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Some important mortgage rates climbed higher. Here's what to expect if you're in the market for a home loan.

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The inside story of the teenager whose “swatting” calls sent armed police racing into hundreds of schools nationwide—and the private detective who tracked him down.

Reebok Nano X5: Two-Minute Review

(Image credit: Future)

Reebok's famed Nano gym shoe is back for 2025, and the company has promised big things for the "Official Shoe of Fitness" this year.

Sporting shades of the legacy design of previous Nanos, the X5 delivers a new DUALRESPONSE Midsole and a Decoupled Metasplit Outsole, designed to give this year's edition greater flexibility and runnability over previous years.

At its heart, though, the X5 is still the brilliant stable lifting platform of its forebears, and after a whole month of using it in the gym, I can heartily recommend it as one of the best gym shoes of 2025.

Out of the box, the X5 silhouette really impresses. The colorway reviewed here is the White/Black/Energy Red version, and I have to say it's a real head-turner. I absolutely love the style and form, as well as the shape. The Energy Red and turquoise blend on the sole is vibrant and striking, and all the small details on the shoe are really impressive.

There's plastic to complement the Flexweave upper, but this feels like a really premium shoe built to last. As a more sturdy lifting shoe, it definitely feels more robust than my current everyday shoe, the Nike Free Metcon 5.

(Image credit: Future)

In terms of fit and comfort, the X5 again really impresses. It definitely doesn't boast the glove/sock-like hug of Nike's Metcon, but it's still extremely comfortable to wear. I've suffered from absolutely no foot fatigue or blisters while wearing them, and they're very comfortable and sturdy underfoot.

There's a huge amount of space in the toe box, so even wearers with wider feet will find them comfortable and roomy. This also lends them to running and more explosive exercises, although for reasons I'll come to, this isn't their primary purpose.

My one reservation about the fit comes from a slightly loose-fitting collar around the ankle. The X5 comes with an extra eyelet alongside the tongue that isn't laced up out of the box. In this configuration, I felt there was a bit too much play around my ankle. You'll definitely want to lace up through the eyelet, which gives the shoe a much more snug fit.

(Image credit: Future)

When it comes to workout performance, I was blown away by the overall stability and sturdiness of the Nano X5. Reebok has really nailed the base with the new midsole, which offers brilliant poise underfoot for strength training. During squats, deadlifts, shoulder presses, and all manner of dumbbell and cable work the X5 offers excellent support with no overcompression or wobble. Despite this, there's enough forgiveness in the sole to give you some responsiveness underfoot during workouts. It's really a perfect blend.

The heel-to-toe-drop is listed as 7mm, which is more pronounced than Nike's Free Metcon 5 and around the same as the newer 6. It feels about right, and I didn't ever get the sense that the shoe was trying to rock me forward onto my forefoot. This is crucial for stability during lifts. That same stability also really lends these shoes to stretching and mobility work, I was again really impressed by how sturdy these shoes were, and these are definitely my new go-to for pliability.

(Image credit: Future)

The Nano X5's sturdiness and stability carry over well into some more explosive moves but are also a limiting factor when it comes to agility and movement. While I can see this being a decent CrossFit shoe, it feels too hefty underfoot to lend itself to plyometrics and running. These will do just fine if you want to do a quick five-minute jog on the treadmill to start a workout, but it's not a running shoe and doesn't perform as well as the Free Metcons over any kind of distance.

While the Nano X5 isn't the beefy weightlifting platform of say, the Adidas Dropset range, it's definitely on the firmer side, which is why it excels for strength training. The Nano X5 would work well for movements like box jumps or pushing a sled up and down your local gym, but I'd have more reservations about any agility work.

Any weak spots I've mentioned here are definitely nitpicks, however. The Reebok Nano X5 is an almost perfect training shoe, as long as you know what you're getting into. There are more forgiving shoes out there, and this definitely isn't a shoe for hybrid training, quick changes of direction, or agility.

Reebok Nano X5: Price and availability

(Image credit: Future)

• $150/£125/ (AUS pricing and availability tbc)
• Unisex and women's options
• Six colors of each

Launching January 24, 2025, the Reebok Nano X5 is available at Reebok.com at the price of $150 in the U.S. and select other retailers. UK customers can expect to pay £125, while Australia pricing and availability is yet to be confirmed by Reebok.

The Nano X5 comes in a unisex and women's option, with a slightly different set of six colors for each. The model reviewed here is the White/Black/Energy Red colorway.

I've found the X5 to fit true-to-size, with plenty of room in the toe box, so I wouldn't worry about sizing up or down.

Reebok Nano X5: Specifications

(Image credit: Future) Reebok Nano X5: Scorecard

(Image credit: Future) Reebok Nano X5: Should I buy?

(Image credit: Future) Buy if it...

You want a brilliant strength shoe

The Reebok Nano X5 is the best strength training shoe I've ever used.

You want excellent stability

The Reebok Nano X5 is sturdy and stable underfoot, perfect for lifting weights.

You want to stand out in style

The Reebok Nano X5 boasts a striking design, especially in its more vibrant colorways.

(Image credit: Future) Don't buy it if...

You want an all-round gym shoe

The Reebok Nano X5 excels for strength and conditioning, at the expense of a more forgiving fit suitable for running and agility.

You want a shoe for cardio, running, and not strength

The Reebok Nano X5 is primarily a strength and weight training shoe, with some pliability for a quick warm-up thrown in.

You're on a budget

At $150 these aren't cheap, and you'll find more generous pricing on Nike's Free Metcon range or an older Nano X4.

Also consider

(Image credit: Future)

Inov-8 F Lite G300

Another outstanding all-rounder shoe that excels in weightlifting.

Read our full review

Nike Free Metcon 5

A more forgiving all-rounder that will provide more comfort and pliability, but less weightlifting performance.

Read our full review

How I tested

I used the Reebok Nano X5 as my primary gym for a whole month between December 2024 and January 2025. I conducted over 20 workouts, mainly strength-based, but also stretching and pliability work, interval training, and some running.

First reviewed: January 2025

• Marvel Rivals will receive balance adjustments in Season 1
• NetEase won't be making changes to Team-Up abilities in Season 1
• Heroes like Captain America, Luna Snow, and more will be nerfed

NetEase Games has confirmed that Marvel Rivals will receive plenty of balance changes with the launch of Season 1.

In a new blog post shared ahead of the release of Season 1, the developer explained that it has noticed a trend of team compositions throughout Season 0 and will introduce a series of balance adjustments to certain heroes.

"Hence, in the first half of Season 1, we are set to make balance adjustments to certain heroes, enabling a broader roster to partake in more intricate gameplay, ensuring a richer, more engaging, and diverse gaming experience for all," NetEase said.

Although heroes are set to receive balance updates, the developer said that due to players' recent acclimatization to Marvel Rivals, it won't be making extensive changes to or adjusting Team-Up abilities in Season 1.

"Instead, we will make minor adjustments to the existing Team-Up values," the developer added. "Fear not, for we are planning exciting redesigns and adjustments to Team-Up abilities in Season 2."

Some major changes coming with the patch include nerfs to some of the shooter's most popular heroes, including Captain America, who will receive a reduction to his shield restoration, Liberty Rush ability, and Freedom Charge.

Hulk will also get a minor nerf to his Indestructible Guard bringing it from 250 to 200 health, while Black Panther will get a combat survivability reduction, reducing the additional health provided after refreshing Vibranium Marks with Spirit Rend from 40 to 30, and the upper limit of additional health from 120 to 75.

NetEase will also be tweaking Hawkeye by "decreasing the medium-long range damage capability", reducing combat radius, as well as slightly improving the close combat resistance for the avenging archer.

Meanwhile, heroes like Cloak & Dagger and Moon Knight will receive buffs in some capacity, alongside Namor, Psylocke, and The Punisher. You can check out the long list of changes in the patch notes here.

Marvel Rivals Season 1: Eternal Night Falls is scheduled to release on January 10 at 9 AM GMT / 1 AM PST / 4 AM ET.

The first season will also introduce the Fantastic Four to the roster as free, playable heroes, which includes Mister Fantastic, Invisible Woman, the Human Torch, and The Thing.

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• Marvel Rivals codes and how to redeem them
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• Sony announces new Midnight Black versions of the PS Portal, DualSense Edge, and more PS5 accessories, launching next month

• B&H Photo accidentally posted early listings of RDNA 4 graphics cards
• RX 9070 and RX 9070 XT were given a pre-order date of January 23
• That’d suggest an on sale date at the end of January, when Nvidia’s RTX 5080 (and 5090) hit the shelves

AMD’s next-gen RDNA 4 graphics cards, which were revealed (in a rather fleeting manner) at CES 2025, might be available sooner than you thought – on pre-order at least, if the date accidentally posted by a US retailers turns out to be correct.

B&H Photo apparently put up early listings for some Asus RX 9070 and RX 9070 XT graphics cards (TUF and Prime models), all of which came with a pre-order date of January 23.

Those listings have now been removed, but not before they were screenshotted by one of the regular hardware leakers on X, @momomo_us (hat tip to VideoCardz).

Preorder starts at 9:00am ET, Thu Jan 23 pic.twitter.com/kATVQZNtZvJanuary 8, 2025

So, it appears that we might be able to reserve these much-awaited RDNA 4 graphics cards in just two weeks, presumably ahead of a release which would come maybe a week or so after.

(Image credit: Future / John Loeffler) Analysis: Battle of the next-gen desktop GPUs

Interestingly, another recent rumor on the RX 9070's release date came from graphics card maker XFX, which has some kind of either announcement or launch of these GPUs planned for January 24. One way or another, then, it seems that something’s going to happen with RDNA 4 as we get to the final week of January.

It feels like this might be the official revelation of the full spec and price details (which weren’t shared at CES 2025), ahead of the on-shelf availability (which is why B&H has it as pre-orders going live). Obviously take all this with a large helping of salt, and indeed there’s a difference in the dates – January 23 or 24 – which casts further doubt on these rumors. True, the XFX rumors comes from its middle east division, but the time difference between that and the 9am ET pre-order kick-off B&H had down is still on the same day (just).

We’ll just have to wait and see, but it wouldn’t be a surprise if AMD was planning to kick off RDNA 4 and have these graphics cards on the shelves late in January, because Nvidia’s RTX 5090 and 5080 go on sale come January 30. So, the dates fall in place for what might be a big next-gen GPU showdown – of sorts.

As you might be aware, the RX 9070 models aren’t going to compete with Nvidia’s RTX 5080 (and certainly not the 5090), so how is this a ‘showdown’ exactly? Well, the reality is that the RTX 5080 is going to be way too pricey for most consumers, even though the $999 MSRP was more affordable than expected. (Yes, some folks were thinking it’d easily be $1,199, maybe more – though third-party boards will inevitably land more in this territory, as most of them will be a fair bit pricier than the Founders Edition at Nvidia’s MSRP).

What we’ll have, then, is a situation where in theory AMD can come in with way more affordable next-gen GPUs, grabbing the interest of would-be buyers, scooping up more sales with RDNA 4 as folks realize just how pricey RTX 5080 GPUs will be – when Nvidia’s $999 Founders Edition inevitably sells out in a flash – potentially winning the showdown in this way.

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• AMD vs Nvidia: who is the graphics card champion?
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APYs are falling. Maximize your earnings with one of these top CDs.

A new study suggests a link between high levels of fluoride and lowered IQ. It's heating up arguments over fluoridating drinking water, which dentists say is critical for protecting teeth.

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Three new fires broke out in Los Angeles and Ventura counties on Wednesday. California Gov. Gavin Newsom said more than 7,500 personnel are helping in the response to the infernos.

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He was last heard from in February 2023. Since then, authorities haven't released any information about his condition and barred his lawyer from visits.

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There's still time left to move your money and earn more interest toward your goal.

President Biden is expected to deliver a eulogy to former President Jimmy Carter at the National Cathedral service.

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"We're in a unique situation in Canadian politics," Shachi Kurl, president of the Angus Reid Institute, tells NPR. Voters need to replace a lame-duck leader — and cope with threats from Trump.

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Research shows including students with and without disabilities in the same classroom can benefit everyone. Two students with Down syndrome show what can be gained when that happens.

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Southern states don't often deal with winter conditions, but New England does. New Hampshire especially has tips for how to prepare for a winter storm.

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A decades-long Russian-Ukrainian transit gas deal to Europe ended on Jan. 1. For now, the most acute effects are being felt in a region called Transnistria, on the eastern edge of Moldova.

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The New York Stock Exchange and the Nasdaq will both observe Thursday's national day of mourning in a Wall Street tradition dating back to 1865.

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Prosecutors said samples of the alleged nuclear material was weapons-grade, meaning enough of it would be suitable for use in a nuclear weapon.

Shokz OpenRun Pro 2: Two-minute review

The Shokz OpenRun Pro 2 are particularly excellent for runners, especially long-distance and trail runners. While it won’t quite last the full length of time needed for an Ultra marathon (what can?), they are among the best running headphones out there.

Like the best open earbuds, they allow you to hear your surroundings in a way that even the best wireless earbuds with good ambient / transparency modes can’t. They also are extremely lightweight, stable, and have a nice long battery life. Shokz has also added in air conduction tech to improve the sound quality, as bone conduction headphones typically lag in this area compared to more traditional options.

It’s no surprise, considering how bone conduction headphones work. At louder volumes, these types of headphones tend to create a vibrating sensation that can be unpleasant, even nauseating depending on one’s sensitivity. The Shokz OpenRun Pro 2 doesn’t create this sensation for the most part, with one exception that I’ll mention later.

headset, charging case, regular case, and accessories (Image credit: Future / James Holland)

Before we get to that, we should take a look at the Shokz OpenRun Pro 2’s design. They fit the general mold of bone conduction headphones; there’s the portion containing the drivers that sit in front of the ear connected to the electronics via an over-the-ear loop. Both sides are connected by a wrap-around headband, while the whole thing is covered in silicon to provide some waterproofing. In this case, it’s IP55, surprisingly worse than the lower-tier Shokz OpenRun with their IP67 rating.

Where these headphones differ a little from the competition is the fact that, besides providing four colorways (black, silver, orange, and a Kipchoge-signature white and orange silver-and-orange), you can choose between ‘standard’ and ‘mini’ size headbands, whereas most bone conduction headphones come with a one-size-fits-all one.

This is a nice inclusion. In fact, I might have benefited from the smaller headband, as I could feel the headband move a little if I shook my head. Still, the fit was stable and neither the drivers or section that goes over or behind the ears moved at all. On top of that, it’s very lightweight at just around 30 grams, so you’ll barely feel them – unlike many in-ear buds that start to hurt after being stuck in the ear canals for a while.

(Image credit: Future / James Holland)

As far as controls go, I was a bit confused at first since two of them, used for power, pairing, and volume controls, sit under the right side behind the ear, while a third button sits on the driver section on the left side used for changing songs. It’s not a big deal (other than highlighting my mistake of not reading the manual right away), but I’m used to having all the controls on one side. Thankfully, they’re fairly responsive to the touch.

There’s one USB-C port on the Shokz OpenRun Pro 2, which might be why the IP rating is a little lower than expected here, even if it does have a silicon covering. On the brightside, using this port allows for faster charging compared to the old magnetic one, as five minutes plugged in will produce two and a half hours of battery life. Of course, it will take a full hour to charge up to 100% or twelve hours of use.

It’s also worth mentioning that the only form of connectivity here is its speedy Bluetooth 5.3. There’s no onboard storage or MP3 player: if that’s a consideration for you, you’ll want to check out our best waterproof headphones guide, many of which come with MP3 storage.

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(Image credit: Future / James Holland)

The feature set on the Shokz OpenRun Pro 2 are a bit limited compared to wireless earbuds. Since these headphones are an open-ear design, there’s no active (or passive) noise cancellation. Any kind of fine-tuning involves mainly playing around with the equalization (EQ), which is available in the app, though you can press and hold the volume up and down buttons simultaneously during play to cycle through the various EQ options.

As far as the different EQ options go, there are six modes already on hand, along with a five-band EQ for a more personalized touch, which you can save as a new EQ mode. Of the ones already available, there’s a standard, vocal, bass boost, treble boost, classic, and volume boost.

The classic mode turns off the air conduction for a purer bone conduction experience, which also reintroduces that vibrating sensation when the volume is too high, something that I (and many) find uncomfortable. Luckily, it’s the only setting where I really experienced that phenomenon.

Multipoint connectivity is also available, though you have to turn it on in the app. While not a dealbreaker, be aware of the fact that there’s no on-ear detection, so music will continue to play when you take the Shokz OpenRun Pro 2 off.

(Image credit: Future / James Holland)

The improvements in the newest generation of bone conduction headphones have been really heartening, namely that the audio quality is better than before and that I don’t experience those disconcerting vibrations at higher volumes (see my review of the H2O Audio Tri 2 Pro Multi-Sport for a similarly improved audio experience).

The audio quality has improved for two reasons. The first is the fact that the OpenRun Pro 2 uses the company’s 10th generation bone conduction technology. The second, and arguably more important, is that these headphones also use air conduction. In essence, these are hybrid headphones as opposed to just bone conduction headphones.

After having listened to all sorts of genres from Indie and Metal to Hip Hop and Folk, I can say that they’re allare enjoyable to listen to. The high-end is fairly present with plenty of clarity, though everything does feel just a tiny bit muted as if the headphones’ natural frequency range rolls off a bit with higher frequencies. The mids are full, almost a little too much, so that any audio I listen to has plenty of body. The bass is a bit pulled back, so bottom-heavy music won’t hit as hard.

Because the highs and lows are not as prominent as the mids, there is a very slight boxy quality to music. They sound very good for the form factor, but aren’t going to replace anyone’s earbuds as go-to listening devices outside of a run or the gym.

Since these are open earbuds, there is some leakage. However, it’s not all that noticeable unless you’re using them in a quiet setting. If you use them on the trail, other presumably headphone-less runners might catch a little bit of what you’re listening to, but only if they’re very close to you.

Lastly, the Shokz OpenRun Pro 2 can used to take and make calls. The call quality is pretty good with plenty of clarity, though the speaker’s voice will sound a little far away compared to speaking on a phone regularly.

Shokz OpenRun Pro 2: Specifications Shokz OpenRun Pro 2: Price and availability

• How much does it cost? $179.95 / £169.00 / AU$319.00
• When is it available? Available now
• Where can you get it? Available in the US, UK, and Australia

You can spend quite a bit less than the Shokz OpenRun Pro 2’s asking price of $179.95 / £169.00 / AU$319.00 for a pair of bone conduction headphones. Shokz’ own more entry-priced OpenRun go for $129.95 / £129.95 / AU$219.00, for instance. And, of course, there are plenty of much cheaper, lesser-known options littering Amazon.

And there aren’t many options out there that go for more, either. Some of the ones that do are a bit more specialized, such as the watersports-friendly H2O Audio Tri 2 Pro Multi-Sport, which go for $199.99 / £155.68 (about AU$310) and include 8GB of storage, an MP3 player, and a special feature to record playlists onto it, so you don’t need your phone.

Still, the Shokz OpenRun Pro 2 are worth the price in my mind for the simple reason that they mix in air conduction tech with bone conduction for a better audio experience as well as to minimize the vibrating sensation that typically accompanies the use of bone conduction headphones.

As a value proposition, the Shokz OpenRun Pro 2 may not be an outstanding deal, but they’re worth the price.

• Value score: 4 / 5

Shokz OpenRun Pro 2: Scorecard Should I buy the Shokz OpenRun Pro 2? Buy it if...

You care about audio quality

Getting good sound out of a bone conduction headset is not easy, yet Shokz has managed to do just that thanks to the inclusion of air conduction.View Deal

You’re a runner

The fit is stable and lightweight and the battery life is more than enough for anyone except Ultra marathon runners. It also has an IP55 rating to handle the elements.View Deal

Don't buy it if...

You want to take it in the water

Not all bone conduction headphones are good for swimming, such as this one. Shokz does have swimming-specific models to check out if you want something that’s more fully waterproof.View Deal

You’re limited on funds

These headphones are on the pricy side for bone conduction headphones. If you’re on a budget, you’re better off considering the slightly inferior non-Pro version.View Deal

Also consider

Shokz OpenRun

The Shokz OpenRun are fantastic for running, and are only slightly behind the OpenRun Pro 2 due to the fact that they employ a slightly older generation driver and don’t include air conduction so you’re still getting some vibration at higher volumes. Still, they sound good, are lightweight, and cost quite a bit less than their more expensive big brother.

Read our full Shokz OpenRun reviewView Deal

H2O Audio Tri 2 Pro Multi-Sport

The H2O Audio Tri 2 Pro Multi-Sport is not cheap, but it’s worth it, especially for anyone also looking for headphones to use during swimming. After all, these are tailored to triathletes. They have a strong battery life, complete waterproofing, and onboard storage as well as a special Playlist+ feature that untethers you from your phone during a run or swim.

Read our full H2O Audio Tri 2 Pro Multi-Sport reviewView Deal

How I tested

• Tested over a couple weeks
• Listened to different kinds of media
• Tested all the different features

I spent a couple weeks using the Shokz OpenRun Pro 2 as my workout headphones. While using them, I listened to all sorts of genres from electronic and hip-hop to rock and acoustic music to get an idea of how they sound. I also tested the various features, most notably the EQ settings.

After testing, it’s clear that these are, per their namesake, flagship headphones for runners. They’re ideal because of the open-ear design from the bone and air conduction, they’re very lightweight, and have good battery life. Plus, they sound pretty good. Check out our guide to how bone conduction headphones work for more details on how headphones like these operate.

I’ve spent the last few years reviewing audio equipment and have spent even longer using my critical ear as a listener and musician to understand what does and doesn’t sound good.

• First reviewed December 2024