🧬 23andMe filed for bankruptcy: I’ve been warning you about this for years. They’re selling off what they can to pay the bills, and that includes your personal info and genetic data. Delete your account ASAP before someone gets your DNA. Go to Profile > Settings > 23andMe Data > View > Delete Data, then confirm the deletion via email.
How to fix your high streaming bills
The other day on my national radio show, I mentioned that the average American drops $110 a month on streaming services. Add another $80+ for a solid internet connection, and suddenly old-school cable doesn’t look so bad.
My inbox lit up with folks asking, “Kim, how can I lower my streaming bills?” I’m willing to bet you’re paying for stuff you’re not even watching. Let’s fix that.
🕵️ Start with an audit
So, how many streaming services are you paying for right now? Netflix? Hulu? Disney+? Max? Peacock? Oh, throw in Prime Video because you have Amazon Prime. Before you know it, you’re spending more than you ever did on cable.
Step 1: Pull up your bank or credit card statement. Not all the charges will be obvious. Look for:
- Google, Apple and Amazon auto renewals
- Obvious ones like Hulu or Paramount+
Pro tip: I use Rocket Money* to do this for me. It scans your accounts, flags subscriptions and cancels the ones you forgot about. So easy.
Step 2: Open your phone or smart TV to check which apps you actually use. If it’s been more than a month since you watched, unsubscribe. You can always rejoin later. Most don’t even erase your watch history.
Do what I do and rotate services. If you’re watching a Netflix series now, cancel the rest. Come back later when your binge list is long enough to justify the cost.
📺 Go cheap
Why pay when there are so many free, legit options with great content? There are ads, but free is free!
- Tubi: Tons of movies, including classics, thrillers and ’90s gems like Happy Gilmore
- Pluto TV: Popular option for news and sitcoms
- The Roku Channel: Slick interface, free movies and Roku Originals
- MUBI: Hidden gem for indie films and documentaries
- Freevee from Amazon: Solid shows, including Bosch: Legacy and The Good Wife
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Creepy data grab and how to make it stop
This is the kind of thing that makes you wish flip phones were still a thing. The world has moved from marketing to digital profiling. We are being tracked like never before.
Advertising giant Publicis Groupe just released a video bragging that its CoreAI platform tracks a staggering 91% of all adult internet users. Yes, that probably includes you, me and everyone we know.
8.2 billion
How many people we thought were on Earth. Researchers studied 35 years of data and say we’ve been underestimating rural populations by 53% to 84%. Turns out people are a lot harder to count when they don’t live near a Census office.
5 cool tricks for your router
You never hear anyone say, “This router is amazing. It changed my life!” It’s sad because that little guy controls your entire home’s internet. If yours has a USB port (check the back!), you can unlock some surprisingly useful features. You’re gonna love this.
🍫 A real-life Willy Wonka show? Yep, Netflix is casting for a new reality competition series inspired by Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. It’s called The Golden Ticket, and contestants face wild games and temptations in a retro-futuristic dreamscape. The best part? You can apply now. I just got over my addiction to chocolate, marshmallows and nuts. It was a Rocky Road. (I saw you smile!)
Samsung broke your soundbar: And they know it. A bad software update they pushed last week left a bunch of soundbars unresponsive and inaccessible. It gets worse: It’s so severe, it can only be fixed with a physical repair. Samsung’s offering to fix it for free, even if you’re out of warranty. The least they can do.
🐱 Meow you’re talking: Scientists are building the world’s largest cat database to figure out why our feline friends act the way they do. Just send in a fur sample, fill out a survey about your cat’s behavior and give a $150 donation. The team will analyze the DNA and look for links between genetics, personality and health. Want in? Sign up here.
StubHub is going public: The ticket resale marketplace just filed to list on the New York Stock Exchange. Even though it pulled in $1.77 billion in revenue in 2024, it still posted a loss of $2.8 million. (How does that happen?) Anyway, wondering who else is lining up to go public? Keep an eye on CoreWeave, Klarna and Hinge Health.
🚀 Trump announced Boeing will build the F-47: It’ll still have a human pilot, but it’s capable of flying autonomously with a swarm of AI-powered drone wingmen. This next-gen jet packs stealth tech, advanced sensors and hypersonic weaponry. China and Russia? Not even close. Watch more here.
🐭 Coming to Disney next year: This is freakin’ awesome. Real Star Wars droids roaming around. They’re working with Google DeepMind and Nvidia’s new Newton model to bring them to life. This will help them walk around the parks, be more expressive and do tricky tasks on their own. What do you call a pirate droid? Arr-2 D2. (Good one, right?)
Scam alert: Google’s new call-scanning feature tells you in real time if you’re getting swindled on the phone. AI analyzes conversations, and if something sketchy happens, you get an audio, vibration and visual warning. It’s for Pixel 9 or later only. Go to the Phone app > Settings > Scan Detection. PSA: Google says they’re not saving your calls. Yea, right.
🎮 Game over, cheaters: You’ll be banned forever if you’re caught selling your Call of Duty account. This is a big problem, so Activision is adding new anti-cheat tech before Season 3 of Black Ops 6 and Warzone starts.
Tasting digital food in virtual reality: Scientists are developing tech that detects taste molecules, converts them into electrical signals and sends them to a mouthpiece that releases chemicals to mimic flavors. They can already transmit these signals from California to Ohio. Penne for your thoughts?
Apple’s shiny new modem: The iPhone 16e is the first iPhone to feature Apple’s own C1 modem, marking a move away from Qualcomm. So how’s it doing? Depends on your carrier. On AT&T and Verizon, the 16e had better download and upload speeds than the regular iPhone 16. But on T-Mobile, the iPhone 16 still had slightly better upload speeds.
Space advertising: Imagine stepping outside to look at the stars … and seeing a giant glowing billboard in the sky. That could soon be a reality, with Russian companies planning to launch swarms of laser-equipped satellites to project light into Earth’s low orbit. The kicker? There’s no global ban on this yet.
🌐 Protecting undersea internet cables: I’m not sure if you know that they carry 95% of the world’s internet traffic and are a known target for sabotage. Now, there’s new tech that can “listen” for vibrations in the cable’s light signals — like if a diver touches it or a ship drags an anchor too close.
$5.7 million
The world’s most expensive and rarest dog. He’s the first wolf and Caucasian shepherd mix called a “wolfdog.” At 8 months old, he already weighs 165 pounds. Speaking of … I can’t take my dog to the park as all the ducks keep trying to bite her. My fault for getting one that’s pure bread.
🚘 Buy a car, get $2,300: You’ll score that in Amazon gift cards if you shop on Amazon Autos. You can see prices up front and customize your ride right from your couch. When you’re ready, schedule a pickup, sign the paperwork at the dealership and drive off. In about two weeks, you’ll get two emails from Amazon, each with a $1,150 gift card.
We may earn a commission from purchases, but our recommendations are always objective.