Let’s get to the core of it: Starting Oct. 27, Apple will kick off its “week of announcements” for the latest Mac lineup. Expect refreshed MacBook Pro models, a 24-inch iMac and a new Mac mini, all powered by M4-series chips. They’ll likely ship with macOS Sequoia, so we might get a peek at some new, snazzy AI tools. I wish they’d bring back the 27-inch iMac.
Clever election scams targeting you

Fake political calls, texts and videos are nothing new. They’ve been flooding Americans’ phones for months. Some have a simple goal: Steal your money. (I’ll pass along a few tips for spotting those below.) Others are looking for detailed personal info, like a text scam warning there’s a problem with your ballot.
Now, with the election just days away, scammers’ goals are different, and their latest “campaigns” are designed to keep Americans from casting their votes.
Phony election texts spreading
Their text messages range from “The election is canceled” to “Non-citizens can vote this year.” Some scammy texts say you can’t vote in your district anymore, or they give false voting times and locations. Ignore these!
In other cases, texts and calls might not be true scams, but they’re from political groups using outdated info. These messages fall along the lines of “Someone at your address hasn’t voted yet.”
Here’s an example hitting North Carolina voters: “A voter at [residential address] may not have voted. Vote here: [website address].”
If you get something like this, ignore it. To check your voting status, go to your city’s official website or phone line. For easy access, just search “ballot status + [city or county].” Or use this search at USA.gov.
Here’s what the page looks like in Maricopa County, where I live.
‘We need your money now!’
Political campaigns are doing last-minute pushes for funding. Before you open your wallet, read these do’s and don’ts for keeping your money safe:
- Do verify it’s a real organization. Here’s a list of registered PACs maintained by the Federal Election Commission.
- Do search for the PAC name. Hey, it’s worth it to see if anything shady pops up. Some funnel money to their own advisors and marketing budgets, not to the candidates they claim to support. This page is useful, too.
- Do use a credit card if you donate. Checks and debit cards don’t have the same scam protections.
- Don’t give payment info over the phone. Find the official website and donate there.
- Don’t click links. That includes those in emails, texts or any other sources. When in doubt, visit the candidate’s or party’s official campaign website.
Pro tip: TikTok banned political fundraising across its platform in 2022. Anything you see there asking you to donate is a scam — or it’s someone skirting the rules, and you don’t want to be involved with that, either.
Passengers in an Arizona Waymo autonomous vehicle get a scare
🧘 Coping skills needed: An Arizona mom and daughter thought the self-driving Waymo vehicle they were in might crash while crossing multiple lanes. They made it through, with mom panicking and her daughter cracking up in the backseat. Waymo’s response? The vehicle kept a “safe distance.” Watch the video and see what you think.
🛩️ When you’re the boss, you make the rules: You can post almost anything on social media — as long as it doesn’t tick off the billionaire owners. Take Facebook: Election misinformation, fake news and AI junk? Totally fine. But use public data to track Mark Zuckerberg’s $66.5 million Gulfstream G650ER jet with the tail number N68885, and your account will be suspended.
🇨🇳 Remember when Verizon went down a few weeks ago? Chinese hackers were targeting phones used by Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump and his running mate JD Vance, the New York Times reported. Verizon says they’re working with law enforcement. I’m sure the Harris campaign is being targeted, too. You couldn’t pay me enough to run for office.
'Money Electric: The Bitcoin Mystery' trailer
💸 Is the mystery solved? A new HBO documentary, “Money Electric: The Bitcoin Mystery,” claims Canadian developer Peter Todd is the mystery man behind bitcoin. Todd, of course, has denied he’s the real Satoshi Nakamoto, and he’s now in hiding. If it’s true, though, he holds the keys to over a trillion dollars in crypto. Watch the trailer — it’s so good!
🌐 Major Wi-Fi upgrade: Eero is releasing a powerful Wi-Fi system that covers up to 15,000 square feet with speeds up to 2.1 Gbps. With an IP66 rating, it’s tough, too, and capable of withstanding rain, wind and extreme temps. Preorder it today for $349, and you should get it by Nov. 13.
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🏈 Tackle this: During one of this week’s Monday Night Football games, maybe you were one of the folks watching who was thrown off by the NFL’s onside kick rules, thanks to Google Search. Tampa Bay’s coach mentioned trying another kick, but Google claimed the teams were limited to one or two onside kicks per game — both totally wrong.
Listen up: Soon, Apple will drop a free software update that adds a hearing test and hearing aid features to the AirPods Pro 2. Keep in mind only those with mild hearing loss can benefit from AirPods as hearing aids. You’ll also need iOS 18.1 on your iPhone or iPad for these new features to work.
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LaserWeeder: AI-powered robotic weed control
🚜 Agricultural revamp: Carbon Robotics just raised $70 million for AI-powered robots that help farmers blast weeds with lasers. The LaserWeeder attaches to a tractor and uses AI to detect and zap weeds without disturbing the soil microbiology. Bonus? It could reduce the need for harmful herbicides. No word on the cost yet, but the video sure looks cool.
🍏 Green apples good for you? That’s a granny’s myth: Apple Intelligence should hit our devices on Oct. 23, when the new iPad mini with the A17 Pro chip drops, or Oct. 28, when the new M4 Macs hit the shelves. Apple Intelligence will be in “beta” with iOS 18.1, so expect a few bugs along the way.
$15 million settlement: Cash App might owe you $2,500. You qualify if someone accessed your personal info or account without consent, there were unauthorized withdrawals or transfers, or there was an issue with how Cash App handled your account error. Submit your claim online by Nov. 18, 2024.
Tropicana Las Vegas implosion
The site of the former 23-story, 917,400-square-foot hotel is becoming a Major League Baseball stadium for the Oakland A’s, who are relocating to Las Vegas. The controlled demolition used 22,000 lineal feet of detonating cord, dang.
WOW! Watch SpaceX catch a starship booster in air
🚀 Touchdown complete: SpaceX nailed the upright landing of one of its massive Starship rockets. As it fell from the sky, thrusters slowed it down before it was caught by two “chopstick” arms attached to a giant metal tower. Why’s this a big deal? It’s a step toward reusable rockets. The video is incredible.
Introducing: Bolt & Bolt-M
What is STOL? What are the rules?
This trend is going to take off: Competitive short takeoff and landing, aka STOL, looks like a lot of fun. It’s one of aviation’s fastest-growing sports, thanks, in part, to Microsoft Flight Simulator. Watch how it works — I’d love to try this!
💸 Bots mark the spot: Starting Nov. 8, X will stop paying accounts for showing ads. Now, you’ll only make money based on how much engagement — replies and retweets — your posts get from Premium (aka paying) subscribers. The bots are going to be busy!
Tesla: 'We, Robot' event livestream
I know you’ve seen it all over the news: Elon Musk recently took to the stage at Warner Bros. Studios in Burbank to spotlight what he says is the future of transportation — and show off his army of cowboy hat-wearing robots. Will any of this make it to production and into our driveways? Well, we’ll see.
Introducing 'Dookie Demastered'
Green Day is going all out: To celebrate their “Dookie” album’s 30th anniversary, the California punk rock band has released “demastered” versions of their songs played on some hilariously inconvenient formats, including “Pulling Teeth” on a toothbrush, “Chump” on a Teddy Ruxpin and “Welcome to Paradise” on a Game Boy cartridge.
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Don’t buy these Apple products now: I’m expecting to see new models of the MacBook Pro and Mac mini, along with an iMac with the powerful M4 chip, around Oct. 28 or Oct. 29. Plus, rumor has it an iPad mini 7 is on the way with a faster processor and upgraded camera.
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