Save hundreds of dollars in minutes

☕ Starbucks Secret Menu is out: It’s now officially in the app under the offers tab, starting with fan favorites: Cookies on Top, Dragonfruit Glow-Up, Just Add White Mocha, and Lemon, Tea & Pearls. Bonus: There’s also a Secret Menu Contest running until July 20. You could win up to $25,000. Try this for fun: The next time you go to Starbucks, tell them your name is “Bueller.” Don’t go the first time they call your name! 😂 

Stop poking your Echo: Say, “Alexa, volume up” or “volume down” to adjust the sound. Want more control? Say “Alexa, set volume to 5.” The range goes from 1 to 10, so you can dial it in for podcasts (like The Kim Komando Show), playlists or whatever you’re playing.

That’s the deal Apple just signed with MP Materials, which operates a rare-earth mine in the U.S. The company will soon produce magnets for iPhones and other high-tech gear. Why? Apple wants to cut back on communist China’s grip controlling about 70% of the world’s critical minerals. 

GoFraudMe: Scammers’ latest ploy is fake fundraisers exploiting a real tragedy. A woman’s husband was killed with a hatchet on vacation, and bogus GoFundMes popped up using his story. GoFundMe pulled the pages, but it’s a brutal reminder: Always verify before donating. 

🧨 Pentagon goes promptcore: We need this. The Pentagon is writing jumbo checks (up to $200M each) to OpenAI, Google, Anthropic and, yes, xAI, to build agentic AIs for war. The Chief Digital and Artificial Intelligence Office says this is about speeding up military decision-making and “mission workflows.” 

🙄 Sick of Comcast? Two guys in Michigan got so fed up with the service that they started their own internet company. It’s all fiber (read: reliable), with no data caps or contracts, and it’s already in about 1,500 homes. The twist? Comcast caught wind and started calling ex-customers with discounts and new unlimited deals. Shocker.

🔌 Belkin bricks tech: Say goodbye to 27 models of its Wemo smart home devices, including some sold as recently as 2023. After January 2026, they’ll lose app access, Alexa integrations and cloud features. Warranty users might get partial refunds. Everyone else? Straight to e-waste. Your “smart” hardware’s about to get real dumb.

U.S. counties have no full-time local journalist. That number has dropped 75% since 2002. The fix? Experts say we need more funding and policy changes. Kinda scary to think no one in the public eye is watching over local government, businesses or schools.