By Katia Hetter, CNN

(CNN) — Daily step counts and reaching at least 150 minutes a week of exercise — lots of exercise guidance focuses on hitting specific step, mile or time targets. But for many people, especially those who are least active, these goals can feel daunting and out of reach.

Can you commit to walk for five minutes daily? Instead of asking what happens when people meet ideal exercise benchmarks, researchers examined what might change if people made small, realistic shifts in how they move and how much time they spend sitting.

The findings, published recently in The Lancet journal, suggest that even modest changes could have meaningful implications for your health and longevity.

I spoke with CNN wellness expert Dr. Leana Wen about what the study found and how it influences what we think about movement in daily life. Wen is an emergency physician and clinical associate professor at George Washington University. She previously was Baltimore’s health commissioner.

CNN: What’s unusual about this new study of exercise?

Dr. Leana Wen: This study set out to answer a deceptively simple question: What might happen if people moved just a little more each day or sat a little less? Rather than focusing on whether people met established exercise targets, the researchers examined the potential population-wide impact of very small increases in physical activity and small reductions in sedentary time.

To investigate this question, they conducted an individual participant data meta-analysis, which means they combined and reanalyzed data from multiple other studies. The analysis included data from seven groups in the United States, Norway and Sweden, comprising more than 40,000 participants, along with a separate analysis of nearly 95,000 participants from the United Kingdom.

The researchers focused on moderate-to-vigorous physical activity, which includes activities that raise the heart rate and make people breathe harder, as well as total sedentary time. They then estimated how many deaths might be prevented if people increased their activity by just five or 10 minutes a day or reduced their sitting time by 30 or 60 minutes a day.

CNN: What did they learn about the potential impact of small changes?

Wen: The key finding was that even very small changes in daily movement could be associated with meaningful reductions in deaths when applied across large populations.

The researchers modeled two different scenarios. One focused on people who were least active — roughly the bottom 20% of participants — and asked what might happen if this high-risk group slightly increased their activity. The second took a broader, population-based approach, looking at what might happen if nearly everyone except the most active 20% of individuals made small changes.

In the high-risk scenario, a five-minute-per-day increase in moderate-to-vigorous physical activity among the least active participants was estimated to prevent about 6% of all deaths. When that same five-minute increase was applied across the broader population — excluding only the most active individuals — the potential reduction rose to about 10% of all deaths. These estimates suggest that modest increases in movement, when adopted widely, could translate into substantial population-le

By Auzinea Bacon, CNN

(CNN) — Wendy’s said Friday that it plans to shutter between 5% and 6% of its restaurants in the first half of the year.

The closures are part of a previously announced turnaround plan, which the fast-food chain said in November would include closing hundreds of restaurants.

Twenty-eight stores closed during the fourth quarter as part of the plan, interim CEO Ken Cook said during the company’s earnings call. Wendy’s had 5,969 US restaurants at the end of year, according to the company’s earnings.

Decisions to close “consistently underperforming restaurants” have been made with Wendy’s franchisees, who can instead focus on stores that may return more profit, Cook added.

The company has not announced a list of affected stores.

Wendy’s US sales are in a slump, with same-store sales falling again during the last quarter of 2025 by 11.3%, according to the company’s earnings. Same-store sales were down 5.6% for the whole year.

Cook said Wendy’s has focused too much on limited-time promotions, but is now focusing on everyday value, including changes to its Biggie meals.

Wendy’s expanded its Biggie offerings in January to include the $4 Biggie Bites, a $6 Biggie Bag and an $8 Biggie Bundle. That could appeal to value-conscious consumers who are pulling back on discretionary spending, like eating out, due to inflation pressures.

And last year, Cook said its newly released chicken tenders, called “Tendys,” were performing well amid same-store sales declines.

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By Dana O’Neil, Patrick Sung Cuadrado, Aleks Klosok, CNN

(CNN) — A Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) arbitrator has denied Vladyslav Heraskevych’s appeal and the Ukrainian skeleton rider will not be reinstated to compete in the Olympics wearing what he has deemed his “memory helmet.’’

Heraskevych was kicked out of the Milan Cortina Games – despite many meetings with the International Olympic Committee (IOC), including one with president Kirsty Coventry – over his insistence on wearing a helmet featuring images of athletes killed during the war in Ukraine in competition that was deemed to breach IOC rule 50.

In the ruling shared by CAS, the unnamed sole arbitrator said that she is “fully sympathetic to Mr. Heraskevych’s commemoration and his attempt to raise awareness for the grief and devastation suffered by the Ukrainian people, and Ukrainian athletes because of the war.” But, she ultimately sided with the IOC’s ruling that prohibits athletes’ ability to express views during competition and in the field of play.

On Thursday, the IOC disqualified Heraskevych an hour before the first competition, arguing that his helmet – which depicts seven Ukrainian athletes killed in the war against Russia – was in violation of its policy against athlete expression.

Heraskevych wore the helmet in a training run on Tuesday, and said he intended to wear it throughout the Olympic competition.

IOC President Coventry traveled from Milan to Cortina to meet with Heraskevych and his father prior to Thursday’s first two heats. Heraskevych, however, stood by his intention to wear the helmet. After he was disqualified, he showed a picture of himself in the helmet on X, writing, “This is price of our dignity.’’

The Ukrainian slider told CNN Sports’ Amanda Davies Thursday night that no matter what happened he was pleased with the attention the matter’s received: “First and the biggest win, it’s memory of the athletes. People are now super united about this story, and I’m really grateful that. I think it’s also a very good story how sport can unite people, and now they’re united around these athletes and they united around their dignity.”

Heraskevych, however, told the Associated Press Friday before the decision was handed down that his Olympic Games were effectively over, no matter what happened, saying, “Looks like this train has left.”

‘He’s won the medal of our hearts’

The news of the disqualification rippled through Cortina d’Ampezzo on Thursday as fans digested what it meant for Heraskevych and Ukraine.

As news of his DQ traveled, several fans wearing Ukrainian flags expressed their disappointment in the rul

By Dana O’Neil, Patrick Sung Cuadrado, Aleks Klosok, CNN

(CNN) — A Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) arbitrator has denied Vladyslav Heraskevych’s appeal and the Ukrainian skeleton rider will not be reinstated to compete in the Olympics wearing what he has deemed his “memory helmet.’’

Heraskevych was kicked out of the Milan Cortina Games – despite many meetings with the International Olympic Committee (IOC), including one with president Kirsty Coventry – over his insistence on wearing a helmet featuring images of athletes killed during the war in Ukraine in competition that was deemed to breach IOC rule 50.

In the ruling shared by CAS, the unnamed sole arbitrator said that she is “fully sympathetic to Mr. Heraskevych’s commemoration and his attempt to raise awareness for the grief and devastation suffered by the Ukrainian people, and Ukrainian athletes because of the war.” But, she ultimately sided with the IOC’s ruling that prohibits athletes’ ability to express views during competition and in the field of play.

On Thursday, the IOC disqualified Heraskevych an hour before the first competition, arguing that his helmet – which depicts seven Ukrainian athletes killed in the war against Russia – was in violation of its policy against athlete expression.

Heraskevych wore the helmet in a training run on Tuesday, and said he intended to wear it throughout the Olympic competition.

IOC President Coventry traveled from Milan to Cortina to meet with Heraskevych and his father prior to Thursday’s first two heats. Heraskevych, however, stood by his intention to wear the helmet. After he was disqualified, he showed a picture of himself in the helmet on X, writing, “This is price of our dignity.’’

The Ukrainian slider told CNN Sports’ Amanda Davies Thursday night that no matter what happened he was pleased with the attention the matter’s received: “First and the biggest win, it’s memory of the athletes. People are now super united about this story, and I’m really grateful that. I think it’s also a very good story how sport can unite people, and now they’re united around these athletes and they united around their dignity.”

Heraskevych, however, told the Associated Press Friday before the decision was handed down that his Olympic Games were effectively over, no matter what happened, saying, “Looks like this train has left.”

‘He’s won the medal of our hearts’

The news of the disqualification rippled through Cortina d’Ampezzo on Thursday as fans digested what it meant for Heraskevych and Ukraine.

As news of his DQ traveled, several fans wearing Ukrainian flags expressed their disappointment in the ruling but their support of Heraskevych. “This is even bigger than a medal,’’ Nathalia Khaichyk told CNN Sports. “He’s won the medal of our hearts.’’

On Thursday afternoon, the Ukrainian lugers knelt and lifted up their helmets in support of Heraskevych and Ukrainian President Volodoymyr Zelenksy awarded Heraskevych the Order of Liberty, “for selfless service to the Ukrainian people, civic courage and patriotism in upholding the ideals of freedom and democratic values.’’

This story has been updated with additional reporting.

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Por Aaron Blake, CNN

Es prácticamente un hecho de que el Congreso de EE.UU., una vez más, cerrará importantes sectores del Gobierno federal.

Hay pocas señales de un acuerdo entre republicanos y demócratas para financiar el Departamento de Seguridad Nacional antes de la fecha límite del viernes a medianoche. Y los líderes republicanos enviaron a sus bases a casa el jueves.

Un bando eventualmente tendrá que ceder, y la popularidad de los cambios propuestos a la aplicación de la ley migratoria tendrá un gran impacto en qué bando “ganará”. Mientras tanto, la gente pronto verá el impacto en sus viajes aéreos, los servicios de respuesta a emergencias y, en cierta medida, la aplicación de la ley migratoria.

El impasse se debe a los desacuerdos sobre la reforma del uso del Servicio de Inmigración y Control de Aduanas (ICE, por sus siglas en inglés) y la Patrulla Fronteriza por parte de la administración Trump en lugares como Minneapolis, donde agentes federales han matado a dos personas: Renee Good y Alex Pretti. La administración Trump anunció el jueves que pondrá fin al aumento de agentes en Minneapolis.

Tanto republicanos como demócratas afirman que el pueblo estadounidense está de su lado. La administración Trump y los republicanos señalan cifras que demuestran que los estadounidenses quieren que los inmigrantes indocumentados sean deportados. Los demócratas insisten en que el pueblo estadounidense está de su lado porque una gran mayoría desaprueba al ICE y afirma que el esfuerzo de deportación ha ido “demasiado lejos”.

Entonces, ¿quién tiene razón? Es evidente que los estadounidenses no apoyan el statu quo. Una encuesta de NBC News-SurveyMonkey de esta semana muestra que 7 de cada 10 estadounidenses quieren al menos ver cambios en el ICE (aproximadamente 3 de cada 10 desean su abolición). Los demócratas obviamente tienen cierta influencia en este asunto.

¿Pero cuánta? Analicemos algunas de las propuestas específicas que impulsan los demócratas.

La administración ha dado un pequeño paso atrás extraoficialmente en lo que respecta a las detenciones aleatorias en la calle por parte del ICE, al menos por ahora. Cuando el zar fronterizo Tom Homan asumió el control en Minneapolis tras la segunda muerte, indicó que la operación sería más selectiva.

Las encuestas son algo dispares en cuanto a la introducción de restricciones legales oficiales.

Una encuesta del Pew Research Center realizada hace un año reveló que el 66 % de los estadounidenses opinaba que las fuerzas del orden deberían poder arrestar a inmigrantes indocumentados en protestas o mítines. Otro 63 % opinó que debería poder hacerlo en sus hogares, y el 54 % opinó que debería ser una actividad legal en los lugares de trabajo.

Pero ninguna de estas encuestas pregunta específicamente sobre detener a personas al azar en la calle. Y una encuesta de Pew posterior ese mismo año mostró que el 54 % desaprobaba las redadas en los lugares de trabajo.

Aun así, parece lógico suponer que las escenas de agentes deteniendo a personas en público en Minneapolis han influido significativamente en que 6 de cada 10 estadounidenses decidan que la aplicación de la ley migratoria de Trump ha ido “demasiado lejos”.

Los demócratas han protestado porque la administració