Stop Alexa from spoiling your Christmas surprise

👓 Are smart glasses finally useful? Ray-Ban dropped a major update for its Meta smart glasses. The specs now include Shazam for identifying songs; real-time AI video that captures and describes what’s in front of you; and live translation for Spanish, French and Italian. If the translation alone works well, it’ll be a total travel game-changer. OK, this news was enough for me to buy the $317 glasses. I’ll let you know what I think about them in a month or so. If you have an “early adopter” on your gift list, this would be a great gift!

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For bomb and fallout shelters in the U.S. That figure’s expected to grow another $40 million by 2030 as fears of nuclear war continue to mount. One guy who builds and installs bunkers says his prices start at $20,000, with most averaging around $500,000. All the billionaires building bunkers are definitely inflating this, too.

Potty mouth: Viral sensation “Skibidi Toilet” is coming to Fortnite. You might know that as the phrase kids and tweens won’t stop saying. Other rumored Fortnite crossovers: Anime’s Demon Slayer and Hatsune Miku, plus the return of Spider-Man. Now you have something to talk to your 12-year-old about at Christmas!

🌆 I’m surprised they’re not charging for it: Roku’s iconic animated screensaver is getting a glow-up. Since its last update six years ago, Roku City has been stuck at 720p resolution. Now it’s in full 1080p HD with Easter eggs like a train station and interactive billboards for Roku’s own stuff.

You need to try this: Another day, another AI amazement. Google’s new AI tool Whisk cuts out the hard part of image generation. Instead of coming up with the perfect prompt, drag and drop photos to remix a fresh pic. There’s a dice icon that mixes and matches with other AI images, too. Give it a whirl.

🇺🇲 Red vs. blue: Some house hunters want to know how their future neighbors vote. A new real estate app called Oyssey, launching this month in South Florida and NYC, shows election results and campaign donation info for different areas. Anything for a buck.

What a tragedy: Philip Tong, a 45-year-old dad with diabetes, felt short of breath, was coughing up blood and had blue feet. He used Amazon’s One Medical to book a telehealth appointment. The doctor’s advice? Buy an inhaler. Tong died later that day in the ER; he was in sepsis. Now his family is suing. If you’re experiencing severe symptoms, please call 911. Telehealth has its place, but nothing replaces emergency care.

🇨🇳 Chinese-owned TP-Link routers may be getting banned: This is big — about 65% of American homes and businesses use a TP-Link router, along with the U.S. Department of Defense and other federal agencies. TP-Link has been tied to Chinese cyberattacks and lets security flaws slide, making them a big target. And they may be selling their routers for less than it costs to make them — a monopoly no-no. I told you this was coming.

What AT&T charged a man in Texas for using 3GB of data. They chalked up his massive bill to a glitch or human error. Good reminder to always double-check your bill before autopay kicks in!

Time children should spend reading, according to a new study. Researchers analyzed 10,000 kids and found the earlier they started reading for fun, the better their learning, memory, speech and mental well-being. Looking for some book recs? Here are the bestselling kids’ books on Amazon right now. They make great gifts, too!

We may receive a commission when you buy through our links, but our reporting and recommendations are always independent and objective.