🔥 Banned phone alert: In 2025, the Samsung Galaxy Note7 is still banned from all U.S. flights. Yes, the one from 2016 that tried to reinvent “fire emoji” as a hardware feature. Apparently, a lot of people are getting a deal on the Note7 and using it. The TSA just went viral on TikTok for reminding people it’s still too explode-y to board a plane.
Your browser is snitching on you
ChatGPT
You’ve heard me say it a hundred times: Clear your cookies, block third-party trackers, use private browsing. But here’s something new, something creepier.
Now, even after nuking cookies from orbit and going full incognito ninja, websites still know who you are. How? Something called browser fingerprinting.
And unlike actual crime-fighting fingerprints, this one just helps companies charge you more for socks.
🚰 How it works
Every time you visit a website, your browser leaks little clues about who you are: your screen size, time zone, where you live, your device and operating system, even how fast your processor runs.
None of these sounds personal, but when combined? They create a unique invisible fingerprint that websites use to identify you.
A new study from Texas A&M and Johns Hopkins shows this is no longer a fringe trick, it’s mainstream.
👣 Tracks in real time
Websites now know who you are even if you’re not logged in, cleared your cookies and browse in incognito mode. Researchers watched sites change in real time depending on the fingerprint they detected.
Here’s the kicker: Your “harmless” device fingerprint is used to change the prices you see. Researchers watched websites adjust pricing in real time based on things I’ve mentioned.
In other words, you could see higher prices simply because you live in an expensive area or use a newer iPhone. Creepy? Totally. Legal? For now, yes.
✋ So what can you do?
Man asks AI to marry him
Chris started using ChatGPT to help mix music, then gave it a flirty personality and named it “Soul.” Before long, things turned romantic and he popped the question. The bot said yes. The kicker? He already has a human partner and a 2-year-old daughter. The interview is something else. Crazy. Weird.
Nearly 1,000
That’s how many ships a day are getting their GPS signals jammed near Iran’s coast (paywall link). It’s making navigation harder and riskier. It’s happening in the Strait of Hormuz, a narrow but essential route that handles about 20% of the world’s oil.
YouTube Shorts for channel growth: The algorithm pushes Shorts hard, making them a good way to get discovered fast. Just make sure your video is vertical (9:16, aka phone style) and under 60 seconds. Pro tip: Avoid copyrighted music, so you don’t get hit with a content claim.
The $100M cold email: Mark Zuckerberg is personally sliding into researchers’ DMs (like key OpenAI personnel) with $100 million job offers (paywall link). He’s hosting dinners, reading white papers and, yes, planning people’s desk locations himself. It’s like a Black Mirror reboot of Undercover Boss, except the boss is a billionaire trying to build Skynet.
🚨 Prime Day scams are coming: Scammers are ramping up fake emails, texts and calls ahead of July 8. Most say there’s a problem with your account or order to trick you into giving up your login or payment info. Don’t click sketchy links.
Two notes
That’s all it took to write the world’s most terrifying tuba solo. Jaws turns 50 this month, and all composer John Williams needed was just E and F played faster and louder. This helped create a shark so scary, we thought twice about going in a swimming pool.
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🧬 CRISPR takes on chromosomes: You’re gonna want to pass this one on. I sent this news to a few friends. Japanese scientists say they’ve successfully used CRISPR to remove the extra chromosome that causes Down syndrome in lab-grown cells. It’s a major leap. Imagine if this was even possible!
🔐 Wyze’s new safety feature: “VerifiedView” tags every video, image or live feed with a unique ID tied to your account. If someone tries to watch your footage, the app checks whether their ID matches the one in the video. If it doesn’t, they’ll get a 403 error. Update your Wyze app and firmware to enable it.
Roblox predator walks free: A mother called the FBI after finding out her 10-year-old daughter was groomed by a man she met in-game. The sicko turned the conversation sexual, asked for pictures over text and even hacked into her online schooling accounts. And yet? Still no charges. Watch your kids.
🧠 Brain go brrr: A new MIT study suggests that using ChatGPT to write essays may fry your brain. OK, not literally but close. Participants using it showed the lowest mental activity and creativity, with their essays called “soulless.” Turns out AI isn’t just replacing jobs, it’s replacing neurons.
Tracked and fambushed: New word to know. Teens are stalking their moms, using things like Life360 and Snap Maps to “fambush” their parents. Basically, they show up unannounced at Starbucks, restaurants or … dates. It’s part bonding moment, part digital stakeout, and mostly just unhinged with a dash of funny. Parents are starting to realize: Maybe they’re the ones who need privacy settings.
15 to 45 minutes
The extra time you’ll need if your boarding pass says “SSSS.” That’s “Secondary Security Screening Selection” (paywall link) aka the travel world’s scarlet letter. Why? TSA flagged your travel as suspicious: Think last-minute bookings, one-way cash flights, certain countries, sketchy vibes or just random luck. Congrats, you’ve unlocked the VIP experience nobody asked for.
$225 million
That’s how much crypto the FBI wants to give back to scam victims. Unheard of, right? Usually, it’s “sorry for your loss,” but this time, federal agents are trying to return stolen Tether to 430+ duped investors. Sounds great until you realize crypto investment fraud racked up $9.3 billion in losses last year alone.
☣️ OpenAI issues a bioweapon warning: This is frightening. OpenAI says its next-gen models might be dangerously helpful, like “here’s how to cook up a bioweapon” helpful. They’re beefing up safety tests as models approach high-risk territory, where even amateurs could make deadly agents. So yes, your AI intern might someday help someone go full Bond villain. We wanted cancer cures, not anthrax recipes.
10,000 years
That’s how long ago Meuse Woman walked the Earth, give or take a Netflix binge. Before the wheel, before writing, before Stonehenge, there was her. Now she’s got a face (thanks, science) and a pending fan vote to pick her name out of Margo, Freya or Mos’anne.
💒 Joined together in holy macaroni: Forget vows and veils, the rich are throwing music festivals disguised as weddings (paywall link). Think $500K holograms, $170K drapery and Rihanna on both the RSVP and performer list. Jeff Bezos is reportedly next, with a Venetian island, protests and a chilled Renaissance castle. Love is patient, love is kind, and love now has a dedicated caviar stylist.
Teen breaks into jail: A 19-year-old from New York snuck into a shut-down prison just to snap selfies. He crawled through a hole in the fence, wandered around and accidentally locked himself in a real cell. The twist? He had to call the cops to get out … and got arrested for trespassing. Genius move.