⚡ Smaller, faster, richer: The Ferrari 296 and Lamborghini Temerario run on a motor that started as a college project. Oxford grad Tim Woolmer invented YASA’s “axial-flux” motor. Lighter, 45% smaller and up to four times more power-dense than the usual stuff. YASA made just 1,000 five years ago. Next year? 25,000. Super cars are about to be more super.
Your streaming bill is robbing you blind
ChatGPT
On my national radio show, I mentioned that the average American spends $110 a month on streaming subscriptions. Add in $80+ for decent internet, and suddenly cable doesn’t look so evil.
My inbox exploded: “Kim, how do I lower my streaming bill?”
The short answer: You’re paying for stuff you’re not even watching. Let’s fix that.
🕵️ Start with a ‘streaming audit’
How many of these are you signed up for right now? Netflix, Hulu, Disney+, Max, Peacock, Prime Video … and maybe a couple of sneaky ones like BritBox or Discovery+ you forgot about after a “free trial.”
Step 1: Check your bank or card statement for charges from:
- Google, Apple, Amazon (they love hiding subscriptions under friendly names).
- Random charges like “BILLINGSTREAMLLC” (actual scammy name I’ve seen).
- Pro tip: Use Rocket Money, they scan your accounts and flag forgotten or sneaky subscriptions.
Step 2: Open your smart TV or phone. Which apps are collecting digital dust? If it’s been more than a month since you watched something, unsubscribe. Most services save your watch history, so you can pick up where you left off later.
💸 Go full cheapskate (but in style)
You’d be shocked how good free streaming is these days. Yeah, there are ads, but you don’t get a bill.
- Tubi: Classic movies, thrillers and more ’90s vibes than a Delia’s catalog.
- Pluto TV: News, sitcoms, reality reruns and channels you didn’t know you missed.
- The Roku Channel: Solid flicks and weirdly addictive Roku originals.
- Plex: It started as a way to stream your own stuff, now it offers tons of free content.
- Kanopy & Hoopla: If you’ve got a library card, you’ve got access to tons of award-winning movies, docs and even binge-worthy TV. Free. Legit. No strings.
🎯 Question of the day
The tech myths we can’t stop repeating
ChatGPT
Tech myths have a way of sticking around like those 99 browser tabs you keep open, harmless at first, but over time, they slow everything down. They spread in group texts, get repeated by well-meaning relatives and pop up like spammy ads from 2003.
Kentucky kids rediscover paper: Jefferson County Public Schools just saw a 67% spike in book library checkouts after Kentucky banned phones in class. At Ballard High, students borrowed nearly 900 books in August, up from 533 last year. Librarians say whodunits are a hot commodity. Apparently, when TikTok disappears, Agatha Christie eats.
A switch that makes sense! Check this out. Consumer Cellular gives me the same great coverage as the big carriers for a fraction of the cost! You can keep your phone and number or get new ones. I’m getting two unlimited lines for just $60. Use code KIM25 at ConsumerCellular.com/KIM for $25 in savings, and make the smart switch today. You can save more if you’re an AARP member.
😨 Massive data breach: 18 million records tied to Chrysler, Jeep and Dodge customers were stolen. No credit cards, but names, emails and phone numbers are now powering super-targeted phishing scams. You might get a call that sounds real, until it isn’t. Keep your guard up.
Windows in your hands: Microsoft and Asus opened preorders for the new Xbox Ally handhelds, but don’t expect a budget price. These things run full Windows, not just Xbox games. Plug it into a monitor, pair a keyboard, or game straight from the couch. Starts at $599, but if you can swing it, the $1,299 Ally X is pure muscle and the one you want.
We may earn a commission from purchases, but our recommendations are always objective.
🚨 Gmail scam spreading: This is frightening. Watch out for fake Gmail account recovery request notifications that look like the real deal. Hackers try to convince you to sign in through a phony login page, where they can then capture your password. Ignore or decline the request, and they’ll follow up with an AI-generated Google support call in which the caller claims someone has accessed your account and stolen your data. Ignore that, too. Pass this on, so everyone knows this is happening.
🪐 Out of this world: NASA confirmed its 6,000th planet beyond our solar system. Lava worlds, Jupiter-size gas giants and even double-sun planets are straight out of Star Wars. Another 8,000 are waiting in line, and scientists think that within a decade, we’ll spot Earth-like worlds that could support life. Who knows, maybe even one with a Chili’s.
☢️ Watts up? OpenAI locked in a deal with Nvidia to build AI infrastructure running on 10 gigawatts of GPUs. That’s about 10 nuclear reactors. Nvidia’s dropping up to $100B on the project going live in 2026.
🎰 Hacker hits the house: In 2023, a hacker group called Scattered Spider phished MGM’s IT desk on LinkedIn, then nuked slot machines, room keys and reservations from the inside. MGM lost over $100M refusing ransom. Caesars paid $15M. One of the hackers just turned himself in and, drumroll … he’s a teenager! He’s facing six felony charges.
Chrome’s hungry upgrade: With Gemini baked in, Chrome grabs more mobile info than any other browser: name, location, purchases, your search history, etc. If you don’t like Google snooping, go to Activity controls and turn off “Web & App Activity.” Then, in Chrome Settings (three-dot menu) > You and Google > Sync and Google services, and disable the “Help improve Chrome’s features and performance” switch. I did.
🕵️ Watch out for the AI scam surge: Phony apps are multiplying like gremlins. Triple on iOS, six-fold on Android. They mimic legit apps, steal logins, fake traffic and drown stores in bot-written reviews. Using AI, anyone with Wi-Fi and bad intentions can cook up a scam app. PSA: Only download apps that you really need and know come from a legit source.
🔑 You can’t predict the market, but you can protect your savings. That’s why I keep a portion of my own retirement in real gold and silver with Goldco. Right now, get up to 10% back in FREE silver when you open a qualified account.
🎧 Quiet isn’t always better: Noise-canceling headphones protect your eardrums no matter how loud your Uncle Ralph’s hot political takes get. But it turns out, if you wear them nonstop, especially as a kid, your brain never learns to tune out background noise (paywall link). Doctors are now linking heavy use to auditory processing disorder, where everyday sounds feel overwhelming.
Pay-to-park warfare: A viral site let San Franciscans dodge parking tickets by showing where enforcement officers were in real time. The leaderboard showed one officer writing 192 tickets in a single day, over $20K in fines! The city patched the data feed within hours, killing the tool, after 50,000 people tried it.
Search goes live: Google just dropped Search Live in the U.S. You point your camera, talk out loud, and it feeds you answers plus links in real time. Ask which munchies to grab or how to fix your busted fan, and boom, Google talks back. Free, no sign-up required. At this point, even my snacks are getting SEO’d.
Jewelry heist fiasco: So picture this, 25 masked suspects suddenly storm a California jewelry store, smashing cases and grabbing $1M in loot. Now, look at the tech the store had in place. The door locked them inside, forcing one to shoot their way out. Police drones tracked the crew, leading to seven arrests. The suspects, all from Oakland, range from 17 to 31. So young, so dumb.
🚨 Prime time penalty: Amazon just agreed to pay $2.5 billion to settle FTC claims it tricked millions into unwanted Prime memberships and made cancellations nearly impossible. $1.5B will go to 35 million customers, $1B to the FTC. Amazon admits no wrongdoing, but it now has to make canceling easier. If you had Prime between June 23, 2019, and June 23, 2025, you may qualify for a refund. Some will be automatic, others through an FTC claims portal (coming soon on ftc.gov).