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Cities hit hardest by crime, poverty rank among America’s least relaxed, study finds
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With many Americans leaving high-cost, high-crime cities behind, a new study found that daily life in some U.S. communities is significantly more “relaxed.”
A new ranking by LawnStarter shows that many pockets of calm exist far from urban centers, which are ripe with stress and instability.
The study analyzed 500 cities on 42 metrics related to well-being, including sleep quality, mental health, commute times, access to nature, financial stability and recreation.
Wealthy suburbs and tech hubs with high incomes and reliable local amenities help shield residents from some of the stresses many other parts of the country deal with, the lawn care service’s report found.
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San Jose took the top spot among large cities, mainly for its mental and physical well-being scores. San Francisco and Seattle, which have ample outdoor access and high salaries, followed closely behind. Suburban havens in midsize cities also topped the list, including Sunnyvale, California; Naperville, Illinois; and Carmel, Indiana.
San Jose, Calif., topped a new ranking of America’s most “relaxed” cities. (iStock)
Smaller cities such as Newton, Massachusetts; Mountain View, California; and Woodbury, Minnesota, also ranked highly with strong scores in mental health, finances and social support.
LawnStarter noted that 26 of the top 30 cities have median household incomes of $106,000 or more, well above the national median of about $84,000.
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At the bottom of the rankings were cities such as Flint, Michigan; Dayton, Ohio; and Detroit. They had high smoking rates, elevated blood pressure, inadequate sleep and long-term economic strain drag down quality of life, according to the findings. Other cities faring poorly, such as Memphis and Cleveland, battle high crime, traffic fatalities and persistent poverty.
Relaxed cities stood out for sleep quality, outdoor access and safer streets. (iStock)
While California cities dominated the top tier thanks to high incomes and positive wellness factors, parts of the Pacific Northwest, like Spokane, Washington, and Eugene, Oregon, landed on the opposite end with some of the nation’s highest depression rates, a trend often linked to long, dark winters and seasonal affective disorder.
Many large urban centers face intense pressure from record-high housing costs, deteriorating infrastructure and illegal immigration surges that strain public services, according to multiple reports. As a result, many Americans have already fled high-cost cities in search of safer neighborhoods, more space and a lower cost of living.
Many Americans are increasingly leaving high-cost metro areas in search of safer neighborhoods, more space and a lower cost of living, according to Business Insider.
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The New York Post reported that both New York City and Los Angeles have seen major worker losses as residents flee to cheaper, lower-stress cities in the South.
Some cities battle stress, crime and economic strain as others thrive, the study found. (iStock)
Residents are especially fleeing California, South Florida, Long Island and New Jersey “in droves” for the South, according to a July report from personal finance magazine Kiplinger. Those moves are primarily driven by surging housing costs, overcrowding and a sharply higher cost of living. Nearly two-thirds of movers went to lower-cost Southern and Sun Belt cities, the outlet reported, places that often overlap with the nation’s most relaxed and least stressed communities.
“Public policies that provide income security, safe housing, good nutrition, health insurance and family-friendly workplaces would go a very long way in reducing stress nationwide,” Boston University sociology professor Deborah Carr said in the LawnStarter report. “However, that is a big wish list that is difficult to achieve.”
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A federal appeals court on Friday struck down California’s ban on openly carrying guns across most of the state.
In a 2–1 decision, the San Francisco-based Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit ruled California’s ban on open carry in counties with more than 200,000 people — covering roughly 95% of the state’s population — violates the Second Amendment, according to Reuters.
U.S. Circuit Judge Lawrence VanDyke, writing for the majority, said the ban conflicts with the Supreme Court’s 2022 decision in New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen, which requires gun regulations to be consistent with the nation’s “historical tradition of firearm regulation,” Reuters reported.
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U.S. Circuit Judge Lawrence VanDyke appears in a video released by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals March 20, 2025. (9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals/Handout via Reuters)
“The historical record makes unmistakably plain that open carry is part of this Nation’s history and tradition,” VanDyke wrote. “It was clearly protected at the time of the founding and at the time of the adoption of the Fourteenth Amendment.”
VanDyke also noted that California previously allowed residents to openly carry holstered handguns for self-defense without penalty until 2012.
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A pistol is concealed in a belt. (iStock)
“That changed only when California enacted its urban open-carry ban barely over a decade ago in 2012,” he said. “In doing so, California joined a tiny minority of states to have adopted such severe restrictions on open carry.”
The decision overturned part of a 2023 ruling by a lower court that had dismissed a lawsuit filed in 2019 by gun owner Mark Baird, while rejecting his challenge to open-carry licensing in smaller counties, according to Reuters.
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A retail store in San Ramon, Calif., July 21, 2019. (Smith Collection/Gado/Getty Images)
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In October, the National Rifle Association (NRA) and other gun groups said they were suing California over the state’s ban on Glock-style guns with features known as switches that allow them to be converted to fully automatic weapons.
The NRA was joined by the Firearms Policy Coalition, Second Amendment Foundation, Poway Weapons & Gear, and two NRA members in challenging the state’s ban.
Fox News Digital’s Landon Mion contributed to this report.
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San Francisco, CA
Philadelphia Eagles to play San Francisco 49ers in NFL playoffs. Here’s what you need to know.
The Philadelphia Eagles will begin the playoffs against the San Francisco 49ers in the wild-card round next weekend at Lincoln Financial Field.
The Birds (No. 3 seed) had a chance to earn the No. 2 seed with a win, but lost to the Washington Commanders in the regular season finale.
Here’s what you need to know about the matchup vs. the 49ers and more.
Which day will the Eagles and 49ers play?
The date and time of the wild-card round matchup between the Eagles and 49ers have yet to be announced, but playoff games are scheduled for Saturday, Sunday and Monday.
Two games will take place Saturday, three will happen Sunday and the final first-round matchup will be on Monday night.
Eagles and 49ers postseason history
The Eagles and 49ers have only met twice in postseason history, most recently in the NFC championship game in the 2022 season.
The Eagles won that game, 31-7, before falling to the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LVII. In that game, the 49ers were decimated at quarterback as Brock Purdy and Josh Johnson suffered injuries.
After Johnson exited, Purdy returned to the game in the third quarter, but he was unable to throw the football beyond a few yards. The injuries to San Francisco’s quarterbacks led to the NFL approving a rule change that allows teams to play an emergency quarterback if the starter and backup are injured.
The Eagles are 1-1 vs. San Francisco all-time in the playoffs. Philadelphia’s loss to the 49ers in the playoffs happened in the wild-card round in 1996.
The title game in the 2022 season between the Eagles and 49ers started a rivalry that boiled over into 2023.
In 2023, the 49ers traveled to Lincoln Financial Field in Week 13 and dominated the Eagles, 42-19. The loss started the infamous collapse for the Eagles to end the season as the Birds lost six of the final seven games, including the playoff exit vs. the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
The loss to the Niners in the 2023 season also featured Eagles security chief Dom DiSandro and then-49ers linebacker Dre Greenlaw being ejected from the game after a scuffle on the sideline.
The Eagles and 49ers haven’t played each other since the 2023 season.
How the Eagles and 49ers got here
The Eagles went 11-6 in the 2025 season and won the NFC East for the second consecutive year, which ended a 20-year stretch of the division not having a repeat winner.
The Niners had a chance to earn the No. 1 seed, but fell to the Seattle Seahawks Saturday night. The 49ers finished the year with a 12-5 record to earn the No. 6 seed.
DENVER — The Broncos have checked off their second goal of the season.
Denver officially clinched the AFC’s No. 1 seed and home-field advantage throughout the AFC playoffs with Sunday’s 19-3 win over the Los Angeles Chargers.
As the top seed, the Broncos will receive a first-round bye in the 2025 playoffs and will host their first playoff game of the year in the Divisional Round on Saturday, Jan. 17 or Sunday, Jan. 18 at Empower Field at Mile High.
The Broncos, the lone team in the AFC to receive a first-round bye, will host the lowest remaining seed in the AFC playoff field in the Divisional Round. Denver’s possible opponents for its playoff opener include the Texans, Bills, Chargers and the yet-to-be-determined winner of the AFC North. If the Broncos earn a win in the Divisional Round, they would also host the AFC Championship Game.
Denver finished the 2025 regular season with a 14-3 mark, which is tied for the most regular-season wins in franchise history. The Broncos earned the No. 1 seed over the Patriots (14-3) due to a better record in games against common opponents.
The Broncos are the No. 1 seed in the AFC for the first time since 2015, when they went on to win Super Bowl 50. Denver has earned the No. 1 seed for an AFC-best ninth time, and two of the Broncos’ three Super Bowl titles have come after earning the No. 1 seed. The Broncos advanced to the Super Bowl in six of the eight previous seasons in which Denver earned the top seed in the conference.
Broncos Head Coach Sean Payton has now led teams to the No. 1 seed on three occasions in his career, and he is one of five coaches to lead two different organizations to a No. 1 seed.
Bo Nix, meanwhile, became the fourth quarterback in franchise history to lead the organization to a No. 1 seed — joining Ring of Famers John Elway, Peyton Manning and Craig Morton.
Learn more about playoff tickets and suites by visiting DenverBroncos.com/Tickets
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