own reelection campaign, the mainstream media won’t let it go. Now, they are attacking the Democratic Party and suggesting that there was some sort of cover-up.
And so, we’ve come to the moment we’ve all been waiting for, when Globalist poster-boy Justin Trudeau is to finally relinquish his role as Canadian Prime Minister.
Here at TGP we’ve been warning you this day was fast approaching, in posts like:
And while the upcoming Donald J. Trump arrival did play a part, Trudeau was ready to fall by himself, with the latest polling from Canada suggesting his Liberal Party would win just six seats if an election were held today (and lose 154 seats!), while the Conservative Party would win more than 240 (with 122 new seats).
“Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is expected to announce as early as Monday that he will resign as Liberal Party Leader, The Globe and Mail reported on Sunday, citing three sources.
The sources told the Globe and Mail that they don’t know definitely when Trudeau will announce his plans to leave but said they expect it will happen before a key national caucus meeting on Wednesday.”
Whether Trudeau will leave office immediately or stay on until a new leader is selected is anybody’s guess.
“Trudeau took over as Liberal leader in 2013 when the party was in deep trouble and had been reduced to third place in the House of Commons for the first time.
Trudeau’s departure would leave the party without a permanent head at a time when polls show the Liberals will badly lose to the Conservatives in an election that must be held by late October.
His resignation is likely to spur fresh calls for a quick election to put in place a government able to deal with the administration of President-elect Donald Trump for the next four years.”
Donkey karts loaded with wrapped parcels of unknown goods weave around the large puddles of water left in the dried riverbed.
Young men quickly hop over laid bricks to bridge the puddles followed by women treading carefully with babies on their backs.
The Limpopo River’s seasonal dryness is a natural pathway for those moving intoSouth Africa from Zimbabwe illegally.
A sandy narrow beach undisturbed by border patrols with crossers chatting peacefully under trees on both banks as men furiously load and unload smuggled goods on the roadside.
Against the anti-immigration rage and xenophobia boiling over in South Africa’s urban centres, the tranquillity and ease of the border jumping is astonishingly calm.
Image: People crossing the dried Limpopo River to get from Zimbabwe to South Africa
“You can’t stop someone who is suffering. They have to find any means to come find food,” one man tells us anonymously as he crosses illegally.
At 55 years old, he remembers the 3,500-volt electric fence called the“snake of fire” installed here by the Apartheid regime.
Hundreds of women and children escaping conflict in the late 1980s and early 1990s were electrocuted.
Today, people fleeing drought and economic strife are smuggled across or walking through border blindspots like this one.
“Now, it’s easy,” he says. “There is no border authority here.”
He crosses regularly and always illegally. While he laughs at the lack of border agents, he says he has been stopped by soldiers in the past.
“They send us back but then the next day you try to come back and it is fine.”
Image: Part of the dilapidated border fence that separates South Africa with Zimbabwe
We find a few soldiers on our way back to the main road. They look confused by our presence but unphased. It is hard to believe they are unaware of the streams of people and goods moving across the dried riverbed just a few hundred metres away.
Border ‘fence’ trampled and full of holes
We drive along the border fence to get to the official border post into Zimbabwe, Beitbridge.
“Fence” is a generous term for the knee-height barbed wire laid across 25 miles of South Africa’s northern edges in 2020. Some sections are completely trampled, and others are gaping with holes.
The concrete fortress is a drastic change to the soft, sandy riverbed. Queues dismantle and reassemble as eager crowds rush from one building to another as instructions change.
Zimbabweans can live, work and study in South Africa on a Zimbabwean exemption permit, but many like Precious, a mother-of-three, cannot even afford a passport.
Image: Precious, a mother-of-three, staying at a shelter in Musina, South Africa
Image: Shelters for women and trafficked children in Musina
When we meet her at a women’s shelter in the border town of Musina, she says she only has $30 (£23.90) to find work in South Africa and that a passport costs $50 (£39.80).
“My husband is disabled and can’t work or do anything. I’m the only one doing everything – school, food, everything. I’m the one who has to take care of the kids and that situation makes me come here to find something,” she says tearfully before breaking down.
The shelter next door is home to trafficked children that were rescued. Other shelters are full of men looking for work.
Musina is a stagnant sanctuary for Zimbabweans searching for a better life who become paralysed here – a sign of the declining state of Zimbabwe and the growing hostility deeper in South Africa.
In Johannesburg, South Africa’s economic centre, illegal immigrants are facing raids and deportations organised by the Ministry of Home Affairs at the behest of popular discontent.
The heavy-handed escalation in the interior sits in stark contrast to the lax border control.
Image: Derelict buildings in Johannesburg where migrants are living
“I wonder how serious our government is about dealing with immigration,” says Nomzamo Zondo, human rights attorney and executive director of the Socio-Economic Rights Institute of South Africa (SERI), as we walk through Johannesburg’s derelict inner city.
“I think part of it is that the South Africa we want to build is one that wants to welcome its neighbours and doesn’t forget the people that welcomed us when we didn’t have a home – and that is why I think they are so poor at maintaining the borders.”
She adds: “But then the call has to be one that says once you are here, how do we make sure you are regularised here, that you know who you are, and contribute to the economy at this point in time.”
Image: More makeshift migrant accommodation in Johannesburg
Climate of anti-migrant hate
In 1994 as South Africa’s first democratically elected president, Nelson Mandela ordered that all electric fences be taken down.
His dream for South Africa to become a pan-African haven for civilians of neighbouring countries that provided sanctuary for fighters in the anti-Apartheid movement was criticised by local constituents back then.
Image: Sky correspondent Yousra Elbagir speaks to migrants inside a government van
Now in a climate of increasing anti-migrant hate, that vision is rejected outright.
“I think that is the highest level of sell-out. When South Africans were in exile, they were in camps and they were restricted to go to other parts of those countries,” says Bungani Thusi, a member of anti-immigrant movement Operation Dudula, at a protest in Soweto.
Image: Anti-immigrant protesters from the group Operation Dudula at a demonstration in Soweto
He is wearing faux military fatigues and has the upright position of an officer heading into battle.
“Why do you allow foreigners to go all over South Africa and run businesses and make girlfriends?” he adds, with all the seriousness of protest.
“South Africans can’t even have their own girlfriends because the foreigners have taken over the girlfriend space.”
Belgian ultra runner Hilde Dosogne, center, is cheered on as she crosses the finish line during her 366th consecutive marathon in Ghent, Belgium, on Dec. 31, 2024.
Virginia Mayo/AP
hide caption
toggle caption
Virginia Mayo/AP
Hilde Dosogne’s ambitious goal for last year would humble most of our New Year’s resolutions.
At the start of 2024, the Belgian set out to hold the record as the first woman to run a marathon every single day of the year — 366 in total (it was a leap year). On Dec. 31, the 55-year-old finished her last 26.2 miles of the year in Ghent, Belgium.
To make it official, Dosogne is working to submit evidence of her mileage, including GPS data, images and witness reports, to Guinness World Record officials.
Dosogne is used to running extreme distances. She completed the 153-mile Spartathlon in Greece in 2022 and 2023. So, she didn’t feel the need to specifically train for the year-long goal.
Even so, she said she wasn’t prepared for what lay ahead.
“I must say, I really — I underestimated it,” she said in an interview on Saturday with All Things Considered host Scott Detrow. “The toughest part was actually the mental part of being at the start line every day again,” she said.
The physical challenges also weren’t easy. Dosogne did it all while working part-time and caring for a family of five.
“I realized I needed much more sleep than usual,” she said.
Fitting in naps during her lunch break helped, she said.
In signing herself up for the challenge, Dosogne said she wanted to push her own limits. She also wanted to inspire other people to push theirs, too.
Her advice for those just starting out running? Have patience.
“Just build it up gradually, and you will see the benefits,” she said. “Don’t expect miracles in a short time.”
Guinness World Records says its standard application review process for records takes about 12-15 weeks. Hugo Farias, a Brazilian, holds the male record for 366 days, which he accomplished in 2023.
For now, Dosogne is taking a bit of a break from running, per doctor’s orders. She’s recovering from a minor hamstring injury.
“He told me maybe I should rest a couple more weeks until I start running again,” she said. “But I think I will cycle a little bit.”
The body of a missing Texas man was found in the Mt. Whitney area, authorities announced Sunday.
The Inyo County Sheriff’s Office said rescuers discovered Taylor Rodriguez of San Antonio deceased Saturday afternoon at an elevation of 12,000 feet near North Fork Lone Pine Creek Trail.
The Sheriff’s Office previously said the 29-year-old went to climb Mt. Whitney on Monday despite poor weather. Authorities had sought the public’s help in locating him.
In a statement Sunday, sheriff’s officials said they had no further details regarding Rodriguez’s death and extended condolences to his “family and friends during this difficult time.”
The Lymow One is a robot lawnmower with a high coverage area for larger lawns, one that also uses satellite navigation and onboard mapping systems to know where it is in your garden without a perimeter wire.
Originally a successful Kickstarter campaign that raised over $3.5 million, Lymow has enhanced its offering to create the new Lymow One. An advanced robot lawnmower with quite a few smart features.
Its Dual Blade Mowing Deck is designed to work with multiple types of grass, with the use of two high-speed spinning mulching blades and a centrifugal fan. The system cuts clippings while avoiding clumping to nourish the lawn, while also distributing the clippings evenly.
Using a brushless motor with a peak output of 1,200W, it can spin the blades at up to 6,000 RPM, with a cutting width of 16 inches. The terrain-adaptive floating deck can adjust from 1.2 inches to 4 inches, while its omniwheels follow the ground across uneven terrain.
The LySee Multi-Fusion navigation system uses a combination of real-time kinematic (RTK) satellite positioning as well as visual simultaneous localization and mapping (VSLAM) to know where it is with centimeter-level precision. While RTK signals can be affected by trees, bad weather, and other environmental factors, VSLAM can handle times when the satellite is not available.
The VSLAM system uses stereo cameras with image-based semantic recognition and depth-sensing to understand its surroundings. Its onboard processing can also adapt to obstacles, including pet waste, animals, and sprinklers, avoiding them if necessary, as defined in the Lymow app.
It also has five ultrasonic sensors, two front bumpers, and off-ground sensors in the blade deck for safety. It can stop the blades within a second once it detects a hazardous situation.
Lymow has also made it a speedy mower, with it able to cover 0.23 acres an hour, 0.57 acres per charge, or 1.73 acres per day. Its traction allows it to handle obstacles up to two inches in height, 45-degree slopes, and even some staircases.
Built to be rugged, it is made from a one-piece die-cast aluminum alloy frame, as well as an IPX6 waterproof rating.
The Lymow One is in production, with delivery expected from April 2025. It is priced at $2,999.
Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Middleweight Sedriques Dumas returns to action after going 1-1 in 2024 at UFC 311 in two weeks (Sat., Jan. 18, 2024) against knockout artist Zach Reese, which is set to go down inside Intuit Dome in Inglewood (Los Angeles), California.
However, before Dumas collides with his opponent, he might have something to take care of … fight a Rollin 40s Crip.
Recently, on the No Jumper Podcast, Rollin 40s Crip 4Xtra doubled down and said he’d fight and beat up any UFC fighter (we’ve heard this before).
“So you ruffled some feathers last time we were together because you said that you would whoop the sh-t out of a UFC heavyweight, and a lot of UFC fighters were not a fan of this, and they want to challenge you,” Adam22 told 4Xtra.
4xtra responded with, “All right, hurry up and set it up. I’ve been waiting on this. Set the f—king thing up. I’m about to put him up. That’s the cold part about it. See, that’s the thing about UFC fighters. They think they gonna win because they got a paper showing that you are a UFC fighter. Because you got accepted to the UFC, that doesn’t mean you gonna win. You get it? You think you’re just gonna beat a dude that fights on the street or fights in jail?
“I see people who are boxers get knocked out. You get what I’m saying? So don’t matter what he is talking about on that; make sure he has a bag, and I’m gonna put his ass out. And when I put him out, I want another $100,000 for putting him out. Set this up now.”
Nevertheless, Adam22 mentioned Dumas’s name and said he would be more than willing to fight the gang member.
Last night (Jan. 4, 2025), “The Reaper” responded to 4Xtra’s open challenge and accepted a fight.
“Put who out,” Dumas wrote on his Instagram story. “Boy let me know when you ready.”
DEVELOPING: Sedriques Dumas responds to Rollin 40 Crip 4Xtra doubling down that he will “KNOCK HIM OUT” fresh off serving another stint at LA county jail.
At least the podcast host tried to talk some sense into his guest by basically saying he has no chance.
“This is the problem. I’m gonna tell you. I’ve thought about this a lot,” Adam22 said. “Every UFC champion has an immaculate ground game. Their jiu-jitsu is off the charts. Here’s the problem: you’ve never had to worry about being taken down, aka a guy diving in, grabbing your legs, pulling you down to the ground. I swear to God, these motherf—kers are like anaconda.
“What they’re gonna do is they’re gonna snake their way up your body, and then they’re gonna wrap their arms, their legs, around your head, around your arm,” he added. “All of a sudden, they’re gonna choke your ass. You have not even thought about the shit that they’re gonna do to you. I’m just very worried about you getting choked out.”
“I think we should start out with a requirement that there is no taking the person down,” Adam22 concluded. “Because I think in a stand-up fight, I have way more confidence in you, but as soon as it gets to jiu-jitsu on the ground. I think you’re gonna realize, like, ‘Oh, I need five years of training.”
Even after getting some advice from Adam22, Xtra still proclaimed he’d beat any UFC fighter.
“What the f—k? I don’t care what you talking about or what the f—k it is. You ain’t looking at my face. You don’t understand me. I don’t give a f—k what you’re talking about or what he coming in there with. He’s going out.”
Awards season has commenced, and first up in 2025 are the Golden Globes! The annual event will be hosted by 40-year-old comedian Nikki Glaser this year. In a statement shared on the Golden Globes website, she said, “I am absolutely thrilled to be hosting the Golden Globes. It’s one of my favorite nights of television and now I get a front row seat (actually, I think I have to host from the stage).”
As stated on the website, Glaser added, “The Golden Globes is not only a huge night for TV and film, but also for comedy. It’s one of the few times that show business not only allows, but encourages itself to be lovingly mocked (at least I hope so). (God I hope so). It’s an exciting, yet challenging gig because it’s live, unpredictable, and in front of Hollywood’s biggest stars (who also might be getting wasted while seated next to their recent exes).”
She continued, “Some of my favorite jokes of all time have come from past Golden Globes opening monologues when Tina, Amy or Ricky have said exactly what we all didn’t know we desperately needed to hear. I just hope to continue in that time honored tradition (that might also get me cancelled). This is truly a dream job.””
As she prepares for one of Hollywood’s biggest awards shows, many of 2024’s hottest stars are nominated, including Zendaya, Timothée Chalamet, and Ariana Grande. To learn more about the upcoming Golden Globes—including how and when to watch—keep reading, as Hollywood Life has rounded up all the details.
When Are the 2025 Golden Globes?
The Golden Globes will take place on Sunday, January 5, 2025, at the Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills, California.
How to Watch the 2025 Golden Globes on Cable
The award show will air on CBS, the event’s official broadcast partner.
Can You Stream the 2025 Golden Globes?
Yes! If cable is not your preferred way to watch, you can stream the Golden Globes on the CBS app by signing in with your credentials. It will also stream live on Paramount+, though you’ll need either a premium subscription to watch in real time or a regular subscription to access it on Monday, January 6, 2025.
