The Hurricane Helene forecast scandal

Total game changer: Google’s NotebookLM AI is going viral. Audio Overviews turns written content into a conversational podcast style between two bots. Really, it sounds like humans. There’s a natural cadence with filler words like “uh” and “oh.” Try it: Sign in to your Google Account, go to the NotebookLM website, upload a doc or link, and hit Generate. Prepare to be shocked — I was.

Mount Everest’s steady elevation gain can be traced back 89,000 years. Now, it rises about 2 millimeters per year. That’s only 0.08 inches, but it all adds up when you’re getting high.

🍗 Costco’s rotisserie chicken is making people sick: The new plastic bag might be breeding bacteria. It’s more likely the chicken is being left at room temperature for too long. Pro tip: As soon as you get home, pop the chicken in an airtight container and refrigerate it.

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How early election officials suggest you send your mail-in ballot. Massive delays in the U.S. Postal Service could mean thousands of ballots won’t make it into the official account. I’m not taking any chances; I’m voting in person.

Update your PC now: The Windows 11 2024 update (24H2) brings improvements to the Start Menu, File Explorer and Power Settings. Several features and apps are going away, including WordPad, Paint 3D, Tips and Cortana. To update, head to Settings > Windows Update.

🚨 Comcast and Truist Bank data breach: Both used Financial Business and Consumer Solutions (FBCS) to collect unpaid debts on their behalf. Around 7.4 million FBCS customers had their full name, SSN, DOB, driver’s license number or ID card, and other personal data breached. You know the drill — freeze your credit and watch out for phishing scams, texts and phone calls.

👻 Life’s a stitch, then you dye: An Ohio woman is going viral on TikTok after finding a rug buried in her lawn. Soon after her discovery, strange things started happening to her, like her laptop screen shattering and her belongings getting moved randomly. She thinks the spooky events might be caused by her next-door neighbor, who died the day she bought the house. The internet, of course, is convinced there’s a body inside the rug. Nope — the cops came out with two cadaver dogs, and it was just a rug.

Plane crazy: Microsoft’s new Copilot Vision will “see what you see” if you’re using the Edge browser. The AI answers questions, summarizes content or tells you what to do. It’ll be entirely optional (you’ll need to opt in to use it), with a visual indicator when it’s on. It’s probably best if you turn it off, though, for those, you know, potentially embarrassing moments.

Born to be root, not reboot: That’s total geek humor. Stealthy malware has been infecting Linux systems since 2021. It secretly mines crypto and turns computers into spambots, hiding as common system processes. Extra sneaky: It stops when someone logs in. Telltale sign: Constantly high CPU usage. Make sure CVE-2023-33246 is patched.

No more Mr. Dice guy: Sports betting apps are now using AI to limit how much you can wager, especially if you show signs of being methodical or good at betting. The workarounds: Bet using someone else’s account or pretend to be a gambling addict. One guy with a knack for winning set up a bot to log into his account daily between 2 a.m. and 4 a.m. to make it seem like he’s obsessed.