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After Casey Colvin’s home burned down in the Pacific Palisades fire, he went looking for his rescue dogs. A firefighter found Tika Tika Tika, but little Oreo ran away. Luckily, Casey was smart and had an AirTag on the pup’s collar. He tracked her down near the rubble of his home. Grab some tissues before you watch the heartwarming video.
Tags: California, dog, home, video, wildfires
👨🚒 DIY firefighting: A 60-year-old man saved his home from the Palisades fire with special equipment he’d purchased in advance. He soaked his house with water pumps, sprinklers and a hydrogel retardant he mixed in his backyard hot tub. Sadly, the homes surrounding him weren’t as lucky. Here’s the video showing how he did it.
Watching ads on Disney+, Hulu and ESPN+. About half of all new Disney+ subscribers picked the cheaper ad-supported option. That’s helping the streamer rake in $321 million in operating income, a huge turnaround from their reported $387 million loss a year ago.
🦖 No, thanks, Dad: Alex Volkov, an “AI enthusiast,” gave his six-year-old daughter a $200 AI-powered dinosaur from Magical Toys. He showed her how to make the dinosaur talk using AI. She turned it off. Using the app, parents can view their kid’s chat history and give the toy’s AI topics to talk about. I’d never buy it; AI hallucinates, and just think of all the data being collected.
Amazon’s shutting down Prime Try Before You Buy: It’s all over at the end of this month. Now, they’re pushing AI features like Virtual Try-on AR, which lets you see 3D renders of shoes on your feet, for example, using just your smartphone camera.
🤢 This is gross: Creepy AI apps are allowing folks to create videos of real people making out without their consent, like this one, which uses a picture of a young girl and her older male crush. These videos can be generated in seconds. The worst part? Most of these apps are listed as safe for teens in the app stores. YouCam, Fotorama and Mova AI are just a few examples.
Mining my own business: I’ve followed this story for years. A British judge just said no to a man’s plan to dig up a landfill in search of his hard drive holding the equivalent of $765 million in bitcoin. Why? First, the landfill legally owns the trash. Second, excavating it could release harmful substances and endanger local residents. Oh, and it’s been over 11 years, so there’s no guarantee the data is even recoverable.
Mac warning: Hackers have developed sophisticated malware dubbed “Banshee macOS Stealer” that can swipe credentials and sensitive data. The scary part? It can lurk undetected for months. Only download apps from legitimate places and invest in antivirus software with real-time protection. My pick is TotalAV.
Tax tip: The IRS is urging taxpayers to enroll in its Identity Protection PIN program, which relaunches this week. This six-digit number is assigned to you and prevents scammers from filing tax returns using your SSN and personal info. To get yours, create an account on the IRS website, verify your identity through ID.me, then click Profile and scroll down to the IP PIN program.
⚖️ TikTok hearing update: Legal experts say the Supreme Court appears likely to uphold a law banning TikTok in the U.S. on Jan. 19. While the platform’s lawyers argue the ban violates free speech, the nine justices remain laser-focused on national security concerns. The app won’t be completely forbidden, but you won’t be able to download it from app stores or receive updates. No word yet on whether you’ll still be able to use TikTok on the web.
