📉 Pocket, zipped: Mozilla’s Pocket app — yes, the “save it for later” one — is shutting down July 8. Mozilla reasoned it needs to focus on Firefox, of all things. Data vanishes in October. If you’ve got a decade of unread articles, now’s your moment. Or just accept you’ll never finish that 2016 “Rise and Fall of Vine” op-ed.
Elder fraud is exploding: Your data is making it worse
ChatGPT
I’ve got bad news: Today’s online scammers know everything about you. They’re scraping your info and everyone else’s from the web and buying the rest from data brokers and people-search sites.
📈 The stats are scary
Folks age 60-plus are the biggest target. Almost 72% of scams start with personal data grabbed online. Data brokers vacuum up your info like phone numbers, emails, past addresses, income, favorite takeout spots and then auction it off like eBay for creepers.
With this data, they use personalized weapons.
🎯 Criminals know who to target
Study this list. Here’s what these attacks look like:
- AI phone calls that sound like your grandkids.
- Medicare fraud quoting your last doctor visit.
- Calls from “your bank” that know your address.
- Investment traps tailored to your retirement income.
- Romance scams where your “lover” has the same interests.
Live in a state with higher retirement incomes?
You’re in the bull’s-eye. Texas seniors lost an average of $51,700 per complaint. My state, Arizona, had the highest elder fraud rate per capita (3.5 cases for every 1,000 seniors). Yikes.
🛡️ How to fight back
1. Freeze your credit:
Even if you’re not worried about identity theft, a credit freeze keeps crooks from opening accounts in your name.
2. Use call filtering apps:
Try tools like Hiya, Nomorobo or your carrier’s spam call protection. And never answer unknown numbers, voicemail is your friend.
The next iPhone? Nope. This one has no screen, no apps, no keyboard
ChatGPT
I always want you to be tech ahead. That’s why I want you to think about what if your next device didn’t have a screen? Or apps? Or a keyboard?
That’s exactly why Sam Altman (OpenAI’s CEO) and Jony Ive (the former Apple design genius behind the iPhone) are working on a new kind of AI gadget that could completely change the way we interact with technology.
After 52 years
The U.S. is lifting its ban on supersonic flights over home turf. That means commercial jets faster than the speed of sound could soon take off. Why the ban in the first place? Sonic booms had people complaining. Now the FAA needs to write up new rules for acceptable noise levels. Hope your windows are ready.
Lies, but with filters: Misinformation is mutating harder than Chernobyl deer. AI-made photos, videos and text are now scary good, blurring reality at scale. Nobody knows what’s real … except that picture of aliens in the White House your uncle reposted, saying he told you so.
🚨 Cyberattack hits major food supplier: Might want to stock up on your favorites now. United Natural Foods says hackers got into their systems, so they’ve shut down parts of the network. This means delays with order fulfillment and distribution. FYI: They supply products to over 30,000 stores, including Whole Foods. This one could cause some serious ripple effects.
🍏 Apple’s WWDC sour highlights: Just as I predicted, major disappointment. Apple’s iOS 26 is coming in the fall. Will it have a ton of AI? Will it work on the new Apple flip phone? No on both counts. But there’s the new Liquid Glass theme. The screen and app tiles will become translucent, less reflective. Wowsie. You can have polls in group texts, get live translation in calls and see alerts for spam for incoming calls. And you can have two windows open on your iPad. Finally.
💸 $742 million fortune lost: After 12 years, the guy who tossed a hard drive with 8,000 Bitcoin has to give up the search. It’s buried in a landfill in Wales, but officials won’t allow a dig because of environmental risks. And to top it off? A judge says it likely didn’t survive anyway. At least his story’s getting a documentary.
📺 Rated B for bogus: That $7.99/month YouTube Premium Lite plan is about to get a lot less ad-free. Starting June 30, you’ll see ads on Shorts, music videos and while browsing or searching. It’s all part of the push to get folks on full Premium for $13.99/month with no ads or background play.
EV range lies: Consumer Reports drove 30 EVs dry at 70 mph and found over half underdelivered on range. Some like the Ford Lightning were off by up to 50 miles. BMW and Merc went the extra mile. Reminder: highway range ≠ sticker range. Especially not when it’s 95° and you’re blasting AC.
🚁 Walmart’s drone army: Wing and Walmart are dropping drone deliveries in 100 more stores. If you’re in Atlanta, Charlotte or Orlando, your box of Pop-Tarts might arrive like it’s a military op. Drones now deliver within 30 minutes for orders up to 5 pounds. Those aren’t UFOs, Samantha. That’s your emotional support rotisserie chicken.
Floppy air control: Terrifying fun fact, U.S. air traffic control still partially runs on actual floppy disks and Windows 95. And yep, Newark’s had three major outages in five weeks. The FAA wants a $10B-ish tech glow-up, but politics and duct tape might kill the plan before takeoff. If Clippy pops up mid-landing, we’re all in God’s hands.
📱 Job text scam-a-palooza: Scammers are texting people fake job offers (i.e., Target hiring you to click buttons for $200/hr), and folks are falling for it (paywall link). Losses topped $470 million last year. AI makes these scams dangerously believable, and Gen Z is out here click-click-clicking their way into identity theft.
Every 5 minutes
North Korean phones secretly take a screenshot of whatever you’re doing. A smuggled one showed the images are stored in a hidden folder that authorities can check later. Even crazier? The phone changes your words as you type. Write “South Korea,” and it becomes “puppet state.” Talk about autocorrect from hell.
🐶 Dogs look like their owners? Science says it’s not just in your head. We might subconsciously choose pups that resemble us or our kids. Women have hair similar in length to their dog’s ears. And yep, they match our vibes, too. The longer we’re together, the more they start to copy us. Look at my Bella!
Postural regression therapy: Millennials and Gen Z are now curing “tech neck” by copying babies. The fix? Lying on your stomach like a 6-month-old. Influencers swear it helps their posture, digestion, even core strength. So yeah, we’ve reached the timeline where adulting means scheduled floor flops. I’m looking forward to nap time.
📦 Package delayed scam: This one is spreading fast. You place an order after seeing a tempting ad, but the package never shows. Then comes the excuse: delays due to tariffs or customs. Next thing you know, they’re asking for extra fees after checkout.
🫀 Teen heart hacker: A 14-year-old in Texas built an AI-powered heart screening app that can detect cardiac issues in seven seconds with just a smartphone mic. Yes, seriously. It’s 96% accurate and already in clinical trials. App detects heart failure? I wonder if it can hear mine breaking during tax season.
Self-healing concrete: Scientists made concrete that can literally fix itself, and it’s technically alive. They’re using synthetic lichen that feeds on sunlight and air. It then produces calcium carbonate, the same ultra-strong material found in Roman concrete. When cracks appear, they fill in naturally.