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Strange drones are swarming the skies, leaving everyone guessing. Wondering what’s up there? There are tools to help — if it’s on the map.
😂 Murphy’s Law states anything that can happen will happen: But are you familiar with Cole’s Law? It’s finely shredded raw cabbage with a salad dressing, commonly either vinaigrette or mayonnaise.
Drumroll, please … It’s Temu. That’s two years in a row for the most downloaded free app. In second place is Meta’s Threads, followed by TikTok at No. 3. I know Temu is super cheap, but that comes with its own cost. Here’s why I’d never buy the toys there for the kiddos in my life.
🪦 Where there’s a will, there’s a relative: Jesse Beck, 45, recorded a video “will” four days before he died in a motorcycle crash. It didn’t hold up in court. Why? Estate law (paywall link) is old school, and video or audio recordings don’t cut it. The legal validity of wills from text messages and emails also depends on where you live, but a signed, witnessed and notarized paper doc is still the gold standard.
Face, meet palm: A so-called “misinformation expert” was caught spreading misinformation. Jeff Hancock submitted a doc with fake AI-generated citations. Minnesota’s Attorney General paid him $600 an hour for expert testimony defending a new state law that bans AI-driven voter deception. You can’t make this up … but a bot did.
🎥 “Endorsement for AI”: That’s what Lisa Kudrow is calling Tom Hanks’ new film, “Here.” The Robert Zemeckis-directed flick uses AI to de-age Hanks and Robin Wright into younger versions of themselves. The “Friends” star thinks bots will replace real actors. It’s like she heard my show last week.
That escalated quickly: TikTok Shop is pulling in more customers than retail giants Shein and Sephora. It launched in September of 2023, and 45% of Americans have already bought something through it. Fashion and beauty items pitched by influencers are the most popular.
🚨 North Korean hackers are targeting Macs: It starts with an email containing a fake crypto news headline (e.g., “Hidden Risk Behind New Surge of Bitcoin Price”) and includes a link, supposedly to a PDF. The link actually leads to a malicious app that lets the sender take control of your system. If you’ve clicked on a random PDF link recently, scan for malware ASAP. I use TotalAV.
Brave new world: U.K. police are testing a facial recognition phone app that lets officers identify people walking down the street. Some communities put up signs as a warning. This tech is worldwide; American police searched Clearview AI’s facial database 2 million times in New York City and Dallas this year.
Stalkerware is up 239%: Apps like mSpy and Life360 market themselves as ways to track your kids. Abusers use them to see everywhere their partner goes. This is no small problem; 85% of domestic violence survivors have experienced digital abuse. Need help? Here’s my guide to protecting yourself.
🛑 Help during a bus driver shortage: School districts around the country are cutting bus routes big time. About 36% of students took a bus in 2017, but now, it’s only 28%. If you’re having trouble getting the kids to school, check out ride-hailing apps like the PiggyBack Network and HopSkipDrive.
