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July 17, 2025

🚨 Don’t trust every AI summary in Gmail: Heads up! Scammers are getting smarter and sneakier. Some are now hiding dangerous messages in white text on a white background, like “Your password was compromised, call this number.” You won’t see it with your eyes, but Gmail’s Gemini AI does and it might include that hidden message in the email’s summary, making it sound like a real warning from Google. The takeaway? Always double-check emails yourself before clicking or calling anything. AI is helpful, but it’s not perfect and hackers know how to work around it.

⚾ Robo-umps at bat: MLB’s All-Star Game is testing robo-umps, and pitchers are having an existential crisis. It’s not C‑3PO calling the game. There’s still a human ump, just with an earpiece feeding real-time calls. Each team gets two ball/strike challenges. Basically a high-tech cheat sheet with zero patience for bad takes.

Copilot can see you: Microsoft just gave Copilot Vision full desktop eyes. Now, instead of peeking at one app, the AI can see everything you’ve got open. Yes, your billion tabs. Just hit the glasses icon and start chatting. You can also trigger it with your voice. It’s like Clippy evolved and learned surveillance tactics.

🛻 I think he might be right: Waze’s cofounder thinks Gen Beta (those born from 2025 to around 2039) won’t ever touch a steering wheel. With Tesla and Waymo pushing robotaxis, Uri Levine says the future is all self-driving, and maybe mobile shoe stores. So yeah, traffic might just be a bunch of vans selling Crocs.

💾 Old PCs, new problems: If you’re using an older Intel PC with a Gigabyte motherboard, heads up: There’s a new vulnerability that could mess with your system memory. Gigabyte’s pushing out BIOS updates to fix it, but only for certain models. If your board’s too old, their advice is basically “call someone.” Start backing up. And updating. Immediately.

Even Queen Bey ain’t safe

ID 185132502 @ Fabio Diena | Dreamstime.com

You’d think Beyoncé’s secret files crew would be protected by a force field of security, privacy settings and Sasha Fierce energy. But nope, real-world crime doesn’t care how many Grammys you have.

Right before her recent Atlanta show, thieves smashed the glass of a rental Jeep used by her crew and made off with two suitcases. Inside? A laptop, five thumb drives filled with unreleased, watermarked music, confidential tour plans and one very important piece of tech.

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☕ 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! 😂

$500 million

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.

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.

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.

Around 1 in 3

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.

Twerked, tagged, tracked: Ohio police arrested two brain-trust women who twerked on a parked cop car. The dance party left dents and scratches, so authorities ran footage through Clearview AI facial recognition. Got ’em! Now, the women are facing charges.