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Tuesday’s Headlines Need Exercise

Every hour in a car increases the risk of obesity by 6 percent, while walking a kilometer lowers it 5 percent.

By Blake Aued

12:01 AM EST on January 13, 2026

A busy crosswalk in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Josh Naramore

Sitting in cars all day puts people at risk of obesity and its associated health risks, and electric vehicles aren’t any better in that respect, according to University of California research. Meanwhile, living in a walkable community has major health benefits.
The U.S. DOT awarded $1 billion in grants for more than 500 road safety projects, but has removed equity and environmental justice from the criteria. (Smart Cities Dive)
A top California state senator wants to streamline the process for building high-speed rail. (Politico Pro)
Uber and Lyft drivers are protesting driverless Waymo taxis in San Francisco. (Washington Post)
Overall crashes in Charlotte fell last year, but they caused more injuries and deaths. (WCNC)
Traffic deaths in Las Vegas also fell last year, but remain 60 percent higher than they were 15 years ago. (Nevada Current)
The new head of a regional planning agency for San Antonio says the metro area needs a pipeline of transit projects that can compete for federal funding. (Express-News)
Seattle’s Sound Transit is ahead of schedule on the Crosslake light rail project. (The Urbanist)
A Phoenix area city is adding sidewalks and bike lanes to Kyrene Road. (Arizona Republic)
A wrong-way driver in Phoenix hit an electric pole and shut down part of a Valley Metro light rail line for hours. (KTAR)
Northern European cities like Paris and Copenhagen dominate Quartz‘s list of the 10 best cities for biking.