Today’s Big Story

Nike’s Innovative Olympic Jacket

Team USA’s Therma-FIT Air Milano jacket inflates/deflates for temperature control

I’m a huge Olympic buff, and I’m already counting the days (77) until the Winter Games in Italy. And I’m always excited to hear about the innovations in Team USA’s uniforms. Nike, which will outfit all American athletes on the podium, says its new winter jacket is the “most technically engineered garment of its kind.” The outerwear is insulated not with down or filler, but air.

The dual-layer uses the same technology behind Nike’s Air sneakers to allow athletes to inflate or deflate the garment to adjust its warmth, according to the brand. The innovation brings new meaning to the term “puffer jacket” right? After all, in the age of electric cars and AI generated everything, we’re still using much of the same technologies to insulate of our clothing. But this is a whole new way of thinking about retaining warmth.

After years of studying athletes competing in cold weather, Nike believed air offered a simple answer to heat regulation during movement, allowing athletes to moderate temperature without the change of layers. Dubbed Air Milano, Nike calls the customizable jacket “four jackets in one.” Deflated, it’s supposed to feel like a windbreaker. Inflated, it’s somewhere close to a midweight puffer, providing maximum insulation by trapping your own body heat. To create it, Nike sourced a fabric that feels somewhere between a cotton comforter and a swim shirt. It somehow feels naturally soft and synthetically stretchy at the same time.

A small electric pump plugs into a port near your waist and fills the jacket in roughly 15 seconds. Pull a tab, and it deflates just as quickly. To develop the jacket, Nike put the prototype through 380 hours of testing in Colorado, where athletes ran, hiked, biked, skied and snowboarded in various conditions.

The company hasn’t said if or when the jacket will be available to the public or how much it might cost, but it will officially make its debut at the Winter Olympics in Milan as part of the U.S. Olympic Team’s medal ceremony outfit. Each Team USA version features custom metallic twill branding, a custom ACG pump, and accessibility features like interior thumb loops and magnetic zippers designed specifically for Paralympic athletes.

Trump Peace Plan for Ukraine

The proposal echoes many long-held Russian demands

Could we have a peace agreement coming for the war in Ukraine? President Donald Trump's peace plan includes a security guarantee modeled on NATO's Article 5, which would commit the U.S. and European allies to treat an attack on Ukraine as an attack on the entire "transatlantic community," according to a draft obtained by Axios.

But the proposal, Associated Press reports, appeared decidedly favorable to Russia—which started the war nearly four years ago by invading its neighbor. It would cede land to Russia and limit the size of Kyiv’s military. However, President Volodymyr Zelensky’s top objective in peace talks has been to obtain a robust U.S. and European security guarantee—and this is the first time Trump has been willing to put one on the table.

It states that any future “significant, deliberate, and sustained armed attack” by Russia on Ukraine “shall be regarded as an attack threatening the peace and security of the transatlantic community,” and the U.S. and its allies will respond accordingly, including through military force. The security guarantee would be for an initial 10 years, and could be renewed by mutual consent. But Trump’s push to end the war could drive a wedge between himself and European leaders, who are likely to oppose any agreement that could be seen as rewarding Putin for his aggression, leaving him emboldened rather than defeated.

Doritos and Cheetos Strip Down

The snacks are going ‘naked,’ with a new, less artificial look

Love it or hate it, the bright orange fingertips are a telltale sign that you’ve just enjoyed some Doritos or Cheetos. Would they be as appealing without their bright, intensely cheesy hue? Well, you’ll soon have the opportunity to test that notion for yourself as parent company PepsiCo Foods is releasing a new “naked” version of some of its most popular crunchy snacks.

Doritos’ Nacho Cheese and Cool Ranch flavors, along with original Cheetos puffs and their crunchy Flamin’ Hot counterpart are getting a bit of a makeover by stripping away their artificially-derived dyes and flavors. They’re being called Simply NKD editions.

For the artificial additive averse, the Simply NKD snacks will be easily identifiable in their modern, mostly white packaging. As for what’s inside the bag, however, identifying which chip is which might prove more difficult. The Simply NKD Nacho Cheese and Simply NKD Cool Ranch Doritos look almost identical, and there’s no bright red powder warning hungry eyes that those crunchy Cheetos aren’t white cheddar, but actually Flamin’ Hot. If you’re the type to pour chips in a big bowl for a party, you may need to start labeling your snacks.

A Weekend Pairing

‘Palm Royale’ + a Mai Tai Cocktail

Winter Is Coming. Will Your Appliances Survive?

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Good things ahead.